Stay ConnectedThe Refuse Fascism podcast is an independent and all-volunteer show that produces weekly episodes that expose, analyze, and oppose the very real danger and threat of fascism coming to power in the United States.
Hosted by Sam Goldman, produced by volunteers with Refuse Fascism.
Copyright: © Refuse Fascism
It's been quite the week! Sam recaps some of the stories we're watching most closely: the Texas + other fascist controlled states v. federal government confrontation in the wake of a SCOTUS decision the fascists actually don't like (shockingly, Roberts and Coney Barrett agreed that the federal government has the authority to remove the murder wire that the state of Texas is strewing all over the border and in the Rio Grande), the latest on Trump's legal troubles (which, spoiler alert: do not portend a solution to our fascism troubles), and the ICJ ruling on the escalating genocide in Gaza.
Then, Sam talks with Kathleen Belew, historian and author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America about her work and her evaluation of that movement as it's developed in 2024. Follow her at kathleenbelew.com, Twitter: @kathleen_belew, and TikTok: kathleen.belew.
Mentioned in this episode:
Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab recommended by Kathleen Belew
Eagle Pass Republi-Fascist Neo-Nullificaton v. Federal State Authoity at the Southern Texas Border by Paul Street
Far-Right Extremists Are Organizing an Armed Convoy to the Texas Border by David Gilbert
Right-Wing Talk Of An ‘Invasion’ And ‘Civil War’ Risks Rise In Vigilantism, Experts Say by Chris Mathias
Protest Convoy Headed to Southern Border Is Calling Itself an ‘Army of God’ by Tess Owen
Research Letter: Rape-Related Pregnancies in the 14 US States With Total Abortion Bans
Enforcing the Law to Disqualify a Violent Insurrectionist Is Good, Actually by Michael Liroff
Recommended Reading/Watching:
“Trump Is the Nominee. Fascism Is on the Ballot.” Author Jeff Sharlet on New Hampshire & Beyond
American Fascism by Rick Perlstein (sign up for his newsletter!)
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf. The January 2024 survey will be closing soon, send your comments; https://bit.ly/rf-pod-survey.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related Episodes:
The Year Ahead and The New Fascism Syllabus
The Nightmare Immigrants Face at the Texas Border
We want to hear from listeners! What are some of your most urgent questions keeping you up at night as 2024 begins? Let us know via this survey: https://bit.ly/rf-pod-survey
On this episode, we share Jessica Valenti’s testimony before Senate Democrats on the state of abortion rights ahead of the Roe v. Wade anniversary.
Sam provides commentary highlighting the Supreme Court's efforts to expand their power & destroy the "administrative state" (aka upend functioning federal government), Trump taking Iowa, the state-federal standoff in Texas, what fascism is, why we can’t turn away and more.
Then, Sam talks with Jennifer Evans and Brian Griffith, co-editors of The New Fascism Syllabus, a collection of writings on the history of fascist, authoritarian, and populist movements and governments during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Mentioned in this episode:
Abortion On Demand and Without Apology Placard
Why Right-Wing Activists Have Strong Opinions About the Supreme Court’s Big Fishing Regulations Case by Madiba Dennie
Trump Just Keeps Doing Appalling Things, and the Ranks of the Disengaged Are Growing by Michelle Goldberg
The Law Alone Cannot Curb Donald Trump’s Lawlessness by Dahlia Lithwick
Metaphors Journalists Live By written by Rick Perlstein
On the Erudite Idiocy of the Liberal-Centrist Intelligentsia by Paul Street
The Supreme Court Is About to Seize Way More Power From Democratic Presidents by Mark Joseph Stern
The GOP Doesn’t Want to Punish Trans People—It Wants to Eradicate Them by Brynn Tannehill
My Prepared Remarks to Senate Dems by Jessica Valenti
Related episodes:
Ruling Through The Courts When They Don’t Have The Votes With Dahlia Lithwick
The Nightmare Immigrants Face At The Texas Border with Faisal Al Juburi
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Sam talks with Faisal Al-Juburi from RAICES Texas to get an update on what has changed (and what hasn't) for our siblings seeking refuge as of January 2024 at the deadly US border. Follow their work and get involved at https://www.raicestexas.org/.
We want to hear from listeners! What are some of your most urgent questions keeping you up at night as 2024 begins? Let us know via this survey: https://bit.ly/rf-pod-survey
Related listening:
Fascist “Operation Lone Star” + Trump Indictment
Mentioned in this episode:
Did an Abortion Ban Cost a Young Texas Woman Her Life?
