Podcasts about Democracy

Democracy Now! Friday, February 6, 2026

James Carville and Al hunt are joined on the sofa by Ruth Ben-Ghiat discussing the current landscape of education and authoritarianism, the characteristics of strongmen leaders, and the implications of fascism in modern politics. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the rule of law, the reactionary nature of fascism, and the global authoritarian landscape. The discussion also touches on the future of democracy, leadership, and the challenges of restoring trust and diplomacy in America.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Authoritarianism and Strong Men02:54 The Nature of Strong Men and the Rule of Law05:50 Fascism and Its Characteristics09:16 The Reactionary Nature of Fascism12:07 The Global Landscape of Authoritarianism15:00 The Future of Democracy and Leadership17:55 Restoring Trust in America and Its Institutions

Democracy Now! Friday, February 6, 2026

Most people imagine themselves as the ones who would have resisted. The ones who would have spoken up. The ones who would have refused to go along. History tends to tell a different story. In this episode, Corey Nathan explores how anonymity subtly yet significantly reshapes moral responsibility. Not all at once, and not dramatically, but steadily. What begins as distance or abstraction often ends as permission. Permission to flatten, dismiss, or dehumanize without fully reckoning with the human cost. This episode serves as a spoken companion to the essay Anonymity and the Collapse of the Thou, tracing how moral imagination thins when people stop encountering one another as full human beings. Calls to Action ✅ If this episode resonates, consider sharing it with someone who might need a reminder that disagreement doesn't have to mean dehumanization. ✅ Check out our Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion What This Episode Explores Anonymity as a continuum Anonymity is not simply named versus nameless. At one end lies healthy privacy and necessary protection. Move far enough along that continuum, however, and something shifts. Neighbors become avatars. Persons become categories. Moral responsibility begins to erode. From I-Thou to I-It Drawing on the work of Martin Buber, the episode contrasts I-Thou relationships, which recognize the other as a person, with I-It relationships, which reduce the other to a function, role, or obstacle. Anonymity subtly nudges human interaction away from encounter and toward objectification. How dehumanization actually happens Rarely does anyone set out to be cruel. Language flattens. Tone sharpens. Context disappears. Once people become abstractions, harm starts to feel like enforcement, righteousness, or necessity rather than cruelty. The story we tell ourselves about history History is rarely judged by who people imagined themselves to be. It is judged by who benefited from their choices, who was cast as the threat, and who paid the price. The episode challenges the comforting assumption that moral clarity would have come easily. Moral distance and accountability Anonymity creates moral distance, and moral distance makes unbearable actions easier to justify. This insight reaches beyond platforms and politics into Scripture, civic life, and the foundations of constitutional self government, all of which presume identifiable responsibility. Why this matters now Cultures trained to dehumanize do not become lethal overnight. Words loosen first. Norms erode next. By the time violence appears, it often feels inevitable to those involved. Democracy survives not on procedures alone, but on people repeatedly choosing to see one another as human. Episode Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today's conversation possible. Gratitude as well to Village Square for coming alongside this work and helping foster better civic dialogue. Links and additional resources: Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org The Village Square: villagesquare.us Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... Substack LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Threads Bluesky TikTok Final Thought The question is not who we would like to identify with in the story. The question is where our words, positions, and actions actually place us. Go talk some politics and religion with gentleness and respect.

Are there tendencies within Christian tradition that put some versions of the faith in tension with core principles of democracy? What is “Authoritarian Reactionary Christianity?” How can a pluralistic society guard against the rise of political figures—including Donald Trump—aiming to weaponize this phenomenon? In this two-part conversation, we dive into these provocative questions with the Rev. Prof. David Gushee (Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University) and discuss his book Defending Democracy From Its Christian Enemies. Segments to look forward to in part 2: (02:12) Christianity in the reactionary politics of France and Germany in the 20th century   (07:54) The allure of authoritarian leaders who promise to fix cultural issues  (13:06) The idealization of a past Christian nation and the ubiquitous use of anti-LGBT rhetoric in policial mobilization (18:20) The difficulty of appealing to authoritarian-leaning Christians and the influence of leaders in those communities (32:30 ) “Covenantal democracy” rooted in the Baptist tradition (35:18) The importance of civic literacy and political ethics education among Christians to inoculate against authoritarian tendencies (40:00) The importance of long-term cultural and interpersonal work to build stronger democratic norms. For more of David's work visit his website: https://www.davidpgushee.com/ Follow Ron  on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/RonSteslow Email your questions and thoughts to podcast@politicology.com or leave us a voicemail at ‪(202) 455-4558‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a raid on an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, to a call to nationalize federal elections…President Trump is making it clear that his next target is our Democracy itself. This week, Alex speaks to Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington about why he's challenging the FBI's seizure of voting records. Then, she's joined by Faiz Shakir, founder of More Perfect Union, to break down the significance of a flipped seat in Texas, and what the Democrats' prospects are in this fall's midterm elections.

Democracy Now! Thursday, February 5, 2026

Josh Birenbaum asserts Venezuela must address corruption and narcotics to stabilize democracy and attract the professional diaspora needed for economic rebuilding after years of socialist mismanagement.1863 VENEZUELA

Democracy Now! Thursday, February 5, 2026

A historical warning about how presidents escape, aides go to prison, and “just following orders” has never saved anyone...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Conservative Joe Walsh joins Thom to dissect the fascist project that the Republican party has become. This is not your father's political party. Plus a National Progressive Town Hall with US Rep. Mark Pocan. joins Thom to dissect the fascist project that the Republican party has become. This is not your father's political party. Plus A National Progressive Town Hall with US Rep. Mark Pocan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In celebration of Black History Month, scholars Lucas Morel and Melvin Rogers join to discuss how African American leaders and citizens, such as Prince Hall, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. have invoked the ideas and principles of the Declaration of Independence throughout American history to push for a more free and equal America. Thomas Donnelly, chief scholar of the National Constitution Center, moderates.  This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC's America's Town Hall series on February 2, 2026.  Resources  National Constitution Center, "The Declaration Across History" Primary Sources  Lucas Morel, Lincoln and the American Founding  Melvin Rogers, The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought  Stay Connected and Learn More  Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org ⁠⁠⁠⁠  Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr    Explore the ⁠⁠⁠⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠⁠⁠⁠   Explore ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pursuit: The Founders' Guide to Happiness⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate   Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen   Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠   Support our important work ⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate 

Fisher Ames didn't just worry about democracy, he despised it.  In this episode of America's Founding Series, the life and ideas of Fisher Ames reveal why the Founders feared mob rule, moral absolutism, and political urgency driven by emotion rather than reason. Ames believed liberty survives only when passion is restrained by law, time, and reflection. As modern mobs reject disagreement, delegitimize institutions, and claim authority over the law itself, his warnings feel less like history and more like prophecy. What You'll Learn Why Fisher Ames believed democracy is driven by impulse, not reason The difference between citizens and mobs, why disagreement becomes betrayal, and the impact of social media on polarization and the mob mentality  How the Constitution was designed to slow emotional surges before they become law Why gridlock is a feature, not a flaw, in a functioning republic How moral certainty and urgency lead societies toward instability and despotism This episode connects America's founding principles to modern unrest and explains why a republic cannot survive when mobs replace law and emotion replaces judgment.  

We discuss the concept of deliberative representative democracy by ordinary citizens, which means representing and being represented in turn.    Hélène's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Listen and bring out the shy Share power   Hélène Landemore is a political theorist and professor of political science at Yale University. Her latest book is Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule, a manifesto for what's possible.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Hélène on X:  https://x.com/landemore   Read Politics Without Politicians:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Hélène Landemore Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

The Portland-based Innovation Law Lab was in federal court Wednesday, challenging the ICE policy of arresting immigrants and U.S. citizens without warrants and without due process. If successful, Oregon would join Washington, D.C. and Colorado in preventing this tactic.    From warrantless arrests to unlawful use of force to arresting of journalists and other violations of civil rights, Portland constitutional law scholar Steve Kanter says these federal unconstitutional actions threaten democracy itself. Kanter joins us to put these actions in the context of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Jordan Cunnings, legal director of the Innovation Law Lab, also joins us to share details about the federal court hearing on warrantless arrests in Oregon.    

Don sits down with Senator Mark Kelly for a sober, urgent conversation about the state of the nation and the growing threats to democracy. They break down Donald Trump's escalating attacks on free speech and the free press, including his previous targeting of Senator Kelly for doing nothing more than accurately stating the law to members of the military. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don sits down with Senator Mark Kelly for a sober, urgent conversation about the state of the nation and the growing threats to democracy. They break down Donald Trump's escalating attacks on free speech and the free press, including his previous targeting of Senator Kelly for doing nothing more than accurately stating the law to members of the military. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democracy Now! Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger Picture Conspiracy no more, Germany and the EU shutting down energy production while China was increasing theirs. This tells you everything you need to know. Trump tariff system is getting stronger, it’s improving the economy and this is something the [CB] does not want. The [CB]s are losing control over the Fed, watch gold and silver. Trump need to wake the people of this country up. The only way to do this was to have the people go down a path that would make the uncomfortable, scared and angry, this is how you break the brainwashing. People can now see it is the tryrants against the people of this country. The picture is clear. Every step of the way the [DS] is losing their grip on the people. The people are ready to take back the country.   Economy https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/2018402875693580744?s=20   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2018664901959462953?s=20   ended in June 2025, when missed payments began appearing on credit reports. Meanwhile, the percentage of student loans transitioning into 90+ days of serious delinquency is up to 14.3%, an all-time high. This significantly exceeds the 2013 peak of 10.5% and 2008 levels of 7.5%. The student loan crisis is accelerating. https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2018663257675018691?s=20 Political/Rights https://twitter.com/AnthonyGalli/status/2018716797864661049?s=20 https://twitter.com/luvgod/status/2018390600475644333?s=20  Code of Conduct explicitly requires justices to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety, including political activity that undermines public confidence in judicial independence. https://twitter.com/RichardStiller4/status/2018460663329472526?s=20   https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2018673649985683709?s=20   https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2018551227416756485?s=20   drive from these people?” This is what she said happened: ‘My friend told us about a dive burger place in Minnesota that we absolutely had to try. As we were driving in, we passed a small group of maybe 30 people holding large “F ICE” signs, spelled out. Many of the houses in the neighborhood also had signs saying “F ICE” and similar messages. When we were leaving to drive back to the hotel, we passed the group again. At that point, the resistance group stepped out in front of our car and would not let us drive. One woman appeared to be looking at our license plate and doing something on her phone. She was standing directly in front of the car, blocking us — I cannot imagine being a sane person and living in this city. We were with my brother-in-law's family, and they said that restaurants and other places are empty because of this, the resistance is out doing their thing, and the normal people are just staying home and not going out.' https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2018412853435527587?s=20 https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2018416970111311967?s=20 the execution of federal laws. Further, as we have all seen in innumerable videos, this conspiracy includes the use of violent force. I think everyone–even Democrats–must agree that what I just said is true. Now read 18 U.S.C. § 2384 (Seditious conspiracy): “If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.” Draw your own conclusions as to what is required here. https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/2018389609563017674?s=20   CBS News is parting ways with contributor Dr. Peter Attia, a prominent longevity physician, after Epstein documents revealed over 1,700 mentions of his name and emails showing a close friendship, including Attia’s 2015 note on Epstein’s “outrageous” life he couldn’t share and a 2016 lewd quip about “pussy” being low-carb.   https://twitter.com/FFT1776/status/2018490549733322850?s=20  interview instead of sworn testimony • Withdrawal of the subpoena before testifying • A pause on contempt proceedings • A hard 4-hour time limit • 30-minute alternating question blocks • A personal transcriber of Clinton's choosing • No video recording • Written statements for Hillary Clinton instead of appearing in person Congress said no.: No carve-outs. No special rules. No special treatment. Testify under oath. Thank you Rep. Comer https://twitter.com/RepJamesComer/status/2018740003501678769?s=20  Secretary Clinton will appear for a deposition on February 26, 2026. After delaying and defying duly issued subpoenas for six months, the House Oversight Committee moved swiftly to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings in response to their non-compliance. We look forward to now questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors. NO BODY IS ABOVE THE LAW 2725 Feb 14, 2019 11:46:33 PM EST Q !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 46cb93 No. 5182398  Chatter – Bill & Hillary's ‘public' HEALTH will begin to rapidly deteriorate. Q DOGE   illegalities that they have committed. This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings. In any event, this case will continue until justice is served. Dr. Alan Garber, the President of Harvard, has done a terrible job of rectifying a very bad situation for his institution and, more importantly, America, itself. He was hired AFTER the antisemitism charges were brought – I wonder why??? We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University. As The Failing New York Times clearly stated, “Some connected to the University, however, think Harvard has no option but to eventually cut a deal. The Administration has repeatedly attempted to cut off research grants, which would be an untenable crises. Like many major research universities, Harvard relies on federal funding for its financial model.” Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP  Macron's Authorities Raid Elon Musk's X French Offices in Paris Under the direction of France's globalist President Macron, French authorities escalated their confrontation with American tech entrepreneur Elon Musk this week, launching high-profile raids of X's offices in Paris and summoning Musk himself for what prosecutors termed a “voluntary interview.” The move marks a dramatic intensification of France's long-running effort to rein in the America-based free-speech platform. According to the Paris public prosecutor's office, the operation was carried out by French cybercrime units with assistance from Europol, targeting the French premises of X. Authorities claim the investigation centers on whether X's algorithm improperly influenced French political discourse. Summonses were issued to Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, calling them to Paris in April 2026 to answer questions related to the probe. Yaccarino, who stepped down last year, is listed alongside Musk as a manager during the period under review.   French prosecutors later broadened their inquiry, citing concerns related to X's AI chatbot Grok, including claims it produced offensive or false content. Musk's company responded by correcting errors, removing disputed posts, and publicly documenting its moderation actions—steps critics say would have been praised had they come from a European firm. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2018625815114567850?s=20 https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/2018683758006665352?s=20   far-reaching Digital Services Act thread   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2018732491125727232?s=20   with social media platforms to pressure them to censor political speech in the days before the vote. Leading up to the Dutch elections of 2023 the EU commission even made the then Dutch Interior Ministry @hugodejonge a “trusted flagger” entitled to make priority censorship requests under the DSA. What kind of political speech did they want to censor, you ask? – “Populist rhetoric” – “Anti-government/anti-EU content” – “Anti-elite” content – “Political satire” – “Anti-migrant and Islamophobic content” – “Anti-refugee content/anti-immigrant sentiment” – “Anti-LGBTQI content” – “Meme subculture” In other words, anything that goes against their agenda, anything remotely right-wing or conservative, and anything pertaining to the disastrous migrant situation we have here in Europe. And guess what the only platform was that did not cooperate? @X , of course. The same platform that the EU is fining for 120 million euros under the DSA and the same platform that is currently having its offices raided in France. This is the type of stuff over which governments should resign and institutions like the EU should fall. Democracy is dead. Abolish the EU! Now! https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2018644283096523244?s=20  turning “algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense” and developing a new system to monitor hate, “because spreading hate must come at a cost.” Geopolitical https://twitter.com/JackInTully/status/2018663771213086808?s=20   https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/2018711873240105407?s=20 War/Peace https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/2018029749889638850?s=20 https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/2018505966765924723?s=20 https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018750332231131642?s=20  has a range of options, including military force. Iran knows that better than anyone. Look no further than Operation Midnight Hammer!”    U.N. Facing ‘Imminent Financial Collapse' Admits Secretary General as Countries Won't Cough Up Membership Fees The United Nations is facing an “imminent financial collapse” as member states refuse to cough up billions of dollars in mandatory contributions. The financial woes were laid out in an emergency letter from Secretary-General António Guterres sent to all 193 member countries. Guterres said the organisation's financial crisis is worsening rapidly, threatening the delivery of core programmes and potentially leaving the U.N. bankrupt by July. He urged member states to either pay what they owe in full or agree to sweeping changes to the UN's financial rules to avoid collapse. “Either all member states honour their obligations to pay in full and on time—or member states must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse,” he wrote. The warning comes as the United States, the U.N.'s largest contributor, has refused to fund the organisation's regular and peacekeeping budgets and has withdrawn from multiple UN agencies.    