Gaslit Nation

Putin lost a longtime friend and confidant, the only American statesman he respected and admired. Why might these two have hit if off? War criminal Henry Kissinger, like Putin, was responsible for millions of deaths and backing some of the most brutal regimes in the world. The foreign policy establishment here in the U.S. and in Europe have blood on their hands for normalizing Kissinger, like Putin, for far too long. For a refresher on Kissinger’s legacy, which was revealed to be even worse than previously known, listen to the Gaslit Nation spring 2023 interview with investigative journalist Nick Turse on his reporting for The Intercept into the generational trauma of Kissinger in Cambodia. Not content to prolong the Vietnam war, Kissinger spread the conflict to formally neutral Cambodia, helping bring to power the repressive Khmer Rouge. Add to that his enabling of genocides in East Timor and Bangladesh, as well as backing dictators and murder squads in Latin America. It’s obvious why he was also a fan of Trump. All this is to say, where were you when you first heard the news that Kissinger will no longer be advising other war criminals, and how did you celebrate? Andrea shares a story of spotting Kissinger at a party while holding a throwable glass of wine in her hand, and why it’s important to celebrate the demise of war criminals–that’s how you build a culture to prevent future war criminals. The Patreon-only portion of this week’s bonus episode features comments and questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. Topics range from turning our current rollercoaster of living history into the next Nineteen Eighty-Four, celebrating our acts of civil resistance, books to read to find your voice in the world, and more! To join the conversation, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Show Notes: Henry Kissinger, responsible for millions of deaths, dies at 100 https://theintercept.com/2023/11/29/henry-kissinger-death/ Henry Kissinger: ‘If it were not for the accident of my birth, I would be antisemitic.’ https://forward.com/culture/470300/kissinger-at-100-if-it-were-not-for-the-accident-of-my-birth-i-would-be/ Alex Gibney Documentary: The Trials of Henry Kissinger https://www.amazon.com/Trials-Henry-Kissinger-Eugene-Jarecki/dp/B00A9IFSBY Kissinger on the Nixon tapes https://youtu.be/OKoqIqQ0E08?si=vV7uM8nNwyPiHoMI Kissinger, a longtime Putin confidant, sidles up to Trump https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-kissinger-russia-putin-232925 Andrea’s celebratory tweet: What is the first thing Satan said to Kissinger? https://twitter.com/AndreaChalupa/status/1730055040985874722?t=UftX3tgzsaT9HQzlkzYbMw&s=19 Monty Python song “Henry Kissinger”: https://youtu.be/ABeGhyAD_DM?si=3t1FR3jsar78sqKv Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ck0.uBQX.Rdb-cCaQzu18&hpgrp=k-abar&smid=url-share

Trump and McConnell, turbo-charged by the war chest of the Federalist Society, packed the Supreme Court, and put in place far-right idealogues across 28-percent of our federal courts, reshaping our judiciary for decades to come. In a short time, Trump’s Mullahs on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, killed Affirmative Action, and made gay marriage easier to challenge. (We’ll report more on their latest horrors, and how to protect ourselves, in upcoming episodes). States with elected governments that work to protect the public with sensible gun laws, environmental regulations, reproductive freedom, and other essential quality of life issues are all fair game to this Fox News Supreme Court. Will the Mullah Supremes drive the nation apart, and how will our union survive that along with an unchecked NRA, the Republican war on women/reproductive health care/LGBTQ+ people especially trans people/refugees/our environment, and democracy itself? Heather Cox Richardson, America’s sweetheart, historian, and author of the new bestselling book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, provides historical context for our political crisis of today compared to the last time Americans seemed this divided. How close are we to falling apart as a nation, and what can or should be done to avoid this fate? Our discussion took place on September 19, and was not aired sooner due to the Israel-Hamas War. But the warnings and insights remain urgent. Our opening introduction looks at the New York Times once again protecting Jared and Ivanka Kushner, the crime lords of the Trump White House, including the cash-grab pardon operation they ran especially in the final months as Trump plotted a coup to stay in power. One of the reporters on the story is unsurprisingly Maggie Haberman, whose mother Nancy Haberman works at Rubenstein PR, founded by the longtime publicist for Jared Kushner and his father Charles Kushner, a convicted con and disbarred attorney who also got a pardon from Trump, and was instrumental in helping other unsavory criminals get their own so they could go on crim-ing. This may sound incredible. But it’s all true. Check the show notes. This week’s bonus episode will look at the latest developments in the Isarel-Hamas war including famous anti-semite Elon Musk’s visit to Israel, Russia’s ongoing genocide in Ukraine and what must be done to stop it, and more. To support our show and get access to bonus episodes like our Make Art workshop, live virtual events like our January 18th social media workshop and wake for Old Twitter, and more, support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! , Want to join the conversation? Subscribe to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit Song feature for November is 'First They Came for the Queers' by Mr. Madam Adam. You can find more of Mr. Madam Adam's music on Apple Music, on Twitter @senorhettler, on Instagram @AdamEvansWest, and on TikTok @Iamadamadam. To all our artists out there, submit your song to be featured on Gaslit Nation here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-d_DWNnDQFYUMXueYcX5ZVsA5t2RN09N8PYUQQ8koq0/edit?ts=5fee07f6&gxids=7628 Show Notes Get your ‘Tis the Season to Prosecute Treason T-shirt featuring an original design by Hamish Smyth and support the show! http://tee.pub/lic/_vLBHBoWkeg Make Art workshop: https://www.patreon.com/posts/make-art-video-93450936?cid=123025949 Heather Cox Richardson’s Book: Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America https://bookshop.org/p/books/democracy-awakening-notes-on-the-state-of-america-heather-cox-richardson/19685160?ean=9780593652961 Part I of the Interview with Heather Cox Richardson: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2023/10/04/kremlin-kaos-kaucus-heather-cox-richardson A Troubling Trump Pardon and a Link to the Kushners A commutation for a drug smuggler named Jonathan Braun had broader...

