WATCH: Ruth Ben-Ghiat and I break down the hidden logic of Trump's first week

Ruth Ben-Ghiat has the answers so many of us have been desperate for, ever since fascism leapt out of the history pages and became a modern-day American menace.

Today we checked in on each other during this tumultuous week, and tried to unpack the logic of Trump’s early moves and postures. Things aren’t always what they seem.

He is a facile and simple man, but the moves he is making — from surrounding himself with oligarchs and nominating empty suits and issuing crypto coins — are complicated, and they have a history. What, for example, is the interesting parallel between a nominee like Pete Hegseth and some of Donald Trump’s choices in wives? Ruth joined me to help process all of it.

I also asked her how we — you — might live well through this period: how to get right the balance between plugging in and unplugging, reacting and creating, focusing on national outrages and building local vitality. She had so much wisdom there, too.

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