Dave Pederson, screenwriter-producer of Americonned, and the producer of the Oscar nominated film “Super Size Me”, and the Cannes Award winning “The Third Wave,” takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A Here is the trailer of their powerful must-watch film.   For our next Gaslit Nation live taping, join Andrea and comedian Kevin Allison of the RISK! Storytelling podcast for a show at Caveat in New York on Saturday August 5th at 4pm to celebrate the launch of the new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! To join in person or virtually, reserve your ticket here! Signed copies of the book can be ordered at the event!   To submit your own answers and share inspiration for ways to recharge as we together run a marathon 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

1. What’s a book you think everyone should read and why?
2. What’s a documentary everyone should watch and why?
3. What’s a dramatic film everyone should watch and why?
4. Who are some historical mentors who inspire you?
5. What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
6. What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces?
7. Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight?
8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
9. What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
10. What’s your favorite work of art and why?

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome to the Gaslit Nation Presents: The Future of Dictatorship. To start things off, we’re looking at how technology is worsening the income inequality crisis in America and what to do about it.   For that, meet this week’s guests, the brilliant minds behind the must-watch documentary Americonned, inside America’s income inequality crisis as told through the heroic grassroots power to unionize at Amazon in an age of A.I. and automation. The film’s director-producer is Sean Claffey, who has worked in the film industry on feature films, documentaries, and commercials for 25 years, and the writer-producer is Dave Pederson, the producer of the Oscar nominated film “Super Size Me”, and the Cannes Award winning “The Third Wave.” Here is the trailer of their powerful must-watch film.   In our bonus episode, Dave Pederson takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. For our next Gaslit Nation live taping, join Andrea and comedian Kevin Allison of the RISK! Storytelling podcast for a show at Caveat in New York on Saturday August 5th at 4pm to celebrate the launch of the new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! To join in person or virtually, reserve your ticket here! Signed copies of the book can be ordered at the event!   To submit your own answers and share inspiration for ways to recharge as we together run a marathon 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

1. What’s a book you think everyone should read and why?
2. What’s a documentary everyone should watch and why?
3. What’s a dramatic film everyone should watch and why?
4. Who are some historical mentors who inspire you?
5. What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
6. What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces?
7. Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight?
8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
9. What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
10. What’s your favorite work of art and why?

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome to Gaslit Nation Presents: The Future of Dictatorship. Our special series running all summer long features leading voices on the front lines of understanding A.I., corporate surveillance, silicon valley greed, and more. The dictator’s playbook remains the same over time, as we show in our graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think!, but the technology they have at their disposal keeps changing.

We set out to understand what innovations in Chinese surveillance are being developed with the help of Western companies; what can be done to protect ourselves from corporate surveillance and Silicon Valley greed; will A.I. and automation take away more of our jobs and what can be done about it; how do we face an uncertain future together and build the world we want for ourselves and future generations? All those questions and more are discussed in The Future of Dictatorship, only on Gaslit Nation. 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Science journalist and bestselling author David McRaney, author of the books How Minds Change and You Are Now Less Dumb, takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. 

For our next Gaslit Nation live taping, join Andrea and comedian Kevin Allison of the RISK! Storytelling podcast for a show at Caveat in New York on Saturday August 5th at 4pm to celebrate the launch of the new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! To join in person or virtually, reserve your ticket here! Signed copies of the book can be ordered at the event!   To submit your own answers and share inspiration for ways to recharge as we together run a marathon 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

1. What’s a book you think everyone should read and why?
2. What’s a documentary everyone should watch and why?
3. What’s a dramatic film everyone should watch and why?
4. Who are some historical mentors who inspire you?
5. What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
6. What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces?
7. Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight?
8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
9. What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
10. What’s your favorite work of art and why?

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

It’s Independence Day! There’s no better way to celebrate than standing up to a bully. Whether it’s a twice-indicted Russian mafia asset running for president, or his cult of violent white supremacists, there’s no shortage of bullies running amok these days. Science journalist and bestselling author David McRaney, author of the books How Minds Change and You Are Now Less Dumb, shares his research on how to handle a situation where the person you’re talking to insists on an alternative reality, using that to try to gaslight, intimidate, and, in a word, bully.   At Gaslit Nation, one of the questions we often get from our listeners is how to help loved ones lost to a disinformation cult, like QAnon and Trump’s Big Lie. From harassing election workers to overwhelming school board meetings to disinformation merchants challenging actual experts to debates (“Debate me, bro!”), the Bannon strategy of flooding the zone with shit has ensnared people, separating families and friends. McRaney shares his surprising insights on how to reach people and provide an empathetic space for them to find their way back. For more on this topic, listen to Gaslit Nation’s discussion with cult expert Dr. Janja Lalich, who recommends a slightly approach. Both discussions are essential guides for navigating this time of rampant disinformation and toxic political cults.   In our bonus episode, McRaney takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A. For our next Gaslit Nation live taping, join Andrea and comedian Kevin Allison of the RISK! Storytelling podcast for a show at Caveat in New York on Saturday August 5th at 4pm to celebrate the launch of the new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! To join in person or virtually, reserve your ticket here! Signed copies of the book can be ordered at the event!   To submit your own answers and share inspiration for ways to recharge as we together run a marathon 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

1. What’s a book you think everyone should read and why?
2. What’s a documentary everyone should watch and why?
3. What’s a dramatic film everyone should watch and why?
4. Who are some historical mentors who inspire you?
5. What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
6. What are some songs on your playlist for battling the dark forces?
7. Who or what inspires you to stay engaged and stay in the fight?
8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
9. What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
10. What’s your favorite work of art and why?

