Next Comes What

Around the world and at home, a global democratic movement is making huge strides toward freedom and accountability. Support Next Comes What + Get Andrea's posts FIRST: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Read the post: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/doing-the-work-at-hand LISTEN   Everywhere: https://pod.link/1779885475  WATCH TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DegenerateArtNewsletter  This week, Next Comes What considers recent elections in Serbia and Brazil, and how they're part of a global movement that matters very much in the United States right now. It can be easy to look at the rise of far-right governments or parties in places like France, Germany, and the U.S., while missing the successful opposition to these movements at home and abroad.   Andrea Pitzer walks through the many reasons we should follow international political shifts, and the ways the fates of other countries are directly bound up with the stability of democracy in the U.S. She considers the exuberant student movement that expelled longtime Serbian strongman Aleksandar Vučić from power on Sunday, as well as the defeat of Flávio Bolsonaro by Lula da Silva in Brazil the same day. The late surge toward Lula after Bolsonaro initially received more support in the first round of voting revealed an uprising that rejected the extreme authoritarianism Brazilians had previously shut down in the twentieth century in favor of liberal democracy, freeing themselves from dictatorship. In the Serbian case, opposition appears to be more focused on breaking up the cult of personality and defying a corrupt regime than massive democratization. Andrea ties both approaches to a broader range of resistance seen in other countries, from South Korea and Poland to Hungary earlier this year. The episode closes with a look at the No Kings marches held in the U.S. days ago, and encourages everyone to make these last days before the election count—and to get out the vote. 0:00 Global Reactionary Movements and Democratic Resilience 1:25 Serbia, Brazil, and Hungary: Rejecting Authoritarian Rule 3:50 Saluting the No Kings Marches and Grassroots Power 5:15 Roanoke Election Preview and Fighting in Ruby Red Districts 7:40 Foreign Interference, Tariffs, and International Autocratic Networks 11:15 Historical Parallels: Operation Condor and the Fight for Democracy 14:50 The Digital Battlefield: Starlink, Meta, and Social Media Censorship 18:30 Economic Justice and Affordability with Economist Isabella Weber 21:10 Early Voting Surges and the Impact of Mass Protests 24:00 Conclusion: Preventing Authoritarian Control and Protecting Our Institutions

People are waking up to the profiteering at the heart of the administration. We can use the resulting fury to build a movement. Support Next Comes What + Get Andrea's posts FIRST: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Read the post: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/the-corruption-umbrella LISTEN   Everywhere: https://pod.link/1779885475  WATCH TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DegenerateArtNewsletter  This week's episode looks at the many ways that corruption underpins every part of Trump administration policies. Andrea Pitzer considers the deliberate choice to inflict suffering in the U.S. and abroad, which has been done across the board for direct personal or political gain. She notes that the catastrophic shifts in U.S. policy that set the stage for much of what is happening today took place in response to the 9/11 attacks, but that Trump 2.0 does not even have that flimsy fig leaf of a justification, given that the president has intentionally created the crises now engulfing the country. All this has led to illness, hunger, war, and death.   Andrea explores the realms of immigration, citizenship, voting, democracy, law, wars, and international alliances, showing how the current administration's corruption is the common element underpinning every disaster. She also assesses the ways that oligarchs' expanding control over media has likewise corrupted democracy and our access to information--all in favor of expanding authoritarian rule in the U.S. Yet this corruption, she suggests, is now being recognized by voters across the board, as the profound harms Trump has unleashed are affecting everyone directly in highly visible ways. Using corruption as the battle cry for regaining control of government and cleaning house, Andrea believes, is a path to building a coalition of voters without throwing anyone under the bus. The episode closes with a look at how an anti-corruption coalition could work in defeating the expanding police state here at home.     0:00 The Anatomy of Trump 2.0 Corruption 2:15 Weaponizing Democracy, Law & the DOJ 5:40 ICE Contracts & The $2.8B Detention Grift 9:20 The Maduro Deal & Untracked Oil Revenue 12:35 Putin, Sanctions, & The Diesel Trade Betrayal 16:10 Oligarchs Buying the News & Information Ecosystem 19:45 Smears, Bigotry, & Manufactured Election Threats 23:30 Forcing AI and Toxic Data Centers on Communities 27:10 SNAP Benefits, Food Scarcity, & Hurting Families 31:00 Building an Anti-Corruption Movement to Fight Back

FIND A NO KINGS OCTOBER 17 VOTE EARLY EVENT NEAR YOU: https://www.nokings.org/  We can send the people pushing fascism on us back into their holes without buying into hate. Support Next Comes What + Get Andrea's posts FIRST: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Read the post: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/the-clampdown-continues LISTEN   Everywhere: https://pod.link/1779885475    WATCH YouTube: https://youtu.be/bny4YMWYJ6U  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews  The latest episode of Next Comes What opens with a reminder to get to a No Kings event this weekend. Andrea Pitzer then considers how some authoritarian element is always bubbling away in any society and will crawl out given the opportunity. But sometimes you have to pay attention to see it. She notes how easy it is for millions of Americans to not notice ICE operations now that senior officers aren't making a big national spectacle of everything they do. Nonetheless, arrests and detentions have never stopped--and in many places have gotten worse. On a global scale, Andrea notes the moment she realized the same rhetoric and ideas used to defend the 2003 war in Iraq had come from the Vietnam war decades before—and are now being used to support Trump's war in Iran. When trying to defeat the fascist impulse seizing so much of the country right now, we do have to think strategically. But being heartless isn't the same as being strategic. Noting the increasing number of Democratic politicians supporting anti-trans bigotry, Andrea argues for learning how to talk to voters who have bought into propaganda without further entrenching the bigotry inherent in that propaganda. The episode closes with thoughts on how to buckle up for the long haul in changing our institutions, while recognizing that the November 3rd election holds the possibility of a tidal shift. Andrea encourages everyone to get out and vote. 00:00 Mass Deportations & ICE Arrest Surges 03:10 USAID Cuts & Global Food Security Crises 05:30 Authoritarianism, Protests & the Midterm Threat 09:20 Russia Dealings, Putin, & Zelensky Tensions 13:10 Parallels to Vietnam & The Costly Invasion of Iraq 15:45 U.S. Aggression vs. Iran's 92-Million-Person Civilization 19:15 Elon Musk's DOGE, Starlink Shutdowns & Political Spending 22:30 The Transgender Rights Battleground & Political Retrenchment 26:15 Building Pro-Democracy Movements & Distinguishing Cowards from Enemies 28:00 Closing Thoughts & Call to Action

