With Ken Paxton’s win in the Texas Senate runoff the MAGA talking
heads have unleashed a bizarre flood of hate, misogyny, and smears to
defend a man who was charged with felonies and impeached by his own
party. For many women watching it all unfold they are nodding along
knowing that women have faced these attacks for centuries. Every woman
who steps into the spotlight faces backlash and attacks far beyond the
moment. Fred sits down with two women who fight for this week’s show
on the moment we face in our democracy. Allison Butler a Senior
Lecturer, Associate Chair, and the Director of the Media Literacy
Certificate Program in the Department of Communication at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her new book, THE JUDGMENT OF
GENDER: HOW WOMEN ARE CENTERED AND SILENCED IN POP CULTURE she offers
a searing critique of how media and popular culture dehumanize
women—even as they expand their coverage of them. He is also joined by
Danni Eickenhorst a St. Louis restaurant owner and a passionate
advocate - but most of all a community builder hoping to leave the St.
Louis region a little better than she found it. She owns several
restaurants but her primary focus day-to-day is two iconic local
restaurants: The Fountain on Locust and Steve’s Hot Dogs. Both guests
offer a unique perspective on the challenges faced by women who step
out of line and how we can fight back as participants in our
democracy.
Learn more about Allison’s work at
https://www.projectcensored.org/allison-butler/
Learn more about Danni’s work at https://www.hustl.group/

The Trump revenge tour is in full swing against not just his enemies in the Democratic Party but his own Republican members of Congress! In the last week he sent his Secretary of Defense to help successfully defeat Thomas Massie, endorsed Ken Paxton over John Cornyn, and helped oust Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy who promptly flipped his vote on the War Powers resolution. Trump still has to govern with this thin majority Congress and seems hell bent on torching his own agenda. Meanwhile the hotly debated DNC 2024 autopsy report came out to a wave of disappointment and disdain with most of us agreeing how dumb it all is. We need to win now. We need to help working Americans now in this election. How do we get there from here is on the mind of Fred’s guest, Kelly Dietrich, the founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee, which is not affiliated with the DNC, as an independent organization providing guidance for anyone to run, staff, or support a campaign at any level. How do we seize this moment and more in this conversation as well as Fred’s perspective on this Memorial Day weekend.

Learn more at https://traindemocrats.org.

Trump and his Administration haven’t bothered hiding their racism this time. Every day we are reminded of his disdain for black Americans from the so called Anti-DEI attacks by DOGE to Pete Hegseth’s gutting of the military leadership of women and POC. But, Trump has special disdain for black women and shows it each time a journalist asks him a question. He bristles and calls them stupid or dumb. Always. Now we sit after the first black woman nominee of a major party for President lost and many are examining what happened both bad and good. Long time political activist Atima Omara has written a book that pulls the threads of black women in politics and where we go from here. Fred sits down with her this week to examine the moment and the path ahead. Atima is a nationally recognized award-winning political strategist, leader, writer, speaker, and advocate. She holds a BA in American Studies from the University of Virginia, and is a commentator on national politics, candidates, policy, race, gender and culture having been quoted in national outlets including The New York Times, Boston Globe, and The Atlantic. She’s appeared on CNN, PBS, Fox News, BBC, CBC, NPR, and MSNBC including Joy Reid’s The ReidOut. She was named one of one hundred notable Black Americans by EBONY Magazine. Atima’s writing was published in Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy edited by Kesha Blain. She’s also written for Washington Post, the American Prospect, The Root, Teen Vogue, and other national outlets. Her latest book is book ‘The Instigators: How Black Women Have Been Essential to American Democracy (And What We Can Learn from Them) and is currently available at all your favorite book sellers.

Learn more about her book at: https://www.theinstigatorsbook.com/

The California redistricting passed and now there is change happening fast in the state and Republicans are scared. Republican Darrell Issa has been in Congress since 2003 and has decided not to run for reelection in his newly drawn 48th District and is openly talking about moving to Texas to run for Congress in friendlier ground. You can’t make up a more perfect example of how much the GOP favors winning elections by deciding who their voters are instead of on the basis of their policies and record. His retirement  leaves the 48th open to a Democratic flip and previous Democratic candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar is in the race take the seat. Ammar is a child of both Palestinian and Mexican heritage who grew up right in the district and is also now serving as a Naval Reserve officer. He is running as a populist for working Americans who have been left out of the economy and democracy for far too long. The California primary election is occurring right now up to June 2nd.

Learn more about his race at https://www.ammarforcongress.com/

Today marks 60 days since the war with Iran began. By law the War Powers Act is now expired and President Trump must seek Congressional authorization to continue military operations. He has not bothered and has now suggested that it actually isn't 60 days because there is a "ceasefire." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth went before Congress this week for the first time and it went exactly as you would expect. He was belligerent, rude, angry, and out of control while attacking members who dared to question him or the war's outcomes. He and Trump directly called those asking them to follow the law and the Constitution unpatriotic and enemies of our own troops. It's ludicrous beyond measure but more importantly it's dangerous. Fred is solo this week going deep into the testimony and ensuring Hegseth is held accountable for his failures. Catch it now.