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

The Supreme Court is a cesspool of corruption with three members appointed by a Russian mafia asset. It’s also treated in America like a sacred priesthood above the law, allowing Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito to profit from deep pocketed far-right megadonors. The Fox News majority of the Supreme Court has stripped our country of essential rights, condemning people to die from lack of reproductive healthcare with the overturning of Roe v. Wade; allows businesses to proudly discriminate, furthering a genocidal scapegoating culture that drives the Republican Party and its base; and destroyed Affirmative Action for nonwhite people — the white and rich like Jared Kushner will continue to buy their way into the Ivy League.   These seismic Supreme Court rulings are the bountiful harvest of a far-right long game in America played over decades, as we discussed in our 2022 series Rising Up from the Ashes: Cassandra and Other Experts on Rebuilding Our Democracy. Most notably, historian Nancy Maclean who wrote Democracy in Chains, journalist Anne Nelson who wrote Shadow Network, LGBTQ+ civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio of the ACLU, and Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy of the podcast Boom Lawyered described a far-right long game with zero strategy in response from the Democratic Party. That and our first three episodes examining the 2016 election as a crime scene explain how we got here.   Now what to do about it. The best strategy we have so far to climb out of this black hole of corruption is to stay engaged locally with local races, local candidates and to call out and help clean up corruption where we live; invest in local media; contribute to mutual aid; and demand immediate and urgent judicial reforms from our elected federal leaders.   For that, Senator Edward Markey has reintroduced legislation to expand the Supreme Court, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has introduced legislation for term limits on Supreme Court justices — both have backing from establishment Democrats and should be fought for by the grassroots. For more on yet another devastating Supreme Court Hunger Games Spring, Elie Mystal, as always, brilliantly sums up what’s at stake in his piece on the destruction of affirmative action in The Nation: “The Supreme Court Has Killed Affirmative Action. Mediocre Whites Can Rest Easier.”   Show Notes:   You’re invited to a Gaslit Nation night out August 5th in NYC to celebrate the launch of Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! Details here.   REUTERS: Reparations: Where slavery’s descendants stand https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-slavery-lawmakers/   REUTERS: Slavery’s Descendants The ancestral ties to slaveholding of today’s political elite https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-slavery/   2022 series Rising Up from the Ashes: Cassandra and Other Experts on Rebuilding Our Democracy. https://twitter.com/gaslitnation/status/1513518421090185222?lang=en  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Putin is weak and getting weaker. In this special live taping of Gaslit Nation, Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, who has a long history of investigating and exposing the Russian mafia state’s active measures in the U.S. and Europe, joins Andrea to discuss where things are headed in Russia’s escalating power struggle, what it means for Ukraine, and how the world needs to start preparing for a post-Putin Russia. 

“Putin is finished,” Olga warns in this urgent discussion. Putin may be forced into retirement in a dacha on the outskirts of Russia or “die in his sleep,” with Shoigu or another tool of the Russian security forces becoming the new strongman. Prighozin’s attempted military coup was the inevitable escalation of growing tensions between warring factions, but as Olga points out, the siloviki–the ruthless, imperialistic, genocidal security forces–are in charge, and always have been, even during the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are the kingmakers, and it’s clear that they want Putin gone. Prigozhin served a purpose of striking Putin with a fatal blow, and the months ahead will continue to weaken him as Russia continues to lose an unwinnable war in Ukraine. 

Our bonus episode this week includes our extended audience Q&A at our live taping, with a focus on Russia’s influence campaigns in U.S. elections. As mentioned in this week’s show, there’s going to be a special live taping of Gaslit Nation held in New York City at the Lower East Side venue Caveat, hosted by Kevin Allison of the popular and provocative storytelling podcast RISK! on Saturday August 5th at 4pm EST. The discussion will include the making of the brand new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think!, and include an opportunity to order signed copies. For tickets to join the event in person or wherever you are by watching the livestream, get your tickets here! 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Where is Putin? No one has seen him lately other than a short video of Putin looking uncharacteristically tense addressing the nation, calling out a military coup against him that killed around a dozen Russians in his military. Putin’s longtime operative, the Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private military army Wagner (named after Hitler’s favorite composer!) has turned into Putin’s Frankenstein monster. When you have an in-house coup guy, expect him to turn his coup skills on you eventually, especially when he, like the rest of the ruthless oligarchs around you, smell blood in the water. Prighozin’s coup attempt is the greatest domestic challenge launched against the Kremlin since the fall of the Soviet Union, and the succession fight over who takes over from the increasingly weak Putin is far from over.   In this brief summary, Andrea gives some of the highlights of the dramatic events of the weekend, and discusses where the Kremlin succession battle may be headed, and what it means for Ukraine and others caught in the middle. For a deep dive discussion, join our special live taping of Gaslit Nation this coming Tuesday June 27 at 12pm EST with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, where we’ll discuss whether Russia is headed towards a civil war, if and when Putin might be disposed of, and how his agents are active abroad in their fascist war against the democratic alliance. To get access to that, receive your ticket to the live taping by supporting the show at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon, and cancel anytime. A link to the virtual event will be sent to your inbox via Patreon the morning of the event.   Thank you to everyone who supports the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

In this week’s Gaslit Nation Bonus Q&A, Sarah answers questions from our listeners, including sharing a personal story about her impressions from her 2017 trip to Hungary as Orban, a hero of the Republican Party, tightened his grip on crushing democracy there. We’ll be back with an all new Q&A next week, so if you didn’t hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week, as our Q&As continue! To submit your questions, subscribe to the show at the Democracy Defender level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit, and to join our live-taping on Tuesday June 27 at 12pm EST with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, be sure to subscribe to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher to get access to the virtual show link on the morning of the event. 

