Audio From A Collapsing State | Jared Yates Sexton

One of my favorite writers for awhile now has been David Roth, who is an editor, writer, and employee-owner of one of the last essential websites, Defector.com. In addition to covering sports and culture, Roth has become an unparalleled observer and commenter on politics, including one banger of a column after another that leads readers into the minds and continually warped and warpening world being shaped by feckless and cruel billionaires.

I asked David to join me and we had a wide-ranging conversation about the second Trump Administration, what it means to have unserious and dangerous people like Pete Hegseth in control of major functions of government, how his experiences in the world of journalism informed his understanding of our capitalist environment and the continued assault on everything, and where we see signs and opportunities for something better building in the future.

I certainly enjoyed this conversation, and I think you will, too.

Below is a growing list of resources regarding what’s happening politically and opportunities for organizing and forming an actual resistance. As always, if this work and this project resonate with you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to Dispatches From A Collapsing State.

Resources

* What the Hell is Going On: Here is an explainer regarding our present circumstances for anyone who has had a feeling that the traditional Democrat / Republican / Red / Blue narrative was hiding something. Here, we go through the problems in the United States and how the wealth class has effectively put itself in a position to totally takeover our government.

* The Oligarchical Order: A primer on how to give up conventional and failed political understandings in favor of seeing how capitalism directs the course of events and where it is leading and what to expect.

* Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Meaning: Here we get into how consumerism represents an addictive drug that has hollowed out our sense of purpose, leaving us to take this as a moment of self-reflection, recognize that we have effectively been made to hate and doubt ourselves, thereby keeping us from realizing we deserve better.

* A Thoroughly Confused Country: Americans have little in the way of class consciousness, which was an intentional state desired by the wealth class. This primer gets into the class makeup of the United States, including contradictions and motivations, that will be crucial in understanding as we do our work.

* Authoritarianism as Clarity: As authoritarians take power, the world becomes a lot clearer. We can see who we can trust and who we shouldn’t. This episode gets into the history of Vichy France and the lessons we can learn on how to operate as individuals within an authoritarian environment.

* Fostering Hope in Hard Times: Some thoughts on how to maintain hope as authoritarianism sweeps in.

* Understanding the Enemy: A guide through the evolution of capitalism from free markets to its current evolving form - oligarchical authoritarianism, as well as insights into how our politics has made this change happen and moments in which the evolution has been curbed.

* Get Ready: Preparing for the incoming ICE / federal immigration raids with resources for immigrants and allies.

* They're Trying to Crush You: I discuss the emotional toll of the beginning onslaught of the Trump Administration and how it is a strategy for demoralizing us before we can begin resisting.

* A Coup in Plain Sight: An explainer detailing what is happening with Musk, DOGE, and the takeover of the government.

* The Birth of a Monster: A history of how the oligarchical class came to be and what their ideology reveals about what a future under their control would entail.

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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com

Politics is a funny thing. Sometimes developments occur that have consequences that are difficult to predict or maybe understand, at least with certain mindsets. When I wrote The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis, it became obvious that we were reaching a point in history where Neoliberal Globalism would come to a cro…

Thank you Sarah Kendzior for joining me for my first Live conversation and for the thousands who came out to watch. You’ll find here a recording of our discussion. We talk about Sarah’s new book The Last American Road Trip, the experience of living in this crisis, thoughts on the roiling disaster, and, perhaps most importantly, what it is that we must fight to protect and preserve.

I’ll be doing more of these conversations in the future and I thank you for the support and kindness. Get Sarah’s book and get ready for that fight. Judging by what we’ve seen over the past couple months and even the past couple of hours, we’ve got our work cut out for us. But, as always, we have everything to gain.

Unfortunately corporate media does not support actual critiques of capitalism or power. Become a paid subscriber to support Dispatches From A Collapsing State.

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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com

Every day brings something new to gnaw on and gnash our teeth over. We’re under a constant assault on our rights but also our emotional core. As I’ve said, authoritarianism means to destroy our ability to imagine something better, to isolate us, make us feel alone and powerless to stop it. But we are not alone and we are not powerless. And, when all is …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com

This is the second part of a two-part mailbag episode (find part one here). I start this with some thoughts on hope during these hard times. I have struggled and I’m sure you have to maintain a sense in the face of all this brutality and these roadblocks, but we need reminded that living is resistance. If we are going to fight back and eventually win, a…

I was privileged to sit down today with my friend Danielle Moodie, the author of The DAM Digest newsletter, host of The Danielle Moodie Show, co-host of The Daily Beast’s The New Abnormal and Democracyish.

Danielle is one of the few analysts and pundits I have trusted over the years and this episode should give you some idea as to why that is. We talk about the rapid escalation in the authoritarian war against democracy, including the galling raids against Venezuelans who, against court orders, were shipped to El Salvador, the disappearing of Mahmoud Khalil, and the nauseating lack of response by the Democratic Party. On the subject of the Democrats, we dived into why the party has failed to standup to the authoritarians and oligarchs, laying bare the purpose of this current group of politicians: to keep the capitalist exploitation going.

These are heavy subjects, but Danielle and I get into a lot of hope and what it will take to set things right. It’s about having faith in a better future, a more humane future, in which we reinvigorate our connections and address the spiritual crisis that authoritarianism and fascism feed upon. Going through my own days in the wilderness, this was a much-needed conversation.

As always, you’ll find below a list of resources I’ve been compiling in terms of educating yourself on why this is happening and how to organize, as we discussed in the conversation. If you haven’t already, please become a subscriber to keep this project going.

