For today’s show, Thursday host Allen Ruff has one of his periodic check-ins with friend of the show Matt Rothschild, director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Together with the input of listener callers, they have a freewheeling conversation about recent news items like the deployment of paramilitary forces in Portland, Oregon, threats to democracy and […]
The Threat of Fascism in America
Last week, President Trump signed an internet censorship order after one of his Tweets was removed for glorifying violence. Earlier this week, he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act against protesters. What can we make of this ongoing descent into fascism and authoritarianism during a global pandemic and civil unrest? Today on the show, we […]
Split Show: PFAS and Fascism
Our society is being contaminated—both literally, with toxic chemicals pervading our lived environments, and politically, with authoritarian worldviews and white nationalism on the rise. For today’s episode, we hone in on these topics. In the first segment, we hear from journalist Sharon Lerner about her extensive reporting on PFAS. For the rest of the hour, […]
How Fascism Works with Jason Stanley
As fascist ideologies continue to infect American discourse, Esty spends the hour with Yale philosopher Jason Stanley to identify the core tenets of fascist thought and politics, as outlined in his new book, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the […]
Rethinking the Normalization of Fascism with Henry Giroux
For today’s episode, Allen speaks with social critic Henry Giroux about his recent piece “Rethinking the Normalization of Fascism in the Post-Truth Era” and the rise of right-wing populism in American politics. Henry Giroux is a professor in the English and cultural studies department at McMaster University. His research focuses on critical pedagogy, education, neoliberalism, […]
Neoliberal Fascism and the Echoes of History with Henry Giroux
On today’s episode, Allen connects with friend of the show Henry Giroux to discuss his recent article “Neoliberal Fascism and the Echoes of History.” Giroux argues that fascism is not a relic of the past, but that it is alive and well today, sustained by systems that enact what Rob Nixon calls “slow violence” through removing […]