Thank you to everyone who supports the show! We could not make Gaslit Nation without you! 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Gaslit Nation has been vindicated, and it sucks to be vindicated about the deadly inertia of a mafia state accomplice! After two years of describing obvious inaction on obvious crimes and being assured by an army of bot-brained propagandists that Merrick Garland is fighting the good fight but Must Keep Silent for Reasons You Will Understand in Time, we have new confirmation that, no, he’s just a terrible Attorney General! And that Lisa Monaco, the deputy attorney general, is equally bad! In this episode we discuss the Washington Post expose “FBI resisted opening probe into Trump’s role in Jan. 6 for more than a year”, dig into the background of Monaco (for more background on Garland, listen to our enormous archive of treasonous complicity), and talk about what Biden should do next.

Happy Pride Month! For the second part of this episode, Andrea interviews Lindz Amer who is back on Gaslit Nation to discuss their new must-read book Rainbow Parenting Your Guide to Raising Queer Kids and Their Allies. From their author bio: “Lindz Amer created Queer Kid Stuff—an award-winning original LGBTQ+ educational webseries for all ages—that has reached millions of families. They perform at libraries, schools, and theaters all over the world spreading queer joy and working on numerous projects that bring queer and trans representation into mainstream children’s media. In 2019, they gave a viral TED Talk on the importance of talking to kids about gender and sexuality. They currently write for preschool television and also host the parenting podcast Rainbow Parenting, as well as Activist, You! for kids featuring interviews with youth activists.” Check out Rainbow Parenting today!  

Our bonus episode is our usual Q&A of questions from Patreon subscribers at the Democracy Defender lever or higher, and is available to listeners at the Truth-Teller lever or higher. If you asked a question and we haven’t answered it yet, don’t worry – we are getting through the backlog this month. Sarah took a couple weeks off due to a family emergency but is back so we will both have everything answered by the end of June. Next week June 27 12pm EST will be a live-taping of Gaslit Nation featuring Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman. To sign up for that, support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher to receive a link to join the virtual event on the morning of the show! Thank you for your support of Gaslit Nation!

 

Show Notes:

FBI resisted opening probe into Trump’s role in Jan. 6 for more than a year https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/06/19/fbi-resisted-opening-probe-into-trumps-role-jan-6-more-than-year/

Susan Rice reportedly told the White House cyber team to ‘knock it off’ when they floated options to combat Russian meddling https://www.businessinsider.com/susan-rice-told-white-house-cyber-team-to-knock-it-off-on-combatting-russian-meddling-2018-3

Trump’s Little Moscow: “63 Russians spent $98.4 million buying condos in Trump-branded luxury towers in Sunny Isles. Another 703 units in the seven Trump buildings had been purchased by limited liability companies, LLCs, that mask the owners’ identities.” https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2019/10/18/six-trump-towers-later-kitschy-sunny-isles-becomes-moscow-by-the-sea-fred-grimm/

Russia Sought to Kill Defector in Florida https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/19/us/politics/russia-spy-assassination.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20230619&instance_id=95515&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=48614702&segment_id=136134&te=1&user_id=097a378032011d6e8be1570cdce0a176

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome to another Gaslit Nation Greatest Hits! We remind you once again that Trump is a traitor to our country who built his Trump Family Ponzi scheme of a House of Cards with the help of Russian blood money, as the Idiot Sons Don Jr. and Eric have admitted. Which foreign adversaries profited off of Trump’s stolen documents and when will Jared and Ivanka be investigated and indicted for their roles in obstruction justice, given that they ran the pardon operation that saw the Kremlin Klown Kar (Manafort, Bannon, Flynn) all pardoned? Giulani was allegedly selling pardons with Trump for $2 million each — did Jared and Ivanka profit from that operation as well? The answer is likely yes!   This is an excerpt of this week’s bonus episode for Patreon subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher. To listen to this and all bonus episodes, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Gaslit Nation will be back with a new bonus episode next week 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!   

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Gaslit Nation comes full circle! Our new graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! was released today, on the same day longtime Russian mafia asset Donald Trump was finally arrested on federal charges of espionage. The A.I. overlords writing the simulation we’re all stuck in certainly have a festive spirit!   If you haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy, including for a young person in your life, check out this endorsement for the book and the show from historian Timothy Snyder, the New York Times bestselling author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century: “Everyone who wants to grow up in a healthy democracy should know about Gaslit Nation.” We agree! Which brings us to this week’s big news. We’re going to record a Trump Federal Arrest Super Special, out Friday, featuring Sarah back on the show to share her insights and predictions on what’s next as the Trump criminal circus plays out heading into 2024.   Today’s episode puts on trial celebrated war criminal Henry Kissinger, a villain of history who kept popping up like a Where’s Waldo? in our research for Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! To walk us through some of his latest reporting unearthing the horrors Kissinger committed, investigative journalist Nick Turse stops by Gaslit Nation. Terse is a contributing writer for The Intercept, covering national security and foreign policy, and the author of the books Next Time They’ll Come to Count the Dead: War and Survival in South Sudan; Tomorrow’s Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa; and Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam. He is also the managing editor of TomDispatch.com.   This week’s bonus episode, available to subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher on Patreon, will be the full episode of our Trump Federal Indictment Super Special, which we’ll share a free excerpt of wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re not already a part of our community of listeners, be sure to sign up at the Truth-teller level or higher to get access to the live taping of Gaslit Nation on June 27 at 12pm EST featuring Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman answering your questions about the Trump indictments, the Russian elites civil war, Russian spy networks in the West, and more! The show link will be sent straight to your inbox on the morning of the event for Patreon supporters at the Truth-teller level or higher so be sure to subscribe today to support the Gaslit Nation! Thank you to everyone supporting independent journalism, especially in these uncertain times! We could not make the show without you!