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Paul Street, member of the RefuseFascism.org Editorial Board shares reflections on January 6, three years later. Read his reflections: On January 6 Three Years Later: The Trump Republi-Fascist Menace is Alive and Well. Subscribe to the Paul Street Report to read and hear more from Paul.
Then, Sam talks with Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent at Vox, about just some of the Trump trials, some attempts for accountability through the legal system and Trump's strategy to dodge it. He is the author of two books on the Supreme Court: Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted and The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America. Follow Ian on Threads at Ian.millhiser and read his articles on Vox here.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Deja Coup: Donald Trump and the Slow Civil War (Dahlia Lithwick interviews Jeff Sharlet on the latest episode of Amicus)
A quarter of Americans believe FBI instigated Jan. 6, Post-UMD poll finds
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
(Just Some) Related Episodes on the attempted Trump Coup:
The Fantasy of the Reasonable Republican With Fred Wellman
Jeff Sharlet- The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War
Proud Boys and The New Era of American Fascism
Bradley Onishi: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next
Elie Honig: The January 6th Insurrection Isn’t Over
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: The GOP is Now the Party of Autocracy
Henry Giroux: Trump is not Trumpism and Trumpism is not Dead
Why Is Accountability Important?
As we close out 2023 and head into 2024 many of us are feeling a sense of deja vu - but with higher stakes. Take a trip through the events of 2023 with an eye to the future with some guests from this past year.
THANK YOU to all the patrons and supporters who help make this show possible in 2023. Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Guests featured on this episode:
Wendy Via Project 2025: Roadmap for Fascist Consolidation
Coco Das Q&A With The Refuse Fascism Editorial Board
Jeff Sharlet The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War
Paul Street Your Questions Answered
Thomas Zimmer The Insurrectionist House of Representatives
Fred Wellman The Fantasy of the Reasonable Republican with Fred Wellman
Sarah Posner The Nightmare That Is House Speaker Mike Johnson
Brynn Tannehill The Sweeping and Intensifying Fascist Attack on Trans People
David Gilbert The GOP Embrace of Fascist “Moms for Liberty”
Dr. Marvin Dunn Teach Truth Not Lies
Faisal Al-Juburi Fascist “Operation Lone Star” + Trump Indictment
Keyanna Jones Stop Cop City
Susan Neiman On Universalism Against Nationalism
Mark Joseph Stern The Fascist Attack On Medication Abortion
Dahlia Lithwick Ruling Through The Courts When They Don’t Have The Votes
Madiba Dennie The Court Is Wrong; Color-Blindness Serving White Supremacy
Mark Jacob Trump Indicted + Media Complicity in the Rise of Fascism
Janet Ward Fascism in America: Past and Present
As we close out the year and look towards 2024, members of the RefuseFascism.org Editorial Board answer questions submitted by supporters of the pod. You can become one of those supporters at patreon.com/refusefascism.
Follow Coco Das at @Coco_Das, Paul Street at paulstreet.substack.com and Sam at @SamBGoldman on Twitter or @samgoldmanrf on TikTok.
Mentioned in the Episode:
The Supreme Court Just Took on Abortion Again. It Won’t End Well.
Jason Stanley on "undermining propaganda" with fascism: "Trump is robbing democracy of any meaning"
How to help the show? Rate and review wherever you get your podcasts; share with your friends! Get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related episodes:
Project 2025: Roadmap to Fascist Consolidation
The Fascist Attack on Medication Abortion
Sam talks with scholar Matthew D. Taylor about House Speaker Mike Johnson and the significance and danger exemplified in Johnson's ascent to power. Taylor documents Johnson's links to leading voices in the Christian Charismatic movement (which were early adopters of the Trump cult, and unlike mainstream Evangelical leaders, have never split in their support for Trump). This movement also played a key role in mobilizing for the Jan 6 coup and continue to support Trump's quest for power in 2024. We explore what this tells us about the role and influence of Christian Nationalism, the New Apostolic Reformation movement, and the threat of theocracy in the United States.
Dr. Matthew D. Taylor is a Senior Scholar and the Protestant Scholar at the Institute for Islamic. Christian, Jewish Studies where he specializes in Muslim-Christian dialogue, Evangelical and Pentecostal movements, religious politics in the U.S., and American Islam. His forthcoming book The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement that Is Sabotaging Our Democracy will be released in September 2024. On a podcast series “Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation” Taylor takes on the history of the New Apostolic Reformation the leaders and ideologies that fueled the siege of the capitol. Follow him on Twitter @TaylorMatthewD. He is also on Substack.
