# We Interviewed the Guy Who Organizes Paid Protests

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/bro-history-1024443/we-interviewed-the-guy-who-organizes-paid-protests
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/bro-history-1024443/we-interviewed-the-guy-who-organizes-paid-protests.md
Podcast: [Bro History](https://stenobird.com/podcast/bro-history-1024443)
Published: 2025-10-28T13:31:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML1353844795.mp3?updated=1761659878
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML1353844795.mp3?updated=1761659878
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/bro-history-1024443/episodes/we-interviewed-the-guy-who-organizes-paid-protests
Duration seconds: 4050

## Resource

Adam Swart is the founder and CEO of Crowds on Demand — a company that literally organizes protests, rallies, and PR stunts for clients across the U.S. In this interesting conversation, Henry and Danny dig into how this shadowy industry actually works: who pays for demonstrations, how they’re staffed, and where ethics fit in when civic action becomes a paid service. Swart claims his firm turned down $20 million in offers to organize anti-Trump protests, and insists “paid protestors” aren’t what conspiracy theories make them out to be.But Danny pushes back — asking whether commodifying civic activism cheapens democracy itself. Timestamps:00:00 – Intro: Who is Adam Swart?02:00 – How the “Crowds on Demand” model was born05:00 – The mechanics of paid activism08:00 – Drawing the ethical line: Who he’ll work with15:00 – “Protest is advertising, not voting”20:00 – Does paying people for civic action corrupt democracy?27:00 – The myth of “grassroots” movements35:00 – Why Swart turned down $20M in anti-Trump business44:00 – Vetting protestors and the risk of instability52:00 – The transparency problem57:00 – “Paid protestors” and the class divide in outrage01:02:00 – Swart’s upcoming “Protester Bill of Rights” Links to our other stuff on the interwebs: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #340 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/bro-history-1024443/episodes/we-interviewed-the-guy-who-organizes-paid-protests/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/bro-history-1024443/we-interviewed-the-guy-who-organizes-paid-protests.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.