Gaslit Nation

While Peter Thiel obsesses over the Anti-Christ, his company Palantir has been busy building America’s Orwellian Big Brother, which began under Trump’s first term and was allowed to continue under Biden. Under Trump’s second term, Thiel’s Palantir has rapidly expanded into nearly every corner of the U.S. government. A recent New York Times investigation detailed how Palantir’s data-mining empire powers law enforcement and intelligence agencies to track, profile, and monitor not just criminal networks, but potentially spy on American citizens. Thiel likes to posture as a radical outsider, but through Palantir he’s shaping the machinery of the state to establish a tech-backed dictatorship. In Part Two of our conversation with journalist Gil Duran, of the essential Nerd Reich newsletter, we dig into the tech coup, what it means for democracy, and why it matters that a billionaire obsessed with the apocalypse is also building the digital panopticon. We also discuss what happens when Trump dies and MAGA faces a Game of Thrones succession battle? Why don’t we have a strong opposition? How do we build one? How do we create real solidarity instead of the weak attempts by some Democratic leaders to “negotiate” with fascists? (There’s no negotiating with fascists.) How do we establish our own fifty year plan to rebuild democracy? Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Action alert! Send postcards to California to ensure Prop 50 passes and help support other must-win races: https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards Action alert! Sister District x Gaslit Nation Halloween Phonebank for VA! https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ The One Trait That Predicts Trump Support (w. Matthew MacWilliams) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp19ZKI2m2w Gil Duran’s The Nerd Reich: Is Peter Thiel the Antichrist? NYT Didn’t Think to Ask https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/ Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work with the government, spreading the company’s technology — which could easily merge data on Americans — throughout agencies. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession: Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since. https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-stakes-real-story-peter-thiels-antichrist-obsession/ I Worked At Palantir: The Tech Company Reshaping Reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ95Gmvg_D4 Why Everyone Around Trump is Paranoid Now: Michael Wolff | Inside Trump's Head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HplPf8F5NaI&t=13s Peter Thiel calls the anti-Christ as a humanitarian: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CQ5ATBoF8og Peter Thiel compares Greta Thunberg to the Anti-Christ: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4xVOOgmH3-w Thiel compares being woke to Saudi Arabia https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-873PUOq1s8 Trump’s Texts to CNN Host Renew Health Speculation https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-texts-to-cnn-host-renew-health-speculation/ Has Big Brother arrived? Inside the secretive Trump effort to centralize government data on millions of Americans https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-palantir-data-immigration-b2761096.html EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other,...

With Trump’s health visibly in decline, attention is shifting to Peter Thiel’s invention, JD Vance, who may soon be president. Which means Thiel, a billionaire doomsday prepper who thinks the Anti-Christ is Greta Thunberg, could effectively rule the world. What does Thiel’s obsession with the Anti-Christ reveal about how we can resist him? Thiel’s worldview isn’t just weird Silicon Valley paranoia; it’s vintage fascist fan fiction. His ideas trace back to Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, who justified Hitler’s violent purges as necessary for “saving civilization.” Schmitt’s argument was simple and horrifying: democracy is too weak, so we need a strongman to suspend the rules. Thiel recycles Schmitt’s logic in a twenty-first-century sermon on why democracy itself is the real threat. In Thiel’s version, collective action to solve global crises like man-made climate change is the definition of evil. So you know what to do, folks: double down on building collective action. In Part One of our conversation with journalist Gil Duran, of the Nerd Reich newsletter, that tracks Silicon Valley’s billionaire Bond villains, we dig into Thiel’s apocalyptic delusions, how they shape his politics, and why it’s a very big deal that a man this afraid of democracy has his hands in everything from expanding government surveillance to election data. Part Two will be out this Thursday, with a special look at Thiel and Trump’s Big Brother–their latest efforts to establish a Chinese-style surveillance state. Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Action alert! Send postcards to California to ensure Prop 50 passes and help support other must-win races: https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards Action alert! Sister District x Gaslit Nation Halloween Phonebank for VA! https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ The One Trait That Predicts Trump Support (w. Matthew MacWilliams) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp19ZKI2m2w Gil Duran’s The Nerd Reich: Is Peter Thiel the Antichrist? NYT Didn’t Think to Ask https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/ The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession: Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since. https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-stakes-real-story-peter-thiels-antichrist-obsession/ I Worked At Palantir: The Tech Company Reshaping Reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ95Gmvg_D4 Why Everyone Around Trump is Paranoid Now: Michael Wolff | Inside Trump's Head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HplPf8F5NaI&t=13s Peter Thiel calls the anti-Christ as a humanitarian: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CQ5ATBoF8og Peter Thiel compares Greta Thunberg to the Anti-Christ: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4xVOOgmH3-w Thiel compares being woke to Saudi Arabia https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-873PUOq1s8 Trump’s Texts to CNN Host Renew Health Speculation https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-texts-to-cnn-host-renew-health-speculation/ Has Big Brother arrived? Inside the secretive Trump effort to centralize government data on millions of Americans https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-palantir-data-immigration-b2761096.html EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners...

