Podcasts about gaslit nation

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood before a group of students and asked them: What is your life's blueprint? Nearly 60 years later, that question still echoes louder than ever. We're living in a time of weaponized exhaustion. Democracy is being undermined, basic human rights are under attack, and billionaires are playing dictator, gleefully sentencing millions to death by slashing desperately needed aid. But history shows us again and again: when the forces of destruction rise, ordinary people must rise higher. Dr. King built a movement in the face of death threats, betrayals, and overwhelming pressure to give up. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott to victory. Our Patreon community came together to discuss his powerful instructional memoir, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. We're called to lead our own. Whether you're boycotting companies that cave to fascism or marching on June 14 at the No Kings March, every action matters. Join a community, find your people, and check out the Gaslit Nation Action Guide at GaslitNationPod.com. The arc of justice won't bend itself. Our job is to build, baby, build. Build movements. Build communities. Build a world where everyone's light can shine. So what's your blueprint? The world needs your light.  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Sensitivity warning: The full conversation on Patreon includes themes related to religion and spirituality, including references to church, faith, and astrology. These topics may be sensitive or triggering for some members based on personal beliefs, experiences, or cultural backgrounds. Engage with care and take the space you need. Thank you!   Show Notes: Full discussion of Stride Toward Freedom from Gaslit Nation's salon available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/build-baby-build-130278922?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Martin Luther King, Jr.: "What Is Your Life's Blueprint?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmtOGXreTOU&t=10s   No King's March June 14 2025: https://indivisible.org/statements/indivisible-and-partners-announce-no-kings-nationwide-day-defiance-flag-day-during   Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn't True. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html   Elon Musk's Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/opinion/elon-musk-doge-usaid.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare   In addition to Musk, multiple top DOGE officials leaving Trump administration: Sources https://abcnews.go.com/US/addition-musk-multiple-top-doge-officials-leaving-trump/story?id=122321780   As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests: The president and his family have monetized the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/us/politics/trump-money-plane-crypto.html   Women account for 28% of lawmakers in the 119th Congress – unchanged from the last Congress https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/21/women-account-for-28-of-lawmakers-in-the-119th-congress-unchanged-from-the-last-congress/   The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle by Lillian Faderman https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-gay-revolution-the-story-of-the-struggle-lillian-faderman/16646200?ean=9781451694123&next=t   Musk's SpaceX town in Texas warns residents they may lose right to 'continue using' their property https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/05/29/elon-musk-spacex-starbase-texas.html  

This past year, what feels like a hundred in Trump years, Gaslit Nation listeners have asked the same question: How did we get here? The answer, though deeply unsettling, is vital to understand. It's the story of a 40-year campaign waged by far-right Christian nationalists, Big Oil, and corporate power to undermine our democracy. To help us all make sense of this crisis moment, as a firehose of corruption and racist disinformation blasts from the White House, we've created a special “Best of Gaslit Nation” episode. This powerful montage connects the dots with help from some of the most tenacious experts sounding the alarm. You'll hear from Ari Berman of Mother Jones and author of Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It; Anne Nelson, author of The Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right;  Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America, Elie Mystal of The Nation and author of Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, and more. Each voice reveals a piece of the puzzle: how the Reagan revolution, Supreme Court corruption, and dark money led us to this breaking point, unleashing Trump as their Frankenstein monster.  But this isn't just about history: it's about action. The Gaslit Nation Action Guide is your toolkit for resisting, rebuilding, and reclaiming our democracy. The darkness we face cannot withstand our collective light. So stand up. Be defiant. Shine bright. This chapter isn't the end: it's our call to build something better, together. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Two special events! This Thursday May 29 at 8pm ET, the Media and Democracy Forum will host Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes to discuss editorial cartooning's role in democracy, press freedom, and 2025's controversy involving her rejected cartoon by Washington Post editor David Shipley. RSVP here: https://www.mobilize.us/mediademocracyproject/event/768371/ June 16 at 4pm ET, Keira Havens of Citizens' Impeachment joins the Gaslit Nation salon to discuss the growing movement to demand the impeachment of Donald Trump and why it matters. Look out for a Zoom link on Patreon the morning of the event, and be sure to visit citizensimpeachment.com. Featured Episodes: Minority Rule, featuring Ari Berman https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/4/23/minority-rule   Voter Suppression Emergency: The Ari Berman Interview https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2021/6/24/voter-suppression-emergency-the-ari-berman-interview   The World Must Stand Up to Trump's America, featuring Elie Mystal https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2025/2/11/the-world-must-stand-up-to-trumps-america?rq=elie%20mystal   Bad Faith, featuring filmmaker Stephen Ujlaki https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/4/16/bad-faith   Democracy in Chains: The Nancy MacLean Interview - Part I https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2022/6/1/nancy-maclean-interview-part-01   Can the Reagan Revolution Be Undone?, featuring Jesse Eisinger https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2023/12/13/reagan-revolution-jesse-eisinger-part-2   Project 2025 Super Special, featuring Anne Nelson https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/5/21/project-2025-super-specialnbsp   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: June 16 4pm ET – Keira Havens of Citizens Impeachment joins Gaslit Nation to discuss the Trump impeachment movement; details at citizensimpeachment.com. June 30pm ET – Book club discussion of Lillian Faderman's  The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

A 2021 Department of Justice investigation concluded that former Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 13 women, fostering a toxic workplace culture defined by power abuse, intimidation, and retaliation. In 2020, Lindsey Boylan did something brave and necessary. After years of working under former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, she became the first woman to publicly accuse him of sexual harassment. Her voice cracked the silence, and eventually, 13 women in total came forward as part of a Department of Justice investigation that began under the Biden administration. That courage forced Cuomo to resign, but now he's back, eyeing one of the most powerful posts in the resistance to Trump: New York City Mayor. Boylan's story is a warning. She worked closely with Cuomo from 2015 to 2018, first as the Chief of Staff at Empire State Development and later as Deputy Secretary for Economic Development. She resigned when the environment became, in her words, “more and more toxic.” When media reports floated Cuomo possibly joining the Biden administration as Attorney General, Boylan took to Twitter, risking everything to speak out. And now? Just last week, in the middle of the NYC mayoral primary, Cuomo flirted with a female radio host on air, asking her out on a date. That's Cuomo gloating that even he can stage a comeback, like Trump, after costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in legal bills fighting sexual harrassment claims. America cannot afford a sexual predator in the White House and in charge of one of our biggest cities, especially with activists, immigrants, and real journalists increasingly vulnerable to MAGA's creeping fascism. Share this interview with voters you may know in NYC. And New Yorkers, the mayor's race matters. Use ranked-choice voting wisely: do not rank Cuomo at all. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: The woman who brought down Andrew Cuomo: ‘I dropped a nuclear bomb on my life' https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/andrew-cuomo-chris-accuser-harrassment-b1926405.html Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed at least 13 women, DOJ says https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/26/cuomo-subjected-at-least-13-women-to-sexually-hostile-environment-doj.html U.S. Department of Justice opened civil investigation into sexual harassment claims against Andrew Cuomo https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andrew-cuomo-sexual-harassment-federal-civil-investigation-department-justice/ New Yorkers Are Paying Over $60 Million for Andrew Cuomo's Legal Fights https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-24/andrew-cuomo-legal-bills-over-sex-harassment-covid-paid-by-ny-taxes                      

The Fox News Supreme Court is a political weapon, and it's being wielded to wreck what remains of American democracy. What happens if Trump declares martial law?  This week on Gaslit Nation, Andrea interviews Leah Litman, a constitutional law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, co-host of the award-winning Strict Scrutiny podcast, and author of the new book LAWLESS: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. This Court is a multi-decade effort by conservatives to seize power they couldn't win through democratic means. Litman warns about what the Fox News Court is up to. If you thought things were bad, we're staring down a term packed with cases that could fundamentally rewrite public education, religious liberty, and basic civil rights. Take Oklahoma Charter Board v. Drummond. This case actually asks whether the Constitution requires states to allow religious public charter schools. Yes, you read that right: requires. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from funding religious education. But now, thanks to the conservative justices' persecution complex, where white Christian nationalism is the most oppressed identity in America, obviously, the Court may rule that denying public funding to religious schools is unconstitutional discrimination. Then there's the challenge to a Maryland school district's decision to include LGBTQ+ inclusive books in elementary schools. A group of religious parents is arguing that merely exposing children to stories with queer characters violates their religious freedom. If the Court agrees, it could hand conservative parents a veto power over what public schools teach, effectively outlawing inclusive education if it makes anyone clutch their pearls. What Litman makes clear is that these cases are about redefining public life, turning schools into vehicles for a theocratic agenda. And let's be honest: they're not talking about funding schools for Wiccans or the Church of Satan. This is about establishing a Christian nationalism dictatorship. Yes, it can happen here. Yes, it's happening here. But we are not powerless. Reform is not a fantasy. Term limits. Ethics rules. Court expansion. These are tools, if we find the courage to use them. Because democracy doesn't die in darkness. It's strangled in broad daylight by men in robes, funded by billionaires, and broadcast live on C-SPAN. And if we don't fight back? We're just letting them get away with it. EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: May 26 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Stride Toward Freeom: The Montgomery Story Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community The recent storms have devastated so many in St. Louis, and the Urban League needs our help now more than ever. Please donate what you can to support their relief efforts and help communities rebuild: https://www.ulstl.com/#/   What's as gratifying as a Tesla Takedown protest? A Fox News Takedown protest! https://www.foxtakedown.com/

How much have the Trumps made since returning to power? According to The New York Times, a staggering $2 billion in the last month alone. From Russia to the Middle East, the Trumps have long cultivated ties with the global oligarchy, welcoming support from some of the world's most repressive regimes to gain power in 2016 and, now, to enrich themselves. You've likely heard about the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives. And perhaps you know about Trump's covert meeting with sanctioned Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during the UN General Assembly that September. But what about the August 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving the Trump campaign and envoys from several Middle Eastern dictatorships? In this week's bonus episode, we revisit the explosive 2018 reporting that detailed this secretive gathering, now more relevant than ever as Trump embarks on what can only be described as a Middle East cash-grab tour. Among the key figures: convicted pedophile and Trump ally George Nader, and Joel Zamel, an Israeli operative with links to Russian intelligence and expertise in digital influence warfare. To help make sense of the chaos, and chart a path through it, we continue our conversation with Olga Lautman, a leading expert on the Russian mafia and transnational kleptocracy. It's a deep dive into how the oligarchy operates, and how we resist it. Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make this show without you!  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: The Trumps Get Richer: We take a look at the Trump family's business deals. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/briefing/trump-family-business.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE8.DPvg.yMtnHvgKpHjK&smid=url-share   George Nader pleads guilty to child sex crimes https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/13/politics/george-nader-plea   Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html   Early Gaslit Nation episode on Andrea meeting a Russian agent in the 2016 Trump Tower meeting: https://youtu.be/gftsj4PVbvc?si=A8fGSATV1anM_AKd   Olga Lautman's Trump Tyranny Tracker: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/  

New York City's mayoral race is heating up, and into the inferno walks Brad Lander: City Comptroller, longtime progressive pain in the ass (in the best way), and, most importantly, not a corrupt tool of the oligarchy. That alone is refreshing. Lander's running on a revolutionary NYC platform: competence, decency, and not being Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, or a trash fire named Donald Trump. He's spent his career backing tenants, workers, and immigrants, including showing up at an ICE facility to demand Newark mayor Ras Baraka's release. On Gaslit Nation, Lander made it clear: he's not here to play nice with predators in power. He's here to break the cycle of corruption, fight for working people, and stop ICE from turning Rikers Island into Guantanamo East. On climate? “Climate risk is financial risk,” Lander says. His plan includes rooftop solar, ensuring net-zero emissions by 2040, and preventing your apartment from becoming a boiling deathtrap during the next heat wave. (Remember Cuomo leaving people to die in nursing homes?) As the feds abandon us under Trump and Musk, someone's got to step up. Lander wants to expand the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. And for non-New Yorkers: NYC's mayor matters nationally. This is a frontline job against elite impunity and rising autocracy. We need Lander to help rebuild democracy. Want to protect New York, and the country, from grifters like Adams and Cuomo? Use ranked-choice voting, ranking Lander #1. Then rank all the other progressives endorsed by the Working Families Party. Do not put Cuomo on your ballot. He already resigned after using his power to prey on women. Don't make us go through that again. Go to landerfornyc.com and help make New York City safer and stronger, for the sake of its residents and all of America. Share this interview with the New Yorkers in your life to help stop Cuomo and elect Lander New York City's next mayor.  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

Welcome to the jetstream, where elite criminal impunity flies above laws and accountability. Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman joins Gaslit Nation to connect the global dots on oligarchy in the White House.  We start with Qatar, a small but powerful gas station dictatorship, and a leading financier of terrorists. Once diplomatically isolated for its links to fellow terror-state Iran as well as groups linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS, Qatar has been back in business, brokering nuclear talks with Russia and Iran, investing billions with the Kremlin, propping up Hamas, and gifting Trump a $400,000 luxury jet, dubbed a “flying palace.” National security risk? Absolutely. Surveillance threat? Almost certainly. Bribery? Looks like it. But what is Qatar getting in return? Qatar, the second-largest buyer of U.S. weapons, after its nemesis Saudi Arabia, recently secured a $2B U.S. arms deal, thanks to Trump. It also invested $10 billion in a Texas-based natural gas venture that requires federal oversight, under Trump. Andrea and Olga go through all the ways Trump and Qatar enjoy kleptocratic quid-pro-quo, and years of Trump's Middle East-linked corruption that illegally helped him come to power in 2016, enriching him and his family, Kremlin-style.  This week's bonus show, available for subscribers at the Truth-teller level ($5/month) and higher, looks at ways to stay grounded and fight back in the deliberately engineered chaos of oligarchy and its firehose of corruption. Be sure to sign up for a discounted annual subscription to get bonus shows, all shows ad-free, and more. To our subscribers at the Democracy Defender level ($10/month), look out for our Q&A call for questions soon to help shape the show. Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make the show without you. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Qatar, Russia sign agreement to jointly invest 2 billion euros into sovereign wealth funds https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250423-qatar-russia-sign-agreement-to-jointly-invest-2-billion-euros-into-sovereign-wealth-funds/ Michael Flynn, Russia and a Grand Scheme to Build Nuclear Power Plants in Saudi Arabia and the Arab World https://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/23/flynn-russia-nuclear-energy-middle-east-iran-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-donald-623396.html Why Qatar is Bribing Trump https://open.substack.com/pub/popularinformation/p/why-qatar-is-bribing-trump?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2mrjsl House Democrats ask Trump for proof he did not take $10 million 'cash bribe' from Egypt https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/03/trump-egypt-democrats-letter.html Trump touts Saudi relationship as "bedrock of security and prosperity" amid $600 billion investment deal https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-speaking-us-saudi-investment-summit-riyadh/ 2 Trump-aligned GOP operatives face foreign agent charges for helping Qatar https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/02/trump-gop-qatar-00133567 Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G08.dUBd.YVKXSVfgqo8i&smid=url-share The Qatar bribery allegations featuring Trump, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, and the Steele dossier, explained https://theweek.com/speedreads/773479/qatar-bribery-allegations-featuring-trump-michael-cohen-michael-flynn-steele-dossier-explained Qatar pursues US-Iranian nuclear steps after detainee swap https://www.reuters.com/world/qatar-pursues-us-iranian-nuclear-steps-after-detainee-swap-2023-09-20/ Exclusive: Qatar held separate talks with US, Iran touching on nuclear, drones https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/qatar-held-separate-talks-with-us-iran-touching-nuclear-drones-2023-09-20/ Iran seeks Russia's support for its nuclear talks with US https://apnews.com/article/iran-russia-us-nuclear-negotiations-2bae3b073bcac464ad9b44a8d5a4c581 EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: May 26 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Stride Toward Freeom: The Montgomery Story Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

Fifteen years after Sarah Silverman's viral call to “Sell the Vatican, Feed the World,” we now have a “Marxist Pope,” according to Trump stormtrooper Laura Loomer, and our wildest dreams. This week for Gaslit Nation's bonus show, we dive into the groundbreaking election of the first American pope, Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, whose ancestry ties him to Black lineage. While many celebrate this historic milestone, deeper questions remain.  Most crucially, Pope Leo's stance on Opus Dei, a secretive, powerful crime cult aligned with far-right politics and accused of human trafficking and labor abuses, remains unclear, especially given his close connections to Opus Dei in Peru. By Vatican standards, Pope Francis launched an open war on Opus Dei. (Fun fact: Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent and traitor who spied for the Kremlin, was an Opus Dei member).  Pope Francis began the work of reigning in Opus Dei's unchecked power. Pope Leo, seen as a moderate administrator, played both sides during his tenure in Peru, where Opus Dei holds sway. Will he now take bold action to finish Francis's mission, and protect the world from Opus Dei, especially America where Opus Dei has been expanding its influence in Washington, DC, thanks to allies Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society and Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025?  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: May 26 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Show Notes:   ‘Papabile' of the Day: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-robert-francis-prevost   Trump's New Favorite Adviser Starts MAGA Meltdown Over ‘TDS' Pope https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-new-favorite-advisor-laura-loomer-starts-maga-meltdown-over-tds-pope/   The Far Right is Coming for the Vatican https://www.americanfreakshow.news/p/the-far-right-is-coming-for-the-vatican   Catholic Church To Excommunicate Priests for Following New US State Law https://www.newsweek.com/catholic-church-excommunicate-priests-following-new-us-state-law-2069039   Opus Dei: The Gaslit Nation Gareth Gore Interview: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/12/31/opus-dei?rq=Gareth%20Gore   Mafia boss breaks silence over Roberto Calvi killing: This article is more than 13 years old Godfather turned supergrass accused of murder of 'God's banker' claims case will never be solved https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/12/roberto-calvi-blackfriars-bridge-mafia   Surveillance Self-Defense: A Presentation by the Gaslit Nation Security Committee https://www.patreon.com/posts/surveillance-128381880?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link   Parable of the Sower: Gaslit Nation Book Club Discussion: https://www.patreon.com/posts/zoom-link-for-et-128213704?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Trump keeps tapping his favorite Fox talent pool to help fill government jobs. This time, Judge Jeanine Pirro will be stepping in to head the largest U.S. Attorney's office in the country. Trump wants Pirro to be the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. but there's no word on whether that comes with the possibility of permanence. We have a great guest lineup on today's Mark Thompson Show, including author Sarah Kendzior. In addition to her many books, including: They Knew, Hiding in Plain Sight, The View From Flyover Country and Thd Last American Roadtrip, Sarah Kendzior cohosted the podcast “Gaslit Nation” covering corruption in the US and the rise of autocracy. We'll talk politics with our favorite duo: journalists Michael Shure and Jim Avila. Then we press the fun button for “Friday Fabulous Florida” and The Culture Blaster Michael Snyder will slide in with plenty of pop culture love, movie reviews, and more.

In 1816, 18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (later Shelley) birthed science fiction during a rainy vacation on Lake Geneva. Inspired by a vision of a man crouched beside the corpse he reanimated, Frankenstein warned of what happens when man tries to play God. Two centuries later, the monsters are real, and they're called Musk, Altman, and Zuckerberg. Today's tech titans, like Frankenstein's Victor, race to build superintelligent machines in their image: soulless wannabe-gods with devastating reach. Gil Duran, of the Nerd Reich newsletter, connects this to A.I. worship, quoting a billionaire obsessed with “creating God” through algorithms. M.I.T.'s annotated Frankenstein likens Victor's horror to Oppenheimer's nuclear regret. We've entered a new atomic age, but instead of bombs, it's information weapons and hacked minds. As Pulitzer-nominated journalist Carole Cadwalladr warns, this is what a digital coup looks like. A.I. is trained to replace journalists, strip away privacy, and deepen inequality, just as Gaslit Nation has warned since 2018. What's the answer? Community. Skill-sharing. Nature. The real world. Jack Welch, once worshipped like Musk is today, gutted G.E. with fear-based leadership. Now he's a cautionary tale. So will today's tech gods be. Mary Shelley saw it coming. “Frightful must it be,” she wrote. We agree. But there's power in human connection, in rejecting the machine's illusions. Frankenstein's monster was abandoned. Let's not abandon each other. Join our resilience salons. Find your people. Build the future together. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes   The song you heard in this week's episode is “Unspoken Word” by Evrette Allen: https://soundcloud.com/user-726164627/unspoken-word-mix-13/s-GEvlnfQnmh4?si=954f31de09d644948d51a225224bd7ba&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing   Nerd Reich: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-strange-and-twisted-life-of-frankenstein   After two hundred years, are we ready for the truth about Mary Shelley's novel? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/the-strange-and-twisted-life-of-frankenstein   Astronomers have determined the exact hour that Mary Shelley thought of Frankenstein. https://lithub.com/astronomers-have-determined-the-exact-hour-that-mary-shelley-thought-of-frankenstein/   AI's Energy Demands Are Out of Control. Welcome to the Internet's Hyper-Consumption Era Generative artificial intelligence tools, now part of the everyday user experience online, are causing stress on local power grids and mass water evaporation. https://www.wired.com/story/ai-energy-demands-water-impact-internet-hyper-consumption-era/   Short-term profits and long-term consequences — did Jack Welch break capitalism? https://www.npr.org/2022/06/01/1101505691/short-term-profits-and-long-term-consequences-did-jack-welch-break-capitalism   Carole Cadwalladr TED Talk: This Is What a Digital Coup Looks Like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZOoT8AbkNE   Self-styled prophets are claiming they have "awakened" chatbots and accessed the secrets of the universe through ChatGPT https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-spiritual-delusions-destroying-human-relationships-1235330175/

This week, Canadians didn't just politely shuffle into voting booths: they kicked the door down and destroyed Conservative leader and longtime MAGA fanboy Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat to Bruce Fanjoy (who we're now, quite literally, major fans of. More on him in this episode!) Meanwhile, here in the U.S., specifically kleptocrat-besieged New York City, we've got our own political swamp to drain. Mayor Eric Adams, who once likened himself to Biden, now seems more Nixonian, dodging Department of Justice corruption charges by reportedly cozying up to Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson. The result? NYC turned into an ICE command center for Trump's creeping authoritarianism, part of a wannabe-gulag stretching from New York to El Salvador. On this week's Gaslit Nation, Andrea and Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack celebrate Canada's heroic stand and urge the world to focus on NYC's upcoming Democratic mayoral primary June 24, one of the most pivotal fronts in the global fight against kleptocracy and for the soul of America. The Left must reclaim “socialism” as quality of life advocacy, building better schools, healthcare that won't bankrupt you, and a social safety net for all, not just those who can afford one. We highlight two standout challengers: Comptroller Brad Lander, a fierce Ukraine supporter who led the effort to divest the City's pension from Russian investments, and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who led a hunger strike for taxi driver debt relief. The question isn't just who can beat Adams, who's running as an independent, and predator Andrew Cuomo, desperate for a comeback. It's who has the record to lead New York in resisting Trump and dismantling the oligarchy. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes: Opening clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahh0jINl-PU   Canadian election: https://bsky.app/profile/youranoncentral.bsky.social/post/3lnwgjxcnk22l   Bruce Fanjoy's Green House: This big blue house runs green and clean https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/28/news/big-blue-house-runs-green-and-clean   Here's who's running for New York City mayor in 2025 Get to know the candidates in a wide, weird and unsettled field. https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/04/heres-whos-running-new-york-city-mayor-2025/401994/   Ukraine is the front line in the battle against oligarchic capitalism: The war in Ukraine is not just a fight for sovereignty, but a battle against the global rise of oligarchical capitalism, with the future of democracy and economic justice at stake. https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-is-the-front-line-in-the-battle-against-oligarchic-capitalism/   Adams to skip New York City's Democratic primary, run for reelection on nonpartisan line: The mayor has been at odds with his party and wants time to recover from now-dismissed federal charges. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/03/eric-adams-reelection-independent-00267865   Judge Ends Eric Adams Case, but Sharply Criticizes Trump's Justice Dept. Judge Dale E. Ho refused to let the government leave open the prospect of reinstating charges against the mayor. But he acknowledged the president's power to determine the fate of prosecutions. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/nyregion/eric-adams-case-dismissed.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DU8.N7E9.W-opYY3A0W4N&smid=url-share   Adams Doubles Down on Trump Alliance, Praising F.B.I. Director's Book: In the mayor's first comments after a judge ordered corruption charges against him dropped, he urged New Yorkers to read a book by the Trump administration's F.B.I. director. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/nyregion/eric-adams-kash-patel-book.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DU8.FskD.fhDP-pm2rpfe&smid=url-share   Incumbents are losing around the world, not just the U.S. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2024/11/14/incumbents-are-losing-around-the-world-not-just-the-u-s   ICE Blocked from Rikers as Judge Extends Order Halting Cooperation With Feds https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/25/ice-trump-rikers-eric-adams-city-council/   The Great Hack: The Cambridge Analytica documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8GxLP1FHo   The Bibi Files episode https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/hitler-youth   Stop Netanyahu's Political Purge of the Defense Establishment https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2025-02-20/ty-article-opinion/stop-netanyahus-political-purge-of-the-defense-establishment/00000195-2008-d2a5-a39d-e778797b0000   Russia used hundreds of fake accounts to tweet about Brexit, data shows https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/14/how-400-russia-run-fake-accounts-posted-bogus-brexit-tweets   Trump fraud ruling adds to his string of legal losses in New York https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-fraud-ruling-new-york-legal-losses/ EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: June 2nd 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

There's a reason the loudest voices online are often the least helpful. The edgelords, those who posture with performative rage, contrarian hot takes, and a cynical flair for nihilism, aren't trying to build anything. Their goal isn't liberation. It's clout. But we don't have time for clout. We're living through a coordinated, well-funded, global assault on democracy. In the U.S., basic freedoms are under attack, from reproductive rights to the ability to teach honest history in schools. While the edgelords are busy fighting each other for likes and retweets, authoritarians are organizing, legislating, and winning. We need to focus. Real change happens when people organize, not just online, but in communities, city councils, state legislatures, and the courts. Building political power means showing up to vote, yes, because not voting is voting, but also recruiting candidates, knocking on doors, demanding judicial accountability, and refusing to be distracted by culture war bait. Want to know who to trust in the influencer economy's crowded marketplace of ideas? Prioritize the voices who are brave and smart by pointing out the obvious truth: the only way out is by building political power. The far-right knows that, which is why they work so hard to suppress the vote. Political power is what taxes the rich, enforces the good laws we have, repeals the bad ones, and forces accountability. You cannot do those things unless you are in power. So ignore the noise. Turn down the doomscrolling and tune in to your community. Find the people doing the work: mutual aid organizers, voting rights advocates, school board watchdogs, and back them up. Ignore the edgelords. Build political power. It's the only way we win. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:  Opening Clip: Pat Bondi pretends to care about the rule of law: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lnnprevixu2y Bella Ciao by Pink Martini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksj5lCh-JSo Terrell Starr's Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack: https://terrellstarr.com/ FBI arrests Milwaukee judge, alleging she interfered in immigration operation https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-arrests-milwaukee-judge-alleging-interfered-immigration-operation-rcna203006 Former New Mexico judge and wife arrested on charges of tampering with evidence linked to suspected Tren de Aragua member https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/us/new-mexico-judge-arrested-tren-de-aragua/index.html EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  

Welcome to Gaslit Nation, where the firestorm of corruption meets the firehose of resistance. Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack, recently home from Ukraine–the frontline of showing the world how to stand up and fight, joins Andrea to discuss how good Democrats, and We the People they serve, have a lot of power, if we remain defiant. Senator Chris Van Hollen provided an urgent reminder of this as he warned El Salvador's wannabe strongman Nayib Bukele: the U.S. isn't the only power player in the world, and the international community is watching. This came after Van Hollen was denied access to the Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, abducted by Trump's agents, wrongfully deported, and sent illegally to El Salvador's notorious gulag. Yet Van Hollen didn't back down. Even with the White House under occupation by a Russian asset, we still wield power.  The energy in the country is shifting. Over 1,500 “Hands Off!” marches just shook the ground in all 50 states, powered by everyone from labor unions to LGBTQ+ activists to veterans' groups. One Southern white man waved a giant American flag with a giant Ukrainian flag at a protest in Virginia, while wearing a MAGA-looking red cap that said: “My Grandpa Killed Nazis.” Trump's approval is slipping. The push for impeachment is gaining steam thanks to the grassroots movement CitizensImpeachment.com. And while spineless Republicans like Lisa Murkowski make excuses instead of calling for the impeachment of a lawless would-be dictator, people are waking up. We're in a fight for accountability, truth, and justice, and we will win. Don't let disillusionment or complacency stop you from building a world that's fair, just, and truly livable for everyone. We're not just witnessing history. We're shaping it. So let's keep pushing. Join a Tesla Takedown protest near you, demand your reps in the House call for impeachment, help good people run for office and primary Do-Nothing Dems, ignore the cynical edge lords, and stay creative and defiant as we shine our collective light.  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:  CitizensImpeachment.com – track which members of Congress are calling for impeachment and how to pressure others to join the movement for accountability and justice: https://citizensimpeachment.com/ Terrell Starr's Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack: https://terrellstarr.substack.com/ Sen. Chris Van Hollen says Salvadoran government "tried really hard" to prevent him from seeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-van-hollen-interview-kilmar-abrego-garcia-visit/ Opening clip: Senator Chris Van Hollen's press conference in El Salvador https://x.com/tify330/status/1913040416611455142?t=W4mDUace_uXsVWOdt8de7A&s=19   US paying El Salvador $6M to jail hundreds of Venezuela gang suspects: ‘Pennies on the dollar' https://nypost.com/2025/03/17/us-news/us-paying-el-salvador-6m-to-jail-venezuela-gang-suspects-pennies-on-the-dollar/   Anti-Trump rallies held across the U.S. to protest administration's policies https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anti-trump-rallies-hands-off-administration-washington-new-york-boston/   Financial Times on Trump trying to stay in powe foreverr: https://x.com/bennpeifert/status/1913040600791945568?t=j0g7J1AFiX9hSKFXDSskbg&s=19   Trump's illegal kidnapping of peopl and sending them to El Salvador using tax payer money is highly illegal: https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1912960051326623796?t=AZSVz6PSyCN4TkPbh6vdYg&s=19   FSU student and Parkland survivor describes experiencing second school shooting: "This is America" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fsu-student-parkland-survivor-school-shooting/   Schiff and Raskin push for accountability: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElEVeJA-byE   Resistance video by the South Korean Activist: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1043733301107315   Stacey Abrams on how is taking your medicine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff2LVuUbtMQ   Native Land Pod We Been Outside: Gen Z Responds to Roland Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6_C4TQF4U  5051: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/   Is this Gen Z's Most Dangerous Candidate? (w/ Kat Abughazaleh)”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3daDf_iih5g   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