As a special THANK YOU to our Patreon community that keeps the showing going through these tough times, Andrea shares her “hot sauce” for making art. The core spice is this: Don’t be afraid to be interesting. Sometimes there might be a temptation to self-censor, to play it safe, to adhere to external pressures real or imagined. Instead, go within and create based on what’s true for you. That’s what the world needs from you now. To use this guide, watch the video of the workshop, then read through the worksheet that outlines the step-by-step process: for Patreon subscribers you can find that worksheet linked here. Or you can listen to the guide as you would any podcast. Whatever works for you is what works! As a follow-up to this workshop, we’ll gather in the new year for a live virtual event to talk through our projects, share ideas and insights, and support each other in our creative process. The goal is to protect our mental hygiene, enhance our intuition, and stay creative in a time of rampant gaslighting by idiotic destructive forces determined to demoralize us. We obviously won’t let that happen. For any questions or to share notes on your own process, leave a comment below or write to Andrea at GaslitNation@gmail.com. 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: The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-modern-myths-adventures-in-the-machinery-of-the-popular-imagination-philip-ball/18335535?ean=9780226823843 The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma [Includes insights on art therapy] https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-body-keeps-the-score-brain-mind-and-body-in-the-healing-of-trauma-bessel-van-der-kolk/6679040?ean=9780143127741 Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling https://bookshop.org/p/books/storyworthy-engage-teach-persuade-and-change-your-life-through-the-power-of-storytelling-matthew-dicks/10952996?ean=9781608685486 Making Movies https://bookshop.org/p/books/making-movies-sidney-lumet/6730532?ean=9780679756606 The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-anatomy-of-story-22-steps-to-becoming-a-master-storyteller-john-truby/8050558?ean=9780865479937 101 Things to Learn in Art School https://bookshop.org/p/books/101-things-to-learn-in-art-school-kit-white/10523037?ean=9780262016216 Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative https://bookshop.org/p/books/steal-like-an-artist-10-things-nobody-told-you-about-being-creative-austin-kleon/6862462?ean=9780761169253 Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art https://bookshop.org/p/books/understanding-comics-the-invisible-art-scott-mccloud/228758?ean=9780060976255 A Map for Wild Hearts: How to Make Art Even When You're Lost https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-map-for-wild-hearts-how-to-make-art-even-when-you-re-lost-andrea-hannah/12045947?ean=9780578521725 Watch the documentary “Brooklyn Boheme” made by Gaslit Nation guest and Andrea’s mentor Nelson George: https://www.amazon.com/Brooklyn-Boheme-Spike-Branford-Marsalis/dp/B007JRTVH0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13DQ10MMZPBVU&keywords=brooklyn+boheme&qid=1700830612&s=instant-video&sprefix=brooklyn+boh%2Cinstant-video%2C336&sr=1-1 10 Must-Read Native American Authors https://bookriot.com/must-read-native-american-authors/

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...

This important interview features Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss, the filmmakers behind the extraordinary must-watch Peabody Award-winning film Missing in Brooks County about the immigration crisis in America deliberately engineered for maximum cruelty by both Republican and Democratic leaders over the years, creating the world’s deadliest border crossing. It does not have to be this way. In this discussion, you’ll hear common sense solutions, unmasking an entrenched genocidal culture that has gone unchecked for far too long. Learn more about this must-see film here: https://www.missinginbrookscounty.com/ We're running this interview again at the request of a Gaslit Nation listener who would like to share this interview and film with their Congressional representative, to demand an end to the "silent genocide" deliberately engineered on the U.S. southern border. We strongly urge you to talk to your representatives wherever you live to help build a culture of change. An all new episode of Gaslit Nation will be out this evening, as usual. Thank you to everyone in our community of listeners who work to build a better world and sustainable future for everyone.

Welcome to the George Santos Tribute Episode, lasting as long as his tenure in Congress.The Russian-linked Ponzi Scheme is on his way out. He lavishly spent campaign cash on his honeymoon in Las Vegas, spa treatments, luxury shopping sprees, Botox (he’s 35!), and the naughty fun time site OnlyFans. We have questions, mostly: Did his Russian-linked backers get their money’s worth by having major American embarrassment Santos in Congress? The answer is yes. On an oddly related note, super mogul Len Blavatnik, whom you're not allowed to call a Russian oligarch (or else he might sue you), owns Warner Music Group. The industry giant is developing a creepy and dangerous A.I.-generated Edith Piaf biopic. Blavatnik, whose cousin Andrea got into a screaming match with at the start of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, throws his money around, including to the Democratic Party and the Council on Foreign Relations. As explained in this episode, this is reputation laundering and influence peddling, given Blavatnik's well-documented ties to Putin’s court of oligarchs. Are you ready for this? Blavatnik is a longtime friend and business partner of notorious sanctioned “Putin wallet” Viktor Vekselberg in various oligarchy-type ventures like Rusal, Russia’s largest aluminum company owned by Oleg Deripaska, that thug who won the aluminum wars during the car bomb 1990s in Russia. (Paul Manafort was on the hook to Deripaska for a bunch of money in a media venture gone wrong, and made it up to him by running Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016…for free). Blavatnik’s friend/business partner Vekselberg has a seemingly unlucky cousin named Andrew Intrater, a financier who gave George Soros $625,000 to invest in a Florida based fund that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. Despite losing all that money, Intrater went on to put his full trust in Santos by pumping his Congressional campaign full of cash. A campaign that turned out to be…you guessed it, a Ponzi scheme. It should be noted that longtime friends and associates Intrater, Vekselberg, and Blavatnik all gave heavily to Trump’s inaugural committee–otherwise known as a Russian victory lap. This week’s bonus episode includes questions from listeners on topics ranging from white rage extremism and who’s tracking it, to how to stay hopeful during these dark times. If you didn’t hear your question answered this week, look out for it soon! Next week’s bonus episode will be the Make Art Workshop–a thank you to our community and a way for us to build up our resilience and fight back with joy. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! 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 68-percent of Americans support a ceasefire in Gaza https://www.reuters.com/world/us-public-support-israel-drops-majority-backs-ceasefire-reutersipsos-2023-11-15/ Israeli opposition leader says time has come to replace Netanyahu https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-opposition-leader-says-time-has-come-replace-netanyahu-2023-11-16/ Hamas leader being grilled on live TV and lying https://twitter.com/arash_tehran/status/1715354932595847322 Santos Won’t Seek Re-election After House Panel Finds Evidence of Crimes The findings, which were referred to prosecutors, are likely to prompt another attempt to expel the embattled congressman from the House. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/nyregion/george-santos-ethics-committee.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20231116&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=cta&regi_id=48614702&segment_id=150214&user_id=097a378032011d6e8be1570cdce0a176 A Soviet-Born Billionaire Is Buying Influence at US Institutions. Anti-Corruption Activists Are Worried. The Council on Foreign Relations is under fire for accepting Len Blavatnik’s gifts thanks to his tie to oligarchs and Russian corruption. ...

Authoritarian voters cosplay Rambo on the U.S. Southern border, literally hunting refugees and denying them basic human rights. Our interview this week features Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss, the filmmakers behind the extraordinary must-watch Peabody Award-winning film Missing in Brooks County about the immigration crisis in America deliberately engineered for maximum cruelty by both Republican and Democratic leaders over the years, creating the world’s deadliest border crossing. It does not have to be this way. In this discussion, you’ll hear common sense solutions, unmasking an entrenched genocidal culture that has gone unchecked for far too long. Who was first in line to carry out the Holocaust? The authoritarian voter next door. Survivors described how their neighbors turned on them, throwing rocks through their windows. That’s who Trump is appealing to, driving out people who have existed throughout history: longing for a strongman to crush their enemies, and put mouthy women, smug nonwhite people, those pesky gays, and don’t forget entitled refugees in their place. These are the “vermin” Trump scapegoats as he travels the country, amplifying Russian disinformation, and consolidating his base: the authoritarian voter next door. Reality Winner, the patriotic whistleblower who confirmed extensive Russian hacking of our election systems after government officials tried to downplay it, has faced far harsher punishment than violent coup plotter Trump with his 91 criminal indictments. The American people see the threat to our democracy clearly, which is why they’ve built resilient grassroots power that ushered in yet another historic Blue Wave. The latest victory in a long list: Dauphin County, PA flipped to Democratic control for the first time in 100 years. We the People have done significantly more to protect our democracy than Merrick Garland’s DOJ. Given the immense power we’ve shown, it’s time to abolish the Electoral College, a monument to slavery, and agitate for other reforms to modernize the United States government. Gaslit Nation is working on a special series on how to Trump-proof our democracy, protecting us and future generations from his massive cult that ensures succession is guaranteed. Even after Trump is gone, another cultist will take his place. So it’s time to expand our historic Blue Wave energy into overdue government reform. The nonsense press release from the Supreme Court pretending to care about ethics is not what we’re talking about. As a thank you to our Gaslit Nation community on Patreon, look out the weekend after Thanksgiving for a special MAKE ART workshop in the form of a podcast that you can download and try at your own leisure. We’re all natural born artists, and this act of self-care and meaningful therapy reminds us that our voices matter and that we’re needed now more than ever. In his brilliant resistance pocket guide On Tyranny, historian Timothy Snyder urges us to be visible, and that visibility comes through creativity, as we use our voice for our collective good. The model of this has always been embedded in this show that has featured interviews with extraordinary artists like Nelson George, a writer of the hip-hop movement and Andrea’s longtime mentor, and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov who survived a Siberian prison by writing a novel, stories, and directing a film. Yes, art matters. Art is survival. And each of us, to navigate these civilization-making-or-breaking years ahead, can embrace our inner artist to create a sustainable, livable future together. Artists imagine and show that another world is possible. As Sentsov said on our show: Dictators die. Art is forever. Look out for that special MAKE ART workshop next week! To get access to that, bonus shows, all episodes ad free, and more, subscribe to join our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit This week’s bonus show will look at the latest in the Israel-Hamas war, troubling jumps in A.I., and answer questions from...

This Election 2023 Super Special opens with a discussion on building unions, because the big takeaway is grassroots power is the most reliable power we have left. In a time of historic income inequality, which furthers the flames of fascism, we need to extend the Big Blue Wave energy into the growing rebirth of unions. Political and economic justice go hand-in-hand. For our Patreon community, there’s a deep dive on the election, and a special call to action for those who support the show and make Gaslit Nation possible. Thank you all so much! If you would like to hear the full episode, get all episodes ad free, join our community of listeners, and so much more, subscribe to support our independent journalism at Patreon.com/Gaslit. With all the important races this year, we strategically set our sights on one goal: denying Youngkin a Republican majority in Virginia. Together we exceeded our expectations: we held the Senate, flipped the House, and helped elect the first trans woman to the Virginia state senate, and put Youngkin’s political future in doubt. There were headlines like this one from Politico following his major election night losses: “Glenn Youngkin’s white knight era is over.” We supported grassroots infrastructure that could lead to Virginia being called early again on election night like it was in 2020. Sister District, the grassroots group we partnered with, made 43-percent of its candidates phone calls, and our Gaslit Nation phone bank with them was their largest to date of this election. Thank you to everyone who did whatever you could wherever you are. We're going to get through this dangerous crossroads together. What's clear is that the grassroots communities that formed in the original 2018 Blue Wave are still active. Now we need to help expand that energy into economic justice. That’s why this Election 2023 Special opens with an interview featuring longtime Gaslit Nation listener Brock Madden speaking with Jasmine Leli, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based Starbucks barista and member of Starbucks Workers United. Based in Seattle, Brock is looking to organize other restaurant workers like him to unionize. If you want to start a union and don’t know how or where to start, this discussion will inspire you to take action, no matter how small at first. Thank you to Jasmine and Brock for this important conversation. If you’re in the Seattle area and would like to build with Brock, email him at huckleberry_98226@yahoo.com SHOW NOTES: CLIP: “Fraud Family!” Ivanka Kushner greeted by protesters at a New York courthouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5LMNFfEmLo Nikki Haley Praises Ivanka Kushner https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1049681209553547266?t=ziSGT40B4wIDx0mtDVEMWg&s=19 Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025 The former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the White House and limit the independence of federal agencies. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html “After GOP donors threatened to stop funding him for being unmarried, Tim Scott is now appearing publicly with who he says is his girlfriend named Mindy. He says they have been dating for ‘about a year or so.’” https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1722466341838369122 “NEW from @CAPAction 's @citizenwillis : Since Sunday, cable networks are airing 10x more coverage of Biden's polling than this story detailing Trump’s MAGA plot to weaponize the government against his political enemies. @CNN : 29x as much @FoxNews : 38x as much @MSNBC : 3x as much” https://twitter.com/CMSeeberger/status/1722380856520491467 “This may be the most important result tonight that most people have no idea about: solidifies D majority on the court that decided more Trump 2020 lawsuits than any other in the country, and that is very likely to hear major cases in 2024 related to voting rights and elections.” https://twitter.com/alex_burness/status/1722107803920204047 “Exit polling on Ohio issue 1 is...

Congratulations to everyone who pitched in to help get out the vote! This night belongs to you and all those who voted to protect abortion in Ohio, protect Virginians from a Republican majority, protect the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and much more on a great night for democracy. This week's bonus episode will look at the election results, what they mean for 2024, and what to know about Trump's shadow network, Project 25, and answer questions from listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. One month has passed since the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack, and the Israeli leader who allowed it to happen after empowering Hamas, ignoring several credible warnings, is still in power, overseeing a historically brutal genocide. This episode looks at the Israel-Hamas war in the context of the global war of autocracy vs. democracy, including our own 2024 election. It once again calls for the immediate removal from power of Netanyahu, an important cog in the Trump-Putin global far-right movement that normalizes human sacrifice for power. Like Trump, Netanyahu wages war against the military and intelligence services, surrounds himself with a protective moat of extremists ready to commit violence on his behalf, and terrorizes the families of victims and hostages of October 7th. Let's be clear: Netanyahu's own record shows he doesn't care about the hostages—for more on that, read the show notes. Netanyahu wants and needs this war to stay in power, which means the war strategy itself cannot be trusted and must not be legitimized. A political solution is the only way forward and can only begin with a ceasefire. To dismiss or gaslight over the issue of a ceasefire is to give longtime corrupt criminal Netanyahu good faith and legitimacy after he’s spent years trying to overturn democracy in Israel. For those distraught over the crisis in Gaza, this episode includes strategies to push the Biden foreign policy team, just as they had to be pushed on Ukraine, and makes the case for why, if we don't vote in 2024, former Interior Secretary and current House GOP Klansman Ryan Zinke, with his proposal to ban all Palestinians, is back in the White House, along with close Netanyahu co-conspirators the Kushners, and Trump, making Netanyahu even more powerful and dangerous. To help the civilians impacted by the Israel-Hamas war, donate to Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children, incredible organizations doing urgent work in Gaza and the surrounding areas: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ https://www.savethechildren.org/ Show Notes “We are now in a situation where one child is killed every 10 minutes [in Gaza],” Jason Lee of Save the Children https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/02/israel-stikes-gaza-children-victims/ "Israel dropped almost as many bombs in Gaza in one week as the U.S. did in Afghanistan in one year -- the heaviest year. Gaza is 141 sq miles. Afghanistan is 252,071 sq miles." https://twitter.com/ericuman/status/1721342580565184559 "The United States provides the Israeli army with military and intelligence support, and is therefore required by the Geneva Conventions to ensure that bombing raids in Gaza do not breach international law." https://twitter.com/ericuman/status/1721343100830793928 Mairav Zonszein, Senior Israel-Palestine Analyst with the Crisis Group: "It is hard to understand Israel’s strategy in the West Bank as anything other than an effort to push Palestinians so far to the edge they have to burst back, which then provides pretext for Israel’s continued dispossession. My explainer on settler violence" https://twitter.com/MairavZ/status/1721936764183450058 Kurt Andersen thread analyzing United Nations death toll in Gaza: https://twitter.com/KBAndersen/status/1718021027727360436 Israel’s Hostage Families Feel Abandoned by Israel They feel trapped in a nightmare—and ignored by their government....

