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Drawing on historian Timothy Snyder's book On Freedom, this episode explores why resistance alone is never enough. Using the story of Mariia, an 85-year-old Ukrainian woman living in the aftermath of Russian occupation, Snyder introduces a distinction that cuts to the heart of our current political moment: the difference between Negative Freedom — freedom from oppression — and Positive Freedom — freedom to build systems that support human flourishing. 

In today's America, millions are united in opposition to authoritarian rule. But what happens after the resistance succeeds? This episode argues that defeating Trump is necessary but insufficient — that true freedom requires not just restoring what we had, but constructing something better. And that building the broader Yes coalitions capable of that work requires us to confront the deepest assumptions we hold about democracy, human worth, and what a just society is actually for.

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