Gaslit Nation

Gaslit Nation provides a deep dive on the news, skipping outrage to deliver analysis, history, context, and sharp insight on global affairs. Hosted by journalist and filmmaker Andrea Chalupa, an expert on authoritarian states who warned America about Russia and election hacking before the 2016 election.

The Playbook for Defeating MAGA: The Church Committee Report 01/28/2026

The Playbook for Defeating MAGA: The Church Committee Report In the 1970s, Senator Frank Church, a Democrat from Idaho, stuck his neck out–unlike members of Congress today–to take on the real deep state–the FBI and CIA carrying out LSD mind-control experiments on Americans, terrorizing activists, and committing assassinations with the mafia, including against witnesses. The Church Committee Report, based on real Congressional investigations, not just performative show trials, shows us how to confront and dismantle the lawless, mass-murdering MAGA regime. Historians Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Brian Hochman, the Hubert J. Cloke Endowed Director of the American Studies Program at Georgetown University, are out with the definitive account, . They walk us through the decades of U.S. presidents of both major parties allowing a surveillance state to expand, running dangerous operations against the American people. The most chilling legacy is not the cartoonish villainy of poison darts and imperial assassinations, but the insidious cruelty of undermining activists. So pay attention. Don’t let anyone–even a well-meaning ally–weaponize purity tests to gatekeep the Fourth American Revolution. Stopping the MAGA threat requires all of us building together in coalition. Based on the Church Committee’s own findings, we know exactly what tools the FBI and CIA use to dismantle movements. They have very specific, terrifyingly effective strategies to divide and conquer We the People. Here is what they do when they want to destroy a movement from the inside out: Snitch Jacketing: This is psychological warfare. They plant false information–maybe they leave a map or a weapon in an activist’s car–specifically to make you think your friend is a police informant. They leverage paranoia to make us eat our own. Fabricated Dissent: They create fake zines, fake newsletters, and fake correspondence to manufacture feuds between groups. They want the anti-war movement fighting the labor movement so neither fights the state. The "Friendly" Infiltrator: Watch out for the guy who shows up out of nowhere with coffee and too many questions. They send plainclothes agents into our resilience communities to map our networks and identify leaders and how they operate. Entrapment: They find an “easy mark” in a group, push them toward violence, then arrest everyone for a plot the FBI invented. They manufacture terrorism. The "Suicide" Strategy: J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI sent a letter to Martin Luther King Jr., threatening to expose his private life and pressuring him to kill himself. They try to break you psychologically so that you back down and disappear. According to historians Guariglia and Hochman, activists under siege were aware of the threats long before the Church Committee exposed them, and developed resilience strategies we can learn from today: Reject the "All-Powerful" Myth: Don’t give a lawless regime a bigger shadow than it actually has–that is what they want: to live inside your head. When you start believing the government is an all-knowing, all-powerful shadow monster, you are doing their work for them. Paranoia is a tool of the oppressor. Build a Culture of Care: The only way snitch-jacketing works is if we don't know each other. Build deep, resilient relationships. When we take care of each other, their wedges don't work. Sousveillance (Watch from Below): Do not rely on police body cams; those tapes have a magical habit of being turned off when they’re needed. Film everything. Control the narrative with your own evidence, eyes, and ears. Divest from Big Tech: Google, Amazon, and Apple are regime collaborators. We need to build our own infrastructure from high-tech mesh networks to low-tech zines. If you rely on the master’s tools, they will shut you down, as we’re seeing now with TikTok’s mass-censorship under the new owners–MAGA donors, the Ellisons. Get Educated: Practice tech hygiene. Go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and use their guide. Learn how to encrypt, what to carry, and how to stay safe. We’re fighting a generational struggle, but we outnumber them. As Andrea’s film Mr. Jones reminds us: The truth cannot be killed. Stay safe, vigilant, and united–that is how we win. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: join on Patreon. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect: join on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join: join on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group: join on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on for our community /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39904490

Impeach President Stephen Miller: Justice for Alex Pretti 01/27/2026

Impeach President Stephen Miller: Justice for Alex Pretti Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, J.D. Vance, and the entire MAGA Klan murdered Alex Pretti. They sent Bovino into early retirement, but he must be arrested, along with his agents who shot 10 bullets into Pretti, an ICU nurse for the VA who spent his life helping others. Demand the impeachment of President Stephen Miller: force Trump to throw him under the bus, too. It's a start to the demands for justice. To honor Pretti and our work ahead, find time to grieve. We cannot power through this collective rage and anxiety without releasing it. Even the strong need to cry in the shower. If we don’t sit with our grief, it will force you to. Grieving is an act of resistance. It changes you, and it plants the seeds of justice that we will use to build a better world together. To the people of Minnesota, you have created an American Maidan, standing strong against tyranny. Even Ukrainians, freezing in the cold from Russia bombing their electrical grids, see you, and are calling your movement a Maidan. To grow a real resistance, we share a message recorded by Annie, a Gaslit Nation listener in Minneapolis. Our victory is guaranteed because our enemies are cowards who hide behind masks. America has defeated the Klan before. We must fight with urgency in a generational struggle. . Divest from the corporations funding the MAGA regime–. And most importantly, stand by each other. As the people of Minnesota showed us, singing "Stand by Me" in the face of fascism: we win through our culture of care. Tonight’s episode will run as usual. It’s an examination on how the , which exposed the mass-murdering FBI and CIA, shows us how to overcome our mass-murdering state today. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at Show Notes National General Strike (Jan 31–this Friday!): Support Susanna Ledesma-Woody for Travis County Commissioner: Minnesota Community Resources: Cut Off The Spigot (Divestment Resource): https://cutoffthespigot.com/ Shop The Hood (Small Business Alternatives): Who Advertises On X (Boycott Resource): Yes, It's Fascism (Jonathan Rauch/Brookings): Misogyny Killed Alex Pretti: Letter to My Daughter: Tad Stoermer Video Read by Gaslit Nation Listener Annie: https://www.threads.com/@tad.stoermer/post/DTKc0iDjjdn/media Intro Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3md7q7guacc22 Outro Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/taylordahlin.com/post/3mdeijmip522z /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39903265

