In this powerful first installment of our two-part deep dive on immigration in America, Rick and Tim break it down to something startling and increasingly unavoidable: historical parallels. From the early tactics of Nazi Germany to the Japanese American internment camps on U.S. soil, we examine how cruelty becomes policy, how fear becomes a weapon, and how the U.S. immigration system has evolved into something darker than most Americans realize.

With humor (because if we don’t laugh, we’ll cry), personal stories, and a mountain of research, we break down:

👉 The rise of state-sanctioned intimidation

👉 Propaganda-driven fear campaigns 👉 ICE’s explosive new funding and militarized tactics 👉 Why modern enforcement resembles 1930s authoritarian playbooks 👉 How legal loopholes are weaponized by people like Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, & Jeff Sessions 👉 The human cost: families separated, communities terrorized, and due process eroded

We also look at disturbing recent cases, like the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago, and examine how propaganda, cruelty-as-deterrence, and profit motive collide to shape today’s immigration reality. We’re talking detention expansion, off-shoring asylum seekers, CECOT-style camps, and the cultural normalization of dehumanization.

This episode blends history, politics, community experience, and straight-up receipts to show why “it can’t happen here” has never been less true.

This week’s “Let's Trigger Rictor” segment is about the use of pejoratives. Who gets to say them? Should they even be said by anyone? What about context? Clips included are from CNN, NBC News, ABC News, Sky News, Inside Edition, 60 Minutes, Fox News, Slice Full Doc, South Park, The Boston Globe, ProPublica, Smithsonian Channel, Women’s March Win, Reuters, Rupaul’s Drag Race, Bethenny, Noticias, Tiktokkers: ms_ryan, mollaanbbingtoncompass, julesandjessie, peeberr, marxistajohan, jon59663, and wily_lara.

If you appreciate truth, context, and the occasional drag-queen-level read, you’re in the right place.

Let’s break it down.

For this bonus episode of Red Pens & Red Flags, I sit down with alternative school educator Tazz Groffe to discuss what real accountability and care look like for students who the system has failed. We dig into state vs. federal control of curriculum, vouchers and funding, DEI done right, and why “choice” without oversight hurts the most vulnerable. Tazz shares frontline worries, from surveillance creeping into classrooms to National Guard deployments in U.S. cities, and the one thing that still gives him hope: students learning to think critically. If you care about the future of public education, this conversation is a must-listen. Teacher Groffe has a wonderful message to the Trump administration at the end of the podcast.

In this powerful season finale of Red Pens and Red Flags, we step outside the classroom and into the heart of the home with parent and advocate Bertha Robinson. A single mother of 14 (and counting), Bertha shares what it’s like raising a neurodiverse, multiracial family in today’s volatile education landscape. From busing and DEI rollbacks to special education funding and Project 2025, Bertha offers a raw, unfiltered view into how political decisions are impacting real families, especially those raising children with disabilities.

With humor, passion, and a deep sense of justice, Bertha calls out the hypocrisy of leaders who gut public education while never having relied on it themselves. She questions the morality of autism registries, defends ELD programs, and reminds us that equity isn’t charity, it’s a right. Whether she’s explaining why her autistic son plays 17 instruments or why she checks ParentSquare daily, Bertha shows us what real parental involvement looks like. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who thinks public education should serve all children, not just the privileged few.

After the interview, there are some closing thoughts from Rictor Riolo on the current state of public education, which ends with an inspiring quote from poet and teacher Maya Angelou. History is watching.