Mentioned in this episode:
Mike Johnson, Polite Extremist, by Matthew D. Taylor (The Bulwark)
The Key to Mike Johnson’s Christian Extremism Hangs Outside His Office by Bradley Onishi, Matthew D. Taylor (Rolling Stone)
How to help the show? Rate and review wherever you get your podcasts; share with your friends! Get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam recently joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related episodes:
The Nightmare That Is House Speaker Mike Johnson
Jeff Sharlet-The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War
Christian Dominison and Fascist Momentum
The Flag and the Cross and the Little Blue Bird
Bradley Onishi: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism–and What Comes Next
Sam talks with Dr. Susan Neiman, Director of the Einstein Forum in Germany about the US-backed war Israel is waging against Gaza. Her latest book is Left Is Not Woke. Her first work of fiction, Nine Stories: A Berlin Novel, will be published in 2024. She has written two recent thought provoking essays for the The New York Review of Books:
Historical Reckoning Gone Haywire
Germans’ efforts to confront their country's criminal history and to root out antisemitism have shifted from vigilance to a philosemitic McCarthyism that threatens their rich cultural life. (Published October 19)
Germany on Edge
In recent weeks, Germany’s reflexive defenses of Israel and suppression of its critics have assumed a fevered pitch. (Published November 3)
More recently she authored The universalist tradition has been forgotten, the Enlightenment betrayed
The Hamas attack has devastated progressive Jews who are not prepared to celebrate the carnage as an act of liberation. (Published by The Newstatesman on November 29)
Mentioned in this episode:
A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending. by Robert Kagen
‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza by Yuval Abraham
“The Only Democracy in the Middle East” Is a Fascist State by Paul Street
What the “Pause” in the Fighting in Gaza Has Not Paused: The Ongoing U.S.-Backed Palestinian Genocide by Israel from Revcom.us
How to help the show? Rate and review wherever you get your podcasts; share with your friends! Get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam just joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Sam talks with Wendy Via, Co-Founder and President at The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, about their analysis of the publicly announced plan for "day one" of the next presidential administration (presumably headed by leading Republifascist candidate Donald Trump). Their report The Far-Right Playbook for American Authoritarianism: Project 2023 states in part, "Their aims include “bringing together conservative allies with a common goal: to take back our country from the radical Left by developing a robust governing agenda and the right people to implement it.” And it has been reported, though denied, that internal Project 2025 discussions have centered around the next conservative president invoking the Insurrection Act on the first day in office to allow the military to quell civil unrest." Learn more about Wendy and the GPAHE's work at globalextremism.org and follow them at @globalextremism.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Republi-Fascist Specter Looms by Paul Street
Biden’s Camp Cheers on Trump’s CNN Town Hall: An “Opposition” Party that is Worse than Useless by Coco Das (May 13, 2023, still relevant)
Behind the Curtain: Trump allies pre-screen loyalists for unprecedented power grab by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen (Axios)
Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump’s 2025 Immigration Plans by Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan (NYT)
The “Is Donald Trump a Fascist?” Debate Has Been Ended—by Donald Trump by Chris Lehmann (The Nation)
Donald Trump Is A Fascist from Stephen Colbert
Donations have surged to groups linked to conservative Project 2025 by Katherine Doyle (NBC)
*Patron-Only Event coming up:
"Ask Us Anything" Zoom Chat
Wednesday November 29 8PM ET
With Sam, Coco and Paul; sign up for $5/month at patreon.com/refusefascism for invite
How to help the show? Rate and review wherever you get your podcasts; share with your friends! Get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam just joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related Episodes:
The Nightmare That Is House Speaker Mike Johnson
Ruling Through The Courts When They Don’t Have The Votes With Dahlia Lithwick
Sam talks with Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read Program Director at PEN America. Their new report America's Censored Classrooms 2023 states, "Over the past three years, state legislators have launched an onslaught of educational gag orders—state legislative and policy efforts to restrict teaching about topics such as race, gender, American history, and LGBTQ+ identities in educational settings." For more, visit pen.org. Also see: Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor and Educational Intimidation.
Plus, commentary on the latest developments post-November 2023 elections and other recent news.
Mentioned in this episode:
My life has been defined by genocide of Jewish people. I look on Gaza with concern by Jason Stanley
Institute for Middle East Understanding
Thread from Sunsara Taylor about abortion rights
Recommended Reading:
Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term
Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump’s 2025 Immigration Plans
*Patron-Only Event coming up:
"Ask Us Anything" Zoom Chat
Wednesday November 29 8PM
With Sam, Coco and Paul; sign up for $5/month at patreon.com/refusefascism for invite
How to help the show? Rate and review wherever you get your podcasts; share with your friends! Get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus! Sam just joined TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related episodes:
Teach Truth Not Lies with Dr. Marvin Dunn
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