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This was recorded Thursday June 8 to react to the toxic smoke and what it means for our civilization. It also includes a discussion of the anticipated federal Trump indictment before the big news broke late Thursday. There will be more on that in next week’s episode! 

Did you celebrate the long awaited federal indictment of Trump? That’s perfectly fine to do, even if history has shown Trump has gotten away with decades of corruption, and our legal system favors the rich. At the very least, Trump may be knocked out of the presidential race with the help of the indictments, and they’re reportedly throwing him into a rage. But the long term outlook requires caution. That, Tucker Carlson’s dark Twitter video, George Santos’ bail woes, how to help a loved one sucked into a cult, and more are discussed in this week’s bonus episode for our listeners subscribed at the Truth-teller level and higher on Patreon.

To join our community and submit questions to our regular Q&As, sign up and support the show at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This week’s special episode opens with a news round-up, asking once again–who paid $500,000 to bail George Santos out of jail, and what do they expect in return? Nikki Halely’s genocidal hate speech against trans people gets fact-checked. (Halely is reportedly the Kushner’s horse in the race in their attempt at a comeback.) Mike Pence formally announced he’s running for president, presenting an opportunity on the debate stage to talk about that time Trump’s violent mob chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” 

At the top of the show, there’s a special highlight of Russia’s explosion of a dam in the southern Ukraine region of Kherson, flooding the homes of thousands of people as well as drowning a zoo. To explain the stakes for Ukraine and the world in its existential struggle against Russia’s genocidal invasion, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch drops by Gaslit Nation. Ambassador Yovanovitch was targeted by the dark web of corruption driven by Trump and Rudy Giuliani. She shares her harrowing story in her inspiring memoir Lessons from the Edge, out now in paperback with a new afterword. 

Got questions? We got answers! This week’s bonus episode out Friday will provide a deep dive on the news, point to where things are headed, and answer questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. To submit your questions and get access to bonus shows, live events and our full back catalog of bonus episodes, be sure to subscribe to Gaslit Nation on Patreon! We’ll be back with a live taping of Gaslit Nation on Tuesday June 27 at 12pm EST with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman. If you’re signed up at the Truth-teller level or higher, look out for a link sent to your inbox the morning of the event on how to join. We look forward to seeing you there and invite you to drop your questions in the chat! 

Show Notes:

• Opening clip of George Santos: https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1666151233780871168

• Listen: Trump tells associates to ‘get rid of’ U.S. ambassador to Ukraine https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/25/trump-yovanovitch-video/

• Yovanovitch: Any Concerns With Alexandra Chalupa ‘Would Have Been Handled Here’ | NBC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxeo57ZXXWg

• US life expectancy problem is ‘bigger than we ever thought,’ report finds https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/06/02/us-life-expectancy/70272442007/

• Nikki Haley Blames Trans Visibility for Teen Girls’ Suicide Ideation https://www.advocate.com/politics/nikki-haley-dylan-mulvaney

• Former counsel to Mike Pence testifies at Jan. 6 committee hearing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0nF9x7XaNY

• The Russian invasion of Russia continues: https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1665446051564617730

• Ukraine far-right expert Anton Shekhovtsov’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/anton.shekhovtsov

• Putin deep fake video: https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1665704948187668488

• Tara Reade Exiles Herself to Russia https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1664083722902052865

 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This is an excerpt of a Gaslit Nation bonus episode. To access this and the full back catalogue of bonus episodes, special event invites, and more, subscribe to the show on Patreon by signing up at Patreon.com/Gaslit   The Gaslit Nation Q&A is back! But first, some announcements. We’re having another live taping of Gaslit Nation with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman on Tuesday June 27th at 12pm EST. For our Patreon subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher, on the morning of the event, a link will be sent straight to your inbox from Patreon on how to join — it’s as easy as clicking on the link. We invite you to drop questions in the chat!   And as a thank you to our community, running every month, all year long, we’re selecting a Patreon subscriber every month to receive a copy of Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! The listener chosen for May 2023 is Joel Farran. Thank you for all of your support for the show, Joel! Thank you to everyone who keeps Gaslit Nation going, especially during these uncertain times. There would be no Gaslit Nation without you!   In this Q&A bonus episode, the discussion includes QAnon being a confession by the Republican Party that is riddled with pedophiles and other criminals, why we need to follow the findings of the 1968 Kerner Commission Report, and why the Secret Service is a ticking time bomb. If you didn’t hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week, as the Gaslit Nation Q&A continues! And apologies for the late night bleariness heard in this episode, it was a late night recording once the kids were asleep. 🙂   Show Notes: 

Secret Service under scrutiny ahead January 6 committee’s final report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKuLOYlJQNk

The dangerous secrets inside the Secret Service, and how the agency has been shortchanged https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO1W4JygWQc

Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service https://bookshop.org/p/books/zero-fail-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-secret-service-carol-leonnig/16898149?ean=9780399589034

The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1968-kerner-commission-got-it-right-nobody-listened-180968318/

Rep. Katie Porter in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uRg7XqQ-I&t=1601s

               

