Gaslit Nation

• TEASER - Cold War History Behind Trump’s White House Destruction

  Like Putin, Donald Trump is determined to hide from the people. He’s promising that a taxpayer-funded FBI–run by MAGA troll Kash Patel–will “secure” the next election. The MAGA cult plans to steal it, again. And with Republican gerrymandering, bot farms from Russia to China, and Elon Musk’s Twitter turned into a disinformation landfill, he just might pull it off. Again.  Causing one of the longest government shutdowns in American history – again – Trump gives Argentina a $40 billion bailout. Why Argentina? It’s where a lot of Nazis fled after World War II, and maybe where the Trumps plan to flee after Americans end their crime spree. It’s a bold strategy: betray your own farmers to curry favor with your future Nazi refuge.  Meanwhile, the convicted felon-in-chief is busy literally demolishing the White House. The East Wing is being gutted to make space for what amounts to a kleptocratic ballroom: a pay-to-play shrine for oligarchs and hangers-on. Melania already desecrated Jackie Kennedy’s Rose Garden, turning it into a cement Panera Bread patio. It’s as if the Trumps are trying to erase everything beautiful about American democracy and replace it with a bedazzled monument to authoritarianism, to repay their Russian backers driven to win a Cold War rematch. Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Join us in shining a light for Ukraine! Donate to the medical needs for veterans in Ukraine: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/44433   Analysis on how Republican Jim Crow helped steal the 2024 election: Will We Have Free and Fair Elections in the Midterms? https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/will-we-have-free-and-fair-elections-in-the-midterms   Phonebanking works! Join our friends at Sister District to get out the vote in Virginia: https://sisterdistrict.com/tag/phonebanking/ ICE Stockpiling Warheads and Chemical Weapons as Lawmaker Fears Trump Planning Strike https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-stockpiling-warheads-and-chemical-weapons-as-lawmaker-fears-trump-planning-strike/   The Jackie Kennedy White House Tour: https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/norman-mailer-pans-the-jackie-kennedy-white-house-tour/   This article is more than 7 years old JFK files reveal FBI warning on Oswald and Soviets' missile fears https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/27/release-jfk-files-fbi-warning-oswald-soviet-missile-fears   Trump Claims He’d Give His $230 Million Justice Department Grift to Charity. Yeah, Right. The president, who has a history of reneging on charitable pledges, ran his own family foundation into the ground. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/trump-230-million-justice-department-settlement-charity-grift/   Donald Trump Jr. co-founds new private members club, Executive Branch, with a $500,000 fee https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/28/donald-trump-jr-private-members-club-executive-branch.html   Leavitt: "At this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president's main priority." https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m3uwoemyzh2i   Trump: "We can never let what happened in the 2020 election happen again. We just can't let that happen. I know Kash is working on it, everybody is working on it. And certainly Tulsi is working on it. We can't let that happen again to our country." https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m3qaazbmvz2a   Trump Voters Disapprove of $40 Billion Argentina Bailout: Poll https://www.newsweek.com/trump-voters-disapprove-argentina-bailout-poll-10918329   Netherlands Limits Intelligence-Sharing With US Amid Politicization, Russia Fears: The intelligence chiefs also warned that Russia is escalating its hostile activities as it intensifies its hybrid war with Europe, necessitating a more “assertive” response to Moscow. https://www.kyivpost.com/post/62663   ICE is stockpiling arms, including chemical weapons, guided missile warheads and explosive components. The spending dwarfs anything we've ever seen in the agency - a 700% increase. The President is building an army to attack his own country. https://bsky.app/profile/senchrislarson.bsky.social/post/3m3pl3257322m   Virginia Democrats Plan to Redraw House Maps in Redistricting Push The surprise move could give Democrats two or three additional House seats and is likely to scramble the last couple weeks of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 4 election.https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/us/politics/virginia-democrats-redistrict.html   Melania Trump Supported Her Husband's Racist Birtherism Claims on TV: People need to stop talking about "freeing Melania." https://www.teenvogue.com/story/melania-trump-supported-her-husbands-racist-birtherism-claims-on-tv   Trump Sends Weapons to Ukraine: By the Numbers https://www.csis.org/analysis/trump-sends-weapons-ukraine-numbers   So just how significant are the sanctions the U.S. slapped on Russia's oil giants? U.S. also threatened sanctions against those who do business with Rosneft and Lukoil https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-oil-us-sanctions-9.6950160   Russia sanctions bill on hold for now, Thune says https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/20/congress/russia-sanctions-bill-on-hold-thune-00615652  

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• Antifa Uprising

  What do Stalin, Trump, and Viktor Orbán have in common? They’re all fragile men terrified of truth, artists, and of anyone with a moral compass. In this week’s Gaslit Nation, we talk with 91-year-old Peter Hidas, who as a young student helped ignite the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, a movement born of courage and faith in a better world. Peter’s story is a testament to what ordinary people can do when they refuse to bow to tyranny. The revolts that shook the Iron Curtain in 1956 laid the groundwork for the movements that would one day bring down the Soviet empire, to the unforgettable soundtrack of Swan Lake played on repeat on Soviet TV by a collapsing regime. Today, a new generation of brave Russians has reclaimed that symbol: the “Swan Lake Collective” is being played by artists on the streets of Russia, creating a rallying cry “Let the swans dance!” for peace, freedom, and the end of Putin’s Fox News–style dictatorship. Gaslit Nation is here to remind you that Putin’s days are numbered.  This week’s show also celebrates the heroes of the No Kings protests, the Gen Z meme pirates toppling corruption crime sprees pretending to be governments, how Trump and Putin might try to save Orban’s doomed April 2026 election, and more.  So keep marching. Keep creating.That’s how we win.  The song featured in this week’s episode is “Election Day” by The Spiders. Check out their music at thespidersband.com If you have a song to share on Gaslit Nation, submit it here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-d_DWNnDQFYUMXueYcX5ZVsA5t2RN09N8PYUQQ8koq0/edit?ts=5fee07f6&gxids=7628 Join the Gaslit Nation + Sister District Halloween Phonebank this Wednesday at 6pm ET – every phone call to Virginia plants seeds of hope! RSVP here: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/ Andrea’s graphic novel In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones won the Ringo Award! Get your signed copy by subscribing to the show at the Producer-level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit, starting this week. All active donors at the Producer-level and higher, who help make Gaslit Nation possible, will receive a special thank you gift in early 2026: a signed copy of Andrea’s soon-to-be-released graphic novel Mrs. Orwell.  Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes: How to Overthrow a Dictator (Featuring the history of Andrea’s father-in-law Mihai Sedaru Barbul) https://sites.libsyn.com/124622/how-to-overthrow-a-dictator From Epstein’s Chief Accuser, a Memoir Both Sad and Devastating: Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s posthumous “Nobody’s Girl” doesn’t break political news, but might break your heart. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/books/review/virginia-roberts-giuffre-nobodys-girl-memoir.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uk8.Fe6u.LwC3e8hbHgjq&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Videos Show Russian Youths Chant Anti-War Song in St. Petersburg https://www.newsweek.com/videos-russian-youths-chant-anti-war-song-st-petersburg-10883035 Trump says he did not want 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gjp73gp41o Hungary PM Orbán's advisor in hot water for saying resisting Russia is irresponsible https://www.euronews.com/2024/09/26/hungary-pm-orbans-advisor-in-hot-water-for-saying-resisting-russia-is-irresponsible What to know about the Trump administration's $20B bailout for Argentina https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administrations-20b-bailout-argentina/story?id=126513232 The Rise of the Inflatable Chicken Resistance https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/opinion/no-kings-protest-chicago-tactical-frivolity.html Smearing Virginia Giuffre: What New Allegations Against Prince Andrew Reveal About Power and Silence https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/opinion/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-smear-campaign-sex-abuse-survivor-social-security-met-police The Tech Right Gets Its Own Phyllis Schlafly: Katherine Boyle, an influential venture capitalist who is a friend of the vice president, thinks the country’s path forward involves cultural conservatism and more weapons production. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/business/katherine-boyle-andreesen-horowitz-american-dynamism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vE8.7WA9.glWQrABz11-S&smid=url-share The Contagious Gen Z Uprisings: It’s a good time to start paying attention to the youth-led protests that are spreading around the world and that have toppled governments. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/world/gen-z-revolutions-protests-louvre-heist-gaza.html?unlocked_article_code=1.u08.Yg4j.Swx4JtTHBLbC&smid=url-share Yekaterinburg Street Musician Detained After Performing in Support of Arrested Band https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/10/21/yekaterinburg-street-musician-detained-after-performing-in-support-of-arrested-band-a90887 Democratic win in Iowa special election breaks GOP supermajority https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democratic-win-in-iowa-special-election-breaks-gop-supermajority Trump and Putin's planned summit in Hungary boosts an authoritarian ally https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna238138 Europe Is Answering Putin’s Challenge: Members of the NATO alliance are showing real grit—and, for now, the U.S. is with them. https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/archive/2025/10/nato-putin-trump-europe-ukraine/684592/ CLIP 1: https://bsky.app/profile/courtwing.bsky.social/post/3m3ij7nu23c2f CLIP 2: https://bsky.app/profile/us-political-news.bsky.social/post/3m3i5tuagec2l CLIP 3: Springtime for Hitler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovCf9VRLnDY CLIP 4: https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1978242426461368656