The first movie ever screened in the White House wasn’t Casablanca or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It was The Birth of a Nation: a Ku Klux Klan recruitment ad that glorified white rage bloodlust. A century later, Trump’s White House is the sequel: staged propaganda to glorify lies, violence, and hate against freedom fighters–otherwise known as antifa–otherwise known as World War II veterans who won the war against tyranny. Because if you’re not antifa, you’re pro-fascism. Trump is the Frankenstein monster of America’s darkest chapters: Jim Crow, McCarthyism, Watergate, and reality-TV nihilism. But the heroes who stormed Normandy didn’t die for us to cower before a spray-tanned con man. Which brings us to the Epstein Files: the panic button of MAGA-land. If the Epstein Files were nothing, Trump and Mike Johnson wouldn’t be working so hard to shut down our government and prevent a vote. “Teflon Don” has gotten away with years of crimes, including inciting a violent attempted overthrow of our democracy, which led to several deaths, including of law enforcement. So why is he so panicked about the Epstein Files? The truth will come out, as it always does. And remember: bullies only understand strength. So keep pushing, keep shouting, and for the love of democracy: Release. The. Epstein. Files. This week’s bonus show continues our conversation with Zerlina Maxwell, host of Mornings with Zerlina on SiriusXM’s Progress Channel and author of The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide. Find her weekday mornings, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, on SiriusXM Progress, channel 127. For our Patreon supporters at the Truth-teller tier ($5/month) and higher, we have an exclusive for you: an odd development that hit our inbox. We’d love to get your thoughts on it over on Patreon. To hear this full bonus show, be sure to subscribe at Patreon.com/Gaslit for all bonus shows, all shows ad-free, invites to exclusive events, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available, and you can even give the gift of membership. Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Show Notes: Top House Democrat seeks Jeffrey Epstein financial records from Dimon, other bank CEOs https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/09/bank-records-epstein-dimon-raskin.html?taid=68e78b8c80da070001f243a1&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism “Indicators” https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nspm-7-labels-common-beliefs Florida Lawmaker to Meet With Putin Envoy Dmitriev This Month https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/10/09/florida-lawmaker-to-meet-with-putin-envoy-dmitriev-this-month-a90763 We Are Elated by the Gaza Ceasefire News. Now, the World Must Hold Israel to Account for 2 Years of Genocide https://open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/gaza-ceasefire-hold-israel-accountable-genocide?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email Listen To The Jeffrey Epstein Tapes: ‘I Was Donald Trump’s Closest Friend’ https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU08/20250227/117951/HHRG-119-JU08-20250227-SD006-U6.pdf Trump Has Second 'Yearly' Check-Up In Just Six Months: He's going to "stop by" the doctor's office while he's at Walter Reed Medical Center for another event, the White House said. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-yearly-doctors-appointment_n_68e7007be4b0b4458cb6da16 Publisher Removes Melania Trump Claims From Book, Issues Apology https://www.newsweek.com/publisher-harpercollins-uk-removes-melania-trump-claims-book-issues-apology-10844442 Racist KKK glorifying film Birth of a Nation became the first film shown in the White House under Woodrow Wilson: https://woodrowwilsonhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WWH-SCHOLAR-SPRING-2023-Hashimoto-Elizabeth-FINAL-PROJECT-BIRTH-OF-A-NATION.pdf Shadow Network: The Anne Nelson Interview - Part II...

America has long been on a path toward authoritarianism, as Gaslit Nation warned for years. We also warned the only way out is accountability: abolish ICE and prosecute their crimes against humanity to the fullest extent of international law. In this week’s Gaslit Nation, we examine the normalcy bias that many in white America, especially within the mainstream media, cling to. We also celebrate the defiant voices on the frontlines in MAGA-besieged cities like Portland and Chicago, who are calling this what it is: fascism. Joining us to discuss how to rebuild American democracy, and make it truly democratic this time, is Zerlina Maxwell, host of Mornings with Zerlina on SiriusXM’s Progress Channel and author of The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide. Find her weekday mornings 7am to 9am ET on SiriusXM Progresss, channel 127. As always, we offer solutions and ways to stay grounded amid the terrorism sh*tshow and chaos deliberately engineered to confuse and demoralize us. The way we win is by staying focused and committed to doing whatever we can–wherever we are, with whatever we have–to plant seeds of hope and change. No act is too small. If you want to make a difference, join us for the Gaslit Nation x Sister District Halloween Phonebank on October 22 at 6pm ET. We’ll be calling voters in must-win Virginia races, some of which could be decided by just a handful of votes. Yes, your time and voice still matter. Stephen Miller doesn’t want you to go to our phonebank–so be sure to RSVP here. Thank you to everyone who joined the Gaslit Nation Salon on Monday at 4pm ET. Join us again this coming Monday for a special session featuring our friends at the Media and Democracy Project, as we discuss how to push back against mainstream media capitulation. largest mass-murder of Jewish life since the Holocaust. Our hearts are with those impacted by that day and Netanyahu's genocidal war to cling to power that followed. For an important discussion for how to build peace, listen to our interview with the Jewish and Palestinian led Alliance for Middle East Peace from December 2024. Want Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, group chats, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: RSVP to the Gaslit Nation Phonebank w/Sister for Virginia! https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ ‘Impossible’ for Trump to escape Epstein files being exposed | John Bolton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lvWbM2g31A The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide by Zerlina Maxwell https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/zerlina-maxwell/the-end-of-white-politics/9780306873591/ “There’s a baby!” ICE agents stop Alamosa family at gunpoint, smash car window Immigration arrest last week in southern Colorado follows national trend of escalating force from ICE agents https://coloradosun.com/2025/10/01/ice-alamosa-arrest-gunpoint-infant/ The Fading of the Red, White, and Blue by Zach Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPWkQ4CEcNp/ Country Music Star Zach Bryan Turns Political With Anti-ICE Ballad https://time.com/7323600/zach-bryan-ice-song-trump/ Opening clip https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AbqZxPsP91I featuring: https://www.tiktok.com/@of_earth.and_seed Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism “Indicators” https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nspm-7-labels-common-beliefs EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect,...

As Trump declares a highly illegal “war on drug cartels” to distract from the Epstein Files, let’s turn instead to a much-needed source of inspiration: Harriet Tubman. Described by her first biographer and friend Sarah Hopkins Bradford as “clairvoyant,” Tubman offers timeless lessons in resilience, strategy, and hope under brutal oppression. If you’re looking for concrete ways to resist life under a chaos-weapon Russian asset, this week’s bonus episode of Gaslit Nation is for you! We share an excerpt from our Book Club discussion of Harriet, the Moses of Her People by Bradford, a children’s author who helped preserve Tubman’s legacy. We also examine the asymmetrical warfare waged by today’s nihilists–and no, we don’t mean the ones in Congress–but the “lone shooters” who are actually working together to stage “performance shootings” for one another for a growing outlet for their despair and rage. Trump’s government shutdown certainly doesn’t help. Look for the full recording of this week’s salon and Read & Resist book club discussion on Monday morning, along with the Zoom link for Monday’s salon at 4pm ET. Our salons are a place to sharpen strategy, share solidarity, and to remember that you’re not losing your mind: things really are that bad. And because despair is what the nihilists want, we’re throwing a Gaslit Nation Halloween Party with Sister District. Costumes optional, democracy mandatory. We’ll be fighting for must-win Virginia races, and yes, you should RSVP. Because if Harriet Tubman can face down the unimaginable, you can probably survive a Zoom party. Join us here: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Harriet, the Moses of Her People https://uncpress.org/9781469607818/harriet-the-moses-of-her-people/ October Books: Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/deaf-republic Total resistance by Hans von Dach https://archive.org/details/totalresistance0000dach Read and Resist: Gaslit Nation’s Book Club https://www.patreon.com/posts/read-and-resist-132804210?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/trump-drug-cartels-war.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20251002&instance_id=163691&nl=breaking-news&regi_id=48614702&segment_id=207041&user_id=097a378032011d6e8be1570cdce0a176 Was Trump’s strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat legal?https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/was-trumps-strike-on-an-alleged-venezuelan-drug-boat-legal/ Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m26cxb7ixo2e EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on ...

Trump once said he wanted generals like the Nazis. Today, at his limp MAGA rally, he made his pitch. Photos show military leaders looking stunned, confused, and struggling not to laugh. His approval ratings are collapsing, especially in swing states, as he flails in an Epstein cover-up implicating Mike Johnson, who’s blocking the swearing-in of Arizona’s new Democratic representative–the vote that could force a House debate on releasing the Epstein files. Trump is the Frankenstein’s monster of a 50-year Christian nationalist plan using the prosperity gospel to turn America into a dictatorship, making him the most dangerous enemy from within. The Seven Mountain Mandate reads like a discarded Lord of the Rings draft where Sauron wins. It’s a 50-year plan to bring a strongman like Trump to power and turn America into a dictatorship. Conceived in the 1970s by Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ) and Loren Cunningham (Youth With A Mission), it emerged as a white-rage backlash to Civil Rights, bankrolled by Big Oil. Later, televangelist Lance Wallnau popularized it through Ziklag, a network for Christian nationalists worth over $25 million, and passed the torch to third-generation leaders like Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s Turning Point USA targeted Matthew Boedy, a University of North Georgia professor, harassing him for speaking against guns on campus. After being placed on a “watch list,” Boedy began researching and wrote The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy. The Mandate’s strategy is to dominate seven cultural “mountains”: Religion – Shape faith and morality to normalize fascism. Family – Patriarchal households dictate politics; LGBTQ+ people, feminists, immigrants, and academics are silenced, outlawed, and erased. Education – Raise children in a dominance culture where “might makes right” to normalize fascism. Government – Collapse church-state separation, recasting America as a “Christian republic,” not a democracy. Media – Control the narrative so news becomes propaganda. Arts & Entertainment – Capture Hollywood, TV, even TikTok, using culture as a weapon (i.e., attacks on Jimmy Kimmel). Business – The prosperity gospel – “Jesus wants you to fund my jet” – drew greed-driven donors who built the movement across generations. The goal: capture every cultural sphere until society mirrors their theology. Stopping it requires progressives to build their own generational strategy, rooted in empathy, inclusion, and solidarity. To start, see the Gaslit Nation Action Guide at GaslitNationPod.com. We’ll see you at the Gaslit Nation Halloween Party on October 22nd at 6pm ET with Sister District as we make calls to must-win state races in Virgina. RSVP here to join us: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: The Seven Mountains Mandate by Matthew Boedy https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-seven-mountains-mandate-exposing-the-dangerous-plan-to-christianize-america-and-destroy-democracy-matthew-boedy/1246c2dda176acd7?ean=9780664269210&next=t Trump said Hitler ‘did some good things’ and wanted generals like the Nazis, former chief of staff Kelly claims https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-said-hitler-did-some-good-things-and-wanted-generals-like-the-nazis-former-chief-of-staff-kelly-claims Progressive House Democrats rebuke DCCC ‘blacklist’ of companies working with primary challengers to incumbent Democrats https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/31/politics/dccc-primary-challenger-rule Hillary Clinton's 3-Word Misstep: 'All Lives Matter' https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/24/417112956/hillary-clintons-three-word-gaffe-all-lives-matter Trump Tells Military Leaders The...

One Battle After Another isn’t just a film: it’s a manifesto. Paul Thomas Anderson’s cinematic masterpiece–a three hour long adventure that flies by thanks to dark humor and insane action set pieces–reimagines Harriet Tubman’s legacy in a near future, turning Trump’s “bad hombre” slur into a rallying cry. It dives into the raw debates: violence versus resistance, the power of holding space inside broken systems to shield and change them. Make time in your busy schedule to see it at the theater–don’t wait for streaming. This film is a cultural event that celebrates America’s long tradition of hard-fought antifascism, otherwise known as antifa. You’re a bad hambre is the new May the Force Be With You. Trailer for One Battle After Another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQUPdVxZNPk Join Gaslit Nation’s Book Club so you can stay prepared and not panic, which is what the fascists want: https://www.patreon.com/posts/read-and-resist-132804210?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link See you today at the Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET to discuss this month’s book – Harriet, the Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Here’s the Zoom link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/zoom-link-for-140005245?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link To join the discussion, be sure to join our community of listeners on Patreon.com/Gaslit and support our independent journalism. Thank you to everyone who supports the show! Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