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This conversation was recorded May 24, 2023 as a Gaslit Nation live taping and includes at the end a Q&A of questions dropped in the chat by our audience. Thank you to everyone who joined us!   Can Florida, and with it, the rest of our democracy be saved? Or is Florida destined to be an authoritarian cesspool under Brooks Brother Viktor Orbán – Ron DeSantis? In this special solution-rich episode of Gaslit Nation, author David Pepper discusses his latest book Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American.   David shares important lessons from the upset of Jacksonville’s mayoral race; why Florida’s Democratic Party State Chair Nikki Fried could give DeSantis a run for his money, and we discuss how Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota have their acts together while New York’s Democratic Party remains stuck under Jay Jacobs who handed the House to Kevin McCarthy, bringing the American and therefore the global economy to the brink. (Elections have consequences, which is why Jay Jacobs must be replaced – join the movement here!)   If you’re stuck in a so-called blue state like New York that’s failing due to machine politics and complacency, or if you live in a fascist-gerrymandered hostage state known as a red state, this discussion has concrete steps you can take to empower your community. Local elections are the frontlines of our democracy, no matter where you live. And none of us are in this battle alone. Thank you to everyone who joined our live taping with David Pepper. Be sure to check out his book Saving Democracy. If you would like to join a future live taping of Gaslit Nation, be sure to support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher. And to submit questions for our regular Q&As, sign up at the Democracy Defender level or higher. We’ll be back with an all new Q&A this coming Friday so stay tuned! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!   Show Notes:   Our May song feature is “Paper Thin” by Confusions. You can find more of Confusions’ music on Bandcamp at confusions.bandcamp.com   To submit your song to the Gaslit Nation Make Art Challenge, send us your music here. Thank you!

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Thank you to everyone who joined the live taping with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman and Polish artist and activist Kasia Babis who illustrated the Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! Here is the Q&A with Olga where we answered questions dropped in the chat. Before you press play, be sure to first watch this CIA recruitment video for Russians as it’s brought up in the Q&A by a member of the audience.   Next week we’re running an inspiring interview with author David Pepper on his new book Saving Democracy, a guide for every citizen. Look out for an all new Gaslit Nation bonus episode answering questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. And let us know who you would like us to do a live taping with in the future!   Thank you to everyone for supporting the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! To join our community of listeners and get access to bonus episodes, invites to live tapings, and more, subscribe to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher by signing up at Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome to our special live taping of Gaslit Nation! Thank you to everyone who joined us and asked such profound and moving questions in the live Q&A. It was a replenishing joy to hear from you. Thank you so much to the great Kasia Babis, a renowned illustrator and activist in Poland who created the visual world of the Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! available now on pre-order, and out everywhere starting June 13. If you haven’t met the book’s rascally narrator yet, Judge Lackey, see him at work by watching the book’s fun animated trailer.   Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman also joined the live-taping to discuss whether Putin’s days are numbered (they are!), who will replace him (someone worse?), and whether the Freedom of Russia Legion liberating Russian towns and villages inside Russia from Putin’s dictatorship is real (it appears so!), and what it all means. Will Putin use nukes, especially as Ukraine’s spring offensive gets underway? What should the world’s response be to Putin going nuclear?   We’re having another live taping Wednesday May 24 at 2pm EST with David Pepper on his new book Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American.  You can get access to that by subscribing to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher — details will be sent out to those subscribers on how to join the live taping the morning of the event. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit    Our bonus episode this week will be the Q&A of our live taping. We’ll be back with an all new Q&A answering questions submitted by our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. To submit your questions or to get access to the bonus episodes, and our full back catalog of bonus episodes, be sure to subscribe to the show on Patreon to keep us going! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!   Show Notes:   Ilya Ponomarev clip: https://twitter.com/GwarWorin/status/1660748853111410688   Freedom of Russia Legion Twitter https://twitter.com/legion_svoboda

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Ralph Blumenthal, the longtime New York Times reporter who got U.F.O.’s on the frontpage of the “Paper of Record”  joins Gaslit Nation to discuss the government’s secret X-Files. He is the author of several books, including The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack, the children’s book UFOhs, as well as several books on the mafia and Nazis, making him the ideal Gaslit Nation guest! This is an excerpt of an upcoming special two-part episode with Blumenthal on the nature of U.F.O.’s, what the current and potential findings mean for humanity, and the corporations believed to be monitoring research into U.F.O.’s closely for potential profit opportunities and there doesn’t seem much that the shadowy government sectors allowing this will do to protect against that. Look out for more of this interview soon! For now, we couldn’t wait to share this excerpt as a bit of fun as we gear up for next week’s two live tapings.   This coming Tuesday May 23rd at 1:30pm EST, Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman joins Gaslit Nation for a live taping followed by an audience Q&A. The next day Wednesday May 24th at 2pm EST David Pepper, the author of Saving Democracy, joins Gaslit Nation for a live taping to answer questions about how to defeat the fascist threat, especially in so-called “red states.” If you’re subscribed to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher, check your inbox for details on how to join each event the morning of that event. Joining the live tapings will be as easy as clicking on a link!   Gaslit Nation will be back with an all new Q&A next week answering questions from subscribers at the Democracy Defender level and higher. Keep your questions coming! We always enjoy hearing from you!   Thank you to everyone who supports the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! If you would like to join our community of listeners and get access to all bonus episodes, including our back catalogue and event invites, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

