

Refuse Fascism
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.
Hosted by Sam Goldman, produced by volunteers with Refuse Fascism.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 24, 2024 • 55min
The Originalism Trap With Madiba K. Dennie
This week Sam shares commentary on the second anniversary of the overturn of Roe & the stripping away of the federal protection of abortion rights. Then she welcomes Madiba K. Dennie back on the show to discuss originalism as the underlying theory behind some of the worst recent Supreme Court decisions. Madiba is the Deputy Editor and Senior Contributor at Balls & Strikes and author of The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We The People Can Take It Back. You can follow Madiba on X-Twitter @AudreLawdAMercy (and audrelawdamercy on Bluesky).
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:
Refuse Fascism episode 197 with Merle Hoffman: Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto
Refuse Fascism episode 205: Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy
Anatomy of a Christian Nationalist Strategy: Ten Commandments in Louisiana by Sarah Posner
Supreme Court Rules Against Married Couple in Blow to Immigrant Families by Mike Ludwig, TruthoutThe US supreme court’s rightwing justices are fighting legal monsters of their making by Moira Donegan, The Guardian
Related Interviews:
The Court Is Wrong; Color-Blindness Serving White Supremacy
Andrew Seidel: American Crusades & the Supreme Court
The Freedom to Dominate with Jefferson Cowie

Jun 17, 2024 • 44min
Constructing MAGA Lore: Trump's Convictions, January 6 and American Political Violence
This week Mark Tinkleman guest hosts the pod, covering SCOTUS decisions on the abortion medication mifepristone as well as gun control, Trump’s support from powerful people, the Southern Baptist Convention's attack on IVF, and a listener’s feedback.
Then Sam welcomes researcher Teddy Wilson back on to discuss how the MAGA movement is weaving Trump's conviction and Jan. 6 into a lore of violence and victimization. They discuss the historical similarities between the events surrounding Jan. 6th and other episodes of political violence in American history and understanding the roots of the US fascist movement.
Follow Teddy's Substack, Radical Reports and listen to his new podcast “Insurrectionist Cookbook."
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:
There’s a Time Bomb Hidden In the Supreme Court’s Abortion Pills Decision by Madiba Dennie on Balls and StrikesThe Right’s Politics of Revenge by Thomas Zimmer
Related Interviews:
Teddy Wilson on the Metastasizing Fascist Base
Teddy Wilson: Fascist Violence Accelerated
The Convicted Felon & “Day One” Dictator
Ian Millhiser on Trump’s Trials + Paul Street on Jan 6 Anniversary

Jun 9, 2024 • 59min
Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy
Sam interviews filmmaker Stephen Ujlaki about his latest film Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy. This feature-length documentary is available for streaming on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Google Play & YouTube. See trailer here. For information about the film, including a listing of screenings & how to organize a screening in your community visit badfaithdocumentary.com.
From the Variety review of the film:
"The Christian Nationalist movement was the driving force behind the January 6 insurrection, and what we saw there was a preview of their ideals and methods: a frothing hostility toward the U.S. government, coupled with the willingness to use violence. Russell Moore, the editor
of Christianity Today, talks about how the new wave of Christianity is “a church growth movement, but for angry people. A sense of theatrical anger feels, to some, like depth of conviction.” Yet even on Jan. 6, these “rebels,” participating in their own form of action-movie cosplay, were, like Trump himself, at least somewhat constrained. What “Bad Faith” captures is that Christian Nationalists now have the potential to be the shock troops in a second and far more threatening Trump presidency."
Plus, Sam discusses the increasingly dire situation for women across the country where abortion has been banned, the latest developments for immigrants, the perfidious US-Israeli war crime that just killed 200 Palestinian civilians, and more.
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:
Post-Dobbs, Abortion Bans Have Given Abusers a New Power by Kylie Cheung for Jezebel
Implausible Deniability Republicans know exactly what abortion bans are doing by Jessica Valenti
Refuse Fascism Podcast Ep 197 - Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto an interview with Merle Hoffman
Refuse Fascism Podcast Ep 193 - Rick Perlstein: The Infernal Triangle + Christian Nationalist Project 2025 (an interview with Jenny Cohn)
The Theocratic Blueprint for Trump’s Next Term by Chris Lehman for The Nation
Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation Podcast Series written by Matthew D. Taylor and produced by Bradley Onishi
Refuse Fascism Podcast Ep 98 Anne Nelson: Media, Money, & the Secret Hub of the Radical Right
Refuse Fascism Podcast Ep 93 Samuel Perry: Christian Nationalist Violence Post January 6
Related Episodes:
Combatting Disinformation
The Evangelical Prophets Anointing Trump
The Nightmare That Is House Speaker Mike Johnson

Jun 2, 2024 • 1h 9min
The Convicted Felon & “Day One” Dictator
Sam discusses the historic guilty verdict that was just rendered by a jury against Trump this past week (34 felonies for falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, all for the purposes of ensuring his illegitimate election in 2016), along with the slew of unhinged fascist threats and rants that have come in the aftermath of the verdict.
Then, as this guilty verdict has in no way stopped his campaign for power again, she talks with two contributors to the June issue of The New Republic titled What American Fascism Would Look Like. Emmanuel Guerisoli discusses his essay The “Day One” Dictatorship (co-authored by Federico Finchelstein). Emmanuel is postdoctoral fellow at the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at the New School. He can be followed at @emmaGuerisoli.
Then, Francisco Goldman discusses his essay From Texas to Massachusetts: On the border in a fascist America. Francisco is a novelist and journalist. His most recent novel is Monkey Boy, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He can be followed on ex-Twitter at @PacoGoldman or on Instagram @franciscogoldman.
Mentioned in this episode:
Escalator Redux by Jeff Sharlet (Scenes From a Slow Civil War)
The United States Looks Like a Sick Joke, The Paul Street Report
Trump’s Online MAGA Army Calls Guilty Verdict a Declaration of War by Tess Owen for Wired
Right-Wingers Are Already Promising Vengeance After The Trump Verdict by Matt Shuham and Christopher Mathias for HuffPost
“Make Them Pay”—The Far Right Responds to Trump’s Conviction By Kiera Butler for Mother Jones
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:
This American Fascism: A Retrospective
The Wannabe Fascist
The Freedom to Dominate with Jefferson Cowie
The Nightmare Immigrants Face at the Texas Border
Perspectives on Stopping Fascism in the US in 2024

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)