February AMA!
Ask Me Anything, and some housekeeping.
Hi,
It's been a busy time here on Webworm lately.
Thanks for being here for it. I was inundated with comments under the MELANIA review that I sent out to paid members over the weekend...
... and had a blast reading them:
Today's AMA:
I'm doing an AMA for paid Webworm members – so please, I'm here all day to answer your questions in the comments section:
You know the drill: Most things go. Ask me about my thoughts on New Zealand, the USA and ICE. Ask me about the stuff I write about below. Ask me about previous projects (Tickled is 10 this year!). Maybe you want advice on documentary/journalism/podcasting. Or maybe you just have a dumb question to lighten the mood in 2026.
I'm here for it.
Webworm Housekeeping:
- Speaking of today's AMA, a paying subscriber emailed me the other day, sad that the Webworm comments section had disappeared since I'd left Nazi-friendly Substack.
I informed them that the comments section and community is still very much here!
With that in mind, I spent a great deal of yesterday updating Webworm's ABOUT/FAQ page, covering things like "how do I leave a comment?", "how to change my email address?" and a myriad of other FAQs that come up.
If you have a question about the way Webworm works – the ABOUT/FAQ page should have your answer!
David Farrier
- One thing I've added to the ABOUT/FAQ is that there is now a way to give one-off payments to support Webworm, and you can now gift subscriptions to others (sorry I didn't have this ready last Christmas/my birthday).
- I've recently started paying for a really neat service called Outpost that helps me clearly communicate with readers about their subscription information.
For instance, if you're paying for an annual membership, you'll get a reminder seven days before it renews, in case your financial situation has changed and you want to cancel. Part of running something like Webworm – which is 100% reader supported – is clearly communicating with readers about the experience.
Since shifting Webworm off Substack last August (because Nazis & other reasons), I've been working hard to make sure this service is smooth, transparent and accessible.
The Latest From Minneapolis:
I just got this from the couple I went on patrol with, who as you'll recall were tracking ICE agents and protecting their neighbours:
"Our signal chats are reactive to their evolution of caring less about getting the right person, into just grabbing as many people as quickly as they can no matter who they are.
For example: I drove to go get sushi tonight at our favorite little local family owned spot five minutes from our house.
On my way a black Buick sedan ran a red light, and had its lights off. I followed it for about three blocks into our neighborhood, where it parked behind a couple SUV's idling on a side street full of houses.
I sent a picture of the last vehicle on the end of the row to the St. Paul RR chat, and went to go get sushi – and didn't think about it again.
But... RR took it and confirmed it, got "commuters" here who scared them away, and they all zoomed off in different directions.
Usually it takes me five minutes to go get sushi, this time it took me maybe 10 minutes.
It's almost mundane now. I can't go anywhere without seeing them.
But also just driving around not even on patrol I can still help patrol! We are that efficient, and there's thousands of us.
A black Buick sedan would not have been on my radar had they not been driving at night with their lights off, driving like an asshole. I never would have thought twice about it.
They are being undone by their own idiocy and arrogance."
For anyone in Los Angeles, I am taking part in an anti-ICE fundraiser this Wednesday night. You can get tickets here. 100% of proceeds to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
I Contacted the New Zealand Consulate in LA, Just In Case
Over the weekend, after reflecting on what is happening in Minneapolis, I dropped an email to a contact I had at the NZ consulate in Los Angeles:
I have just been reporting on Alex Pretti's murder in MN - I got teargassed, the whole treatment you tend to get as a journalist in these situations.
All that reporting is up on Webworm: www.webworm.co.
A lot of New Zealanders in LA and beyond are worried about what is happening, and how it could devolve further.
I would like to interview someone from the NZ Consulate here in LA to discuss these worries and concerns and to see if there is any direct advice.
Are you able to assist at all?
Much appreciated.
Today I received a reply which I would paraphrase as: "No".
This is the link they shared, if anyone cares.
Finally, today: On Jeffrey Epstein
Of course with everything that is going on right now (and it's a lot) – we have the Epstein Files; thousands more released over the weekend.
There are a million ways I could wade into this – so many it's almost overwhelming where to begin. It's also difficult to weigh in, because it's all so vast. Redactions make things difficult, including the fact some victims' details are not redacted, which is horrifying. There are nude women and children in there.
My brain is on fire, and it's hard to know where to start, so in an effort to retain some sanity, the best thing I can do right now is advise you to read is Garbage Day's piece: "Here's how Epstein broke the internet: His meeting with the founder of 4chan and his quest to profit off the end of democracy":
"It is nearly impossible to not get pulled deeper down the rabbit hole while reading through Epstein’s emails. Because, whether or not he did directly influence elections across the globe, he was trying to. And he had the means and the access to believe he could. But even if we stick to what we know from previous investigations and what we can see in his newly-released emails, the reality, stated plainly, is, frankly, insane. But these are the facts:
Epstein, possibly the most prolific sex trafficker in human history, spent the last decade of his life investing in technology that would help Russia, as he wrote in a 2013 email, “leapfrog the global community by reinventing the financial system of the 21st century.” He was fascinated by websites like 4chan and technology like Bitcoin and was personally invested in the success of far-right politicians in the US and Europe. He believed he was months away from ushering in a new world order that would allow him to continue with his monstrous passion projects, like creating a super-race of children with his own DNA and building fascist nation states to manage overpopulation and climate collapse. And he wined and dined the world’s most powerful men (none of whom seemed to have an issue with these ideas), inviting them to his island and his ranch, and made sure they were surrounded by an endless supply of young girls. And I’m just not sure what we’re supposed to do with that knowledge."
"I’m just not sure what we’re supposed to do with that knowledge," sums up how a lot of us are feeling right now, I think.
See you in the AMA down below. I'll be lurking today and tomorrow answering!
David.
