Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Kendzior

In this podcast, our guest is Sarah Kendzior, the best-selling author of “The View From Fly Over Country, “Hiding In Plain Sight,” and “They Knew.” Her latest book, “The Last American Road Trip: A Memoir,” is part political history and part memoir, but it is mostly a great road trip romp with her family across the United States before it is too late.   Kendzior has a PhD in anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied authoritarian regimes of the former Soviet Union. After getting her PhD in 2012, Kendzior spent a decade writing about the decline of the United States for various publications around the world. She lives with her husband and kids in St. Louis.   Order the Book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250879882/thelastamericanroadtrip/   Subscribe to Sarah's Substack Newsletter: https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/ Greg's Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/  Pat's Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about     #Sarah Kendzior#Last American Road Trip# American road trip#Political corruption#Trump kleptocracy# Authoritarianism in America# Surveillance capitalism# Conspiracy culture. Media disinformation# Midwest flyover country#They Knew# Hiding in plain site#Paywall censorship#Route 66 nostalgia#FBI watchlists#Paywall censorship#ransnational organized crime#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

Few Americans have been as explicit in their warnings about Donald Trump than the St. Louis based writer Sarah Kendzior. Her latest book, The Last American Road Trip, is a memoir chronicling Kendzior's journey down Route 66 to show her children America before it is destroyed. Borrowing from her research of post Soviet Central Asia, Kendzior argues that Trump is establishing a kleptocratic “mafia state” designed to fleece the country of its valuables. This is the third time that Kendzior has been on the show and I have to admit I've always been slightly skeptical of her apocalyptic take on Trump. But given the damage that the new administration is inflicting on America, I have to admit that many of Kendzior's warnings now appear to be uncannily prescient. As she warns, it's Springtime in America. And things are about to get much much hotter. FIVE TAKEAWAYS* Kendzior views Trump's administration as a "mafia state" or kleptocracy focused on stripping America for parts rather than traditional fascism, comparing it to post-Soviet oligarchic systems she studied as an academic.* She believes American institutions have failed to prevent authoritarianism, criticizing both the Biden administration and other institutional leaders for not taking sufficient preventative action during Trump's first term.* Despite her bleak analysis, Kendzior finds hope in ordinary Americans and their capacity for mutual care and resistance, even as she sees formal leadership failing.* Kendzior's new book The Last American Road Trip follows her journey to show her children America before potential collapse, using Route 66 as a lens to examine American decay and resilience.* As an independent voice, she describes being targeted through both publishing obstacles and personal threats, yet remains committed to staying in her community and documenting what's happening. FULL TRANSCRIPTAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, it is April the 18th, 2025, a Friday. I'm thrilled today that we have one of my favorite guests back on the show. I call her the Cassandra of St. Louis, Sarah Kendzior. Many of you know her from her first book, which was a huge success. All her books have done very well. The View from Flyover Country. She was warning us about Trump and Trumpism and MAGA. She was first on our show in 2020. Talking about media in the age of Trump. She had another book out then, Hiding in Plain Sight, The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America. Then in 2022, she came back on the show to talk about how a culture of conspiracy is keeping America simultaneously complacent and paranoid that the book was called or is called, They Knew. Another big success. And now Sarah has a new book out. It's called The Last American Road Trip. It's a beautifully written book, a kind of memoir, but a political one, of course, which one would expect from Sarah Kendzior. And I'm thrilled, as I said, that the Cassandra of St. Louis is joining us from St. Louis. Sarah, congratulations on the new book.Sarah Kendzior: Oh, thank you. And thank you for having me back on.Andrew Keen: Well, it's an honor. So these four books, how does the last American road trip in terms of the narrative of your previous three hits, how does it fit in? Why did you write it?Sarah Kendzior: Well, this book kind of pivots off the epilog of hiding in plain sight. And that was a book about political corruption in the United States and the rise of Trump. But in the epilogue, I describe how I was trying as a mom to show my kids America in the case that it ended due to both political turmoil and corruption and also climate change. I wanted them to see things themselves. So I was driving them around the country to national parks, historic sites, et cetera. And so many people responded so passionately to that little section, especially parents really struggling on how to raise children in this America that I ended up writing a book that covers 2016 to 2024 and my attempts to show my children everything I could in the time that we had. And as this happens, my children went from relatively young kids to teenagers, my daughter's almost an adult. And so it kind of captures America during this time period. It's also just a travelog, a road trip book, a memoir. It's a lot of things at once.Andrew Keen: Yeah, got great review from Ms. magazine comparing you with the great road writers, Kerouac, of course, and Steinbeck, but Kerouak and Steinback, certainly Kerouack was very much of a solitary male. Is there a female quality to this book? As you say, it's a book as much about your kids and the promise of America as it is about yourself.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, I think there is in that, you know, I have a section actually about the doomed female road trip where it's, you know, Thelma and Louise or Janet Bates and Psycho or even songs about, you know, being on the road and on the run that are written by women, you know, like Merle Haggard's I'm a Lonesome Fugitive, had to be sung by men to convey that quality. And there aren't a lot of, you know, mom on the Road with her husband and kids kind of books. That said, I think of it as a family book, a parenting book. I certainly think men would like it just as much as women would, and people without kids would like just as people with kids, although it does seem to strike a special resonance with families struggling with a lot of the same issues that I do.Andrew Keen: It's all about the allure of historic Route 66. I've been on that. Anyone who's driven across the country has you. You explain that it's a compilation of four long trips across Route 66 in 1998, 2007, 2017, and 2023. That's almost 40 years, Sarah. Sorry, 30. Getting away my age there, Andrew. My math isn't very good. I mean, how has Route 66 and of course, America changed in that period? I know that's a rather leading question.Sarah Kendzior: No, I mean, I devote quite a lot of the book to Route 66 in part because I live on it, you know, goes right through St. Louis. So, I see it just every day. I'll be casually grocery shopping and then be informed I'm on historic Route 66 all of a sudden. But you know it's a road that is, you once was the great kind of romanticized road of escape and travel. It was decommissioned notably by Ronald Reagan after the creation of the interstate. And now it's just a series of rural roads, frontage roads, roads that end abruptly, roads that have gone into ruin, roads that are in some really beautiful places in terms of the landscape. So it really is this conglomeration of all of America, you know of the decay and the destruction and the abandonment in particular, but also people's, their own memories, their own artistic works, you know roadside shrines and creations that are often, you know pretty off beat. That they've put to show this is what I think of our country. These are my values. This is what, I think, is important. So it's a very interesting journey to take. It's often one I'm kind of inadvertently on just because of where I live and the direction I go. We'll mirror it. So I kept passing these sites again and again. I didn't set out to write this book. Obviously, when I first drove it when I was 19, I didn't know that this was our future. But looking back, especially at technological change, at how we travel, at how trust each other, at all of these things that have happened to this country since this time, it's really something. And that road will bring back all of those memories of what was lost and what remains to be lost. And of course it's hitting its 100th anniversary next year, so I'm guessing there'll be a lot of reminiscing about Route 66.Andrew Keen: Book about memories, you write about that, eventually even your memory will just or this experience of this trip will just be a memory. What does that suggest about contextualizing the current moment in American history? It's too easy to overdramatize it or perhaps it's hard not to over dramatize it given what's happening. I want to talk about a little bit about that your take on America on April the 18th, 2025. But how does that make sense of a memorial when you know that even your memories will become memories?Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, I mean it's hard to talk frankly about what's happening in America now without it sounding over dramatic or hyperbolic, which I think is why so many people were reluctant to believe me over my last decade of warnings that the current crises and catastrophes that we're experiencing are coming, are possible, and need to be actively stopped. I don't think they were inevitable, but they needed to be stopped by people in charge who refused to do it. And so, my reaction to this as a writer, but just as a human being is to write everything down, is to keep an ongoing record, not only of what I witness now, but of what know of our history, of what my own values are, of what place in the world is. And back in 2016, I encouraged everyone to do this because I knew that over the next decade, people would be told to accept things that they would normally never accept, to believe things that they would normally, never believe. And if you write down where you stand, you always have that point of reference to look back towards. It doesn't have to be for publication. It doesn't have to for the outside world. It can just be for yourself. And so I think that that's important. But right now, I think everyone has a role to play in battling what is an authoritarian kleptocracy and preventing it from hurting people. And I think people should lean into what they do best. And what I do best is write and research and document. So that's what I meant. Continue to do, particularly as history itself is under assault by this government.Andrew Keen: One of the things that strikes me about you, Sarah, is that you have an unusual background. You got a PhD in Soviet studies, late Soviet studies.Sarah Kendzior: Anthropology, yeah, but that was nice.Andrew Keen: But your dissertation was on the Uzbek opposition in exile. I wonder whether that experience of studying the late Soviet Union and its disintegration equipped you in some ways better than a lot of domestic American political analysts and writers for what's happening in America today. We've done a number of shows with people like Pete Weiner, who I'm sure you know his work from the Atlantic of New York Times. About learning from East European resistance writers, brave people like Milan Kundra, of course, Vaclav Havel, Solzhenitsyn. Do you think your earlier history of studying the Soviet Union helped you prepare, at least mentally, intellectually, for what's happening in the United States?Sarah Kendzior: Oh, absolutely. I think it was essential, because there are all sorts of different types of authoritarianism. And the type that Trump and his backers have always pursued was that of a mafia state, you know, of a kleptocracy. And Uzbekistan is the country that I knew the most. And actually, you what I wrote my dissertation about, this is between 2006, and 2012, was the fact that after a massacre of civilians... A lot of Uzbekistan's journalists, activists, political figures, opposition figures, et cetera, went into exile and then they immediately started writing blogs. And so for the very first time, they had freedom of speech. They had never had it in Uzbekistan. And they start revealing the whole secret history of Uzbekistan and everything going on and trying to work with each other, try to sort of have some impact on the political process in Uzbekistan. And they lost. What happened was the dictator died, Islam Karimov died, in 2016, and was replaced by another dictator who's not quite as severe. But watching the losing side and also watching people persevere and hold on to themselves and continue working despite that loss, I think, was very influential. Because you could look at Václav Havel or Lech Walesa or, you know, other sort of. People who won, you know, from Eastern Europe, from the revolutions of 1989 and so forth. And it's inspiring that sometimes I think it's really important to look at the people who did not succeed, but kept going anyway. You know, they didn't surrender themselves. They didn't their morality and they didn't abandon their fellow man. And I think that that's important. And also just to sort of get at the heart of your question, yes, you the structure of it, oligarchs who shake down countries, strip them and sell them for parts. Mine them for resources. That model, especially of what happened to Russia, actually, in particular in the 1990s of these oligarch wars, is what I see as the future of the United States right now. That is what they're trying to emulate.Andrew Keen: That we did a show with Steve Hansen and Jeff Kopstein, both political scientists, on what they see. They co-wrote a book on patrimonialism. This is the model they see there. They're both Max Weber scholars, so they borrow from that historic sociological analysis. And Kopstein was on the show with John Rausch as well, talking about this patrimonials. And so you, do you share the Kopstein-Hansen-Rausch analysis. Roush wrote a piece in the Atlantic about this too, which did very well. But this isn't conventional fascism or communism. It's a kind of 21st century version of patrimonialism.Sarah Kendzior: It's definitely not traditional fascism and one of the main reasons for that is a fascist has loyalty to the state. They seek to embody the state, they seek to expand the state recently Trump has been doing this more traditional route somewhat things like wanting to buy Greenland. But I think a lot of what he's doing is in reaction to climate change and also by the way I don't think Trump is the mastermind or originator. Of any of these geopolitical designs. You know, he has a team, we know about some of them with the Heritage Foundation Project 2025. We know he has foreign advisors. And again, you know, Trump is a corporate raider. That is how he led his business life. He's a mafia associate who wants to strip things down and sell them for parts. And that's what they wanna do with the United States. And that, yes, there are fascist tactics. There are fascists rhetoric. You know there are a lot of things that this country will, unfortunately, and has. In common, you know, with, say, Nazi Germany, although it's also notable that of course Nazi Germany borrowed from a lot of the tactics of Jim Crow, slavery, genocide of Native Americans. You know, this has always been a back and forth and America always has had some form of selective autocracy. But yeah, I think the folks who try to make this direct line and make it seem like the 20th century is just simply being revived, I've always felt like they were off because. There's no interest for these plutocrats in the United States even existing as a sovereign body. Like it truly doesn't matter to them if all of our institutions, even something as benign as the Postal Service, collapse. That's actually beneficial for them because then they can privatize, they can mine resources, they can make money for themselves. And I really worry that their goal is partition, you know, is to take this country. And to split it into smaller pieces that are easier to control. And that's one of the reasons I wrote this book, that I wrote The Last American Road Trip because I don't want people to fall for traps about generalizations or stereotypes about different regions of this country. I want them to see it as a whole and that our struggles are interconnected and we have a better chance of winning if we stand by each other.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and your book, in particular, The View from Flyover Country was so important because it wasn't written from San Francisco or Los Angeles or D.C. Or New York. It was written from St. Louis. So in a way, Sarah, you're presenting Trump as the ultimate Hayekian b*****d. There's a new book out by Quinn Slobodian called Hayek's B******s, which connects. Trumpianism and mago with Neoliberalism you don't see a break. We've done a lot of shows on the rise and fall of neoliberalism. You don't say a break between Hayek and TrumpSarah Kendzior: I think that in terms of neoliberalism, I think it's a continuation of it. And people who think that our crises began with Trump becoming the president in 2017, entering office, are deluded because the pathway to Trump even being able to run for president given that he was first investigated by the Department of Justice in 1973 and then was linked to a number of criminal enterprises for decades after. You know, that he was able to get in that position, you know that already showed that we had collapsed in certain respects. And so I think that these are tied together. You know, this has a lot to do with greed, with a, you know a disregard for sovereignty, a disregard human rights. For all of this Trump has always served much better as a demagogue, a front man, a figurehead. I do think, you he's a lot smarter. Than many of his opponents give him credit for. He is very good at doing what he needs to do and knowing what he need to know and nothing more. The rest he gives to the bureaucrats, to the lawyers, et cetera. But he fills this persona, and I do wonder what will happen when he is gone because they've tried very hard to find a successor and it's always failed, like DeSantis or Nikki Haley or whoever. And I kind of wonder if one of the reasons things are moving so, so fast now is they're trying to get a lot of things in under the wire while he's still alive, because I don't think that there's any individual who people have the loyalty to. His cult is not that big. It's a relatively small segment of the country, but it is very intense and very loyal to him. I don't think that loyalty is transferable.Andrew Keen: Is there anything, you know, I presented you as the Cassandra from St. Louis, you've seen the future probably clearer than most other people. Certainly when I first came across your work, I wasn't particularly convinced. I'm much more convinced now. You were right. I was wrong. Is there, anything about Trump too, that surprised you? I mean, any of the, the cruelty? Open corruption, the anger, the hostility, the attempt to destroy anything of any value in America, the fact that they seem to take such great pleasure in destroying this country's most valuable thing.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, it's extremely sad and no, he doesn't surprise me at all. He's been the same guy since I was a little kid. You know, he was a plot line on children's television shows in the 1980s where as a child, I was supposed to know that the name Trump was synonymous with corruption, with being a tax cheat, with being a liar, you know, these were just sort of cultural codes that I was expected to know. What surprised me more is that no one stopped him because this threat was incredibly obvious. And that so many people in power have joined in, and I'm assuming they're joining in because they would rather be on the side with all that power than be a target of that power, but that they feel apparently no sense of loss, no sense grief for things like the loss of national parks, public education, the postal service, things that most folks like, social security for your elderly parents. Most Americans... Want these things. And most Americans, regardless of political party, don't want to see our country torn apart in this fashion. And so I'm not surprised by Trump. I'm surprised at the extent of his enablers at the complicity of the press and of the FBI and other institutions. And, you know, it's also been very jarring to watch how open they are this time around, you know, things like Elon Musk and his operation taking out. Classified information. The thing is, is I'm pretty sure Trump did all that. I mean, we know Trump did this in his first term, you know, and they would emphasize things like this box of physical written documents in Mar-a-Lago illegally taken. But, you know my mind always just went to, well, what did they do digitally? Because that seems much easier and much more obvious. What did they with all of these state secrets that they had access to for four years? What kind of leverage would that give them? And I think now they're just kind of, they're not bothering to hide anything anymore. I think they set the stage and now, you know, we're in the midst of the most horrible play, the most terrible performance ever. And it's, you can be still crushing at times.Andrew Keen: And of course, the real question is whether we're in the last act. Your book, The Last American Road Trip, was written, mostly written, what, in 2024 from?Sarah Kendzior: 2023.Andrew Keen: 2023. So, I mean, here's, I don't know if you can answer this, Sarah, but you know as much about middle America and middle Americans as anyone. You're on the road, you talk to everyone, you have a huge following, both on the left and the right in some ways. Some of your books now, you told me before we went live, some of your previous books, like Hiding in Plain Sight, suddenly become a big hit amongst conservative Americans. What does Trump or the MAGA people around him, what do they have to do to lose the support of ordinary Americans? As you say, they're destroying the essential infrastructure, medical, educational, the roads, the railways, everything is being destroyed, carted off almost like Stalin carted of half of the Soviet Union back into Asia during the Second World War. What does he have to do to lose the support of Middle America?Sarah Kendzior: I mean, I don't think middle America, you know, by which like a giant swath of the country that's, that's just ideological, diverse, demographically diverse supports him. I mean some do certainly. He's got some hardcore acolytes. I think most people are disillusioned with the entire political system. They are deeply frustrated by Trump. They were deeply frustrated. By Biden, they're struggling to pay bills. They're struggling. To hold on to basic human rights. And they're mad that their leverage is gone. People voted in record numbers in 2020. They protested in record number throughout Trump's first term. They've made their concerns known for a very long time and there are just very few officials really listening or responding. And I think that initially when Trump reentered the picture, it caused folks to just check out mentally because it was too overwhelming. I think it's why voter turnout was lower because the Democrats, when they won, didn't make good on their promises. It's a very simple thing. If you follow through with your campaign platform that was popular, then you're going to retain those voters. If you don't, you may lose them, especially when you're up against a very effective demagogue who has a way with rhetoric. And so we're just in such a bad place, such a painful place. I don't think people will look to politicians to solve their problems and with very good reason. I'm hoping that there are more of a sense of community support, more of sense that we're all in this together, especially as financially things begin to fall apart. Trump said openly in 2014 that he intended to crash the American economy. He said this on a Fox News clip that I found in 2016. Because it was being reprinted all over Russian-language media. They loved this clip because it also praised Putin and so forth. And I was astounded by it. I was like, why in the world isn't this all over every TV station, every radio station? He's laying out the whole plan, and now he's following that plan. And so I'm very concerned about that. And I just hope people in times like this, traditionally, this opens the door to fascism. People become extremely afraid. And in their fear they want a scapegoat, they are full of rage, they take it out on each other. That is the worst possible move right now from both a moral or a strategic view. People need to protect each other, to respect each other as fully human, to recognize almost everyone here, except for a little tiny group of corrupt billionaires, is a victim in this scenario, and so I don't see a big difference between, you know, myself and... Wherever I go. I was in Tulsa yesterday, I was in San Francisco last week. We're all in this together and I see a lot of heartache wherever I go. And so if people can lend each other support, that is the best way to get through this.Andrew Keen: Are you suggesting then that he is the Manchurian candidate? Why did he say that in 2014?Sarah Kendzior: Well, it was interesting. He was on Fox during the Sochi Olympics, and he was talking about how he speaks with Putin every day, their pals, and that Putin is going to produce a really big win for us, and we're all going to be very happy about it. And then he went on to say that the crashing of the economy and riots throughout America is what will make America great again. And this is in February 2014. Fox has deleted the clip, You know, other people have copies. So it is, it's also in my book hiding in plain sight, the transcript of that. I'm not sure, like a Manchurian candidate almost feels, you know like the person would have to be blackmailed or coerced or brainwashed somehow to participate. I think Trump is a true volunteer and his loyalty isn't to Russia per se. You know, his loyalty is to his bank accounts, like his loyalty is to power. And one thing he's been after his whole life was immunity from prosecution because he has been involved or adjacent to such an enormous number of crimes. And then when the Supreme Court granted him that, he got what he wanted and he's not afraid of breaking the law in any way. He's doing what all autocrats do, which is rewrite the law so that he is no longer breaking it. And he has a team of lawyers who help him in that agenda. So I feel like on one sense, he's very. All-American. It's kind of a sad thing that as he destroys America, he's doing it in a very American way. He plays a lot of great American music at his rallies. He has a vernacular that I can relate to that and understand it while detesting everything he's doing and all of his horrific policies. But what they want to turn us into though, I think is something that all Americans just won't. Recognized. And we've had the slipping away of a kind of unified American culture for a while, I think because we've lost our pop culture, which is really where a lot of people would bond, you know, movies, music, all of it became split into streaming services, you know. All of it became bifurcated. People stopped seeing each other as much face to face, you know, during COVID and then that became kind of a permanent thing. We're very fragmented and that hurts us badly. And all we've kind of got left is I guess sports and then politics. So people take all the effort that they used to put into devouring American pop culture or American civic life and they put it into this kind of politics that the media presents as if it's a game, like initially a horse race during the election and now like, ooh, will the evil dictator win? It's like, this is our lives. Like we have a lot on the line. So I wish they would do, they would take their job more seriously too. Of course, they're up paywalled and on streaming sites, so who's watching anyway, but still it is a problem.Andrew Keen: Yeah, it's interesting you talk about this death wish, you mentioned Thelma and Louise earlier, one of the great movies, American road movies, maybe in an odd way, the final scene of the Trump movie will be similar to the, you seem to be suggesting to, I'm not gonna give away the end of Thelmer and Louise to anyone who's watching who hasn't seen it, you do need to see it, similar ending to that movie. What about, you've talked about resistance, Sarah, a one of. The most influential, I guess, resistors to Trump and Trumpism. You put up an X earlier this month about the duty of journalism to resist, the duty to thinkers to resist. Some people are leaving, guys like Tim Snyder, his wife, Marcy Shaw, Jason Stanley, another expert on fascism. You've made it clear that you're staying. What's your take on people like Snyder who are leaving this country?Sarah Kendzior: Well, from what I know, he made a statement saying he had decided to move to Canada before Trump was put in office. Jason Stanley, on the other hand, explicitly said he's moving there because Trump is in office, and my first thought when I heard about all of them was, well, what about their students? Like, what about all these students who are being targeted by ICE, who are being deported? What about their TAs? What about everyone who's in a more vulnerable position. You know, when you have a position of power and influence, you could potentially do a lot of good in helping people. You know I respect everyone's decision to live wherever they want. Like it's not my business. But I do think that if you have that kind of chance to do something powerful for the community around you, especially the most vulnerable people in it who at this time are green card holders, people here on visas, we're watching this horrific crackdown at all these universities. My natural inclination would be to stay and take a stand and not abandon them. And I guess, you know, people, they do things in different ways or they may have their own personal concerns and, you know that's fine. I just know, you know I'm not leaving, you know, like I've got elderly parents and in-laws. I've got relatives who need me. I have a lot of people who depend on me and they depend on me in St. Louis and in Missouri. Because there aren't that many journalists in St. Louis. I think there could be, there are a lot of great writers in St Louis, you know, who have given a chance, given a platform, you could really show you what it's actually like here instead of all these stereotypes. But we're always, always marginalized. Like even I'm marginalized and I think I'm, you know, probably the most well-known in terms of being a political commentator. And so I feel like it's important to stand my ground but also You know, I love this, this state in the city and I love my community and I can't fathom, you know, leaving people in the lurch at a time like this. When I'm doing better, I'm on more solid ground despite being a target of various, you know organizations and individuals. I'm at a more solid down than somebody who's a, you know a black American or an immigrant or impoverished. Like I feel like it is my job to stand up for you know, folks here and let everyone know, you know what's going on and be somebody who they can come to and feel like that's safe.Andrew Keen: You describe yourself, Sarah, as a target. Your books have done very well. Most of them have been bestsellers. I'm sure the last American road trip will do very well, you're just off.Sarah Kendzior: It is the bestseller as of yesterday. It is your bestseller, congratulations. Yeah, our USA Today bestsellers, so yeah.Andrew Keen: Excellent. So that's good news. You've been on the road, you've had hundreds of people show up. I know you wrote about signing 600 books at Left Bank Books, which is remarkable. Most writers would cut off both hands for that. How are you being targeted? You noted that some of your books are being taken off the shelves. Are they being banned or discouraged?Sarah Kendzior: I mean, basically, what's been happening is kind of akin to what you see with universities. I just think it's not as well publicized or publicized at all, where there's not some sort of, you know, like the places will give in to what they think this administration wants before they are outright told to do it. So yes, there is an attempt to remove hiding in plain sight from circulation in 2024 to, you know, make the paperback, which at the time was ranked on Amazon. At number 2,000. It was extremely popular because this is the week that the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity. I was on vacation when I found out it was being pulled out of circulation. And I was in rural New Mexico and I had to get to a place with Wi-Fi to try to fight back for my book, which was a bestseller, a recent publication. It was very strange to me and I won that fight. They put it back, but a lot of people had tried to order it at that time and didn't get it. And a lot of people try to get my other books and they just can't get them. You know, so the publisher always has a warehouse issue or a shipping problem and you know, this kind of comes up or you know people notice, they've noticed this since 2020, you know I don't get reviewed in the normal kind of place as a person that has best selling books one after another would get reviewed. You know, that kind of thing is more of a pain. I always was able to circumvent it before through social media. But since Musk took over Twitter and because of the way algorithms work, it's more and more difficult for me to manage all of the publicity and PR and whatnot on my own. And so, you know, I'm grateful that you're having me on your show. I'm also grateful that, you Know, Flatiron did give me a book tour. That's helped tremendously. But there's that. And then there's also just the constant. Death threats and threats of you know other things you know things happening to people I love and it's been scary and I get used to it and that I expect it but you know you never could really get used to people constantly telling you that they're gonna kill you you know.Andrew Keen: When you get death threats, do you go to the authorities, have they responded?Sarah Kendzior: No, there's no point. I mean, I have before and it was completely pointless. And, you know, I'll just mostly just go to people I know who I trust to see if they can check in on things. I have to be very vague here who are not in the government or in the police or anything like that. I don't think anyone would protect me. I really just don't think anyone could help. You know, one thing is, you know, yes, I'm a prominent critic of Trump and his administration, but I was also a prominent critic of. The DOJ and Merrick Garland for not doing anything about all of these threats and also a critic of Biden and the Democrats for not impeaching quickly, for not being more proactive, for not acting with greater urgency. So I'm targeted by kind of everyone except for people who don't have any power, which is a strange situation to be in because I love my readers and I think that they're wonderful and I'm incredibly grateful for them because my books largely spread through word of mouth. It is scary for me, just as like a mom in Missouri without a lot of resources to be targeted by all of these kind of high profile, wealthy, powerful people. But all I have is my voice and my writing. And so I just do what I can. And that's just the way the cards have been dealt for me and it is what it is, so.Andrew Keen: Later historians write about this period in 50 or 100 years time. How do you think you mentioned the Biden administration, you were critical of them. We haven't talked about Kamala Harris's failed presidential term, which I wasn't particularly impressed with. How much moral responsibility do you think that Biden and Harris should be accused of for Trump too?Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, I'd be delighted if we have historians in the future. Well, I will be, even if I don't.Andrew Keen: Well, there will be, even if, I don't know, in America, there'll be somewhere.Sarah Kendzior: I is where it'll be some sort of AI creation that just, you know, belches out, make America great again, like, you know, like in The Shining or something, just over and over and over again. But assuming we have real historians that actually assess the situation, I think they are going to be tremendously critical of the Biden administration. I think it may in fact go down as one of the worst of all time. And he will be seen as a Neville Chamberlain-like figure who had the opportunity to stop or slow A number of autocratic practices and either chose to look the other way or to enable them. Because the thing is, in 2016, people were very doubtful that America could become an autocratic state. They hadn't seen this before. A lot of this was new to them. From 2016 through 2021, we saw all that Trump was capable of, and he committed a large multitude of crimes,RetryClaude hit the max length for a message and has paused its response. You can write Continue to keep the chat going.AKplease continueEditHere's the continuation of the transcript:Sarah Kendzior: ...and those crimes, not just him, but his cohort were never held accountable. And what they did during the Biden years was plan all of their next moves. Like you don't suddenly have a gulag for Americans in El Salvador, like just off the top of your head. You know, all of this takes planning. We knew about a lot of the plans, you know, the Democrats campaigned about combating Project 2025. And my question to them was, well, what what if you lose? How are you going to combat it then? You know what, if he gets back, what are you gonna do? They would be so offended. They're like, how dare you, you question us. How dare you question, you know, our plans? They're, like, well, I don't, you don't have a plan. Like, that's my question is what is the plan? And they didn't. And they could have spent those four years creating a bulwark against a lot of the most horrific policies that we're seeing now. Instead, they're kind of reacting on the fly if they're even reacting at all. And meanwhile, people are being targeted, deported, detained. They're suffering tremendously. And they're very, very scared. I think it's very scary to have a total dearth of leadership from where the, not just the opposition, but just people with basic respect for the constitution, our civil rights, etc., are supposed to be.Andrew Keen: You mentioned Project 2025, we've got David Graham on the show next week, who's written a book about Project 2025. Is there anything positive to report, Sarah? I mean, some people are encouraged by the behavior, at least on Friday, the 18th of April, who knows what will happen over the weekend or next week. Behavior of Harvard, some law firms are aggressively defending their rights. Should we be encouraged by the universities, law firms, even some corporate leaders are beginning to mutter under their breath about Trump and Trumpism?Sarah Kendzior: And it depends whether they actually have that power in wielded or whether they're just sort of trying to tamper down public dissent. I'm skeptical of these universities and law firms because I think they should have had a plan long ago because I was very obvious that all of this was going to happen and I feel so terribly for all of the students there that were abandoned by these administrations, especially places like Columbia. That gave in right away. What does hearten me though, you know, and I, as you said, I'd been on this tour, like I was all over the West coast. I've been all over, the Midwest and the South is, Americans, Americans do understand what's happening. There's always this like this culture in media of like, how do we break it to Americans? Like, yeah, well, we know, we know out here in Missouri that this is very bad. And I think that people have genuine concern for each other. I think they still have compassion for each other. I think there's a culture of cruelty that's promoted online and it's incentivized. You know, you can make money that way. You could get clicks that that way, whatever, but in real life, I think people feel vulnerable. They feel afraid, but I've seen so much kindness. I've been so much concern and determination from people who don't have very much, and maybe that's, you know, why people don't know about it. These are just ordinary folks. And so I have great faith in American people to combat this. And what I don't have faith in is our institutions. And I hope that these sort of in between places, places like universities who do a lot of good on one hand, but also can kind of act as like hedge funds. On the other hand, I hope they move fully to the side of good and that they purge themselves of these corrupt elements that have been within them for a long time, the more greedy. Aspects of their existence. I hope they see themselves as places that uphold civic life and history and provide intellectual resistance and shelter for students in the storm. They could be a really powerful force if they choose to be. It's never too late to change. I guess that's the message I want to bring home. Even if I'm very critical of these places, it's never to late for them to change and to do the right thing.Andrew Keen: Well, finally, Sarah, a lot of people are going to be watching this on my Substack page. Your Substack Page, your newsletter, They Knew, I think has last count, 52,000 subscribers. Is this the new model for independent writers, journalist thinkers like yourself? I'm not sure of those 52,00, how many of them are paid. You noted that your book has disappeared co-isindecially sometimes. So maybe some publishers are being intimidated. Is the future for independent thinkers, platforms like Substack, where independent authors like yourself can establish direct intellectual and commercial relations with their readers and followers?Sarah Kendzior: It's certainly the present. I mean, this is the only place or other newsletter outlets, I suppose, that I could go. And I purposefully divorced myself from all institutions except for my publisher because I knew that this kind of corruption would inhibit me from being able to say the truth. This is why I dropped out of academia, I dropped out of regular journalism. I have isolated myself to some degree on purpose. And I also just like being in control of this and having direct access to my readers. However, what does concern me is, you know, Twitter used to also be a place where I had direct access to people I could get my message out. I could circumvent a lot of the traditional modes of communication. Now I'm essentially shadow banned on there, along with a lot of people. And you know Musk has basically banned substack links because of his feud with Matt Taibbi. You know, that led to, if you drop a substack link in there, it just gets kind of submerged and people don't see it. So, you know, I think about Twitter and how positive I was about that, maybe like 12, 13 years ago, and I wonder how I feel about Substack and what will happen to it going forward, because clearly, you Know, Trump's camp realizes the utility of these platforms, like they know that a lot of people who are prominent anti authoritarian voices are using them to get the word out when they are when they lose their own platform at, like, say, the Washington Post or MSNBC or... Whatever network is corrupted or bullied. And so eventually, I think they'll come for it. And, you know, so stack has problems on its own anyway. So I am worried. I make up backups of everything. I encourage people to consume analog content and to print things out if they like them in this time. So get my book on that note, brand new analog content for you. A nice digital.Andrew Keen: Yeah, don't buy it digitally. I assume it's available on Kindle, but you're probably not too keen or even on Amazon and Bezos. Finally, Sarah, this is Friday. Fridays are supposed to be cheerful days, the days before the weekend. Is there anything to be cheerful about on April The 18th 2025 in America?Sarah Kendzior: I mean, yeah, there's things to be cheerful about, you know, pre spring, nice weather. I'm worried about this weekend. I'll just get this out real quick. You know, this is basically militia Christmas. You know, This is the anniversary of Waco, the Oklahoma City bombings, Columbine. It's Hitler's birthday. This is a time when traditionally American militia groups become in other words,Andrew Keen: Springtime in America.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, springtime for Hitler. You know, and so I'm worried about this weekend. I'm worry that if there are anti-Trump protests that they'll be infiltrated by people trying to stoke the very riots that Trump said he wanted in order to, quote, make America great again and have everything collapse. So everyone, please be very, very careful this weekend heading out and just be aware of the. Of these dates and the importance of these days far predates Trump to, you know, militia groups and other violent extremist groups.Andrew Keen: Well, on that cheerful note, I asked you for a positive note. You've ruined everyone's weekend, probably in a healthy way. You are the Cassandra from St. Louis. Appreciate your bravery and honesty in standing up to Trump and Trumpism, MAGA America. Congratulations on the new book. As you say, it's available in analog form. You can buy it. Take it home, protect it, dig a hole in your garden and protect it from the secret police. Congratulations on the new book. As I said to you before we went live, it's a beautifully written book. I mean, you're noted as a polemicist, but I thought this book is your best written book, the other books were well written, but this is particularly well written. Very personal. So congratulations on that. And Sarah will have to get you back on the show. I'm not sure how much worse things can get in America, but no doubt they will and no doubt you will write about it. So keep well, keep safe and keep doing your brave work. Thank you so much.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, you too. Thank you so much for your kind words and for having me on again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

