The Culting of America: From Children of God to the MAGA Playbook
Gaslit Nation
Is America a cult? How can we help those trapped in cult-like thinking? Discussing her new book , Daniella Mestyanik Young, a US Army veteran, intelligence officer, and survivor of the notorious Children of God cult, joins Gaslit Nation to help us identify coercive control in our own lives, and in our White House. Daniella breaks down the "sex cult math" of her upbringing, identifying the same tactics of coercive control now fueling the MAGA movement. Trump has pulled disparate groups into a singular cult of personality, where he is viewed as a "flawed vessel" of a “perfect God”...
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Did Trump Fake Another Assassination Attempt?
Gaslit Nation
We've received questions and comments from Gaslit Nation listeners about the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend. Here's our response. We can discuss at today's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET, along with whatever is happening in your neck of the woods. Sign up on Patreon.com/Gaslit to join the discussion: Join our community of listeners, get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more. Discounted annual memberships are available....
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Save the Date: May 11
Gaslit Nation
On Monday May 11 at 4pm ET at the Gaslit Nation Salon, get ready for a big peek behind the curtain. To celebrate Andrea's birthday, we're starting that day's salon with a production of the first 15 pages or so of one of her antifa screenplays. It's based on a story longtime Gaslit Nation listeners may recognize. And we'll leave it there. To get your ticket and support the show, join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit, get all episodes ad free, bonus shows, exclusive invites, and more. Thank you to everyone who supports the show!
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Hungarian Uprising
Gaslit Nation
While Orban’s gang of Kremlin-paid criminals burn proof of their crimes, the new leadership in Hungary goes after their propaganda machine and GOP allies who used Hungarian taxpayer money to fund CPAC. This is against U.S. law. If America had a real DOJ and functional Congress, all Republican officials would be investigated for being foreign agents of Hungary and therefore Russia. “Foreign governments are barred from spending money in American elections, and Americans are forbidden from soliciting or accepting it,” wrote Rep. Mike Levin on Twitter (we will never call it X). “If...
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The Wajahat Ali Interview
Gaslit Nation
Americans must fight a war on two fronts: against MAGA fascism and Democratic Party complacency. Wajahat Ali of the and author of joins Gaslit Nation to discuss how to actually build back better this time. Donald Trump is America’s karma of white supremacy, greed, and misogyny. But while the MAGA virus burns through our institutions, another danger is the "Big Club" in Washington, D.C. where Republicans and Democrats share the same donors, the same golf clubs, and the same refusal to tax the rich. The DNC thinks they can waltz into power by not being Trump, but voters want a...
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The Sounds of Mrs. Orwell
Gaslit Nation
To those who could not join our launch party for tonight, we've made you a play list from the event. It opens with a British Pathé newsreel of ; a popular war-time show Flanagan and Allen's and one of the most popular songs of the Spanish Civil War, which Eileen and Eric Blair would have heard throughout their time in Spain. We're going to play this audio at the start of tonight's event, to connect the global war of fascism vs. democracy back then to today, as Ukraine faces the same daily bombardment as Europe did under Hitler.
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The Brahm Revel Interview
Gaslit Nation
Gaslit Nation presents an Instagram Live discussion recorded over the weekend with the acclaimed illustrator , the artist of . Brahm is based in Barcelona, where Eileen and Eric Blair (aka George Orwell), spent their honeymoon fighting fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Eileen was holed up in the Hotel Continental, which still exists, where Stalin’s agents searched her hotel room, stealing Orwell’s Spain diaries and other papers, which are believed to be somewhere in Moscow to this day. We’re celebrating freedom fighters, past and present, tonight at , for the launch...
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Virginia! Vote YES on Redistricting
Gaslit Nation
FDR had to take some bold swings to transform America for the better. He had his pearl-clutching critics who thought he was going too far. But that's what was needed to usher in the New Deal and strengthen democracy and improve people's lives. The "good guys" must not be passive. We must fight back. Virginia, the world's eyes are on you to vote YES on redistricting -- vote now through April 21. You will help restore balance to Republican authoritarian gerrymandering. Your YES vote in Virginia is an emergency stop-gap meant to save our national ship from sinking and take back the gavel from...
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The MAGA Virus: From Orban to the UK - TEASER
Gaslit Nation
Vice President JD Vance, a creation of the Peter Thiel dark-money machine, traveled to Hungary to openly threaten voters on behalf of the Kremlin’s favorite strongman, Viktor Orban. This is emotional blackmail on a global scale. Vance effectively told a post-Soviet nation that if they don't re-elect Orban this Sunday, they lose the protection of the U.S. military. It’s a "nice country you’ve got there, shame if something happened to it" mafia tactic. Why is MAGA obsessed with Hungary? Because the EU is a regulatory miracle that Big Money hates. To the Peter Thiels of the world, Orban is...
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The Untold, Inspiring History Behind Mrs. Orwell That Terrifies the Kremlin
Gaslit Nation
As Donald Trump holds the world hostage with his sloppy Iran War, and JD Vance campaigns for Orban, the Kremlin’s weapon in Hungary, Gaslit Nation returns to a shared family history of resistance. Andrea is joined this week by the brilliant artist to break down the story behind Andrea’s new graphic novel, . Born from a decade of research into the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocide famine in Ukraine, Mrs. Orwell is a monument to an unsung heroine of literature and the truth the Kremlin tried to bury. We also cover the horrifying reality of the current front lines of Russia’s invasion of...
info_outlineWe’re seeing the same far-right media consolidation in America as during Putin’s rise to power. Bari Weiss is the new Roger Ailes, hired to destroy CBS News. The far-right Ellisons are aggressively going after Warner Bros. to build a media monopoly to dumb down more Americans so that we’re easier to control.
That’s why Andrea spoke at Courier News’ Courage & Cowardice event in Washington, DC on December 11. Courier, the team that built the searchable Epstein files database released by Congress, brought together independent journalists and creators who still believe journalism is a public good. The main focus of the conversation, which you can listen to here on Gaslit Nation, was how to build and sustain independent media. Andrea was joined by progressive YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella, Brian Beutler, formerly of Crooked Media and The New Republic who now runs Off Message; TikTok comedian Meredith Lynch; and in a discussion moderated by veteran editor Mark Jacob, formerly of the Chicago Tribune, to talk about media capitulation and how to fight back. Here’s some info on the event.
Luckily, the Media and Democracy Project (MAD) exists and provided us with the following actions you can take:
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Make videos highlighting moments of real accountability like celebrating the ABC reporter Mary Bruce who pressed MBS and Trump with tough, substantive questions.
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Credit your sources clearly and encourage your audience to click through and read the original reporting.
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Introduce your audience to journalism and media-education initiatives such as States Newsroom, the News Literacy Project, and Rebuild Local News.
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Synthesize and share this essential explainer from Democracy Forward on the link between local news and democracy:
https://democracyfund.org/idea/new-research-explores-connection-between-democracy-and-local-news/ -
If you’re a journalist, whether independent or in a newsroom, regularly lift up the work of your colleagues.
Everyone should keep the conversation of journalism being the bedrock of a democracy front and center. Use your time online wisely: repost, share stories, and boost public-interest journalism whenever you can.
Most importantly, stay connected with MAD.