This is an excerpt of this week's bonus show. To access the full show, receive all episodes ad free, submit questions to our regular Q&As, access our back catalogue of bonus shows, join the conversation with our community of listeners, support our independent journalism, and more, subscribe at Patreon.com/Gaslit In this coming week’s episode, expect a full deep dive into the latest devastation and expected fallout of the Israel-Hamas War, including the growing protests and polling against Netanyahu and why he must go now. And an important voice will join the show to explain how to build a union, especially when you’re up against corporate gaslighting and intimidation tactics. Today’s bonus episode is shaped by questions and comments from listeners subscribed at the Democracy Defender level and higher, including how opportunistic China benefits from the Israel-Hamas War and the nefarious Chinese connections to American protest group Code Pink, revealing a vast pro-China network on the global Left. China, Code Pink, and the sex trafficking network of Hefner-Epstein-Trump, and more are discussed in this week’s bonus show. If you didn’t hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week, as the Gaslit Nation Q&A continues. Dictators are dangerous for many reasons, especially because, as the social ills grow, they need a war to cling to power. Putin needed a war to maintain the status quo, and so did Netanyahu. In China, it’s increasingly dangerous for social media users to expose poverty or other crises, like youth unemployment or how difficult it can be for many to put food on the table. With US foreign policy stretched thin by the war in Ukraine and Israel-Hamas, now would be an opportune time for China, which has been aggressively building up its nuclear program and A.I. arsenal, to annex Taiwan, something Xi has been outspoken about since consolidating power in 2017. Technologically dominant groups get away with carrying out genocides. So a technologically dominant China would be a danger to the world. Chatham House, the independent British think tank where in 1933 Gareth Jones shared his eye-witness account of the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocide-famine in Ukraine, invited Andrea to join a Twitter Live discussion this coming Wednesday November 8 at 10:30am EST. Catch that discussion by going to the Chatham House Twitter account at that time. And to help protect democracy in the US and reproductive healthcare in Virginia, join Andrea in making phone calls with Sister District now through Tuesday, election day. Sign up using the link at the top of the show notes. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Show Notes: Sister District & Partners National Phonebank! https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/387377/ Chatham House Twitter Live Space with Andrea Wednesday November 8 10:30am ET https://twitter.com/ChathamHouse China and US reportedly agree to rare nuclear arms control talks Talks expected on Monday would be first since Obama administration and follow visit to Washington by Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/02/china-and-us-reportedly-agree-to-rare-nuclear-arms-control-talks COVID might have come from a lab leak, says China’s former top scientist ‘Don’t rule out anything,’ former head of the Chinese CDC says. https://www.politico.eu/article/covid-mightve-come-from-a-lab-leak-chinas-former-top-scientist-says/ Huawei Technicians Helped African Governments Spy on Political Opponents Employees embedded with cybersecurity forces in Uganda and Zambia intercepted encrypted communications and used cell data to track opponents, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-technicians-helped-african-governments-spy-on-political-opponents-11565793017 Why China’s Censors Are Deleting Videos About Poverty Xi Jinping says he has defeated poverty, but discussion of economic struggle...

In this special discussion, Andrea is joined by experts from the Kremlin File podcast: Russian mafia specialist Olga Lautman and Monique Camarra, an instructor at the Department of Communication at the University of Siena in Italy. Together, they explore the intricate links between Russia and terrorist groups, tracing a history that dates back to the Soviet Union. This dark night of the soul slumber party discussion includes the emerging new Cold War, the historical hot conflicts of the first Cold War, and staying grounded as Russia floods the zone with gaslighting. While Ukrainian intelligence claims Russia provides weapons to Hamas, what's undeniable is that Russia holds meetings with Hamas leadership, including last week in Moscow. Russian cryptocurrency has sent millions to terrorist groups, including $93 million to Islamic Jihad through a sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange. Terrorism is on the rise, and Russia, with its extensive track record of training and supporting terrorists, lights the fire then offers itself up as the firefighter. This strategy has been consistent in the Kremlin's playbook, dating back to the Soviet era, involving dividing its adversaries all while portraying itself as a peacemaker—a tactic that too many on the Left continue to fall for. During the peak of ISIS, the Obama administration maintained a policy of working with Russia to combat ISIS together. Nevermind that ISIS fighters kept flocking from Russia. And Russia’s own terrorism killed or displaced countless civilians in Syria, Ukraine, and propped up the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba, as Russia’s operations tipped the scales of both the close Brexit vote and the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Now that the Israel-Hamas war threatens to expand into a larger regional war, with Syria, Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon, and now Yemen inflaming the conflict, Russia benefits from the growing destabilization in many ways. The war distracts from Russian war crimes in Ukraine as well as Russian and Iran-backed slaughter in Syria. It also threatens to divide and further delay support for Ukraine: Trump proxy House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to hold a vote for Ukraine aid. Once again, this is the latest coup by longtime Russian asset Trump. Our hearts go out to the civilians who are suffering due to this ongoing war. Andrea and many others call for an immediate ceasefire, especially given the undeniable collective punishment on Gaza being carried out by Netanyahu’s government. For a deeper understanding of the pressing reasons for a ceasefire, listen to these recent episodes of Gaslit Nation: "Israel and Palestine: A Political Solution" and "Israel and Palestine: A Difficult Discussion." This week's bonus episode will answer questions from subscribers at the Democracy Defender-level and higher on Patreon, with topics including Hugh Hefner and Jeffrey Epstein; the shady dealings behind the protest group Code Pink; and more! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! To join the conversation and our community of listeners, get bonus shows, all shows ad free, exclusive invites and more, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Show Notes: Indivisible Statements on the Israel/Palestine Crisis https://www.indivisible.org/resource/indivisible-statements-israelpalestine-crisis Ending the War and Ensuring Human Security in Israel-Palestine: Five Recommendations https://cfde140b-3710-4a65-aa9a-48b5868a02dd.usrfiles.com/ugd/3ba8a1_1ac83b20f6c8431a94301ccafe3cb88d.pdf Russia gave captured US weapons to Hamas as a ploy to undermine Ukraine, report says https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-seized-us-weapons-to-hamas-ploy-damage-ukraine-report-2023-10 Hamas leaders arrive in Moscow as the Kremlin attempts to showcase its clout. The meetings with high-ranking members of the group that attacked Israel underscored how Russia is trying to present itself as an alternative platform for possible...

Gaslit Nation Presents: The Bump in the Night by Jane Willis. Inspired by The Golden Arm. Produced by Eliza Smith. Starring Rachael Small and Darius Johnson. Happy Halloween!

