Inform Your Resistance

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

In this episode, Koki talks with Alex DiBranco, executive director of the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism. Alex breaks down for us: What is male supremacism? What is its relationship to other supremacist ideologies and movements? And how does male supremacism form part of a political strategy? We discuss both the religious and secular versions of male supremacism; its intersection with other right-wing movements; how male supremacism is central to the culture war; its relationship with anti-trans figures on both the Left and the Right; as well as its notorious conspiracism and how that has impacted women politicians and public figures.EPISODE RESOURCESWhat Is Male Supremacism?, IRMS.Misogynist Incels and Male Supremacism: Overview and Recommendations for Addressing the Threat of Male Supremacist Violence by Megan Kelly, Alex DiBranco, Dr. Julia R. DeCook, New America, 2021.Five Ways to Address Male Supremacist Violence by Alex DiBranco, Megan Kelly and Julia R. DeCook, Ms. Magazine, 2021. Before the Alt Right: Anita Hill and the Growth of Misogynist Ideology by Alex DiBranco, Political Research Associates, 2018. A PRA Webinar: Mobilizing Misogyny in the Service of Authoritarianism with Alex DiBranco, Shereen Essof, Isabel Marler, and Tarso Luís Ramos, Political Research Associates, 2020.An IRMS Webinar: Roots, Structures, and Intersections of Supremacism: Bio-essentialism and Anti-Trans Attacks with Blue BuchananIRMS Conference on Supremacism and Authoritarianism: Keynote Panel on education and democracy, 2022.West Virginia textbook battle shows how GOP turned its image from ‘blue blood to blue collar’, an interview with Carol Mason by Kyle Vass, The Guardian, 2021Reading Appalachia from Left to Right: Conservatives and the 1974 Kanawha County Textbook Controversy by Carol Mason, Cornell University Press, 2009.--------- EPISODE KEYWORDS ---------Anti-trans, Authoritarianism, Biological Essentialism, Culture War, Incels, Incel Terrorism, Institute for Research on Male Supremacism, IRMS, Male Supremacy, Male Supremacism, Misogyny, Patriarchy, Right Wing, Women

In this episode, Koki interviews Prachi Patankar, an anti-caste and feminist writer and organizer, to discuss Hindu Nationalism, or Hindutva, a little understood but large and well-resourced movement that has transnational influence on U.S. politics and culture. Prachi explores the connections between Hindu nationalism, White supremacy, and other supremacist ideologies.In the diaspora, including in the U.S., caste hierarchy persists. However, Hindu and dominant caste immigrants in the U.S. fall within the over-simplified group, “people of color.” Prachi discusses how this simplified narrative of race in the U.S. obscures the ways in which Hindu and dominant caste groups can perpetuate supremacist ideology, all while claiming a marginalized racial identity. She argues for more nuanced analysis of race and caste and argues for the importance of a multiracial, multifaith, pro-democracy movement to challenge all supremacist ideologies and create broad solidarity among oppressed communities. EPISODE RESOURCESVivek Ramaswamy Represents the Convergence of White Supremacy and Hindu Supremacy — And He May Well Be Trump’s Running Mate, Usha Kumar, Religion Dispatches, 2023The Global VHP’s [Vishwa Hindu Parishad / World Hindu Council] Trail of Violence, Savera: United Against Supremacy, Savera, 2024The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook, Aparna Gopalan, Jewish Currents, 2023The Trauma of Caste, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Penguin Random House, 2022Bulldozer Justice and the Indian State’s Lawlessness, Harsh Mander, The Caravan, 2024Pink Revolutions: Globalization, Hindutva, and Queer Triangles in Contemporary India, Nishant Shahani, Northwestern University Press, 2021EPISODE KEYWORDSBrahmin Supremacy, Caste Hierarchy, Casteism, Global Right Wing, Hindu Nationalism, Hindu Supremacy, Hindutva, Indian Far Right, Transnational Politics, White Nationalism

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In this episode, Koki interviews Heron Greenesmith, Esquire, former Senior Research Analyst for LGBTQ justice here at PRA and a policy attorney with over a decade of LGBTQ advocacy experience, to reflect back on 2023 as the worst year in anti-trans organizing, and look ahead at anti-trans organizing momentum and trends in 2024. Heron is presently Deputy Director of the Transgender Law Center, which recently released the Trans Agenda organizing statement. Drawing on their experience and research, Heron points to the small number of well-funded organizations that promote some of the loudest voices and finance some of the largest legal cases in the anti-trans movement. Covering anti-trans laws and bans around athletics, medical care, and schooling, Heron explains how anti-trans organizing is a core feminist concern. EPISODE RESOURCES:101: Anti-LGBTQ Organizing, Heron Greenesmith, Political Research Associates, 2022Combating Anti-Transgender Disinformation: Anti-LGBTQ Organizing 201, Heron Greenesmith, Political Research Associates, 20232023 Was the Year of Anti-Trans Hysteria, Heron Greenesmith, In These Times, 2023Trans Agenda for Liberation, Transgender Law Center, 2023Gender-affirming Care Bans Carry Significant Penalties for Physicians, UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, 2023The Trans Sports Panic Has Reached Peak Stupidity, Frankie de la Cretaz, The Nation, 2023Public Policy as Trans Harm: Troubling Administrative Governance through Transfeminist Sports Studies, Elizabeth Sharrow, TSQ: Trans Studies Quarterly, 2023Trans Care, Hil Malatino, UMN Press, 2020Histories of the Transgender Child, Jules Gill-Peterson, UMN Press, 2018EPISODE KEYWORDS:Activism, Anti-LGBTQ, Anti-trans, Anti-trans Laws, Anti-trans Sports Bans, Detransitioners, Disinformation, Feminism, LGBTQ, Parents Rights, Trans, Trans Athletes, Trans Children, Trans Feminism, Trans Youth, Transgender

We’re back later this month with a  new season of conversations with some of the most brilliant minds  working in  social justice. With interviews spanning a sober assessment of the year to come in anti-trans organizing, to the pervasive influence of violent misogyny, and how the authoritarian Hindu Nationalism movement shows up in the U.S., we will engage with the question of which movements, actors, and ideologies threaten our already failing democracy and what we, on the Left, can do to block them and build a just and inclusive democratic society. Tune in on January 30th wherever you get your podcasts.

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.