The Chauncey DeVega Show

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Ep. 190: Black Genius and Childish Gambino's "This is America" May 28, 2018

Show notes

Stephen Casmier is the guest on this week's Childish Gambino "This is America" themed episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is a professor of English at Saint Louis University and the author of the great essay Donald Glover and Richard Pryor, or the Chokehold of the Minstrel Show which can be read at Medium. During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Stephen and Chauncey have a wide ranging conversation about black art and black genius, the problems with how concepts such as "intersectionality", "representation" and "identity politics" have been commonly used and understood, the uprising in Ferguson, and America's almost pornographic relationship to black suffering. Dr. Casmier and Chauncey also deconstruct the politics and aesthetics of Childish Gambino's amazingly popular new song and video "This is America". In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega intervenes against the horrible cruelty and evil that is the Trump administration's war on the children and families of undocumented residents, immigrants, and refugees. Chauncey also reflects on the right-wing "patriotic" anthem "I'm Proud to be an American" and how it tells some unintentional truths about the culture of cruelty and the horrible wrongs in the country. At the end of this week's podcast, Chauncey has a good laugh about the lawsuit by the people behind the iconic children's TV series "Sesame Street" against the new adult comedy "The Happytime Murders".

Ep. 189: Dr. Mark Goulston on Maintaining Our Emotional Well-being and Fighting Self-Sabotage May 20, 2018

Show notes

Mark Goulston is the guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is a psychiatrist and author of several best-selling self-help books including Just Listen, Get Out of Your Own Way, and Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life.

Dr. Goulston has also been a guest on and his work featured by the CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC News, Oprah, Today, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Investor's Business Daily and the Los Angeles Times. He also hosts the podcast Prison Letters with Dr. Mark Goulston.

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Dr. Goulston and Chauncey discuss how to overcome self-sabotage, becoming better communicators, managing negative influences in our lives, and fighting back against depression and other mental health challenges. Dr. Goulston also reflects on the 2016 presidential race and offers some suggestions as to how the Democratic Party can better fight back against Donald Trump's alpha male bullying behavior.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega honors brother Malcolm X's birthday by sharing a New York Times editorial about his assassination. Unfortunately, Chauncey is also forced in the aftermath of the Sante Fe massacre by gun, to again, discuss how ammosexuals and other conservative gun fetishists are feeding America's children to the Gun God Moloch. On this week's show, Chauncey also peers into the right-wing hate sewer and its pit of defective women-hating "incels" who are debating if the Sante Fe mass murderer Dimitrios Pagourtzis was "too handsome" to be counted among their breed.

Of course, Trump University is always is session. This week's topic? The newest revelations about how Trump's cabal was willing to take assistance from Saudi Arabia and the UAE as coordinated by a child molester to steal the 2016 presidential election and by doing so to undermine American democracy.

Ep. 188: Timothy Snyder on How Donald Trump is Hurting White People in Order to Stay in Power May 14, 2018

Show notes

There are two guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Yale University historian and New York Times-bestselling author Timothy Snyder returns to The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is the author of "On Tyranny" and the new book "The Road to Unfreedom". This is Professor Snyder's fourth appearance on The Chauncey DeVega Show.

Professor Snyder and Chauncey discuss how America's democratic institutions are under siege by Donald Trump and the Republican Party's fascist campaign, the ways that Trump and his allies are hurting white voters in order to stay in power by redirecting their rage at nonwhites and other groups, and the concept known as "sadopopulism". Professor Snyder also explains how both liberals and conservatives are weakening America's democratic project.

Jared Yates Sexton is the second guest on this week's example of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is the author of The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage. On this week's show, Jared and Chauncey discuss on the American news media continues to fail the public by not telling the truth about the threat posed by Donald Trump and how comedienne Michelle Wolff dared to expose the too cozy relationship between the so-called liberal news media and their right-wing propagandist "frenemies".

Jared also explains how Donald Trump is a political mafia boss who is running the White House like a criminal enterprise and personal protection racket.

Of course, as is their habit, Jared and Chauncey have to talk about the former's trip to this year's Wrestlemania, booking Roman Reigns, the Andre the Giant documentary on HBO, and how logical storytelling can help to salvage so many of the problems plaguing the WWE.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega explains the hidden history of Mother's Day and its radical progressive roots in the women's rights and pacifist movements. Chauncey also offers an update in the Republican Party's continual effort to punish and hurt the most weak and vulnerable members of American society. This week's target? The elderly, differently-abled, and other people who will be thrown out of nursing homes and into the streets because of cuts to Medicare.