We Need a Fourth American Revolution 01/26/2026

Do Fascists Feel Joy? -- TEASER 01/22/2026

Do Fascists Feel Joy? -- TEASER The world’s leading philosophers and psychologists were based in Germany and Austria during the rise of Hitler. They studied the darkest chapter of human history while trying to make sense of it and survive it themselves. Their teachings are an urgent alarm for us today: fascists seek endless conflict through domination, and it will never be enough. Drawing on George Orwell’s analysis of Hitler, we see that while democracy offers the radical concept of "having a good time," fascism preys on a neurotic, broken need for "struggle, danger, and death." It is an addiction to conflict, often first learned in the childhood home, according to Erich Fromm, that views empathy not as a virtue, but as a target. Walter Benjamin, before losing his own life to suicide to avoid the concentration camps, pointed out that fascists seek pleasure in their own demise. It is the fleeting, hollow glee of a bully kicking over a sandcastle because he doesn't know how to build one. Joy is how we win. The hate-fueled fascist high is a non-renewable resource. It requires a constant supply of new enemies to sustain a house of cards built on lawlessness and corruption. True joy, born of community, love, and creation, is sustainable energy, even in the unlikeliest of places, as our heroes who came before us also showed us. Stay safe. Stay defiant. And find some joy today: it’s the best revenge. For our bonus episode this week, we sit down for a special Self Care Q&A with Vatican reporter Colleen Dulle, author of ! To listen to the bonus, subscribe to our Patreon at the Truth-Teller level or higher. We are extremely grateful to our listeners who are keeping us afloat during very difficult economic circumstances. Every bit of support helps give us the freedom to tell the truth, so thank you again for making Gaslit Nation possible! Show Notes: Help Bring 5-Year-Old Liam Home Part I of Our Conversation with Colleen Dulle: MAGA’s Vatican Cold War: A Recent Gaslit Nation Salon Excerpt Giving the Bigger Picture of U.S. China-Panic Chaos under Trump from the Pentagon’s Perspective: “An observer arrested in South Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune” “Interesting scoop from Anna Giaritelli, who has good sources inside DHS. It suggests Noem and Lewandowski (seemingly still serving as a Special Government Employee despite having timed out months ago) are trying to push out the CBP Commissioner (former Border Patrol) because he's not harsh *enough.*” Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, memo says The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations ‘That’s Our Territory’: Trump Uses Davos Speech to Push for Greenland You've Got to Read George Orwell's Review of 'Mein Kampf' Police charge Trump campaign manager with assault . Ex-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski accused of sexual assault https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/27/ex-trump-campaign-manager-corey-lewandowski-accused-of-sexual-assault /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39842110

MAGA's Vatican Cold War 01/21/2026

MAGA's Vatican Cold War Like the rest of us, Pope Leo, the first American Pope, is under siege by MAGA. We discuss MAGA’s war on the “globalist,” “culturally Marxist” Catholic Church with Colleen Dulle, Vatican reporter for America Magazine and author of Christian Nationalists have captured the White House, Congress, and Supreme Court. Now they are targeting the Holy See. We track the strategy from Steve Bannon’s "gladiator school" for disinformation agents to recently converted Catholic JD Vance using his faith to justify mass deportations and ICE terror squads. MAGA has launched a financial boycott of the Catholic Church, provided safe haven and amplification for its biggest crackpots, while deploying dark-money disinformation and a Fox News-style Catholic press to target reformers. We also confront the Vatican’s long history of abuse and gaslighting. We discuss the erasure of trans people and women leaders like Mary Magdalene, arguably the true first pope. We also look to what the first American pontiff, Pope Leo, will bring in this time of crisis, and whether he will continue Pope Francis's war on Opus Dei–the far-right human trafficking crime cult that gained prominence during Franco’s dictatorship in Spain. Opus Dei has set up shop in Washington, DC, counting among its allies Vance and the Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025. Note: This conversation was recorded on June 17, 2025. Look out for our bonus episode later this week on the latest hellscape headlines! Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: available on Patreon.com/Gaslit Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon.com/Gaslit Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon.com/Gaslit Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.com/Gaslit Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.com/Gaslit Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.com/Gaslit Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on for our community Show Notes: Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Colleen Dulle’s new book on keeping the faith while covering the Vatican’s crises Steve Bannon’s "Gladiator School" Evicted: How the far-right strategist lost his fight to turn an 800-year-old monastery into a training ground for culture warriors The Problem with JD Vance’s "Ordo Amoris": A theological breakdown of how Vance manipulates the teachings of St. Augustine to justify ICE terror Project 2025 Architect Linked to Opus Dei: The Guardian reveals the deep ties between Kevin Roberts, the Heritage Foundation, and Opus Dei MAGA Tries to Starve the Church: An investigation into "Peter’s Pence" and how conservative groups are financially undermining the Church Gaslit Nation’s Episode on Opus Dei: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2024/12/31/opus-dei /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39806790

Stay Sane with Us: Join the Gaslit Nation Salon 01/19/2026

The Minnesota Miracle vs. The Insurrection Act - TEASER 01/15/2026

The Minnesota Miracle vs. The Insurrection Act - TEASER They shot a woman three times in the face. Now they want to send in the Insurrection Act. Why are they targeting Minnesota? The “Minnesota Miracle” showed how great our country could be: codified abortion rights, a trans refuge, free universal school meals. The Project 2025 agenda requires covering-up that progress works. We are watching history repeat. The crushing of "Red Vienna" by autocrat Chancellor Dollfuss in 1934 made Austria easier to invade by Hitler and the Nazis. The overthrow of a democratically elected labour government in the Spanish Civil War ushered in a dictatorship by a narcissist. Whenever progressive movements secure rights through legal means, fascists resort to illegal terror to crush those victories, desperate to hide that a better world is possible. As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. today, on his birthday, we must heed his warning: do not sleep through a revolution. While members of Congress "huddle" and wait for the courts, we demand they use every lever of power to protect the upcoming midterms. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: join on Patreon. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other:join on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other:join on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, join on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join,join on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, join on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on for our community Show Notes: Gaslit Nation discussion of MLK Jr.'s memoir Stride Toward Freedom: https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/build-baby-build-the-world-needs-your-light-teaser /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39751740

The History of Resistance We Aren't Taught 01/14/2026

The History of Resistance We Aren't Taught They want you to be passive and quiet. But history tells a different story. We’re joined by award-winning comic creator Ben Passmore, author of , to dig into the stories that history books, and Hollywood, whitewash: De-sanitizing Resistance: We discuss how films and media often strip away the political intellect of figures like the Black Liberation Army, reducing revolutionary struggle to nihilism. Community as Armor: Ben puts the focus on true resistance as mutual aid. From the Jane Collective organizing healthcare, to prisoners organizing even from solitary confinement, the most radical act is building a culture of care. The Trap of Online Activism: In an age of surveillance capitalism, Ben warns that we must move beyond the "power fantasy" of social media. Real solidarity happens offline, face-to-face, building trust that algorithms can't suppress. As MAGA’s Supreme Leader expands the surveillance state through Peter Thiel’s Big Brother Palantir and unleashes a KKK gestapo through ICE, we must learn from unfiltered history and understand what it actually takes to survive. January 15th is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Civil Rights movement ushered in the Third American Revolution, defeating the authoritarianism of Jim Crow, which John Roberts’ Supreme Court is bringing back. Listen to our episode on after he captured the world’s attention leading the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. For more on resistance strategies, listen to our episode on , and our interview with his protege Jamila Raqib, the executive director of the Albert Einstein Institution: . Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at Show Notes: Watch: A sobbing mother calls 911 as federal agents force their way into her home to chase down a DoorDash driver who was just trying to deliver food. Trump Taps Palantir to Build a “Big Brother”: How the administration is partnering with Peter Thiel's tech giant to monitor Americans. ACLU Investigates Police Use of Flock License Plate Surveillance: Project 2025 Tracker: Monitoring the conservative policy blueprint and authoritarian roadmap. Want to Stop ICE? Go After Its Corporate Collaborators: A guide on how to target the businesses fueling the deportation machine. Prairieland Defendants: Legal support and mutual aid for protesters. Police Accountability and Reform: An activist checklist for demanding transparency. The Singing Revolution: How music helped liberate the Baltic States from Soviet occupation. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776): The full text of the pamphlet that sparked a revolution. “The Voice of Dust and Ash”: A documentary film on resistance and silence. Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. Whistleblower drops 'largest ever' ICE leak to unmask agents: 'The last straw' Review: ‘One Battle After Another,’ What Black Women Call Life EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: join on Patreon. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other:join on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other:join on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, join on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join,join on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, join on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on for our community /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39723250

TEASER - God, Guns, and Blood Money: Inside the Kremlin Church Running a Psy-Op on America 01/09/2026

Mourning in America and Real Resistance 01/08/2026

Mourning in America and Real Resistance A statement from Gaslit Nation listener Annie in Minneapolis, Minnesota: Real Resistance I live in Minneapolis, 6 minutes from where Renee Good was shot and killed today by an ICE agent. I am 39, a white woman, with a 6 year old like Renee. I am on my neighborhood rapid response thread and on another morning it could easily have been me who was shot and killed. I feel grief, I feel rage, but I am also hopeful that her death will crack open something that needs to see the light of day. On Tuesday, dozens of people were brutally kidnapped and taken from their families, but there were no press conferences and no headlines. Today, all eyes are on ICE. Schools are canceled for the rest of the week. My manager wrote to say she understands if we need to take time off. It finally feels like the whole city is grieving in the way I have been for the past five weeks since ICE first began occupying Minneapolis, and the past five months since ICE first descended on Chicago. It feels like I can finally grieve openly. Politicians are taking the occupation more seriously. Governor Walz is talking about the national guard, Mayor Frey is talking about Minneapolis police officers protecting first amendment rights. There is so much the state and the city could be doing to assist and protect people at risk right now, but their opposition has been limited to press conferences, social media posts, and an ordinance that limits the use of city property by ICE. This is really different than playing an active role in protecting and supporting people. Actual resistance could look like tracking ICE apprehensions and accounting for all victims, running a support hotline for impacted families, providing legal aid to immigrants, tracking ICE locations and sharing this information with immigrants at risk, maintaining a list of ICE license plates, serving as constitutional observers during ICE stops, or even just lifting up the work of rapid response networks and encouraging residents to participate. None of this has been happening, and that probably won’t change, but I now have a tiny bit of hope that it might. There’s a put out by Tad Stoermer, a historian of resistance movements, about the “loyal opposition” that puts words to how I have been feeling. He says, “When the opposition party treats an authoritarian regime as a normal political opponent, […] it doesn’t just fail to resist, it just becomes a loyal opposition, [loyal to the system it is operating in.] […] It actively teaches people the wrong lessons about what resistance looks like. It […] tells everyone watching ‘this is the only appropriate response. This is how serious people handle this situation.’ And when ‘this’ is press releases, and podium speeches, and fundraising emails, and strongly worded social media posts endlessly about, I don’t know, cost of living issues, while the regime is invading sovereign nations, announcing it will run them, threatening NATO and world stability in addition to our domestic stability, what people learn is that the situation might not in fact be that serious.” He goes on to contrast this with real resistance, which includes developing organizing infrastructure, building parallel institutions, and building resistance networks. He uses the Underground Railroad as an example of real resistance, and talks about how the “loyal opposition” absorbs energy that could otherwise be used for building the resistance infrastructure that we need. Today, Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the f*ck out of Minneapolis,” but he didn’t say what he will do if they don’t. We need to be thinking about resistance dynamics. When ICE does not get out of Minneapolis, what action will the City take? What actions are we taking to back up our demands? The phrase that keeps repeating in my head today is “Make repression backfire.” Collectively, let’s channel our grief and rage into making state repression backfire and building a real resistance movement that will allow us to protect people, take back power, and build the world we need. Show Notes: Video: Tad Stoermer on the “loyal opposition” https://www.threads.com/@tad.stoermer/post/DTKc0iDjjdn/media Opening clip: AOC https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3mbuool3blc2k Opening clip: Protesters https://bsky.app/profile/chaddavis.photography/post/3mbumcqka2c2v Opening clip: Philip Bump on MS Now https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mbwiolzxln25 American Gestapo: Gregory Bovino’s Border Patrol Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39667120

The "New Alcatraz": The Darkest Threat of the Venezuela Looting Spree 01/07/2026

The "New Alcatraz": The Darkest Threat of the Venezuela Looting Spree Andrea joins Russian mafia expert to expose the transnational looting spree and warn Stephen Miller will turn Venezuela into a new Alcatraz. First, we look at who stands to get rich off Trump’s illegal invasion. Devin Nunes and a squad of Trump Media cronies just took over a company that tried to bid $10 billion for Citgo, Venezuela’s oil crown jewel, right as their boss plotted a secret invasion. So who won Citgo? Why, MAGA billionaire Paul Singer, a vulture capitalist who serves as Trump’s ATM and hand-picked Marco Rubio for Secretary of State. Who else is a big winner? The Republican Party’s longtime backers, Exxon. Just as Trump hoped invading Venezuela would boost his plummeting approval ratings, Maduro threatened to invade oil-rich Guyana to distract from his own corruption. Now that Maduro is no longer harassing Exxon in Guyana, Exxon’s stocks are soaring along with the rest of Big Oil. But the darkest “follow the money” story goes beyond oil. The private prison industry rakes in a fortune thanks to Trump’s cruelty. El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison holds 40,000, but Trump and Stephen Miller want space for 80,000 people kidnapped from the U.S. Construction takes years; so Venezuela offers the obvious solution: the “New Alcatraz.” Outsourcing prisoners to a lawless, torture-filled transnational Gulag, a story censored by Bari Weiss’s CBS News, is the most troubling crisis of MAGA’s illegal invasion of Venezuela and co-rule with a violent oil mafia. There’s always hope, but it requires a blueprint and courage. The Venezuelan people proved their 2024 election victory through heroic citizen vote-counting: a model of resistance that we in the U.S. must study to reclaim our own democracy. We must align with these transnational forces for good to dismantle the global crime syndicate. We warned you this would happen. Now, we must organize, stand up, and remain defiant. Show Notes: Devin Nunes and others linked to Trump Media became officers of a company soon after it made an unsuccessful $10 billion bid for Venezuelan-state-owned Citgo Petroleum’s U.S. assets by Wendy Siegelman Learn from Venezuela’s opposition: The Official Unofficial Record How do you count almost 12 million votes if you’re not the government? This week, we bring you the extraordinary story of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who created the only verifiable public record of votes in their presidential election — and other stories of people trying to correct the official record with their own versions. Olga Lautman's Trump Tyranny Tracker: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/ Venezuela raid enriches MAGA billionaire: The ouster of Maduro is a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer. https://open.substack.com/pub/popularinformation/p/venezuela-raid-enriches-maga-billionaire?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3mbmostp3xk2j CNN Data Guru Reveals Trump’s Devastating Drop in Approval Rating Trump admin sends tough private message to oil companies on Venezuela: The White House has told companies they must rebuild Venezuela's crude-pumping infrastructure if they want compensation for assets seized by Caracas. The U.S.-Venezuela-Guyana Oil Triangle Gabbard abruptly ousted CIA Russia expert days after Trump-Putin meeting Tulsi Gabbard’s history with Russia is even more concerning than you think Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, 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. Become a Democracy Defender at ! /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39638540

