What Comes After Putin?

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum is back on Gaslit Nation in Part II of a discussion that spans what comes after Putin, why it seems like Russia is behind so much destabilization around the world, and why the Holodomor, Stalin’s 1933 genocide famine in Ukraine, matters today. Applebaum is the author of Gulag, Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, and Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine, which cites survivor testimony that Andrea’s grandfather provided the U.S. Congressional investigation of the famine. That interview begins at 32:16 of this week’s episode.  While the Israeli government reportedly approved a deal for a limited hostage exchange with Hamas and a temporary pause, the opening commentary includes a look at Russia’s nodes in its war against the democratic alliance, including Musk and Thiel, Netanyahu’s extreme far-right coalition, and Hamas, and shares solutions on how to strengthen our national security against these 21st century threats. The opening discussion celebrates the Mother of Thanksgiving: poet, novelist, journalist, abolitionist Sarah Josepha Hale, and women on the frontlines everywhere campaigning for human rights. We see you, and we’re grateful for you. Thank you to everyone who does whatever they can, wherever they are, to strengthen our democracy.  This week’s bonus episode will be a special thank you to our Gaslit Nation community that keeps our show going through these difficult times, with another make-it-or-break-it year around the corner. To help sustain us, look out for the first-ever Make Art workshop publishing Saturday with a simple guide to follow at your leisure. We’ll follow up this workshop with a live virtual event in the new year for our community to gather together and share notes, ask questions, and sharpen our ideas. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! To check out the first ever Gaslit Nation Make Art workshop, subscribe to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon by signing up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. You’ll receive all episodes ad free, special invites, and more!  Show Notes: Get your ‘Tis the Season to Prosecute Treason T-shirt featuring an original design by Hamish Smyth here: http://tee.pub/lic/_vLBHBoWkeg Meet the “Mother of Thanksgiving:” Sarah Josepha Hale https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/meet-the-mother-of-thanksgiving-sarah-josepha-hale/ FINLAND: Anne Applebaum on Twitter: “Russia is throwing everything it has - bribery, propaganda, migrants, energy blackmail, hackers - at Europe and the US - with the clear (and often stated) intent of destabilizing Western democracies. When will we begin to take this challenge seriously?” https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1726527444532994342 Ukraine’s Foreign Minister on an Important Thread: “To those who have missed the previous 30 years, here is a short list of the results of negotiations with Russia that it never respected:” https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1724427557016043668 Anne Applebaum: “A year ago, Ukraine liberated Kherson. Since then, the Russians have not stopped attacking civilians there. If they can't own Kherson, they will destroy it. That's their attitude to all of Ukraine.” https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1723647754860147144 The West Must Defeat Russia Putin hasn’t given up his plans. He thinks Ukraine’s allies will lose interest. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/us-ukraine-support-putin-defeat/675953/ Anne Applebaum on Twitter: “Ukraine and its allies' record, so far is one of extraordinary success: Russia has left 50% of the territory it occupied early in the war, has 250k casualties, and lost billions in weapons. But that success is not permanent until Russia understands that it has lost.” https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1722972111184986398  Anne Applebaum on Twitter: “The accounts given by Ukrainians who have fled the occupied territories sound like accounts of people who escaped Stalin's Soviet Union” https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1725441272129654887 Timothy Snyder on Twitter: “A group of Russian nationals were able to donate to newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson's campaign in 2018 by funneling the money through a U.S. company." – Ewan Palmer, Newsweek” https://twitter.com/TimothyDSnyder/status/1725655210117202090 Fania Oz-Salzberger on Twitter: “Do you know what Israelis are fuming about tonight? #Hamas, #Hizbollah, @BBC, @GretaThunberg, for sure. But there’s more. It was disclosed today that in secretive haste, our government gave 56 million shekels to the Prime Minister’s bureau, 30 million of which are for renovating #Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem. 30 million shekels can suffice to build two brand new luxury villas. The country is at war, 239 hostages in Gaza, 125,000 Israeli evacuees from both the south and the north are squatting in hotels and relatives’ homes, myriads have lost their living, and massacre survivors cannot afford psychological treatment. But our Ceaușescus are renovating. This beggars belief.” https://twitter.com/faniaoz/status/1724856880487407884 I Have Never Been to This Israel Before https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/opinion/israel-hamas-war.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource;=articleShare Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Twitter: “Well Fascists and Communists often confined dissidents or inconvenient people in psychiatric hospitals, so here Trump goes again with his authoritarian threats.” https://twitter.com/ruthbenghiat/status/1725367194714849650 Jake Tapper on Twitter: “Elon Musk pushing unvarnished anti semitism at a time of rising antisemitism and violence against Jews” https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1724922127206273338 The White House May Condemn Musk, but the Government Is Addicted to Him Rarely has the U.S. government so depended on the technology provided by a single technologist with views that it has so publicly declared repugnant.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/us/politics/elon-musk-white-house-pentagon.html?smid=tw-share  Peter Thiel Reveals His Contrarian Take on Energy and Climate The Trump adviser and Facebook investor strays outside the norm—including in cleantech.  https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/peter-thiel-reveals-his-contrarian-leanings-on-energy-climate Professor Michael E. Mann: “Thiel, Russia, Saudi Arabia all conspired in Musk's twitter takeover. An alliance of authoritarians/fascists and petrostates whose aim is no less than to destabilize democratic governance”  https://twitter.com/MichaelEMann/status/1634931469499117570 Ben Collins on Twitter: “Media Matters suit filed by Musk’s X Corp here. He single out a staffer, @ehananoki , when filing it.” https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1726761801168162825?t=aA7AES3t5cwGkFxjoNAPCA&s;=19 Global warming to far exceed Paris targets without urgent action: new report https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/video/global-warming-far-exceed-paris-targets-without-urgent-action-new-report Argentina set for sharp right turn as Trump-like radical wins presidency  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/19/argentina-presidential-election-results-javier-milei/ Univision, the Spanish-language news giant, shifts its approach to Trump The presence of corporate executives at Mar-a-Lago raises alarm among Democrats, who are used to Latino media criticism of the former president’s policies  https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/14/trump-univision-biden-election/ Opening clip: https://twitter.com/AnandWrites/status/1725225486882587118 Young voters in Michigan call for a ceasefire: https://twitter.com/jadeegray1/status/1726804481156030750?t=QNbP1pyq_ObLSSCH_Xp6IQ&s;=19 Carl Sagan lecture on climate change in 1990:  https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/GEyMxn0X0u   Elon Musk on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine  https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1723324517177561374 CNN’s Jake Tapper on Israel’s extreme far-right ruling coalition:  https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1724955462775251270