Robert Evans

Robert Evans is an American journalist, author, and podcast host best known for creating and hosting *Behind the Bastards*, a comedy-history podcast about notorious figures and systems of power. He has also reported on conflict zones and far-right extremism, and has worked on other podcasts including *It Could Happen Here* and *Behind the Police*.

Products they talk about

AlgoSpeak💬 Mentioned
…sourcing research about incel terminology and its spread through online communities
“One of my sources for these episodes is the 2025 book Algo Speak by linguist Adam Aleksic. His book is broadly about internet slang and particularly how algorithmic censorship on social media has altered online speech patterns and how that has changed the way that people talk in the real world. He spends a lot of time, though, in his book talking about incels because it turns out they hit way above their weight class when it comes to linguistic influence.”
on Behind the Bastards
Border Patrol Nation💬 Mentioned
…discussing how us border patrol trains and arms units throughout the americas
“Everyone should read Empire of Borders. Everyone should read Border Patrol Nation. But the DHS has done this for years, right? Funded, armed, and equipped, and trained Border Patrol units all over the Americas.”
on Behind the Bastards
Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor👍 Recommends
…introducing guest kim kelly and her books about labor history
“Here to be cursed with me on this glorious week, obviously my producer Sophie and the great Kim Kelly, author of the book Fight Like Hell. Kim, you are a wonderful journalist. You focus a lot on the labor movement and you have a new special edition of your book coming out soon, don't you?... The Young Readers edition of Fight Like Hell, which is called Fight to Win Heroes of American Labor.”
on Behind the Bastards
Girl Gone Wild👍 Recommends
…host asks guest to promote her published book
“Court, you want to plug your book for us? Yeah. Yeah. I need a shower, but check out my book. It's called Girl Gone Wild. It's a coming-of-age story about trying to make it in Hollywood, and it is a feminist story that you definitely need after this.”
on Behind the Bastards
Girl Gone Wild👍 Recommends
…host and guest discussing courtney's book about her experiences in hollywood
“Oh, is that a copy of Girl Gone Wild by Courtney Kosak? Oh man, yeah. I'm excited to read that myself. I wish we could get Courtney on the show... Your book is coming out. That's exciting. It's an unwitting feminist coming of age about trying to make it in Hollywood. It's called Girl Gone Wild. It's about all the mistakes, quote unquote, I've made.”
on Behind the Bastards
In Plain Sight💬 Mentioned
…discussing duncroft approved school for girls and troubled children in the system
“Per the book In Plain Sight, girls were sent to Duncroft for a variety of misdemeanors. One girl who arrived at the school as a 14-year-old in 1972 insisted years later that half the girls were there as punishment for being the victims of sexual abuse, the crime of having sex underage, as we thought it.”
on Behind the Bastards
Kingdom💬 Mentioned
…primary biographical source on h.l. hunt and his family history
“I could only find one biography that was written about him, which was the book Kingdom. And it's actually, it was published after he died. And it's actually a biography of his whole family, written by this hardcore libertarian author named Jerome Tussil.”
on Behind the Bastards
Murder in Brentwood💬 Mentioned
…mark fuhrman publishing a book about the o.j. simpson trial case
“Mark puts out his own book, Murder in Brentwood, which I've quoted from a few times. And in that book, he includes a letter that LAPD chief Daryl Gates sent his mom in 1995 during the O.J. Simpson trial.”
on Behind the Bastards
My Third Time We Drowned👍 Recommends
…discussing europe's externalization of borders and violence in libya
“Sally Hayden's book, My Third Time We Drowned, is one of the more heartbreaking books. It's available for a human to read. But if you want to know about the fucked up stuff Europe's doing in Libya, it's a good book.”
on Behind the Bastards
The Strangling of Persia💬 Mentioned
…describing W. Morgan Schuster's firsthand account of imperial exploitation in Persia
“On Christmas Day, 1911, Schuster is forced to leave Persia. He goes back to the United States and he writes a book called The Strangling of Persia, which is all about how European powers are robbing the country blind and murdering any chance of it having a functional government.”
on Behind the Bastards
What's Fair on the Air?: Cold War Right-Wing Broadcasting and the Public Interest👍 Recommends
…discussing sources about h.l. hunt's early life and media influence
“You don't tend to see this story mentioned in most other articles on the guy, with a notable exception of one of my major sources for this, which was a chapter from Heather Hendershot's great book, What's Fair on the Air, which is about Cold War-era right-wing broadcasting. She devotes a chapter to Hunt, and she writes this.”
on Behind the Bastards
What's Fair on the Air?: Cold War Right-Wing Broadcasting and the Public Interest💬 Mentioned
…analyzing how the Facts Forum operated as propaganda disguised as balanced discourse
“So, in What's Fair on the Air, Heather Hendershot writes of Smoot, he was willing to temper his arch-conservatism by giving two sides to the political issues discussed.”
on Behind the Bastards
Why Everything Stopped Working💬 Mentioned
…discussing ed zitron's upcoming book about technology failures
“And you're working on a book right now, aren't you? Yes. The audience, the title of that book? It's called Why Everything Stopped Working and it's about how everything stopped working due to technology and how we got to where we are today, which kind of fucking sucks.”
on Behind the Bastards