Despite his best efforts threatening the lives of Congressional colleagues and their families, Jim Jordan didn’t get to become Speaker of the House. Instead, his longtime protege and a major architect behind the Big Lie, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, is now third in line to the White House. Johnson answers to Jordan who answers to Trump. This essentially makes Trump third in line to the White House. Welcome to Trump’s latest coup. In this week’s Q&A bonus episode, questions submitted by listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher are focused on the Israel-Hamas War. Many questioned the timing of Hamas’s sophisticated and well-planned terrorist attack. Why now? What role did Russia play? How does Matt Gaetz’s successful bid (so far) to stop Ukraine aid factor in? Given that we have so much grief and anger to process these days, more than usual, look out for a deep dive podcast in November on the importance of making art and how to take steps to begin your life as an artist. Art therapy has proven invaluable for veterans grappling with PTSD and has never been more important as we process our collective grief. This special podcast will be in a workshop-style and will help those seeking guidance on nurturing their creative side. We all have one. And it’s needed now more than ever. For the works cited in this week's bonus episode, look to the show notes below to find the relevant links and other resources. To answer a request from a listener here on Patreon, below is a list of journalists and analysts covering the crisis as well as a list of book recommendations. Remain mindful that we’re in a time of rampant disinformation, fog of war, all compacted by trauma and our collective trauma of watching a brutal war break out. Consider reading widely to understand different perspectives, even those that may not align with your own. Mairav Zonszein, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group https://www.crisisgroup.org // https://twitter.com/MairavZ Hind Khoudary, a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza https://www.instagram.com/hindkhoudary/ Amira Hass, Haaretz correspondent for the Occupied Territories https://twitter.com/Hass_Haaretz Rula Jebreal, a Palestinian foreign policy analyst and visiting professor, The University of Miami https://twitter.com/rulajebreal Noga Tarnopolsky, Jerusalem based reporter who appears frequently on MSNBC https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky Hend Amry, Libyan-American writer based in Qatar https://mastodon.social/@LibyaLiberty // https://www.instagram.com/libyaliberty/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D // https://twitter.com/LibyaLiberty Here’s a list of book recommendations from The Economist https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/10/18/the-israel-palestine-conflict-a-reading-list Show Notes: Opening Clip: https://twitter.com/HouseJudiciary/status/1717183190463336780?t=xMiSEhKoLuq6KCC4AxtcWQ&s=19 Critics Say Matt Gaetz's Nickname For New House Speaker Is Alarmingly On Point https://www.huffpost.com/entry/matt-gaetz-mike-johnson-nickname_n_653a32c5e4b011a9cf7c9dd3 The WWII Strategy Biden Can Use to Bypass Republicans on Ukraine https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/01/20/biden-ukraine-lend-lease-roosevelt-00077481 Drone attacks on American bases injured two dozen U.S. military personnel https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/drone-attacks-american-bases-injured-two-dozen-us-military-personnel-rcna121961 ‘Netanyahu Got All the Warnings,’ Says Former Head of Israeli Military Intelligence https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/24/amos-yaldin-israeli-military-intelligence-netanyahu-qa-00123099#:~:text=And%20Netanyahu%20got%20all%20the,is%20risking%20and%20weakening%20every Ukrainian Jewish Enconter https://ukrainianjewishencounter.org/en/ The Long and Uncertain Journey of the Babyn Yar Memorial https://mjhnyc.org/blog/the-long-and-uncertain-journey-of-the-babyn-yar-memorial/ Theodor Herzl, a Life From...

After a five month absence from Gaslit Nation due to a family situation, Sarah has decided to leave the show. You can read her regular writing over at her new Substack. We all wish her well and look forward to her next book. In this continuation of Gaslit Nation’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, Andrea shares her own hard learned lessons on how to hold space for a friend grieving over the crisis. This episode also includes a look at the Oslo Accords, an interim agreement that historically opened communication between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel’s government, and the years of violence that quickly followed, spiraling towards the growing mythology of Benjamin Netanyahu who built support through strongman rhetoric promising to keep Israelis safe. Insead, he weakened Israel. Netanyahu’s Trumpian playbook blasted opponents and the media as “FAKE NEWS!”, “THE DEEP STATE!”, “TRAITORS!”, and turned Israelis against each other. While being under investigation for corruption, Netanyahu brazenly tried to destroy the independence of the judiciary, leading to the largest protests in the country’s history. Now the majority of Israelis polled blame him for the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack, but the majority also believe he should resign after the war. That would incentivize Netanyahu to keep the war going to cling to power. Netanyahu must be forced to step down now, for the sake of any chance for peace. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, author of Gulag: A History; Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine; and Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism joins Andrea to discuss the stakes in Ukraine and the threats to democracy here at home and around the world. This interview was recorded the Friday before the historic October 15 elections in Poland, bringing a democratic coalition to power to defeat a right wing Trumpian regime that packed the courts, turned state media into their own propaganda arm, banned abortion, and inflamed scapegoating against LGBTQ+ people and refugees. This episode was supposed to run two weeks ago, but was delayed due to the war. For Applebaum’s analysis on the Israel-Hamas war, read her brilliant piece in The Atlantic on her summer reporting trip to Israel on how Israelis rightfully saw Netanyahu as an existential threat. This week’s bonus episode will be inspired by questions submitted at the Democracy Defender level and higher on Patreon. To submit your questions, leave them in the comments or send them in a message. Join the conversation and receive ad free episodes, bonus shows, exclusive invites and other perks by subscribing at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Sign up here to join our Sister District & Gaslit Nation Halloween Phonebank for Virginia!: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/585389/ Show Notes: Inside the Oslo accords: a new podcast series marks 30 years since Israel-Palestine secret peace negotiations https://theconversation.com/inside-the-oslo-accords-a-new-podcast-series-marks-30-years-since-israel-palestine-secret-peace-negotiations-212985 The language being used to describe Palestinians is genocidal https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/16/the-language-being-used-to-describe-palestinians-is-genocidal I Negotiated Israel’s Hardest Hostage Deal. Here’s What’s Next in Gaza. “The United States still has a role to play. It should continue to pressure Qatar, which should give an ultimatum that if hostages are not released within, say, 24 hours, all of Hamas’s leaders will be expelled from Qatar, where many are based. I don’t believe that Qatar will agree to that — and certainly not without an Israeli cease-fire — but the American government and others have leverage over Qatar and it should be used. There is still a small chance and a limited window of opportunity before the ground assault begins to attain the release of some of the...