Trump’s January 6 Coup Ushered in the New World Order 01/06/2026

Trump’s January 6 Coup Ushered in the New World Order With Trump’s unpunished coup, we officially entered a New World Order. And it’s a lot like the car-bomb 1990s in Russia–a lawless era where the biggest oligarch wins. But the crisis is bigger than Trump. It also comes down to the American elite hitting the panic button on China. While China secures global influence through infrastructure and green tech, the U.S. has reverted to the Monroe Doctrine. We are seeing this with the illegal invasion of Venezuela and the impending invasions of Greenland and Mexico. The objective is resource acquisition: oil from the south and rare earth minerals from the north. Their premature celebrations and promise of big oil money are Bush/Cheney hubris. Successfully extracting Venezuela’s famously challenging oil would require major oil giants to commit roughly $10 billion annually in a viper’s den of Russian intelligence agents and fierce anti-American resistance, thanks to generations of traumatic American foreign policy in the region. The Venezuela crisis is larger than Trump, as Andrea explains in this recording from Monday’s salon with Gaslit Nation listeners. The American empire is throwing a violent tantrum against Chinese global dominance. This leaves Europe abandoned to fight Russian terrorism and genocidal imperialism on its own. And once again, the arrogant Washington, D.C. elite think tank world underestimates Russia–the same stupidity that helped bring Trump to power in the first place, with the Kremlin’s illegal help. Trump and the Pentagon are banking on "shock and awe" to normalize their grab for resources. They want us to accept this lawlessness as the status quo. We must refuse. We must own our agency and demand a future defined by democracy and the global community, not the violent whims of the highest bidder. January 6 is a day of national mourning and rage. Commemorate this dark day by shining your light into the world. Find ideas to fight back at the . And see you at Monday’s Salon at 4pm ET on Patreon. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, Q&A sessions, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, and more! Sign up at ! /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39635830

Gaslit Nation's Predictions for 2026 01/01/2026

What Gives You Hope? 12/31/2025

In a Time of Gaslighting, Pay Attention to Your Dreams 12/29/2025

Save Our Courts to Protect the Constituion - TEASER 12/25/2025

Originalism is the Southern Strategy of Our Courts 12/24/2025

American Media in Crisis: How to Fight Back 12/23/2025

American Media in Crisis: How to Fight Back We’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 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 , Brian Beutler, formerly of Crooked Media and The New Republic who now runs ; TikTok comedian ; and in a discussion moderated by veteran editor , formerly of the Chicago Tribune, to talk about media capitulation and how to fight back. Luckily, the exists and provided us with the following actions you can take: Make videos highlighting moments of real accountability like celebrating the who pressed MBS and Trump with tough, substantive questions. Credit your sources clearly and encourage your audience to click through and read the original reporting. Introduce your audience to journalism and media-education initiatives such as , , and . Synthesize and share this essential explainer from Democracy Forward on the link between local news and democracy: 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 /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39517085

Susie Wiles is Wrong: Trump Will Try to Stay in Power in 2028 - TEASER 12/18/2025

The Oleksandra Matviichuk Interview 12/17/2025

The Oleksandra Matviichuk Interview In this high-stakes episode, Andrea is joined by as Putin openly claims alignment with the U.S., and Europe is being forced to, whether it likes it or not, hold the line. Matviichuk, leader of the human rights organization , which was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, lays out why the war in Ukraine is not a regional dispute or a diplomatic inconvenience, but a direct clash between civilization vs. a fascist crime spree, one that will determine the future balance of power for Europe and the world. She dismantles the dangerous fiction that Ukraine is a charity case or a drain on European stability. As she makes clear: “Ukraine is not a beneficiary of European security. Ukraine is a provider of European security.” Our conversation exposes Russia’s war crime playbook, including the mass kidnapping and forced assimilation of Ukrainian children, brainwashing them into soldiers for Putin’s meatgrinder. As Matviichuk puts it: “Every person who wants to shake Putin’s hand must acknowledge that they are shaking hands with the biggest child kidnapper in the world.” This episode is a five-alarm fire. Europe has the money, the industry, the frozen Russian assets, and the historical memory to stop another Iron Curtain, but only if it abandons wishful thinking and acts. Occupation is not peace, and delay is not diplomacy. Pretending like this will somehow blow over is how democracies fail. Next week legal scholar Madiba Dennie, author of The Originalism Trap, joins Gaslit Nation to break down how the MAGA Supreme Court emerged from a fringe movement of Lee Atwater’s Southern Strategy, and how we can have an all new Supreme Court, with the help of the power of impeachment. Mark your calendar! The Gaslit Nation Holiday Party, complete with hope and holiday sweaters, will be this Monday December 22nd at 4pm ET with fun surprises for our community of listeners. To join the joy, sign up at – discounted annual memberships are available, and you can give the gift of membership. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39435085

