The Chauncey DeVega Show

From Salon.com politics and culture writer Chauncey DeVega. "The Chauncey DeVega Show" is a relaxed and long-form conversation with the best and most insightful experts on politics, the color line, human rights, philosophy, history, the arts, and the world of popular culture and entertainment.

Ep. 403: Glenn Kirschner Warns That Donald Trump and the Republican Party MAGA Fascists Are Trying to Murder American Democracy 04/11/2024

Ep. 403: Glenn Kirschner Warns That Donald Trump and the Republican Party MAGA Fascists Are Trying to Murder American Democracy Glenn Kirschner is an NBC News/MSNBC on-air legal analyst and teaches criminal justice at George Washington University. He has a YouTube channel and Podcast, “Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner.” Kirschner is also a former federal prosecutor with 30 years of trial experience. He served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for 24 years, rising to the position of Chief of the Homicide Section. In that capacity, Kirschner supervised 30 homicide prosecutors and oversaw all homicide grand jury investigations and prosecutions in Washington, DC. He explains why and how Donald Trump (and his confederates) have been able to evade serious accountability for their public crime spree against American democracy and society, including the Jan. 6 coup attempt and lethal terrorist attack on the Capitol. Kirschner cautions that contrary to the mainstream media’s narrative that the “walls are closing in” on Donald Trump given his multiple criminal and civil trials where he may face hundreds of years in prison and hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and judgements, the reality of the situation is much more perilous and uncertain. He warns that Donald Trump and the Republican fascists and the larger “conservative” movement are trying to kill American democracy and will not stop until they achieve their goal of unlimited power and putting Dictator Trump in the White House. Chauncey DeVega missed all of you good members of The Chauncey DeVega Show Secular Church Family and shares a pathetic and frustrating tale of how he has been under attack by a severe case of cooties (likely some type of targeted assault by a customized biological weapon) these last two or so months that caused the podcast to be delayed. Chauncey honors and celebrates on March 29 and attends a special screening of his iconic film An Officer and a Gentlemen, during which he sheds some tears and engages in some deep reflective thinking about very important things. And Chauncey DeVega reviews the new films Asphalt City, Love Lies Bleeding, and Late Night With The Devil. In the interest of public health and safety – and protecting your sanity -- Chauncey also survives the movies Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire so you don’t have to. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/30777238

Ep. 402: Heather Cox Richardson Warns That We Can Still Stop Dictator Trump and the American Fascist Movement – If We Have the Will and Fortitude to Do That Hard Work 03/07/2024

Ep. 402: Heather Cox Richardson Warns That We Can Still Stop Dictator Trump and the American Fascist Movement – If We Have the Will and Fortitude to Do That Hard Work There are two guests on this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. is a journalist and author of "American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy." Her essays and other writing have been featured at the New York Times, The Huffington Post, and The New Republic. Brynn reflects on doing the frustrating and challenging work of continuing to sound the alarm about Dictator Trump, American neofascism, and the existential threat that movement represents to the LGBTQ community and others deemed to be the enemy. She also shares her insights on why so many Americans – especially in the news media and political class – continue to be in a state of denial about the Trumpocene nightmare and the hellscape that awaits the American people when/if The Dear Leader and his cabal take power in 2025. Heather Cox Richardson is Professor of History at Boston College. She is the author of numerous books including her most recent, “Democracy Awakening”. Richardson’s Substack newsletter is essential reading and is subscribed to by 1,400,000 people. She explains how the study of American history and peoples’ movements to expand real democracy are critical for defeating Trumpism, American neofascism and global illiberalism today. Heather also reflects on how her background as a working-class person helped to prepare her for the intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically demanding work of defending American democracy in her role and responsibility as someone who thinks and writes publicly for a living. Chauncey DeVega summons the power of the Sincerity Prayer and shares his thoughts on our collective exhaustion from the Trumpocene and other life struggles and burdens -- and the importance of not surrendering to them. Chauncey also ponders the perfect film “Perfect Days” and the life lessons he learned from the people he encountered during his travels in his neighborhood. And Chauncey DeVega honors the career of the professional wrestling legend Sting. He is also very upset at the superfans and who are denying the world the epic WrestleMania 40 battle between The Rock and The Head of the Table Roman Reigns. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/30267913

Ep. 401: The Vince McMahon Sex Scandal Allegations Are About So Much More Than Professional Wrestling 02/13/2024

Ep. 401: The Vince McMahon Sex Scandal Allegations Are About So Much More Than Professional Wrestling is one of America’s leading sports writers and investigative journalists. His essays and other writing have appeared in Sports Illustrated, People, The Washington Monthly, and the Sunday magazines of the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of the books Chris & Nancy; Wrestling Babylon; Concussion Inc., Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads: The American Way of Death in Football Conditioning; and Underwater: The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe. Irv Muchnick reflects on why the recent “revelations” about Vince McMahon’s alleged Caligula-like sexual exploitation of an employee, harassment, and of creating a larger environment of sexual predation at the WWE/WWF should in no way be a surprise given what has been publicly known for decades. Irv also offers some context from his long history of reporting on the subculture(s) of professional wrestling and other sports such as swimming and gymnastics about how and why sexual harassment and abuse are unfortunately all too common both in those spaces and across American society. And Irv connects the dots between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon and what he describes as the “Trumpification” of American politics and life. Chauncey reflects on nostalgia, innocence, joy, pleasure, fan culture, and how to reconcile loving professional wrestling (and other things) with knowing about the real-life drama and human cost that it brings to its participants and others in that world. Ultimately, is innocence bliss? And Chauncey shares a story about being a hero in your own neighborhood (even when sick), thanks everyone for their support during his battle with the cooties, and in that spirit makes a public health announcement about At the end of this episode of the podcast, there is also an “Easter egg” bonus segment from the archives with writer, movie producer, and director . WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/29928963

Ep. 400: What Would America Be Like If Donald Trump's Jan. 6 Coup Had Succeeded? 01/23/2024

Ep. 400: What Would America Be Like If Donald Trump's Jan. 6 Coup Had Succeeded? Alan Jenkins is a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School where he teaches courses on Race and the Law, Communication, Law, and Social Justice, and Supreme Court Jurisprudence. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, he co-founded and led The Opportunity Agenda. Jenkins has also been a frequent guest columnist in The Hollywood Reporter. He has also appeared frequently as a commentator on CBS and MSNBC. Alan reflects on what America would be like if Trump’s MAGA coup attempt had succeeded and how he (and Gan Golan) used that premise and thought exercise to create He also shares his worries and concerns about the present state and future of American democracy and the long Black Freedom Struggle in this time of white rage and neofascist assault, and reflects on what President Obama (who Alan casually knows from their time together at law school) must be thinking about his legacy. Chauncey and Alan also reflect on the early days of comic book conventions and how they found their love for graphic novels and other such visual storytelling. On this landmark 400th episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on the journey, the perils and allure of being broken and exhausted by the Trumpocene (and how too many of his fellow travelers in the pro-democracy movement are quitting), and how the hope peddlers and other happy pill sellers will be amplifying their siren song voices as the reality of Dictator Trump becomes more real and imminent. Chauncey also shares some heartwarming animal friend and good human stories, is concerned about the future of his beloved New England Patriots in a post-Belichick era, and is embarrassed that he was defeated again by the Fog Monster and then by Sub Zero here in Chicago. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/29608368

Ep. 399: The Truth Report -- Dr. Bandy Lee Warns That Trumpism Is a Public Health Emergency Which is Reaching Terminal Levels For American Democracy and Society 01/12/2024

Ep. 399: The Truth Report -- Dr. Bandy Lee Warns That Trumpism Is a Public Health Emergency Which is Reaching Terminal Levels For American Democracy and Society This is a sneak preview of this week's installment of The Truth Report: is a forensic psychiatrist and a leading expert on violence who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years before transferring her activities to Columbia and Harvard. Dr. Lee is also the editor of the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. She is currently president of the World Mental Health Coalition, the largest professional organization to address the problem of dangerous leadership and its contribution to a “mental health pandemic.” Dr. Lee continues to warn that Trump and his MAGA movement and American neofascism constitute a public health emergency, which as seen on Jan. 6 and with Trump’s escalating threats of massive violence and destruction is only continuing to get worse. She also warns that Trump’s megalomania and the enduring power of the MAGA cult reflects how American society is sick with malignant normality and how that collective state of evil and pathological behavior can only lead to doom and destruction. Dr. Lee reflects on where the country would now be if the news media, political class, and other elites had responded properly to the warnings issued by mental health professionals more than seven years ago that Donald Trump represented an extreme threat to American society and that his obvious unwellness would spread and infect the nation if he were to become president – and if he wins the 2024 Election Dictator for Life will become a terminal disease for American democracy and society. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/29457058

Ep. 398: The Fog Monster -- A Very Special Christmas Story Episode 12/25/2023

Ep. 397: On Jan. 6 Capitol Hill Police Officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell Went to Work and Did His Job By Defending American Democracy 12/13/2023

Ep. 397: On Jan. 6 Capitol Hill Police Officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell Went to Work and Did His Job By Defending American Democracy There are two guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and the author of Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. He warns that Donald Trump appears to be a megalomaniac, who as demonstrated by his recent comments at a rally in Iowa, truly does believe that he is some type of Chosen One who has been selected by “god” and “Jesus” to be America’s first dictator. Dr. Frank also explains how Trump’s obviously diseased mind and severe mental unwellness is rooted in a need to protect himself from reality – and how the pro-democracy forces can perhaps pierce Trump’s defense shield as they try to stop his fascist movement and takeover of the country. Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is a Dominican immigrant, former U.S. Army Soldier, and Iraq War veteran. He’s been a Capitol Hill Police Officer for the past 17 years and was one of four police officers who testified before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Insurrection. He’s been recently featured in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS Mornings, NBC News, Fox-TV, MSNBC, The Daily Beast, The Hill, and Rolling Stone. He is the recipient of the Carnegie Immigrant Award. Sgt. Gonell’s new book (with co-author Susan Shapiro) is American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy. Sgt. Gonell shares what it was like on the ground as he and his fellow officers tried to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6 against Trump’s MAGA terrorist mob and attack force who were trying to end American democracy as part of the coup attempt. Sgt. Gonell also reflects on his personal trauma, healing, questions of character, and how he became the type of man he is as shown by his service to the country when it would have been much easier to not have shown up to work on that historic Jan. 6. Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on the growing sense of dread in our collective consciousness and that something even more horrible has happened these last few days and weeks as Trump and the MAGA movement are growing in power and their victory in next year’s presidential election -- which will mean the end of American democracy -- appears even more likely. Chauncey also reflects on where he is in his journey on the two-year anniversary of the Event. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/29062223

Ep. 396: A Reflective, Somewhat Serious, Funny, Titillating and Advice-Filled Special Thanksgiving Weekend Episode 11/24/2023

Ep. 395: Life Lessons, Reflections on Coming of Age in the 1980s, and "When the Game Was War" 11/07/2023

Ep. 394: 35 Years Later John Carpenter's Film "They Live" Came True -- And We Are The Ghouls 10/10/2023

Ep. 393: The Strange, Bizarre, and Curious Ways of Whiteness and Black "Conservatives" in the Age of Trump 09/16/2023

