Death Panel Best of 2025: Sick Sad World w/ Vicky Osterweil
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Dec 29, 2025 Vicky Osterweil, an insightful author and activist, delves into the alarming rise of fascism in America. She critiques the Trump administration's tactics, connecting them to historical patterns of oppression and comparing them to past authoritarian regimes. Vicky emphasizes the importance of grassroots movements and the revival of disability activism in the face of brutal policies. She advocates for strategic patience and resilience, encouraging listeners to prepare for a challenging political landscape while nurturing community ties.
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Fascism As A Self-Coup And Its Fragility
- Vicky Osterweil argues we face a fascist self-coup blending 19th-century economic aims with 17th-century political despotism.
- She also believes the coup is failing because it's overaggressive, politically isolated, and materially damaging the regime's base.
Policy Success Cuts Both Ways
- Osterweil highlights a core contradiction: policy success paired with growing political isolation and unpopularity.
- That contradiction accelerates instability and raises the chance of regime collapse or confrontation.
Fascism Without Spectacle
- The current moment drops prior democratic pretense: governance by abandonment plus militarization replaces spectacle-driven arrival of fascism.
- Fascism here progresses through press releases, data takeovers, court flouting, and policy implementation rather than parades.