What’s worse than a conspiracy theory? When the actual conspiracy is even worse than the theory. Jeffrey Epstein carried out a kompromat operation for years, capturing American elite, unleashing a national security nightmare, and destroying the lives of children. In this special episode with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, we examine Epstein, Trump, and Russia–and the threats that still remain from the real life QAnon. Epstein was the closest thing Trump had to a friend, going back to the 1980s. The rise of these criminal networks intertwined: Epstein, Trump, and Rudy Giuliani pushing out the Italian mafia as mayor of New York to make room for the Russian mafia–a takeover that accelerated after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Epstein’s wife-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, was a documented KGB asset with a sideline in laundering Soviet billions, and reportedly also worked with Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, at a time when the Kremlin used the Jackson-Vanik amendment passed by Congress to release spies and criminal assets among the Jewish Soviet citizens, like Lautman’s family, seeking refuge in the U.S. While Epstein’s survivors beg for justice and promise to release their own list of elite pedophiles, the GOP continue the Epstein cover-up to protect convicted felon Trump, their battering ram against democracy. QAnon was deflection, fueled by Russian disinformation to protect their wrecking ball in the White House. Expect more Russian psyops as the far-right Epstein cover-up continues. Call your reps and demand: release the Epstein files. Hear the full episode by supporting our independent journalism–your early warning system–at Patreon.com/Gaslit at the Truth-teller $5/month or higher. Discounted annual subscriptions are available. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Opening Clip: How Trump Just Proved He's an Idiot: Michael Wolff on The Daily Beast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswzQpHGAzc Key takeaways from special elections in Arizona and Georgia https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5518904-adelita-grijalva-wins-arizona-election/ President Zelensky at the United Nations in 2025: https://bsky.app/profile/antizionistjew.bsky.social/post/3lzlplmsnzs2p Speech by the President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Fifth Summit of the International Crimea Platform in New York https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vistup-prezidenta-na-pyatomu-samiti-mizhnarodnoyi-krimskoyi-100341 Epstein’s Financial Crimes: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rE90leBYSi4 Epstein Trump Friendship Statue: https://bsky.app/profile/wired.com/post/3lzjyrowvec2j Trump Tyranny Tracker by Olga Lautman https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/

Listen, we heard Trump today at the U.N. talking crazy, but also saying Ukraine can get its territories back, and then some. As in, occupy Russia? We’ll get into all that in this week’s bonus show out later this week for our Patreon members. We’ll also break down the crime cabal of Epstein, Trump, and Russia. More soon. For now, Happy New Year! 5786, to be precise. As Jewish families dip apples in honey and blow the shofar, we’d all do well to take inspiration: resilience is the tradition. Which is good, because democracy needs that same resilience right now. Fox News will tell you New York is a crime-hive communist brothel, while Donald Trump–the convicted felon, enthusiastic coup-plotter, and Orban fanboy–cheers on Christian nationalism like it’s a Russian gift basket of underage girls. Thanks to Trump, RFK Jr.–a human centipede of conspiracies–used our tax dollars to declare war on Tylenol. MAGA and their Christian nationalist Charlie Kirk tent revival want to drag us back to an idealized 1950s where everyone smoked indoors for their health and also had polio. With MAGA using Charlie Kirk’s laser light show memorial to fire up their base, we must and can fight back. That all-important work is in the states. Look to Virginia: a bellwether of the 2026 midterms. This week’s guest, Shawn Werner, Organizing and Political Director of Sister District, joins Gaslit Nation to explain why the 2026 midterms start now. But will we even have elections? Here’s some hope: groups like Sister District and the Democracy Security Project are training volunteers, protecting elections, and building the infrastructure we need to out-organize the new Jim Crow. Races to watch on election night, for any indication of a blue and angry red MAGA-regrets wave, include Kimberly Pope Adams in House District 82, Lily Franklin at Virginia Tech in District 41, and Leslie Mehta’s campaign for the House of Delegates. Win them, and we prove momentum is on our side–and we lay the groundwork to build a victory engine to overcome Trump’s desperate shenanigans in 2026. Consider this episode your official invitation to Gaslit Nation’s Halloween Party with Sister District on Wednesday, October 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. We’ll be dressed up in costumes like our lives depend on it and phonebanking for Virginia. Because democracy cannot defend itself. Fight back now, because fighting back in the MAGA Gulag will be infinitely harder. For more on how to join forces with Sister District in these precious days and weeks ahead, and plant seeds of hope wherever you live, check out SisterDistrict.com. And again, don’t miss this week’s bonus show on Epstein, Trump, and Russia. Look out for that soon. To hear the full bonus show, out Thursday, be sure to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit to get bonus shows, all shows ad-free, invites to exclusive events, and more. Thank you to everyone who supports our independent journalism–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: RSVP for our Halloween Party Phonebank with Sister District October 22 at 6pm ET: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/zohrankmamdani.bsky.social/post/3lzgxaahz4s2q ACTION ALERT: Write postcards urging Democratic voters in California to VOTE YES on Redistricting to Save Democracy: https://www.mobilize.us/thirdact/event/777101/ ACTION ALERT: Send a duck to your rep in Congress to ask them to remove “quack” RFK Jr.: https://www.standupforscience.net/quack-o-grams AOC makes appeal for Democrats' California gerrymander https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/23/aoc-ad-california-gerrymander-00576018 What the Mayor Got Away With Has Already Changed America...

A quick reminder to our community of supporters that the Zoom link for today’s salon at 4pm ET was posted on Friday. You can find that here. Wannabe Trump and eager student of Steve Bannon’s dark arts, Jair Bolsonaro, was sentenced this month to 27 years in prison for inciting his supporters to violently overthrow democracy in Brazil. And where was Bolsonaro during the coup attempt? Florida, of course: a state otherwise known as the Republican National Committee. There, his close allies, including his son, met with Bannon after losing the 2022 election, in the lead up to their January 8, 2023 insurrection. So why did Brazil hold its coup plotters accountable while America did not? The short answer: white people. For generations, white America has enjoyed relative prosperity and peace, told endlessly that this is the greatest country on Earth, ever. That has lulled many into a dangerous, willful coma of complacency, one that Stephen Miller and MAGA’s disastrous policies will shatter, the hard way. Will it take years, or will it take decades? That depends on how we use the next 12 months to help mobilize a resilient grassroots resistance–more on that in coming episodes. Featured in this special episode, for more on Brazil’s inspiring resistance, listen to this excerpt from our Gaslit Nation Book Club discussion in August, where we looked at two powerful films about art and resistance. The Lives of Others (2006), by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, follows a Stasi officer whose heart is changed by spying on artists. We also discussed I’m Still Here (2024) by Walter Salles, based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir about his extraordinary mother, Eunice Paiva, who stood up to Brazil’s military dictatorship, fought for justice for her disappeared husband–a dissident politician, and later championed indigenous rights in the Amazon as a human rights lawyer. The full discussion can be found here on Patreon. We’re sharing this excerpt now to celebrate Bolsonaro’s conviction and as a reminder that America must wake up. In the weeks ahead, Gaslit Nation will ramp up for the 2026 Midterms, sharing strategies to protect our vote and counter Republican ratf*cking. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, our September Book Club read is the short but powerful Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Join the discussion at the Gaslit Nation Salon this Monday, September 29, at 4 PM. See you there! Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes AP News Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for coup plot https://apnews.com/article/brazil-bolsonaro-supreme-court-trial-coup-attempt-f95765c36dbbdc3355ad3af0b70eacf6 Reuters — Brazilians protest efforts to shield Bolsonaro https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilians-protest-efforts-shield-bolsonaro-lawmakers-courts-2025-09-21/ Los Angeles Times — Bolsonaro in Florida as Brazil riots erupt https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-10/us-bolsonaro-florida-brazil-riots Washington Post — Bannon and Trump allies advised Bolsonaro’s circle https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/23/brazil-bolsonaro-bannon/ The Atlantic — Brazil Stood Up for Its Democracy. Why Didn’t the U.S.? https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/brazil-bolsonaro-coup/681788/ ACLU — Supreme Court grants Trump broad immunity for official acts https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-grants-trump-broad-immunity-for-official-acts-placing-presidents-above-the-law

A Gaslit Nation listener once asked me: What’s the canary in the coal mine for American democracy? My answer: when they come for the comedians. Because when authoritarians kill the jokes, they kill the dissent. Look at Russia. In Putin’s early years, Kukly, a wildly popular political satire by smack-talking puppets, mocked him mercilessly. One of his first moves? Force media consolidation. Suddenly, the show vanished. Fast forward 25 years to today, you can’t hold an anti-war sign in Moscow without being arrested. As The New York Times reported back in 2000: “‘Kukly’ is political satire. But that is like calling an ermine a rodent. By turns vicious, obscene, hilarious and knowing, it has long been the most popular television show in Russia. At 10 p.m. on any given Sunday, more than half the nation’s sets are riveted on the program.” [Emphasis mine]. Now it’s happening here. Trump and the far-right are consolidating media ownership, especially local stations, while evangelicals push their “Seven Mountains Mandate” to seize control of religion, family, government, business, education, arts, and, of course, media. Trump is their “God’s imperfect vessel"–like many strongmen featured in the Old Testament, bulldozing what’s left of democracy in a white-rage backlash to the Civil Rights movement. Formerly “woke” Disney CEO Bob Iger, who previously denounced Trump’s Muslim ban and Florida’s anti-gay laws, is now in the crosshairs, pressured by Nexstar and Sinclair, Republican-aligned networks with monopoly-level reach. But Disney did this to itself, and the country, by giving a convicted felon a $15 million “charitable contribution” to his “presidential library” to settle a defamation suit. That surrender paved the way for the widespread mainstream media capitulation helping Trump consolidate power. Jimmy Kimmel has now been silenced for saying what Gaslit Nation also pointed out: Charlie Kirk’s killer came from the same white, male, MAGA gun culture that empowered Trump. That truth cost Kimmel his platform, so far, but thanks to you, our listeners, we can keep saying it. So who rescues us as Trump tries to turn America into Russia? Enter KPop Demon Hunters. Netflix’s massive hit–its most watched film–is a reminder that the free market still caters to the people. America’s greatest export isn’t oil or weapons. It’s culture, humor, art. Our comedians are resistance fighters with punchlines. Which means one of the best ways to fight fascism is simple: dictators hate truth and humor. Every single one of us pointing out the truth, and having a damn good time while doing it, will break the fever of this dystopian feverdream. Because pay attention to Kimmel’s monologue that got him pulled from air: he goes into length on Trump’s Epstein cover-up. Listen here for yourself or in the end of this week’s bonus show. Like Gaslit Nation warned, Charlie Kirk’s murder is being used as part of the larger Epstein cover-up. For our Patreon members, this week’s lively salon has already been posted, along with the Zoom link for next week’s salon. You can find that here. See you Monday at 4pm ET. If you would like to join our weekly hang outs and help support our independent journalism, get all episodes add free, bonus shows and more, be sure to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Show Notes: ABC agrees to give $15 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle defamation lawsuit https://apnews.com/article/abc-trump-lawsuit-defamation-stephanopoulos-04aea8663310af39ae2a85f4c1a56d68 Trump Celebrates Kimmel Suspension As Right Rages Over Charlie Kirk Killing: Live Updates https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-king-charles-live-updates_n_68c80c2be4b0642964ce9b92 Seven Questions with Perry Sook https://rbr.com/seven-questions-with-perry-sook/ TV's Impious Puppets: On Kremlin's Hit List?...

