"The good, the bad, and the weird" with Jennifer Mercieca
Release Date: 08/12/2024
Trump's Trolls' Turn
The Catturd Deficit
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.
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Should the left take on Elon’s Twitter?
The Catturd Deficit
X in 2025 is a , an undeniable Nazi bar filled with people who don't know the rule about what to do when a Nazi comes into a bar. Yet its influence has never been greater. It's Elon Musk's megaphone and MAGA's primary digital outreach vector, especially when it comes to spinning lies in real time, such as they are trying to do in attempting to brand the Donald Trump-loving murderer in Minnesota as a Marxist. emptywheel's Marcy Wheeler explains how the site became the machine for fascism, why she still uses it, and some promising angles of attack. Follow Marcy emptywheel...
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Next Comes What?
The Catturd Deficit
This podcast has ended for now. But the work continues uses history to tell us about what comes next. And what to do about it. It's hosted by Andrea Pitzer and produced by me. If you want to know how we got into this mess, check out . Thanks for listening.
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“What Most Americans Want” with Andrea Pitzer
The Catturd Deficit
The woman who wrote the definitive global history of concentration camps explains how this could be our moment to escape authoritarianism Andrea Pitzer’s book became essential reading during Donald Trump’s presidency. This unforgettable global history of concentration camps provided clarity and context to the crimes the Trump administration was committing at the border in our names. Now, Pitzer is back with a gripping new newsletter, , and a warning about what could come next. “In terms of what I've looked at in my own work from history, what I have found is that often,...
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“Donald Trump’s Lickspittle” with Ian Haney López
The Catturd Deficit
has a warning for America. The renowned law professor and author of wrote the definitive book on DOG WHISTLE POLITICS, revealing how powerful elites escalate convenient divisions to conquer America’s working class. His work has to thwart Trumpism. Yet he fears America may be on the verge of becoming a frog boiled by strategic racism. The barely veiled racism of JD Vance and the carnival barker eugenics of Donald Trump continue to escalate. The lack of widespread scorn from the American public for Trump and Vance’s despicable rhetoric and ridiculous plan for mass...
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“We’re going to win by 10,000 votes” with Billy Wimsatt
The Catturd Deficit
"Hey, there's this thing I found out about that's a way to elect Kamala Harris and all the Democrats downballot AND build community infrastructure long-term. And it’s going to transform this country. It's cool. You may not know about it yet. Check it out.” That’s the pitch from Billy Wimsatt, the founder and executive director of the , for the And I’m sold. MVP is how all the work we’re putting into this election can live on and transform this country. And–even more importantly, right now–it’s the best way to turn out the “undecided about voting” progressive...
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"Why Young Men are Feeling Trumpy" with Jessica Calarco
The Catturd Deficit
How the myths that trap women into being America's social safety net con young men and hurt (pretty much) everyone. “In the US, we groom girls to stand in for the social safety net from the time they’re old enough to hold a doll.” From the first line of s fantastic new book “,” you’re confronted with truths that may change you and should change society. Calarco, a professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, first blew my mind with two sentences: “.” Her new book expands upon that simple yet vast truth, exposing the history and costs of America’s indenturing...
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"They Don't Know They Can Vote" with Democrats Abroad
The Catturd Deficit
How Americans overseas could help save our democracy at home Only 8% of Americans outside the United States voted in the last presidential election. Angela Fobbs is doing her best to change that. An American living in Germany, Angela–like many of us–was ignited when Donald Trump took the presidency in 2016. And she’s one of the many good-hearted Americans in around the globe trying to ensure that never happens again. That’s why she’s spreading the word about two incredible resources. Any American outside the US can get a ballot at and then head to to see a...
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“Women Saving Democracy” with Dan Shafer of The Recombobulation Area
The Catturd Deficit
Wisconsin’s first truly democratic election in over a decade has And if you want to know how November might look in the nation’s Tipping Point State, you’ve got to read Dan Shafer at , which recently became a part of the . Dan describes how the election of Janet Protasiewicz to the state’s Supreme Court last year has . For the first time since the Great Recession, voters–and not the politicians who drew their districts–will decide control of the State Assembly. And Democrats can pick up that body while making real progress toward winning the State Senate in 2026. Come...
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“A few voters in a handful of states” with Zo Tobi of the Movement Voter Project
The Catturd Deficit
Zo Tobi is the communications director at the , which is like a mutual fund that invests in trusted organizers building progressive power, especially in swing states. The group recently sent . You probably have the same thought many people did when I shared this: HOW THE HELL CONSIDERING HOW MUCH HARRIS IS RAISING? I asked Zo that. He has a great answer. And Movement Voter Project has an excellent answer for how we stop having to save democracy every four years. The answer is that we save it every year, all the time. The Movement Voter Project makes that easy and smart, and...
info_outlineThe rhetorical analyst who wrote the book on Trump's demagoguery explains the power of positivity and weirdness.
2016 was the year we all became pundits. 2024 may be the year we all become rhetoricians. And no one is better at explaining how words help create and destroy democracy than Jennifer Mercieca.
The author of DEMAGOGUE FOR PRESIDENT: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump can tell you why our wannabe American dictator has been so effective on the stump. But this conversation ended up being more about why he’s flailing now.
In February, Mercieca advocated for “weirdifying” fascism, and the new Democratic nominee for vice president, Tim Walz, has embraced a cousin of that strategy. She also told us in our last conversation how the MAGA plan was to turn Biden into a “beta male,” and we explored how that strategy may have worked too well for Trump.
And we talked about how the forces of freedom can learn from Swifties. There’s also some fun stuff for history buffs, though you may never look at the 1824 election the same way.
Catch up on all the episodes of “How are you feeling about democracy?” here.
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