We have lost at least 14 service members since the war in Iran began. Six more were killed in the crash of a KC-135 tanker in Iraq. Pete Hegseth couldn’t even begin is press conference the next day with condolences for the families. He spent his time attacking the media and smearing the people who led the military before. All of this after one of the most disgusting acts we’ve witnessed in war when Donald Trump used photos from the dignified transfer of our fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in a fundraising email to his followers. The outrage never stops and this week Fred sits down with fellow Iraq veteran and pro-democracy activist Kris Goldsmith to discuss the war and much more. Kristofer Goldsmith is an Iraq War veteran, antifascist content creator, and investigator whose work focuses on exposing extremism, defending democratic institutions, and teaching everyday Americans how they can take proactive actions to counter authoritarian movements. He is the founder of the nonprofit organizations Task Force Butler Institute and Veterans Fighting Fascism, which engage veterans in defending democracy and holding extremist individuals and organizations accountable. Goldsmith’s research into how foreign adversaries targeted U.S. troops and veterans online was published by Vietnam Veterans of America and later served as the focus of congressional hearings. He is the host of On Offense, a podcast that examines the tactics used by authoritarian movements and the strategies people can use to defend democratic society. Through interviews with journalists, historians, investigators, and organizers, the show explores how fascism operates—and what it takes to confront it. Across platforms, his reporting and commentary reach a large online audience, including more than 280,000 followers on TikTok and tens of thousands more across Substack, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, X, and Facebook. Goldsmith lives in New York with his family.
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