This is an excerpt of this week's bonus show. To access this, all bonus shows, get episodes ad free, exclusive invites, submit questions to regular Q&As, and more, subscribe to the show at Patreon.com/Gaslit In this special interview, Lala Wu, a co-founder of Sister District, which builds political power in the states to protect quality of life and democracy from far-right extremism, joins Gaslit Nation to share her story and how to stop Posh Trump Glenn Youngkin who has carried out a voter purge in the lead-up to the big state elections in Virginia on November 7th. Wu explains why Virginia matters to all of us, how to stay motivated to take action even when everything feels hopeless, which candidates to pay attention to and why in Virginia, and the far-right’s playbook to help Youngkin get the majority he needs to ban abortion, rollback environmental protections, and more. Join our October 26 phone bank party with Sister District by signing up here – a quick training will be provided, along with some fun prizes!: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/585389/ The rest of this week’s bonus episode focuses on answers to questions from our listeners supporting the show at the Democracy Defender level and higher. That discussion includes how plagues have historically led to escalating the fight for greater equality in society and how that seems to be playing out now with the revitalization of unions, how the unchecked greed of the NRA and the Republican Party has normalized mass violence in America, and how Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been attacking Israel’s judicial independence to further his power, politically benefits from the current war and why he needs to go. If you didn’t hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week as the Gaslit Nation Q&A continues. For supporters at the Democracy Defender level and higher, submit your questions in the comments or send them in a private message on Patreon. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! To answer a request from a listener here on Patreon, below is a list of journalists and analysts covering the crisis as well as a list of book recommendations. Remain mindful that we’re in a time of rampant disinformation, fog of war, all compacted by trauma and our collective trauma of watching a brutal war break out. Consider reading widely to understand different perspectives, even those that may not align with your own. Mairav Zonszein, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group https://www.crisisgroup.org // https://twitter.com/MairavZ Hind Khoudary, a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza https://www.instagram.com/hindkhoudary/ Amira Hass, Haaretz correspondent for the Occupied Territories https://twitter.com/Hass_Haaretz Rula Jebreal, a Palestinian foreign policy analyst and visiting professor, The University of Miami https://twitter.com/rulajebreal Noga Tarnopolsky, Jerusalem based reporter who appears frequently on MSNBC https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky Hend Amry, Libyan-American writer based in Qatar https://mastodon.social/@LibyaLiberty // https://www.instagram.com/libyaliberty/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D // https://twitter.com/LibyaLiberty Here’s a list of book recommendations from The Economist https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/10/18/the-israel-palestine-conflict-a-reading-list Show Notes: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and other Democrats introduce bill for Supreme Court term limits https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-booker-blumenthal-padilla-introduce-new-supreme-court-term-limits-bill Evacuation orders by Israel to hospitals in northern Gaza are a death sentence for the sick and injured https://www.who.int/news/item/14-10-2023-evacuation-orders-by-israel-to-hospitals-in-northern-gaza-are-a-death-sentence-for-the-sick-and-injured Nowhere to Hide in Gaza as Israeli Onslaught Continues Residents and health authorities say that mosques, hospitals and schools are being...

Speak, even when your voice shakes, and you feel like rage crying. This special episode provides greater historical context to Israel and Palestine, elevates voices on the frontlines of the humanitarian crisis, demands an immediate ceasefire and a united global democratic alliance to end the genocide of Palestinians, and amplifies the calls for a political solution. The crisis cannot be solved militarily. The bombs raining down on the open air prison of Gaza is a genocide–another Nakba, the Arabic word for “catastrophe”–which in 1948 saw the brutal mass forced displacement of around a million Palestinians with the founding of Israel. We’re witnessing the long awaited war by indicted corrupt criminal and Putin ally Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving prime minister, desperate to cling to power, even if that means turning Israel into another theocratic dictatorship in the region. The racist, genocidal movement that assassinated former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for signing the Oslo Accords, a path towards peace and potentially a two-state solution, brought Netanyahu to power. And now his government of Stephen Millers is determined to finish off Palestinians, mass-murdering several thousands, including a significant number of children. Secretary of State Antony Blinken published a call for a ceasefire on Twitter, only to delete it after Republicans protested. That and more of the US response, what it means for the civilians on both sides of the conflict, the US election and more are discussed in this extra furious episode. This week’s bonus episode will include answers to questions submitted by listeners subscribed at the Democracy Defender level and higher, and a special on-the-ground look at the upcoming Virginia state elections and the recent voter-purge by Governor Glenn Youngkin. To get access to that, support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon by subscribing at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Show Notes: Audio Clips: Ali Velshi on Israel’s apartheid of Palestinians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkjPtleWEU Israeli settler steals the home of a Palestinian woman in East Jerusalem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzO9KhXhiik Doctors without Borders: A doctor in Gaza https://twitter.com/MSF_USA/status/1713396854711296310 Watch Sands of Sorrow featuring Dorothy Thompson (1950) https://www.un.org/en/exhibits/page/watch-video-%E2%80%93-long-journey Former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger says that there is no military solution to Israel/Palestine: https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/1712482696700842096?t=eJ1GfsWrLzCoNDfj9o-tAg&s=19 A 19 year old survivor of the Hamas massacre blamed Netanyahu, demands a political solution: https://twitter.com/BenzionSanders/status/1713255988608848069 Israel’s Ambassador to the UK denies there’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza: https://twitter.com/SaulStaniforth/status/1713811260662255910?t=R8v3bQH4QwP7K5Udf7ivgQ&s=19 Israeli journalist harassed in Tel Aviv for calling for peace: https://twitter.com/orlybarlev/status/1713323223218082255 Peaceful Israeli protest broken up by police: https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky/status/1713311362242216151?t=qB2TwZzYQJ6IU4VdKQpQWg&s=19 Yuval Noah Harari on Christiane Amanpour https://twitter.com/amanpour/status/1712538821923885287?t=GgwX7j8W-Q09JJ7P3ZuZzA&s=19 Closing clip: An Israeli who lost his parents calls for an end to the war: https://twitter.com/helenachumphrey/status/1713747777195307130?t=tmxkpSAsINT2F5nEkRalzQ&s=19 The Middle East Crisis Factory: The Iyad El-Baghdadi Interview https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2021/4/8/the-middle-east-crisis-factory-the-iyad-el-baghdadi-interview Indicted Criminal Netanyahu Starts a War to Cling to Power https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2021/5/19/indicted-criminal-netanyahu-starts-a-war-to-cling-to-power Peter Beinart, NYT: “Most of...