It is one thing to study the fall of democracy, another to have it hit your homeland—and yet another to raise children as it happens. Join Sarah Kendzior as she shares one family's journey to the most beautiful, fascinating, and bizarre places in the United States during one of its most tumultuous eras. As Kendzior worked as a journalist chronicling political turmoil, she became determined that her young children see America before it's too late. So Kendzior, her husband, and the kids hit the road—again and again. Starting from Missouri, the family drove across America in every direction as cataclysmic events—the rise of autocracy, political and technological chaos, and the pandemic—reshaped American life. They explore Route 66, national parks, historical sites, and Americana icons as Kendzior contemplated love for country in a broken heartland. Together, the family watches the landscape of the United States—physical, environmental, social, political—transform through the car window. She told the tale of her epic car trips in The Last American Road Trip, calling it one mother's promise to her children that their country will be there for them in the future—even though at times she struggles to believe it herself.   Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs. This program contains EXPLICIT language.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In todays episode - John first talks about far-right activist Laura Loomer having a secret meeting with Trump and then he fired at least three senior NSC officials. Loomer appeared to take credit for the firings in a post on X, writing, “You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?”. Then, he dives head first into the Tariff dumpster fire with the entire world (sans Russia) announcing the boxing gloves are on for Trump's Trade War. Next he interviews writer and journalist - Sarah Kendzior about her new book "The Last American Road Trip" which is about her family's journey across America as cataclysmic events –- the rise of autocracy, political and technological chaos, and the pandemic –- reshape American life. Then wrapping it up, John discusses the breaking news that conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer talked Trump into firing National Security Agency Director General Timothy Haugh and he chats with Producer Chris Hauselt and others about their run ins with far right extremists and uninformed MAGA folk.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

University City-based author Sarah Kendzior's latest book is “The Last American Road Trip.” The memoir, which comes out Tuesday, showcases how America's ravishing national parks and historic roadways cannot get away from political instability, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and myth breaking realities of America's past.

In addition to multiple lawmakers calling for the resignations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz following a ridiculously irresponsible failure to manage our national military plans, comes a damaging op-ed in the National Review. The publication's executive editor called for President Trump to set an example and “hold someone accountable” for actions that if not criminal were in the very least “extraordinarily foolish” and “unbecoming of their offices.” We are excited to welcome author Sarah Kendzior to The Mark Thompson Show. Mark is a huge fan of her writing. Kendzior is the bestselling author of The View from Flyover Country, Hiding in Plain Sight, They Knew and her most recent, The Last American Roadtrip. She's a former podcaster and she has a doctorate in Anthropology. She has a long history of covering the Trump administration. This is an interview you won't want to miss! *Sign up for Sarah's newsletter at: sarahkendzior.com “It's the Planet, Stupid!” returns with Belinda Waymouth. Our eco-journalist is looking at the wild goings on at the EPA - with Trump's plans to get rid of EPA Office of Research and Development and the cancelations of Biden's designated National Monuments. Belinda also has the latest on a huge trillion ton iceberg that ran aground near South Goergia Island. *Programming note: John Rothmann joins us on Thursday this week.

The New York Times bestselling author of They Knew, Hiding in Plain Sight, and The View from Flyover Country navigates a changing America as she and her family embark on a series of road trips, in a book that is part memoir, part history, and wholly unique. It is one thing to study the fall of democracy, another to have it hit your homeland -- and yet another to raise children as it happens. The Last American Road Trip is one family's journey to the most beautiful, fascinating, and bizarre places in the US during one of its most tumultuous eras. As Kendzior works as a journalist chronicling political turmoil, she becomes determined that her young children see America before it's too late. So Kendzior, her husband, and the kids hit the road -- again and again.Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky: ⁠@peculiarbookclub.bsky.social⁠Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@peculiarBC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thepeculiarbookclub⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sarah Kendzior, PhD, is the bestselling author of The View from Flyover Country, Hiding in Plain Sight, andThey Knew. Her next book, The Last American Road Trip, will come out later this year. Video: https://youtu.be/uqnvjzQNnsc Website: https://sarahkendzior.com Substack: sarahkendzior.substack.com Twitter @sarahkendzior For two extra episodes each month and exclusive content please visit: patreon.com/thenickbryantpodcast nickbryantnyc.com EpsteinJustice.com

This is one of two episodes referenced in "Waiting for the Worms," with respect to the idea that Awakenings (2nd Turnings) are more amenable to authoritarianism than Crisis (2th Turnings). In recent days, we're speed-running towards confirming that is true or...not so much. Planning to repost the other older referenced one as well: Midlife in the Crisis. ======================================== Taking a contrarian view that authoritarian regimes are likely to be more successful during an Awakening / Second Turning than during a Crisis / Fourth Turning Here's where I first ran into Sarah Kendzior on Twitter (October 22, 2016) https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/790030495568437248 And the more recent, relatively hopeful tweet https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/890375102126272512 Charles Mann's 1491 is about the New World before Columbus arrived, and the varied cultures across the continents. Highly recommended. The Mexica history is on pages 130-134 of my paperback copy. And if it wasn't clear, the Mexica were the people ruling what is now Mexico when Cortez arrived. You may want to take a look at Episode 15, Unforgivable Dullness, to hear more about Cromwell and the Turnings during the 17th Century. Some links on the Third Wave, that 1967 high school social experiment. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3559727/The-Wave-the-experiment-that-turned-a-school-into-a-police-state.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Wave_(experiment) You can find me on Bluesky: @generationalize and blogging at  http://crisis.generationalize.com

* How Democrats' Failures Helped Traitor Trump Win Four More Years; Rachel Bitecofer, political strategist, analyst and author; Producer: Scott Harris. * Merrick Garland's Delay in Prosecuting Trump Paved the Way to Establish His Mafia Regime; Sarah Kendzior author and co-host of the Gaslit Nation weekly podcast; Producer: Scott Harris. * As Israel's Brutal Gaza War Continues US Labor Movement Stands in Solidarity with the Palestinian People; Sultana Hossain, Recording Secretary Amazon Labor Union, Co-chair New York Labor for Palestine; Producer: Melinda Tuhus.