Chauncey also gives a "You Big Dummy Award" to one of Trump's human deplorables whose business is going bankrupt because of the Great Leader's "soft ethnic cleansing" campaign against nonwhite immigrants.

Ep. 187: Avengers: Infinity War / The Secret History of Marvel v. DC Comics May 06, 2018

Show notes

There are two guests on this week's Avengers: Infinity War and the secret history of Marvel vs. DC comics themed episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Writer and Hugo-award nominated podcaster Alasdair Stuart is the first guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Alasdair and Chauncey discuss their thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War and what it reveals about the future of the Marvel film universe, the pathos and menace of Josh Brolin as Thanos, and all that Infinity War does so very right in terms of emotion and relationships. Alasdair also tries to convince Chauncey that Star Trek: Discovery is not that horrible and offers some positive energy about why the new Han Solo Star Wars movie may actually be much better than expected. Reed Tucker is the second guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. His work has been featured in the New York Post, Esquire, Fortune, and USA Today. Reed is also the author of the new book Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC. During this week's installment of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Reed explains the secret history of Marvel and DC comics, the bust and boom era of comic books in the late 1980s through to the 1990s, great forgotten and obscure characters, tales of espionage, the trials and tribulations of Superman, and if this great era of superhero movies will end well--or terribly. In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega tries to make sense of a Donald Trumpian dystopian moment that feels like it is torn out of the pages of a poorly written science fiction novel or comic book. To wit: During this wild and wacky last week Trump and Kanye West united, Alex Jones claimed that Trump is part of a secret alliance which is fighting a sentient computer program like in the Terminator movies, and The New York Times pondered if so-called "incel" terrorists should have access to sex robots, human sex workers, and other unfortunates who will be receptacles for male sexual rage. Chauncey connects the dots so that you can stay (relatively) sane.

Ep. 186: Reza Aslan on How Donald Trump has Turned White Christian Evangelicals Into a Cult Apr 29, 2018

Show notes

Reza Aslan is the guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is the author of numerous books including the New York Times-bestseller "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth" as well as "No god but God". Reza was also the host of the CNN documentary TV series "Believer".

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Reza and Chauncey discuss Donald Trump's hold over white right-wing evangelical Christians and how they are acting like a religious-political cult in the service of Trump and the Republican Party.

Reza also explains the role of racism and greed in how white right-wing Christian evangelicals came to be so corrupt and hypocritical in their overwhelmingly loyalty to Donald Trump.

Ed Simon also stops by the virtual bar and salon this week. He is a contributing writer for such publications as Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Jacobin.

Ed explains how white right-wing Christian evangelicals misread the Bible, warns about being dismissive of white right-wing evangelicals as just being "stupid" and "hypocrites" and sounds the alarm about the threat posed to America's secular democracy by Christian Nationalists.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega reflects on the passing of the great James Cone and how his amazing scholarship resonates as a warning against the culture of cruelty, racism, and hatred of the poor as manifest in how white right-wing Christians support Donald Trump and want to destroy the social safety net as well as any vestiges of a humane society. Chauncey also shares his thoughts on the new Avengers: Infinity War movie.

And at the end of this week podcast Chauncey channels the late great Art Bell and shares some new information about the United States government's secret "psycho-electric" mind control weapons.

Ep. 185: If Donald Trump is Removed From Office There Will be Violence Apr 21, 2018

Show notes

David Cay Johnston is the guest on this week's edition of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who has followed Donald Trump's life and career for 30 years. Johnston shared those insights in the New York Times bestselling book The Making of Donald Trump.

Johnston's new book is It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration is Doing to America.

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, David and Chauncey discuss how Trump's family and upbringing created a man who is so comfortable with lying and being involved in illegal and other morally questionable activities, the failures in Hillary Clinton's and the Democratic Party's strategy and messaging, and how Robert Mueller will show that Donald Trump is a traitor who conspired with Russia to steal the White House, has likely committed financial crimes and obstructed justice. David Cay Johnston also offers a chilling warning--there will be violence from Trump's supporters if their Great Leader is impeached or otherwise removed from office.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega offers his thoughts on the Republican Party's and Donald Trump's war on the "useless eaters" through their cruel effort to take away food stamps from children, healthcare from the sick, and aid for the disabled. Chauncey also has fun discussing the self-hating Afrocentric conman Fox News favorite who is giving out African-American "slavery reparations" coupons for Starbucks.

And at the end of this week's podcast Chauncey shares some hate mail and deconstructs a very dangerous example of some new age white supremacist propaganda.