The Kremlin’s Long Game: Wake Up Before It’s Too Late - TEASER 12/11/2025

The Kremlin’s Long Game: Wake Up Before It’s Too Late - TEASER Donald Trump’s kleptocracy didn’t happen overnight–it was part of the Kremlin’s long game. With reports of Russia trying to explode planes headed to the US, we’re running out of time to wake up before it’s too late. In this week’s bonus show for Gaslit Nation’s Patreon supporters, who keep our independent journalism going in these dark times of institutional rot, media capitulation, and complacency, Andrea warns that we’re nearing the point of no return. Putin can now say the U.S. and Russia are aligned, because they are. Trump’s regime is declaring a return to the Monroe Doctrine, claiming the Western Hemisphere belongs to the U.S. That’s exactly what Putin does in Eastern Europe. The Pentagon is handing Trump’s gestapo-like immigration agenda $2 billion on top of $75 billion for ICE in Trump’s Big Ugly Bill. Like Putin, Trump is building a gulag and gearing up for conflict with our neighbors, including Mexico, Venezuela, and whoever else he wants to casually kill. As we’ve long warned, Trump wants to become the Putin of North America, because that’s his plan for staying in power indefinitely: enrich his family, build a dynastic oligarchy, and protect it with sadistic security services. To help us fight back and stay grounded in the gaslighting, this special bonus show includes a discussion of Gaslit Nation’s Book Club: Total Resistance by Hans von Dach–a civilian guerrilla resistance guide produced by a Swiss military theorist in preparation for Soviet occupation during the Cold War–and Deaf Republic, a play-like book of poems by Ukrainian-born poet Ilya Kaminsky. “At the trial of God, we will ask: why did you allow all this?,” Kaminsky writes, “And the answer will be an echo: why did you allow all this?” We have to stop the worst from happening and wake people up before it’s too late. For ways to fight back, check out, and share, the Gaslit Nation Action Guide on . The full discussion of this month's book club will be published on Patreon Monday morning, along with the Zoom link for the Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET later that day. To get access to that, join our community on Patreon at Patreon.com/Gaslit and get invites to exclusive events, bonus shows, all episodes ad free, and more. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit – discounted annual memberships are available and you can give the gift of member. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you. Show Notes: Today in Washington, DC! Celebrate voices of resistance with COURIER. Reflect on 2025’s lessons and explore how courage drives the fights ahead. Andrea will be speaking tonight, joined by other independent journalists and activists. More info here: Total Resistance by H Von Dach Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky https://bookshop.org/p/books/deaf-republic-poems-ilya-kaminsky/33e16033f9269bdf?ean=9781555978310&next=t Read and Resist: The Gaslit Nation Book Club Trump strategy document revives Monroe Doctrine, slams Europe $2 Billion in Pentagon Funds Said to Go to Anti-Immigrant Operations: Democratic lawmakers said in a report that shifting Defense Department funding to support the Trump administration’s immigration agenda has hurt military readiness. Russia Suspected of Plotting to Send Incendiary Devices on U.S.-Bound Planes: Two devices that ignited in Europe, officials say, were part of a covert operation to put them on cargo or passenger aircraft Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision: Moscow welcomes White House document critical of the EU as talks to end the Ukraine war enter a key phase https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/07/kremlin-hails-trump-national-security-strategy-as-aligned-with-russia-vision /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39369295

Crypto Traitors 12/10/2025

Crypto Traitors On this extremely cursed episode of Gaslit Nation, we take a break from gas station dictatorships to talk about their emo tech cousin: crypto, the shadow banking system for oligarchs, autocrats, and the Trump family, with Andy Greenberg of Wired, author of . Greenberg walks us through how Bitcoin was sold as untraceable “freedom money”–digital cash for the revolution!–and instead became a giant glowing crime map. Dark-web drug empires, massive child sex abuse rings, ransomware gangs, investment scam sweatshops, North Korean weapons programs, autocratic terrorists like Russia and China. Turns out their transnational crypto crime sprees left a trace. Greenberg profiles investigators who followed the blockchain to catch some of the world’s worst monsters and advises how to “follow the money” in the digital age. We also discuss Trump’s crypto war on the U.S. dollar and how he and his family enrich themselves with the help of crypto criminals. This week’s bonus show, for our Patreon supporters at the Truth-teller ($5/month) level and higher, features Gaslit Nation’s book club discussion of –and an urgent wake-up call to see the Kremlin’s long-game in exporting oligarch-fascism, before it’s too late. Just today, it was reported that Russia tried to plant bombs on U.S.-bound flights, following similar reports of planned attacks across Europe. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, Q&A sessions, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, and more! Sign up at ! Show Notes: Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg Trump pardon of billionaire sparks concerns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcHn1GSZwo Aaron Rupar: “Wow -- Russia reportedly plotted last year to plant bombs on US-bound flights (gift link)” /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39346305

Andrea Will Be in Washington, DC Thursday! 12/08/2025

Will America Have a Woman President Soon? - TEASER 12/04/2025

Will America Have a Woman President Soon? - TEASER Is America ready for a woman president? Andrea and independent journalist Terrell Starr debate, and we want to hear where you stand. Let us know in the comments. Consider this: the two times Trump was elected president, he ran against a woman–but both of those women faced highly unusual, unprecedented elections for any candidate. In 2016, Hillary Clinton ran against a hostile foreign intelligence operation and an FBI director, James Comey, with a misogynistic track record. The FBI was successfully sued by 34 women who faced sexual descrimination as recruits, their complaints dismissed by Comey. The 2016 election wasn’t politics as usual: it was an act of war–by the Kremlin and criminal negligence by Comey’s abuse of power. In 2024, Kamala Harris had a few short months to save global democracy. Again, a woman was handed a political grenade. Will America's first woman president be Ivanka Trump? Republicans elevate three types of women: Concentration camp Barbies like Kristi Noem, pedofile-defending child-looking brides like Karoline Leavitt, and Trump’s personal favorite: the blond bombshell–like his daughter Ivanka. Trump once said he would date Ivanka if she wasn’t his daughter. He told the porn star Stormy Daniels, who he had an affair with when Melania had just given birth to Barron, that Stormy reminded him of Ivanka. With Jared Kushner back in the White House, grifting and running Trump’s shadow foreign policy, does that mean Ivanka is the likely candidate to break the glass ceiling by being a patriarchal blow-up doll? And how do we stop that? Studies have shown countries led by women are more prosperous, resilient and environmentally friendly. A 2022 U.S. News Survey found that 70% of respondents believe women are better at leading countries than men. So why can’t America have nice things? What will it take for us to finally elect a progressive woman president? Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chats, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at ! Show Notes: FBI to pay $22 million to women who alleged sexual discrimination at training academy Women Are Better at Leading Countries Than Men, Survey Respondents Say How Women in Power Foster National Happiness Women and girls around the world are leading the fight against climate change Countries with more female politicians pass more ambitious climate policies, study suggests Terrell Starr Substack: https://terrellstarr.substack.com/ /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39277780

