The Chauncey DeVega Show

Thomas Ricks is the guest on this special January 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

Your generosity and support helps to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners.

He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of several books including The Generals, The Gamble, and the number one New York Times bestseller Fiasco.

Thomas Ricks' new book is Waging A Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954–1968.

Ricks intervenes against the flat American mainstream history of the Civil Rights Movement as one of passive non-violence and shows how it was actually an active resistance movement and a type of insurgency that involved extremely sophisticated military tactics and strategy.

He details how the Civil Rights movement and its organizers, leaders, and soldiers were able to outmaneuver and defeat a Jim and Jane Crow terror regime that had a monopoly on force and violence as well as numerical superiority and many other advantages on the battlefield.

Ricks highlights these heroes and sheroes and some of their great "military" campaigns such as the Freedom Rides, Birmingham, Selma, and the March on Washington.

On this special January 2023 fundraising installment of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on his great adventure home over the holidays to see his mother, processes the anxieties and responsibilities of being an only child and member of the working class who helps to take care of his mother financially, and shares what he has learned and promised himself in the one year since the Event.

There is also a special Easter Egg at the end of this podcast where Chauncey recounts one of his formative romantic encounters as a journeyman lothario – and a troubling secret he uncovered about that experience during his recent trip home.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Mark Galeotti is one of the world's leading experts on Russia, transnational crime and military affairs.

He is the author of many books, including The Weaponisation of Everything, A Short History of Russia, and We Need to Talk About Putin.

His new book is Putin's Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine.

Galeotti explains how Russia's war against Ukraine is a cruel "laboratory" for the hyper-lethal realities of modern warfare, why Russia's military has underperformed so badly, and how "hot takes" and the 24/7 news media more generally have done the public a great disservice in their understanding of what is really taking place in Ukraine.

Galeotti reflects on emotion, responsibility, and what it means for him to publicly think and write such serious matters as international relations and war.

He also separates fact from fiction about the complex realities of the real man Vladimir Putin vs. how the mythmaking machine and global popular culture have presented him as some type of genius supervillain.

Chauncey DeVega reflects on the one-year "anniversary" of his health emergency and almost going to the big casino in the sky and/or being one with the Force.

And Chauncey goes to the movies and shares his thoughts about such films as Bones and All, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Inspection, The Menu, Violent Night, and Empire of Light.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

On this special Thanksgiving Day installment of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on the deeper meaning of gratitude and thankfulness during these challenging and troubling times.

Chauncey also shares his recent essay on using gratitude and thankfulness as a type of energy and fuel in what will be a long struggle against neofascism and to create a true we the people democracy here in the United States.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Jeff Sharlet is a journalist and bestselling author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. His forthcoming book is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War.

Sharlet reflects on the meaning of the 2022 midterms and how the American people voted to slow down the Republican fascist assault on their democracy and by doing so won an important reprieve in what will be a very long struggle. He also counsels that hope is very important and a source of strength and fuel in the long war for American democracy.

Sharlet also highlights how writing and community and other forms of creating social capital will be a bulwark and source of resistance and fuel against the Republican fascists, the larger white right, and other forms of civic evil.

Chauncey shares his insights on the 2022 midterms, what the polling data and other evidence really shows about how the American people voted to support "democracy" (or not), and counsels that many countervailing forces were at work on election day. Ultimately, Chauncey warns that the final story about the 2022 midterms is far from being written and that the conventional wisdom will likely be proven wrong again.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

David Neiwert is an investigative journalist. He is the author of numerous books including Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump, The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, and Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories That Are Killing Us. His forthcoming book is The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right's Assault on American Democracy.

Neiwert warns that there is a high potential for right-wing violence in response to the midterms and beyond.

He also explains how the Republican fascists and larger white right have been planning their attempt to end American democracy in plain sight for decades – and that the Age of Trump and this escalating democracy crisis should not be a surprise.

And he reflects on what it feels like to have been sounding the alarm about American neofascism and the violent extremism of the American right-wing for decades and to not have been listened to.

David Rothkopf is the CEO of The Rothkopf group. He was also a senior official in the Clinton Administration and CEO and editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy Magazine. He is the author of many books and articles including the new book American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation.

Rothkopf is a frequent contributor to such leading news media outlets as The Washington Post, The New York Times, Financial Times, Time, CNN, and Newsweek.

Rothkopf is also the host of the podcast Deep State Radio.

David Rothkopf explains why being calm and focused is necessary to defeat the Republican fascists and the larger white right's attempt to end American democracy. In the end, panic is a recipe for disaster – and is exactly what the Republican fascists and their forces want to create among the American people.

He warns that voter turnout and mobilization are one of the few ways to stop the Republican fascists and their campaign against American democracy during the 2022 midterms and beyond.

And Rothkopf reflects on what he learned from his time in the Clinton administration and why there can be no compromise with today's Republican fascists and why doing so is to surrender and betray American democracy and freedom.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Baynard Woods is the author of the new book Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness.

His essays and other writing have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and many other publications.

In this conversation, he reflects on the meaning of whiteness in American society and questions of denial, privilege, and responsibility. Baynard also explains how white racial identity has been created, sustained, and protected through a type of conspiratorial silence and violence across generations.

Baynard Woods shares what happened when he tried to disown whiteness by confronting his own family's role in maintaining the white supremacist terror regime in the antebellum and postbellum American South. In the end, confronting and attempting to disown one's inheritance of whiteness comes at a great personal cost – one that Baynard Woods was not fully prepared for.