Thank you to all who joined our live-taping last Monday with senior advisors from Judge Susan Crawford's team that defeated Elon Musk, who lost bigly even after handing out million dollar checks.  Patrick Guarasci, chief political strategist for Judge Crawford, and Sam Roecker, senior campaign advisor and communications lead, share how they pulled off a landmark win in Wisconsin's pivotal Supreme Court race, offering a blueprint for reclaiming power in GOP-dominated states. In Wisconsin, the land of cheese, beer, and GOP ratf*cking, progressives scored a major victory. And they did it despite daunting odds, including opposition from none other than the world's richest man/psychopath. When Musk is not launching cars into space or tweeting himself into SEC investigations, he has been throwing his weight, and giant checks, behind efforts to tilt the judiciary in his favor. Judge Crawford's campaign wasn't about crypto hype or culture war distractions; it was about qualifications, a smart strategy, and staying laser-focused on issues people actually care about: reproductive rights, fair electoral maps, and keeping the courts independent. This wasn't just a Wisconsin win. It was a blueprint for how to beat big money with big people power. Students, first-time voters, and folks who typically only turn out for Packers games showed up in force. The lesson? When campaigns speak to real concerns and mobilize communities, they can overcome even the deepest pockets. Senator Ron Johnson, MAGA/Russia loyalist and 2028 re-election hopeful, might want to start updating his résumé. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

The Tech Bros., like Elon Musk and JD Vance puppetmaster Peter Thiel, see Trump as a means to an end: to build their own tech-state fiefdoms as they usher in the A.I. age, at the expense of us peasants. But can this unholy alliance survive Trump's disastrous trade war? And why do they fetishize hating Ukraine?  This week's special guest, Adrian Karatnycky, has been on the frontlines fighting for democracy both at home and abroad. In his critically acclaimed book Battleground Ukraine, Adrian traces Ukraine's struggle for independence from the fall of the Soviet Union to Russia's genocidal invasion today, drawing important lessons for protecting democracies worldwide. He has worked alongside civil rights legend Bayard Rustin and the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in America. He also supported Poland's Solidarity movement, which helped bring down the Iron Curtain, and played a key role, along with iconic Soviet dissident, writer, and Czech statesman Václav Havel, in preserving Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in the 1990s, when many thought the Cold War had ended.  In part two, we discuss the PayPal Mafia's war on Ukraine as part of a broader global assault on "wokeism" (a.k.a. Empathy and democracy), Adrian's impressions of meeting Curtis Yarvin, and how the war in Ukraine can ultimately end. For part one of their discussion, available in the show notes, Andrea and Adrian explore how Europe and the free world can survive the chaos of Trump's America First isolationism and Russia's weaponized corruption and election interference.  Thank you to everyone who joined the Gaslit Nation Salon live-taping with Patrick Guarasci and Sam Roecker, senior campaign advisors for Judge Susan Crawford, discussing their victory against Elon Musk in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The recording will be available as this week's bonus show.  Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make the show without you!  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes: Battleground Ukraine: From Independence to the War with Russia by Adrian Karatnycky https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300269468/battleground-ukraine/ Part I of Our Discussion: Can the Free World Survive Putin and Trump? https://sites.libsyn.com/124622/can-the-free-world-survive-trump-and-putin   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community   

In a powerful callout, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Congress and the White House over insider trading. Elected officials shouldn't hold stocks—period. While Martha Stewart went to prison for it, members of Congress routinely outperform the market, raising red flags of insider trading. Donald Trump, for example, told people to buy stocks just before pausing tariffs, triggering a historic $304 billion windfall for billionaires, according to Bloomberg. How many people did Trump tell in private before hitting send on that social media post? Because that would be insider trading.  Corruption flows freely in America—like cheap wine at Mar-a-Lago. Now, MAGA Republicans are pushing the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. It's voter suppression dressed up as security. Noncitizen voting is extremely rare, but this bill could disenfranchise millions—including women who changed their names for marriage and trans Americans. It's essentially a poll tax, nationalizing Jim Crow. Democrats could stop it in the Senate—unless a handful cave. Four House Democrats already backed it. If passed, this could become the next Citizens United, further empowering oligarchs like Elon Musk and paving Trump's path to authoritarian rule. What can you do? Show up. Protest. Call your senators, especially those who caved on the budget battle. Demand accountability. And yes, let's talk about AOC primarying Chuck Schumer or Kirsten Gillibrand—New York, an the nation, deserves better. For more on how to fight back, check the Gaslit Nation Action Guide at GaslitNationPod.com. Join us Monday, April 14, for a salon on defeating oligarchy, with special guests–Patrick Guarasci and Sam Roecker, senior advisors to Judge Susan Crawford's victorious Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign. Together, we're sand in their gears. In this week's bonus show, Gaslit Nation's special guest Adrian Karatnycky takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. Adrian has been on the frontlines fighting for democracy both at home and abroad. In his critically acclaimed book Battleground Ukraine, he traces Ukraine's struggle for independence from the fall of the Soviet Union to Russia's genocidal invasion today, drawing important lessons for protecting democracies worldwide. He has worked alongside civil rights legend Bayard Rustin and the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in America. He also supported Poland's Solidarity movement, which helped bring down the Iron Curtain, and played a key role, along with iconic Soviet dissident, writer, and Czech statesman Václav Havel, in preserving Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in the 1990s, when many thought the Cold War had ended.  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 14 4pm ET – Live-taping with Patrick Guarasci, chief political strategist for Judge Susan Crawford, discussing their campaign's victory against Elon Musk in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race! April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Show Notes:  Here Are the Senate Democrats Who Helped Republicans Avert a Shutdown https://time.com/7268499/senate-democrats-budget-vote/ Will They Help MAGA Pass the SAVE Act? Here's How to Contact Them: https://www.congressionalinstitute.org/contact-congress/ Four Democrats Pass Bill Making It Harder for Married Women to Vote The House of Representatives—with the help of four Democrats—just passed a bill that could disenfranchise millions. https://newrepublic.com/post/193868/democrats-save-act-bill-harder-married-women-vote The SAVE Act threatens to block millions of Americans from voting while also imposing significant burdens on state and local election officials. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/dangers-congresss-latest-election-bill 3.5 Million Votes Canceled in 2024 Election: https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/will-we-have-free-and-fair-elections-in-the-midterms U.N. expert decries near 'tyranny' in U.S. against minority voting rights https://www.reuters.com/world/us/un-expert-decries-gerrymandering-parts-us-that-denies-minority-voting-rights-2021-11-22/ Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes, on his visit to the United States of America https://www.splcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/files/report-un-special-rapporteur-minority-issues-march-2022.pdf Attack on Civil Rights: SPLC contributes to UN special report on state of minorities in the US https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/attack-civil-rights-splc-contributes-un-special-report-state-minorities-us/ Members of Congress again outperformed the stock market, report shows https://finance.yahoo.com/news/members-congress-again-outperformed-stock-162050482.html Andrew Ross Sorkin Suggests Government Officials May Have Sold Stocks Ahead of Trump Tariffs: ‘Would Not Shock Me' https://www.mediaite.com/tv/andrew-ross-sorkin-suggests-government-officials-may-have-sold-stocks-ahead-of-trump-tariffs-would-not-shock-me/ Ocasio-Cortez: Colleagues ‘should probably disclose' recent stock purchases now https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5242235-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-congress-stock-donald-trump-tariffs/ The Power of the Powerless by Vaclav Havel October, 1978 https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/1979/01/the-power-of-the-powerless.pdf

This week's special guest, Adrian Karatnycky, has been on the frontlines for decades fighting for democracy both at home and abroad. In his critically acclaimed book Battleground Ukraine, Adrian traces Ukraine's struggle for independence from the fall of the Soviet Union to Russia's genocidal invasion today, drawing important lessons for protecting democracies worldwide. He has worked alongside civil rights legend Bayard Rustin and the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in America. He also supported Poland's Solidarity movement, which helped bring down the Iron Curtain, and played a key role in preserving Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in the 1990s, when many thought the Cold War had ended.  In part one of their discussion, Andrea and Adrian explore how Europe and the free world can survive the chaos of Trump's America First isolationism and Russia's weaponized corruption and election interference. In part two, they discuss the PayPal Mafia's war on Ukraine as part of a broader global assault on "wokeism" (a.k.a. empathy and democracy), Adrian's impressions of meeting Curtis Yarvin, and how the war in Ukraine can ultimately end. A big thank you to everyone who joined the Gaslit Nation Salon hosted by our Security Committee, which shared valuable insights on protecting our digital worlds in these dystopian times. The recording will be available soon on Patreon. Our next salon is Monday, April 14 at 4pm ET, featuring Patrick Guarasci, chief political strategist for Judge Susan Crawford, discussing their campaign's victory against Elon Musk in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The Zoom link will be available on Patreon Monday morning. Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make the show without you!    EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 14 4pm ET – Live-taping with Patrick Guarasci, chief political strategist for Judge Susan Crawford, discussing their campaign's victory against Elon Musk in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race! April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower   Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet?: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community    Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Battleground Ukraine by Adrian Karatnycky https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300269468/battleground-ukraine/   Exclusive: Russia could concede $300 billion in frozen assets as part of Ukraine war settlement, sources say https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-could-concede-300-bln-frozen-assets-part-ukraine-war-settlement-sources-2025-02-21/   Who is Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's Trump-whisperer: Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, has become a key figure in the Kremlin's outreach to the Trump administration. https://kyivindependent.com/whos-kirill-dmitriev-putins-trump-whisperer/   Nerd Reich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiju_ky55EI  

Why did Trump hit 185 countries with tariffs, even uninhabited islands of penguins near Antarctica, but not Russia and its vassal state Belarus, used to wage Russia's genocidal invasion of Ukraine? It's almost like Trump is a Russian asset, repaying Russia for helping him rise to power twice and for all the easy money he received over the years when no credible institution would lend to this trust-fund kid who went bankrupt six times. But why crash the global economy? The answer only makes sense if you're Putin. As a dictator with no electoral pressure, Putin benefits from destabilizing democracies. By causing economic chaos, he weakens his competitors and fuels backlash against incumbents—exactly what helped Trump return to power in 2024. When you factor in election hacking and influence operations, it becomes clear: crashing the global economy gives the Kremlin an advantage in manipulating elections worldwide. This pressure on elected officials, like Keir Starmer in the UK or Macron in France, plays into Putin's hands. Trump's actions seem to align with that strategy. In this week's bonus episode, we discuss Gene Sharp's From Dictatorship to Democracy from our recent Gaslit Nation book club. On April 7 at 4 PM ET, the Security Committee will present on protecting our digital world in a dystopian era. Then, on April 14, we'll host a live taping with Patrick Guarasci, strategist behind Judge Susan Crawford's victory in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, to discuss how to fight and win righteous battles, even if you're up against the richest man in the world.  Thank you to all who support Gaslit Nation–we could not make the show without you!  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:  Read From Dictatorship to Democracy. It's free! https://archive.org/details/from_dictatorship_to_democracy_1306_librivox Trump's tariffs: Why are Russia and Belarus spared? https://www.dw.com/en/trumps-tariffs-why-are-russia-and-belarus-spared/a-72150328  Opening: https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3llwfjnhjwc22   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

Romania made headlines—and shocked the world—when it annulled a presidential election at the end of last year, citing evidence of foreign interference aimed at supporting a pro-Russian far-right candidate. It was a bold and necessary move, one that stands in stark contrast to what the U.S. should have done—and is now facing the consequences for not doing. But why would Romania take such a decisive stand? The answer lies in its history. Romania's Moscow-backed dictatorship was among the most brutal behind the Iron Curtain, a painful past that still unites much of the country today. In this week's episode, we delve into Romania's complex history, weaving in a personal story from Andrea's own family. Her father-in-law, Mihai Victor Serdaru, a medical student in 1956 Bucharest, attempted to lead a student protest in solidarity with the Hungarian Uprising next door. To help make sense of her years of research, Andrea turned to Dr. Corina Snitar, a historian and Lecturer in Central and Eastern European Studies at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Dr. Snitar is the author of Opposition, Repression, and Cold War: The 1956 Student Movement in Timișoara and contributed the chapter Women's Experiences of 1956: Student Protesters and Partisans in Romania to the book Women's Experiences of Repression in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The discussion of how to topple a dictator will continue in this week's bonus show for our Patreon community, where we'll dive into a lively book club salon for political scientist Gene Sharp's revolutionary handbook, From Dictatorship to Democracy. Sharp's work has inspired liberation movements worldwide, and we'll explore its urgent lessons for us today. Look for that on Friday. A huge thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you! “Just as military officers must understand force structures, tactics, logistics, munitions, the effects of geography, and the like in order to plot military strategy, political defiance planners must understand the nature and strategic principles of nonviolent struggle.” ― Gene Sharp, From Dictatorship to Democracy   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!    Show Notes: 100 Organizations Supporting Trans People in All 50 States Discover the organizations working tirelessly to support trans people across the country and combat anti-trans legislation. Read more: https://www.them.us/story/orgs-fighting-back-anti-trans-legislation The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix Watch the powerful trailer for The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, a documentary about the life and legacy of a pioneering activist. Watch the trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pADsuuPd79E MAGA Influencer Ashley St. Claire Returns Her Tesla Ashley St. Claire calls out Elon Musk for being a deadbeat dad as she returns her Tesla. Watch the video: https://x.com/esjesjesj/status/1906741930467225671 Elon Musk Says His DOGE Role is Hurting Tesla's Stock Price In a candid interview, Elon Musk admits that his involvement with DOGE is impacting Tesla's stock price. Read more on CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-doge-very-expensive-job-tesla-stock-down-wisconsin/ Donald Trump Gives DOGE Update as Musk Announces He'll Step Down in May Elon Musk confirms he'll step down from his role in May. Details on Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-gives-doge-update-elon-musk-says-hell-step-down-may-2053368 Trump Won't Rule Out a Third Term, Says 'There Are Methods' Donald Trump hints at the possibility of a third term in the White House, stating there are ways to make it happen. Read more on NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-third-term-white-house-methods-rcna198752 Dr. Corina Snitar's Bio Learn more about Dr. Corina Snitar, a respected scholar and educator in social and political studies. Read her bio: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/corinasnitar/ TeslaTakeDown.com Join the Tesla protest here! It's fun and easy. Learn more at TeslaTakeDown.com DOGE Hitler Youth DOGE Teen owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC' and worked at a startup that has hired convicted hackers. Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive U.S. government systems. Read more on Wired: https://www.wired.com/story/edward-coristine-tesla-sexy-path-networks-doge/ Introducing ArchiveGate: Trump's Dangerous Attack on the National Archives  Listen to the episode: https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/introducing-archivegate-trumps-dangerous-attack-on-the-national-archives MAGA Reddit Reacts to Trump Seeking a Third Term  Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Conservative/comments/1jnkvv0/trump_teases_running_for_a_third_term_not_joking/ EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

If you thought SignalGate was bad, wait until you hear about ArchiveGate. Trump illegally fired the National Archivist—the first president in U.S. history to do so since the position was established in the 1930s. This wasn't just about a change in leadership; it was revenge on the Archivist's office alerting the DOJ about Trump's stolen classified documents, which were stored around Mar-a-Lago, a known hub for foreign spies.  But it gets worse. Marco Rubio, who is currently the Trump/Putin lackey Secretary of State, is also serving as the acting National Archivist. This unprecedented conflict of interest raises serious concerns. Rubio is juggling three major roles—Secretary of State, head of USAID, and now, National Archivist. This gives him the power to greenlight the destruction of government records, including his own, without any checks and balances. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of our political system, overseeing the administration of the Electoral College, preserving government records, and ensuring transparency. Now, with Rubio in control, we face the potential destruction of key documents and rewriting of history that could threaten our democracy. It's another avenue for Trump to lead a coup to stay in power, like his failed “fake electors” scheme to try to overturn the 2020 election.  As one listener points out in her commentary, edited for clarity, shared in a recent Gaslit Nation salon, we must stay vigilant of these corrupt moves. ArchiveGate is part of a broader plan to hold on to power. But remember, the people are the ultimate force. Together, we can stop this.    Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Reject Hypernormalization: Gaslit Nation Launches New Project, Survey https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization   Trump's firing of the U.S. government archivist is far worse than it might seem: The National Archives and Records Administration does more than just preserve documents: It's the scaffolding of the American political system. https://www.fastcompany.com/91277620/trump-firing-national-archivist-colleen-shogan   House Dems cite ‘fundamental conflict' of Rubio's acting appointments atop USAID and National Archives: Lawmakers' concerns stem from a March 11 memo instructing USAID employees to prepare for mass destruction of agency records. https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/03/house-dems-cite-fundamental-conflict-rubios-acting-appointments-atop-usaid-and-national-archives/404013/   The ‘fake electors' and their role in the 2020 election, explained https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/20/fake-electors-charges-trump-2020-election/  

In this week's Gaslit Nation bonus show, we're joined by Olga Lautman, an expert on the Russian mafia. Her Substack, Trump Tyranny Tracker, is a vital resource documenting Trump's war against America, and the global war of fascism vs. democracy.    Olga made headlines recently by exposing connections between Trump's National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, and Russia, connected to SignalGate. (We call it the Kremlin Klown Kar for a reason!) Olga breaks down the implications of SignalGate and Trump's Putin-backed war against our democracy.     We also discuss a disturbing trend: an anti-war Russian scientist at Harvard was detained at immigration and faces deportation back to Russia, where she could be imprisoned or worse. This escalates alarm bells that the Trump regime is “disappearing” people, starting with the most vulnerable.    Olga offers insights on recent victories like the historic Democratic win in deep-red Trump country in Pennsylvania, as well as Trump's ongoing efforts to suppress votes and carry out his next coup. We also discuss whether to stay and fight or flee the country.   Stay and fight! Fleeing abroad, especially this early, is like obeying in advance.    Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make this show without you! To listen to the full episode and get all bonus shows, all shows ad-free, and more, be sure to join our community on Patreon.com/Gaslit - discounted annual subscriptions are available.    Show Notes:   Tell Gov. Kathy Hochul NO mask ban in New York state! https://action.aclu.org/send-message/say-no-mask-bans-new-york   Signalgate: Trump Tries To Dodge Explosive National Security Scandal | All Of Them Should Be Fired https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihHU3IVVrfM&t=552s   Don't miss out on our upcoming Gaslit Nation book club discussion and more. For all the details, check the show notes! For March, we're reading Gene Sharp's revolutionary handbook From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond. Our March 31st salon at 4pm will open with a book club discussion of Dictatorship to Democracy. For April, we're reading (if you haven't already!) Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower, and May's book club pick is Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide to Guerrilla Warefare And Underground Operations. Get ready to make some good trouble!  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

The Gaslit Nation Media Committee, a watchdog against access journalism and regime propaganda, has developed this essential guide. We urge all members of the media to reject complicity in the erosion of democracy.   The American crisis is a global struggle between democracy and fascism—one that threatens the entire world. Each of us has a role in defending freedom. If you work in media, use this guide to safeguard your integrity, your liberty, and the values we cherish—before it's too late. Doing your job well can save lives and democracy.   1. Don't Bury the Lede: Call It an Illegal Tech-Backed Coup To build trust, stick to the facts. When Trump's administration acts illegally, say it—especially in the headline. Call it what it is: a tech-backed coup that exposes Americans' most sensitive data and replaces federal workers with unsecured A.I. to establish a new surveillance state. 2. Make Private Prison Execs Famous Investigate the financial interests behind Trump's immigration system—expose executives, board members, and their connections. Pursue them with cameras; they can't hide behind profits while lives are ruined and civil liberties eroded. 3. Fascism Needs Ignorance From dismantling the Department of Education to the “War on Woke” in universities, Trump continues delegitimizing education. This isn't about competition with other countries—it's about giving everyone the chance to grow as independent thinkers who reject fascism. 4. Follow the Money Investigate Trump's major donors and their role in Musk's illegal purge of government services. Hold them accountable—ask how they view their investments amid the chaos. Track their contracts and regulatory benefits. 5. Expose National Security Threats Trump removed key military officials who prevented unlawful actions. Without them, who will stop him? Trump holds the nuclear football, cozying up to adversaries, sending bombs to Israel, and threatening wars against Canada and Greenland. Focus on how our adversaries are taking advantage. 6. Kleptowatch Focus on how companies exploit customers through greedflation and Amazon's payola for search visibility. While the Biden administration has much to answer for, the media must spotlight the absence of enforcement of investigations brought by Lina Khan and Tim Wu, leaving corporate kleptocrats unchecked. 7. Media Must Thoroughly Cover Media Journalists must cover media attacks, including blocked access to info and censorship (e.g., Ann Telnaes at WaPo). Report on media ecosystem shifts, address bias, and clarify distinctions between reporting, opinion, and lies. Provide context on media ownership. 8. Draw Historical Parallels Trump, Musk, and allies are enacting policies similar to dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. The media must challenge their unfounded assertions. They are attacking the press and critics, reminiscent of regimes like Pol Pot's and Rwanda's genocide. 9. Trump is Trying to Turn America into an Autocracy: Act Like It Columbia Journalism Review shared 10 essential tips for journalists reporting from autocracies. Share these with your teams, including your company's lawyers—killing big stories and obeying in advance is self-destructive. 10. Shine a Light on Private Prisons The private prison industry needs scrutiny, especially with Trump's lack of oversight. Innocent people are caught in reckless immigration raids as the system grows unchecked. Regular coverage of Guantanamo Bay is crucial due to its history of unlawful detention and Trump's plan for a prison camp there for 30,000 people. 11. Gilead is Here The media has abandoned calling out Trump's toxic masculinity regarding reproductive rights and civil rights. Raise awareness of the deadly consequences for women, including trans women, and all nonwhite people. 12. Access Journalism is Betrayal Fascism's history includes journalists from major outlets becoming "masters of euphemism," (to quote Gareth Jones), downplaying atrocities and broken laws to protect access. History will remember you for doing your job or being bought. Doing your job well can save lives and democracy. 13. Family Members Deserve Special Attention Trump's administration is granting lucrative positions to family members of allies and donors, giving them undue influence over policy. These self-dealing networks must be mapped and exposed. 14. Unmask Voter Suppression Election analysis must address gerrymandering, unfair Senate representation favoring "red states," the Electoral College designed to protect elites, and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Don't treat our voter suppression crisis like "horse race" politics. 15. Focus on the 1% Expose extreme wealth inequality—how the 1% dodge taxes and exploit loopholes to preserve their wealth. Put a spotlight on how inequality fuels authoritarianism and is a direct threat to democracy. 16. Cover Protests Highlight actions challenging the White House's destructive crimes. People need to see that citizens care about the laws being broken by Trump's administration and that they're not alone. 17. They're Testing Boundaries: Say It When something is "unprecedented," that means they're testing boundaries, to see what they can get away with. Say it. 18. The Weird Fights Matter Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America may seem "weird," but it's part of the fascist pageantry, like Mussolini's famous eyeliner and Putin's shirtless photos. Look to experts in autocracy to see which stories are being used as a distraction and which stories are important to cover.  An expanded version of the Gaslit Nation Media Guide can be found here: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/media-guide   For More: Ten Tips for Reporting in an Autocracy American journalists have much to learn from colleagues in countries where democracy has been under siege. https://www.cjr.org/political_press/ten-tips-for-reporting-in-an-autocracy.php   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Music Credit: "Tafi Maradi no voice" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

What's the best way to fight evil? Laugh at fascist idiots and keep hunting Nazis, with your camera and the power of your voice.    This week, we're honored to welcome legend Sandi Bachom, an award-winning documentary filmmaker of such powerful films as Telling Jokes in Auschwitz and a Getty Images contributor whose work has appeared in acclaimed films like Laura Poitras's All The Beauty and All The Bloodshed, Danny's Strong's Dopesick, and Alex Gibney's Crime of the Century. But Sandi isn't just behind the camera—she's on the frontlines, documenting Nazis, like Trump's MAGA rallies, and the Charlottesville tiki torch march where Heather Heyer was murdered. Sandi was also at the Capitol on January 6th, capturing Trump's violent coup attempt in real time, footage used by the January 6 committee in Congress.  Stay loud. Stay brave. And as always—get ungaslit.    Join the Resistance Gaslit Nation Book Club: This Monday, March 31st at 4 PM ET, we're discussing From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp—the handbook that inspired revolutions from Ukraine to the Arab Spring. Grab your copy in the show notes and join us!  Share Your Story: History is unfolding now—and we need your eyewitness accounts. Take our Reject Hypernormalization Survey (linked in the show notes) to combat gaslighting and preserve the truth.   This week's episode is sponsored by Factor: Eat smart with Factor. Get started at FACTOR MEALS.com/gaslit50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping.    Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Take Gaslit Nation's Reject Hypernormalization Survey https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization   Read or listen to for free: Gene Sharp's From Dictatorship to Democracy https://archive.org/details/from_dictatorship_to_democracy_1306_librivox   Patti Smith clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxqhg6z-t9o   Humiliation as Propaganda: Videos of Shackled Detainees Have History in El Salvador https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/world/americas/deportation-videos-el-salvador.html Amid ‘DEI' purge, Pentagon removes webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser Pages celebrating Navajo code talkers and other minority service members were also erased. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2025/03/17/pentagon-dei-native-american-iwo-jima/     Olga Lautman unmasks the making of a Russian/Trump group chat: https://x.com/OlgaNYC1211/status/1904344536521797806   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal groupavailable on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet?: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  

Here's the first half of our recording of Monday's Gaslit Nation Salon with Dr. Lisa Corrigan, author of Prison Power: How Prison Politics Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation, and Black Feelings: Race and Affect in the Long Sixties. Dr. Corrigan is the Director of the Gender Studies Program at the University of Arkansas, and Affiliate Faculty in both African & African American Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies. The full discussion was over two hours, with Dr. Corrigan staying on to answer listeners' questions. Patreon supporters can find the full two-hour video recording of our discussion at Patreon.com/Gaslit. See you at Monday's salon at 4pm ET with Rise and Resist!  If you need to channel your rage and grief, especially after this recording, be sure to read Gaslit Nation's book of the month, From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp, which has inspired revolts around the world. Consider contributing in any way you can to crucial state races like Josh Weil's campaign in Florida and Judge Susan Crawford for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Every act of love and solidarity for our families and communities—whether it's showing up to protests, making calls, or donating what you can—makes a real difference. Gaslit Nation's salon on Monday at 4pm will be co-hosted by Rise and Resist, the protest group haunting Elon Musk's nightmares. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Show Notes: Meet Dr. Lisa Corrigan https://gender-studies.uark.edu/directory.php?uid=lcorriga Prison Power How Prison Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Black-Feelings Black Feelings Race and Affect in the Long Sixties https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Black-Feelings Trump and Musk pluck $80M in funding authorized by Congress from NYC's bank account: The federal government took funds from the city's bank account and called it a “clawback” of taxpayer money. A lot of other people would call it stealing. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-elon-musk-new-york-city-fema-funds-rcna192255 From Dictatorship to Democracy: https://archive.org/details/from_dictatorship_to_democracy_1306_librivox Josh Weil for Congress https://joshweil.us/ Judge Crawford for Wisconsin Supreme Court https://www.crawfordforwi.com/    

What's the easiest way for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to invade Canada? Simple: Have voters sit out the upcoming election and let Pierre Poilievre become Prime Minister. If you're Canadian—especially if you live abroad—now's the time to get organized. Make sure you and at least five of your family and friends have a plan to vote. Not sure if you're registered? Check here! Voting from abroad? Double-check your registration and make sure you've got everything you need by visiting this link. In this week's Gaslit Nation Canada Super Special, we're joined by the amazing Leigh McGowan from Politics Girl, plus Marcus Kolga, a Canadian writer, filmmaker, and human rights advocate. Marcus is an expert on Russian and Central/Eastern European issues and Kremlin disinformation. He regularly shares his insights in top publications like The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Maclean's, and The Atlantic Council. Marcus also played a crucial role in the Canadian campaign for the Magnitsky human rights sanctions and has helped drive similar efforts in Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, and Australia. His expertise has taken him to testify before parliaments in the UK, Australia, and Canada, covering everything from Russian disinformation to Interpol reform. Currently, he's a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad. This week's bonus show will be our live discussion with Dr. Lisa Corrigan, author of Prison Power: How Prison Politics Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation and Black Feelings: Race and Affect in the Long Sixties. Dr. Corrigan is the Director of the Gender Studies Program at the University of Arkansas and also teaches in both African & African American Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community    Show Notes: Ways to Vote in Canada https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=vote&document=index&lang=e How Canadians Can Vote Abroad https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/elections-faq Meet Politics Girl https://www.politicsgirl.com/ Meet Marcus Kolga https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/cm-expert/marcus-kolga/ Nadia Guerrera for Parkdale–High Park https://nadiaguerrera.ca/  Clip: Dropkick Murphys call out a Nazi at their Boston show https://bsky.app/profile/meidastouch.com/post/3lkhxscnvws2x Clip: Stephen Marche on why the US can't occupy Canada https://bsky.app/profile/jimmyalto.bsky.social/post/3lkgixldo6s2t Want to topple a dictator? Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480x270/p08qz3w0.jpg.webp

