Podcast · iheart.com
Behind the Bastards
Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.
206 claims
True80% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Jair Bolsonaro is in prison for a coup launched after he lost the 2022 election.Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in September 2025 of plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election and sentenced to 27 years, and sources say he began serving that sentence in November 2025. As of the claim date (2026-10-03), he was serving it under temporary humanitarian house arrest rather than in a cell, which is a minor imprecision in 'in prison' that does not overturn the core claim. Later reporting (November 2026) says his house arrest was converted to preventive detention, a change after the claim date that does not make it false.True75% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026Hanko is being investigated for the disbursement of 46 million euros in cultural funds to public figures.Hanko, the former Orbán-era culture minister, is under criminal investigation over misuse of National Cultural Fund grants, with figures reported at about €46 million (€46.2m in one source, €47.6m+ in another, and roughly 40+ million euros in a third). One Euronews-syndicated source uses the same wording as the claim, and the sources report that authorities largely regard the funds as campaign financing. Sources describe the grants as going to artists and organisations with Fidesz ties rather than strictly to 'public figures', which is a loose but not contradicted characterization. As of 2026-10-03 the investigation was ongoing, and the later court detention order does not change that.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True90% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Hungarian Parliament passed a law limiting the prime minister to two terms in office.Hungary's Parliament approved a constitutional amendment on June 15, 2026 that limits prime ministers to a maximum of eight years, described by Reuters and others as two four-year terms. The claim's 'law' is technically a constitutional amendment, a label difference that does not change the core assertion.True85% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026Polling from September 30, 2026, showed Lula with 39.4% of the vote and Flavio Bolsonaro with 38.4% of the vote.The Meio/Ideia poll released September 30, 2026 showed Lula at 39.4% and Flávio Bolsonaro at 38.4% in the first round, matching the claim. The poll's fieldwork ran September 25–28, and later polls and the October 2026 result do not change what the September 30 poll showed.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True95% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Lula da Silva won the 2022 election with 50.9% of the vote against Jair Bolsonaro's 49.1%.The claim that Lula beat Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 runoff with 50.9% to 49.1% is supported by the Congressional Research Service, NPR's report of official returns, and the TSE final tally as reproduced in other sources. The 2026 results in the sources, where Lula won against Flávio Bolsonaro, concern a different election and do not affect the claim.True92% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026Flavio Bolsonaro is 45 years old.Flavio Bolsonaro was 45 on 2026-10-03. The BBC (published 2026-10-05) and CNN (published 2026-10-02) both give his age as 45, and a Le Monde article gives his birth date as April 30, 1981, which makes him 45 from April 30, 2026 onward. The claim's wording matches the passage, and later AP coverage still says he is 45.True92% confidence6 sourcesOct 3, 2026Trump levied 50% tariffs against Canada using the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.Multiple tier-1 sources confirm Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods (about $20 billion in imports) by invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the Smoot-Hawley Act. The post's point that these were not the tariffs being litigated is context and does not contradict the claim.True95% confidence7 sourcesOct 3, 2026Trump levied Section 301 tariffs in July.Multiple tier-1 and primary sources confirm that the Section 301 tariffs (10% or 12.5% on 60 trading partners) were imposed in July 2026 at President Trump's direction, taking effect July 24. The claim matches the post's wording and no source contradicts it.True85% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Trump administration is currently defending Section 301 tariffs in court.As of 2026-10-03, the Trump administration was defending its Section 301 tariffs in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The Hill and the New York Times both report the government appearing before the court on September 30, and CSIS describes a briefing schedule running to about October 2. The post's description of the hearing matches this record, and the claim does not add anything the passage lacks. Later reporting (Foreign Policy, October 27) shows the litigation continuing, which does not change the October 3 assessment.True90% confidence4 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Trump administration is using the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act as legal authority for tariffs on Canada.Multiple sources state that the Trump administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which is commonly called the Smoot-Hawley Act, as the legal basis for 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, and these tariffs were in effect by late August 2026, before the October 3 posting date. The post's garbled 'Holly Smoot' reference reasonably resolves to Smoot-Hawley. The legality of the authority is being challenged in court, but that does not affect whether the administration is using it.True85% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026The Trump administration is investigating excess capacity in steel and other goods to impose Section 301 tariffs.As of 2026-10-03, the USTR was running a Section 301 investigation into structural excess capacity across 16 trading partners, launched March 2026, with steel among the listed sectors, and the probe was still ongoing with tariffs expected to follow. The extracted claim is a faithful paraphrase of the post, which described these investigations as already underway.True93% confidence5 sourcesOct 3, 2026Jerome Powell was subpoenaed by the Justice Department.The Justice Department did issue grand jury subpoenas in January 2026 tied to Jerome Powell's Senate testimony, as Powell and multiple outlets report. Strictly, the subpoenas were served on the Federal Reserve Board, though NBC and CBS describe them as directed at Powell, and a judge later quashed them in March 2026; the claim's core fact holds as of the time it was made.