Recorded on Sunday, November 17, 2024. Other scripture cited: Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 18: 18-20.Support the show

I recorded this conversation with Sarah Kendzior for my podcast Audio From A Collapsing State over on my Substack. I want as many people as possible to hear it, so I'm posting it here as a bonus episode of The Muckrake. Sarah and I discuss the worsening political environment as we head toward the 2024 Election, the awful trajectory of the Democratic Party as presently constituted, and where we feel this may be heading. Spoiler: nowhere good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest, Dr. Sarah Kendzior, Author and podcaster discussing how Donald Trump has hypnotized half of America.

This is the first of two Weekender previews this week. Big stuff. Here I interview Jake Rockatansky of the QAA Podcast (formerly QAnon Anonymous) about the infamous conspiracy theory, why people believe these things in the first place, what it was like to nearly fall into Right Wing conspiracy culture, and what we can do to push back against them. You can listen to Jake on QAA every week. Listen to this episode, and the second with Sarah Kendzior, by heading over to Patreon and becoming a patron of the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this second of two exclusive Weekender episodes, I sat down with Sarah Kendzior to discuss our current political climate, the renewed threat of authoritarianism, and everything in-between. Pre-order Sarah's new book The Last American Road Trip here. To gain access to this show, as well as the full interview with Jake Rockatansky of QAA, head over to Patreon and become a patron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy sit down to reflect on all things Kamala Harris, voicing tentative optimism for how smoothly everything seems to be going… so far. Then, Tim Miller, a former Republican operative and host of The Bulwark Podcast, joins the pod to discuss Harris' potential running mates and how Team Trump might be planning to react. Plus! A conversation with author Sarah Kendzior about Joe Biden's legacy and what brave new world in which the Democrats have suddenly found themselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip welcomes Colin Strong to the show where they discuss his book Out of Time. In their conversation, they tackle the meaning of time, literally and figuratively, and how it impacts how we know and understand our place in the world. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels of intellectual goodness and creative musings. Philip's Drop: The work of Sarah Kendzior (https://sarahkendzior.com/) Colinl's Drop: They Call it Love – Alva Gotby (https://www.versobooks.com/products/2897-they-call-it-love) Tanya Luhrmann (https://www.tanyaluhrmann.com/)

Jared had the chance to sit down with the one and only Sarah Kendzior. Here they discuss the current state of American politics, the clashes over Gaza, growing authoritarianism, and more. Sarah's book They Knew: How A Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent is now out in paperback. You can find her writings on her Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The public domain is being purchased, and it is being purchased in order for it to be destroyed,” says journalist Sarah Kendzior. In this episode of “Movement Memos,” Kendzior and host Kelly Hayes discuss the decline of journalism in the U.S. and how we can resist the erosion of our shared history, our values, and our shared reality. Music: Son Monarcas & Pulsed You can find a transcript and show notes (including links to resources) here: bit.ly/movementmemos If you would like to support the show, you can donate here: bit.ly/TODonate If you would like to receive Truthout's newsletter, please sign up: bit.ly/TOnewsletter

Jared Yates Sexton is hosting the podcast while Nick Hauselman is out of the country. Luckily, bestselling author Sarah Kendzior stops by to talk 2024, the worsening political crisis, and how we can begin to fight back against this authoritarian threat. This is a must listen. For access to the weekly Weekender Show and exclusive reportage from the 2024 Presidential Election, head over to Patreon and subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's almost curtains on 2023, but before it's over, we had to share some things we're grateful for. With a game, naturally! We're playing a lil guessing game, but of course, the number one thing we're grateful for is everyone who's taken the time to listen to this podcast, comment on social media, share this conversation with others. We're most grateful for you. THANK YOU.Jake Stika, executive director and cofounder of Next Gen Men, joins us this week to close out the year. He shares the importance of including different perspectives in the books we read, as he, Remoy, and Samantha all share their book gratitudes. SPOILER: Remoy continues to deny his literati status even as he shares a 700-page book.Jake goes Beyond Our Own Knowledge, getting into a couple of dope Next Gen Men initiatives.The crew stresses the importance of saving publications with factual information in this age of misinformation and disinformation as Next Gen Men completes a very important campaignThe crew has a moment of gratitude for mental health. Remoy shares his personal experience in another moment of gratitude.Referenced on this episode:Badass journalist Sarah Kendzior, who wrote Hiding in Plain Sight, cohosts Gaslit Nation with Andrea ChalupaA Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, a rich story of multidimensional male charactersB.O.O.K. ClubMeghann M. Cuniff, the reporter who brought accurate information about the trial  to social media in response to Tory Lanez's team's misinformation campaign against Megan Thee StallionTherapy and mental careThe Transgender Issue by Shon FayeMore on the Delhi street theatre company JanamSee No Stranger A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valerie KaurMore about Voice Male MagazineMASKulinity Podcast being back - you know where to go.

The Breakdown is live w/ guests Larry Sabato and Sarah Kendzior On this week's episode of The Breakdown, hosts Tara Setmayer and Rick Wilson are joined by Larry Sabato, NYT best-selling author and political analyst and Sarah Kendzior, author of “Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America” and co-host of the Gaslit Nation podcast.Watch now, share on social media, and follow The Lincoln Project below. Join the fight at LincolnProject.us! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODESarah Kendzior's book: “Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America” – https://amzn.to/3uwimi2 Gaslit Nation podcast – https://apple.co/3J7jGMp FOLLOW Larry SabatoTWITTER: @Larry SabatoFOLLOW LINCOLN PROJECTTWITTER: https://bit.ly/3zwZFva INSTAGRAM: https://bit.ly/31yyrHR FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/3zCBHhT PODCAST: https://apple.co/3G7zr4L

Today Jen's guest is journalist, filmmaker, author, and activist Andrea Chalupa. You know Andrea from her award-winning podcast Gaslit Nation that she founded with Sarah Kendzior. Fake populism. Demonizing the press. Scapegoating. Propaganda. Personal militia. All ingredients for a successful dictatorship and topics of their conversation. Andrea and Sarah collaborated on the book we are discussing today called DICTATORSHIP: IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK. They describe DICTATORSHIP  as “a wild ride showing the perks and pitfalls of becoming a dictator, and how to overthrow one.” Part of the book focuses on Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's genocidal famine in Ukraine in 1933. Andrea is also the writer and producer of the award-winning journalistic thriller that was produced by MGM called Mr. Jones that came out in 2019. Mr. Jones was directed by three-time Academy Award-nominee Agnieszka Holland (known for her work on Europa Europa; The Secret Garden; House of Cards; The Wire) and starring James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, and Peter Sarsgaard. Contact Booked Up: You can email Jen & the Booked Up team at: BOOKEDUP@POLITICON.COM or by writing to:  BOOKED UP  P.O. BOX 147 NORTHAMPTON, MA 01061 Get More from Jen Taub: Twitter| Money & Gossip  Substack | Author of BIG DIRTY MONEY 

Sarah Kendzior is the New York Times bestselling author of Hiding in Plain Sight and The View from Flyover Country.  Today we discuss her third book, “They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent” which delves into the world of conspiracy theories and their impact on American society.  She argues that the proliferation of conspiracy theories has eroded trust in institutions, undermined democracy, and hindered collective action to address pressing issues. Kendzior is known for her reporting on St. Louis, her coverage of the 2016 election, and her academic research on authoritarian states. She was named by Foreign Policy as one of the "100 people you should be following on Twitter to make sense of global events." Her reporting has been featured in many publications, including Politico, Slate, The Atlantic, Fast Company, The Chicago Tribune, TeenVogue, The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times. She lives in St. Louis.   Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/They-Knew-Culture-Conspiracy-Complacent/dp/1250210720 Subscribe to Sarah's substack: https://substack.com/@sarahkendzior Website: https://sarahkendzior.com/    TheyKnew#HowaCultureofConspiracyKeepsAmericaComplacent#SarahKendzior#conspiracytheory#ViewfromFlyoverCountry#authoritarianism#BakerHotel#NormanBaker#Putin#JeffreyEpstein#LolitaExpress#Pizzagate#QAnnon#GaslitNation#HidingInPlainSite#DonaldTrump#cooruption#oligarchs#St.Louis#StLouis#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