What's the Republican spending bill all about? It's an extremely dangerous powergab engineered by Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House and dirty lawyer who came up with the legal strategy to try to overturn the 2020 election. The Republican spending bill essentially grants legal protections to Trump and Musk's ongoing illegal mass purge, to protect them against court orders–one of the last levers of power we have left. Any Democrat who votes for this is complicit in Trump and Musk's tech-backed coup, illegally mass firing federal workers to replace them with an A.I. surveillance state. This week's episode continues our conversation with Gil Durán of the Third Reich and FrameLab newsletters on Controlled Opposition—those Vichy Democrats who refuse to stand up to the fascist Republicans in power. But why? What's in it for them? In a dictatorship, no one is safe—not even former allies like Putin, who've found themselves mysteriously falling out of windows or exploding mid-air. Why are some Democrats still playing the role of complicit bystanders? The Senate is gearing up to vote on the extreme Republican spending bill, which slashes life-saving programs like Head Start and community health centers, while funneling billions to the Pentagon and Homeland Security. At a time when Trump is threatening to invade Canada and Greenland, and ICE is denying due process to green card holders like Mahmoud Khalil, the stakes couldn't be higher. The bill also cuts Washington, DC's budget—an attempt to punish the city for daring to protest Trump's corrupt regime. But here's the thing: shutting down the government doesn't empower Trump or Musk—it forces Democrats to get on the front lines and expose the Republican spending bill for what it really is: a power grab designed to protect Trump and Musk's illegal tech-backed coup. There's hope, though. While Trump and Musk face a future of justice (their approval ratings are plummeting), we need to keep fighting back.  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:  The Nerd Reich https://www.thenerdreich.com/    FrameLab https://www.theframelab.org/   Chuck Schumer and Senate Dems are expected to help advance the GOP spending bill, which Republicans say would let Trump defund whatever projects he wants https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-republican-cr-budget-bill-nightmare-democrats-1235296004/   The 10 Democrats who voted to censure Rep. Al Green are misreading the moment https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/al-green-trump-resistance-democracy-rcna195314   Crypto cash is flooding the 2024 election. Here's who's benefiting. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/crypto-firms-candidates-house-senate-election-2024/   Facebook cofounder Sean Parker illegally damages redwood forest for fantasy Game of Thrones wedding https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/crypto-firms-candidates-house-senate-election-2024/   Rep. Al Green Speaking in Congress https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3ljo4v6aip223   Congressional Supporters of Al Green Sing “We Shall Overcome” in Congress https://bsky.app/profile/ariellaelm.bsky.social/post/3ljqoabwcps2i   Some Democrats Endorse Bill Allowing Elon Musk to Create His Own Currency The GENIUS Act is the first pro-crypto bill Republicans want to rush through this Congress. Thanks to industry money, several Democrats are ignoring the bill's major problems. https://prospect.org/power/2025-03-10-some-democrats-endorse-bill-allowing-elon-musk-create-own-currency/   These 10 Democrats voted to censure Al Green https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5180324-10-house-democrats-censure-al-green/   Announcement! Are you concerned about what the broligarchy is doing with your data but feeling overwhelmed by all the tech? Do you get frustrated by the erosion of your sense of privacy and yet are unsure of what steps you, as a non-techie individual, can do?    Join us on Monday April 7th for a special edition of the Gaslit Nation salon when representatives from the Gaslit Nation Security Committee will share a plan for taking control of your data, protecting your privacy, and regaining data sovereignty in an age of surveillance capitalism.    This presentation will be geared towards non-techies and will help you prioritize steps you can take today to secure your data. Attendees will receive the following documents in a PDF: surveillance awareness self-assessment, prioritized action plan checklist, a calendar for the first thirty days of taking control of your data, and a copy of the presentation slides.   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

How do we fight back against the broligarchs? Journalist Gil Durán, of the must-read newsletters Nerd Reich and FrameLab, shows the way, in this week's Gaslit Nation.    Jean-Paul Sartre's famous line, “Hell is other people,” from his play No Exit, written in Nazi-occupied France, captured a grievance that mirrored the era's ideological clashes—fascism, communism, and isolationism, often overlapping and competing, fueling Stalin's genocides, the Holocaust, and World War II. The solution to sharing society with others, it seemed, was elimination: kill them.    This is why democracies rely on tolerance—you don't have to like my existence, but you must let me exist in peace. Yet today's tech oligarchs, having amassed unimaginable wealth, would rather invest billions in creating tech colonies and new religions to justify mass murder, enslavement, and C.E.O. king fiefdoms than address world hunger, provide free education, and strengthen social safety nets. Their vision isn't coexistence—they're building an anti-empathy billionaire bunker cult.    Gil Durán, a San Francisco journalist and former editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee and The San Francisco Examiner, has a front-row view of the rise of the broligarchs, analyzing their fascist justifications for cruelty in his popular newsletter, Nerd Reich. Durán spent over a decade in California politics, serving as chief communications strategist for Governor Jerry Brown, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Attorney General Kamala Harris. His work has appeared in The New Republic, Esquire, and PBS. He co-founded Framelab, a newsletter on politics, language, and the brain, with Dr. George Lakoff. Most importantly we discuss: how do we defeat the Nerd Reich and the Vichy Democrats?    This week's bonus for our Patreon subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher continues with Gil Durán of Nerd Reich, examining Democratic leaders as controlled opposition—public allies secretly serving the oligarchs. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   The Nerd Reich by Gil Durán https://www.thenerdreich.com/   FrameLab https://www.theframelab.org/   Trump on Charter Cities: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-a-new-quantum-leap-to-revolutionize-the-american-standard-of-living   One of Peter Thiel's favorite book: The Sovereign Individual: How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780684810072 Find a Tesla Takedown Protest near you: https://www.teslatakedown.com/   Download/print fliers made by Rise and Resist: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NsdVaglj2-qbaUxPL-aXlPSSMbnjAPV-/view?usp=sharing   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rCUHIzHfJunm2fnZzdm2sMUWlRYeUtGg/view?usp=sharing   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MfkQlear-zAGgpkth6j_r85sSoXihilr/view?usp=sharing   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fXKCdNCrkPOL8nYI8I9WU7-DGIAGHSXb/view?usp=sharing   https://drive.google.com/file/d/14oYKLO_vzVzEU1sxXSaH1kd_lZ1ylaOG/view?usp=sharing   Clip: Elon Musk realizes he might lose his empire: https://bsky.app/profile/internetceleb.bsky.social/post/3lk2rd73f422n   Robert Reich on Twitter: “When Trump was sworn in, Elon Musk's corporations were under more than 32 investigations conducted by at least 11 federal agencies. Most of the cases are now closed or likely to be closed soon, and the federal agencies are being defanged by DOGE. Funny how that works, huh?” https://x.com/RBReich/status/1898780869092884808   Andrea on Bluesky: “Start building a case for Trump and Musk to be arrested by the International Criminal Court” https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3lk47dkixgs2k   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

This motivating discussion was supposed to run earlier, but then the third year anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine was marked by Trump viciously reminding the world he works for Russia by kicking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the White House, after he, Vance, and MTG's boyfriend tried to ambush the war hero.    In our recorded first ever Gaslit Nation book club, we discussed Albert Camus' The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, to see what wisdom they hold for us today, and how these two works “talk to each other.”    For March, we're reading Gene Sharp's revolutionary handbook From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond. Our March 31st salon at 4pm will open with a book club discussion of Dictatorship to Democracy. For April, we're reading (if you haven't already!) Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower, and May's book club pick is Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide to Guerrilla Warefare And Underground Operations. Get ready to make some good trouble!    To hear the full discussion, be sure to join our community on Patreon. Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make this show without you!    Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available here Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available here Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community   

Who is "Woke Jesus"? It's the actual Jesus from the Bible—the dark-skinned Jewish revolutionary who advocated for feeding the poor and healing the sick. The Christian nationalists who use Trump's MAGA movement as a weapon against our democracy are also at war with Jesus, as this week's guest explains. By the strictest definition, doesn't that make Trump the anti-Christ?    Investigative journalist Katherine Stewart, author of the new book Money, Lies, and God, examines the right-wing Libertarian elites taking over our democracy through white Christian nationalist foot soldiers and offers ways to fight back. Stewart is also the author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism and The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children. Her journey included witnessing Christian nationalist recruitment and hate campaigns take root in her child's public school. As Andrea discuses in the opening of this week's show, MAGA/Russia are weakening the U.S. from within (mass purge, trade war, declaring war on experts, etc.) so that we're scared and confused, and easier to conquer. We won't let them win.    Thank you to everyone who joined Gaslit Nation's first book club last month! For March, we're reading Gene Sharp's revolutionary handbook From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond. Our March 31st salon at 4pm will open with a book club discussion of Dictatorship to Democracy. For April, we're reading (if you haven't already!) Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower, and May's book club pick is Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide to Guerrilla Warefare And Underground Operations. Get ready to make some good trouble!    EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond  NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it!  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join on Patreon.com/Gaslit.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group on Patreon.com/Gaslit.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Voting is an act of fact checking: The dictator or wannabe dictator claims legitimacy. By voting, even if your vote is illegally not counted, your presence casting the vote adds up, and together the exit polls can indicate whether the election was stolen. Look to Venezuela's grassroots powerhouse effort to count votes to prove the opposition won the election: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/10/gonzalez-proof-win-venezuela-election-vote-tally-maduro   Russia sought to influence LGBT voters with ‘Buff Bernie' ad: Materials made public in committee dump of Facebook propaganda https://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/11/01/russia-facebook-ad-sought-influence-lgbt-voters-buff-bernie/   The Insider reveals new details of Russian intelligence scheme offering Taliban $200,000 bounties for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/01/09/the-insider-reveals-new-details-of-russian-intelligence-scheme-offering-taliban-200-000-bounties-for-killing-u-s-soldiers-in-afghanistan   Marisa Kabas on Blueskye: “SCOOP: Now that Linda McMahon is confirmed/sworn in as secretary, Trump will be imminently issuing an executive order eliminating the Department of Education. I've obtained a draft of an email that McMahon will be sending to staff re: the EO and the department's “final mission”. Here is a portion:” https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social/post/3ljj64pfjzk2v   Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart https://bookshop.org/p/books/money-lies-and-god-inside-the-movement-to-dismantle-american-democracy-katherine-stewart/21368231?ean=9781635578546&next=t&next=t   The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-worshippers-inside-the-dangerous-rise-of-religious-nationalism-katherine-stewart/8555591?ean=9781635577877&next=t&next=t   The Good News Club: The Religious Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children by Katherine Stewart https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-good-news-club-the-religious-right-s-stealth-assault-on-america-s-children-katherine-stewart/6717978?ean=9781610392198&next=t&next=t Download "From Dictatorship to Democracy" for free here:  https://archive.org/details/from_dictatorship_to_democracy_1306_librivox   Download "Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide to Guerrilla Warefare And Underground Operations" https://archive.org/details/total-resistance-swiss-army-guide-to-guerilla-warfare-1965 Opening clip: https://x.com/theelishev/status/1896120665532719511 Clip: Trudeau: "I heard he talked about banking again this morning in a tweet, which doesn't make any sense because 16 banks are currently active in Canada holding about $113b worth of assets in this country, so American banks are alive and well and prospering in Canada. It's an example of not really being able to see what he wants ... what he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that'll make it easier to annex us." https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896962522764227069 Clip of Daryl Hannah at the Oscars: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1301955947523848 Clip: Conan Jokes About 'Anora' and Russia At The Oscars 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiwBNniPhR8  

You may be asking: does America even have free and fair elections in GOP-gerrymandered hostage states like Florida? Under a wannabe-autocrat like Ron DeSantis, voting becomes a defiant fact check of the legitimacy of the GOP's power. If they were truly effective at governing, why would they resort to gerrymandering and other forms of voter suppression to maintain control? By voting, even if your vote is illegally not counted, your presence casting the vote adds up, and together the exit polls can indicate whether the election was stolen. Look to Venezuela's grassroots powerhouse effort to count votes before they were conveniently misplaced. In Venezuela, the voters proved the opposition leader Edmundo González, not Russian-backed dictator Nicolás Maduro, won the election. Several independent investigations confirmed their victory. While Maduro clings to power, voting remains a powerful fact check, confronting him with his own illegitimacy and galvanizing the movement to oust him.  In Florida, two special elections will take place on April 1—to replace pedo Putin-puppet Matt Gaetz in the Congressional 1st District with Democratic challenger Gay Valimont, and to replace Zelenskyy co-extortionist Mike Waltz in the Congressional 6th District. Longtime public educator and champion of public schools Josh Weil stops by Gaslit Nation to discuss how you can help support his campaign to hold Elon Musk and MAGA accountable. Early voting is March 22nd to 29th. To phonebank for Josh Weil, check out these virtual phone get-out-the-vote events!   Show Notes:   Join a get-out-the-vote virtual phonebank for Josh Weil in Florida! https://www.mobilize.us/joshweilforcongressionaldistrict6/   Josh Weil for Congress https://joshweil.us/   How Venezuela's opposition proved its election win: ‘A brilliant political move' https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/10/gonzalez-proof-win-venezuela-election-vote-tally-maduro The best freedom money can buy: How the Party of Reagan became the Party of Putin https://www.themarysue.com/the-best-freedom-money-can-buy-how-the-party-of-reagan-became-the-party-of-putin/

America joined Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Israel, led by indicted corrupt criminal and Putin pal Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes, to vote against Ukraine's United Nations resolution calling for peace and an end to Russia's genocidal invasion. In this week's Gaslit Nation, Andrea and Terrell Starr, of the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack, joining from Kyiv, explain how we got here and what to do about it. Fascism helped build America, and global resistance to fascism will help us overcome the threats we face in this dangerous crossroads for America, and the world.    People are waking up from their shock and fighting back. Over $250,000 was raised on GoFundMe for Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl, the woman roughly dragged out of a town hall. The sheriff who threatened her with arrest from the stage is under investigation, along with his three unidentified rent-a-cops. Protests continue at Tesla dealerships, as well as Republican town halls across the country. Tesla owners face vandalism threats and pay to remove the logo, as the company's stock plummets. Twenty-one civil servants of the United States Digital Service, taken over by DOGE, resigned, writing in their letter: “We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations. However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.” France's President Emmanuel Macron fact checked Trump at the White House and helped a banned AP reporter ask a question, and promised to strengthen security across Europe, including for Ukraine. At the Governors Ball in the White House, before Trump, the Army Choir sang the resistance anthem against tyranny, from Les Miserables, "Do You Hear the People Sing?"    To help us lift up our hearts and minds for the work ahead, this week's bonus show, for our Patreon members at the Truth-teller level and higher, is our recorded first ever Gaslit Nation book club, looking at Albert Camus' The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, to see what wisdom they hold for us today, and how these two works “talk to each other.” Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:    Want ideas on how to resist?  Friday February 28 – U.S. Economic Blackout: No corporate spending, shop small, plan ahead. Details here: https://thirdact.org/texas/2025/02/10/u-s-economic-blackout-planned-for-feb-28/ Tuesday March 4 – 50501 Protest. Find one near you or start one here: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ Tuesday March 4 – Protect Our Kids Protest by the American Federation of Teachers, to protest the destruction of the Department of Education. Details here: https://www.aft.org/ProtectOurKids and here: https://www.mobilize.us/aft/ Friday March 7 – Stand Up for Science Protest. Details here: https://standupforscience2025.org/ Tesla Takedown Protests – ongoing. Details here.: https://www.teslatakedown.com/ Friday March 14 – NOW March in Washington, DC. Details here: https://nowmarch.org/ Don't Just Do Nothing: 20 Things You Can Do to Counter Fascism: https://itsgoingdown.org/dont-just-do-nothing-20-things-you-can-do-to-counter-fascism/ Protect democracy by protecting yourself: Bookmark! The Ultimate Guide to an Untrackable Phone : https://www.tacticalprivacywire.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-an-untrackable-phone/   Two days after a woman was dragged from a Coeur d'Alene town hall, Sheriff Bob Norris and other parties will face investigation into conduct https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/feb/24/two-days-after-a-woman-was-dragged-from-a-coeur-da/   Justice for Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl: Fight for the First https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-for-dr-borrenpohl-fight-for-the-first/cl/s?lang=en_US&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp13_t1-amp14_c&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link   Hegseth Defends Trump's Firing of Joint Chiefs Chairman Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview on Sunday that Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. was “not the right man for the moment” and praised President Trump's handling of the war in Ukraine. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/us/politics/hegseth-trump-cq-brown-pentagon.html   Trump and Hegseth's Pentagon purge undermines the armed forces How to damage military morale and recruiting? Trump and Hegseth seem to be trying to find out, alas. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/23/trump-hegseth-pentagon-generals/   New FBI director Kash Patel plans to relocate up to 1,500 employees https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/new-fbi-director-kash-patel-plans-relocate-1500-119064886   Mike Galsworthy ‪on BlueSky: “Just America & Israel voting with Russia, Iran, North Korea... ...against Ukraine.” https://bsky.app/profile/mikegalsworthy.bsky.social/post/3lix7n4o4tc2w   French prosecutor seeks 5-year jail sentence and ban from office for far-right leader https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/french-far-right-leader-marine-le-pen-faces-5-year-ban-office-rcna180103   TikTokers Are ‘Hunting' Tesla Cybertrucks to Project Anti-Musk Messages on the Tailgate https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tiktokers-hunting-tesla-cybertrucks-project-174834791.html