Chauncey DeVega counsels balance and perspective about the upcoming 2022 midterms. To that end, Chauncey advises pro-democracy Americans that the war against neofascism and Trumpism and their related evils is going to very long and difficult regardless of what happens on November 8. Sustaining our collective humanity is going to be essential for victory.

There is also a Halloween themed "Easter egg" at the end of this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Nicole Hemmer is a political historian and founding director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University. She is the cofounder of the Made by History section of the Washington Post. Hemmer's writing has also been featured by the New York Times, CNN, and Politico.

Her new book is Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.

Hemmer explains how the Age of Trump and the rise of American neofascism in the 21st century was previewed several decades ago in the 1990s by Pat Buchanan, Rush Limbaugh, the militia movement, and the so-called "culture wars".

Hemmer also offers some wisdom and advice about navigating the fascist fever dream, what it means to bear witness and take action in a time of such troubles, grappling with dread and fear, and why America's elites and too many every day (white) people remain in deep denial about the country's democracy crisis.

Chauncey DeVega explains how the on-going criminal trials of the right-wing paramilitaries who participated in Trump's coup attempt on Jan. 6 are confirming just how close the country came to disaster on that day – and how the danger of neofascist violence on a nationwide scale by Trump's followers and enforcers continues to escalate.

And Chauncey reflects upon a very disturbing recent conversation which reminded him (again) how there are many "experts" who lack a moral vision and human framework for their scholarship and other intellectual work. As an intervention, Chauncey shares several letters from African-American men who joined the Union Army during the Civil War with the goal of vanquishing the twin evils of chattel slavery and the Confederacy.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Dr. Sheri Fink is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of the New York Times bestselling nonfiction book Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital about the horrible choices that doctors had to make as Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans.

Dr. Fink reflects of the challenges of managing one's ups and downs during difficult times such as the coronavirus pandemic and the Age of Trump, the importance of coping mechanisms such as gallows humor, and how doctors and other people who are confronted with life and death as part of their jobs navigate that world.

She also shares how social capital, various forms of inequality, and human failings more generally contribute to how doctors and other caregivers decide the value of a human life as seen during the extreme crisis that was Hurricane Katrina as well as on a more routine day-to-day basis as well.

Chauncey DeVega continues to highlight how the mainstream American news media is refusing to consistently explain to the American people the realities of the existential threat to their safety, security, and future represented by the MAGAites, the Republican neofascists and the larger White right.

To that point, Chauncey offers a close reading of Trump's vile speech in Youngstown, Ohio and how it mirrors the themes and warnings contained in the landmark book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer.

There is also an "Easter egg" at the end of this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Colleen Shaddox is the co-author (with Joanne Goldblum) of the book Broke in America: Seeing, Understanding, and Ending US Poverty. Her essays and other writing have been featured by NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post and other leading publications and media outlets.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Colleen Shaddox reflects on her journey to becoming an activist and truth-teller about poverty and other forms of social inequality and injustice in America.

Shaddox highlights the importance of emphasizing the agency and dignity and intelligence of the poor, the working class, and other strivers and hardworking people in America who are under assault by gangster capitalism as they try to make a better life for themselves, their families, and communities.

Colleen Shaddox and Chauncey DeVega also discuss social capital, poverty shaming, living a principled life, and maintaining one's balance in a time of ascendant fascism, cruelty, and other evil.

Chauncey DeVega (again) calls out the hope peddlers and others who have convinced themselves that Donald Trump is going to jail and believe in other false happy endings.

And Chauncey has a rap session where he ponders the meaning of his first birthday since The Event of last year, journeys home to see his mama for Labor Day weekend, has a big only child working class attack of anxiety and worry, sees horrible things on these mean streets where life is so very cheap, goes to the movies, is the CM Punk AEW controversy a work or a shoot?, and updates everyone on his other (mis)adventures.

There is also an "Easter egg" at the end of this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

This is a sneak preview of this week's installment of The Truth Report:

https://thetruthreportwithchaunceydevega.libsyn.com/ep-119-the-south-side-of-chicago-is-not-a-problem-to-be-solved-it-is-a-home-for-the-american-spirit

Sudhir Venkatesh is the William B Ransford Professor of Sociology and African-American Studies at Columbia University. His books include Floating City and Gang Leader for a Day.

Sudhir Venkatesh's new book is The Tomorrow Game: Rival Teenagers, Their Race for a Gun, and a Community United to Save Them.

He reflects upon his 30-year relationship with the South Side of Chicago and how racism and classism distort the complex truth about that community and the people who live there.

Sudhir Venkatesh also explains the importance of listening, respect, and allowing people to tell their own life stories and how sociologists – and people more generally in this moment of democracy crisis and other troubles – can benefit from learning that lesson.

In this wide-ranging conversation, he also grapples with how American higher education and its most elite institutions have failed to rise to the challenge in this moment of ascendant fascism, the coronavirus pandemic, gangster capitalism, and other great crises.

Sudhir Venkatesh also shares his thoughts on the critically acclaimed HBO TV series The Wire, and how contrary to the wishes of many white liberals and others who want easy answers while being entertained, it is not some type of definitive text and the authoritative final word about "urban poverty" and crime in America.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

[email protected]

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow