Gaslit Nation

Zerlina Maxwell, a SiriusXM host and author focused on race and democracy, joins the discussion on the rise of authoritarianism in America. She highlights grassroots organizing as vital in combating the current political climate and emphasizes the importance of accountability for ICE actions. The conversation delves into the role of social media in spreading disinformation and the necessity of engaging politically apathetic individuals. Zerlina also reflects on the historical sacrifices needed to protect democracy and warns against the dangers of complacency.

The conversation dives into the inspiring legacy of Harriet Tubman, with insights on her resilience and strategic brilliance. It also links Tubman’s struggle to contemporary issues, including political manipulation and online extremism. There’s a stark comparison of today's chaos with the historical fight for freedom, urging collective action and grassroots activism. The discussion highlights the importance of hope and solidarity in the face of despair, while also announcing a Halloween event focused on democracy and crucial political races.

Matthew Bodie, a professor at the University of North Georgia and author of The Seven Mountains Mandate, dives deep into the dangerous blend of Christian nationalism and American politics. He discusses how the prosperity gospel fuels a 50-year plan to establish a dictatorship, revealing the troubling origins of this ideology and its modern-day proponents like Charlie Kirk. Bodie shares his experience with Turning Point USA, who targeted him for his views, and highlights the systematic approach of Christian nationalists to influence media, education, and cultural institutions.

One Battle After Another isn’t just a film: it’s a manifesto. Paul Thomas Anderson’s cinematic masterpiece–a three hour long adventure that flies by thanks to dark humor and insane action set pieces–reimagines Harriet Tubman’s legacy in a near future, turning Trump’s “bad hombre” slur into a rallying cry. It dives into the raw debates: violence versus resistance, the power of holding space inside broken systems to shield and change them. Make time in your busy schedule to see it at the theater–don’t wait for streaming. This film is a cultural event that celebrates America’s long tradition of hard-fought antifascism, otherwise known as antifa. You’re a bad hambre is the new May the Force Be With You. Trailer for One Battle After Another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQUPdVxZNPk Join Gaslit Nation’s Book Club so you can stay prepared and not panic, which is what the fascists want: https://www.patreon.com/posts/read-and-resist-132804210?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link See you today at the Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET to discuss this month’s book – Harriet, the Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Here’s the Zoom link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/zoom-link-for-140005245?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link To join the discussion, be sure to join our community of listeners on Patreon.com/Gaslit and support our independent journalism. Thank you to everyone who supports the show!  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!  

What’s worse than a conspiracy theory? When the actual conspiracy is even worse than the theory. Jeffrey Epstein carried out a kompromat operation for years, capturing American elite, unleashing a national security nightmare, and destroying the lives of children. In this special episode with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, we examine Epstein, Trump, and Russia–and the threats that still remain from the real life QAnon.  Epstein was the closest thing Trump had to a friend, going back to the 1980s. The rise of these criminal networks intertwined: Epstein, Trump, and Rudy Giuliani pushing out the Italian mafia as mayor of New York to make room for the Russian mafia–a takeover that accelerated after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Epstein’s wife-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, was a documented KGB asset with a sideline in laundering Soviet billions, and reportedly also worked with Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, at a time when the Kremlin used the Jackson-Vanik amendment passed by Congress to release spies and criminal assets among the Jewish Soviet citizens, like Lautman’s family, seeking refuge in the U.S. While Epstein’s survivors beg for justice and promise to release their own list of elite pedophiles, the GOP continue the Epstein cover-up to protect convicted felon Trump, their battering ram against democracy. QAnon was deflection, fueled by Russian disinformation to protect their wrecking ball in the White House. Expect more Russian psyops as the far-right Epstein cover-up continues. Call your reps and demand: release the Epstein files.  Hear the full episode by supporting our independent journalism–your early warning system–at Patreon.com/Gaslit at the Truth-teller $5/month or higher. Discounted annual subscriptions are available.  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: Opening Clip: How Trump Just Proved He's an Idiot: Michael Wolff on The Daily Beast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswzQpHGAzc Key takeaways from special elections in Arizona and Georgia https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5518904-adelita-grijalva-wins-arizona-election/ President Zelensky at the United Nations in 2025: https://bsky.app/profile/antizionistjew.bsky.social/post/3lzlplmsnzs2p Speech by the President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Fifth Summit of the International Crimea Platform in New York https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vistup-prezidenta-na-pyatomu-samiti-mizhnarodnoyi-krimskoyi-100341 Epstein’s Financial Crimes: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rE90leBYSi4 Epstein Trump Friendship Statue: https://bsky.app/profile/wired.com/post/3lzjyrowvec2j Trump Tyranny Tracker by Olga Lautman https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/

Listen, we heard Trump today at the U.N. talking crazy, but also saying Ukraine can get its territories back, and then some. As in, occupy Russia? We’ll get into all that in this week’s bonus show out later this week for our Patreon members. We’ll also break down the crime cabal of Epstein, Trump, and Russia. More soon. For now, Happy New Year! 5786, to be precise. As Jewish families dip apples in honey and blow the shofar, we’d all do well to take inspiration: resilience is the tradition. Which is good, because democracy needs that same resilience right now. Fox News will tell you New York is a crime-hive communist brothel, while Donald Trump–the convicted felon, enthusiastic coup-plotter, and Orban fanboy–cheers on Christian nationalism like it’s a Russian gift basket of underage girls. Thanks to Trump, RFK Jr.–a human centipede of conspiracies–used our tax dollars to declare war on Tylenol. MAGA and their Christian nationalist Charlie Kirk tent revival want to drag us back to an idealized 1950s where everyone smoked indoors for their health and also had polio. With MAGA using Charlie Kirk’s laser light show memorial to fire up their base, we must and can fight back. That all-important work is in the states. Look to Virginia: a bellwether of the 2026 midterms. This week’s guest, Shawn Werner, Organizing and Political Director of Sister District, joins Gaslit Nation to explain why the 2026 midterms start now. But will we even have elections? Here’s some hope: groups like Sister District and the Democracy Security Project are training volunteers, protecting elections, and building the infrastructure we need to out-organize the new Jim Crow. Races to watch on election night, for any indication of a blue and angry red MAGA-regrets wave, include Kimberly Pope Adams in House District 82, Lily Franklin at Virginia Tech in District 41, and Leslie Mehta’s campaign for the House of Delegates. Win them, and we prove momentum is on our side–and we lay the groundwork to build a victory engine to overcome Trump’s desperate shenanigans in 2026. Consider this episode your official invitation to Gaslit Nation’s Halloween Party with Sister District on Wednesday, October 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. We’ll be dressed up in costumes like our lives depend on it and phonebanking for Virginia. Because democracy cannot defend itself. Fight back now, because fighting back in the MAGA Gulag will be infinitely harder. For more on how to join forces with Sister District in these precious days and weeks ahead, and plant seeds of hope wherever you live, check out SisterDistrict.com. And again, don’t miss this week’s bonus show on Epstein, Trump, and Russia. Look out for that soon. To hear the full bonus show, out Thursday, be sure to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit to get bonus shows, all shows ad-free, invites to exclusive events, and more. Thank you to everyone who supports our independent journalism–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! 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: RSVP for our Halloween Party Phonebank with Sister District October 22 at 6pm ET: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/zohrankmamdani.bsky.social/post/3lzgxaahz4s2q ACTION ALERT: Write postcards urging Democratic voters in California to VOTE YES on Redistricting to Save Democracy: https://www.mobilize.us/thirdact/event/777101/ ACTION ALERT: Send a duck to your rep in Congress to ask them to remove “quack” RFK Jr.: https://www.standupforscience.net/quack-o-grams AOC makes appeal for Democrats' California gerrymander https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/23/aoc-ad-california-gerrymander-00576018 What the Mayor Got Away With Has Already Changed America https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/opinion/trump-eric-adams-corruption.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n08.FYw4.R_lM6WOHHBMh&smid=url-share Jimmy Kimmel & the FCC: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohPToBog_-g How We Got Here: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2025/5/27/how-we-got-here

A quick reminder to our community of supporters that the Zoom link for today’s salon at 4pm ET was posted on Friday. You can find that here.  Wannabe Trump and eager student of Steve Bannon’s dark arts, Jair Bolsonaro, was sentenced this month to 27 years in prison for inciting his supporters to violently overthrow democracy in Brazil. And where was Bolsonaro during the coup attempt? Florida, of course: a state otherwise known as the Republican National Committee. There, his close allies, including his son, met with Bannon after losing the 2022 election, in the lead up to their January 8, 2023 insurrection. So why did Brazil hold its coup plotters accountable while America did not? The short answer: white people. For generations, white America has enjoyed relative prosperity and peace, told endlessly that this is the greatest country on Earth, ever. That has lulled many into a dangerous, willful coma of complacency, one that Stephen Miller and MAGA’s disastrous policies will shatter, the hard way. Will it take years, or will it take decades? That depends on how we use the next 12 months to help mobilize a resilient grassroots resistance–more on that in coming episodes.  Featured in this special episode, for more on Brazil’s inspiring resistance, listen to this excerpt from our Gaslit Nation Book Club discussion in August, where we looked at two powerful films about art and resistance. The Lives of Others (2006), by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, follows a Stasi officer whose heart is changed by spying on artists. We also discussed I’m Still Here (2024) by Walter Salles, based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir about his extraordinary mother, Eunice Paiva, who stood up to Brazil’s military dictatorship, fought for justice for her disappeared husband–a dissident politician, and later championed indigenous rights in the Amazon as a human rights lawyer. The full discussion can be found here on Patreon.  We’re sharing this excerpt now to celebrate Bolsonaro’s conviction and as a reminder that America must wake up. In the weeks ahead, Gaslit Nation will ramp up for the 2026 Midterms, sharing strategies to protect our vote and counter Republican ratf*cking. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, our September Book Club read is the short but powerful Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford. Join the discussion at the Gaslit Nation Salon this Monday, September 29, at 4 PM. See you there! 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 AP News Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for coup plot https://apnews.com/article/brazil-bolsonaro-supreme-court-trial-coup-attempt-f95765c36dbbdc3355ad3af0b70eacf6  Reuters — Brazilians protest efforts to shield Bolsonaro https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazilians-protest-efforts-shield-bolsonaro-lawmakers-courts-2025-09-21/ Los Angeles Times — Bolsonaro in Florida as Brazil riots erupt https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-10/us-bolsonaro-florida-brazil-riots Washington Post — Bannon and Trump allies advised Bolsonaro’s circle https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/23/brazil-bolsonaro-bannon/ The Atlantic — Brazil Stood Up for Its Democracy. Why Didn’t the U.S.? https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/brazil-bolsonaro-coup/681788/ ACLU — Supreme Court grants Trump broad immunity for official acts https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-grants-trump-broad-immunity-for-official-acts-placing-presidents-above-the-law  

A Gaslit Nation listener once asked me: What’s the canary in the coal mine for American democracy? My answer: when they come for the comedians. Because when authoritarians kill the jokes, they kill the dissent. Look at Russia. In Putin’s early years, Kukly, a wildly popular political satire by smack-talking puppets, mocked him mercilessly. One of his first moves? Force media consolidation. Suddenly, the show vanished. Fast forward 25 years to today, you can’t hold an anti-war sign in Moscow without being arrested.  As The New York Times reported back in 2000: “‘Kukly’ is political satire. But that is like calling an ermine a rodent. By turns vicious, obscene, hilarious and knowing, it has long been the most popular television show in Russia. At 10 p.m. on any given Sunday, more than half the nation’s sets are riveted on the program.” [Emphasis mine]. Now it’s happening here. Trump and the far-right are consolidating media ownership, especially local stations, while evangelicals push their “Seven Mountains Mandate” to seize control of religion, family, government, business, education, arts, and, of course, media. Trump is their “God’s imperfect vessel"–like many strongmen featured in the Old Testament, bulldozing what’s left of democracy in a white-rage backlash to the Civil Rights movement. Formerly “woke” Disney CEO Bob Iger, who previously denounced Trump’s Muslim ban and Florida’s anti-gay laws, is now in the crosshairs, pressured by Nexstar and Sinclair, Republican-aligned networks with monopoly-level reach. But Disney did this to itself, and the country, by giving a convicted felon a $15 million “charitable contribution” to his “presidential library” to settle a defamation suit. That surrender paved the way for the widespread mainstream media capitulation helping Trump consolidate power.  Jimmy Kimmel has now been silenced for saying what Gaslit Nation also pointed out: Charlie Kirk’s killer came from the same white, male, MAGA gun culture that empowered Trump. That truth cost Kimmel his platform, so far, but thanks to you, our listeners, we can keep saying it. So who rescues us as Trump tries to turn America into Russia? Enter KPop Demon Hunters. Netflix’s massive hit–its most watched film–is a reminder that the free market still caters to the people. America’s greatest export isn’t oil or weapons. It’s culture, humor, art. Our comedians are resistance fighters with punchlines. Which means one of the best ways to fight fascism is simple: dictators hate truth and humor. Every single one of us pointing out the truth, and having a damn good time while doing it, will break the fever of this dystopian feverdream. Because pay attention to Kimmel’s monologue that got him pulled from air: he goes into length on Trump’s Epstein cover-up. Listen here for yourself or in the end of this week’s bonus show. Like Gaslit Nation warned, Charlie Kirk’s murder is being used as part of the larger Epstein cover-up.  For our Patreon members, this week’s lively salon has already been posted, along with the Zoom link for next week’s salon. You can find that here. See you Monday at 4pm ET. If you would like to join our weekly hang outs and help support our independent journalism, get all episodes add free, bonus shows and more, be sure to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Show Notes: ABC agrees to give $15 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle defamation lawsuit https://apnews.com/article/abc-trump-lawsuit-defamation-stephanopoulos-04aea8663310af39ae2a85f4c1a56d68 Trump Celebrates Kimmel Suspension As Right Rages Over Charlie Kirk Killing: Live Updates https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-king-charles-live-updates_n_68c80c2be4b0642964ce9b92 Seven Questions with Perry Sook https://rbr.com/seven-questions-with-perry-sook/ TV's Impious Puppets: On Kremlin's Hit List? https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/18/world/tv-s-impious-puppets-on-kremlin-s-hit-list.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare What is the ‘Seven Mountains Mandate’ and how is it linked to political extremism in the US? https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/07/10/what-is-the-seven-mountains-mandate-and-how-is-it-linked-to-political-extremism-in-the-us/ 1990 report: Ivana Trump told her lawyer Donald Trump kept Hitler speeches beside bed https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/12/18/donald-trump-campaign-rhetoric-cnc-vpx.cnn Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/rbreich.bsky.social/post/3lz5hoh3dip23 Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/jamellebouie.net/post/3lz5faps5tk2g Jimmy Kimmel Surprised That Bombshell Jeffrey Epstein Tapes About Trump Friendship Aren’t Getting More Attention https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jimmy-kimmel-jeffrey-epstein-tapes-trump-friendship-1236200783/ Jimmy Kimmel’s Epstein monologue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHT7ICvMtlA&t=573s

