The Coming Storm

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The Coming Storm: The Mid-Terms 1. Groomers

The Mid-Terms 1. Groomers

BBC Radio 4 - The Coming Storm, The Mid-Terms 1. Groomers

A new diabolical enemy emerges as the mid-terms loom.

As America goes out to vote for the first time since the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 election, Gabriel Gatehouse is back in the deep undergrowth of the US political scene, in a bid to understand where the dark energy underpinning the January 6 assault on the Capitol is going now.

Some of the energy from the QAnon conspiracy theory about a satanic cabal of paedophiles is morphing into a grassroots political movement against ‘groomers’ – the idea that LGBTQI+ sex educators and trans healthcare advocates are indoctrinating young people into a sexualised culture.

The battleground is America’s school boards and the prize could be a galvanised Republican base with a new crusade. At a conference in Miami of thinkers shaping the future ideas of the right, Gabriel finds the issue top of the agenda.

And across the country, a slate of candidates linked to QAnon is running for office – how will they fare?

Producer: Lucy Proctor

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QAnon and the plot to break reality. Reporter Gabriel Gatehouse investigates.

QAnon and the plot to break reality. Reporter and presenter Gabriel Gatehouse takes a journey into the dark undergrowth of modern America

QAnon and the plot to break reality.

A year on from the Capitol Insurrection in Washington DC on 6 January 2021, Gabriel Gatehouse journeys into the dark undergrowth of modern America. He's looking for the origins of the story that drove the crowds to storm the heart of US democracy. From conspiracy-soaked barrooms in 1990s Arkansas, via spies in hotel rooms in the shadow of the Kremlin, to anarchic chatrooms on the early internet, this is a search for the answer to one big question: did this just happen, or is somebody trying to break reality?

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