Ep. 393: The Strange, Bizarre, and Curious Ways of Whiteness and Black "Conservatives" in the Age of Trump Leonce Gaiter’s nonfiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, LA Weekly, Slate, and The Washington Post. Gaiter is also the author of the historical novel, “I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang”. Leonce explains why white privilege and white racial innocence will not save (white) Americans from Trump’s plans to be a dictator and the hell world that the American neofascist movement is trying to impose on the country. He also reflects on why black and brown “conservatives” like Clarence Thomas and Tim Scott have chosen to surrender to white supremacy and a pathological pursuit of honorary Whiteness as their way of finding “success” and “happiness”. In this wide-ranging conversation, Leonce and Chauncey dialogue about how they both escaped the trap of being black conservatives, masculinity and violence, the Democratic Party’s failed messaging, and the much-heralded “Battle for Montgomery” where black folks fought back against white thugs on a pier. It is Chauncey DeVega’s birthday week and as is his habit he reflects on his life journey this past year, successes and failures, and plans for the year ahead. And because it is his birthday week, Chauncey indulges himself with a story about being a hero in his neighborhood, fighting back against a local pervert, and an encounter with a toilet freak. Chauncey also reads one of his favorite parts of Cormac McCarthy’s book “Child of God” and shares why he has already seen Denzel Washington’s new film “The Equalizer 3” three times at the movie theater. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/28052958

Ep. 392: Rich Logis Escaped the Trump - MAGA Cult -- Heed His Warnings About Its Power and Extreme Danger to America 08/30/2023

Ep. 392: Rich Logis Escaped the Trump - MAGA Cult -- Heed His Warnings About Its Power and Extreme Danger to America There are two guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Jen Senko is the director of the 2015 documentary The Brainwashing of My Dad. She shares her thoughts on . In essence, and once again, Donald Trump is the leader of a fascist political cult. Jen Senko also reflects on the impact of her very prescient documentary given Trump’s criminal trials and the plot against democracy, the escalating danger(s) of Trump’s movement, and why so many in the American mainstream news media continue to be in willful denial about the reality of the crisis. . He reflects on how he was radicalized by the Trump MAGA fascist movement, how it functions as an alternate reality that provides emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, familial, and other types of meaning and belonging for its members, and how he escaped it. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rich Logis also shares how being a member of the MAGA movement and worshipping the Great Leader Donald Trump made him feel like he was a soldier in a revolutionary struggle to defeat the Democrats, “the liberals” and other enemies of “the movement”. Chauncey DeVega honors the lives, legacy, and impact of two great professional wrestlers who passed away last week. , who was 79 years old, left this realm of existence on Wednesday. transitioned on Thursday. He was only 36 years old. This week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show is dedicated to them. Chauncey DeVega also shares his thoughts about the Republican Party’s first 2024 presidential primary debate, Trump’s fake interview with Tucker Carlson, and the ex-president and traitor’s surrender and arrest in Georgia. And Chauncey reacts to the white supremacist terrorist attack in Florida in real time as he is recording the introduction to this episode of the podcast. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/27888279

Ep. 391: What do Donald Trump’s Reactions to Being Indicted for the Crimes of Jan. 6 and Beyond Reveal About His Mental and Emotional Health? 08/17/2023

Ep. 390: Tim Wise on Ron DeSantis’ War on African-American History and the Enduring Power of Donald Trump over White America 08/02/2023

Ep. 390: Tim Wise on Ron DeSantis’ War on African-American History and the Enduring Power of Donald Trump over White America Tim Wise is an author, activist and leading expert on white privilege and racism. He is the author of many books, including his most recent "Dispatches From the Race War." He explains how the recent Supreme Court decision against affirmative action, Ron DeSantis’ fascist-authoritarian war on Black America’s real history (slavery was a “job skills “program) and real struggles and real triumphs, and Donald Trump and the MAGA movement’s enduring power are all connected as part of a much larger project to protect white privilege and white power across all of American society by ending multiracial democracy. Tim Wise also reflects on how his decades of experience as an antiracist activist and battling white racists has helped him to understand the Age of Trump and why so many good white liberals and mainstream Democrats and centrists are fundamentally unprepared for the challenge(s) of protecting multiracial democracy and the long struggle ahead. Chauncey and Tim also dialogue about the effectiveness of the right-wing media machine, how liberals and “the left” are using the wrong strategies and tactics, and the temptations of going over to the other side because of money – and why they would never do such a thing. And Chauncey goes to the archives and shares what white slavers in the South actually wrote and thought about how the enslavement of Black Americans was a type of “job skills” program -- and how their claims are not too different from what Ron DeSantis and the other neofascists and members of the white right are saying more than one hundred years later. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/27632427

