Audio From A Collapsing State | Jared Yates Sexton

I’m on the road but that didn’t stop me from getting on with my friend Danielle Moodie for our weekly Check-In. Today we talked the difference between living and the unnatural and unhealthy state that capitalism requires, which brought us to the problems with MAGA and even some people (and parties) that loudly proclaim themselves an anti-MAGA. Oh, and how men and their bullshit always form the base of authoritarianism. After my phone overheated, I jumped back on and we briefly discussed how the disturbing truth is that much of our politics is dominated by people who want children to suffer the same abuse they endured, which keeps our country from progressing.

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In this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I discuss the massive tornado that ripped through my hometown on Friday and the disturbing storm that slashed through the Midwest. In talking about it online, I was peppered with people who dismissed the concern, saying people in so-called “Red States” deserved whatever they had coming to them.

I understa…

In this episode of The Check-In, Danielle Moodie and I discuss the kind of self-work and self-introspection that this moment requires of us. There’s a need to find the things that nurture and replenish us as we withstand the onslaught of authoritarianism, but we also have to learn to sit in discomfort so that we can decide what we want our lives and the world to be. MAGA’s rise to power has been predicated on the very distinctively American promise that a person never has to be uncomfortable or consider themselves and their lives and privilege.

Again, thank you so much for your support for this project. It has become one of my favorite things and all of the kindness viewers and listeners have shown is just…so welcome. Please, keep sharing how your conversations out in the world are going. We all need to be doing this work and, through it, we will not only live better lives, but ultimately defeat this abominable authoritarian threat.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s edition of The Check-In, Danielle Moodie and I talk about how this authoritarian push wears on you as a person and can leave you tired, demoralized, and, quite frankly, feeling crazy. We discuss looking around at an increasingly brutal and violent world and staying firm in saying it’s not okay and we deserve better. And that something better has to move beyond compromising with oppression and exploitation, and rejecting the idea that we must choose between abusers with power and the people and institutions that enable them.

I think I speak for Danielle when I say that these conversations mean the world to me, but also that your support, kindness, and willingness to do the work in your own lives is inspiring and nourishing. Thank you for continuing to fight. Thank you for continuing to show up.

Unfortunately corporate media does not support actual critiques of capitalism or power. Dispatches From A Collapsing State depends on your support, so please become a paid subscriber

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

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In this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, we dive into the cult mechanics of MAGA and other authoritarian movements to see how the crises of Democracy, Meaning, and Purpose fuel these movements and twist our realities.

Donald Trump’s continued comments on his disastrous economic actions reveal something we must understand: the Right uses cult tec…

In this week’s episode of The Check-In, Danielle Moodie and I get into the experience of meeting with people who have affected so far by the Trump Administration’s cruelty and corruption, discuss the media and political classes’ failures to identify the threat and do their jobs, the costs of privilege, and then a deep dive into how a fostering of intimacy and solidarity is the solution to not just defeating the authoritarian threat, but in creating a better future.

I cannot thank enough the people who have been reaching out in kindness regarding this new project and the discussions Danielle and I are having. It literally means the world. I hope these chats are helpful in putting these things into perspective but also in cultivating resistance in your own lives. Always love hearing about that work. We’ll be back next Wednesday at 12pm eastern. I hope you’ll join us.

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Two year olds are being disappeared. Children are defending themselves in immigration courtrooms. It’s a repellent state of affairs, but I would be lying if I said this was new or an aberration. America’s present crisis was built on the exploitation and abuse of children, here and around the world.

In this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I disc…

This is the second episode of my new series with The DAM Digest writer Danielle Moodie that we’re calling The Check-In. This is two friends getting together on their lunch hour on Wednesdays at 12pm ET and discussing the emotional toll of living under an authoritarian regime. If you haven’t already, check out the first episode.

In this episode, Danielle and I discuss how a culture of delusion and denial in the United States of America not only fuels the MAGA Movement and authoritarianism writ large, but also how it affects all of us and makes that totalitarian regime more powerful. There is need for us to confront the aspects of our culture and ourselves, our history and our present, in order to begin the hard work of healing and building a better future.

Honestly, I am so happy with how this series is going, the conversations Danielle and I are having, and also the response we’re getting from viewers and listeners. Thank you. Here’s to continuing the discussions.

Unfortunately corporate media does not support actual critiques of power or capitalism. Support Dispatches From A Collapsing State by becoming a paid subscriber today.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

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This past week lasted a month. I cannot believe how long and trying it was. When Danielle Moodie and I recorded The Check-In on Wednesday, we discussed the emotional toll of it all, how it felt like grieving mixed with anger, and then, within a couple of days, that grief morphed to just outright rage. The administration’s continued cruelty regarding the…

So, my friend Danielle Moodie and I have a launched a new weekly show (Wednesdays at 12pm eastern) we’re calling the Check-In. We’ll go live and discuss the experience of living through rising authoritarianism, get into the emotional and psychological toll, where we are, and what we can learn from the moment to get past this crisis and make something better.

In this first episode, we touch base and, guess what, we’re not feeling great. The impact of watching the President of the United States laugh it up with an autocratic buddy in the White House, fantasize about sending American citizens to a nightmare prison, and collaborating to keep an illegally deported man prisoner, just happens to take a toll. This leads Danielle and I to discuss how we, as a culture, are experiencing stages of grief, which can either keep us stuck in this mess or allow us to move forward.

We also touch on the damage of delusional dynamics, including denying the history of white supremacy, state-level violence, and capitalist exploitation that has spanned the entirety of this country’s life and remains there to this day. Viewing the nation as a large, extended family, and how these abuses mirror what many of us have experienced in our lives, and how that plays out politically and culturally, also gets a moment of consideration.

I left this first episode feeling, as I always do when Danielle and I have these discussions, heard and seen and hopeful that we’ll continue to drill down deeper into what’s going on and, as a result, win the future we deserve. It’s going to take work. Lots of work. But we can do it.

Unfortunately corporate media does not support actual critiques of capitalism or power. Dispatches From A Collapsing State depends on your support, please become a paid subscriber

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe