Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman of Yahoo's Skullduggery Podcast join Gaslit Nation. Isikoff is the author of Uncovering Clinton; Hubris, about the selling of the Iraq War; and Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, which features Andrea's sister Alexandra Chalupa, the DNC consultant who warned of the Kremlin attack. Klaidman is editor-in-chief of Yahoo News and the author of Kill or Capture: The War on Terror and the Soul of the Obama Presidency.
Read MoreAs Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits Ukraine, showing American support as Putin continues to ramp up aggression, including 80,000 troops still on the border, we highlight a story of hope from Ukraine. Civic leader Olya Yarychkivska shares what keeps Ukrainian civil society going, how Putin leverages war to hold onto power in Russia, and the inspiring story of unity among Ukrainian activists as they rally together to save baby Dima, the child of one of the country's leading reformers.
Read MoreWe begin the episode by discussing the attempt of Kremlin-linked oligarchs to intimidate Catherine Belton, the author of the critically acclaimed book Putin’s People, into silence through excessive litigation. We delve into the backgrounds of the shady billionaires persecuting her and talk about the broader ramifications of the world’s mafia goliaths stomping on lone journalists who are attempting to expose corruption.
Read MoreWe cover the admission by the Department of Homeland Security that there are violent extremists within their ranks, and the new loose gun laws that may be put into effect by the Supreme Court, fulfilling the GOP’s fantasy of transforming the country into a “Death Wish” remake. We then take on Tucker Carlson, his presidential prospects and sick desire to have children stolen from their parents. And we condemn Oklahoma’s new law legalizing murdering protesters by running them down on the road.
Read MoreSarah is sick so we’re using this week for spring cleaning and self-care. There will be a bonus episode for Patreon supporters at the Truth-teller level and higher later this week so look out for that! Since there’s no public episode, we urge you to watch "Putin's Palace", the documentary by the team of Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition leader Putin is slowly murdering before the world. You can find the link here or pinned to our Twitter @gaslitnation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipAnwilMncI
Read MoreThis week we take on the new mascot of obstructionism and excuse for legislative inaction -- Joe Manchin! This human barrier to democracy has not received the level of investigation he deserves, so we dove in. We discuss his recommendation that everyone be nice to the seditious Capitol attackers and not upset them with something scary like voting rights, his seemingly self-destructive opposition to the filibuster, and his bizarre voting history and policy proposals, particularly regarding the Middle East.
Read MoreGaslit Nation welcomes a special guest whose incredible life story captures the complex, often misunderstood region of the Middle East, the topic of this week’s discussion. Iyad el-Baghdadi, whom some of you may know from his must-read Twitter account, is a Palestinian activist, writer, and the co-author, with Ahmed Gatnash, of the compelling and important new book The Middle East Crisis Factory: Tyranny, Resilience and Resistance.
Read MoreWe describe the uneasy interim period of the early Biden era and what’s to come when the covid crisis ends – and predict that it’s going to look a lot like what happened after the end of the 1918 Spanish Flu: white mob violence, anti-immigrant movements, economic turmoil, rising fascism, and the consolidation of dictator personality cults. Day to day life is slowly improving under the Biden administration, but the US remains as vulnerable to autocracy as before – unless certain policy decisions are made.
Read MoreThis week Gaslit Nation welcomes Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) who gives us an inside view on the Capitol attack, what steps need to be taken to hold the perpetrators accountable, how the Biden administration can ensure a more just and fair United States, and much more!
Read MoreHistorian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present, explains all the ways Trump and Republican leaders rely on the dictator's playbook to weaken our democracy and consolidate power. A Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, she provides chilling insights into Mussolini, Berlusconi, Trump, and other strongmen that ruled through destructive cults of personlity. This is a discussion not to miss.
Read MoreWow, something good happened! This week on Gaslit Nation we give credit to (and criticism of!) the American Rescue Plan Act, which begins the process of digging this country out of the giant hellhole we’ve been plunging into for several decades. The stimulus plan, despite being littered with broken promises, nonetheless will make a tangible difference in the lives of many suffering Americans, which is of course why no Republicans voted for it.
Read MoreThe Democrats have taken the House, the Senate, and the Presidency – yet they are still claiming that they can’t pass the policies Americans desperately need. What’s stopping them? The filibuster – a weapon of white supremacy used by Southern states to block progress on civil rights. Sound familiar? In this interview, Adam Jentleson -- an expert on Senate procedure and the author of the book Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy -- explains what the filibuster is, how the Senate is using it to hold Americans down, and how to get rid of it.
Read MoreThis year we've already had a plague, a violent insurrectionist attack, and an unrepentant mafioso president running free. Apparently that wasn’t enough so last week the U.S. got a once-in-a-century Texas storm (but sadly probably not once in *this* century) that turned into a humanitarian catastrophe. We discuss the GOP hostage state of Texas, Merrick Garland, Roger Stone's role in the violent attempted coup, why you shouldn't trust Cy Vance, the power of art and the grassroots, Taylor Swift, and more!
Read MoreIn this episode, we tackle some of the remaining questions left over from the violent attack on the Capitol and the Senate hearings. Why were Trump’s elite criminal backers – in particular, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani and Lin Wood – not mentioned in the hearings even though they served as a bridge between Trump and violent insurrectionist groups? Why is the FBI not giving the public regular updates on its investigation?
Read MoreIt’s Impeachment Week on Gaslit Nation – again! We are covering the (second) Senate impeachment trial of ex-president and eternal traitor Donald Trump both in this episode and in upcoming Patreon-only episodes during the week. If you haven’t signed up at the Truth-Teller level to get extra coverage, now is the time!
Read MoreWe look forward to bringing you our coverage of the Second Trump Impeachment Trial which starts next week, including discussing the most vulnerable Republican Senators up for re-election in 2022. This week we highlight the urgent importance of fighting for the most vulnerable in our interview with New York City public defender Eliza Orlins, a staff attorney at The Legal Aid Society taking on Cy Vance for Manhattan District Attorney. Vance betrayed the American people and must go.
Read MoreWelcome to the first Gaslit Nation episode held in the Biden eras! The Trump administration is no longer a transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government – but unfortunately there is still a transnational crime syndicate at large. While it’s obviously a relief to no longer have a mafia White House, the hostile actors that helped a Kremlin asset to take executive power still remain, and we break down these ongoing threats in this episode.
Read MoreWelcome to the final Gaslit Nation episode recorded during the Trump administration! Wow, does that feel good to write. Unfortunately, the conclusion of the most treasonous and sadistic administration in US history is accompanied by a host of other threats which we describe throughout the episode, but take a moment. You voted out an autocrat who employed every mechanism of voter suppression at his disposal. He then enacted a violent coup. Americans have overcome incredible odds – a rare achievement.
Read MoreThis two-hour special is the longest Gaslit Nation episode we have ever done, and the most serious. We break down the attack on the Capitol by domestic terrorists, showing how this was orchestrated at the highest levels of power and enabled by complicit actors in broken institutions. We lay out probable paths for the United States at this critical juncture, and discuss what we need to do to avoid the fate of the USSR, which is the model for Trump’s crime cult.
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