The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised the U.N. for wasting taxpayer dollars, appeasing criminal regimes and infringing on the sovereignty of the U.S. and other member nations. Several other member states are also in arrears or have declined to pay their assessed contributions. Source: thegatewaypundit.com Medical/False Flags https://twitter.com/liz_churchill10/status/2018439093420536119?s=20 FBI Raids ILLEGAL Biolab Inside a Private Home in Las Vegas — Authorities Discover THOUSANDS of Vials, Links to CCP-Connected California Lab Federal agents with the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department executed a dramatic early-morning raid on a residential property in northeast Las Vegas this weekend after investigators uncovered what appears to be a fully operational illegal biological laboratory inside a private home. Refrigerators containing unknown liquids and vials of suspected biological material were found inside the residence, prompting an aggressive response from HazMat teams, SWAT units, and FBI specialists due to the potential threat presented by the materials, The Hill reported. At least one individual was taken into custody in connection with the Las Vegas raid, identified by local officials as a 55-year-old property manager, Ori Solomon. He is currently booked on felony charges linked to the improper disposal of hazardous waste, though investigators continue to determine the full scope of charges that may arise. Property records reveal that the Las Vegas home is owned by “David Destiny Discovery, LLC,” according to The Sun. If that name sounds familiar, it should. It is a shell company registered to Jia Bei Zhu (also known as David He), the very same Chinese national who ran the illegal Reedley, California biolab exposed in 2023. Zhu, a fugitive from Canada with deep ties to the Chinese government, is currently in federal custody. The FBI has taken the lead in analyzing the more than 1,000 samples collected from the scene, with evidence transported to federal laboratories for further testing. https://twitter.com/RepKiley/status/2018514131876213199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018514131876213199%7Ctwgr%5E1616a599ecdcff26961307ece268007bf47acbbc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Ffbi-raids-illegal-biolab-inside-private-home-las%2F Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018714265247453494?s=20 https://twitter.com/liz_churchill10/status/2018321118000476222?s=20   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2017614901028786500?s=20   [DS] Agenda BREAKING: Jill Biden's Ex-Husband Arrested and Charged with Murder of His Wife Jill Biden's ex-husband Bill Stevenson was charged with first-degree murder of his wife, Linda Stevenson. Last month police swarmed Stevenson's home after his wife died amid a domestic dispute. Police removed several items from the Stevenson home last month. 64-year-old Linda Stevenson, wife of Jill Biden's ex-husband Bill Stevenson, was found unresponsive after police arrived to the New Castle, Delaware, residence late Sunday night. According to TMZ, Linda Stevenson was found dead in the living room. TMZ obtained 911 dispatch audio, which references cardiac arrest: According to TMZ, Stevenson is being held on a $500,000 bond. Fox 29 reported:   Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2018513235868299678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018513235868299678%7Ctwgr%5E6abdb9eedc5852ca532cc2c248c01795a00b5389%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Fjust-days-before-ayanna-pressley-was-sworn-her%2F https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/2018549471160734081?s=20 https://twitter.com/TriciaOhio/status/2018419624295960839?s=20 https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2018741593071648855?s=20 Media's Bogus Minneapolis Narrative About to Be Nuked As DHS Turns on the Cameras Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that all immigration officers working in Minneapolis will start wearing body cameras as an added layer of protection for those officers and, presumably, against the false narratives being pushed by the left after a series of deadly officer-involved incidents in the sanctuary city. Source: redstate.com https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2018536832489889937?s=20 https://twitter.com/TriciaOhio/status/2018502877321334812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018502877321334812%7Ctwgr%5Efce8ad7eb6d8fb345b1483e2b135162684061896%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fsmoosieq%2F2026%2F02%2F03%2Ftps-decision-n2198777 for decades.   Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench. https://twitter.com/grok/status/2018537805073330361?s=20 cases like Haitians may face ongoing challenges. President Trump's Plan https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2018490184677900551?s=20 https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2018680520549257396?s=20   better. He is running because he realizes Thomas Massie has been totally disloyal to the President of the United States, and the Republican Party. He never votes for us, he always goes with the Democrats. Thomas Massie is a Complete and Total Disaster, we must make sure he loses, BIG! https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2018488252219699617?s=20 https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/2018397484209635625?s=20  to defund ICE   OPPOSE: 58% https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018712280645484664?s=20 https://twitter.com/TheStormRedux/status/2018473020835192964?s=20   complying voluntarily – They are suing the states that are not complying in the next couple weeks – 24 states + DC in current litigation because they are making all kinds of excuses Gee I wonder why these states won't share their voter rolls? Because it's all a fraud. The jig is up. Harmeet went on to specifically discuss the FBI raid in Georgia. “We're going to figure out the logistics there with the court and with our colleagues and see what those ballots show. I think it was highly unusual. A lot of things that happened in 2020 in the swing states… We're going to see what we see and whatever the evidence shows, I think it's important for the American people to know what happened in Fulton County and in Georgia…”  Don't tell me nothing is happening! WSJ Anonymous Hit Piece On Gabbard Is Based On Complaints That ‘Weren't Credible' ‘Here's the truth: There was no wrongdoing by @DNIGabbard, a fact that WSJ conveniently buried 13 paragraphs down,' a DNI official said. https://twitter.com/alexahenning/status/2018313944360702063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018313944360702063%7Ctwgr%5E2d40da39babc1191fd219e747e9e7022814c8641%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2F2026%2F02%2F03%2Fwsj-anonymous-hit-piece-on-gabbard-is-based-on-complaints-that-werent-credible%2F   Gabbard were not credible. Source: thefedearlist.com https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/2018367694823735378?s=20   fabricated source feeding supposedly ultra-sensitive information that sends everyone chasing a lie. So yes, exactly like a le Carré novel (by the way, the fraudulent Steele dossier followed the same le Carre blueprint).   https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/2018504435769520156?s=20   nation and ensure the integrity of our elections  https://twitter.com/TheStormRedux/status/2018463747095003285?s=20  willfully defrauds the residents of a state of a fair and impartial election process. “In other words, the focus of this investigation, the focus of that raid, the reason that federal judge approved that raid, was that they're looking at possible crimes related by election workers and the administration of that election in 2020.” Can't wait to see how this plays out  https://twitter.com/realLizUSA/status/2018692087345025302?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2018553787036623201?s=20   South, Midwest, and Mountain West. Democrats are largely confined to the coasts and a handful of Midwest holdouts like Illinois and Minnesota. This is where policy actually gets made. Abortion, elections, education, guns. It all starts here. https://twitter.com/CollinsforTX/status/2018698529036808560?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2018703572016287879?s=20   https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/2018717121425834279?s=20 https://twitter.com/RepLuna/status/2018480826741055929?s=20  is through the standing filibuster. This would effectively keep the government open while allowing Republican senators to break through the “zombie” filibuster and put the SAVE America Act up for a vote on the Senate floor. The standing filibuster is not common parliamentary procedure, but it is one of the only mechanisms available to go around senators who want to block voter ID. @LeaderJohnThune we are very pleased that you are discussing the standing filibuster, and we believe you will go down in history if this is pulled off as one of the best leaders the Senate has ever had. Voter ID is a must, and the ball is now in your court. https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/2018510290653155445?s=20 https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2018439757227819347?s=20   IMMEDIATELY blasted off like gangbusters. In one year we have seen more productive conservative change in the federal government than with every other GOP president since Reagan combined. Trump has significantly degraded the Deep State in a way most of us could only dream of ten years ago. Moreover, Trump's economic policies are bearing fruit right now and we will likely see a very strong economy by the midterms. But… Ah yes, the midterms. I know so many of you will only be happy when Bill Clinton, Hillary, Obama and Joe Biden are in jail, but you need to join the world of reality. Right now Trump and his team are gauging everything they do through the lens of “How will this effect the midterms?” They have sophisticated polling that you and I will never see, and at the moment every Trump action is tempered by “Let's be aggressive but not in such a way it turns public opinion against us before the midterms.” Trump knows that if he loses the midterms, all is lost. The Dems will constantly impeach him and most of his cabinet, and even if the Senate never convicts, the acts of impeachment will grind the Trump machine to a halt. The midterms are everything. So I'm warning you, from now until November you are going to see a less aggressive Trump If you are a Doomster for whom nothing is ever enough, you need to understand why that is. But here is the good news. I believe that one day after the midterms Trump will once again go shock and awe for a year, and then back off again in 2028 to get JD or Rubio elected. (For example, I can easily see Trump taking zero drastic action in the near term to further inflame the Minnesota situation, but invoking the Insurrection Act the day after the midterms and sending in the 82nd.) Since the Super Bowl is coming up, consider it this way: In the first quarter, Trump ran up the score. In the second quarter, he went prevent defense to hold onto the lead. After halftime, once again in the third quarter he will run up the score, and then hold the lead in the fourth quarter to win the game. This is not Qtard “trust the plan” nonsense. This is simply good political strategy. Everyone needs to realize two things: (1) the Constitution includes checks and balances that inherently weaken the absolute power of each branch and (2) even though they are in the minority, Democrats still have a HUGE say. Our system is DESIGNED THIS WAY. We have to account for the opposition—you cannot ignore them. With that in mind, I have every confidence that Trump and his team will navigate through a treacherous course and come out on the winning side. I’m hoping this post makes the things you see in the months ahead more comprehensible. Have a nice day. https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018742785017336107?s=20   the SAVE Act is not included in the government funding bill that advanced via the 217-215 House procedural vote on February 3, 2026. That legislation is a $1.2 trillion spending package funding most federal agencies through September 30, 2026, while extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security only through February 13, 2026, to allow for further negotiations on immigration enforcement. Efforts by some conservative Republicans to attach the SAVE Act—a separate bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration—were rejected during the process, following calls from President Trump to pass the package without changes.  (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

Guest: Sinan Ciddi. Ciddi assesses the possibility of democracy in Turkey, discussing the structural obstacles and political dynamics that shape the country's democratic trajectory.1900 TURKEY

Democracy Now! Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Investigative Reporter at 'Bette Dangerous' and Substack, Byline Times, Heidi Siegmund Cuda explains the ‘separatist' movements as part of Russian-funded active measures to weaken and overthrow democracies, giving cover for imperialist invasions. Trump is to Alberta as Putin is to Donbas. All the talk about separatists is just a cover for invasion. The imperialist idea that Ukraine is not a real country but merely Russia's “backyard” is mirrored in the American imperialist theme that Canada is not a real country but is only a dependency of the United States.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

ICE's nationwide detention system continues to expand under plans that would double its size while shielding it from meaningful accountability…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the heels of the Minnesota general strike on January 23rd, and a nationwide shutdown the following week in which millions participated, Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss the general strike tactic. How has it been used in the United States and elsewhere? Can it tip the scales against the Trump administration's attempts to roll back the gains of the Civil Rights Movement?Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

We can't avoid the files so it gets a little dark but we also get into the esoteric and fringe aspect of the latest batch of files.   We also get into the global coup. Agenda 2030, Democracy inevitable falls, Socrates and Democracy, pushback against Alberta separation, the presidential malfunctioning mask, Rabbi's in Jersey way back - when corruption actually seemed to get addressed, the NGO / BC Gov / Resource problem in Canada. The circle jerk is real. Does Canada want to lock away jab injuries?   Surrey in trouble and the risks of immigration from 1988 in Canada....   To gain access to the second half of show and our Plus feed for audio and podcast please clink the link http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support.   For second half of video (when applicable and audio) go to our Substack and Subscribe. https://grimericaoutlawed.substack.com/ or to our Locals  https://grimericaoutlawed.locals.com/ or Rokfin www.Rokfin.com/Grimerica Patreon https://www.patreon.com/grimericaoutlawed   Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Tinctures and Gummies https://grimerica.ca/support-2/ Our Adultbrain Audiobook Podcast and Website: www.adultbrain.ca Our Audiobook Youtube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@adultbrainaudiobookpublishing/videos Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com Other affiliated shows: www.grimerica.ca The OG Grimerica Show Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans  Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats   Discord Chats Darren's book www.acanadianshame.ca Eh-List Podcast and site: https://eh-list.ca/ Eh-List YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEh-List www.Rokfin.com/Grimerica Our channel on free speech Rokfin Leave a review on iTunes and/or Stitcher: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter http://www.grimerica.ca/news SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com InstaGRAM https://www.instagram.com/the_grimerica_show_podcast/  Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show www.grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter http://www.grimerica.ca/contact/ ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/  MUSIC Tru Northperception, Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com    See links to the stuff we chatted about: https://x.com/realalexjones/status/2018841058864497043?s=43 https://x.com/byzgeneral/status/2018365991059677453?s=43 https://x.com/TruthFairy131/status/2018135807115288784/photo/1 https://x.com/tpvsean/status/2018407958091010116?s=43 https://x.com/BGatesIsaPyscho/status/2017912289022685327/photo/1 https://x.com/redpillb0t/status/2015951647768555748?s=43 https://x.com/liz_churchill10/status/2018153242782298147?s=43 https://x.com/Heatherc_77/status/2017876540030378153/photo/4 https://x.com/mrsroykeaneo/status/2018243580062564846?s=43 https://x.com/iluminatibot/status/2018565139944112408?s=43 https://x.com/redpillb0t/status/2018385819753713960?s=43 https://x.com/interstellaruap/status/2018157915773792580?s=43 https://www.westernstandard.news/news/health-canada-seals-vaccine-injury-records-for-15-years/70851 https://peaceandquiet.io/ https://x.com/JimFergusonUK/status/1990395227547316324 https://x.com/brandoincognito/status/2018485979921760479?s=43 https://x.com/drawandstrike/status/2018388947353940431?s=43 https://x.com/conspiracyb0t/status/2015878928548983222?s=43 https://x.com/redpillb0t/status/2018157639033925836 https://x.com/info_maiden/status/2018765651935216016?s=20 https://x.com/AFpost/status/2017706377196802340?s=20 https://x.com/AshtonForbes/status/2017473370724372610?s=20 https://x.com/GubbaHomestead/status/2018753205673636241?s=20 https://x.com/KEriksenV2/status/2018722390029832497?s=20 https://x.com/NickHintonn/status/2018182480554275270?s=20 https://x.com/JasonLavigneAB/status/2017793593977794769?s=20 https://x.com/TheReclamare/status/2017630774162321654?s=20 https://x.com/StephenM/status/2017618266290577851?s=20 https://x.com/cosminDZS/status/2016980514922778851?s=20 https://x.com/MAVERIC68078049/status/2016568235546857656?s=20 https://x.com/MJTruthUltra/status/2016717631655432368?s=20 https://x.com/Tablesalt13/status/2016217393517781327?s=20 https://x.com/hollyanndoan/status/2016114548302840137?s=20 https://x.com/SatireSquadHQ/status/2011142499620835528?s=20 https://x.com/ezralevant/status/2011435466034184479?s=20

Former US Attorney Joyce Vance joins Dr Resa Lewiss to discuss her New York Times bestseller Giving Up is Unforgivable A Manual for Keeping a Democracy and why civic health matters now more than ever. As the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017, nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Joyce brought together communities to solve problems.  In 2017, she received the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health's Lou Wooster Public Health Hero Award for her leadership in creating a community-engaged initiative that brought together law enforcement, the medical and business communities, and educators to address the heroin and opioid epidemic in northern Alabama. Today, she's a professor at the University of Alabama  and a legal analyst for MSNow  She's also a podcaster, co-hosting #SistersInLaw the new Sisters Sidebar, and the CAFE Insider podcast with Preet Bharara. Three MicroSkills Joyce offers to listeners: 1. register to vote, 2. stay registered by checking your status 60 days before elections, and 3. make a voting plan with the goal of bringing others with you. Book Giving Up is Unforgivable Podcast Sisters in LawPodcast CAFE Insider Podcast Newsletter Civil Discourse If you enjoy the show, please leave ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ on Apple, subscribe

Headlines for February 03, 2026; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Directs Local Police to Investigate “Rogue, Reckless” ICE Agents; Philly City Council Considers “ICE Out” Legislation, as DA Krasner Decries “Wannabe Nazi” ICE Agents; Immigrant Rights Leader in Maine Says ICE Raids Caused Panic & “Wave of Fear”; ProPublica Identifies CBP Agents Who Fatally Shot ICU Nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis

The daily headlines in Trump's America feel like body blows. If you're feeling traumatized, it means you've still got a beating heart and a moral center.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

If democracy is going to survive, it has to deliver.This week, Goldy and Civic Ventures president Zach Silk are joined by Hannah Garden-Monheit, a former senior official in the Biden-Harris administration, for a conversation about one of the most urgent questions in American politics: why our government so often fails to produce visible results for working people—and what that means for what comes next.At a time when public institutions are being dismantled faster than they were ever built, this episode looks beyond easy cynicism and asks what it would take to rebuild a government people can trust, feel, and believe in again. Because the next governing moment won't just be about having the right values or policies. It will hinge on whether leaders are willing to use democratic power to make government deliver in ways that are visible, tangible, and real. Hannah Garden-Monheit is a Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project and co-author of Building a More Effective, Responsive Government, a report from the Roosevelt Institute. She previously served as Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission and as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy on the White House National Economic Council.  Further reading:  Building a More Effective, Responsive Government: Lessons Learned from the Biden-Harris Administration Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

Democracy Now! Tuesday, February 3, 2026

As more and more damning details emerge from the Epstein files, Trump's strategy to undermine our democratic elections- by means legal and illegal- are ramping up.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Trump Rebuilding the Confederacy — Starting With the Slave Patrols?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Friday, January 30, 2026 UnPacking LIVE WURD 96.1 FM & 900 AM Miracle Jones @1hoodmedia Chris Rabb @chrisrabb 02:07 Chris Rabb talks about how he has used his platform to inform and activate community 07:30 Miracle Jones unpacks QBURG article: No One Is Safe In A Police State 10:23 Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort arrested 25:39 Are the proud boys now ICE?

When federal agents kill civilians and public outrage sweeps the nation, who gets to define justified force and who gets to hold power accountable? The killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have sparked protests, national shutdowns, and fresh debate about what security should look like in America. Elizabeth Neumann, former assistant secretary for counterterrorism at the US Department of Homeland Security, joins Mark Labberton for a wide-ranging conversation about fear-based governance, moral responsibility, constitutional guardrails, and what faithful leadership looks like in a moment of political crisis. "Cruelty is a deterrent." In this episode with Mark Labberton, Neumann reflects on how Christian faith and public service shaped her national security career and why recent forceful immigration enforcement and lethal encounters challenge constitutional limits and moral clarity. Together they discuss the moral and political meaning of the Minneapolis killings, trauma and vocation, immigration enforcement and democratic consent, fear-driven leadership, and how citizens and faith communities respond when institutions break down. Episode Highlights "Cruelty is a deterrent." "I realized how much my hope and trust had been in man." "We wrapped the flag around the cross." "We see sufficiently, but not transparently." "This is not normal, and this is not okay." About Elizabeth Neumann Elizabeth Neumann is a national security expert and former assistant secretary for counterterrorism at the US Department of Homeland Security. She served across three presidential administrations, including senior roles during the George W. Bush and Trump administrations, and worked extensively on counterterrorism, prevention of political violence, and domestic extremism. A frequent public commentator and congressional witness, Neumann has become a leading voice on the moral and constitutional dangers of fear-driven governance. Her work bridges public policy, trauma studies, and Christian ethics, particularly where political power collides with faith commitments. She is the author of Kingdom of Rage, a deeply personal and analytical account of extremism, nationalism, and the cost of unexamined allegiance. Helpful Links and Resources Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Rage-Christian-Extremism-Peace/dp/1546002057 Show Notes Elizabeth Neumann's experience growing up in North Texas Faith and party loyalty culturally fused "To be a Christian meant you were a Republican." Early fascination with politics and government service University of Texas, late 1990s political climate George W. Bush campaigns as formative training ground Entry into White House work through campaign victory Faith-based initiatives before September 11 reshaped national priorities September 11 as lived experience, not abstraction Crossing the 14th Street Bridge as the attacks unfolded "We were under attack," and nothing felt safe Fog, confusion, smoke, radios, and unanswered phone calls Trauma before resilience, fear before context Learning endurance from older colleagues who said, "We will get through this." Trauma as vocational fuel Hypervigilance, workaholism, and mission-driven identity National security as moral calling rather than career ambition Warning from a CIA colleague: rebuild a cadence of normal life Vigilance versus fear-driven overwork Marriage, family, and a season of spiritual deepening Scripture as disruption: Jeremiah 17 and misplaced trust "I realized how much my hope and trust had been in man." Public policy confidence challenged as spiritual idolatry Russell Moore sermon and the shock of naming Christian nationalism "We wrapped the flag around the cross." Cultural Christianity exposed as formation, not gospel Deconstructing politics without deconstructing faith Becoming comfortable with ambiguity and moral gray Labberton on seeing "through a glass darkly" Interpretive humility versus certainty culture Returning to government during the Trump administration Saying yes out of mission, not agreement Guardrails inside government: translating impulse into lawful action Illegal orders, pressure, and survival mode governance Lafayette Square as turning point Peaceful protesters met with militarized force Optics over constitution Immigration enforcement reframed as cruelty-based deterrence "Cruelty is a deterrent." ICE, CBP, and DHS operating outside traditional norms First, Second, and Fourth Amendment violations described Warrantless searches and administrative authority Law enforcement trained for war zones policing civilian streets Rapid ICE expansion without vetting or adequate training Fear rhetoric inside agencies creating enemy mentality Officers taught to expect violence from the public Predictable escalation and preventable deaths Moral injury to agents and terror inflicted on communities "This is not normal, and this is not okay." Democracy requires consent of the governed Public trust collapsing when law breaks the law Call for stand-down, retraining, and accountability Faithful resistance as moral clarity, not partisan alignment #ElizabethNeumann #FaithAndPolitics #NationalSecurity #ImmigrationCrisis #MoralCourage #PublicFaith Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment Magazine and Fuller Seminary.  