This September marks eight years since Donald Trump cozied up to pariah dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt on the sidelines of the United Nations—a secret meeting that reportedly triggered a highly secretive Mueller investigation into whether Trump accepted a $10 million bribe from el-Sisi when his 2016 campaign was desperate for cash. Last summer, Gaslit Nation ran a special episode unpacking this sweeping corruption scandal; you can read a summary here and listen to the episode here. Fast forward to Trump’s Middle East tour this past spring, where he once again explicitly told the world that American foreign policy under his influence isn’t about democracy or the rule of law: it’s about making deals that just so happen to enrich him and his family. Joining Gaslit Nation to explain what Trump’s fire sale of influence to the highest bidder means for the Middle East and us here at home is Ahmed Gatnash, co-founder and Executive Director of the Kawaakibi Foundation, a powerhouse MENA human rights organization, and co-author of The Middle East Crisis Factory. Gatnash brings a razor-sharp analysis of Russia’s expanding grip on the Middle East, the unbreakable spirit of the Syrian people fighting for freedom, and the surprising ways bitcoin is being used as a lifeline for human rights activists who know how to navigate its pitfalls. He also tears into the so-called “two-state solution”—overwhelmingly voted on by the United Nations last week—as nothing more than political theater, and shares his vision of what Palestinians and Israelis truly need to secure real, lasting peace. This week’s bonus show dives into MAGA’s latest wave of threats against the opposition and what a full-scale crackdown could look like–what’s likely, what’s unlikely, and what’s already happening that we need to pay attention to. Catch the full discussion this Friday morning by joining our Patreon community. Thank you to everyone who makes Gaslit Nation possible–we could not make our show without you! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: September 29 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a discussion of Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join here. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join here. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available here. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available here. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available here. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon for our community Show Notes: Qatar, Russia sign agreement to jointly invest 2 billion euros into sovereign wealth funds https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250423-qatar-russia-sign-agreement-to-jointly-invest-2-billion-euros-into-sovereign-wealth-funds/ Michael Flynn, Russia and a Grand Scheme to Build Nuclear Power Plants in Saudi Arabia and the Arab World https://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/23/flynn-russia-nuclear-energy-middle-east-iran-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-donald-623396.html Why Qatar is Bribing Trump https://open.substack.com/pub/popularinformation/p/why-qatar-is-bribing-trump?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2mrjsl House Democrats ask Trump for proof he did not take $10 million 'cash bribe' from Egypt https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/03/trump-egypt-democrats-letter.html Trump touts Saudi relationship as "bedrock of security and prosperity" amid $600 billion investment deal https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-speaking-us-saudi-investment-summit-riyadh/ 2 Trump-aligned GOP operatives face foreign agent charges for helping Qatar https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/02/trump-gop-qatar-00133567 Trump Jr. and...

Charlie Kirk is dead—taken out by an extremely skilled sniper in deep-red Utah. The MAGA Nazi built an empire scapegoating Black people, trans folks, and women, and cheered on Trump’s authoritarian destruction. Get ready for the martyrdom of this incel king and the coming retribution against democracy defenders. Let’s look at what really happened. Back in July, Kirk had demanded transparency from the Trump White House over Trump’s longtime friend: the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein who ran the real life QAnon–we play Kirk’s own words at the end of this episode. Instead, Trump turned the FBI and DOJ into personal security forces, relying on them and Mike Johnson in Congress to continue his Epstein cover-up. Now Kirk’s dead. And the shooter? Nowhere to be found. The killer obviously blended in with the predominantly white and male crowd. Was he a professional sniper? Was this a Russian op, or another case of terrorism by an active duty soldier? Kirk’s death looks less like a random act and more like a message: Shut up about Epstein. And it’s working. Trump is already using Kirk’s murder to stir up his base, threatening political opponents, and fueling his full-blown authoritarian crusade. But don’t be fooled—this isn’t about “leftist violence.” The data is clear: political violence in America overwhelmingly comes from the far right. Refuse to be silenced. Demand the full Epstein files. Demand justice for the victims. Because the real danger to MAGA isn’t those who enjoy what’s left of their Constitutionally protected rights—it’s the MAGA base waking up to the truth: Trump is at the center of the Epstein cover-up, because he, like Epstein, is a pedophile. Release the Epstein files. Show Notes: First-of-its-kind Look at Left, Right, and Islamist Extremists Explores Similarities, Differences. According to the University of Maryland’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice: Far-right extremist violence is significantly worse than far-left violence – there’s no comparison. The data shows that American society should take right-wing violence far more seriously, like it takes Islamist extremism. Anyone both-sidesing political violence in America is gaslighting you. https://ccjs.umd.edu/feature/umd-led-study-shows-disparities-violence-among-extremist-groups Top Democrat Calls for Congressional Probe Into Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Thiel: Thiel was one of many whose financial ties to the dead financier should be probed, a prominent senator believes. https://gizmodo.com/democrats-call-for-congressional-probe-into-ties-between-jeffrey-epstein-and-peter-thiel-2000657058 Charlie Kirk talks Epstein, urges Trump administration to act https://www.axios.com/2025/07/15/trump-epstein-maga-charlie-kirk Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service by Carol Leonnig https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/543941/zero-fail-by-carol-leonnig/ See Epstein’s full ‘birthday book,’ with alleged personal messages from Trump, Clinton and others https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/see-epsteins-full-birthday-book-with-alleged-personal-messages-from-trump-clinton-and-others House Oversight receives Epstein estate files, including 'birthday book' : Democrats have posted a photo of the provocative message the president allegedly wrote. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/08/house-oversight-receives-epstein-estate-files-00550721 MSNBC: Witness Describes Charlie Kirk Shooting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGxsn3FNJsU Nazi Martyr Horst Wessel: Beware the mobilizing martyrdom by American fascists https://www.bettedangerous.com/p/nazi-martyr-horst-wessel?fbclid=IwY2xjawMvxm5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjDVF7jdpNZA03IKR09k7rR2GPT50u9UjV2glvSRXDMzCsGlk1_7BXB7FH_C_aem_U-EXiDdVgWMAOfMMny3OYA U.S. Military Service is the Strongest Predictor of Carrying Out Extremist Violence https://theintercept.com/2025/01/02/military-veterans-extremism-attack-new-orleans-vegas/