To help us navigate these dark times, Gaslit Nation will hold our first book club. Join us next Monday, February 24, at 4pm ET for a salon discussion on two profound works: Albert Camus' The Stranger (the Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. These books capture the emotional truth of our era. Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychologist, offers extraordinary insights into how people confronted genocide in death camps. His account of prisoners organizing cabarets and finding spiritual connections, even in the face of death, is both harrowing and inspiring. Man's Search for Meaning is essential reading for understanding how casual sadism, like Elon Musk's highly illegal mass purge of live-saving government programs, is already taking root in the U.S.   This week's bonus show also features a continuation of our conversations with Elie Mystal, author of Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, on why we need an EU travel ban of Ivanka Trump and others complicit in the destruction of democracy in America, and investigative journalist Greg Palast, director of Vigilantes, Inc., a must-see film about the GOP's war on democracy. To access the full episode, join our Patreon community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. As we face these turbulent times, Gaslit Nation remains committed to shedding light on the truth. Stay tuned for our all-new episode this Tuesday. Together, we can weather this storm and reclaim our democracy.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:  Watch Vigilantes, Inc. for free, by Greg Palast: https://www.gregpalast.com/vigilantes-inc-stream-for-free/ Bad Law Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America  https://thenewpress.com/books/bad-law   Events at Gaslit Nation Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!)  ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

There's a troubling sense of normalcy bias among some Democratic leaders who believe they'll regain their footing in the 2026 midterms, riding another anti-Trump wave. But here's the critical question: will the United States even have free and fair elections? To answer that, we need to look back and ask: was the 2024 U.S. election free and fair? Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and those around them, break the law so brazenly, how can we trust they came to power without breaking the law?    According to investigative journalist Greg Palast, this week's guest and director of the must-see film Vigilantes Inc., which you can watch for free, the answer is a resounding no. Palast's analysis reveals the shocking normalization of Republican voter suppression: over 3.5 million votes were effectively canceled in 2024. This means 3.5 million Americans were denied their fundamental right to vote. And according to Palast, a significant number of suppressed voters are nonwhite. This isn't just voter suppression; it's a modern-day resurrection of Jim Crow, fueled by the Republican Party's relentless assault on democracy. In this week's bonus episode, out Friday, Elie Mystal, the Justice Correspondent for The Nation, and author of the new book Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, explains how the GOP's reaction to the first Black president was to gut the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for Trump.    In this week's bonus episode, we also continue our conversation with Palast, diving into the power of film as a powerful force for confronting America's darkest history. Plus, we'll also hear from Mystal on why European nations must take a stand by imposing a travel ban on Ivanka Trump and others complicit in the destruction of our democracy—a move that could help hold the Musk-Trump regime accountable for its action, along with divestment strategies that brought down Apartheid. Don't miss this eye-opening episode, out Friday!   Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes: Watch Vigilantes, Inc. by Greg Palast for free: https://www.watchvigilantesinc.com/ Bad Law Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America https://thenewpress.com/books/bad-law   Events at Gaslit Nation   Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!)  ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

This week's bonus show is our live recording with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, who answers listener questions about combating the Russian-backed fascist threat of the Musk/Trump regime. We also discuss Trump and Russia's attempts to strongarm Ukraine into a deal that would buy Russia time to continue its genocidal invasion. Don't miss this special episode.    A heartfelt thank you to all our Gaslit Nation supporters. This show wouldn't be possible without you. Together, we're shining a light on the truth and fighting for a better future.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Olga Lautman Substack: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/   Events at Gaslit Nation   Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!)  ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

One of the most striking aspects of living under a dictatorship is how eerily normal life can appear on the surface. The sun still rises, children still play in parks. Yet, beneath this façade of normalcy, the foundations of democracy are being purged. Drug-fueled Nazi oligarchs, emboldened by their unchecked power, withhold critical funding, endanger lives, and proudly defy the courts. They destroy the rule of law and unleash a culture of corruption, all while the world watches America turn into a failed state.   Joining us to unpack this dystopian nightmare, as well as what must be done to overcome this global threat, is Elie Mystal, Justice Correspondent for The Nation and author of the new book Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America. Mystal, a prophetic voice in the fight for democracy, breaks down what Biden and the Democrats should have done to curb Trump and MAGA extremism when they had the chance. (We'll be shouting we told you so all the way to the gulag!) He explains why Merrick Garland was, as we warned, a threat to democracy, what actions Democrats and the people must take now in the limited time we have left, and why New York State Attorney General Tish James serves as a vital reminder of the importance of local resistance. Most importantly, Mystal calls on world leaders to divest from America, an urgent strategy that helped bring down apartheid.    This week's bonus show is our live recording with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, who answers listener questions about combating the Russian-backed fascist threat of the Musk/Trump regime. We also discuss Trump and Russia's attempts to strongarm Ukraine into a deal that would buy Russia time to continue its genocidal invasion. Don't miss this special episode, coming to you on Friday.   A heartfelt thank you to all our Gaslit Nation supporters. This show wouldn't be possible without you. Together, we're shining a light on the truth and fighting for a better future.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Events at Gaslit Nation Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!): https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/public-safety ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet?: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community 

Protests matter because they challenge the regime's legitimacy, remind us we're not alone, and connect us with incredible people fighting to protect human rights in an era of rising technofascism. At the People's March in Washington, DC, in January, which protested MAGA fascism, Andrea met Dr. Meena Bewtra, a physician with Doctors for America—a group of doctors on the frontlines of advocating for healthcare as a human right. In this live taping with our Patreon community, Dr. Bewtra answers listeners' questions. If you have a question for her, let us know, and we'll do our best to get it answered. In the meantime, you can follow Doctors for America on social media. The group recently sued the Trump White House over the removal of health information from vital government websites.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!    Events at Gaslit Nation Feb 7 8:30pm ET - Gaslit Nation Board Game Night! We're playing Codenames. Click here for a primer!  Feb 10 4pm ET – Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Russia, Ukraine, and Trump Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!)  ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Available on GaslitNationPod.com ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Thank you to everyone who supports the show!  

If you want to see where America is headed, watch The Bibi Files. The greatest threat to Israeli democracy, as well as peace for both Palestinians and Israelis, continues to be Bibi Netanyahu and his wife, Sara. Joining us this week are filmmakers Alexis Bloom, director of The Bibi Files, and producer Alex Gibney, who is also working on a documentary on Luigi Mangione and the corruption of the healthcare industry. Check the show notes for a link to watch The Bibi Files–one of the most chilling true crime dramas that show how corruption threatens international security.   As you know by now, Nazi Elon Musk has a team of Hitler Youth dismantling our democracy.  We're in a generational struggle, but history shows we can prevail. We defeated the genocidal traitors of the Confederacy, defeated the Nazis in World War II, and dismantled Jim Crow. Ignorance and hate are sadly human traits, but so are progress, collaboration, and the pursuit of a better future.  Our role now is to be sand in their gears. You individually don't need to fight every battle, but if we each adopt just one cause that matters deeply to us and take action—by calling our representatives, showing up in person to talk them out of their fog of complacency, and primary every Democrat who is not meeting this moment—we can slow down the violence of the MAGA agenda and build political power of our own. And in doing so, we can safeguard a future where our families, communities, and the world enjoy a livable future.  If there's one thing these broken little men fear, it's your defiance, your inner light, and your capacity for creative action. They want us demoralized, but we can be hopeful. Now more than ever, we need to come together. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:  Watch The Bibi Files https://www.jolt.film/watch/the-bibi-files Andrea's interview on Jessica Denson's Lights On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjpmySxlrKI A 25-Year-Old with Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-associate-bfs-federal-payment-system/ AOC Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&feature=shared&v=CVgNJf6CsBA Andrea's 2005 review of Alex Gibney's Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room https://www.portlandmercury.com/movies-and-tv/2005/04/28/33542/smarter-than-you 'Unfathomable': How this stunning Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade came together https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43676830/how-stunning-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade-came-together-los-angeles-lakers-dallas-mavericks From Chad Loder: NEW: Archived tweets for Gavin Kriger, Musk's 20-something DOGE employee wreaking havoc inside USAID, shows that Kriger has retweeted multiple neo-Nazis including Nick Fuentes, leader of the so-called Groyper movement, and another popular explicit Nazi account recently unmasked by @travisbrown.dev https://bsky.app/profile/chadloder.bsky.social/post/3lhc52j6kns2d From Justin Baragona: Joe Kent, the guy Trump is nominating to lead his counterterrorism division, employed Proud Boys and Patriot Front members, met with Nick Fuentes and sat down with a neo-Nazi YouTuber for an interview. https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3lhcuqiqhzc2y From Asha Rangappa: Honestly someone needs to let the dean of the college know that one of their students is actively violating several federal laws. I am certain that violates the student code of conduct and university disciplinary action might be the only enforcement mechanism we have right now https://bsky.app/profile/asharangappa.bsky.social/post/3lhcoe3c3ok2l Events at Gaslit Nation Feb 7 8:30pm ET - Gaslit Nation Board Game Night! We're playing Codenames. Get the Zoom link by joining Patreon.com/Gaslit.  Feb 10 4pm ET – Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Russia, Ukraine, and Trump Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!). Find it on the homepage of GaslitNationPod.com.  ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Find it on GaslitNationPod.com. ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Thank you to everyone who supports the show!

Don't count America out just yet! Democrats flipped a state Senate seat in Iowa, in a district Trump won by 21 percent—a resounding rebuke to the psychopath in the White House. In an election year that saw incumbents lose all over the world, Trump barely scraped by with one of the narrowest victories in generations, even with the help of the world's richest man, Elon Musk, bribing voters, rampant far-right disinformation, voter suppression laws, several Russian bomb threats, and GOP ratf*cking—everything we covered on the show during the 2024 election, asking, “Is anyone going to do anything, Merrick Garland?”  Americans are notoriously fickle, flipping back and forth between parties 16 times since 2000. Expect a shift in the midterms and a potential flip in the 2028 presidential election. But here's the real question: what if our elections have become as fake as Russia's? We'll dive into that in an upcoming episode to explore what leverage we have left to protect the integrity of our vote. What matters most now is unity in opposition to Trump. But how can we come together when so much resentment remains over who refused to vote for Kamala Harris out of protest and encouraged others to do the same. In this week's bonus show of Gaslit Nation, Andrea and Terrell Starr from the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack discuss how we can set aside our differences, forgive the past, and unite for the future of our democracy. It's the beginning of a tough conversation that ignited online after Trump essentially called for ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the deportation of pro-Palestinian protesters here at home—an outcome many of us warned about when we urged people to vote for the sake of humanity's survival.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes: Rachel Maddow episode that includes segment on Curtis Yarvin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UdHdjuodPg   Transcript: Rachel Maddow episode that includes segment on Curtis Yarvin: https://www.happyscribe.com/public/the-rachel-maddow-show/exclusive-rachel-maddow-interviews-mn-governor-tim-walz-as-trump-plots-end-of-u-s   New York Times profile of Curtis Yarvin (gift article) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/magazine/curtis-yarvin-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tU4.5F3W.Vw3JZNQC_UYS&smid=url-share   Terrell Starr // Black Diplomats Substack https://substack.com/@terrellstarr   The size of Donald Trump's 2024 election victory, explained in 5 charts https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-size-of-donald-trumps-2024-election-victory-explained-in-5-charts   Trump's Gaza proposal rejected by allies and condemned as ethnic cleansing plan https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/26/trump-resumes-sending-2000-pound-bombs-to-israel-undoing-biden-pause   Iowa Democrats flip Senate seat in special election to cut into Republican majority https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/01/28/iowa-democrats-flip-senate-seat-in-special-election-chris-cournoyer/77999519007/   Don't Let Liberal Purity Elect Trump https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/opinion/gaza-harris-trump.html   Events at Gaslit Nation   Feb 3 4:30pm ET – Dr. Meena Bewtra of Doctors for America joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to share how to protect Obamacare and medicaid Feb 7 8:30pm ET - Gaslit Nation Board Game Night! We're playing Codenames. Here's a primer: https://youtu.be/zQVHkl8oQEU?si=YjkUvZa9XQQTVlF8 Feb 10 4pm ET – Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Russia, Ukraine, and Trump Feb 24 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club at our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss Albert Camu's The Stranger (Matthew Ward translation) and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating  NEW! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon ONGOING! Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon  NEW! Climate Crisis Committee launched in the Patreon Chat thanks to a Gaslit Nation listener who holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences NEW! Caretaker Committee launched in the Patreon Chat for our listeners who are caretakers and want to share resources, vent, and find community  NEW! Public Safety page added to GaslitNationPod.com to help you better protect yourself from this lunacy (i.e. track recalls, virus threats, and more!) https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/public-safety ONGOING! Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? It's available on GaslitNationPod.com https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization ONGOING! Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  Thank you to everyone who supports the show!   

