Refuse Fascism

Sam Goldman interviews Umair Haque, Founder & Editor of Eudaimonia and Co, Bad Words, a book of nights, Leadership in the Age of Rage, and eudaimonia. You can also find him on Medium where he is a top writer in Life, Politics, Culture, Leadership. Follow him on Twitter @UmairH.

This episode was released on the last night of the CPAC conference, shortly after Trump spoke, laying out their strategy to further consolidate their fascist base in the Republican Party and return to power. We can either:

A. Treat the Nazi GOP as a legitimate political party/movement to be compromised, debated, worked with 

OR

B. Recognize they are fascist. Have difficult, fruitful dialogue amongst decent people about how to stop fascism

We can’t do both. 

Send your comments to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Sam Goldman interviews Dr. Bandy Lee, M.D., M.Div., a forensic psychiatrist, violence expert, and faculty member of Yale School of Medicine for 17 years who also taught at Yale Law School for 15 years. She was a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, a consultant with the World Health Organization since 2002, and author of the textbook, Violence (2019). She edited The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President (2017 and 2019) and authored Profile of a Nation: Trump’s Mind, America’s Soul (2020). She is also president of the World Mental Health Coalition (worldmhc.org), which is a professional organization dedicated to the betterment of societal mental health and is forming a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine what happened over the Trump years and how the nation can heal from it. You can follow her work at bandylee.com and @BandyXLee1.

Read and share the statement from the editorial board of RefuseFascism.org on the second Senate acquittal of Trump. Send your comments to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Sam Goldman talks with journalist and author Sarah Posner (@SarahPosner) about Trump's impeachment trial. Read Sarah's recent piece, How the Christian right helped foment insurrection. 

Upon acquittal, Trump said, “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!”

And as much as he lies with every breath, these statements about only just beginning will prove true if we don’t stop them. 

Send your comments to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

This urgent discussion was recorded February 8, on the eve of Trump’s  second impeachment trial. What actually happened on January 6 when a  fascist mob stormed the Capitol? What does that, and everything that  lead up to it, tell us about the danger of fascism in America? How does the impeachment trial fit into this picture? And how can people act act  in a meaningful way in the interests of humanity at this unprecedented  moment? 

The discussion features:

Send your comments to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Sian Norris (@Sianushka), author of the upcoming book Birth Violence, talks with Sam Goldman about the tactics and links of anti-abortion movement internationally - including fascist coup participants in the assault on the US Capitol January 6. 

Then, Sam talks with Coco Das (@Coco_Das) about her new article on RefuseFascism.org: The “Left” Coalition That Kept You Off the Streets and Won’t Stop Fascism.

RSVP for the online forum Monday February 8: The Senate Impeachment Trial & the Need to Refuse Fascism with actor and activists Frances Fisher, attorney Eric Seitz, writer Jared Yates Sexton, and historian and journalist Paul Street. 

Send your comments to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

As Trump's impeachment trial looms but some progressives argue that holding Trump accountable for his fascist coup attempt would distract Congress from accomplishing other priorities, Sam Goldman talks with writer and historian Paul Street about his upcoming piece "The Anatomy of Fascism-Denial: 31 Flavors of Anti-Antifascism." Read "Thirty-One Flavors of Fascism" now. 

RSVP for the online forum Monday February 8: The Senate Impeachment Trial & the Need to Refuse Fascism.

Also read the full New Year's statement by Bob Avakian that Sam mentions at the beginning here. Send your comments and ideas for this show going forward to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

Sam Goldman talks with renowned educator and author of multiple books Henry Giroux about his recent piece on Truthout: Downplaying Trumpism is Dangerous.

Trump is out of power now but clearly there is still a need for people acting together to refuse fascism and demand a more just world. How close did we come to full-blown fascism? What are we faced with now and what is needed? We will continue to explore these questions on this podcast and encourage people to act with us via refusefascism.org. Send your comments and ideas for this show going forward to [email protected] or @SamBGoldman.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

On Trump's last full day in office, Sam talks with Dr. Jo-Marie Burt, (scholar of political violence, human rights and transitional justice in Latin America; professor at The Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and Senior Fellow at The Washington Office on Latin America). What can we learn about recovery from the Trump years and attempted self-coup from other countries?

Follow Dr. Burt at @jomaburt. Sign this statement: Pledge to the People of the World In the Name of Humanity We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America. Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

We're sharing a conversation that originally aired on Sunsara Taylor's show, We Only Want the World (WBAI and WPFW; listen to past episodes on wpfwfm.org), featuring Dr. Cornel West, Rev. William H. Lamar IV and Andy Zee. This discussion was recorded and aired the day before fascist assault on the Capitol January 6 but is completely relevant this week as the country faces continued violent threats and other fallout from the coup. 

Sign this statement: Pledge to the People of the World In the Name of Humanity We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America.

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.

We're sharing a very timely conversation between actor/comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, Jason Stanley (author of How Fascism Works), Andy Zee (co-initiator of Refuse Fascism, host of The RNL Show) and Sunsara Taylor (co-initiator of Refuse Fascism, host of We Only Want the World). 

In the aftermath of the Trump-led attempted coup, and in the days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden, is it right to call Trump, his regime and his MAGA base fascist? Is it too "inflammatory?"  Why are the fascists fighting in the streets and our side so passive? 

Trump needs to be DEFEATED legally & politically. His fascist coup attempt, the whole regime and their followers, & their fascist program with its white supremacy, misogyny & xenophobia resoundingly repudiated. 

Connect with the movement at RefuseFascism.org and support:

Sign the Pledge to the People of the World here. 

Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown.