
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

May 26, 2024 • 49min
The Freedom to Dominate with Jefferson Cowie
Sam interviews historian Dr. Jefferson Cowie, author of Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power (winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize). Jeff serves as the James G. Stahlman Chair in the Department of History at Vanderbilt University. He was recently honored with a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship - in part, in anticipation of his upcoming project, tentatively titled Crosswinds of a Common History. You can find more of Jeff's writing including information on his other three books here.
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Mentioned in the episode:
The ‘Unified Reich’ Scandal is a Feature Not a Bug of Trump's Brand of American Fascism by Annika Brockschmidt for Religion Dispatches
Refuse Fascism episode 181: The Evangelical Prophets Anointing Trump with Matthew D. Taylor
Straight White American Jesus Special Episode: Justice Alito Let's His Appeal to Heaven Flag Fly
The Supreme Court's new voting rights decision is a love letter to gerrymandering by Ian Millhiser for Vox
Refuse Fascism episode 197: Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto
Fascism in America? (Part 1 of a deep dive into the "fascism debate") by Thomas Zimmer
The Anti-Liberal Left Has a Fascism Problem (Part 2 of a deep dive into the "fascism debate") by Thomas Zimmer

May 20, 2024 • 59min
Perspectives on Stopping Fascism in the US in 2024
This week Sam Goldman (@SamBGoldman) and Coco Das (@Coco_Das) have a wide ranging conversation with Dr. Clarence Lusane and Sunsara Taylor over what it will take to stop fascism in the United States. We discuss the 2024 elections in the context of the prospect of civil war, the genocide in Gaza and the uprising to stop it, the threat of today's wars spiraling out of control, the nature of the fascist threat, and the possibility of wrenching a better future out of this moment.
Dr. Clarence Lusane is a political science professor and interim political science department chair at Howard University, and independent expert to the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance. HIs latest book is Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy. Read more from Dr. Lusane here
Sunsara Taylor (@SunsaraTaylor) is the co-host of the RNL (Revolution Nothing Less) Show on YouTube. She helped initiate Refuse Fascism in the aftermath of the election of Trump. Sunsara led tens of thousands into the streets against the overturn of Roe v Wade w/ RiseUp4AbortionRights.
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related Episodes:
The Cataclysm of a Second Trump Term
Sunsara Taylor: Forced Motherhood = Female Enslavement
This American Fascism: A Retrospective

May 12, 2024 • 51min
The Wannabe Fascist
Sam discusses the events of this past week including Trump's trials (including what's getting prosecuted and what's being postponed indefinitely), the escalating genocide in Gaza as the Israeli military started to invade Rafah and the ongoing bravery of students across the country who continue to demand an end to this genocide.
Then, we share an interview with acclaimed historian and returning guest Dr. Federico Finchelstein to discuss his latest book The Wannabe Fascists: A Guide to Understanding the Greatest Threat to Democracy. Dr. Finchelstein serves as Professor of History at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York City. He is also the author of From Fascism to Populism in History (published 2017/2019) A Brief History of Fascist Lies, (published in 2020) and Fascist Mythologies The History and Politics of Unreason in Borges, Freud, and Schmitt (published in 2022). Follow him on Twitter at @FinchelsteinF.
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Mentioned in this Episode:
U of C student interviewed by FOX 32 from the frontlines about what the student movement is fighting for.
Related Episodes:
Fascist Lies with Federico Finchelstein
Federico Finchelstein: "White Replacement Theory" & Fascism

May 5, 2024 • 1h 32min
This American Fascism: A Retrospective
We're sharing a round-up of excerpts from interviews over the past four years with 20 experts on fascism. If you want to know "what is US fascism in this century" or "who are the fascists in America" or "where did fascism in the US come from" - this is your crash course (and it's episode 200!).
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Mentioned in this Episode:
How Far Trump Would Go by Eric Cortalessa (Time)
Featuring:
Jeff Sharlet - Episode 31 (11/29/20)
Jason Stanley - Episode 20 (10/4/20)
Michael Coard - Episode 12 (8/9/20)
Coco Das - Episode 54 (4/11/21)
Walden Bello - Episode 61 (5/30/21)
Thomas Zimmer - Episode 92 (1/2/22)
Annika Brockschmidt - Episode 103 (3/20/22)
Andy Zee - Episode 32 (12/10/20)
Federico Finchelstein - Episode 49 (3/7/21)
Jared Yates Sexton - Episode 6 (6/28/20)
Henry Giroux - Episode 42 (1/24/21)
Anthony DiMaggio - Episode 108 (4/24/22)
Wajahat Ali - Episode 140 (12/31/22)
Anthea Butler - Episode 91 (12/26/21)
Bradley Onishi - Episode 140 (12/31/22)
Dahlia Lithwick - Episode 91 (12/26/21)
Ruth Ben Ghiat - Episode 3 (6/7/20)
Umair Haque - Episode 48 (2/28/21)
Jeff Sharlet - Episode 150 (3/26/23)
Jared Yates Sexton - Episode 91 (12/26/21)
Brynn Tannehill - Episode 57 (5/2/21)
Thomas Zimmer - Episode 92 (1/2/22)
Wendy Via - Episode 179 (11/19/23)

Apr 28, 2024 • 1h 3min
"White Rural Rage" with Tom Schaller
It’s been one of those weeks… Sam shares commentary on the wildly fascist logic coming from the Supreme Court this past week (the president is likely immune from prosecution for the attempted coup in Jan 2021, and federal law will likely no longer require emergency rooms to provide life-saving abortions…), the wave of repression sweeping American universities against the courageous students and professors continuing to demand an end to the US-supported genocide in Gaza waged by Israel, plus notes on the indictments released by Arizona against a who’s who list of fascists including the fake electors who attempted to substitute themselves during the 2020 coup attempt.
Then, she talks with Tom Schaller, co-author (along with Paul Waldman) of White Rural Rage. Schaller is a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. A former columnist for The Baltimore Sun, he has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author or co-author of four other books.
Mentioned in the episode:
Donald Trump Already Got What He Needed From the Supreme Court by Madiba K. Dennie for Balls and Strikes
Donald Trump had a fantastic day in the Supreme Court today by Ian Millhiser for Vox
The Supreme Court’s likely to make it more dangerous to be pregnant in a red state by Ian Millhiser for Vox
Supreme Court Justices Hold Lively Debate About How Much Women Should Suffer by Madiba K. Dennie for Balls and Strikes
The US supreme court heard one of the most sadistic, extreme anti-abortion cases yet by Moira Donegan for the Guardian
The Crackdown on Campus Protests Is Happening Everywhere
Fash Supremes Helping Immunize Amerika Against what's Left of Democracy by Paul Street
Supreme "Surprise" by Paul Street
Why did 74 Million Vote for Trump? The simple and basic answer: Because they agree with him. Presentation by Andy Zee
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related Episodes
Carol Anderson: White Supremacy & the Second Amendment
Sarah Posner: The GOP’s Christian Supremacy Problem
The Evangelical Prophets Anointing Trump
The Flag and the Cross and the Little Blue Bird
Samuel Perry: Christian Nationalist Violence Post January 6
Genocide in Gaza, Repression in the US

Apr 21, 2024 • 1h 13min
Constitutional Sheriffs, Militias, and Other Local Fascist Initiatives
Sam talks with three experts on widespread local fascist organizing around the country including the so-called Constitutional Sheriffs movement, the embrace by local governments of right wing militias and fascist efforts to modify the constitution itself.
Devin Burghart (@dburghart) is the Executive Director, at the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights. Carolyn Gallaher is a professor at American University. She has written about rightwing paramilitaries in the U.S. and Northern Ireland. Read more from her here. Follow her on Twitter at @C_OGallachoir or at Bluesky at @cgallaher.bsky.social. CJ Spencer (@ByCJSpencer) wrote How the Far Right-Wing Plans to Obliterate More of Our Constitutional Rights. Read more from them here.
Upcoming Event!Join us for our next Patron-only Virtual Event:Sunday April 28, 5PM ET Book Club Chat discussing Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Register for Zoom at http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism (see pinned post)*Not a patron? Fix that here: http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Mentioned in this Episode:
Inside the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University by Lara-Nour Walton (The Nation)
January 6 insurrectionists had a great day in the Supreme Court today (Most of the justices seem to want to make it harder to prosecute January 6 rioters.) by Ian Millhiser (Vox)
The Supreme Court’s confusing new anti-trans decision, explained (The Court mostly reinstates Idaho’s ban on transgender health care for children.) by Ian Millhiser (Vox)
The Supreme Court effectively abolishes the right to mass protest in three US states (It is no longer safe to organize a protest in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas.) by Ian Millhiser (Vox)

Apr 14, 2024 • 52min
Choices: A Post Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto
Sam talks with Merle Hoffman, long-time abortion rights activist and founder of one of the largest abortion clinics in the country, who has just written a memoir chronicling her decades of experience fighting for abortion rights. Get the book here: Choices: A Post Roe Abortion Rights Manifestomerlehoffman.com and choicesmedical.com or on Twitter: @MerleHoffman.
For those looking for abortion care visit abortionfinder.org and prochoice.org
For funding abortion agencies nationally visit abortionfunds.org.
About the book:
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade and a country divided, a pioneer in the pro-choice movement and women's healthcare offers an unapologetic and authoritative take on abortion and women's right to choose. Merle Hoffman has been at the forefront of the reproductive freedom movement since the 1970s. Three years before the Supreme Court legalized abortion through Roe v. Wade, she helped to establish one of the United States' first abortion centers in Flushing, Queens, and later went on to found Choices, one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive women's medical facilities.
For the last five decades, Hoffman has been a steadfast warrior and fierce advocate for every woman's right to choose when and whether or not to be a mother. Now, amidst the aftermath of the Dobbs Decision, Hoffman has carefully compiled her decades of analysis, research, and experience into a tour de force manifesto that sheds light on the catastrophic repercussions of overturning Roe, and what we must do moving forward to ensure the safety and legality of abortion nationally. In Choices, Hoffman expresses her views on where we are and what lies ahead. She covers topics ranging from: revamping the healthcare system to support women's rights; combatting rising authoritarianism; the weaponization of religion; fighting the antis; practicing courage; sabotage from within
the movement; and activating the next generation in the fight for reproductive justice.
Upcoming Event!Join us for our next Patron-only Virtual Event:Sunday April 28, 5PM ET Book Club Chat discussing Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Register for Zoom at Patreon.com/RefuseFascism (see pinned post)*Not a patron? Fix that here: patreon.com/refusefascism
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related Episodes:
Rick Perlstein: The Infernal Triangle + Christian Nationalist Project 2025
Project 2025: Roadmap for Fascist Consolidation
Abortion, Birth Control and What’s Next with Roxy Szal + Commentary From Coco Das
Voices from Abortion Rights Frontlines in Iowa
Speedbumps on the Highway to Christian Fascism and the Resistance Still Needed
The Fascist Attack On Medication Abortion
The Post-Dobbs Human Rights Emergency

Mar 31, 2024 • 44min
Fascism On Trial with Anthony DiMaggio and Henry Giroux
Sam welcomes back onto the show Anthony DiMaggio and Henry Giroux to discuss their latest book Fascism on Trial: Education and the Possibility of Democracy. Dr. Henry A. Giroux is a renowned educator and author of multiple books on fascism and pedagogy. He holds the Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University, Canada. Follow Dr. Giroux on Twitter at @HenryGiroux and visit his website at henryagiroux.com.
Dr. Anthony R. DiMaggio is a Professor of Political Science at Lehigh University, USA. He is the author of Rising Fascism in America: It Can Happen Here. Read his writings at Counterpunch and Salon.
Upcoming Event!
Join us for our next Patron-only Virtual Event:April 28, 5PM ET Book Club Chat discussing Prophet Song by Paul Lynch*Not a patron? Fix that here: patreon.com/refusefascism
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Previous Episodes with Henry Giroux:The Nazification of American Education Trump Is Not Trumpism and Trumpism Is Not Dead
Previous Episodes with Anthony DiMaggio:The Continuing January 6 Coup It Can, It Has, It Is Happening Here The Evidence of Rising Neo-Fascism

Mar 24, 2024 • 35min
Fascism Isn't Just a German Problem
Sam speaks to the Supreme Court facilitating the further erosion of civil rights & foreboding upcoming elections outside of the U.S.
Then, frequent guest and guest host of the show, Coco Das shares reflections on SB4 (Texas' "Show Me Your Papers" law) and talks with award-winning Turkish writer and political thinker Ece Temelkuran discussing her essay in Prospect Magazine, Fascism isn’t just a German problem. Follow Ece on Twitter @ETemelkuran. She'll be speaking at Ways Forward in a Divided World, Georgetown University Global Dialogues April 22-26.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Supreme Court grants Gov. Greg Abbott's wish to turn Texas into a far-right dictatorship by Amanda Marcotte The Fascist Attack on Medication Abortion
Upcoming Event!
Join us for our next Patron-only Virtual Event:April 28, 5PM ET Book Club Chat discussing Prophet Song by Paul Lynch*Not a patron? Fix that here: patreon.com/refusefascism
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown

Mar 17, 2024 • 1h
Genocide in Gaza, Repression in the US
Sam comments on the downward spiral of the legal cases against Trump and the further consolidation of the RNC and “conservative movement” around MAGA fascism. Then, we share two interviews with people who have been actively resisting the escalating genocide in Gaza.
First, a conversation with Dr. Nicole Erin Morse, Associate Professor of Media Studies and former Director of the Center for Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Florida Atlantic University. They are a scholar of queer and trans media production and a community organizer in South Florida with Jewish Voice for Peace and the Community Hotline for Incarcerated People. Read their op-ed I Refuse to Endorse Zionism, So I Am Resigning From My Leadership Position.
Then Sam chats with Lela Tolajian, human rights activist and Georgetown University student about the genocide in Gaza, action being taken on college campuses and beyond to stop it, and the efforts to suppress that movement. Read her op-ed We, Jewish students, must not be silent on the genocide in Gaza. Follow her on Twitter at @LTolajian.
Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (@RefuseFascism) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out @samgoldmanrf.
You can also send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or @SamBGoldman. Record a voice message for the show here. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:
· paypal.me/refusefascism
· donate.refusefascism.org
· patreon.com/refusefascism
· Venmo: Refuse-Fascism
· Cashapp: $RefuseFascism
Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown
Related Episodes:
Combatting Disinformation Susan Neiman on Universalism Against Nationalism Stop the Genocide in Gaza