We showed up on Substack in March 2025—bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, checking out this platform thing. Zev mentioned to Dean: “Let’s do a daily show where we countdown the biggest stories of the day.”
Within three weeks, we had built something nobody expected.
Dean connected with Lev Parnas. Michael Cohen showed up. A Danish intelligence officer texted: “Hey, want to do a show?” Wajahat Ali of the Left Hook shared their platform with us. Katie Couric watched. Olga Lautman’s Tyranny Tracker became a show. Steve Schmidt and Save America linked up. Creators like Nick Paro introduced us to Ellie Leonard, Shane Yirak, Melissa Corrigan.
And most importantly we meet you—the viewers, subscribers, paid subscribers. Your passion saved our democracy, breathed life into what we were doing, helped us grow every day since.
This wasn’t networking. This was necessity.
You’ll have to watch the entire show to grasp everything we’re thinking about for 2026, and Lev Parnas’ photo gallery, but here are some choice quotes about where we are, and where we’re going.
THE YEAR THAT WAS
“2025 was, for what we do, the most fucked up year of my life without question.” — Dean Blundell
“This is the first time we’re seeing pure authoritarianism, dictatorship that really has taken control of the United States of America.” — Lev Parnas
“And just to put it in context, it’s only just the first year of four.” — Zev Shalev
“2026 will be even more fucked up.” — Jacob Kaarsbo
WHAT WE LEARNED
Jacob (Copenhagen): The war in Ukraine continues. The only variable: how much political willingness democracies can muster. Jacob doesn’t put the U.S. in that bracket anymore. Putin fabricated an attack on his residence to derail peace talks. Trump believed it. Then admitted maybe it didn’t happen. “Putin and the Russians are going to grind on, regardless of the trouble they’re in.”
Lev (Who Went to Prison for Telling the Truth): “I forgot we had a guy in solitary confinement,” Dean said. We did. Lev Parnas spent time in prison because he testified against Trump. Now he’s here, every day, reminding us what courage actually costs. “Something that’s going to be talked about in history 100 years from now.”
Zev (The Producer Who Sees the Pattern): “My hope is to make this into a 24-7 news channel where we continually give people exactly what’s going on in real time. Because state media, which is really what’s happened to American corporate media, is now run by the state. The future is going to be an information war. It’s about who wins the hearts and minds of Americans and the world.”
Dean (Canada): “Just a few guys with a space and a little platform, coming together and finding all of you. Not just sharing content, but saying ‘I didn’t know that, thank you, I don’t feel so alone.’”
OUR 2026 COMMITMENTS
Lev: “I will be that voice for those kids abducted by the Russians. We will use our voices to make sure the Epstein survivors get their justice.”
Zev: “We keep these voices, amplify these voices, grow more voices, and make sure it gets into as many American minds and ears and eyes as we can.”
Dean: “My goal is to unite people against fascism. Unite people under real values—democratic values, empathy, love, kindness, courage, wisdom, justice. We build something that cannot be taken away from you, cannot be taken away from democracy.”
Jacob: [Standing watch in Copenhagen, knowing what comes next.]
We’re not going anywhere. We’re doing this for at least the next three years. Maybe longer. “What if he gets out of the term? There’s other assholes out there.”
We see you. You see us. Together, we build what cannot be taken.
Welcome to 2026. The war for hearts and minds has begun.
The Fivestack airs live Monday-Friday at 3 PM ET. Join us.The Fivestack airs live Monday-Friday at 3 PM ET on Substack. Join Dean Blundell, Zev Shalev, Lev Parnas, and Jacob Kaarsbo as they connect Canada, America, Ukraine, and Europe in real-time analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
Thank you Ellie Leonard, Shane Yirak, Cash Flow Collective, Cheech Previti, Cat, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell, Lev Parnas, and Jacob Kaarsbo! Join me for my next live video in the app.
