Gaslit Nation
Trump’s “Big Evil Bill” sped through Congress, to sell off public lands, gut healthcare, destroy rural hospitals, outlaw state AI regulation for a decade, make it harder to take out loans to go to college, and unleash an immigration enforcement regime bigger than anything we’ve ever seen. ICE will now have a budget bigger than the FBI, DEA, U.S. Bureau of Prisons combined. This is an oligarchy fever dream that will painfully backfire on everyone. Trump’s Big Evil Bill is the blueprint of Project 2025 in action: a theocratic, authoritarian takeover of our democracy. This bill will...
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This week on Gaslit Nation, we’re joined by the fearless, brilliant Carter Sherman, an award-winning journalist at The Guardian and one of the sharpest voices covering reproductive rights and sexual politics. Her new book, , is a battle cry for Gen Z, a generation navigating the fallout of a stolen Supreme Court, Me Too, incel culture, and a pornified internet. We dive into how young people are rewriting the rules of intimacy in the face of political oppression. Carter’s reporting brings us inside the bedrooms and minds of Gen Zers who are coming of age in a country where Roe v. Wade...
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After Trump’s return to power in January 2025, Gaslit Nation launched a book club not just to inform, but to fortify. Each selection is a lifeline offering strategy, moral clarity, and community in an age of disinformation and despair. This isn’t just a book club. It’s a survival toolkit for our time. Read with us. Build with us. Let’s overcome the chaos together. Join us on the last Monday of every month at 4 PM ET at the Gaslit Nation Salon for a live discussion of that month’s book or film. Recordings are available on Patreon, along with bonus shows, ad-free episodes,...
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At a time when democracy is under siege from Kremlin-backed strongmen to MAGA disinformation machines, this week’s Gaslit Nation bonus show offers much-needed hope. We unpack the NATO summit, celebrate a major grassroots victory in New York City, and also discuss how to contain Russia with security expert Candace Rondeaux, author of First up: NATO is finally stepping up. All member nations, except Spain, have committed 5% of their GDP to defense and security by 2035. Predictably, Trump is already trying to take credit, but this shift isn’t about him. It’s a direct response to...
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With the world on the brink of another war, there’s no one more essential to hear from than Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Gulag, Iron Curtain, Red Famine (which cites Andrea’s grandfather, a Holodomor survivor), Twilight of Democracy, and Autocracy Inc. In this urgent conversation, we go to the frontlines of authoritarianism, from MAGA’s playbook at home to Putin’s alliances abroad, from Orban’s Hungary to the rising threat of war with Iran. We begin in Poland. In 2023, a broad democratic coalition ousted the far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ Law and Justice...
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Welcome to the skeptic’s guide to impeachment. Why is a third impeachment effort of Trump necessary? Because demanding impeachment puts every member of Congress on trial, revealing who we can trust and who is bought off. Meet unanimous consent: the Senate’s dirty little secret, and the power Democrats refuse to use. Imagine if all it took to stop the Senate in its tracks was one simple word: No. Unanimous consent is a very real procedural quirk that gives every single senator, regardless of party or seniority, enormous power. All they have to do is deny consent. Just say no, and...
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This week, Gaslit Nation welcomes a leading expert on the future of warfare and U.S. national security , author of the new book . Before there was Trump vs. Musk, there was Putin vs. Prigozhin. It turns out the oligarchs trying to kill us are just a couple of scorpions trapped in a jar. Two years ago this June 23rd, Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed mutiny of his infamous Wagner group, getting within 125 miles (200 km) of Moscow. In her book and this gripping conversation, Rondeaux unpacks what Wagner really is—and what it isn’t—debunking the myths surrounding Russia’s...