Ep. 184: Ed Ayers Explains Why Americans are Still Fighting About the Civil War Apr 14, 2018

Show notes

Historian Ed Ayers is the guest on this week's edition of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Ed Ayers has written and edited twelve books, including In the Presence of Mine Enemies: Civil War in the Heart of America, winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Beveridge Prize; and The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction, a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His new book is The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America.

Ayers has been named National Professor of the Year, received the National Humanities Medal at the White House, and been elected President of the Organization of American Historians.

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Professor Ayers and Chauncey discuss popular myths about the American civil war and slavery, the Charlottesville white supremacist riot, public memory and monuments to the Confederacy, and why Donald Trump's presidency may ironically have helped to renew American democracy by spurring on a new progressive movement.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega tries to make sense of an especially tumultuous week where Donald Trump raged, his "pee pee" sex video seems more likely to exist, Syria was attacked, and Trump basically admitted that he obstructed justice to stop any investigation into his collusion with Russia to steal the 2016 election.

And in this week's episode of the podcast Chauncey shares some letters written by African-American soldiers during the Civil War as well as newspaper ads where formerly enslaved black Americans desperately search for their families and friends after Emancipation.

Chauncey also honors Art Bell, the radio legend and pioneer who passed away on Friday.

Ep. 183: Tim Wise Explains How White Privilege and White Racism Hurt White People Apr 08, 2018

Show notes

Anti-racism activist, author, and scholar Tim Wise is the guest on this week's edition of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Tim Wise is the author of numerous books including his most recent Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America. During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Tim and Chauncey discuss toxic white masculinity and mass shootings in the context of the Parkland high school massacre, white racial fragility, and how white privilege and white racism continue to hurt white people in Donald Trump's America. And in a first for the podcast, Chauncey and Tim respond to a listener's email who is seeking advice for how best to deal with their racist Donald Trump Tea Party supporting father and what strategies that white folks who want to fight for justice along the color line can implement in their own lives and communities. In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega continues to document how Trump's presidency is an exercise in corporate corruption and theft and also highlights the continued violence by Trump's human deplorables against the American people.

And in this week's show Chauncey shares what may be an unpopular opinion about the NYPD's horrific and tragic killing of a mentally ill black man named Saheed Vassell.

Ep. 182: How Collective Narcissism Explains Donald Trump's Control Over His Followers Apr 01, 2018

Show notes

Elizabeth Mika is the guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. She is a psychotherapist and contributor to The New York Times bestselling book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.

On this week's podcast Mika and Chauncey discuss the danger to democracy and public safety embodied by Donald Trump and his followers, how collective narcissism is a type of social pathology that leads to violence and why millions of people are attracted to Trump's evil. Mika also sounds the alarm about the combustible relationship that exists between collective narcissism, racism, and authoritarianism in America under Donald Trump's regime.

In this week's episode, Chauncey calls out the absurdity that is Andrew Sullivan again channeling racist pseudo science in a much-discussed recent essay at New York magazine. Chauncey also ponders the power of negrophobia and its role in the street executions of Alton Sterling, Stephon Clark, and Danny Ray Thomas by America's police. Could it be that black people are monsters, possess super powers, and can stop bullets like "negro cocaine fiends?"

And Chauncey has a horrible secret to share....he watched Tyler Perry's new movie Acrimony and loved it.

Ep. 181: Daina Berry Explains How Black Slaves were the Human Gold That Built American Empire Mar 24, 2018

Show notes

Daina Ramey Berry is the guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. She is an associate professor of history and African and African diaspora studies, and the George W. Littlefield Fellow in American History, at the University of Texas at Austin.

Professor Berry is the author of the new book The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation.

On this week's podcast Professor Berry and Chauncey discuss how the monetary value of black enslaved people in America was determined from the cradle to the grave, the selling of black people's bodies (both alive and dead) to medical schools, the barbaric practice known as "womb insurance", the saga of Nat Turner's skull, the many ways that black human property fought back and resisted their dehumanization by white society, and how chattel slavery ultimately built American empire. Professor Berry also shares what it was like to work as a historical consultant on the recent "Roots" TV series.

In this week's episode, Chauncey announces the launch of the official Patreon page for The Chauncey DeVega Show.

Chauncey also ponders the musical stylings of the "raw dog" lothario Donald Trump and the new details about his affair with a Playboy bunny. Chauncey also explains how Cambridge Analytica helped to manipulate Trump's ignorant, gullible racist human deplorables by data mining and focus groups--and yes, by singling out the viewers of Duck Dynasty and The Walking Dead.

At the end of this week's podcast Chauncey shares a story about the African-American and white descendants of a white slave master who gathered together at his plantation to reflect on their "shared" "family" history.

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