Inform Your Resistance

In this conversation with Lauren Jacobs from PowerSwitch Action, the discussion focuses on the role of worker power in combating authoritarianism. Lauren and host Koki Mendis explore the allure of reactionary anti-state narratives in explaining worker precarity and how labor organizing can present counter-narratives and options for reducing worker suffering. They also discuss the barriers to unionization posed by corporations, the relationship between worker organizing and the presidential administrations, and the impact of municipal and county governing structures on worker power formation.EPISODE RESOURCES:“Austerity Kills,” a PRA Webinar featuring Saqib Bhatti, Lauren Jacobs, Daniel HoSang, and Donald Cohen, 2020. “Precarity: The American Way,” a PRA Webinar featuring Aislinn Pulley, Jessica Quiason, and Gabriel Winant, 2021. “Who Works for the Workers?” by Gabriel Winant, n+1, 2016.“Seizing Labor’s Moment w/ Alex Press & Eric Blanc,” The Dig, 2023.  “How to Build a Fighting Labor Movement w/ Jane McAlevey,” The Dig, 2023. “On the Line w/ Daisy Pitkin,” The Dig, 2022. EPISODE KEYWORDS:Worker Power, Labor Organizing, Labor Strikes, National Labor Relations Act, Community Organizing, Unions, Corporations, Union Busting, Capitalism, Authoritarianism.

In this eye-opening interview, Dr. Chrissy Stroop peels back the layers of Christian dominionism, and explains how this ideology is deeply woven into the fabric of Christian homeschooling.Dr. Chrissy Stroop is both a former insider and an expert scholar. She has long written and shared candid stories of growing up in a Christian educational environment. Here, she recounts the ways in which evangelical ideology was deeply woven into her own educational experiences. Her experiences are a prism for a deep exploration into the world of Christian homeschooling and its dominionist influence throughout the country. As Dr. Stroop explains, the pervasiveness of Seven Mountains Dominionism in homeschooling spaces should not be underestimated. More than an implicit ideology, it is often central to the curricula adopted by homeschooling parents. We discuss the organizations, institutions, and ideologies behind Christian (home)schooling. We explore the role of the John Birch Society and the Council for National Policy in the grassroots development of the public school exit initiative. We discuss far-right movements that are supported by the DeVos family's school choice agenda. We also explore resistance, including the influential work of activists like R.L. Stollar and Torah Bontrager, as well as the importance of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We consider the strategic defense against these movements and how to promote true separation of church and state, as well as religious pluralism.Dr. Stroop also considers the valid reasons for pulling kids out of public schools in order to homeschool them, the difficulties of finding non-right-wing Christian co-ops and curricula, and explores how homeschooling families that do not support the right-wing Christian agenda often end up allying themselves with the Right, unintentionally.

Frederick Clarkson, a seasoned analyst of politics and religion, teams up with André Gagné, an expert on theological perspectives, to illuminate the New Apostolic Reformation. They dive into its potential to reshape U.S. democracy, highlighting the intertwining of militant Christian ideologies with political extremism. The conversation reveals how violent beliefs are proliferating and the historical roots of this movement, shedding light on its rise and profound implications for American political landscapes.

In this episode, Koki interviews Laura Pulido, Collins Chair and Professor of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies and Geography at the University of Oregon, who studies race, environmental justice, and cultural memory. They discuss the intersection of racial and climate denialism, and how these realms of politics, understanding, and identity buttress one another. Laura and Koki dig into some of the key insights from Pulido's work, an invaluable vocabulary with which to parse the salience of emotion, identity, and belonging in crystallizing and simultaneously mobilizing oppressive political ideologies and practice in the face of environmental injustice. EPISODE RESOURCESThe “Business-as-Usual” of Right-Wing Climate Realism by Ajay Singh Chaudhary, Political Research Associates, 2024.Cultural Memory, White Innocence, and United States Territory: The 2022 Urban Geography Plenary Lecture by Laura Pulido, Urban Geography, 2023. Distorting the Climate Crisis: Far Right Environmentalism with Alex Amend, Inform Your Resistance Podcast, 2023.Blood and Vanishing Topsoil American Ecofascism Past, Present, and in the Coming Climate Crisis by Alex Amend, Political Research Associates, 2020.From White Privilege to White Supremacy: An Illustrated Interview with Laura Pulido by Danya Al-Saleh & Heather Rosenfeld, Edge Effects, 2016. Wildfire Rumors and Denial in the Trump Era by Laura Pulido in Political Ecologies of the Far Right: Fanning the Flames, 2024. Environmental Deregulation, Spectacular Racism, and White Nationalism in the Trump Era by Laura Pulido, Tianna Bruno, Cristina Faiver-Serna, & Cassandra Galentinein Environmental Governance in a Populist/Authoritarian Era, 2020.Reimagining ‘Justice’ in Environmental Justice: Radical Ecologies, Decolonial Thought, and the Black Radical Tradition by Laura Pulido and Juan De Lara, Environment & Planning E: Nature & Space, 2018.Producers, Parasites, Patriots: Race and the New Right-Wing Politics of Precarity by Daniel Martinez HoSang & Joseph E. Lowndes, UMN Press, 2019.Living in Denial Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life by Kari Marie Norgaard, MIT Press, 2011.--------- EPISODE KEYWORDS ---------Climate Denial, Climate Denialism, Environmental Justice, Environmental Racism, Historic Sites, Memorialization, Memorials, Oregon, Racial Denial, Racial Denialism, Rural Community, Rural-Identified Community, Surplus of White Nationalism, White Nation, White Nationalism, Wildfires

In this episode, Koki sits down with Shane Burley to discuss some of the most peculiar, and—at times, most influential—corners of the Far Right, capturing a spectrum of White nationalist, misogynist organizing that spans the neopaganist Wolves of Vinland to the multiracial, hypermasculine Proud Boys to the highly suspect community of so-called Formers.Shane also provides timely updates on his seminal pieces written for PRA on these movements and we discuss their significance for the broader landscape of White nationalist organizing. He also shares a clear-eyed defensive, preventative strategy for disrupting the continued growth of the Far Right, leaving us with a navigable path forward.Episode ResourcesCollapse of White Nationalist Party Offers Lessons for Anti-Fascist Strategy, Shane Burley, TruthOut, 2024.Can You Ever Trust a Former White Nationalist?, Shane Burley, The Public Eye, 2022.Total Life Reform: The Real Consequences of the Far Right’s Self-Help Grift, Shane Burley, Political Research Associates, 2020. The Far-Right Tribe Sacrificing Animals, VICE, 2023.KeywordsFar Right, Formers, Multi Level Marketing,  Proud Boys, Shane Burley, White Nationalism, White Nationalists, Wolves of Vinland

In this episode of Inform Your Resistance, Koki reads “Total Life Reform: The Real Consequences of the Far Right’s Self-Help Grift” by Shane Burley, the second in our new From the Archives series. From the Archives features those must read and, now, must listen to pieces from PRA’s more than 40 years of publishing. This article was published in the Fall 2020 issue of The Public Eye magazine, and you can read the article here.

Aidan Orly, a writer and researcher at Political Research Associates, dives deep into the world of Christian Zionism and its role in shaping American politics. He discusses how this movement uses biblical interpretations to support Jewish nationalism and its growing influence within the U.S. Orly highlights the authoritarian nature of these groups and their connection to anti-Muslim sentiments. The conversation also explores how tourism tied to Christian Zionism impacts Palestine and the ways the Left can push back against these powerful ideologies.

In this episode, Koki reads “Why Are Gen Z Girls Attracted to the Tradwife Lifestyle?” by Marielle Cooksey, the first in our new From the Archives series. From the Archives features those must read and, now, must listen to pieces from PRA's more than 40 years of publishing. In this article, Cooksey explores the growing online Tradwife subculture, one with deep ties to White nationalism, Christian nationalism, and anti-feminism. This article was published in the Spring/Summer 2021 issue of The Public Eye magazine, and you can read this article online at politicalresearch.org.Mariel Cooksey is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Canadian Institute for Far-Right Studies (CIFRS). Her current research focuses on the intersection of climate collapse and accelerationism, as well as anti-government movements in Western Canada.EPISODE RESOURCES:The Real Tradwives: Why More Young Moms Are Becoming Traditional Housewives, Caroline Burke, Katie Couric Media, 2024From Baking To Hating: Tradwives and Terrorism with Dr Kristy Campion, Kristy Campion, The Wholesome Show, 2023#TradWives: Sexism as Gateway to White Supremacy, Miranda Christou, openDemocracy, 2020 The Housewives of White Supremacy, Annie Kelly, The New York Times, June 1, 2018, sec. Opinion. Conversations with Other (Alt-Right) Women: How Do Alt-Right Female Influencers Narrate a Far-Right Identity?, Maria-Elena Kisyova, Veilleux-Lepage Yannick, and Newby Vanessa, Journal for Deradicalization, no. 31 (2022): 35–72.Tradwives: The Housewives Commodifying Right-Wing Ideology, Sophia Sykes, and Veronica Hopner, GNET, 2023EPISODE KEYWORDS:America First, Anti-feminism, Anti-LGBTQ, Christian Nationalism, Climate Collapse, Christian Fundamentalism, Ecofascism, Far Right, Feminism, Manifest Destiny, Misogyny, Online Amplification, Nick Fuentes, Racism, Social Media, TikTok, Tradwives, Tradwifery, White Nationalism, White Supremacy

This week, Inform Your Resistance is on a mid-season break. Instead of interviewing a guest, host Koki Mendis shares some quick takes on incredible new content from our quarterly magazine, The Public Eye. See links to the pieces she discusses below, and listen to the episode for Koki’s analysis!“Project 2025: How Trump Loyalists and Right-Wing Leaders Are Paving a Fast Road to Fascism,” by Peter Montgomery, The Public Eye, 2024. “County Capture: The Role of Militias in County Governments in Central and Southside Virginia,” by Carolyn Gallaher and Priya Dixit, The Public Eye, 2024. “Review: The Age of Insurrection,” by Shane Burley, The Public Eye, 2024.“When the Sheriff Is Above the Law: The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York,” by Raina Lipsitz, The Public Eye, 2024.“Innocent Until Proven Muslim: Author Q&A with Dr. Maha Hilal,” by Habiba Farh, The Public Eye, 2024.“Countering the Ideology of “Violent Care”: Lessons from Bay Area Radical Abortion Defense,” by Angela Hume, The Public Eye, 2024.“Practicing Emergent Strategies to Fight the Right and Resist Fascism,” by Andrea J. Ritchie, The Public Eye, 2024.“The Art of Activism: Zoe Newton,” The Public Eye, 2024.

In this episode, Koki interviews Peter Montgomery, Research Director at People for American Way, to discuss Project 2025, the Right’s playbook to remake the U.S. government as we currently know it toward authoritarianism. Peter discusses the architects of this plan, the people and movements who have signed on to it, and the implications for the American public if it should be put into place. Koki and Peter discuss how the Right has stitched together such disparate tensions and factions in the Right, in Peter’s words, with the am to do so “long enough just to get the power they need to overwhelm political and legal opposition.” They end the conversation with how useful Project 2025 is to mobilize and organize the Left to take action, and offer what we must and can do to forestall a precipitous decline into authoritarianism.Episode Resources:Project 2025: How Trump Loyalists and Right-Wing Leaders Are Paving a Fast Road to Fascism by Peter Montgomery, The Public Eye, 2024.Project 2025: An Authoritarian Conspiracy. Conspirituality Podcast, Episode 187. January 4, 2024.Ryan Anderson’s Road Map for Marriage Resisters by Peter Montgomery, Right Wing Watch. July 2, 2015.The MAGA enemies list is growing, and so are the odds that you’re on it, by S. Myrick, The Hill. February 26, 2024.“Project 2025” Promises Revenge, Oppression, and Autocratic Rule by Thomas Zimmer, Democracy Americana. March 4, 2024.Project 2025 is GOPers’ blueprint for destroying the planet. It must be stopped, by Will Bunch, The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 30, 2023. What “Project 2025” Would Do to America by Thomas Zimmer, Democracy Americana. February 29, 2024. Project 2025: The Right’s Dystopian Plan to Dismantle Civil Rights and What It Means for Women by Carrie N. Baker, Ms. February 8, 2024.Inside the Next Republican Revolution by Michael Hirsch POLITICO. September 19, 2023.Episode Keywords:Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family Association, American Family Association's Center for Judicial Renewal, America First Legal, American Legislative Exchange Council, American Moment, anti-aborition, anti-CRT, anti-immigration, anti-LGBTQ, anti-marriage equality, Article V Convention of States, authoritarianism, Center for Immigration Studies, The Center for Renewing America, Christian Right, Christian Nationalism, Claremont Institute, Corporate Right, Family Research Council, Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, Leonard Leo, Moms for Liberty, Project 2025, Republican, Right, Stephen Miller, Students for Life, Trump, Turning Point USA