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

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

We discuss the fascist fantasy of CNN’s Klan rally, what it means for our democracy, where things are headed, and what to do about it. This is an excerpt of this week’s bonus show for our Patreon subscribers. To join our community of listeners and get access to weekly bonus episodes, events, and other fun perks, subscribe at Patreon.com/gaslit to help keep our show going. Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation — we could not make this show without you. 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Join us May 23rd Tuesday 1:30pm EST for a live taping of Gaslit Nation and audience Q&A! If you’re subscribed on Patreon at the Truth-teller level or higher, you’ll receive a guest link the morning of the event to join us. Thank you to everyone who supports the show!   What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward CNN to be born? Well, I think we all know the answer to that. This week we describe the foot-soldiers of criminal impunity that have arisen in the wake of the Trump presidency and the unpunished attempted coup. We start with Daniel Penny, who murdered homeless man Jordan Neely on the subway and was coddled and protected by politicians and the media. We go on to discuss domestic terrorist Mauricio Garcia, who murdered eight people in Texas after immersing himself in neo-nazi movements.   We also discuss the horrific fact that snuff videos and extremely graphic images are circulating online, distributed with intent to desensitize the population to violence. We examine the root causes of the crisis – lax gun laws, institutional apathy toward suffering (especially throughout the mass death of covid), failure of federal officials to respond to a right-wing, white supremacist movement that has been building since 2008 and accelerated dramatically during the Trump era, and a media/political system that wants you to accept violent extremism as normal. Do not accept it!   Andrea concludes with the latest on Russia’s war on Ukraine, a dramatic week which included drones launched at the Kremlin, and at its historical precedents as “Victory Day” comes around at a time when Putin is feeding his own population into a Stalinesque meat grinder. We have switched the day of our bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level and above, to Friday! This gives us time to discuss news stories that break after we record, so for the latest on Trump being held liable in court and more, listen in. We will also answer questions from Patreon subscribers at the Democracy Defender level or higher.   We know times are tough – that’s why every other media company is going out of business! But that’s also why independent news is all the more important. Gaslit Nation is funded entirely by its Patreon subscribers, which is how we are able to speak our minds without fear. Please support us and keep independent journalism going!   Show Notes:   Cover-up King Bill Barr’s recent C-SPAN interview: https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1654565277961449473   Historian Timothy Snyder on how Ukraine suffered the greatest casualties from the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union and why that matters today https://twitter.com/Biz_Ukraine_Mag/status/1655639502667276301   Run, Rabbit, Run — a message from Ukraine to Russia from August 2022 on the eve of liberating large regions from Russian occupation. Is history about to repeat with the coming spring counteroffensive? https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1565037514888560641    The Unemployment Gap Between Black and White New Yorkers Is Widening – The New York Times (nytimes.com)   What to know about the Allen mall shooter’s reported extremism | The Texas Tribune   How do you become “white” in America? – The Correspondent

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Jeff Sharlet is the author of the new book Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, and the New York Times best-selling author or editor of eight books, including The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, which led to the must-watch Netflix docuseries The Family. His writing and photography have appeared in many publications, including Vanity Fair, for which he is a contributing editor; the New York Times Magazine; GQ; Esquire; Harper’s; and VQR, for which he is an editor at large. He currently teaches the art of writing as a professor at Dartmouth College. In this week’s bonus episode, Sharlet takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A to share what art, music, books, and documentaries and other things he recommends to help process the times we live in.   We will be back with an all new bonus episode Q&A next week. For subscribers at the Democracy Defender level and higher, submit your questions to be answered in an upcoming episode! Thank you so much for your support of the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! To join our community on Patreon and help keep the show going, sign up here: Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

With political violence on the rise in America, along with disinformation, mainstream propaganda and the consolidation of media under conservative ownership, the scapegoating of LGBTQ+ people, women, and nonwhite people, and the weaponization of government in several Republican-led states, are we headed towards a civil war?   In this week’s episode, Andrea interviews Jeff Sharlet, the author of the new book Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. Sharlet is also the author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, that launched the must-watch Netflix series of the same name, that takes viewers into the dark heart of corruption known as the National Prayer Breakfast, and how it’s used as a tool for the extreme religious right to consolidate power. In Undertow, Sharlet takes readers on a cross-country roadtrip to show how we’re in a slow-motion civil war, and provides ways to confront this dangerous crossroads, including lessons from Civil Rights leader and artist Harry Belafonte.   Sharlet is the New York Times best-selling author or editor of eight books. His writing and photography have appeared in many publications, including Vanity Fair, for which he is a contributing editor; the New York Times Magazine; GQ; Esquire; Harper’s; and VQR, for which he is an editor at large. He currently teaches the art of writing as a professor at Dartmouth College. In our bonus episode, out later this week for Patreon subscribers at the Truth-teller level or higher, Sharlet takes the Gaslit Nation Self-Care Q&A to share what art, music, books, and documentaries and other cultural resources that he recommends to help process the times we live in. We will share a free excerpt of that for all listeners wherever you get your podcasts.    We’ll be back with an all new Gaslit Nation episode next week, along with our regular Q&A bonus episode for Patreon subscribers. For supporters at the Democracy Defender level and higher, submit your questions to be answered in an upcoming bonus episode. Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation and keeps our show going! To join our community of listeners, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Next week we’re running an interview with Jeff Sharlet, the author or editor of several best-selling books, including The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, which led to the must-watch Netflix docuseries The Family. Sharlet is out with a new book The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War.   This weeek’s Q&A discussion includes updates on wannabe mass-shooter Discord Traitor Bro, otherwise known as Jack Teixeira; springtime for Putin — all the things currently going wrong in Russia’s ongoing genocidal invasion of Ukraine and what to look out for next; the consolidation of media under far-right ownership, and preserving our free speech in the digital sphere, and more!   If you didn’t hear your question answered this week, look out for it soon as the Gaslit Nation Q&A continues. And for our listeners at the Democracy Defender level or higher, keep your questions coming. We always enjoy hearing from you. Thank you all for your support of the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! To join our community on Patreon, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit        

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This week we take a look at the slate for 2024, including recently declared candidate President Biden, career criminal seditionist Donald Trump, Marianne Williamson, Robert Kennedy Jr, and possibly two more Republicans – the faltering Ron DeSantis, and the demonic Tucker Carlson, who recently was set free from his Fox News hellscape to possibly run for office. We contemplate a Carlson run, examine the Fox News lawsuit, and discuss the gutting of investigative reporting and the demise of cable news in general. At the end of the show, we debate about how Biden is doing and what he should be doing – not to win, but to fulfill his campaign promises and serve the American people, which is his job!