Genocide by Corporate Oligarchy 12/03/2025

Genocide by Corporate Oligarchy In this week’s Gaslit Nation, Andrea and Kyiv-based journalist Terrell Starr discuss how American corporate oligarchs act like authoritarian regimes. It’s a lot like Trump, Kushner, and their real estate buddy Steve Witkoff’s plan to sell out Ukraine to Russia. Once again we’re reminding you that the war against oligarchy here at home is global. Amazon, one of the 37 donors who helped bankroll Trump’s illegal and unnecessary ballroom, was exposed in an investigation by for possibly causing a cancer cluster near one of its data centers in Oregon, an allegation the company denies, because they know, under Kremlin-backed mass-murdering Trump, escalating a war for oil in Venezuela, they will get away with it. This is the same Jeff Bezos who celebrated in the White House with Trump, Kushner, and the Saudis who murdered Washington Post writer and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. Democracy doesn’t just die in darkness; it dies under cheap gold fixtures and chandeliers. We also discuss why both Trump and Putin need a war in Venezuela to distract from their corruption at home, how oligarch ownership of the press continues to hollow it out, and how much more Americans can take of this abuse and gaslighting. And yet, amid all this lawlessness, democracy defenders around the world are fighting back. Bolsonaro’s escape plan got foiled as he faces 27 years in prison, New Yorkers joined other American cities and towns in shutting down Trump’s gestapo, and MAGA continue to be punished for voting for him–with a recent poll showing one in four Trump voters are disappointed or regret their vote. Join us for Gaslit Nation’s bonus show out Thursday as we debate whether America is ready for a woman president–and how to stop Kushner and Ivanka from winning the MAGA succession war to install Ivanka with the help of their dictator friends. To listen and join our community of supporters, be sure to subscribe at the Truth-teller ($5/month level) or higher. Thank you to everyone who supports our independent journalism. Your support keeps us going and gives us the freedom to tell the truth. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, Q&A sessions, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, and more! Sign up at ! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: December 1st 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on for our community Show Notes: Article that Terrell references in the episode: ‘What’s the Big Deal?’ Ask Trump Voters on Russia Hacking Report "In his book Berlin: the Downfall 1945, Beevor described how Russian soldiers would gang rape not just German women but the starving and emaciated survivors of concentration camps and slave-labour factories." https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3m6ubnaxavk2h “This exposé is breathtaking. Witkoff and Kushner do not just have conflicts of interest - thy are deeply woven into a web of Russian influence peddling by "investments". Money, personal ties and geopolitics have become indistinguishable.” https://bsky.app/profile/joerglau.bsky.social/post/3m6yvn5n6g22i Rolling Stone investigation into Amazon data center in Oregon polluting water, leading to mysterious cancers and miscarriages “According to the US Coast Guard, the year prior to Trump changing our policy to summary execution, only 21% of the vessels interdicted by them off the coast of Venezuela suspected of trafficking drugs had drugs on board. The other 79% had nothing. But now we just kill them all.” https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3m6zh6tznsk27 Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe’s dismay, the president and his envoy are on board. Not A Bad Week For Ukraine Truth, Democracy and Corruption, Possible High Command Changes, Are European Gloves Coming Off? Jared Kushner’s double life Kushner has resumed his role as a top Trump foreign policy advisor while expanding his business partnership with the Saudi government. Meet all 37 White House ballroom donors funding the $300 million build, including Silicon Valley tech giants, crypto bros and the Lutnicks “This is what it looks like when billionaires own the media.” Trump Envoy Has Financial Ties With Former Adviser to Putin’s ‘Money Man’ Now Leading Kremlin Peace Talks: Steve Witkoff’s real-estate empire is bankrolled by a former adviser to Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a key architect of Moscow’s Ukraine negotiations https://bylinetimes.com/2025/12/01/trump-envoy-has-financial-ties-with-former-adviser-to-putins-money-man-now-leading-kremlin-peace-talks/ Dictatorship-era army officers and supporters rally in Argentina in latest sign of political shift https://apnews.com/article/argentina-military-junta-dictatorship-javier-milei-plaza-de-mayo-6122d6d7541141badaf78522efd42fd9 Layoff announcements surged last month: The worst October in 22 years A year on from Trump’s victory, resistance is everywhere Ivanka Trump Sat in Vladimir Putin’s Chair and Spun Around When at Kremlin, President’s Former Associate Says Ivanka Trump Was In Contact With A Russian Who Offered A Trump-Putin Meeting: Her contact said a meeting between Trump and Putin could expedite a Trump tower in Moscow. Admiral Overseeing Caribbean Mission to Retire after One Year in Role “Prospera Honduras is a Zone for Employment & Economic Development (ZEDE) backed by Peter Thiel. Trump plans to pardon the former Honduran president who championed ZEDES b4 his drug trafficking conviction. Honduras current outgoing president has tried to eliminate ZEDES, an obstacle for Prospera.” https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:we7sidyj3b5or2r7trtpfzt7/post/3m6ungpja622f Terrell Starr Substack: https://terrellstarr.substack.com/ /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39245790

Nixon Ran so Trump Could Fly - TEASER 11/27/2025

Nixon Ran so Trump Could Fly - TEASER In Part II of our conversation, Nick Schwellenbach, a Senior Investigator at the , shares his insights from his time in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel–a government agency set up after Watergate, meant to protect us from the next Nixon. So, what happened? In this week’s bonus show, we’re looking for checks-and-balances. With a grifter-in-chief enriching himself and his family, following in the footsteps of overthrown Kremlin-backed kleptocrat Viktor Yanukovych, we’re especially curious about the Hatch Act–whatever happened to that? This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for our Gaslit Nation listeners with us in the fight of our lives, for a livable future for our families and the world. We wish you all a restful holiday season, as we charge up for battle in the 2026 Midterms–building another blue tsunami together. Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, Q&A sessions, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, and more! Sign up at ! Art is a big source of our power. We’re proud to share with you a Kickstarter by longtime Gaslit Nation listener Leslie Nuss to help her release her next album, Ride at Dawn. : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leslienuss/ride-at-dawn-the-new-12-track-vinyl-lp-cd-by-leslie-nuss/posts EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: December 1st 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, join on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, join on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, join on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on for our community /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39130705

American Gestapo: Gregory Bovino’s Border Patrol 11/26/2025

American Gestapo: Gregory Bovino’s Border Patrol This week we go into the dark heart of American Gestapo: Gregory Bovino’s Border Patrol, which pushes ICE to become even more aggressive in his fascist feverdream. Here to help us make sense of this hellscape is Nick Schwellenbach, a Senior Investigator at the and former Communications Director at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel–a government agency set up after Watergate, meant to protect us from the next Nixon–more on that in this week’s bonus show out Thursday. Bovino grew up a Border Patrol fanboy idolizing fascist fiction and now stalks American cities in a Nazi-style trench coat with a taxpayer-funded film crew glamorizing his violent raids. Like Trump is a showman, Bovino is cruelty as a recruitment tool to consolidate power. Under his un-checked leadership, his border patrol army operates deep inside the U.S., smashing car windows, kidnapping U.S. citizens, and rounding up tens of thousands of people, including veterans and children, into detention centers where deaths are spiking at unprecedented rates. With the help of questions submitted by a Gaslit Nation listener (thank you, Isabel!) we go into all the pressing questions about Bovino’s Border Patrol and also ICE, including what happened to the children who disappeared under Trump’s first term and what can be done to protect vulnerable immigrants today? As you listen to this episode, which opens with a clip of Bovino justifying shooting protesters with pepper balls, keep in mind Republicans gave ICE, which works closely with Bovino’s Border Patrol, $75 billion over the next four years. They’re also operating under aggressive weekly quotas. But is their war chest also for general population control? For our bonus episode this week, we look at the safeguards that could have prevented Trump’s return and why they didn’t. To listen to the bonus, subscribe to our Patreon at the Truth-Teller level ($5/month) or higher. We are extremely grateful to our listeners who are keeping us afloat during a very difficult economic time. Every bit of support helps give us the freedom to be independent and tell the truth, so thank you again for making Gaslit Nation possible! If America climbs out of this black hole, it will be because people like you, our Gaslit Nation listeners, refused to look away. Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, 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 ! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: December 1st 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, join on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, join on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, join on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on for our community Show Notes: Where ICE Has Taken The Most People | On The Grid | WIRED NPR report: This year was the deadliest since 2005 for people in ICE custody Big Budget Act Creates a “Deportation-Industrial Complex”: The result will be a lopsided, enforcement-only machine that will be hard to dismantle. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/big-budget-act-creates-deportation-industrial-complex Man arrested by Ice dies in jail cell in Long Island, New York: This article is more than 1 month old Officials in Nassau county confirmed death of 42-year-old man to Newsday but declined to share details https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/19/ice-death-long-island-ny Trump officials launch ICE effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children Federal judge says border patrol chief admitted he lied, in ruling limiting federal agents’ use of force in Chicago Greg Bovino’s Border Patrol Agents Use Disproportionate Force, Data Shows https://www.pogo.org/investigations/greg-bovinos-border-patrol-agents-use-disproportionate-force-data-shows Fighting for a government that serves the people. 8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Texas, as agency struggles with overcrowding Detainee Death Reporting CBP Fatal Encounters Tracker FACT FOCUS: Claims that more than 300,000 migrant children are missing lack context How they did it: The New York Times exposes migrant child labor exploitation across 50 states Homeland Security agents rescue migrant teen sisters from sex traffickers — after they arrived in US as unaccompanied minors Gaps in Sponsor Screening and Followup Raise Safety Concerns for Unaccompanied Children Trump’s False Claim of Missing Immigrant Children Under Joe Biden, Have 85,000 Undocumented Children Gone ‘Missing’? Democratic Women’s Caucus Open Letter How ICE Raids Are Making It Easier for Civilian Men to Assault Immigrant Women: Kylie Cheung argues in this op-ed that a rash of cases of men dressing as plainclothes ICE agents and assaulting immigrant women is possible because ICE agents operate with impunity. Houston man pretended to be ICE agent to rob driver, charging docs allege North Dakota man accused of impersonating an ICE officer when jail staff released an inmate to him US sees spate of arrests of civilians impersonating Ice officers ICE Annual Report Fiscal Year 2022 https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2022.pdf Border agent charged with child sex trafficking, fraud in Cochise County The Green Monster: How the Border Patrol became America’s most out-of-control law enforcement agency. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/border-patrol-the-green-monster-112220/ FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves: In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes. How a tragic family secret turned Greg Bovino from a quiet country boy into the force of Trump's unflinching border patrol crackdown https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15288355/greg-bovino-border-patrol-family-secret-donald-trump-immigration.html Revealed: Trump administration retreats on combating human trafficking and child exploitation Trump administration takes hundreds of migrant children out of their homes, into government custody https://archive.ph/qc65g#selection-2109.7-2109.106 Oversight Agency Says 32,000 Unaccompanied Children Are Missing. But Are They? https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/are-32000-unaccompanied-children-missing/ Judge rules against Department of Homeland Security: "Given the inconsistencies between the BWC footage and the use of force reports, with the BWC footage undermining what agents put in their reports, the Court cannot rely on Parra’s [who is Bovino's deputy] broad generalizations of protesters’ actions or Defendants’ responses to those actions. Turning to Bovino, the Court specifically finds his testimony not credible. Bovino appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing “cute” responses to Plaintiffs’ counsel’s questions or outright lying." "To the extent that agents use ChatGPT to create their use of force reports, this further undermines their credibility and may explain the inaccuracy of these reports when viewed in light of the BWC footage." https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.487571/gov.uscourts.ilnd.487571.281.0_3.pdf /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39129300

The Holodomor: Stalin’s Deadliest Weapon 11/24/2025

The Holodomor: Stalin’s Deadliest Weapon November is a month when communities around the world commemorate the Holodomor–Stalin’s genocide famine in Ukraine that, in 1933, starved millions to death, the vast majority of them Ukrainians. Conservative estimates place the death toll at 3.9 million. During the famine, a death certificate listed the cause of death simply as “Ukrainian.” In the years leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine today, Vladimir Putin’s KGB dictatorship revived the cult of mass-murdering dictator Joseph Stalin–producing propaganda textbooks, putting up Stalin statues, and outlawing acknowledgment of the fact that Stalin helped launch World War II by invading Poland two weeks after Nazi Germany, then holding joint military parades with the Nazis. Stalin monuments and billboards are today in regions of Ukraine under Russian occupation. Back in the early 1930s, as Stalin laid the groundwork for his man-made famine–a diabolically efficient way of killing millions before the invention of the atomic bomb–the New York Times praised his regime. Walter Duranty, the paper’s Moscow bureau chief, won a Pulitzer for Soviet propaganda and went on to gaslight readers by insisting, “There is no famine.” Challenging the media establishment, political elites, and industry leaders eager to profit from helping Stalin modernize his empire was a young Welsh journalist, Gareth Jones. Idealistic and courageous, he risked his life and career to become a vital independent witness to the genocide. His story is told in the film Mr. Jones and in the award-winning graphic novel The film was developed with support from historical advisors, including Timothy Snyder, whose classic Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin opens with Jones’s story. To commemorate the Holodomor this year, we’re sharing the audio from a video interview from September 2024 featuring , which recently won a Ringo Award for Best Nonfiction and received the honor of being a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. (You can find the video in the show notes). Andrea Chalupa of Gaslit Nation, the writer/producer of the Mr. Jones film and comic In the Shadow of Stalin, speaks with Anastasia Ulanowicz, an Associate Professor of English at the University of Florida who specializes in comics as a medium for personal and historical memory. If you’re looking for a way to help Ukraine, consider purchasing a copy of for your local school or library. Hundreds of copies have already been given to members of Congress and sold to raise funds for Razom for Ukraine–Andrea has given away so many copies that she will never see any royalties for this as those books must be paid off to the publisher to cover their costs. When you purchase a book to give away to raise awareness, you’re supporting Ukraine, not the author. Any effort to help spread this story is deeply appreciated. For those who haven’t seen Mr. Jones, it’s available , and Andrea’s short documentary Stalin’s Secret Genocide–which screened at the United Nations in 2016 and features Timothy Snyder; Anne Applebaum; Norman Naimark of Stanford, author of Stalin’s Genocides; Serhii Plokhii of Harvard, author of The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine; and other leading historians–is available . Thank you to everyone who continues to raise their voices for Ukraine during the country’s existential fight for survival–and for the freedom of the world against Russian fascist lawlessness. Show Notes: Buy a copy for your local school or library: In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones By Andrea Chalupa, Illustrated by Ivan Rodrigues Watch the video discussion of the Mr. Jones graphic novel In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones: Watch Stalin’s Secret Genocide: https://youtu.be/Sr5WkhEiqcY Where to watch Mr. Jones Music: Prayer for Ukraine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn0_p1ZR3hg&list=RDzn0_p1ZR3hg&start_radio=1 /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39141760