Ep. 389: This is Not a Tragic Mulatto Story: CNN's John Blake on His New Book "More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew" 07/19/2023

Ep. 389: This is Not a Tragic Mulatto Story: CNN's John Blake on His New Book "More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew" There are two guests in this episode of the podcast. is a senior writer and producer at CNN and the author of the new book More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew. John reflects on vulnerability and the vocation of writing, life journeys and life wisdom, the people who made us, how the personal is truly the political, navigating and surviving the color line and questions of belonging and identity. He also shares the importance of finding one’s own true authentic voice in writing, specifically, and life, more generally. Friend of the podcast and Chauncey DeVega’s heterosexual life partner and brother from another mother Mr. Bill returns for a discussion of the new Indiana Jones movie The Dial of Destiny, why it moved us so much, nostalgia and the critic, what comes next for Mr. Jones, and of course the announcement by Disney that there will be fewer Star Wars and Marvel TV shows and movies. Chauncey also ponders the importance of keeping our hope tanks full, the emotional and other junk that too many of us fill our pockets with, and managing stress and how our bodies always keep score. And of course, Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on the recent series of amazing professional wrestling matches between FTR and Bullet Club Gold and CM Punk and Samoa Joe on the AEW Collision television show, why his beloved New England Patriots are in big trouble after not signing DeAndre Hopkins, the genius of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and updates the listeners of the podcast about another misadventure that befell him at the sin-filled movie theater during a viewing of the new comedy Joy Ride. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/27506796

Ep. 388: What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July? Historian David Blight on the American Prophet Frederick Douglass 07/04/2023

Ep. 387: Prison Journalist John J. Lennon on Life Lessons and How Writing Made Him a Better Person 06/22/2023

Ep. 386: Jonathan Eig Takes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Down Off The Monument and Makes Him Real 05/29/2023

Ep. 385: The Truth Report -- Mark Jacob Explains How America's Mainstream News Media Surrendered to Donald Trump and The Republican Fascist Movement 05/25/2023

Ep. 384: The Eclectic Star Wars Jerry Springer Animal Friends Episode 05/10/2023

Ep. 383: Jason Van Tatenhove Reflects on the Perils of Right-Wing Radicalization and How He Found Himself a Leading Member of the Oath Keepers 04/25/2023

Ep. 382: Donald Trump is Not Going Away Because He is the Worst of American Culture Vomited Out 03/31/2023

Ep. 382: Donald Trump is Not Going Away Because He is the Worst of American Culture Vomited Out is a graphic novelist and musician. He is also the first cartoonist to win the National Book Award. Nate Powell has also won four Eisner Awards. His work includes Ozark horror tale Come Again, civil rights icon John Lewis' March trilogy and its follow-up Run, comics essay About Face, and graphic novels Two Dead, Any Empire, and Swallow Me Whole. Nate’s new book is Save It For Later. He reflects on how America’s culture of the 1980s with the rise of Reaganism, toys like GI Joe, the Punisher comic books, and other celebrations of militant nationalism and violence across American popular culture gave rise to the Trump’s MAGAites and American neofascism these decades later. Nate explores questions of “selling out” and his relationship as a younger man to punk music and counter culture and what is lost (or perhaps gained) when subcultures become more mainstreamed and their audiences and artists age with them. Nate also shares what he learned about resistance, struggle, and justice along the color line from the process of working with the titan civil rights hope warrior Rep. John Lewis on the award-winning March graphic novels. And Chauncey and Nate dialogue about being men of a certain vintage, coming of age in the 1980s, and what it means to be creative for a living. Chauncey continues to share how you can be a hero in your own neighborhood by being attentive to all of the good people and life lessons around you while also be cautious of the evil that may be stalking you at the same time. Chauncey also shares how Donald Trump’s MAGAite cultists are so deranged that they actually believe that Trump’s pending indictments mean that he is a prophetic figure who is being punished like Jesus Christ. On this week's podcast, Chauncey answers some questions sent in by the listeners to the show. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/26399457

Ep. 381: America is Sick With Diabolical Amnesia and Evil Forgetting 03/15/2023

Ep. 380: "The Other Side of Prospect" and Gun Violence in the Shadow of Yale University 02/28/2023

Ep. 379: Chris Hedges Warns That "The News" and "The Truth" are Not The Same Thing 02/14/2023

Ep. 379: Chris Hedges Warns That "The News" and "The Truth" are Not The Same Thing Chris Hedges is the guest on this special February 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, bestselling author, and social critic. His two most recent books are Our Class: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison and The Greatest Evil is War. ***Your generosity and support help to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners.*** Chris Hedges reflects on the lessons he learned during his long career as a journalist about the “business” that is the news business, how the “truth” is manufactured, why it pays very well to be a careerist who does not care about confronting Power, and the ways that the limits of the approved public discourse are shaped to serve the interests of the rich and the powerful. He also offers counsel and advice to Chauncey DeVega about enduring difficult times and navigating the personal cost to one’s physical, mental, and emotional health that comes from being a serious journalist who is committed to telling uncomfortable and unpopular truths in dangerous times. Chris Hedges also shares his worries about how Russia’s war against Ukraine, and America and NATO’s response to it, could potentially spiral out of control into a wider war and even worse disaster. Given all of the recent excitement about “UFOs” and an “alien invasion” of the United States (meaning balloons and/or drones) these last few days and weeks, there are two special bonus segments on this episode featuring professional skeptic and author . The first segment is from 2021 where Jason Colavito explains why today’s America is so sick with conspiracy theories and other anti-truth beliefs. He also outlines how right-wing extremists are using the public’s interest in ancient aliens, UFOs, and other conspiracy theories to recruit new members (especially insecure white men) online. The second segment is from 2014 where Jason discusses a wide-range of topics including the ancient aliens hypothesis, why white supremacists are obsessed with UFOs, the faux rigor and "scientific" approaches used by the fringe history community, and the case of Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple who were supposedly kidnapped by extraterrestrials in the 1960s. And on this episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega shares a very special Valentine’s Day review of the new movie Magic Mike’s Last Dance. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/25922916

Ep. 378: Ruha Benjamin on the Digital Divide and the "New Jim Code"/Did You Know That People are "Racist" Against Black Robots? 01/31/2023

Ep. 378: Ruha Benjamin on the Digital Divide and the "New Jim Code"/Did You Know That People are "Racist" Against Black Robots? There are two guests on this special January 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. ***Your generosity and support help to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners.*** Ruha Benjamin is a sociologist and a Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of several books including Race After Technology and Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want. She explains how technology is not socially or politically neutral and actually does the work of power and maintaining inequality along the color line through what she has termed “the new Jim Code”. Benjamin also highlights the ways that technologies such as search engines, algorithms, “big data”, the surveillance society and other digital tools have disproportionately negative impacts on black and brown and other marginalized communities. She also encourages us to take back our agency by finding ways to use these new technologies to do the work of creating a more humane and just society. Christoph Bartneck is an associate professor in the department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury where his research focuses on human-computer interaction, science and technology Studies, and visual design. He explains how racism and other forms of animus influence how human beings treat “black” and “brown” robots much worse than “white” robots. Bartneck also reflects on the human-machine interface and how algorithms and other technologies inevitably reflect the biases of their designers, engineers, and programmers. He also shares his thoughts on artificial intelligence, “the Singularity”, and the exaggerated and fantastical claims that are made by many futurists and technologists. On this episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega honors two people who recently passed away and who meant, albeit in very different ways, a great deal to him. Professional wrestling star and ROH World Tag Team Champion “” () was killed in a car accident on Tuesday Jan 17 in Laurel, Delaware. Chauncey’s cat nephew Stoli passed away last week on Monday Jan 23. Episode 378 of The Chauncey DeVega Show is dedicated to both of their memories. Chauncey reflects on grieving, emotional ups and down, and how he is being weathered and assaulted by dark and other unjust forces during these last two weeks – and how he will overcome them and get his bounce back. As part of that effort Chauncey shares an animal friend story about a turkey person who is being unfairly maligned and harassed by the humans in her neighborhood. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/25781694

