The Making Of

December 22, 2025

AI Summary

5 min read

The Format: This narrative radio documentary from This American Life, hosted by Ira Glass, mirrors a "making-of" film by peeling back the layers of right-wing media portrayals of Portland's protests, revealing the chaotic, performative reality on one city block. Investigative and immersive, blending on-site reporting with cultural analysis.
The Format: A narrative story driven by producer fieldwork.
The Key Players:
- Producers Zoe Chase and Suzanne Gabber, embedding in Portland's ICE protest scene for firsthand dispatches.
- Ira Glass, weaving the episode's arc with wry narration likening it to chaotic movie-making.
- Key figures: Right-wing streamers like Nick Sortor, Carlin Borosenko, Ryan (provocateur), and Mentally Idaho (Mike Ross, vet streamer); protesters like Chandler (dubbed "Antifa leader").

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1 **(00:35) Making-of Movies Analogy**
2 **(02:24) Portland as Political Symbol**
3 **(03:58) Right-Wing Streamers' Role**
4 **(04:17) White House Roundtable on Antifa**
5 **(06:22) Escalating Federal Response**
6 **(08:27) Investigating Portland Reality**
7 **(10:02) Portland Protests: Basic Facts**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

How one block in Portland, Oregon became a movie-set war zone that lots of people think is a real war zone.

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Prologue: What the movie Hearts of Darkness and right-wing influencers have in common. (8 minutes)
Act One: Producers Zoe Chace and Suzanne Gaber follow a bunch of right-wing influencers as they search for Antifa in Portland. (31 minutes)
Act Two: We meet the so-called leader of Antifa in Portland. (16 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org