After a five month absence from Gaslit Nation due to a family situation, Sarah has decided to leave the show. You can read her regular writing over at her new Substack. We all wish her well and look forward to her next book.  In this continuation of Gaslit Nation's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, Andrea shares her own hard learned lessons on how to hold space for a friend grieving over the crisis. This episode also includes a look at the Oslo Accords, an interim agreement that historically opened communication between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel's government, and the years of violence that quickly followed, spiraling towards the growing mythology of Benjamin Netanyahu who built support through strongman rhetoric promising to keep Israelis safe. Insead, he weakened Israel. Netanyahu's Trumpian playbook blasted opponents and the media as “FAKE NEWS!”, “THE DEEP STATE!”, “TRAITORS!”, and turned Israelis against each other. While being under investigation for corruption, Netanyahu brazenly tried to destroy the independence of the judiciary, leading to the largest protests in the country's history. Now the majority of Israelis polled blame him for the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack, but the majority also believe he should resign after the war. That would incentivize Netanyahu to keep the war going to cling to power. Netanyahu must be forced to step down now, for the sake of any chance for peace.  Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, author of Gulag: A History; Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine; and Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism joins Andrea to discuss the stakes in Ukraine and the threats to democracy here at home and around the world. This interview was recorded the Friday before the historic October 15 elections in Poland, bringing a democratic coalition to power to defeat a right wing Trumpian regime that packed the courts, turned state media into their own propaganda arm, banned abortion, and inflamed scapegoating against LGBTQ+ people and refugees. This episode was supposed to run two weeks ago, but was delayed due to the war. For Applebaum's analysis on the Israel-Hamas war, read her brilliant piece in The Atlantic on her summer reporting trip to Israel on how Israelis rightfully saw Netanyahu as an existential threat. This week's bonus episode will be inspired by questions submitted at the Democracy Defender level and higher on Patreon. To submit your questions, leave them in the comments or send them in a message. Join the conversation and receive ad free episodes, bonus shows, exclusive invites and other perks by subscribing at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Sign up here to join our Sister District & Gaslit Nation Halloween Phonebank for Virginia!: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/585389/ Show Notes: Inside the Oslo accords: a new podcast series marks 30 years since Israel-Palestine secret peace negotiations https://theconversation.com/inside-the-oslo-accords-a-new-podcast-series-marks-30-years-since-israel-palestine-secret-peace-negotiations-212985 The language being used to describe Palestinians is genocidal https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/16/the-language-being-used-to-describe-palestinians-is-genocidal I Negotiated Israel's Hardest Hostage Deal. Here's What's Next in Gaza. “The United States still has a role to play. It should continue to pressure Qatar, which should give an ultimatum that if hostages are not released within, say, 24 hours, all of Hamas's leaders will be expelled from Qatar, where many are based. I don't believe that Qatar will agree to that — and certainly not without an Israeli cease-fire — but the American government and others have leverage over Qatar and it should be used.  There is still a small chance and a limited window of opportunity before the ground assault begins to attain the release of some of the hostages through this kind of agreement. After the invasion begins, it will depend on Israeli special forces to try to save them. Some will again see their homes; others may not.  At the other end of this war, I hope that the trauma and suffering we are all feeling on both sides of the conflict will spur us to figure out how to share this land that belongs to both Israelis and Palestinians. Maybe our collective suffering and pain can be channeled to focusing on how to live together rather than killing each other.  That will be a long process and cannot include the leaders on both sides who have brought us to where we are. We need a new generation of leaders with new vision, new hopes, new dreams and the ability to lead. I hope that many of the hostages, together with their families, will soon be able to join the voices calling for change.” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/21/opinion/israel-hamas-hostage.html Hamas Leader Lies when pressed in TV interview: https://twitter.com/arash_tehran/status/1715354932595847322 Netanyahu's Attack on Democracy Left Israel Unprepared: The prime minister brought about a situation in which all the options are bad. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/israel-democracy-judicial-reform-netanyahu-hamas-attacks/675713/ Biden's Israel-Palestine Policy Could Cost Him the Election: The president's blank-check support of Israel's war on Gaza is alienating many of the Black and brown voters he needs to win reelection. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/biden-israel-palestine-policy-election/ The End of Netanyahu: He sold Israelis a story about their safety. It turned out not to be true. “Israelis have good reason for their disillusionment. Seen in hindsight, the litany of Netanyahu's failures is long. By his own admission, he purposely propped up Hamas as a counterbalance to the more moderate Palestinian Authority in order to keep the Palestinian public divided and prevent a negotiated two-state solution. In partnership with Washington, Netanyahu facilitated the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar into Gaza in an attempt to buy quiet from Hamas. Intelligence officials now believe that some of this money was used to fund the group's terrorism. Netanyahu also increased permits for Gazans to work in Israel; some of the permit holders may have provided intelligence used to plan the attacks. In 2011, the prime minister released more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners—including convicted mass murderers—in return for one Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas. This decision encouraged further kidnapping attempts, culminating in the successful abduction of some 200 Israelis this month. One of the prisoners released in 2011 was Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza today.” https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/benjamin-netanyahu-israel-hamas-attack-failure/675722/?utm_source=threads&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo “According to his opponents, his semi-authoritarian tendencies have relentlessly weakened the checks and balances of Israeli democracy. He has debilitated democracy's gatekeepers, constantly accusing the “deep state” – the judicial system, the law enforcement agencies, the bureaucracy – of actively subverting him and framing him for crimes he never committed using the “fake news" media that he claims is out to get him. And his demagogic, divisive and often incendiary political language has posed a clear and present danger to Israeli democracy. If American readers find this eerily familiar, they're right.” https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/benjamin-netanyahu-israel-hamas-attack-failure/675722/?utm_source=threads&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo ‘Biggest in Israeli History': Organizers Claim Half a Million Protesters Against Netanyahu's Constitutional Coup As a record 50,000 Israelis rallied in Haifa, and hundreds of thousands more across Israel, opposition leader Yair Lapid slams the Netanyahu government's sole focus on 'crushing Israeli democracy' https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-03-11/ty-article/.premium/biggest-in-israeli-history-organizers-claim-half-a-million-protesters-in-tenth-week/00000186-d261-dfef-a3ef-d26d9bbc0000 Inside Biden's Gaza strategy https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/israel-hamas-war-inside-bidens-gaza-strategy A Brief History of the Netanyahu-Hamas Alliance: For 14 years, Netanyahu's policy was to keep Hamas in power; the pogrom of October 7, 2023, helps the Israeli prime minister preserve his own rule https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-20/ty-article-live/american-mother-and-daughter-first-hostages-released-by-hamas-arrive-in-israel/0000018b-4b06-d1fd-a59f-ef9ff9ed0000 Experts say Hamas and Israel are breaking international law, but what does that mean? Since the latest explosion of violence began on October 7, both Israel and Hamas have been accused of breaking international law. As the terms “genocide”, “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” are used to describe the deadly acts carried out by both sides, FRANCE 24 takes a look at what these terms mean. https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231021-experts-say-hamas-and-israel-are-breaking-international-law-but-what-does-that-mean Human Rights Watch Condemns Israel's Collective Punishment on Gaza, Urges Biden to Help Restore Aid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25zrL_I_4Cg Damning evidence of war crimes as Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/ Civilians, civilian infrastructure, and health care facilities must be protected at all times https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/indiscriminate-violence-and-collective-punishment-gaza-must-cease#:~:text=MSF%20calls%20on%20the%20government,factions%20must%20establish%20safe%20spaces. Netanyahu Waging Campaign to Blame Israeli Military for Failure to Predict Hamas Attack, Defense Sources Say The Israeli prime minister appointed a new spokesman to liaise with military correspondents, an unusual move, with one source saying they'd heard he was defaming officers https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-22/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-on-campaign-to-blame-idf-for-failure-to-predict-attack-defense-sources-say/0000018b-5688-d5d2-afef-d6fde37a0000 US intelligence report alleging Russia election interference shared with 100 countries https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/israel-hamas-war-inside-bidens-gaza-strategy Opening clip: https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1716539683990114683 Oslo Accords clip: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/inside-the-oslo-accords-part-1-why-norway-was-in/id1550643487?i=1000627628956 Clip: Hear what Jenna Ellis said in tearful court speech https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/10/24/jenna-ellis-cries-court-guilty-plea-nc-vpx.cnn      

Activist, filmmaker, author, and podcaster behind Gaslit Nation Andrea Chalupa shows us how to muster the courage, tenacity ,and willpower to fight for the willpower we want.About Andrea ChalupaAndrea Chalupa is a journalist, filmmaker, author, and activist. She is the writer and producer of the journalistic thriller Mr. Jones, directed by three-time Academy Award-nominee Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa; The Secret Garden; House of Cards; The Wire) and starring James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, and Peter Sarsgaard. Her script for Mr. Jones is being adapted into a graphic novel by Lion Forge, the animation studio that produced Matthew Cherry's Academy Award-winning Hair Love. She is the author of Orwell and The Refugees: The Untold Story of Animal Farm, which was taught in several high schools in Canada in a genocide studies program called Orwell Art.Andrea co-hosts the popular civic action podcast Gaslit Nation, a Webby Award Honoree, in the spirit of The Golden Girls sitting around a cheesecake discussing geopolitics. With her Gaslit Nation co-host Sarah Kendzior, Andrea wrote the bestselling graphic novel Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think!, a wild ride showing the perks and pitfalls of becoming a dictator, and how to overthrow one.Keep up with Andrea ChalupaWebsite | Gaslit Nation | Twitter | LinkedIn

Acclaimed science fiction author, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow stops by Gaslit Nation to discuss life's important issues: A.I., combating corporate greed, and the art and times of Taylor Swift. Doctorow is the author of several books that capture the age, including his latest novel Red Team Blues. His other works include the nonfiction on monopoly and creative labor markets Chokepoint Capitalism; How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism; the Little Brother series for younger readers; the graphic novel In Real Life; and the picture book Poesy the Monster Slayer. Doctorow was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2020.  In our bonus episode, for Patreon supporters who keep our show going, Doctorow takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. We invite you to share your own inspiration with our community! Take the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A by leaving your answers in the comments section or send them in an email to GaslitNation@gmail.com. We'll read some of your responses on the show! Gaslit Nation Self-Care Questionnaire What's a book you think everyone should read and why? What's a documentary everyone should watch and why? What's a dramatic film everyone should watch and why? Who are some historical mentors who inspire you? What's the best concert you've ever been to? What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces? Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight? What's the best advice you've ever gotten? What's your favorite place you've ever visited? What's your favorite work of art and why?  

Our guest, Sarah Kendzior, is a scholar with an focus on authoritarian Central Asian states. She leverages her academic background in her work as a journalist and commentator, offering unique insights about anti-democratic tendencies and...

Sarah Kendzior joins Detroit Today to explain why misinformation and mistrust around vaccinations is so prevalent in the United States. Kendzior is the author of "They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent," and the co-host of the podcast Gaslit Nation. Also in this episode, Macomb County Public Health Director Andrew Cox joins Nick to discuss why vaccination rates among kindergarteners are so low in Michigan and what the public health department is doing to change that.