This September marks eight years since Donald Trump cozied up to pariah dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt on the sidelines of the United Nations—a secret meeting that reportedly triggered a highly secretive Mueller investigation into whether Trump accepted a $10 million bribe from el-Sisi when his 2016 campaign was desperate for cash. Last summer, Gaslit Nation ran a special episode unpacking this sweeping corruption scandal; you can read a summary here and listen to the episode here. Fast forward to Trump’s Middle East tour this past spring, where he once again explicitly told the world that American foreign policy under his influence isn’t about democracy or the rule of law: it’s about making deals that just so happen to enrich him and his family.  Joining Gaslit Nation to explain what Trump’s fire sale of influence to the highest bidder means for the Middle East and us here at home is Ahmed Gatnash, co-founder and Executive Director of the Kawaakibi Foundation, a powerhouse MENA human rights organization, and co-author of The Middle East Crisis Factory. Gatnash brings a razor-sharp analysis of Russia’s expanding grip on the Middle East, the unbreakable spirit of the Syrian people fighting for freedom, and the surprising ways bitcoin is being used as a lifeline for human rights activists who know how to navigate its pitfalls. He also tears into the so-called “two-state solution”—overwhelmingly voted on by the United Nations last week—as nothing more than political theater, and shares his vision of what Palestinians and Israelis truly need to secure real, lasting peace. This week’s bonus show dives into MAGA’s latest wave of threats against the opposition and what a full-scale crackdown could look like–what’s likely, what’s unlikely, and what’s already happening that we need to pay attention to. Catch the full discussion this Friday morning by joining our Patreon community. Thank you to everyone who makes Gaslit Nation possible–we could not make our show without you!  EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: September 29 4pm ET – Join the Gaslit Nation Book Club for a discussion of Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah Bradford.  Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join here.  Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join here. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available here. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available here. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available here. 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 for our community Show Notes: Qatar, Russia sign agreement to jointly invest 2 billion euros into sovereign wealth funds https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250423-qatar-russia-sign-agreement-to-jointly-invest-2-billion-euros-into-sovereign-wealth-funds/ Michael Flynn, Russia and a Grand Scheme to Build Nuclear Power Plants in Saudi Arabia and the Arab World https://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/23/flynn-russia-nuclear-energy-middle-east-iran-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-donald-623396.html Why Qatar is Bribing Trump https://open.substack.com/pub/popularinformation/p/why-qatar-is-bribing-trump?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2mrjsl House Democrats ask Trump for proof he did not take $10 million 'cash bribe' from Egypt https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/03/trump-egypt-democrats-letter.html Trump touts Saudi relationship as "bedrock of security and prosperity" amid $600 billion investment deal https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-speaking-us-saudi-investment-summit-riyadh/ 2 Trump-aligned GOP operatives face foreign agent charges for helping Qatar https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/02/trump-gop-qatar-00133567 Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G08.dUBd.YVKXSVfgqo8i&smid=url-share The Qatar bribery allegations featuring Trump, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, and the Steele dossier, explained https://theweek.com/speedreads/773479/qatar-bribery-allegations-featuring-trump-michael-cohen-michael-flynn-steele-dossier-explained Qatar pursues US-Iranian nuclear steps after detainee swap https://www.reuters.com/world/qatar-pursues-us-iranian-nuclear-steps-after-detainee-swap-2023-09-20/ Exclusive: Qatar held separate talks with US, Iran touching on nuclear, drones https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/qatar-held-separate-talks-with-us-iran-touching-nuclear-drones-2023-09-20/ Iran seeks Russia’s support for its nuclear talks with US https://apnews.com/article/iran-russia-us-nuclear-negotiations-2bae3b073bcac464ad9b44a8d5a4c581

The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk raises questions of accountability amid rising political violence. The episode links his death to a larger narrative involving Jeffrey Epstein and echoes of authoritarianism in America. It delves into the frightening parallels with Nazi Germany and the urgent need to confront these challenges. Tensions grow as Trump capitalizes on Kirk's demise to rally his base against democracy defenders. The conversation stresses the importance of demanding full transparency and justice for Epstein's victims.