Elect Better Democrats 11/23/2025

Elect Better Democrats Here’s a clip from last week’s Gaslit Nation Salon, where I lay out what it will take for us to stop reactionary elections that punish whichever party is in power: the political pendulum swinging between Christian nationalists to establishment Democrats back to Christian nationalists. If we’re serious about defeating fascism and overcoming the many crises we face, we need real political stability built from the ground up, not another cycle of rage-voting whiplash. Because if we don’t confront these systemic issues, the voters will continue to punish whichever party is in power, and, as we saw in 2016 and 2024, this just makes everything worse, for everyone. The clip also unpacks my conversation with the great E. Jean Carroll, an interview that sparked a lot of questions and debate among our listeners. You can listen to the full interview , , or wherever you get your podcasts. Last week’s full salon discussion will be available on Monday morning for our Patreon members, along with a Zoom link for Monday’s salon at 4pm ET. Come vent or tell us what’s happening in your corner of the country. EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: December 1st 4pm ET Book Club Discussion – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon. Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: available on Patreon. Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect: available on Patreon. Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join: available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group: available on Patreon. Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on for our community Coming soon! Patreon members at the Democracy Defender ($10/month) tier and higher will receive a PDF of Andrea’s book Orwell and The Refugees: The Untold Story of Animal Farm. Coming soon! Patreon members at the Fact Checker ($25/month) tier and higher will receive a new behind-the-scenes look of Mr. Jones, directed by three-time Academy Award-nominee Agnieszka Holland. – Andrea’s new graphic novel on Eileen O’Shaughnessy Blair, the Irish-English poet, wife, and muse of George Orwell who made him into the artist he always longed to be, is out in April. . Patreon supporters at the Freedom Fighter ($50/month) tier and higher will receive signed copies. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you. /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39136170

Trump’s Crypto Scheme to Sell Ukraine to Russia - TEASER 11/20/2025

Trump’s Crypto Scheme to Sell Ukraine to Russia - TEASER In this extremely enraged episode of Follow the Money, we ask the only question that actually matters in Trump’s second crime spree through history: who is getting rich off of Trump chaos and the world’s misery? Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman of Trump Tyranny Tracker and Andrea Chalupa of Gaslit Nation together trace a financial pipeline of blood money that runs from the Kremlin, through Qatar, through crypto, straight into Trump World and its favorite oligarch bagmen. While Ukrainian kids are protesting, begging the world not to look away as Russia bombs their playgrounds and kindergartens, Trump’s MAGA lackeys, like Matt Gaetz protege Rep. Anna Luna, are in Florida huddling with Putin’s money man and messenger, Kirill Dmitriev, sketching out yet another fake “peace plan” that is nothing but a genocide plan for Ukraine and a launchpad for a larger war with Europe. In a blatant crime of access journalism that would make Michael Wolff jealous, Axios published Kremlin/MAGA disinformation by calling it a “peace proposal.” In reality, it’s a Kremlin bribe: sell off Ukraine’s land, launder the theft through “diplomacy,” and cash out in crypto for Trump and his longtime real estate buddy-turned-Kremlin fixer Steve Witkoff, and their sons. Their plan is for Ukraine to give up Donbas and Crimea, which suffers under Soviet-style repression, disarm Ukraine’ military, and expect the world to recognize stolen land as Russian. In exchange, Trump, Witkoff, and their sons would allegedly get crypto via Qatar and a chance to turn genocide into an investment opportunity. All of this is happening while Russia openly kidnaps Ukrainian children, erases their identities, and feeds them into a military pipeline of Putin’s forever war, while half of Europe anxiously prepares for war with Moscow. Follow the money, and you see the gaslighting of Trump once again being bribed to call the Kremlin’s foreign policy his own. Be sure to follow us on our new YouTube channel to help us get the word out about Follow the Money! Want to hear bonus shows and listen to Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for live events like our Monday 4pm ET salons over Zoom, bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, and more! Sign up at ! Show Notes: Trump Tyranny Tracker: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/ Putin ally suggests Seychelles meeting with Erik Prince more than chance encounter over a beer https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/putin-ally-seychelles-meeting-erik-prince-chance-encounter/story?id=55408942 The Story Behind Jared Kushner’s Curious Acceptance Into Harvard Kushner got emails about WikiLeaks, Russia in 2016, lawmakers say Trump’s Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff & Sons Blur Peace & Profit, from Real Estate to Crypto Deals https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/3/debra_kamin_steve_witkoff_real_estate Trump and special envoy Witkoff stand to reap rewards from official business https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/30/trump-steve-witkoff-envoy George Nader arrested on child pornography charges: Nader, a well-connected Middle East fixer, accused of having sexually explicit pictures of children on his mobile phone. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/6/4/george-nader-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges Former Trump lobbyist from Lake Norman charged with distribution of child porn Maryland delegate for Trump charged with child pornography and possession of illegal gun and explosives https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/politics/trump-delegate-child-porn-gun-explosives Former Trump Commerce Department official and Turning Point USA ex-employee sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for child pornography possession Former GOP Hill aide pleads guilty in child porn case Ruben Verastigui, 27, faces 12 years or more in prison under a deal with prosecutors. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/09/former-hill-aide-pleads-guilty-child-porn-498937 /episode/index/show/gaslitnation/id/39113965

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