Historical Context of Authoritarian Trends in American Politics

Air Date: 8–10-25

Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was on vacation!) discuss:

• How modern fascism does not look like the jarring and brutal images people think of, and the “rituals of conformity” in Nazi Germany that remind us of another era we’ve lived through
• How despotism affects the citizen psyche and how to counter those effects
• The importance of countering Orwellian language under fascism
• Advice on living under authoritarianism, with a big focus on community for sanity and resistance
• BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only): A look at the way societies have collapsed throughout history and where the U.S. falls in the pattern

FOLLOW US ON:

Bluesky

Mastadon

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube (This episode drops on YouTube on Friday - please share!)

Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e

REFERENCES:

Life in authoritarian states is mostly boring and tolerable - Vox

Rituals of Conformity in Nazi Germany - The Montreal Review

The Psychological Impact of Despotism on Citizens: Development Implications - GaradeSud

The Language of Surrender - Notes from the Circus

How to Live Under Authoritarianism (And Protect the People You Love) - Dispatch Revolution

BACKSTAGE:

History shows that societies collapse when leaders undermine social contracts - Phys.org

TAKE ACTION:

One Million Rising Trainings

In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach

Use the 5 Calls app for scripts and to reach all your elected officials

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Find your Indivisible group - or start one

Write to the DNC

Join our Discord Server

Reach us via Signal:

Bestoftheleft.01

Leave a message at 202-999-3991

Produced by:

Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on Apple Podcasts!