
Refuse Fascism
The Refuse Fascism podcast is an independent and all-volunteer show that produces weekly episodes that expose, analyze, and oppose the very real danger and threat of fascism coming to power in the United States.
Hosted by Sam Goldman, produced by volunteers with Refuse Fascism.
Latest episodes

Mar 20, 2022 • 50min
Annika Brockschmidt: America's Holy Warriors + What a "No Fly Zone" Really Means
Sam Goldman interviews Annika Brockschmidt, German freelance journalist and podcast host, author of America's Holy Warriors: How the Religious Rights Endangers Democracy.
Follow Annika on Twitter at @ardenthistorian. If you speak German you will want to check out her podcast (co-hosted with recent Refuse Fascism podcast guest Thomas Zimmer), Kreuz und Flagge (Cross and Flag). Read her recent piece on Religion Dispatches: Don’t Laugh at Rick Scott’s ‘Plan to Rescue America’ or Be Fooled by Reports of a ‘Backlash’ — His Only Mistake Was Revealing the Truth of Today’s GOP
Then, we share a clip of a conversation with Andy Zee and Paul Street, members of the Refuse Fascism editorial board, from The RNL Show, discussing Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and what a US-enforced "no fly zone" actually means. Read Paul's recent article: Let Us Not Talk Falsely Now: Reflections on War, Peace, and Ukraine.
Recommended Reading on Abortion Rights Emergency:
Florida’s Abortion Ban Will Obliterate Access in the South by Anna Eskamani
Idaho’s New Anti-Abortion Law Offers Cash Bounties to Rapists’ Family Members by Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern
The Pseudoscience That Could Kill Women by Sarah Jones
Missouri’s Proposed Anti-Abortion Law Has an Eerie Resemblance to the Fugitive Slave Act by Pema Levy
RiseUp4AbortionRights.org is calling for more emergency mobilizations; find out more at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown

Mar 13, 2022 • 47min
Student Walkouts Against "Don't Say Gay" Law + Stopping Business as Usual
Sam Goldman interviews student organizers of recent walk-outs in Florida against the new law excluding LGBTQ people from primary school curricula. Then, voices from the International Women's Day march for abortion on demand and without apology including: Michelle Xai, Merle Hoffman, Lori Sokol, Kathy Najimy, Dr. Bruce Price, Beila, Betty, Araceli Herrera, Sunsara Taylor, Rev. Jacqui Lewis, and V (formerly Eve Ensler).
Translated remarks from Araceli Herrera: "I was raped. I suffered for years. I was made fun of by people, by my neighbors, by my family. But the worst people were the ones that made the laws that prohibits abortions. And today I’ve stopped crying. Today is the day we begin to take to the streets and scream loudly. I have the right to choose! I have the right to have an abortion! Because it is my life, because it is my body! Because we have the right to decide! It’s my choice! I won’t allow them to take it away. Women, raise your voice! Get into the streets! Starting today until the day of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court decision that will affect our lives. Let’s get out and shout: we will not allow you to take away our right!"
RiseUp4AbortionRights.org is calling for meetings next weekend to organize for more emergency mobilizations; find out more at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown

Mar 7, 2022 • 49min
War in Ukraine + Defending the Right to Abortion
Sam Goldman interviews Marc Eliot Stein with World Beyond War about Russia's attack on Ukraine and what comes next. Follow Marc on Twitter at @asheresque and listen to the World Beyond War podcast here: worldbeyondwar.org/podcast.
Recommended reading: A Hellish War in Ukraine: Where the Hell Did This Come From?
Then, we share voices from the abortion rights speakout Feb. 27th in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City hosted by RiseUp4AbortionRights.org, calling on people to take to the streets for International Women's Day on March 8. Find a protest near you.
Right now: help organize for mobilizations this spring to demand abortion rights at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown

Feb 27, 2022 • 48min
Sunsara Taylor: Forced Motherhood = Female Enslavement
Sam Goldman shares thoughts and commentary on the latest fascist developments domestic and international. Then we share Sunsara Taylor's remarks from an event Feb. 16 at Revolution Books in Harlem on the abortion rights emergency in the US and a powerful call to action now - before Roe is overturned.
Original video of Sunsara Taylor's remarks
Recommended reading on the crisis with Russia and Ukraine:
The antisemitism animating Putin’s claim to ‘denazify’ Ukraine
by Jason Stanley
Shameless American Chauvinism: “Anti-Authoritarianism” as a “Cover” For Supporting U.S. Imperialism
by Bob Avakian
Right now: help organize for mobilizations this spring to demand abortion rights at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Feb 20, 2022 • 55min
The #FluTruxKlan + Voices from Ottawa
Coco Das interviews Steven Mesaros on the fascist trucker convoys that have been harassing and terrorizing residents of Ottawa for several weeks. Mesaros is a Canadian political science Ph.D student studying emerging far-right authoritarian movements. Follow him on Twitter at @RestoreTheReal. Then, Coco talks to some of the activists who mobilized in Ottawa against the convoys after the authorities refused to act to stop them, successfully shutting them down and even persuading some of them to go home. Follow these Canadian organizers: Andrea Harden (@andiharden), Sam Hersh (@SamHersh01) and David Chernushenko (@chernushenko).
Recommended reading on the fascist convoys:
For many inside the Freedom Convoy, faith fuels the resistance
The So-Called “Truckers’ Protest”:A Major Initiative by Canadian—and International—Fascist Forces
The whole world should be worried by the ‘siege of Ottawa’. This is about much more than a few anti-vaxx truckers
Tweet Coco Das at @Coco_Das. Right now: help organize for mobilizations this spring to demand abortion rights at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Feb 13, 2022 • 44min
Anne Nelson: Media, Money & the Secret Hub of the Radical Right
Sam Goldman interviews Anne Nelson, author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right (get your paperback copy, updated after January 6th) and Research Scholar at Columbia University. Find more of her work at anne-nelson.com and follow her on Twitter at @anelsona. Her work investigating the Council for National Policy (CNP), which includes many well-known and not-so-well-known actors is essential for understanding the fascist movement in the US. Also see: "Religious Right Fuels National Attack On School Boards, Exploiting Parental Frustration Over Covid Restraints" in the Washington Spectator.
The conversation was rich with agreement as well as some disagreements, and we always appreciate the opportunity to dig into these substantive issues and the paths forward to solve the continuing crisis. Also mentioned in this episode: Inside Patriot Front: The Masked White Supremacists On A Nationwide Hate Crime Spree.
Right now: help organize for mobilizations this spring to demand abortion rights at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Feb 6, 2022 • 46min
Tony Wolf: Art and Pushing Back Against Fascism
Sam Goldman interviews Tony Wolf, actor and artist (view his diverse resume at tonywolfactor.com) about fascism, culture, and cultivating a variety of forms of pushback against the fascists. His comic essay “Where is Evil?” can be seen at brokenfrontier.com where he writes, “I sought to share my personal reflections as I grappled with how to process the acts of the Trump administration and the GOP / conservative supporters who have backed this utterly vile man.” Follow him on Twitter at @tonywolfness.
Right now: help organize for mobilizations this spring to demand abortion rights at riseup4abortionrights.org.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
paypal.me/refusefascism
donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Jan 30, 2022 • 52min
The Evidence of Rising Neo-Fascism
Coco Das interviews Dr. Anthony DiMaggio, author of the new book, Rising Fascism in America (order from Routledge here). Dr. DiMaggio is Associate Professor of Political Science at Lehigh University. His research emphasizes the interactions between politics, social movements, the news media, and the American right. He is the author of 9 books, including Political Power in America (2019), Rebellion in America (Routledge 2020) and Unequal America (Routledge 2021). He has been an active participant in social movement politics for the last two decades, and is an avid social commentator. Follow his writings at Counterpunch.org. Dr. DiMaggio previously appeared on episode 27: Our System is Not Equipped to Deal With a Bad Actor Like Trump.
Plus voices from the launch of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights on the 49th anniversary of Roe V. Wade January 2: Sunsara Taylor, Lori Sokol, Merle Hoffman and Katea Stitt.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
paypal.me/refusefascism
donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Jan 23, 2022 • 44min
Kathryn Joyce: The Ideology Behind a "Benevolent" US Theocracy
Refuse Fascism helped kick off Rise Up For Abortion Rights (riseup4abortionrights.org) yesterday in Washington, D.C. (Common Dreams coverage). Get involved in this initiative and help plan protests around the country starting immediately and growing into this spring - register for the Zoom organizing conference January 30, 2 - 4pm Eastern here.
This week, Sam interviews author and investigative reporter Kathryn Joyce on the power of ideology in the fascist movement; especially how and why Hungary is a model for the GOP. Follow Joyce on Twitter at @kathrynajoyce and find more of her work at kathrynjoyce.com. Read her recent piece for Salon: "Parental rights" started on the Christian fringe — now it's the GOP's winning issue and for The New Republic: The New Right’s Grim, Increasingly Popular Fantasies of an International Nationalism.
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
paypal.me/refusefascism
donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Jan 16, 2022 • 38min
Rise Up for Abortion Rights!
Mark interviews Sam Goldman about the new project aiming to mobilize and actually defeat the assault on abortion rights, riseup4abortionrights.org.
Read and sign the new statement to Rise Up for Abortion Rights here. Share it on social media. Join us at noon on Jan 22, at the Supreme Court in DC, and going forward nationwide — fighting to WIN!
Refuse Fascism is more than just a podcast! You can get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Or leave a voicemail at 917-426-7582. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
Venmo: @Refuse-Fascism
Cashapp: @RefuseFascism
paypal.me/refusefascism
donate.refusefascism.org
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.