Ep. 377: Brian K. Vaughan Reflects on the Return of His Beloved Graphic Novel Series "Saga"/Paul Breines on Life Lessons Learned From His Time as a Freedom Rider in the Civil Rights Movement Brian K. Vaughan is the guest on this special January 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is the writer of such award-winning comic books and graphic novels as Saga, Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina and Paper Girls. ***Your generosity and support help to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners.*** Brian reflects on the return of Saga after an extended hiatus and the great and painful changes that have befallen the beloved characters in the series. He also shares how Saga and its main character Hazel have grown in parallel with his own life and family. Brian offers his thoughts and wisdom on navigating the challenging times in this world, artistic integrity, and managing life, stress, joy, and other emotions and ups and downs as someone who is creative for a living. In honor of Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Chauncey highlights the differences between the real radical truth-teller and pro-democracy hope warrior Dr. King and how his legacy and struggle and sacrifice have been distorted by the American mythmaking machine and colorblind racism and white supremacy. There is also a bonus segment on this episode of the podcast in honor of Dr. King. Paul Breines was a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin and a member of the Student Council on Civil Rights when he was arrested for his participation in the Freedom Rides during the summer of 1961. He shares what it was like to challenge Jim Crow racial terrorism--with his life--as a Freedom Rider during the Civil Rights Movement, how he as a white person made the decision while in college to confront white supremacy, and the rules of living a principled life that he learned from his mother. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/25626459

Ep. 376: The Black American Civil Rights Movement Was One of The Greatest "Military" Campaigns and Insurgencies in History 01/10/2023

Ep. 376: The Black American Civil Rights Movement Was One of The Greatest "Military" Campaigns and Insurgencies in History Thomas Ricks is the guest on this special January 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Your generosity and support helps to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of several books including The Generals, The Gamble, and the number one New York Times bestseller Fiasco. Thomas Ricks' new book is Waging A Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954–1968. Ricks intervenes against the flat American mainstream history of the Civil Rights Movement as one of passive non-violence and shows how it was actually an active resistance movement and a type of insurgency that involved extremely sophisticated military tactics and strategy. He details how the Civil Rights movement and its organizers, leaders, and soldiers were able to outmaneuver and defeat a Jim and Jane Crow terror regime that had a monopoly on force and violence as well as numerical superiority and many other advantages on the battlefield. Ricks highlights these heroes and sheroes and some of their great “military” campaigns such as the Freedom Rides, Birmingham, Selma, and the March on Washington. On this special January 2023 fundraising installment of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on his great adventure home over the holidays to see his mother, processes the anxieties and responsibilities of being an only child and member of the working class who helps to take care of his mother financially, and shares what he has learned and promised himself in the one year since the Event. There is also a special Easter Egg at the end of this podcast where Chauncey recounts one of his formative romantic encounters as a journeyman lothario – and a troubling secret he uncovered about that experience during his recent trip home. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: [email protected] HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow /episode/index/show/thechaunceydevegashow/id/25557159

Ep. 375: Separating Fact From Fiction and Myth About Vladimir Putin and the War in Ukraine 12/14/2022

Ep. 374: Reflecting on Gratitude and Thankfulness on This Thanksgiving Day 2022 11/24/2022

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