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A message from Gaslit Nation to our listeners about the When something bad happens that's clearly meant to intimidate people into silence, the best course of action is to shock and demoralize the perpetrators by channeling your rage and grief into standing up and speaking out. Don’t back down. You're not alone in this. We have our community, and countless others refusing to be silenced. Join us at a protest today. And if you're in NYC, be sure to vote for Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani. Find your Early voting starts today! Show Notes: Minnesota Lawmaker Killed, Another Wounded By Suspect...
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Yes, things are dark. But if history has taught us anything, it’s this: regimes fall, because people rise. Some soldiers will follow orders. Others won’t. And that fault line? It’s where dictatorships begin to crack. Just ask Romania in 1989, as we discussed in our March episode, Meanwhile, Trump’s team can’t even staff the Pentagon, . No one who can put one foot in front of the other wants to work for “Whiskey Pete.” Five-year research grants canceled in year four. Science is being purged, not for savings, but for submission. Stalin would be proud. So what do we do? We...
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This week, we’re joined by the brilliant , a scholar, writer, and all-around truth-teller. Chrissy is a leading voice in exposing the Christian nationalist movement, the exvangelical uprising, and the growing marriage between the American and Russian far-right. She also happens to be a trans woman with a PhD in Russian history and a wild journey that took her from a fundamentalist Christian school in Indiana to teaching in Moscow. Chrissy and Andrea go way back to the early days of calling out Trump’s ties to Russia when doing so earned us hit pieces, smears, and even being called CIA...
info_outlineToday marks the 81st anniversary of D-Day–the Allies landing on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from fascism. As we remember the heroes, we salute the Nazi hunters of then and now. Our resistance lives on. This week, just like early June 1944, was a great week for the resistance. Welcome to the second Gaslit Nation block party of the week. Ukraine launched a stealth campaign, destroying 34% of Russia’s warplanes with cheap drones and sheer ingenuity. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the MAGA death cult is imploding. Steve Bannon just declared war on Elon Musk and called for him to be deported, Trump wants to gut Musk’s government contracts and Bannon claims an executive order is being drafted to seize SpaceX, and MAGA influencers are melting down. It's an oligarch "Lord of the Flies." Welcome to the second Gaslit Nation block party of the week.
We end on a high note featuring advice from Constitutional law scholar Leah Litman of the Strict Scrutiny podcast and author of Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. In part two of our discussion, we cover knowing our rights in a time of lawlessness.
Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!
Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!
EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:
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June 16 4pm ET – Keira Havens of Citizens’ Impeachment joins our salon to discuss the growing movement to impeach Donald Trump.
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June 30 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Lillian Faderman’s The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle
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NEW! Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available here.
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Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.
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Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.
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Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet?
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Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community
Show Notes:
See you at No Kings March on June 14! More info here: https://www.nokings.org/
Join a Tesla Takedown protest near you: https://www.teslatakedown.com/
Trump describes D-Day as 'not a great day' to German chancellor https://youtu.be/noJgJb-prDU?si=JEVYoPTuzg9sF1OB
As feud explodes into public view, Trump implies government could cut contracts and subsidies to Musk's companies https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-musk-contracts-subsidies-budget-cuts-rcna211288
Musk says Trump is named in Epstein files https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5335453-elon-musk-donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-files/
Bannon on Trump, Musk implosion: ‘We’re going to go to f‑‑‑ing war’ https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5336511-steve-bannon-elon-musk-donald-trump-feud/
Remember When Elon Musk's 4-Year-Old Son Said They'll 'Quietly Do Whatever We Want'? https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/remember-when-elon-musks-4-year-old-son-said-theyll-quietly-do-whatever-we-want/ar-AA1yXSQX
Elon Musk’s Kid Keeps Saying Weird Stuff About Trump (includes clip of Musk’s kid played in this bonus show) https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-kid-keeps-saying-weird-stuff-about-trump-2000563118
Trump Tax Bill Targets Current EV Owners With New $250 Annual Fee https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/house-tax-bill-new-ev-annual-fee
Lawless: Gaslit Nation’s Interview with Leah Litman https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2025/5/21/lawless