Welcome to week two of Trump and Project 2025's Reign of Terror. A convicted felon, a Russian asset, an adjudicated rapist, a chronic cheater, a trust-fund brat with six bankruptcies, and a psychopath displaying clear signs of dementia is dismantling the foundations of American democracy, just as promised—and just as we warned. The cruelty is sending dangerous shockwaves across the globe. With each passing day under this regime, the nightmare grows darker.   But here on Gaslit Nation, we're fighting back. Truth is on our side, and our collective liberation and survival depend on our unity and resolve. Together, we can resist, rebuild, and reclaim the future. This week, we're joined by Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack, reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine. He shares his insights on how people around the world can navigate these perilous times, and offers ways forward for the opposition here at home.   In this week's bonus show—available to our Truth-teller subscribers ($5/month and above)—we tackle a difficult and necessary conversation: how the Left can unite despite lingering resentments over the 2024 election, including the question of who refused to vote and why. Gaza will cease to exist under Trump. Under President Kamala Harris, we stood a stronger chance to shift the status quo on Israel and Palestine. We warned that the moral imperative was to vote for the lesser evil to avoid the total evil now being unleashed on the world.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Action alert! Call your members of Congress–find their numbers here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member Tell them: Vote NO on Kash Patel for FBI Director; Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence; and RFK Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services Also, here's a script demanding frozen federal funding be restored: https://bsky.app/profile/celestepewter.bsky.social/post/3lgs36dktik2w    

What's the easiest way for dictator Xi Jinping of China to invade Taiwan? Bribe the President of the United States! Trump's loyalty lies in enriching himself and his family, all thanks to the highest bidder – including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and others. As China shows more signs of preparing to invade Taiwan, Musk's Twitter is normalizing this very idea. Andrea and Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman discuss this and more, including Trump and Melania's meme coin cash grab, in this week's Gaslit Nation bonus show. We also cover ways to fight back, even if things seem to spiral out of control.   Olga Lautman will join the Gaslit Nation Salon on February 10 at 4pm ET! And don't miss our Gaslit Nation Game Night on Friday, February 7 at 8:30pm ET—we'll be playing Codenames! For game night, make sure to create a free account on BoardGameArena.com. Zoom links will be shared the morning of the events on Patreon.com/Gaslit, so be sure to subscribe and help support the show!   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes: Check out Olga Lautman's Substack! https://substack.com/@olgalautman?utm_source=profile-page Opening Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xvJYrSsXPA Excellent thread on Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan's lawsuits holding corporate giants accountable: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1880370418932150623.html Trump's Crypto Meme Coin Is His Most Lucrative Get-Rich Scheme Yet https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/what-just-happened-with-usdtrump-and-usdmelania-meme-coins.html  China Suddenly Building Fleet Of Special Barges Suitable For Taiwan Landings https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/01/china-suddenly-building-fleet-of-special-barges-suitable-for-taiwan-landings/ Man says his binned Bitcoin fortune now worth £500m https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgr0dyy152jo ICYMI: Here are previous documents the Security Committee has shared: • Tech Travel Tips : https://web.tresorit.com/l/hmKP6#FFHiLuu45pSJtMo_Z9Zp9Q • Why defending your right to privacy is important: https://web.tresorit.com/l/73FHq#ip5_zE6hhWkuaDMBAAhpYw • Introduction to VPN https://web.tresorit.com/l/WHdqz#-zI5O7Q2zHznO_NG7aZWPQ • Three Security Steps to Take Today: https://web.tresorit.com/l/417K9#CaDJOcOrEOta4T5oDlNsYw • Practice Safe Data Security: https://web.tresorit.com/l/hiw9s#wOykkL6Lh_Hz_TbRsiCiEQ Read all the details in the PDF here: https://web.tresorit.com/l/W6ots#IydZ2pnTmE1MLPJLkLZ73A   For the Gaslit Nation Book Club – First Meeting at the Gaslit Nation Salon on February 24 at 4pm ET: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl https://bookshop.org/p/books/man-s-search-for-meaning-viktor-e-frankl/8996943?ean=9780807014271 The Stranger: Introduction by Keith Gore Albert Camus (Author)  Matthew Ward (Translator) https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-stranger-introduction-by-keith-gore-albert-camus/18890716?ean=9780679420262

Trump used and discarded the powerful Fred Trump daddy figures who helped him rise to power: infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, whom he abandoned as Cohn was dying of AIDS; Fox News kingmaker Roger Ailes, forced out over sexual harassment allegations; and, possibly, Vladimir Putin. The Russians invested decades of financial and other support into Trump and his family, as Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman explains on this week's Gaslit Nation. But now, with American oligarchs, unlimited money, immunity granted by the illegitimate Supreme Court, pardon power, and a mainstream media eager to please, Trump has everything Putin could only dream of. What we saw during that grim inauguration weekend, followed by a flood of dangerous executive orders, shows that Trump, as promised, intends to be a dictator from day one. Tech giants, who had a front-row seat to his inauguration, give Trump a social media disinformation machine rivaling the Kremlin's. We're in for dark times, but there's hope. Our traitorous enemies and oligarchs are, in the end, incredibly stupid, and they'll ultimately destroy each other. This week's bonus show, available to supporters at the Truth-teller ($5/month) level and higher, continues the conversation. We'll discuss Trump and Melania's meme coin pump-and-dump scheme that fleeced their own supporters, how Trump is paving the way for Chinese dominance and Xi's long-sought invasion of Taiwan, and ways to fight back, no matter how deliberately chaotic things get. Remember to protect your sleep during this time and check out the helpful reminder on developing good sleep hygiene in the show notes. They want us overwhelmed and scared, but we must stay sharp and fit. Commit to mindful and healthy practices, including unplugging when needed. By staying strong, we can help carry each other through what lies ahead. No matter how dark things get, we'll get through it together! Afterall, Trump is America, a nation built on the largest Native American mass grave and the genocide of slavery. Trump has always been here. We will fight our way through to another chapter of hard-won progress for future generations to look back on in horror.  Olga Lautman will join the Gaslit Nation Salon on February 10 at 4pm ET! And don't forget our Gaslit Nation Game Night on Friday February 7th at 8:30pm ET–we're playing Codenames! For game night, be sure to make an account on BoardGameArena.com. Both events are for our Patreon community. Zoom links will be shared the morning of the events on Patreon.com/Gaslit so be sure to subscribe to help support the show!  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Check out Olga Lautman's Substack! https://substack.com/@olgalautman?utm_source=profile-page   ICYMI: Here are previous documents the Security Committee has shared: • Tech Travel Tips : https://web.tresorit.com/l/hmKP6#FFHiLuu45pSJtMo_Z9Zp9Q   • Why defending your right to privacy is important: https://web.tresorit.com/l/73FHq#ip5_zE6hhWkuaDMBAAhpYw   • Introduction to VPN https://web.tresorit.com/l/WHdqz#-zI5O7Q2zHznO_NG7aZWPQ   • Three Security Steps to Take Today: https://web.tresorit.com/l/417K9#CaDJOcOrEOta4T5oDlNsYw   • Practice Safe Data Security: https://web.tresorit.com/l/hiw9s#wOykkL6Lh_Hz_TbRsiCiEQ   Read all the details in the PDF here: https://web.tresorit.com/l/W6ots#IydZ2pnTmE1MLPJLkLZ73A   For the Gaslit Nation Book Club – First Meeting at the Gaslit Nation Salon on February 24 at 4pm ET   Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl https://bookshop.org/p/books/man-s-search-for-meaning-viktor-e-frankl/8996943?ean=9780807014271   The Stranger: Introduction by Keith Gore Albert Camus (Author)  Matthew Ward (Translator) https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-stranger-introduction-by-keith-gore-albert-camus/18890716?ean=9780679420262   Opening Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e49VEpWg61M   Martin Luther King, Jr., "What Is Your Life's Blueprint?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmtOGXreTOU   Elon Musk's Anti-Semitic, Apartheid-Loving Grandfather The billionaire has described his grandfather as a risk-taking adventurer. A closer read of history reveals something much darker. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/joshua-haldeman-elon-musk-grandfather-apartheid-antisemitism/675396/   Trump's Crypto Meme Coin Is His Most Lucrative Get-Rich Scheme Yet https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/what-just-happened-with-usdtrump-and-usdmelania-meme-coins.html   German-Soviet Pact The German-Soviet Pact was signed in August 1939. It paved the way for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to invade and occupy Poland that September. The pact was an agreement of convenience between two bitter enemies. It permitted them to carve up spheres of influence in eastern Europe, while pledging not to attack each other for 10 years. Less than two years later, however, Hitler launched an invasion of the Soviet Union. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact#:~:text=This%20agreement%20is%20commonly%20referred,or%20the%20Hitler%2DStalin%20Pact.&text=The%20arrangement%20included%20a%2010,economic%20cooperation%20and%20territorial%20expansion.   Trump pauses US foreign development aid for 90 days, orders review https://kyivindependent.com/trump-pauses-all-us-foreign-aid-for-90-days-pending-review/ Elon Musk's Father on Their Nazis History: https://x.com/DillyHussain88/status/1881670092993560772 Did Elon Musk steal the election for Trump? (Yes!): https://x.com/CalltoActivism/status/1881118080212115627 House GOP crafts bill to let Trump purchase Greenland https://www.axios.com/2025/01/13/trump-buy-greenland-house-republican-bill In Rare Criticism, Trump Says Putin Is ‘Destroying Russia': President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia praised President Trump's second inauguration, but the American leader did not return the compliment. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/us/politics/trump-putin-russia-ukraine.html?unlocked_article_code=1.q04.QTOS.5McfXW68PNkf&smid=url-share Welcome to the era of gangster tech regulation Our tech overlords all have problems, and they want to buy the solutions. https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/20/24346317/trump-gangster-tech-regulation-corruption-grift We Need A New Deal To Save Local Journalism https://defector.com/a-new-deal-to-save-local-journalism-la-fires News site focused on Elon Musk to launch https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5268286/elon-musk-news-site-popular-information Three media stories to watch for the next 4 years https://www.semafor.com/article/01/19/2025/three-media-stories-to-watch-for-the-next-4-years Trump signs executive order to pause TikTok ban, provide immunity to tech firms https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5268701/trump-executive-order-tiktok-ban Bad Faith (Christian nationalism documentary) https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/4/16/bad-faith Sleep tips: 6 steps to better sleep https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379  

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY / CLASSIC EPISODE FROM DECEMBER 11, 2024 -- On the Show: -- Andrea Chalupa, host of the Gaslit Nation podcast, joins David to discuss effective ways to push back against authoritarianism, and much more -- The alleged assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Johnson has been identified as Luigi Mangione, who has been arrested, and his social media history is now a focus of attention -- 28 seconds of pure cognitive dissonance from Fox News about Luigi Mangione and Daniel Penny -- The secret about Donald Trump's policies that his followers appear to have no idea about -- Harmeet Dhillon has been nominated by Donald Trump to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, and this is a dangerous nomination that is getting very little attention -- Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, runs away from questions about Bashar al-Assad after making a meaningless statement about her views on Assad's fleeing to Russia -- Donald Trump spits out a word salad when asked by NBC News' Kristen Welker whether he will raise the federal minimum wage as President -- A disoriented Trump puts up a bizarre Truth Social post about Democrats wanting to eliminate the popular vote -- Jason Miller, Donald Trump's press flunkie, appears to whitewash everything Trump said about imprisoning members of the January 6 House Committee -- On the Bonus Show: The danger of 3D printed ghost guns, only 22% support Biden pardoning Hunter, Trump chooses another family member for ambassador, and much more...

From Joan of Arc, the novel Mark Twain considered his finest work—one that took him longer to write than any of his other books, and one so deeply personal to him that he chose to publish it anonymously: “When we consider that her century was perhaps the most brutal, depraved, and morally corrupt in history since the Dark Ages, we are left in awe at the extraordinary emergence of such a figure from such a time. The contrast between her and her era is as stark as the difference between day and night. She was truthful in a world where deception was the norm; she was honest when integrity had nearly vanished; she kept promises when few would even make them; her great intellect was devoted to noble causes, while others squandered their brilliance on trivialities or selfish pursuits; she embodied modesty, grace, and refinement when loudness and vulgarity had become commonplace; she harbored compassion when cruelty ruled; she stood firm in her convictions when stability was unknown; she was a beacon of honor in an age that had forgotten its meaning; she was steadfast when others were adrift in doubt; she maintained her dignity in a time of sycophants and servility; she exhibited courage when her nation's hope had withered; she was pure in thought and action in an era where corruption ran rampant at the highest levels; she was all of these things in a world where crime was the everyday business of kings and nobles, and where even the most powerful figures in Christendom shocked the world with their treachery, bloodshed, and barbarism.” In this week's bonus show, Andrea mines the timeless lessons in Mark Twain's portrayal of Joan of Arc, drawing connections between her legacy and contemporary struggles—both in the U.S. and in Ukraine, which faces its most daunting challenge under Russian-backed Trump. No matter how grim the situation may seem, history shows us that movements born from collective action can prevail. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes: People's March January 18: Find a location near you: https://map.wewontgoback.com/local People's March–more info: https://www.peoplesmarch.com/ Opening Clip: https://x.com/atrupar/status/1879698232495734828 Is American an Oligarchy? https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/12/10/is-america-an-oligarchy Rep. Rick Crawford expected to serve as House Intelligence chair https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/16/congress/crawford-to-be-named-house-intel-chair-00198644  Luigi Mangione: Shooter or Superfan? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwGVUvq7Pq4&t=18s  ICYMI: Here are previous documents the Security Committee has shared: • Tech Travel Tips : https://web.tresorit.com/l/hmKP6#FFHiLuu45pSJtMo_Z9Zp9Q • Why defending your right to privacy is important: https://web.tresorit.com/l/73FHq#ip5_zE6hhWkuaDMBAAhpYw • Introduction to VPN https://web.tresorit.com/l/WHdqz#-zI5O7Q2zHznO_NG7aZWPQ • Three Security Steps to Take Today: https://web.tresorit.com/l/417K9#CaDJOcOrEOta4T5oDlNsYw • Practice Safe Data Security: https://web.tresorit.com/l/hiw9s#wOykkL6Lh_Hz_TbRsiCiEQ  Read all the details in the PDF here: https://web.tresorit.com/l/W6ots#IydZ2pnTmE1MLPJLkLZ73A   For the Gaslit Nation Book Club – First Meeting at the Gaslit Nation Salon on February 24 at 4pm ET:   Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl https://bookshop.org/p/books/man-s-search-for-meaning-viktor-e-frankl/8996943?ean=9780807014271   The Stranger: Introduction by Keith Gore Albert Camus (Author)  Matthew Ward (Translator) https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-stranger-introduction-by-keith-gore-albert-camus/18890716?ean=9780679420262  

In a Gaslit Nation first, we're speaking to a guest whose voice is… well, masked like Putin's stiff botoxed face. That's because we've had to protect their identity—our guest today is none other than the undisputed ruler of the underworld, likely the wealthiest person on the planet (given the cadre of oligarchs they've got on speed dial), and—let's not forget—a master strategist. You may know them as Darth Putin KGB, the Twitter titan who once made parody fun before it got, well, a little too real. Now, if you're finding it hard to understand Darth Putin's voice, don't worry. We tried several different settings to find the right balance between protecting their anonymity and making sure we didn't sound like we were interviewing an angry vending machine. But, for those of you who are truly committed, you can follow along with the full transcript of the interview, which is conveniently available at the top of the show notes. Darth Putin is also the author of two books, the most recent being How to Tankie: The Anti-Imperialist's Guide to the Modern World, and The Darth Putin Guide to Being a Master Strategist: 13 Rules on How to Think, Act, Dress & Date Like a Master Strategist. We'll be sharing excerpts from our conversation in future episodes, including their thoughts on why satire is needed more than ever in an age of growing fascism, and how to be a master strategist when it comes to making fun of dictators and their lackeys. In this part of the interview, Darth delivers a chilling warning: we must not abandon Ukraine, for the security of both the world and ourselves is on the line. This is obvious to everyone, except for crackhead Ken Pete Hegseth, Trump's frat boy date rapist pick to run the most powerful military in human history.  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Transcript of the Darth Putin KGB interview: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fgG16BVg4_hdIMk0aBJWBaI3vW2Rk2xU/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117489509282294341490&rtpof=true&sd=true   Heart of the Want to Believer from Limbic Psalms by Confusions https://confusions.bandcamp.com/track/heart-of-the-want-to-believer   Submit your song to be featured on Gaslit Nation! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-d_DWNnDQFYUMXueYcX5ZVsA5t2RN09N8PYUQQ8koq0/edit?ts=5fee07f6&gxids=7628   Four Takeaways From the Special Counsel's Report on the Trump Election Case Jack Smith wrote that Donald Trump would have been convicted had the case been allowed to proceed and explained why he didn't pursue charges of incitement of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/us/politics/jack-smith-trump-election-report-takeaways.html   Irregular Army How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror By Matt Kennard https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/233226/irregular-army-by-matt-kennard/   Merrick Garland Both-Sides the Coup https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2022/1/12/merrick-garland-both-sides   CBS News: Jack Smith's Trump Report  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNyd7mXI-hU    ICYMI: Here are previous documents the Security Committee has shared: • Tech Travel Tips : https://web.tresorit.com/l/hmKP6#FFHiLuu45pSJtMo_Z9Zp9Q   • Why defending your right to privacy is important: https://web.tresorit.com/l/73FHq#ip5_zE6hhWkuaDMBAAhpYw   • Introduction to VPN https://web.tresorit.com/l/WHdqz#-zI5O7Q2zHznO_NG7aZWPQ   • Three Security Steps to Take Today: https://web.tresorit.com/l/417K9#CaDJOcOrEOta4T5oDlNsYw   • Practice Safe Data Security: https://web.tresorit.com/l/hiw9s#wOykkL6Lh_Hz_TbRsiCiEQ   Read all the details in the PDF here: https://web.tresorit.com/l/W6ots#IydZ2pnTmE1MLPJLkLZ73A  