Nick Hauselman is somewhere in a boat, heading toward Alaska, so Jared Yates Sexton is left to pilot this ship. Luckily, he's got Sarah Kendzior along for the ride. The author of THEY KNEW: HOW A CULTURE OF CONSPIRACY KEEPS AMERICA COMPLACENT and co-host of GASLIT NATION talks with Jared about the recent indictment of Donald Trump, the system of corruption that continues to grow, and what the next few months and years might bring. If you haven't already, head over to patreon.com/muckrakepodcast to become a patron. You'll support the show, keep it editorially independent, and also gain access to the exclusive WEEKENDER episode on Fridays. Also, on THE WEEKENDER, we're now taking questions from listeners, including voice messages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah Kendzior, author of the bestselling books They Knew, Hiding in Plain Sight, The View from Flyover Country, and of course Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think!, takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Challenge.   And don't forget that Andrea will join comedian Kevin Allison of the RISK! Storytelling podcast for a special live event at Caveat in New York City on Saturday August 5th at 4pm to celebrate the launch of the new Gaslit Nation book Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think! To get a ticket to that event in person or to watch the livestream, visit this website. Signed copies of the book can be ordered at the event!   To submit your own answers and give inspiration for ways to recharge as we run our marathon together to protect our democracy, leave your answers in the comments section or send an email to GaslitNation@gmail.com. We'll read some of the responses on the show! Gaslit Nation Self-Care Questionnaire What's a book you think everyone should read and why? What's a documentary everyone should watch and why? What's a dramatic film everyone should watch and why? Who are some historical mentors who inspire you? What's the best concert you've ever been to? What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces? Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight? What's the best advice you've ever gotten? What's your favorite place you've ever visited? What's your favorite work of art and why?

Recorded on Sunday, May 28, 2023.Support the show

Sports Illustrated cover model George Santos was arrested for fraud! This week's episode processes the shock over that news, and asks the all important question of who in their right mind would post a $500,000 bond to bail out George Santos, and what are they getting in return? Where there's smoke, there's fire, and Santos is the smoke of a larger corruption ushering in fascist kleptocracy.   In this week's episode, Andrea is joined by old friend of the show Terrell Starr of the essential podcast Black Diplomats. Sarah is taking a step back from the show to deal with a family situation, as she has shared on Twitter. In this episode, Terrell and Andrea discuss the Durham Report, Nikki Haley and her pals the Kushners clawing their way back to the White House to steal more from the American people, and the inspiring resilience of the Ukrainian people facing off against Russia's genocide.   Next week's live taping of Gaslit Nation on Tuesday May 23rd at 1:30pm EST will feature Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman who grew up in Brighton Beach and, instead of becoming a Trump Crime Family accomplice, co-founded an anti-corruption NGO in Europe, Institute for European Integrity. There will be a second *newly added* live taping on Wednesday May 24th at 2pm EST featuring David Pepper to discuss his new book Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American. To join those events, be sure to subscribe to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher, and look out for the details sent to your inbox on the morning of May 23rd then again on May 24th.   A new bonus episode comes out this Friday answering questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!     Show Notes: Pre-order our book! Dictatorship: It's Easier Than You Think!  George Santos clip: "I wanna be remembered as somebody who stood up to everybody in the time of adversity...I want people to look and say, look, times might be tough, but there was always George Santos...I think it takes a lot of resilience to go through what I've gone through." https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1655681052491276290 Craig Harrington of Media Matters for America on Jake Tapper on the Durham Report https://twitter.com/Craigipedia/status/1658207831483465732 Sarah Kendzior on The Saturday/Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart https://twitter.com/weekendcapehart/status/1657373968884547586 NEW AUDIO: Rep. George Santos tells a "joke" about a "room full of Jews.” https://twitter.com/TheBeatWithAri/status/1656424125890457603 How an Investor Lost $625,000 and His Faith in George Santos https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/nyregion/george-santos-sec-intrater.html Sanctioned-Oligarch-Connected Andrew Intrater's GOP Donations Go Beyond Just George Santos https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/01/sanctioned-oligarch-connected-andrew-intraters-gop-donations-go-beyond-just-george-santos/ Private equity investor identified as political contributor allegedly duped by George Santos https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/politics/andrew-intrater-private-equity-investor-santos/index.html#:~:text=Intrater%20has%20financially%20supported%20Santos,Federal%20Election%20Commission%20records%20show New York Attorney Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Commit Money Laundering to Promote Sanctions Violations by Associate of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/new-york-attorney-pleads-guilty-conspiring-commit-money-laundering-promote-sanctions Associate of Sanctioned Oligarch Indicted for Sanctions Evasion and Money Laundering https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/associate-sanctioned-oligarch-indicted-sanctions-evasion-and-money-laundering Break the Chain Between Russian Oligarchs and Managers, and You Break Everything https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/opinion/russian-oligarchs-wealth-managers.html “They Think Very Highly of Nikki”: The Kushner Family Is Cozying Up to Nikki Haley https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/opinion/russian-oligarchs-wealth-managers.html The Alexandra Chalupa Interview https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2019/6/22/the-alexandra-chalupa-interview

* As Trump is Indicted Threats of Political Violence From his Supporters Surge; Sarah Kendzior author and co-host of the Gaslit Nation weekly podcast; Producer: Scott Harris. * Israelis Protest Netanyahu's Threat to Democracy, but Ignore Rising Violence Targeting Palestinians; Josh Ruebner, Adjunct Lecturer at Georgetown University's Justice and Peace Studies program; Producer: Scott Harris. * From Slavery to Fossil Fuels Banks Have Been an ‘Industry of Injustice'; Lennox Yearwood,Rev, President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus; Producer: Melinda Tuhus.

Every now and again you need to step back and look at the big picture, and then you see that the big picture is a mirror reflecting a void with a mirror reflecting a void with a mirror…hey, welcome to the Gaslit Nation AI Apocalypse Special!  We have a lot of things to get out of our system, apparently, before The System claims us as its own, and they include: artificial intelligence, the death of the news industry, the struggle to survive multiple collective traumas at once, Sigmund Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays and their dual creation of psychological warfare and public reactions, “the death eaters that prop up the dancing clown of Trump”, child labor and the bipartisan leaders that defend it, the brutal backlash to the social movements of the last decade, nepo babies and purchased merit, weird facts about Hitler, how Trump's pardons tell you everything you need to know about who really controls America, and the ceaseless desire of our officials to crush progressive policies that help people.  We will cover Fox News and the origins of covid and all the other breaking news stories next week, don't worry. That slow-moving soap opera of corruption will still be there! What we tried to figure out in this episode is how to find truth in an era of digital media manipulation, informational voids, and shattered community. Because we're living this life, not just writing about it. It is tough to break news when the news breaks us! For our Patreon bonus episode, available to subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, we answer questions from our beloved listeners! Topics include: DOJ corruption; environmental disasters; Saudi Arabia, Russia, and transnational crime; Matt Gaetz; Kamala Harris; Seymour Hersh, Ukraine, and much more! Sign up at the Democracy Defender level or higher to send in questions and at the Truth-Teller level to listen to the show and get access to hundreds of past bonus episodes. Gaslit Nation survives solely because of our listeners! We are shadowbanned in the current Twitter era and could use help spreading the word about our show. If you like it, tell a friend and leave a review! And consider joining our Patreon to keep us going. Thank you for your support! Show Notes: Our new unofficial Gaslit Nation theme song, 'Don't Be an Asshole' on our Twitter page and in the show notes for this episode on our Patreon page. You can find more of Andrew and the Spirit House's music on Bandcamp at andrewjonesandspirithouse.bandcamp.com. I have no mouth and I must scream (wjccschools.org) President Trump Commutes Sentence of Sholom Rubashkin – The White House (archives.gov) Sholom Rubashkin: the inside story of how a kosher meat kingpin won clemency under Trump | CNN Politics Rubashkin Cleared of Child Labor Charges - Tablet Magazine (21) Sarah Kendzior on Twitter: "@revmagdalen In 2017, Pelosi successfully petitioned Trump for the prison release of a man who ran a farm using migrant slave labor, including child labor. Workers were raped and had limbs amputated. Look up Agriprocessors; the horror stories are endless. Excerpts below: https://t.co/sFJYblSLsT" / Twitter 

