Transnational Authoritarian Networks

As Trump declares a highly illegal “war on drug cartels” to distract from the Epstein Files, let’s turn instead to a much-needed source of inspiration: Harriet Tubman. Described by her first biographer and friend Sarah Hopkins Bradford as “clairvoyant,” Tubman offers timeless lessons in resilience, strategy, and hope under brutal oppression.

If you’re looking for concrete ways to resist life under a chaos-weapon Russian asset, this week’s bonus episode of Gaslit Nation is for you! We share an excerpt from our Book Club discussion of Harriet, the Moses of Her People by Bradford, a children’s author who helped preserve Tubman’s legacy. We also examine the asymmetrical warfare waged by today’s nihilists–and no, we don’t mean the ones in Congress–but the “lone shooters” who are actually working together to stage “performance shootings” for one another for a growing outlet for their despair and rage. Trump’s government shutdown certainly doesn’t help. 

Look for the full recording of this week’s salon and Read & Resist book club discussion on Monday morning, along with the Zoom link for Monday’s salon at 4pm ET.  Our salons are a place to sharpen strategy, share solidarity, and to remember that you’re not losing your mind: things really are that bad.

And because despair is what the nihilists want, we’re throwing a Gaslit Nation Halloween Party with Sister District. Costumes optional, democracy mandatory. We’ll be fighting for must-win Virginia races, and yes, you should RSVP. Because if Harriet Tubman can face down the unimaginable, you can probably survive a Zoom party. Join us here: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/

Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

Show Notes:

Harriet, the Moses of Her People https://uncpress.org/9781469607818/harriet-the-moses-of-her-people/

 October Books:

• Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/deaf-republic

• Total resistance by Hans von Dach https://archive.org/details/totalresistance0000dach

Read and Resist: Gaslit Nation’s Book Club https://www.patreon.com/posts/read-and-resist-132804210?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/trump-drug-cartels-war.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20251002&instance_id=163691&nl=breaking-news®i_id=48614702&segment_id=207041&user_id=097a378032011d6e8be1570cdce0a176

Was Trump’s strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat legal?https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/was-trumps-strike-on-an-alleged-venezuelan-drug-boat-legal/

Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m26cxb7ixo2e

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance.

• Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon.

• Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon.

• Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.

• Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet?

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community