Lindsay Langholz is joined by ACS San Diego Lawyer Chapter leaders Kevin Gregg and Emily Howe to discuss immigration cases making their way through federal courts, who gets to decide who is an American, what protection citizenship or legal status provides, and what it is like to be on the front lines of defending American democracy.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and ProgramGuest: Kevin Gregg, Partner, Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A. and ACS San Diego Lawyer Chapter LeaderGuest: Emily Howe, Principal, Law Offices of Emily E. Howe and ACS San Diego Lawyer Chapter LeaderLink: The American adoptees who fear deportation to a country they can't remember, by George WrightLink: Immigration Review Podcast, hosted by Kevin A. GreggLink: ACS National Convention 2026 Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube -----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn't.----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

This week on Rising Up For Justice, Craig Aaron the co-CEO of Free Press and Free Press Action joins us.

Headlines for February 02, 2026; “Journalism Is Not a Crime”: Georgia Fort & Don Lemon Arrested for Covering St. Paul Church Protest; “Leave Our City Now”: Minneapolis Residents March as Part of National Strike Against ICE; “Billionaire Boys Club”: What the Latest Epstein Files Reveal About Elite Impunity; FBI Raid in Georgia Is Part of “Trump’s Scheme to Try to Rig the Midterms”: Ari Berman

Democracy Now! Monday, February 2, 2026

The Manchurian Billionaire: How Trump's Rise Mirrors Every Classic Intelligence Takeover...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A closer look at the Epstein docs and the people - including Trumps nominee for Fed Chair - is mind-boggling. Are millions to complacent on the upcoming election plot? Mystery Alert. Explosive whistleblower claim against Tulsi Gabbard ‘locked in safe' by Trump - Why? Earthquake! Democrat Flips Deep-Red Texas State Senate Seat by 17 points. Pathetic Alert! Why is Trump really closing the Kennedy Center? Hint: He failed. Also John Parker of Minnesota's Progressive AM 950 Radio reports from Minneapolis. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Kari Johnstone joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they discuss how traffickers adapt fast, moving money, victims, and exploitation through digital systems most of us interact with every day, examining whether our institutions are adapting fast enough to protect victims without them risking everything to testify.Dr. Kari JohnstoneDr. Kari Johnstone is the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, representing the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe at the political level on human trafficking issues and coordinating anti-trafficking efforts across the OSCE region. Before joining the OSCE, Dr. Johnstone spent nearly a decade (2014-2023) as Senior Official, Acting Director, and Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), where she advised senior leadership on global trafficking policy and programming and oversaw the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Her extensive U.S. government service also includes senior roles in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Dr. Johnstone holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.Key PointsThe OSCE survey revealed a 17-fold increase in forced criminality cases over five years across the 57 member states, making it the fastest growing form of human trafficking globally.Forced scamming, which originated in Southeast Asia, is now being exported to other regions as criminals adopt this lucrative business model that exploits victims with brutal tactics to defraud others.Technology and artificial intelligence present both challenges and opportunities in combating trafficking, allowing law enforcement to process data more quickly to find victims and perpetrators while also being misused by traffickers for recruitment and exploitation.Financial intelligence and following the money can supplement or even replace victim testimony in prosecutions, reducing the burden on survivors and providing effective pathways to convict traffickers.The non-punishment principle remains woefully inadequate in practice worldwide, with victims often arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for crimes directly related to their trafficking experience, creating lifelong consequences that prevent access to housing, employment, and stability.The United States leads globally on criminal record relief for trafficking survivors, with 48-49 states having vacature or expungement laws and new federal legislation (Trafficking Survivor Relief Act) awaiting presidential signature, though much work remains worldwide.Victim assistance must be unlinked from the criminal justice process, allowing survivors to receive care and services first before deciding whether to cooperate with law enforcement, which actually increases the likelihood they will come forward and participate.The demographics of trafficking victims are shifting beyond stereotypes, with forced scamming targeting educated individuals with IT and language skills, while forced criminality increasingly exploits younger children, including those under age 10, for drug-related crimes and violence.ResourcesOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human BeingsProtocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (UN Palermo Protocol)UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in PersonsU.S. State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in PersonsTrafficking in Persons ReportTrafficking Survivors Relief ActEnding Human Trafficking PodcastTranscriptTranscript will be here when available.

Zachary Suri and Jeremi Suri invite Professor David Aiona Chang on to discuss the ongoing standoff between anti-ICE protesters and DHS officials in Minneapolis, exploring the historical roots, community solidarity, and broader implications for immigration policy and local resistance. Zachary sets the scene with his original poem, "Nicollet Avenue". Professor David Aiona Chang is a historian at the University of Minnesota. He studies Indigenous people, colonialism, borders and migration in Hawaii and North America, focusing especially on the histories of Native American and Native Hawaiian people, as well as the history of social movements in the United States.

AI is changing many aspects of our lives, so it's reasonable to expect that it will impact democracy, too. The question is how? Two experts in technology and politics join us to discuss how we can harness AI's power to strengthen democracy. Yes, there will be deepfakes and automated misinformation, but there can also be greater opportunities for the government to serve people and for all of us to have a greater say in our systems of self governance.In their book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship, Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders describe how AI could change political communication, the legislative process, bureaucracy, the judiciary, and more. It's a more hopeful argument than you might expect. They discuss how AI's broad capabilities can augment democratic processes and help citizens build consensus, express their voice, and shake up long-standing power structures. As they say in the interview, AI is just a tool; how we use it is up to us.Schneier is a security technologist and the New York Times bestselling author of 14 books, including A Hacker's Mind. He is a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.Sanders is a data scientist focused on making policymaking more participatory. He has served in fellowships at the Massachusetts legislature and the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard University.Related EpisodesThe Problem(s) with Platforms (Cory Doctorow)Building Better Bureaucracy (Jennifer Pahlka)Laboratories of Restricting Democracy (Virginia Eubanks)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A key insight social anthropologist Mukulika Banerjee had while observing electoral behavior in a Bengali village was that -- at least in the India of that moment -- elections were sacred. This was not a religious epiphany but a cultural one; at the center was not a figure, religious or political, but an ideal - democracy. Banerjee has explored her insights in the years since in a variety or formats, but academic and popular, ranging from her written work like 2021's Cultivating Democracy: Politics and citizenship in agrarian India or 2014's Why India Votes? to a 2009 radio documentary for the BBC specifically titled "Sacred Elections." In this Social Science Bites podcast, the professor at the London School of Economics reviews much of the underlying scholarship behind those works, then explores with host David Edmonds the de-sanctification of democracy in both India and the Global North in the years since. "I think what has happened ... in the US and in the UK," she explains, "is a complacency that regardless of whether you do your little bit, whether it is literally just turning up to vote or learning to organize and be informed politically, is going to happen regardless of whether you do it or not. And because of this complacency, is precisely why these degenerations of democracy have happened." Banerjee is the founding series editor of Routledge's Exploring the Political in South Asia and is also working on a grant from the Indo-European Networking Programme in the Social Sciences on Explanations of Electoral Change in Urban and Rural India. This year, courtesy of a British Academy-Leverhulme Senior Fellowship, she is on a research sabbatical studying the nexus of democracy and taxation.  

Give us about fifteen minutes a day, and we will give you all the local news, sports, weather, and events you can handle. SPONSORS: Many thanks to our sponsors… Annapolis Subaru, the SPCA of Anne Arundel County, MacMedics, and  Hospice of the Chesapeake.  Today... Downtown Annapolis saw a late-night shots-fired investigation on City Dock, while the city extends storm parking relief and prepares to restart sidewalk-clearing enforcement as schools shift to 2-hour delays. City Hall is also juggling key leadership transitions in Finance and Human Resources, and looking ahead, Annapolis will host a big-ticket "Democracy at 250" conversation at Maryland Hall with David Rubenstein and NBC's Andrea Mitchell. Catch today's DNB for the details and the context you won't get from the headlines alone. DAILY NEWS EMAIL LINK: https://forms.aweber.com/form/87/493412887.htm Ann Covington from CovingtonAlsina is also here with her Monday Money Report! The Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief is produced every Monday through Friday at 6:00 am and available wherever you get your podcasts and also on our social media platforms--All Annapolis and Eye On Annapolis (FB) and @eyeonannapolis (X) NOTE: For hearing-impaired subscribers, a full transcript is available on Eye On Annapolis.

The Iranian government cut off nearly all internet access on January 8 as part of a crackdown on protestors, an example of why authoritarians attempt internet blackouts—and why they don't always work the way authoritarians want them to.Guest: Steve Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Iranian government cut off nearly all internet access on January 8 as part of a crackdown on protestors, an example of why authoritarians attempt internet blackouts—and why they don't always work the way authoritarians want them to.Guest: Steve Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The MAGA movement plans to disenfranchise married women from their right to vote as the midterm elections approach. Voter suppression is the specialty of the GOP's manipulation of politics as part of a decades-long plot to prevent the will of the majority. Plus DJT attempts to game the system to take more of the tax-payers money as his tax fraud has been publicly exposed. For the Book Club, Thom reads from The Fight to Vote by Brennan Center president Michael Waldman.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Iranian government cut off nearly all internet access on January 8 as part of a crackdown on protestors, an example of why authoritarians attempt internet blackouts—and why they don't always work the way authoritarians want them to.Guest: Steve Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trump administration called Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal officers, a “domestic terrorist.” And then bystander footage flooded the internet. On this week's On the Media, how the real-time verification of video evidence is transforming public discourse. Plus, what the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis have in common with the Boston Massacre.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Brandy Zadrozny, senior enterprise reporter at MS Now, about the informal network of far-right content creators traveling to anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, and why the right-wing narrative is losing power in the face of an outpouring of bystander footage. [17:45] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Radley Balko, author of The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces, about similarities between the conditions that led to the Boston Massacre in 1770 and what we're seeing today in Minneapolis and other cities targeted by ICE operations today.[31:43] Brooke sits down with Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, to discuss his framework for the essential functions of democracy— verification, deliberation, and accountability—which have broken down into hollow performances or simulations in the United States today.  Further reading / watching:“In Minneapolis, far-right influencers frame ICE resistance as terrorism,” by Brandy Zadrozny“Two cities under siege,” by Radley Balko“Verification, Deliberation, Accountability: A new framework for tackling epistemic collapse and renewing democracy,” by Eliot Higgins and Natalie Martin On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.