Corporate media does not support actual critiques of capitalism or power. Become a paid subscriber to support Dispatches From A Collapsing State

Resources

* What the Hell is Going On: Here is an explainer regarding our present circumstances for anyone who has had a feeling that the traditional Democrat / Republican / Red / Blue narrative was hiding something. Here, we go through the problems in the United States and how the wealth class has effectively put itself in a position to totally takeover our government.

* The Oligarchical Order: A primer on how to give up conventional and failed political understandings in favor of seeing how capitalism directs the course of events and where it is leading and what to expect.

* Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Meaning: Here we get into how consumerism represents an addictive drug that has hollowed out our sense of purpose, leaving us to take this as a moment of self-reflection, recognize that we have effectively been made to hate and doubt ourselves, thereby keeping us from realizing we deserve better.

* A Thoroughly Confused Country: Americans have little in the way of class consciousness, which was an intentional state desired by the wealth class. This primer gets into the class makeup of the United States, including contradictions and motivations, that will be crucial in understanding as we do our work.

* Authoritarianism as Clarity: As authoritarians take power, the world becomes a lot clearer. We can see who we can trust and who we shouldn’t. This episode gets into the history of Vichy France and the lessons we can learn on how to operate as individuals within an authoritarian environment.

* Fostering Hope in Hard Times: Some thoughts on how to maintain hope as authoritarianism sweeps in.

* Understanding the Enemy: A guide through the evolution of capitalism from free markets to its current evolving form - oligarchical authoritarianism, as well as insights into how our politics has made this change happen and moments in which the evolution has been curbed.

* Get Ready: Preparing for the incoming ICE / federal immigration raids with resources for immigrants and allies.

* They're Trying to Crush You: I discuss the emotional toll of the beginning onslaught of the Trump Administration and how it is a strategy for demoralizing us before we can begin resisting.

* A Coup in Plain Sight: An explainer detailing what is happening with Musk, DOGE, and the takeover of the government.

* The Birth of a Monster: A history of how the oligarchical class came to be and what their ideology reveals about what a future under their control would entail.

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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com

Happy Saturday, everyone. Hopefully you’re having a decent one, finding opportunities for rest and joy and maybe even adventure. I recorded this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State feeling angered by the Democrats in the Senate and the ongoing capitulation. It’s incredibly difficult to fight against an authoritarian takeover and oligarchical coup w…

I had the honor of sitting down with Parker Molloy, the writer behind The Present Age newsletter, in a wide-ranging discussion that touched on how our media has tragically mainstreamed Right Wing hate and changed our political paradigm. We also got into the awful abandonment of Trans Americans in the wake of the 2024 Election, as well as signs that a backlash is building as people move beyond corporate news and see for themselves just what’s happening in this country.

Parker is an essential journalist in this moment and has provided invaluable insight and analysis for years. I hope you’ll check out The Present Age if you haven’t already. Below you’ll find a list of resources detailing, for educational and organizing purposes, how we’ve arrived at this point and we need to fight our way out. I’ll be recording a subscriber-exclusive mailbag episode of Audio From A Collapsing State this weekend. Please reply with any questions or topics or feel free to email me if you’d like to remain anonymous.

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

Resources

* What the Hell is Going On: Here is an explainer regarding our present circumstances for anyone who has had a feeling that the traditional Democrat / Republican / Red / Blue narrative was hiding something. Here, we go through the problems in the United States and how the wealth class has effectively put itself in a position to totally takeover our government.

* The Oligarchical Order: A primer on how to give up conventional and failed political understandings in favor of seeing how capitalism directs the course of events and where it is leading and what to expect.

* Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Meaning: Here we get into how consumerism represents an addictive drug that has hollowed out our sense of purpose, leaving us to take this as a moment of self-reflection, recognize that we have effectively been made to hate and doubt ourselves, thereby keeping us from realizing we deserve better.

* A Thoroughly Confused Country: Americans have little in the way of class consciousness, which was an intentional state desired by the wealth class. This primer gets into the class makeup of the United States, including contradictions and motivations, that will be crucial in understanding as we do our work.

* Authoritarianism as Clarity: As authoritarians take power, the world becomes a lot clearer. We can see who we can trust and who we shouldn’t. This episode gets into the history of Vichy France and the lessons we can learn on how to operate as individuals within an authoritarian environment.

* Fostering Hope in Hard Times: Some thoughts on how to maintain hope as authoritarianism sweeps in.

* Understanding the Enemy: A guide through the evolution of capitalism from free markets to its current evolving form - oligarchical authoritarianism, as well as insights into how our politics has made this change happen and moments in which the evolution has been curbed.

* Get Ready: Preparing for the incoming ICE / federal immigration raids with resources for immigrants and allies.

* They're Trying to Crush You: I discuss the emotional toll of the beginning onslaught of the Trump Administration and how it is a strategy for demoralizing us before we can begin resisting.

* A Coup in Plain Sight: An explainer detailing what is happening with Musk, DOGE, and the takeover of the government.

* The Birth of a Monster: A history of how the oligarchical class came to be and what their ideology reveals about what a future under their control would entail.

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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com

In this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I answer some reader and listener questions, beginning with an example of someone stepping up in their workplace and organizing with colleagues to pressure higher-ups into rejecting pressure from the Trump Administration. From there, we get into the ultimate goals of the oligarchs (spoiler: it’s consolid…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com

As we continue to suffer to suffer the brunt of the oligarchical coup and ready ourselves for the oncoming political, cultural, and economic consequences, we are also seeing signs of the backlash. The nature of authoritarian power grabs always inspires popular uprisings and movements. We’re seeing it with protests, with rising anger and rejection of the…