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• Palantir: Peter Thiel’s Big Brother and Ways to Resist - TEASER

  While Peter Thiel obsesses over the Anti-Christ, his company Palantir has been busy building America’s Orwellian Big Brother, which began under Trump’s first term and was allowed to continue under Biden. Under Trump’s second term, Thiel’s Palantir has rapidly expanded into nearly every corner of the U.S. government. A recent New York Times investigation detailed how Palantir’s data-mining empire powers law enforcement and intelligence agencies to track, profile, and monitor not just criminal networks, but potentially spy on American citizens. Thiel likes to posture as a radical outsider, but through Palantir he’s shaping the machinery of the state to establish a tech-backed dictatorship. In Part Two of our conversation with journalist Gil Duran, of the essential Nerd Reich newsletter, we dig into the tech coup, what it means for democracy, and why it matters that a billionaire obsessed with the apocalypse is also building the digital panopticon. We also discuss what happens when Trump dies and MAGA faces a Game of Thrones succession battle? Why don’t we have a strong opposition? How do we build one? How do we create real solidarity instead of the weak attempts by some Democratic leaders to “negotiate” with fascists? (There’s no negotiating with fascists.)  How do we establish our own fifty year plan to rebuild democracy?  Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:   Action alert! Send postcards to California to ensure Prop 50 passes and help support other must-win races: https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards   Action alert! Sister District x Gaslit Nation Halloween Phonebank for VA! https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/   The One Trait That Predicts Trump Support (w. Matthew MacWilliams) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp19ZKI2m2w   Gil Duran’s The Nerd Reich: Is Peter Thiel the Antichrist? NYT Didn’t Think to Ask https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/   Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work with the government, spreading the company’s technology — which could easily merge data on Americans — throughout agencies. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html   The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession: Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since. https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-stakes-real-story-peter-thiels-antichrist-obsession/   I Worked At Palantir: The Tech Company Reshaping Reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ95Gmvg_D4   Why Everyone Around Trump is Paranoid Now: Michael Wolff | Inside Trump's Head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HplPf8F5NaI&t=13s   Peter Thiel calls the anti-Christ as a humanitarian: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CQ5ATBoF8og   Peter Thiel compares Greta Thunberg to the Anti-Christ: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4xVOOgmH3-w   Thiel compares being woke to Saudi Arabia https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-873PUOq1s8   Trump’s Texts to CNN Host Renew Health Speculation https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-texts-to-cnn-host-renew-health-speculation/   Has Big Brother arrived? Inside the secretive Trump effort to centralize government data on millions of Americans https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-palantir-data-immigration-b2761096.html   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon.  Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon.  Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

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• Peter Thiel and The Anti-Christ

  With Trump’s health visibly in decline, attention is shifting to Peter Thiel’s invention, JD Vance, who may soon be president. Which means Thiel, a billionaire doomsday prepper who thinks the Anti-Christ is Greta Thunberg, could effectively rule the world. What does Thiel’s obsession with the Anti-Christ reveal about how we can resist him? Thiel’s worldview isn’t just weird Silicon Valley paranoia; it’s vintage fascist fan fiction. His ideas trace back to Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, who justified Hitler’s violent purges as necessary for “saving civilization.” Schmitt’s argument was simple and horrifying: democracy is too weak, so we need a strongman to suspend the rules. Thiel recycles Schmitt’s logic in a twenty-first-century sermon on why democracy itself is the real threat. In Thiel’s version, collective action to solve global crises like man-made climate change is the definition of evil. So you know what to do, folks: double down on building collective action. In Part One of our conversation with journalist Gil Duran, of the Nerd Reich newsletter, that tracks Silicon Valley’s billionaire Bond villains, we dig into Thiel’s apocalyptic delusions, how they shape his politics, and why it’s a very big deal that a man this afraid of democracy has his hands in everything from expanding government surveillance to election data. Part Two will be out this Thursday, with a special look at Thiel and Trump’s Big Brother–their latest efforts to establish a Chinese-style surveillance state.  Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Show Notes:   Action alert! Send postcards to California to ensure Prop 50 passes and help support other must-win races: https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards   Action alert! Sister District x Gaslit Nation Halloween Phonebank for VA! https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/847185/   The One Trait That Predicts Trump Support (w. Matthew MacWilliams) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp19ZKI2m2w   Gil Duran’s The Nerd Reich: Is Peter Thiel the Antichrist? NYT Didn’t Think to Ask https://www.thenerdreich.com/is-peter-thiel-the-antichrist-nyt-didnt-think-to-ask/   The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession: Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since. https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-stakes-real-story-peter-thiels-antichrist-obsession/   I Worked At Palantir: The Tech Company Reshaping Reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ95Gmvg_D4   Why Everyone Around Trump is Paranoid Now: Michael Wolff | Inside Trump's Head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HplPf8F5NaI&t=13s   Peter Thiel calls the anti-Christ as a humanitarian: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CQ5ATBoF8og   Peter Thiel compares Greta Thunberg to the Anti-Christ: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4xVOOgmH3-w   Thiel compares being woke to Saudi Arabia https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-873PUOq1s8   Trump’s Texts to CNN Host Renew Health Speculation https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-texts-to-cnn-host-renew-health-speculation/   Has Big Brother arrived? Inside the secretive Trump effort to centralize government data on millions of Americans https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-palantir-data-immigration-b2761096.html   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: October 27 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon.  Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon.  Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community  