We also discuss the Kremlin’s latest moves into Sudan and the operations of the Wagner Group: the brutal band of professional mercenaries that has been active in Ukraine, Syria, and other regions the Kremlin seeks to drag into their sphere of influence. We discuss the history of Russia’s efforts in Africa and how Obama official Susan Rice helped paved the road for the current disaster. We also discuss what it means that Rice is finally leaving the Biden administration.

Every week we do a bonus episode for our Patreon subscribers. We’ve decided to start releasing them later in the week because we often have extra topics we don’t get to in the main show. So this week, stay tuned for some extra Gaslit Nation as well as the answers to our listener Q&A! To submit a question, join at the Democracy Defender level or higher. To listen to the bonus episode, join at the Truth-Teller level or higher.

Gaslit Nation is one of few podcasts that is free to all and that keeps all of our episodes archived online in transcript form. This is important as news websites continue to go under or paywall their content. We are under no corporate control and are funded entirely by our listeners. Help keep Gaslit Nation going by joining us on Patreon!

Show Notes:

Submit your song for the Gaslit Nation Make Art song series. Sign up here. 

Clip: CNN on Russia in Sudan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQapgnGwLBw

Clip: Tucker Carlson’s Disinformation on Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG8uLFHJWVE

Clip: Tucker Carlson defending child rap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1WnL070hc

Clip: Don Lemon on Vivek Ramaswamy https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1650563196795641871

Russia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin’s war effort in Ukraine https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/africa/sudan-russia-gold-investigation-cmd-intl/index.html

South African Border War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War

Putin’s Private Army Accused of Raping New Moms on Maternity Ward https://www.thedailybeast.com/wagner-group-mercenaries-accused-of-raping-new-moms-on-maternity-ward-in-central-african-republic

Rex Tillerson Is Running the State Department Into the Ground https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/04/rex-tillerson-is-running-the-state-department-into-the-ground-215677/

Shot 5-year-old girl in head: Prisoners from Wagner confess to killing children in Bakhmut and Soledar https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/shot-5-old-girl-head-120100855.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGXtXRZip4dbSPAHNmLau_eGyS6S7xX-IinzOlzTLPpPy3-l3wG6eay7o8myxP5i28E8fZizEV8BGjVpahNPC7atwhHDmKZ3TW1BrXK61L-dcbn-4rhyGe13jPFFCHDz2qvF_0rJdTovCObPDC-xNvAPsbVNwe8ziFnxRstM3KUj

Xi Condemns Killings in African Nation Where Russian and Chinese Interests Compete https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/world/europe/central-african-republic-russia-china.html

Airman Shared Sensitive Intelligence More Widely and for Longer Than Previously Known https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/us/politics/jack-teixeira-leaks-russia-ukraine.html

“Stunning”: Reporters who uncovered Matt Gaetz evidence baffled after DOJ drops sex trafficking case https://www.salon.com/2023/02/16/stunning-reporters-uncovered-matt-gaetz-evidence-baffled-after-doj-drops-trafficking-case/

Ukraine war: US to provide long-range missiles in latest aid package https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64518532

The changes at CNN look politically motivated. That should concern us all https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/24/the-changes-at-cnn-look-politically-motivated-that-should-concern-us-all

‘He’s Making Up a World He Wants to Attack’: How Vivek Ramaswamy Became a Right-Wing Culture Warrior https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-making-of-a-conservative-culture-warrior

Don Lemon Ousted From CNN in Move That Left Him ‘Stunned’ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/24/business/media/don-lemon-cnn.html

Wagner in Sudan: What have Russian mercenaries been up to? (yahoo.com)