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Yesterday Kash Patel triumphantly announced the arrest of a Special Forces Master Sergeant who had bet on the fall of Maduro and made upwards of $400,000. But, oddly, no investigations have been announced into the series of oil futures trades and others just minutes before major announcements by Trump on Iran. Someone with the ability to spend $760 million is acting on insider information but the curiosity to find out who doesn’t seem to have struck the Trump Administration, DOJ, or the Republican Congress. Is this unplanned and disastrous war with Iran to make us safer or just another profit vehicle for Donald Trump, his kids, and friends? Fred sits down with Washington Post writer Josh Rogin to discuss the suspicious market manipulations, the war in Iran, and much more. Rogin is lead industry analyst for Global Security for WP Intelligence. Since 2016, Josh has served as a columnist for the Global Opinions section of the Post, where his columns have broken news, provided insight and driven the Washington conversation around national security and foreign policy. With a particular focus on Asia, Josh has interviewed top world leaders, officials and decision makers including the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, and many more. He holds a BA from George Washington University in International Affairs and attended Sophia University, Tokyo. He is a recipient of the Livingston Award for Young Journalist and a 2011 finalist for the Interaction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He also spends time reviewing ramen and fine watches at his Instagram @wastchtheramen in his limited free time.
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Between the Iran war and the upcoming midterms the United States is locked in both an international and domestic battle for power, a situation we have only faced a few times in our over 250 years of history. Iran has figured out that it doesn't actually have to win the shooting war to wield vast world influence by surviving and holding world trade hostage at its doorstep. At the same time Donald Trump and his MAGA movement face a reckoning this November like they have not faced since January 6, 2021. Trump knows that a sweeping Democratic victory in the midterms will all but end his power, financial windfalls, and influence for the remainder of his time in the White House. One thing that Fred's guest, Professor Robert Pape, knows is that no one gives up power willingly once they have a taste for it. They discuss both issues in depth and outline the danger we face. Robert A. Pape is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs. His humble bio bullet doesn't encompass his massive library of achievements and studies on both international affairs and political movements. He has published dozens of articles and regularly appears for his thoughtful analysis of the world and domestic situations.Learn more about Dr. Pape at https://political-science.uchicago.edu/directory/Robert-Pape

It’s a war. We all know it’s a war and while Trump prepares to ask for another $200 billion to fight it and an astonishing $1.5 Trillion defense budget he is also saying he doesn’t want to pay for daycare, Medicare, or Medicaid. We are sending our sons and daughters to war under the leadership of the worst Secretary of Defense in history and creating veterans that will be made homeless by the actual Department of Veterans Affairs that’s supposed to help them. Once again we are fighting for our service members and veterans against the most anti-veteran Administration in history. This week Fred sits down with Naveed Shah, political director for Common Defense, to discuss all of this insanity and why we must fight back. Naveed is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Operation Iraqi Freedom, from Virginia. After serving on active duty for four years, including a 12-month tour in Iraq, Naveed returned to his hometown for undergraduate studies and began volunteering with veterans' groups. This led to a legislative and advocacy fellowship with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in 2012, followed by political campaigns. In 2016, the First Lady invited Naveed to attend Pres. Obama’s final State of the Union address, in recognition of his years of work on veterans Issues. In 2018, Naveed worked with the Virginia Democratic Party’s Mission First initiative to get veterans and military families involved in the political process. For the past 14 years, Naveed has been involved with veterans and military families across the nation in a movement to build progressive political power with Common Defense for several years. Common Defense is a grassroots, veteran-led political organization founded in 2016. It empowers veterans to stand against racism, violence, and economic inequality, while supporting candidates who share their values of democracy and justice. It acts as a political home for veterans to organize, focusing on advocacy and civic engagement. Naveed holds a B.S. from the University of Virginia where he studied Political Science.
Follow his work at Common Defense at https://commondefense.us
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They are desperately trying to steal the midterms as we speak. From the outrageously stupid SAVE Act being jammed through Congress to the threats to deploy ICE and troops to polls this fall and, of course, the illegal mid-decade redistricting in Texas and Missouri. The Republicans are saying openly they know they are going to lose unless they steal this election and we must fight back. California and Virginia showed that Democrats can play the same game just as well and do it legally while Missourians are fighting with their iniative petition Process. This week Fred sits down with Richard von Glahn the Executive Director of People not Politicians in Missouri who is leading the fight to use Missouri’s over hundred year old Constitutional process to stop the latest gerrymandering. They have gathered thousands of signatures and are fighting across the courts and Capitol to put this effort to the people on the November ballot and stop this effort to stay in power by what is clearly a minority party clinging to power.

We are three weeks into a war with no foreseeable end, and meanwhile the economy is in freefall all because of the chaos of Donald Trump and the Republican Doormat Congress. All they can do is lie but working Americans know the truth as they face impossible healthcare bills, skyrocketing prices, and nearly unaffordable gas.

The incompetence and lies never stop. This week, Fred sits down with former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn to discuss the moment, why he is running for Congress, and the difficulty so many working Americans face because he is one too. Harry Dunn was a Capitol police officer for over 16 years who defended the United States Capitol on January 6th with his fellow Capitol and District Police officers. In the aftermath he has taken it on as his mission to tell the truth about that day, understand those who came that day, and make sure it never happens again. His book ‘Standing My Ground’ was a New York Times bestseller and is available wherever you get your favorite books. He’s now running for Congress in Maryland’s 5th District to fight for working class people in the Capitol again.

Follow his campaign at https://HarryDunnforMD.com

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