The roots of everything that ails the country go deeper than Trump, so we need to think beyond November 3rd. Support Next Comes What + Get Andrea's posts FIRST: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Read the post: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/killing-zombie-trumpism LISTEN   Everywhere: https://pod.link/1779885475  WATCH YouTube: https://youtu.be/YiGxv_x0MKo  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews/video/7694661127610830094  This week's episode considers three recent news events and how they reveal the larger challenges facing the county. But first, Andrea Pitzer turns toward the November 3rd elections and the No Kings march coming up October 17. She encourages listeners to plan for both and so as much as possible to help defeat Trumpism at the ballot box. Victory there is critical, she suggests, but not sufficient. Andrea then looks at the botched execution of Christa Pike last week, the horrors of the Cornell Seven assault case, and the revelation that U.S. Senator Dr. Roger Marshall, an obstetrician, sued hundreds of his own patients and had them arrested. The instigating events of all these instances of deep animosity toward women in our country happened when Trump was not president. Andrea then turns to the recent elections in Brazil, which in recent years saw its institutions hold against the rise of authoritarianism. The judicial system acted against president Jair Bolsonaro, barring him from running for office until 2030, due to his attempts to subvert elections and foment a coup. Last weekend, his son ran in his place, and won the first round of voting. The runoff will take place later this month. Andrea discusses the ways that the authoritarian-industrial complex is hard to eradicate, in part because the real movers behind the politicians are those with money and power. And they want more of both. The episode closes by looking beyond November 3rd to the greater changes we'll need to make, and a nod toward the value of performative actions in long-term success. 0:00 Keep Your Hands Off Our Vote 3:15 The Lame Duck Reality in DC 5:40 Roots of the Crisis: The Reagan Precedent 7:20 Botched Executions and State Cruelty 13:10 Women as the Social Safety Net 16:45 The Breakdown at Cornell 20:30 Predatory Medical Debt and Systemic Inequality 23:15 The Orange Wave and Brazil's Global Far Right 28:00 Why Ending Trump Isn't Enough 31:30 The Authoritarian Industrial Complex

Authoritarians reveal themselves, even to followers who prefer not to see. And that leaves an opening for change. Support Next Comes What + Get Andrea's posts FIRST: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Read the post: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/opening-the-blinds LISTEN   Everywhere: https://pod.link/1779885475  WATCH TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews/video/7692115338934127885  YouTube: https://youtu.be/p8YBYcAtXxs  This week, Next Comes What looks at the disillusionment that eventually takes place for most people who succumb to the cult of personality in an authoritarian society. Andrea Pitzer looks at events in recent weeks that are providing the spark for that awakening among many Trump supporters. With higher gas prices driving the point home, we also see everyone from next-door neighbors to judges and Republican politicians beginning to stand up against Trump, or at least to edge away from association with him.  Andrea compares this growing repudiation of the president and his policies to the case of Mitsuye Endo, a Japanese American U.S. citizen who was fired from her state job in California and detained in camps with her family during World War II. In other cases brought by Japanese Americans, a majority of justices on the Supreme Court rubber-stamped the bigotry of the day while rationalizing actions they understood were wrong. But when it came to Endo—a U.S.-born Christian with no ties to Japan or even the Japanese language—the judges could find no pretext at all to provide cover for what was, at root, a detention program based simply on racial exclusion. Seeing many recent examples of people recognizing that their faith in Trump was wrongheaded or even immoral, Andrea suggests that we've come to a similar moment in which Americans are being forced to choose. Not everyone will walk away from Trumpism, but many will, for reasons that may be ethical or practical—or both. The episode ends with suggestions on how to respond to those who do. 00:00 Introduction: Shifting Public Opinion & Political Dynamics 02:48 The Rising Costs of Living and Cracks in the GOP Coalition 05:36 Institutional Capitulation and the Defense of Democratic Norms 08:24 Leaving MAGA: Personal Realities and Disillusionment Stories 11:12 Human Toll: Immigration Crackdowns, ICE, and Affected Families 14:00 Legal Pushback: How Judges Are Challenging Federal Overreach 16:48 Historical Echoes: The Mitsuye Endo Case and Wartime Detentions 19:36 The Midterms and the Ripple Effects of Raging Unpopularity 22:24 Complicity, the Thanksgiving Table, and Long-Term Cultural Shifts 25:12 Conclusion: Guardrails for the Future and Continuing the Fight