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• Trump is Scared - TEASER

  The first movie ever screened in the White House wasn’t Casablanca or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It was The Birth of a Nation: a Ku Klux Klan recruitment ad that glorified white rage bloodlust. A century later, Trump’s White House is the sequel: staged propaganda to glorify lies, violence, and hate against freedom fighters–otherwise known as antifa–otherwise known as World War II veterans who won the war against tyranny. Because if you’re not antifa, you’re pro-fascism.  Trump is the Frankenstein monster of America’s darkest chapters: Jim Crow, McCarthyism, Watergate, and reality-TV nihilism. But the heroes who stormed Normandy didn’t die for us to cower before a spray-tanned con man. Which brings us to the Epstein Files: the panic button of MAGA-land. If the Epstein Files were nothing, Trump and Mike Johnson wouldn’t be working so hard to shut down our government and prevent a vote. “Teflon Don” has gotten away with years of crimes, including inciting a violent attempted overthrow of our democracy, which led to several deaths, including of law enforcement. So why is he so panicked about the Epstein Files? The truth will come out, as it always does. And remember: bullies only understand strength. So keep pushing, keep shouting, and for the love of democracy: Release. The. Epstein. Files. This week’s bonus show continues our conversation with Zerlina Maxwell, host of Mornings with Zerlina on SiriusXM’s Progress Channel and author of The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide. Find her weekday mornings, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, on SiriusXM Progress, channel 127. For our Patreon supporters at the Truth-teller tier ($5/month) and higher, we have an exclusive for you: an odd development that hit our inbox. We’d love to get your thoughts on it over on Patreon. To hear this full bonus show, be sure to subscribe at Patreon.com/Gaslit for all bonus shows, all shows ad-free, invites to exclusive events, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available, and you can even give the gift of membership. Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!    Show Notes: Already a Patreon member? Here's how to get your RSS of our episodes: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041347732-How-to-use-your-audio-RSS Top House Democrat seeks Jeffrey Epstein financial records from Dimon, other bank CEOs https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/09/bank-records-epstein-dimon-raskin.html?taid=68e78b8c80da070001f243a1&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter   Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism “Indicators” https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nspm-7-labels-common-beliefs   Florida Lawmaker to Meet With Putin Envoy Dmitriev This Month https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/10/09/florida-lawmaker-to-meet-with-putin-envoy-dmitriev-this-month-a90763   We Are Elated by the Gaza Ceasefire News. Now, the World Must Hold Israel to Account for 2 Years of Genocide https://open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/gaza-ceasefire-hold-israel-accountable-genocide?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email   Listen To The Jeffrey Epstein Tapes: ‘I Was Donald Trump’s Closest Friend’ https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU08/20250227/117951/HHRG-119-JU08-20250227-SD006-U6.pdf   Trump Has Second 'Yearly' Check-Up In Just Six Months: He's going to "stop by" the doctor's office while he's at Walter Reed Medical Center for another event, the White House said. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-yearly-doctors-appointment_n_68e7007be4b0b4458cb6da16   Publisher Removes Melania Trump Claims From Book, Issues Apology https://www.newsweek.com/publisher-harpercollins-uk-removes-melania-trump-claims-book-issues-apology-10844442   Racist KKK glorifying film Birth of a Nation became the first film shown in the White House under Woodrow Wilson: https://woodrowwilsonhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WWH-SCHOLAR-SPRING-2023-Hashimoto-Elizabeth-FINAL-PROJECT-BIRTH-OF-A-NATION.pdf   Shadow Network: The Anne Nelson Interview - Part II https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2022/5/11/anne-nelson-part-02?rq=Focus%20on%20the%20family

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