Happy Monday! Sam and Emma speak with Richard Seymour, writer & commentator based in London, to discuss his recent book Disaster Nationalism: The Downfall of Liberal Civilization. First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the still-burning LA Fires, the GOP’s tie of California aid to Trump’s debt ceiling raise, the second Trump Administration, the Laken Riley Act, the TikTok ban, Jack Smith’s resignation, and Biden’s immigration move, before touching on the Democratic Party’s continuing inability to act like an opposition party with just seven days to Trump’s inauguration, and watching GOP Senator John Barrasso put the right’s inhumanity on full display over the ongoing devastation in California. Richard Seymore then joins, diving right into his idea of “Disaster Nationalism” as a type of proto-fascism that seeks to take the ever-increasing frequency of real-world disasters with often abstract causes (climate change, inequality, etc) and tie them to singular, concrete perpetrators, frequently represented by ethnic and political minorities, tackling examples out of Oregon in the wake of the 2020 wildfires and Gujarat following the 2002 train burning – with the latter providing a particularly gruesome lens into Disaster Nationalism’s emphasis on extreme ethnic violence as a key selling point, as it provides an outlet for pent-up anxiety rather than a solution to its real causes. After expanding on Disaster Nationalism’s complex relationship to democracy (as a tool) and dedication to capitalism, Seymore walks Sam and Emma through the centrally motivating role of economic anxiety in this equation, tackling its distinction to general economic deprivation in its emphasis on loss and social status, looking at how the hyper-individualism of neoliberalism exacerbates socio-economic inequality while blaming those on the losing end for their situation, cultivating a sadistic culture of pseudo-meritocracy that craves social distinction, something threatened by any attempt to deconstruct the dominant hierarchies. After touching on the particular display of Disaster Nationalism developing in Israel’s ongoing genocide of Gaza, Richard, Sam, and Emma then look at the role of the left in combatting these pressures, tackling the history of trade unions in leading the fight against fascism, and the importance of organizing when it comes to finding agency, empowerment, and community in the face of systems that want you to have anything but.
And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Hasan Piker’s pressing interviews with LA’s incarcerated firefighters, Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty pins the fires on the donkey (Dems… and DEI), and Leninade unpacks the unfounded argument that any city could’ve contained the climate devastation facing LA right now. Ronald Raygun explores how the criminal justice and immigration systems work together (and against each other) to make this world worse for immigrants (particularly with the incoming Laken Riley Act), Alex from New York discusses climate change and California, and Joe Rogan continues his work as butler to the billionaires as he brings on Zuckerberg to platform his agenda (and his aggrievement), plus, your calls and IMs!
Follow Richard on Twitter here: https://x.com/leninology
Check out Richard’s book here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3147-disaster-nationalism?srsltid=AfmBOoqT_iaW9QBOiDijkrdU_wWXur6_0TumVPBwYYJKSMs9nu5ifsoD
Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join
Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm
Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport
Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport
Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive
Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift
Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow
Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/
Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/
Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/
Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app
Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase!
Check out today’s sponsors:
Givewell: Go to https://Givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter The Majority Report with Sam Seder at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us. Again, that’s https://Givewell.org to donate or find out more.
Naked Wines: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to https://nakedwines.com/majority and use code MAJORITY for both the code AND PASSWORD.
Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:
@SamSeder
@EmmaVigeland
@MattLech
@BradKAlsop
Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning
Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder
Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse
Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/
The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/