America has always had a sadistic streak. From the very beginning, this so-called land of liberty was built on slavery and genocide. Yes, the Founding Fathers were less “philosopher kings” and more “sweaty men in wigs who owned human beings and thought democracy was something best kept away from women, the poor, and anyone who wasn’t them.” Fast-forward 250 years, and the far-right is still running the same playbook: cruelty as ideology. Immigrants? Cage them. LGBTQ+ kids? Target them. Women? Control them. The planet? Burn it. What Republicans call “policy” is really just sadism with a tax cut. Our Constitution was carefully crafted by white elites terrified of ordinary people voting. Thanks to the Electoral College and the Senate, minority rule is baked into the system. In fact, the last two Republican presidents to win the White House actually lost the popular vote. Democracy? More like demo-crazy. Joining us this week to build a real democracy from the ashes of Trump’s MAGA dumpster fire is Osita Nwanevu, a contributing editor for The New Republic, a columnist for The Guardian, and the author of the new book The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding. If America truly wants to live up to its mythology, it needs to finally make good on the promise of liberty and justice—for all. EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: September 29 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a discussion of Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

What do theme parties, abortion rights, and feminist rebellion have in common? Historian Jennifer Wright unearths women who, in their own subtle and not so subtle ways, defied the patriarchy, mocking original incel Anthony Comstock whose 19th-century repressive tactics are being used today in the far-right’s war on women. In her dazzlingly researched books about Gilded Age legends like Mamie Fish, a character on the HBO series The Gilded Age, and innovative abortionist Madame Restell, Wright shows us that women have always found ways to wield power, even in times of deep inequality and political repression. Whether through eccentric parties or underground abortion networks, these women worked with what they had, where they were, and often did it with excitement. Mamie Fish, for instance, bent society to her will through legendary parties, supporting seamstresses on strike, and introducing actresses and artists into elite circles. Her antics, from dog banquets to a monkey posing as a prince, weren’t just performance; they were power. And then there’s Madame Restell: the go-to abortionist of 19th-century New York who never lost a patient and defied the patriarchy until the very end, possibly faking her own death to escape persecution. What are the rebel women of the Gilded Age trying to tell us? We need creativity in our resistance. Culture is fuel. Fashion, parties, and art can democratize power and offer joy in dark times. When we make activism fun, inclusive, and rooted in lived human experience, we inspire people to join the fight. For more on rebel women of the Gilded Age check out Jennifer Wright’s books Madame Restell The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist and also Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power. Now go throw a theme party fundraiser and get creative at your next protest. EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: September 29 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a discussion of Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

Our opening clip was the 1989 trailer for Roger & Me, the breakthrough Michael Moore documentary and a favorite of Erica Smiley, Executive Director of Jobs With Justice and one of the most powerful voices in today’s labor movement. Smiley is reshaping how we think about power, not just at work, but across our democracy. She co-authored The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, making the case that collective bargaining isn’t only about wages. It’s about people reclaiming control over the decisions that define their lives. From Amazon warehouses to grassroots coalitions, her work connects the dots between economic justice and political freedom. In a time of rising authoritarianism, Erica Smiley is showing us that organized people, not organized money, can win. It’s a lesson worth remembering, especially in the wake of New York City’s mayoral race. Want more conversations like this? Join the Gaslit Nation Salon, live every Monday at 4pm ET. It’s our weekly Zoom gathering for listeners to vent, connect, strategize, and build community while documenting this moment in real time. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Annual memberships are discounted, and we’re grateful to everyone who keeps the show going. You can also give the gift of membership to help others join the fight. And if you’re headed to the beach, or just need a break from doomscrolling, don’t miss the Gaslit Nation graphic novel, Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! Follow our morally bankrupt narrator, Judge Lackey, as he navigates the dark comedy of authoritarianism, dodging accountability and panicking over activists and journalists. Find it at your local library or at Bookshop.org. EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: NEW DATE! Thursday July 31 4pm ET – the Gaslit Nation Book Club discusses Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s The Little Prince written in the U.S. during America First. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

The fight for democracy in America didn’t begin, or end, at the ballot box. As labor organizer Erica Smiley, executive director of Jobs With Justice and co-author of The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, reminds us, our democracy has always been "in training," a work in progress shaped as much by picket lines as polling places. "Unions are schools for democracy," Smiley explains. In workplaces where people of all backgrounds must build consensus and fight for fair contracts, we learn the skills that sustain a pluralistic society. It's no surprise, then, that authoritarian movements often begin by attacking labor rights and education, because that’s where people learn to resist. From union-busting in the U.S. to neoliberal trade policies abroad, the erosion of collective bargaining has left millions disenfranchised not just politically, but economically. And that’s not just bad for workers: it’s fatal for democracy itself. If we want to rebuild democracy, we can’t just “vote harder.” We need to organize smarter. That means backing unions, pushing for economic policies that distribute power, and demanding that corporations, especially those exploiting AI and automation, share the wealth they’re extracting from human labor. As Smiley says, “Whoever’s in the White House, they still need us to make the cars.” That power can’t be ignored, unless we choose not to use it. We may not know what the next 15 years will bring. But if we organize now, we might just build a democracy worth fighting for. The song you heard in this week’s Gaslit Nation is “This Time” by Howard Jeffrey. Check out his music here: https://howardjeffrey.bandcamp.com/track/this-time. If you have a song to share on our show, submit your music to us at Gaslit Nation – we love hearing from you!: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-d_DWNnDQFYUMXueYcX5ZVsA5t2RN09N8PYUQQ8koq0/edit?ts=5fee07f6&gxids=7628 Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: August 25 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a powerful discussion on The Lives of Others and I’m Still Here, two films that explore how art and love endure and resist in the face of dictatorship. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

"I have friends everywhere." In this special episode, we’re joined by Tony Gilroy, the creative force behind the electrifying Star Wars series Andor. Critics and activists on the frontlines in America have praised Andor for its powerful portrayal of resistance, and with Season 2 up for 14 Emmy Awards, it’s clear this is no ordinary space opera. Gilroy’s vision grounds the story in centuries of history, showing us what it means to resist empire in all its brutality. Andor is an urgent guide for Americans today. For more than three decades, Gilroy has been shaping modern cinema with blockbusters and fearless storytelling. He gave us Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and wrote and directed the critically acclaimed political thriller Michael Clayton, which earned him Oscar nominations for both screenplay and direction. His credits include Armageddon and the first four entries of the Bourne series (in which he directed the fourth), Devil's Advocate, Dolores Claiborne, The Cutting Edge, State of Play, and many, many other films. The son of World War II veteran and Tony and Pulitzer-winning playwright and filmmaker Frank Gilroy, and brother to acclaimed film editor John Gilroy and Oscar-nominated writer-director Dan Gilroy (an Emmy-nominated writer on Andor), Tony Gilroy doesn’t just tell stories: he builds immersive worlds where power, corruption, and resistance collide, worlds that help us make sense of our own. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Gaslit Nation to discuss this dark chapter in America’s history and, through his art, remind us of the courage it takes to stand and fight back. For Gaslit Nation listeners who want the full breakdown of the convicted felon/war criminal distraction circus and what comes next for the Free World, our latest salon digs into the Putin-Trump gaslighting sideshow in Alaska and how the war can actually end. You can watch the recording at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who makes our independent journalism possible! Don’t miss Monday’s salon at 4pm ET, only on Patreon, where we’ll dive into two powerful films about resisting dictatorship: The Lives of Others and I’m Still Here. The Lives of Others tells the haunting story of artists defying the East German Stasi, while I’m Still Here tells the story of a woman whose husband is disappeared by Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, and how she transforms her country for the better. These two films are reminders that light will always defeat darkness: it’s just a matter of time, and collective courage and defiance. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: Trailer: Andor (Season 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE4wxt70aUM Andor Clip featured in episode: “You’re coming home to yourself.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rugpDpd0aV4 'The world is behaving irrationally' - Putin's warm welcome gets cold reaction in Ukraine https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg4mj4011lo Kremlin critics say Russia is targeting its foes abroad with killings, poisonings and harassment https://apnews.com/article/russia-attacks-poisoning-killing-litvinenko-skripal-5ddda40fd910fe3f8358ea89cb0c49f1?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share Gaslit Nation Action Guide: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/action-guide

Hello Gaslit Nation listeners! This conversation was recorded before war criminal Putin and convicted felon Trump staged their grotesque spectacle on the blood-red carpet in Alaska. For our analysis of that hellscape—and what it means for Ukraine and democracy defenders everywhere—be sure to check out the recording of the August 18th salon, coming soon to Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you for listening and supporting the show! * In Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, we find a roadmap for fighting oligarchy, injustice, and despair. Historian Marci Shore, author of The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution, reminds us that revolutions rarely begin with grand plans. The 2014 EuroMaidan uprising started with students protesting a classic bait-and-switch. President Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian Trump, ditched a long-promised agreement to move Ukraine closer to the European Union. Instead he took a massive bribe from Russia. When peaceful protesters gathered, Yanukovych sent in his riot police to beat them, like in Russia. This backfired. Their parents showed up. Then their neighbors. Then thousands more across the country. Within days, Kyiv was packed with hundreds of thousands of furious, freezing citizens demanding dignity, decency, and an end to oligarch rule. Yanukovych has been in exile in Russia ever since, awaiting his American counterpart, Trump. August 24 marks 34 years since Ukraine overwhelmingly voted to break free from Kremlin rule and declare its political independence. Ukraine’s Independence Day is a reminder to never bet against people who’ve had enough. As historian Marci Shore shares urgent lessons for us today, saying, “The fact that it can happen at all means that somehow we human beings have that in us. We somehow have that capacity, and we have to cling to that hope.” Marci also discusses the debate many are having in America today: Do we stay or do we go? She and her husband the historian Tim Snyder made headlines when news broke they had relocated to Toronto, for impotant opportunities, ringing an alarm that authoritarian experts had left America. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: August 25 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a powerful discussion on The Lives of Others and I’m Still Here, two films that explore how art and love endure and resist in the face of dictatorship. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Show Notes: Small Acts of Democratic Resistance https://democracyseminar.newschool.org/forum/ Counting Sheep: A Guerrilla Folk Opera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EccprVySrPQ Gaslit Nation’s interview with Nataliya Gumenyuk https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/lessons-from-ukraine-five-years-after-the-revolution New Yorker: Donald Trump’s Politics of Plunder https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/02/donald-trumps-politics-of-plunder

If you're still waiting for someone to save democracy, Mona Eltahawy has news for you: you are the one you’ve been waiting for. A fearless Egyptian-American journalist and author of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls and her latest book Bloody Hell!: Adventures in Menopause From Around the World, Eltahawy is no stranger to authoritarianism. While covering Arab Spring protests in Cairo, she was seized by Egyptian security forces and sexually assaulted and beaten, her arm and hand broken. Now, she warns, America is slipping toward the same strongman rule in Egypt. And too many are sleepwalking through it. Eltahawy's prescription is feminism that terrifies, carried out by both women and men. Because anyone can be a feminist. This is feminism as revolution. As she puts it, “There is no revolution without rage, and there is no revolution without risk.” Her work urges women to embrace power, ambition, anger, and militant self-defense, not to provoke, but to defend. And for their allies to support them. Learn to protect yourself. Teach your daughters common-sense self-defense and how to take up space. Her hope is that more of us, especially white women in the U.S., will stop cosplaying resistance and start embodying it. “The Handmaid’s Tale is not a documentary,” she says. “Get out of the TV and into the streets.” EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: August 25 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a powerful discussion on The Lives of Others and I’m Still Here, two films that explore how art and love endure and resist in the face of dictatorship. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Show Notes: Journalist On Being Sexual 'Prey' In Egypt https://www.npr.org/2011/11/29/142895349/journalist-on-being-sexual-prey-in-egypt Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!