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Another week, another set of traitors that somehow our (compromised) national security institutions were not able to catch in time! This week we take a look at Jake Teixeira, a traitor who leaked classified intelligence documents on Discord and became the new mascot of the far-right, and “Donbass Devushka”, the pathetic online persona of a former Naval official and all-around asshole from New Jersey named Sarah Bils. These two are just the latest iteration of a broader online propaganda initiative, ongoing for over a decade, to weaponize intelligence against Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin and its American right-wing backers.   We look at the long history of intelligence failures that have led us to the point that a bunch of randos in a Discord forum are more in tune with intelligence than our politicians, who behave like characters in a reality TV show. We discuss the lack of accountability from the FBI and DOJ and the complicity of seditionists like Marjorie Taylor Green who recite their little lines in tandem with their task masters. We discuss Wagner Group and other terrorist outlets attacking Ukraine, as well as the slow-moving war itself, and Andrea again implores the US government to give Ukraine the military equipment that it needs so the war will actually end – and the only way it can end with a chance of peace for the world is with a Ukraine win.   For our bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level and higher, we answer questions from our subscribers about AI and fascism, why Americans don’t protest like the French, the Tennessee legislature and the protests, Clarence Thomas, NC Dem turncoat Tricia Cotham, who should primary Biden, the fading career of DeSantis, and more! And if you join at the Democracy Defender level or higher, you can join us at our live show for our upcoming graphic novel Dictatorship – It’s Easier Than You Think, which will be out June 13! The live show will be May 23 at 1:30 EST.   Gaslit Nation is an independent podcast made possible entirely by our Patreon community, so please consider joining and getting extra features and more!   Show Notes:   News clip on Discord Bro Leaker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFZo2t11AsM   Trump/Tucker clip: https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1645954118551322626   Italian PM clip calling out Kremlin shills: https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1639206906786103296   Donbass Devushka clip: https://twitter.com/jabuttee/status/1646547974858653699   Social-Media Account Overseen by Former Navy Noncommissioned Officer Helped Spread Secrets https://www.wsj.com/articles/social-media-account-overseen-by-former-navy-noncommissioned-officer-helped-spread-secrets-a4b5643b   UPDATED: Feds Investigating Former Sailor Behind Pro-Russian ‘Donbass Devushka’ Accounts https://news.usni.org/2023/04/17/feds-investigating-former-sailor-behind-pro-russian-donbass-devushka-accounts   Nexta on Sarah Bils, Russian Disinformation Grifter: https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1647729855587385347   A Russian Disinformation Empire in Oak Harbor, Washington https://malcontentment.com/a-russian-disinformation-empire-in-oak-harbor-washington/

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This week’s discussion includes recommendations for trusted sources on Ukraine and Russia; the slowdown in the Senate as Dianne Feinstein refuses to retire, endangering our democracy by not showing up for work which impairs Democrats’ ability to confirm judges to balance out Trump and McConnell’s court-packing; and how A.I. risks worsening our fascism crisis.   We cover all this and more. If you want to hear the full episode and submit your questions for our regular Gaslit Nation Q&As, subscribe to the show on Patreon.com/Gaslit and never miss an episode! You will not have access to every episode of Gaslit Nation unless you subscribe! Join our community of listeners today!  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

We’re doing a live taping of Gaslit Nation on May 23 at 1:30pm EST. Make sure you’re subscribed to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher to get access to that special live event to celebrate the launch of our book Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think!   It’s been a busy week for nazis, neo-confederates, and crimelords – and for the people fighting them! We start out this week by discussing the ProPublica article on corrupt SCOTUS justice Clarence Thomas and his Hitler swag loving backer, Harlan Crow. Sarah gives a lot of background into their relationship, including 1) allegations of sex trafficking by Crow’s brother and his ties to a client of Jeffrey Epstein 2) Thomas’s ties to GOP sex trafficking and blackmail cases in the 1980s including the Franklin Scandal 3) the combination of bribes and blackmail GOP elites use to keep their judges and reps in line 4) and how the media exposed Thomas’s corrupt relationships long ago, but officials refused to act!   Then we discuss the heartening news out of Tennessee, where representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson refused to accept their expulsion on baseless grounds, shone a light into the Tennessee legislature’s corruption, gave fuel to a national protest movement, and got reinstated into office with a global platform. We discuss the protests and large voter turnouts in gerrymandered hostage states like Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and how this may indicate a bigger anti-authoritarian movement in America to come.   Then Andrea details what was in those classified documents found on a Minecraft Discord server (seriously), what they mean for Russia’s war on Ukraine, and what Ukraine still needs to win the war: the global democratic alliance must make up its mind if it wants Ukraine to win the war, then give Ukraine what it keeps asking for to win the war: ATACMS (long range missiles) and F-16s.   We released our weekly Patreon bonus episode — a special on violent feuds among the Kremlin’s elites — earlier than usual so if you are a subscriber at the Truth-Teller level or higher, be sure to check that out. We will be back next week with our usual Q&A, so keep your questions coming! Gaslit Nation is 100% listener supported, so please consider signing up on Patreon to keep this show possible!   Pre-Order Gaslit Nation’s first book! Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250781000/dictatorshipitseasierthanyouthink   Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From GOP Donor — ProPublica   Friendship between Thomas and Crow Triggers Controversy — Again – The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times (typepad.com)   Justice Thomas Reports Wealth of Gifts – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)   What Really Goes On At Bohemian Grove (grunge.com)   Clarence Thomas: Our Freakazoid Supreme Should Overturn Himself (nickbryantnyc.com)   Tennessee Republicans’ Power Grab Has Been in the Works for a Long Time | The New Republic   Trammell Crow Jr. Named in Human Trafficking Case (dallasexpress.com)   Trammell Crow Jr: Billionaire linked to Sarah Ferguson accused of financing US sex trafficking ring (telegraph.co.uk)   The Paid Pundits Defending Clarence Thomas And His Billionaire Benefactor (levernews.com)   Where does the Tennessee House Speaker actually live?  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Need a laugh? American fascists Elon Musk and Matt Taibbi are fighting each other over on Twitter. Meanwhile, in Russia, the fascists are fighting each other, including the recent bombing of a Russian propagandist in a cafe owned by Prighozin, the founder of the Wagner Group, Russian mercenaries named after Hitler’s favorite composer. We know there’s a lot of horror to discuss in America right now — the KKK political lynching in Tennessee, the Texas court ruling against the abortion pill, a possible Trump indictment out of Georgia, and more. We will discuss all of that and more in next week’s episode. For now, we’re tracking the escalating civil war among Russia’s ruling elites and what it means for the war in Ukraine, Putin’s fate, and how China may be playing a role.   This episode was recorded Monday April 3rd. It’s an excerpt of our bonus episode. To sign up to hear all of our shows and submit questions to our regular Q&As, join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.