# Why We Vote Ep. 181: The CIA Note, "The Book," and Byrne's Coup Confession

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/badlands-media-6674661/why-we-vote-ep-181-the-cia-note-the-book-and-byrne-s-coup-confession
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/badlands-media-6674661/why-we-vote-ep-181-the-cia-note-the-book-and-byrne-s-coup-confession.md
Podcast: [Badlands Media](https://stenobird.com/podcast/badlands-media-6674661)
Published: 2026-07-29T04:55:29+00:00
Episode link: https://badlandsmedia.podbean.com/e/why-we-vote-ep-181-the-cia-note-the-book-and-byrnes-coup-confession/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/zbj6kz5wzjr8zta7/Why_We_Vote_ep_1817i9o7.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/badlands-media-6674661/episodes/why-we-vote-ep-181-the-cia-note-the-book-and-byrne-s-coup-confession
Duration seconds: 5235

## Resource

No guest this week, just CannCon and Ashe in America turning the heat all the way up. They start with that newly declassified CIA note on Venezuela and lay out why it reads less like a bombshell about Maduro and more like a blueprint for what happened at home. From there, things get spicy. The two dig into a certain must-read election book (now referred to strictly as Voldemort) and why wrong technology and phantom barcodes make them question the whole point of it. Then come the Patrick Byrne clips, complete with a Qatar phone call, a data center in Belgrade, and a casual mention of being asked to lead a coup. Along the way: Bill Pulte's firing spree, Smartmatic and Sequoia genealogy, Colombia's Petro claims, blockchain voting waiting in the wings, and cautious optimism about 2026. Plus gold, boomerangs, and a heated debate over Wawa.

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## Transcript

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