Announcement! If you're a Gaslit Nation supporter on Patreon, join us for the first ever Gaslit Nation Game Night this Friday at 8:30pm ET, organized by Gaslit Nation listeners. The game of the night will either be Codenames or Chameleon. The Zoom link is posted in the Victory Chat as well as this episode page on Patreon!  When it comes to the DNC Chair election on February 1st, the only choice is Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin since July 2019. None of the other candidates, except for Ken Martin, the state chair of the Democratic Party in Minnesota, even come close. Why? Because, unlike Martin, Wikler has faced off with the worst of our national demons in Wisconsin—a state that's long been a laboratory for GOP autocracy, as detailed in Ari Berman's must-read book Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It. In this week's bonus show Q&A, shaped by our Democracy Defender-level supporters and higher, we make the case for Wikler and break down the dynamics of a race that could shape not only the future of the Democratic Party but the soul of America. We also dive into the People's March, formerly the Women's March, and announce the Gaslit Nation sign contest for the best protest sign! Join Andrea at the march in New York City at 10 AM on Saturday, January 18th—details to come! To find a People's March near you, or to help organize one if there isn't already one in your area, check out this handy guide: https://map.peoplesmarch.com/local If you didn't hear your question answered this week, keep an eye out for it soon as the Gaslit Nation Q&A continues! To our Democracy Defender-level folks and higher, submit your questions in a private message for the next Q&A! Thank you to everyone who supports the show—we couldn't make Gaslit Nation without you! Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Books: What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures By Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, the marine biologist behind the Blue New Deal: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/645855/what-if-we-get-it-right-by-ayana-elizabeth-johnson/ The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by journalist David Wallace-Wells https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-uninhabitable-earth-life-after-warming-david-wallace-wells/12097261?ean=9780525576716 The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist's Guide to the Climate Crisis Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, two of the architects of the Paris Climate Agreement https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-future-we-choose-the-stubborn-optimist-s-guide-to-the-climate-crisis-christiana-figueres/13156367?aid=1676&ean=9780593080931&listref=caring-for-the-earth-each-other-practicing-sustainable-living   Reading:  Researcher Jenny Cohn wrote a disturbing thread about Sillicon Valley bro-fascists setting their sights on Greenland: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1877052010559844478.html?utm_campaign=topunroll Historian Timothy Snyder on why the U.S. needs a Shadow Cabinet, like the U.K.: https://snyder.substack.com/p/shadow-cabinet A bombshell report confirming that Russian intelligence paid tens of millions of dollars to the Taliban to target American coalition forces in Afghanistan. What is Trump going to do about this as president? https://theins.ru/en/politics/277723   The Gerrymander Has Been Slayed: Wisconsinites Get Fair Maps for 2024 Election https://campaignlegal.org/update/gerrymander-has-been-slayed-wisconsinites-get-fair-maps-2024-election As Democrats Reel, Two Front-Runners Emerge in a Leadership Battle The race to lead the Democratic National Committee centers on the favorites, Ken Martin and Ben Wikler, but the party's infighting over them looks nothing like a broad reckoning with its 2024 defeats. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/05/us/politics/dnc-race-ben-wikler-ken-martin.html The People's March Website: https://www.peoplesmarch.com/ Trump's inauguration coincides with an unprecedented string of high-stakes security events in DC https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-security-a3df8ed878f2c0587f7038d68a0447f6   FTC antitrust case against Meta can move to trial, court rules. The decision marks a victory for the agency and its Democratic chair, Lina Khan, after early legal setbacks. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/11/13/meta-ftc-antitrust/   Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People--And the Fight to Resist It https://bookshop.org/p/books/minority-rule-ari-berman/19994801?ean=9780374600211    

On January 6, 2021, we watched on live television as Donald Trump and several Republican members of Congress incited a violent attempted overthrow of our democracy. This insurrection led to several deaths, including police officers who later died by suicide. When Joe Biden was sworn in as President in January 2021, Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress. Instead of using their time in power to pass a resolution or bill banning Trump and his supporters from holding office under the 14th Amendment's "insurrection clause" (Section 3), they held hearings that concluded with a report and a referral to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution. In the 2022 midterms, Democrats lost the House due to America's worsening gerrymandering crisis. Attorney General Merrick Garland waited two years to appoint Special Prosecutor Jack Smith. While some credit the Democrats' January 6 committee for prompting Garland to take action, the reality is that both Democrats and Garland wasted valuable time. In the four years since January 6, 2021, no resolution or bill was passed in Congress to enforce the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. Instead, a group of voters and legal experts attempted to bar Trump from the ballot in Colorado, leading to legal cases such as Trump v. Anderson. In early 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not bar federal candidates, and that applying the 14th Amendment was up to Congress. So, why didn't Democrats act in 2021 and 2022 when they had two years to enforce the U.S. Constitution? We need an honest accounting of how an insurrectionist will be president just four years after leading a violent attempt to overthrow our democracy. Democrats deferred to Merrick Garland, who then deferred to Jack Smith, who ultimately dismissed his Trump cases in November 2024, after Trump won one of the closest elections in U.S. history. This election took place amid rampant disinformation and the consolidation of far-right media, including Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, turning it into a platform for (pro-Trump and Russia) disinformation–the largest in the world. At the same time, Republicans and the Supreme Court over the years undermined the Voting Rights Act and expanded voter ID laws–a modern day poll tax, disenfranchising 21 million Americans. As Andrea and Terrell discuss in this week's episode, the 2024 election was neither free nor fair. The institutions meant to protect us failed. As Gaslit Nation has long warned, an unpunished attempted coup leads to a successful one. The institutionalists and controlled opposition who enabled this crisis don't realize they are not safe either. Once a dictator is in power, no one can control them. We also point out that George Orwell warned us about fascist bootlickers like Trump/Musk fanboy Lex Fridman, whose three-hour interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can be summed up by Orwell's quote: "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." Gaslit Nation officially calls on Lex Fridman to stop quoting Orwell on his podcast—Orwell would have hated you. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Republicans just took control of the House because of partisan and racial gerrymandering. Here's how https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/16/2136410/-Republicans-just-took-control-of-the-House-because-of-partisan-and-racial-gerrymandering-Here-s-how   In Trump's second term, evidence suggests corruption will be worse, not better Donald Trump's first term was astonishingly corrupt. There's already reason to believe his second will be worse. https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-second-term-evidence-suggests-corruption-will-worse-not-better-rcna179589    U.S. to probe Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' system after pedestrian killed https://www.npr.org/2024/10/19/g-s1-29030/us-probe-tesla-full-self-driving-system   The Republican Structural Advantage Republicans start every election cycle with structural advantages regardless of the issues and all the other factors that usually determine who wins elections. https://prospect.org/power/republican-structural-advantage/   How conservative media helped the far-right take over the Republican Party https://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9074761/conservative-media-republican-party   How Media Consolidation Paved the Way for Right-Wing Insurrection A battle playing out at the Supreme Court could make media monopolies way worse. https://inthesetimes.com/article/supreme-court-media-consolidation-fcc-echo-chamber   Media Consolidation Means Less Local News, More Right Wing Slant https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/media-consolidation-means-less-local-news-more-right-wing-slant   The Right-Wing Media Takeover Is Destroying America The purchase of The Baltimore Sun is further proof that conservative billionaires understand the power of media control. Why don't their liberal counterparts get it? https://newrepublic.com/post/178256/baltimore-sun-liberal-billionaires-media-failure   The growth of Sinclaire's conservative media empire https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/22/the-growth-of-sinclairs-conservative-media-empire   How Gerrymandering Tilts the 2024 Race for the House Facebook LinkedIn Skewed maps give Republicans big advantages in 11 states, mostly in the South and Midwest. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-gerrymandering-tilts-2024-race-house   Elon Musk Being Investigated for Violating Terms of "Top Secret" Clearance He has become a major liability for the government. https://futurism.com/elon-musk-investigated-violating-terms-top-secret-clearance   Elon Musk didn't show up for testimony in a probe over his $44 billion Twitter takeover. Now the SEC wants sanctions https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/20/tech/sec-sanctions-elon-musk-testimony-twitter-probe/index.html   The Women's March Rebranded and Reorganized. Now They're Ready for 2025 https://time.com/7203169/womens-march-donald-trump-protest-change/   ABC Settles With Trump in a Case It Could Have Won https://fair.org/home/abc-settles-with-trump-in-a-case-it-could-have-won/   Why Gerrymandering Has Gotten Worse https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-gerrymandering-has-gotten-worse/   The North Carolina GOP's Latest Ploy to Steal a State Supreme Court Seat https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/12/north-carolina-gop-state-supreme-court.html   North Carolina's Unfair Voting Maps Gave GOP Congress Majority https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article296319684.html   Judge agrees to dismiss Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case President-elect Trump faced charges over his handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, which culminated in the U.S. Capitol attack. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jack-smith-files-drop-jan-6-charges-donald-trump-rcna181667    The lost year: How Merrick Garland's Justice Department ran out of time prosecuting Trump for January 6 https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/06/politics/doj-trump-jan-6-riot/index.html  

Andrea will be speaking at the peaceful Now March this Friday, January 3rd, on Capitol Hill calling for Congress to take their final opportunity to stop MAGA fascism. Obviously the time to stop Russian-backed Trump was years ago, as Gaslit Nation has documented for years now. Andrea will join the Now March to support the tenacious organizers, to take a stand on the right side of history, and to never stop reminding people: none of this is normal. An unpunished coup is a dress rehearsal for a sucessful one, and that is where we are in America. For more information visit NowMarch.org and check out this video by Jessica Denson of Lights On, one of the main organizsers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkRnnglQm4U

Good news! Staying off social media is good for your mental health and countering disinformation. In this week's Gaslit Nation bonus show, listen to an excerpt of our inspiring live interview with Dr. Emma Briant, one of the world's foremost experts on disinformation warfare and propaganda. Dr. Briant, co-editor of The Routledge Handbook on the Influence Industry and author of Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change, shares invaluable insights into the weapons of global propaganda. Check out her latest article in the Index on Censorship on how disinformation warfare is being waged on academia. Our discussion was recorded at Monday's Gaslit Nation political salon with our Patreon community. Thank you to all who attended and asked great questions! To hear the full discussion, be sure to subscribe at the Truth-teller ($5/month) tier or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit!  Gaslit Nation returns with all-new episodes on January 7th! We're excited to continue this fight for truth and justice with you—together, we can plant the seeds of meaningful change. Democracy Defender ($10/month) and higher supporters, don't forget to submit your questions for our upcoming bonus show Q&A! Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!  Show Notes: Meet Dr. Emma Briant: https://emma-briant.co.uk/ Can academic freedom survive Donald Trump's plans for thought control? The president's aim to remove power from universities and punish so-called “woke” ideology has chilling implications for free speech globally By Emma Briant https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2024/12/academic-freedom-survive-donald-trump-plans-thought-control-universities-colleges-education/

How does Franco's reign in Spain connect to the rise of Trump? In this gripping true-crime thriller, financial journalist Gareth Gore, while investigating a bank collapse in Spain, follows the money trail to uncover a vast international conspiracy behind Opus Dei. What is Opus Dei? It's a shadowy global right-wing organization founded in Spain just before the Spanish Civil War. Supported by powerful Republican figures like Leonard Leo, Opus Dei is a Christian nationalist movement fueling efforts to dismantle democracy and pave the way for dictatorship in America. Gore, the author of the explosive book Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Inside the Catholic Church, delves into this insidious network. In this chilling conversation, recorded just before the U.S. election, Gore reveals how Opus Dei's influence stretches from Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court—and what is being done, including by the Pope, to try to curb its destructive power. This week's bonus show features a live interview with Dr. Emma Briant, one of the world's foremost experts on disinformation warfare and propaganda. Dr. Briant, co-editor of The Routledge Handbook on the Influence Industry and author of Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change, shares invaluable insights into the weapons of global propaganda.  Gaslit Nation returns with all-new episodes on January 7th! We're excited to continue this fight for truth and justice with you—together, we can plant the seeds of meaningful change. Democracy Defender ($10/month) and higher supporters, don't forget to submit your questions for our upcoming bonus show Q&A! Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!  Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! We're running this week's episode earlier than usual due to the New Year's Eve holiday--happy new year, everyone! We'll get through what comes next together!   

Great Britain was woefully unprepared when Hitler's Nazis invaded nearly half of Europe. As the country faced the relentless terror of the Blitz—where cities were bombed like Ukraine is being bombed today by Putin—Churchill was tasked with turning the tide. In the midst of this devastation, he turned to his favorite act of self-care: creating art. In our ongoing discussion, Robert Schmuhl, author of Mr. Churchill in the White House, explores how painting was a profound source of solace and strength for Churchill. This personal outlet helped shape his leadership during Europe's darkest hour, influencing the fate of the free world. As we always say on Gaslit Nation, art is survival. If you have artwork you'd like to share with our community, we'd love to feature it on our socials. Email us at GaslitNation@gmail.com! For music, we're happy to play your song on the show—just submit your work using the link in our show notes! This Monday, during our Gaslit Nation salon on Zoom with our Patreon community, we're thrilled to welcome disinformation researcher Dr. Emma Briant. Dr. Briant played a pivotal role in exposing the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal and is a co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of the Influence Industry, which includes a chapter on lawfare by Andrea's sister, Alexandra Chalupa. Dr. Briant will walk us through the mechanics of influence campaigns—how they work, their effects, and, most importantly, how we can fight back. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the leading experts in the field! Show Notes: The song featured in this week's episode is “Free” by Aaron Espe: https://open.spotify.com/track/3M7xHMsoIeNKLkrJ2wY4i6 Submit your song to be featured on Gaslit Nation: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS7TftV6Vfnw-iasFLepL6FpIj_KFORDLrAlZGH3nLg7i8lA/viewform Mr. Churchill in the White House The Untold Story of a Prime Minister and Two Presidents https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324093428 Clip: The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exABCiPBAVE Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!