Ep. 445: The Data Is Clear — A National Security Expert Assesses America’s Slide into Authoritarian Rule
Release Date: 02/12/2026
Ep. 445: The Data Is Clear — A National Security Expert Assesses America’s Slide into Authoritarian Rule
The Chauncey DeVega Show
Steve Cash is Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials. He explains the findings of the organization’s new report, . Its conclusion is dire: with Donald Trump’s return to power, the country is rapidly sliding toward authoritarian rule. According to Steve Cash, the United States now faces its most serious internal threat since the Civil War, with at least a 50–50 chance that “free and fair” elections may not continue in the foreseeable future. Steve Cash also reflects on his long career...
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Ep. 444: Heather McGhee on Racism, Zero-Sum Politics, and Why America Can’t Have Nice Things
The Chauncey DeVega Show
Heather McGhee is a leading expert in economic and social policy and the New York Times–bestselling author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. A former president of the think tank Demos, McGhee is a frequent commentator on national affairs and now serves as chair of the board of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. McGhee explores one of the central tragedies of American life: how a majority of white Americans have historically chosen to “drain the public pool,” both literally and metaphorically, rather...
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Ep. 443: Despair Is Not an Option in 2026 -- Thom Hartmann on the Next Year of Trump 2.0
The Chauncey DeVega Show
Thom Hartmann is the nation’s #1 progressive talk radio host and a New York Times bestselling author. His new book is The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink. Hartmann reflects on the first year of Trump 2.0 and the destruction and chaos it has unleashed on American democracy, society, and the world. Yet he insists that despair and surrender are not options as we enter 2026. Drawing on history and the cycles of great social change, Hartmann points to signs of a growing people’s movement pushing back against Trumpism, as more Americans wake up...
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Ep. 442: Christmas Holiday Weekend Special -- Our Hope Tanks and Hard Times
The Chauncey DeVega Show
On this special episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on this very surreal and challenging year and tries to find some mirth, merriment, positive energy and joy to refill his (and our) hope tanks. Chauncey taps into the joy of childhood nostalgia and a longing for a simpler time as he looks through store catalogues from the 1980s in search of his favorite Transformers and G.I. Joe toys, and then calculates how much they would cost in today’s dollars. Chauncey soon realizes he likely would have been the parent telling the kids, “Hell no!” Disney, the WWE, and other...
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Ep. 441: From The Boondocks to Crownsville: Rodney Barnes Reflects on a Life in Storytelling
The Chauncey DeVega Show
Rodney Barnes is an American screenwriter, producer, and author. He has written and produced such TV shows as The Boondocks, Everybody Hates Chris, Marvel's Runaways, American Gods, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. His graphic novels and comic books include Killadelphia, Blacula, Monarch, Marvel’s Falcon, and the adaptation of the first season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Rodney Barnes' newest comic book series, the horror-noir Crownsville, explores Maryland’s Jim Crow–era “Hospital for the Negro Insane.” He has received...
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Ep. 440: The American Middle Class is Hanging On By a Thread in the Age of Trump
The Chauncey DeVega Show
This is a special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Mechele Dickerson is the Arthur L. Moller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and author of Homeownership and America’s Financial Underclass. Her new book is The Middle-Class New Deal: Restoring Upward Mobility and the American Dream. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mechele explains how the historic federal shutdown and other economic and political policies have pushed the American middle class to the brink, especially Black and brown...
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Ep. 439: The Human Tragedy and Exploitation of the "True Crime" Genre
The Chauncey DeVega Show
is a prison journalist who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in Sing Sing prison in New York. His work has been featured by such leading publications as New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and New York magazine. John’s new book is The Tragedy of True Crime. John shares his surreal experience of being on a book tour while inside prison and reflects on his own personal experiences with the "true crime" genre. He also warns about the seductive nature -- and problematic relationship these shows have with reality -- of The...
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Ep. 438: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall
The Chauncey DeVega Show
is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. She is the author of several books including the New York Times bestseller White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, and One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy. Her most recent book is The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. Dr. Anderson has appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and Democracy Now!. She has also been featured in the Huffington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The...
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Ep. 437: “Our Enemies Will Vanish” -- Everyday People and Ukraine's War for Independence
The Chauncey DeVega Show
Yaroslav Trofimov is . He is the author of several books including Yaroslav shares what he experienced on the ground in Ukraine and the moral clarity of the war as compared to the wars and conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of the world. He also warns about the dystopic realities of modern warfare, and highlights how the experiences of the Ukrainian people in this war are a reminder of how life for all us can change very quickly and in the most horrible ways. And of course, Yaroslav explains how everyday people in Ukraine are fighting back against the Russian invaders -- and...
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Ep. 436: The Great and Complicated Legacy of Hulk Hogan aka Terry Bollea
The Chauncey DeVega Show
Professional wrestling legend (real name: Terry Bollea) on Thursday, July 24 in Clearwater, Florida. He was 71 years old. Hulk Hogan was and remains one of the most important figures in American and global popular culture. Hulk Hogan/Terry Bollea also leaves behind a very complicated legacy. Brian R. Solomon is a leading professional wrestling journalist, historian, and author. He is the host of the popular podcast. His new book is Irresistible Force: The Life and Times of Gorilla Monsoon. Solomon reflects on why the death of has caused so much emotional pain and tumult for those of...
info_outlineSteve Cash is Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials.
He explains the findings of the organization’s new report, Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline. Its conclusion is dire: with Donald Trump’s return to power, the country is rapidly sliding toward authoritarian rule.
According to Steve Cash, the United States now faces its most serious internal threat since the Civil War, with at least a 50–50 chance that “free and fair” elections may not continue in the foreseeable future.
Steve Cash also reflects on his long career navigating literal life-and-death situations, and shares some hard-earned wisdom about managing extreme stress, fear, and anxiety.
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