This is when we should have stopped Stephen Miller
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But the next best time is now. Michael Edison Hayden—author of "" and co-host of ""—gives the backstory of blockbuster stories he wrote while working for the Southern Poverty Law Center, based on emails . The context he adds to that story, and the connections to his new book about extremists buying a castle in a small West Virginia town, help explain how America got to where we are now. Support this podcast and help change brains by .
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"As an American Citizen" | Woke Hoth Guy's Federalist #1
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Spend a minute and a half thinking about what's happening in Minneapolis as an American citizen. We don't know who Woke Hoth Guy is but we share this only out of respect for his words and solidarity. Found here:
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Will Your Vote Count? w/ Ari Berman
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Will your vote count in 2026? It may be the most important question we can ask right now. There's no one better to ask than Ari Berman. He's the author of MINORITY RULE and GIVE US THE BALLOT. He is also the National Voting Rights Correspondent for Mother Jones, and he has been covering the "GOP War on Voting" for over a decade.
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How to Stay Ahead of Trump on Epstein
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Read more: Trump Keeps Demanding that You Stop Talking about His Jeffrey Epstein Problem If Dems Successfully Message on News Outlets Lefty Pundits No Longer Read, Did It Ever Happen?
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How Trump Wants to Solve His Ghislaine Maxwell Problem
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Marcy Wheeler looks deeper into news that Trump's former defense attorney, now the deputy attorney general, will reach out to Ghislaine Maxwell. She lays out how Trump is orchestrating a cover-up scheme to protect himself from damaging Epstein revelations by getting Ghislaine Maxwell out of prison through a cooperation deal that will target his political opponents instead.
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Another Squirrel to Chase
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Donald Trump was desperately trying to regain his superpower, attempting to grab attention and refocus it. He ended up on an Obama conspiracy theory that's already been re-litigated five times. Read more at emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/18/tulsi-gabbard-accuses-kash-patel-of-covering-up-for-the-obama-deep-state/
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The Failing Superpower of Epstein's Buddy
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emptywheel's Marcy Wheeler explains that the bubbling Jeffrey Epstein scandal is about two things: the underlying scandal and any ties Trump has to it, and the way it has disrupted Trump’s normal super power ability to command and direct attention. Read more: Jeffrey Epstein Is about Trump’s Failing Ability to Command Attention https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/13/jeffrey-epstein-is-about-command-of-attention/
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How the Right Abuses Language
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Marcy Wheeler explains the crucial distinctions in how liberals and the right-wing use language, the role of journalism, and the impact of amplifying polarizing messages. See how journalists act as data mules for Trump's truth social posts and the broader. And find out how FEMA's failures present an opportunity to build solidarity in everyone victimized by the regime's malicious ineptitude.
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MAGA Demands the "Real" Epstein Files
THE FARCE
Find out more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/07/pam-bondi-admits-she-must-fire-kash-patel-and-dan-bongino/
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Trump's Trolls' Turn
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Marcy Wheeler digs deeper into the Catturd Deficit that allows white supremacists to use Xitter to rig the news. Then she looks at how Trump's illegal war on Iran has created unprecedented fractures in his base, from Russian useful idiots like Marjorie Taylor Greene to anti-Semitic voices like Candace Owens, and even convicted January 6th participants like Joe Biggs. She explores how to exploit these cracks using the same tactics that got Trump elected, turning his own troll army's playbook against them.
info_outlineHow we feed fascism by surrendering rural districts to Republicans
The Democratic Party's official stand for one year of this century—2008—was that Democrats should compete everywhere.
Look up what happened!
Since then, Democrats have let negative partisanship and the far right’s devouring of rural America scare them away from competing in too many places. And when that happens, it leads to things like JD Vance in the U.S. Senate.
Michele Hornish, the executive director of Every State Blue, wants to change this.
Her post “Do Not Obey In Advance: How Democrats Have Broken the First Rule” sold me on her mission. And we think everyone needs to know what Blue Ohio is doing and how small donors can make a big difference.
This movement requires a long-term investment. However, it can also have almost immediate payoffs by helping turn out voters who could help send Sherrod Brown back to the Senate. Which really matters. Look it up.
Listen and find out if you have broken the first rule.
Catch up on all the episodes of “How are you feeling about democracy?” here.
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