Author and journalist Sarah Kendzior joins Daniel Ford on Friday Morning Coffee to chat about her book They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent. Caitlin Malcuit also discusses the continued fallout from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the just-released National Transportation Safety Board report that details their preliminary findings. Further reading material: "Officials burned off toxic chemicals from Ohio train. Was it the right move?" | The Washington Post "Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment" | The Lever "Railroad Corporations Are Blocking Safety Regulations to Protect Profits" | Jacobin "The Trains Are Getting Longer and the Job Is Getting Worse" | Slate "Rail Safety: Freight Trains Are Getting Longer, and Additional Information Is Needed to Assess Their Impact" | GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office) "A Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews to Ignore Safety Alerts" | ProPublica To learn more about Sarah Kendzior, visit her official website, follow her on Twitter, and subscribe to Gaslit Nation. Writer's Bone is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and the Reading Public Library's Evening with Dirtbag, Massachusetts author Isaac Fitzgerald.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Jared Yates Sexton, host of The Muckrake Podcast and author of American Rule: How A Nation Conquered The World But Failed Its People, joins us to discuss his latest book The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis. In The Midnight Kingdom Jared delves into the lies, paranoia, mythologies, and pursuit of power the undergirds the far-right movements that have become a worldwide concern in recent years due incident to the Jan 6th insurrection in Washington, D.C. and the similar uprisings/riots that happened in Brazil after Lula de Silva defeated Jair Bolsonaro to once again become that country's President. Among the topics discussed in this conversation: - Conspiracies, real and imagined; the far-right wing, conspiracy theories, and the conspiratorial view of history - What does the title The Midnight Kingdom refer to and how does it relate to the apocalyptic vision of the world presented by controversial Russian thinker Aleksander Dugin? - The crisis of institutional power in America today that elements of both the right and left are recognizing; neoliberalism, the neoliberal consensus, hyper-capitalism, and inequality - Jared's examination of cycles of history in The Midnight Kingdom and how it differs from, for example, right-wing operative Steve Bannon's preferred cycles of history theory known as "The Fourth Turning" - How power protects itself in a society - Paranoia as the basis for modern American society and conspiracy theories in modern American history - Real conspiracies, journalist Sarah Kendzior's They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent, and the World Economic Forum in Davos - The destabilization of the middle class, the need for explanations for that destabilization, and how the right-wing offers that explanation through Grand Conspiracy Narratives - The targeting of vulnerable communities by the right-wing's brand of conspiratorial thinking - How ancient Rome ties into Jared's analysis in The Midnight Kingdom; imperial cults, social mythologies, and the fall of civilizations - How the history of Christianity, apocalypticism, and narratives of power figures into Jared's analysis; how bastardized religion is utilized to promote war, imperialism, patriarchy, racism, wealth inequality and more; Christian nationalism and white nationalism; Jared's evangelical Christian upbringing - People's desperation for meaning; the rise of evangelical Christianity as a political force in American life; atomization in neoliberal society and the rise of the far-right - The Republican Party is not a homogenous movement; the emergence of an anti-neoliberal, reactionary right-wing; the left and the right have different criticisms of the neoliberal society and prescriptions for dealing with the problems of neoliberal society - Operation Gladio and Operation Condor and the lack of a strong left in the U.S. - The idea of homo economicus, the hollow existence neoliberalism provides, the dog-eat-dog world mentality of neoliberal society, and the reality TV series Survivor - Christian nationalism, feudalistic ideas, hierarchical power, and theocratic control - The individual, the atomized society, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher as the PR front for neoliberalism in the 1980s, the book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, and the destruction of labor unions and class solidarity - Academia, specialized knowledge, and the working class's lack of access to that knowledge - Marjorie Taylor Greene's rhetoric about "woke" corporations; the lack of understanding about what communism is, what Karl Marx wrote, and what neoliberalism is; the right's ideas about the natural right and natural order; feudalism and the concept of the "Great Chain of Being"; eugenics and social Darwinism - Argument about "wokeism" and the problem of woke-washing by major corporations - Tucker Carlson and illiberalism, neoliberalism and authoritarianism, Friedrich Hayek and neoliberalism; and how the right-wing protects the powerful - The New Cold War between U.S. and China, American protectionism, the unraveling of globalization, and the end of "The End of History" - Tackling the criticism that Jared's book is anti-religion; why he disagrees with that assessment; the weaponization and bastardization of religion by systems of power for purposes of control ;Catholic converts and the TradCath phenomena; the value of spirituality; Traditionalism and right-wing mythologies; Ancient Aliens, Erich Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods, and racialism - Explaining the rise of QAnon - A discussion of the Brazilian uprisings and the Jan 6th riots after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden; the funding of these uprisings/riots by right-wing billionaires; the Proud Boys, the Oathkeepers, and right-wing paramilitary groups; the QAnon shaman, MAGA, and the belief of the rioters that they were saving the government from a "deep state" coup; how people are primed into QAnon, MAGA, and similar movements; how people are animated by mythologies that make them the heroes of their own story - Discussing the concept and idea of the deep state; technocracy and the administrative state; why Trump resonated with a portion of the American populace; authoritarianism and the desire to be part of something bigger than oneself - The problem with blaming "hillbillies" for the rise of the far-right - Pro wrestling, kayfabe, how WWE's "Montreal Screwjob" helps us understand the modern political moment, Hulk Hogan and the power of mythological storytelling, the pro wrestling-ification of television news and political media like Tucker Carlson, and political grifting - The culture war over M&M's and the illusion of ideology and rebellion in consumerism - Briefly discussing the movie Judas and the Black Messiah about Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers and its relevance - The concept of freedom on the left and the right; the left's pro-freedom, liberatory narrative - And more!

  Sarah Kendzior joins us to talk about her book, They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent. She is also the author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America and The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America. Sarah is the co-host of the podcast, Gaslit Nation. Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering! Music: "Do You Want Out" by Mock Orange Sarah Kendzior joins us to talk about her book, They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent. She is also the author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America and The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America. Sarah is the co-host of the podcast, Gaslit Nation. Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering! Music: "Do You Want Out" by Mock Orange

Stave Bannon calling out Donald Trump for hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago reads as jealousy, according to host Andy Levy on this week's episode of The New Abnormal. Podcast co-host Danielle Moddy also can't believe she's agreeing with Bannon: “Do these people not do any type of Google search on who the fuck is coming into Mar-a-Lago? Is there no background check? Also on the podcast, Jared Holt, senior research manager on U.S. Hate and Extremism for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who has a newsletter and podcast called Posting Through It, explains Trump's intentions for not condemning Fuentes after the meeting. Then, Sarah Kendzior, author of They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent and co-host of the podcast, Gaslit Nation, says Elon Musk's motives for changing Twitter are part of a bigger strategy: control and “possibly the destruction of the public sphere.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter has users of the social media platform bracing for the app's downfall. In St. Louis, activists and journalists that have been heavy users of Twitter since the police shooting death of Michael Brown, Jr. are concerned about the future of the app and the potential loss of how everyday people could lose power in social movements. Action St. Louis co-founder and executive director Kayla Reed and New York Times bestselling author Sarah Kendzior discuss how Twitter has shaped the narrative about St. Louis, the Ferguson uprising, and the ways social media impacts policy.

Sarah Kendzior is an American author, anthropologist, researcher, and scholar. She is also a New York Times bestselling author.   Her latest book is They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent, dares to delve into the difference between conspiracies and conspiracy theories.   patreon.com/thenickbryantpodcast twitter: @nick__bryant nickbryantnyc.com

* After Last January 6th House Committee Hearing Trump Continues to Escape Accountability; Sarah Kendzior author and co-host of the Gaslit Nation weekly podcast; Producer: Scott Harris. * Republicans Propose Policies That Would Weaken or End Social Security and Medicare; Linda Benesch, Communications Director with Social Security Works; Producer: Scott Harris. * Volunteers Provide Assistance to Asylum Seekers Used as Political Props by GOP Governors; Kate Sugarman, MD, is a family physician in Washington, DC; Producer: Melinda Tuhus.

Jared Yates Sexton is flying solo today and talking about the recent Italian election and the rise of neofascists into power. But then, he's joined by Sarah Kendzior to talk about her new book They Knew: How A Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent and the divisions and lies that put us all in incredible danger. Support The Muckrake Podcast at http://www.patreon.com/muckrakepodcast

Author and journalist Sarah Kendzior returns to speak with What Matters Most podcast host Paul Samuel Dolman about her new book, They Knew. The post Sarah Kendzior #1055 appeared first on Paul Samuel Dolman.

The best-selling St. Louis author says "They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent" examines the country's relationship with conspiracies and how people should be skeptical of authority figures.

St. Louis-based author Sarah Kendzior spoke with STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum earlier this week about her new book They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent. Rosenbaum and Kendzior spoke in front of a live audience at the Ethical Society in Ladue. The event was organized by Left Bank Books

Sarah Kendzior, author of the new book, They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent, joins Danielle and Wajahat on this week's democracyish to discuss all the ways in which the powers that be--including the Democratic establishment--feign shock and outrage over issues THEY KNEW would arise. We cover everything from the rise of fascism to the Epstein coverup in this episode--Buckle up as Sarah brings us on an amazing ride! Hosts: Danielle Moodie & Wajahat Ali Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Senior Producer: Quinton Hill Distributor: DCP Entertainment Please check our show survey below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8QT7g1bzljCysSHmMCU6bm4sjw-hzysiPCOYO2CyGhcZO_w/viewform Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John discusses the unbalanced media coverage of Biden touchdowns vs Trump faceplants. Next, John and Chris poke fun at NBC's Chuck Todd as he interviews VP Kamala Harris about democratic support of the GOP's extreme fringe candidates. Then John interviews author Sarah Kendzior about her new book “They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent". And finally John takes a call from Theresa in Washington state about the royals and cheating in relationships. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trump Attacks the FBI Inflaming His Base While Warning the AG "Our Country is on Fire. What Can I do to Reduce the Heat" | The Threat to Journalists in Mexico From Drug Cartels and in Nicaragua From the Ortegas backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 800 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more This Weeks is sponsored by Indeed.com/Standup Sarah Kendzior is a journalist with a Ph.D. in anthropology who lectures on politics, the economy, and the media. Since 2006, she has regularly given talks and keynotes at universities and policy forums around the world. She is the author of the best-selling book The View From Flyover Country, which was re-released in 2018 after originally being published as an eBook in 2015 and becoming a bestseller the following year, and her new book Hiding in Plain Sight. In 2017, Sarah gave dozens of talks in eight countries, mostly focusing on encroaching autocracy and what to expect in the Trump era.   Sarah Kendzior received her Ph.D. studying the authoritarian states of the former Soviet Union and has since had to put that expertise to use in explaining what is happening to the United States. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2012, she became a columnist for Al Jazeera English, and also began freelancing for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and Quartz. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and spent much of 2014 and 2015 covering the Ferguson uprising and its aftermath. In 2016, Sarah became a columnist at the Globe and Mail, focusing on the US election, and also covered US affairs for the Dutch outlet De Correspondent. Today she continues to write regularly for the Globe and Mail, NBC News, and Fast Company. Sarah has over 350,000 followers on Twitter and is regularly interviewed by the media both in the US and abroad.  In summer 2018, she launched the Gaslit Nation podcast with Andrea Chalupa. She is a recurring guest on the MSNBC show AM Joy, where she discusses corruption in the Trump administration as well as the Russian interference scandal. Sarah has a very large and diverse audience and has been an invited speaker at policy forums, grassroots activist groups, universities, film festivals, and think tanks.  Eric J. Segall graduated from Emory University, Phi Beta Kappa 27  and summa cum laude, and from Vanderbilt Law School, where he was the research editor for the Law Review and member of Order of the Coif. He clerked for the Chief Judge Charles Moye Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia, and Albert J. Henderson of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. After his clerkships, Segall worked for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and the U.S. Department of Justice, before joining the Georgia State faculty in 1991. Segall teaches federal courts and constitutional law I and II. He is the author of the books Originalism as Faith and Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court and its Justices are not Judges. His articles on constitutional law have appeared in, among others, the Harvard Law Review Forum, the Stanford Law Review On Line, the UCLA Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, the Washington University Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, and Constitutional Commentary among many others. Segall's op-eds and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the LA Times, The Atlantic, SLATE, Vox, Salon, and the Daily Beast, among others. He has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and France 24 and all four of Atlanta's local television stations. He has also appeared on numerous local and national radio shows. Listen and Subscribe to Eric's Podcast Supreme Myths and follow him on Tik Tok! The Stand Up Community Chat is always active with other Stand Up Subscribers on the Discord Platform.     Be sure to visit https://www.patreon.com/PeteDominick/membership and scroll down where you should see a "Connect to Discord" button. You can also look at https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-How-do-I-get-my-Discord-Rewards- for more info. Join us Thursday's at 8EST for our Weekly Happy Hour Hangout!    Pete on YouTube  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page