If you’re feeling heartbroken over the suffering in Israel and Gaza, consider supporting some of these humanitarian organizations: https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1205235922/help-israel-gaza-humanitarian-organizations This is an excerpt of this week's bonus show. To listen to the full episode, get all episodes ad free, invites to exclusive events, submit questions for regular Q&As, and more, subcribe on Patreon by signing up at Patreon.com/Gaslit. It’s been a week since the Hamas terrorist massacre targeting Israeli civilians, followed by Israel dropping 6,000 bombs on Gaza in a matter of days. The cruel PR spin of Israel calling on civilians to leave Gaza only puts more lives in danger. It was never about helping the civilians, as Israel’s bombing of that so-called “exit route” shows, as reported on by MSNBC. Many Israelis grieving over the loss of their loved ones call for peace, and protests grow against Netanyahu and his government whose extremist chaos and genocidal political movement left Israeli civilians vulnerable to Hamas’s attack. Netanyahu finally got the genocide and mass displacement of Palestinians that he wanted, but at what cost to him, Israel, and the world? Our collective grief and anger make conversations about this extraordinarily tragic time, the countless loss of innocent lives on both sides of the war, incredibly difficult. In this conversation, Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats podcast joins Andrea to discuss how to protect your relationships when talking about global tragedies, including setting and enforcing boundaries when needed. The discussion includes a look at U.S. foreign policy in relation to Russia, ending on a check list of protecting your mental health while engaging online. There’s no video for this bonus show as the discussion was a spontaneous continuation of the emotional public episode, and the video feature had already been turned off. Apologies for that. If you have children or work with children, below is a list of resources on how to address this news and tragedies in general with young people: Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News (Child Mind Institute) https://childmind.org/article/helping-children-cope-frightening-news/ Explaining the News to Our Kids (Common Sense Media) https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/explaining-the-news-to-our-kids?overridden_route_name=entity.node.canonical&base_route_name=entity.node.canonical&page_manager_page=node_view&page_manager_page_variant=node_view-panels_variant-csm_blog&page_manager_page_variant_weight=-6 Talking to Kids About Violence (National Association of School Psychologists) https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-families-and-educators How to talk to your children about the violence in Israel and Gaza (NPR) https://www.npr.org/2023/10/11/1205017249/how-to-talk-to-children-violence-israeli-palestinian-gaza-hamas Show Notes: How to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1205235922/help-israel-gaza-humanitarian-organizations Israeli Air Force Says It Has Dropped 6,000 Bombs on Gaza https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip/card/israeli-air-force-says-it-has-dropped-6-000-bombs-on-gaza-QK1aSnupiGqytMVO86PU People in Gaza describe living through bombings with no way to escape https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/people-in-gaza-describe-living-through-bombings-with-no-way-to-escape MSNBC: 70 killed after Israeli strikes hit three convoys of evacuees trying to leave northern Gaza. https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1712911792106602608 Israel Must Not React Stupidly If this is Israel’s 9/11, it can learn from America’s mistakes. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/israeli-government-response-hamas-attack-gaza-9-11-lessons/675622/ Victoria Brownworth @VABVOX: Veteran Israel-Palestine reporter @NTarnopolsky tells @MSNBC...

“What do you mean ‘Hamas paratroopers’? Hamas doesn’t have paratroopers.” That was the reaction of someone first learning the news of this weekend’s terrorist attack across Israel, the worst mass-murder of Jews since the Holocaust. In this important discussion, Andrea is joined by Terrell Starr, host of the Black Diplomats podcast, who recently visited the West Bank and produced a series on Iran–a terrorist regime that reportedly helped in the planning of Hamas’s widespread attack. In this conversation, we share our grief and anger for civilians in Israel and Gaza. We were already living in a time of collective grief before Hamas’s atrocities this weekend and their ISIS execution terror videos. And now things have escalated with serious ramifications for the region, the world, and yes, the US election. The discussion includes what Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremists in government have in common with Trump’s extremists; how the war in Israel will galvanize Trump’s base that supports Israel as a means to fulfill a prophecy ushering in the apocalypse; and how lessons in aiding Ukraine can help inform how to help Israel and Palestine meaningfully work towards a two-state solution. The show notes for this week’s episode are a collection of trusted sources and voices helping us make sense of this tragic time and its complex history. Our bonus episode will be Andrea and Terrell sharing how to have difficult conversations about world events while trying to remain friends, how to protect mental health during a time of mass trauma and grief, and how to sustain conversations online in a way that protects yourself and your community. It also includes hard lessons learned from mistakes in US foreign policy, in relation to Russia, over the last ten years. Next week’s bonus episode will be a deep-dive Q&A so keep your questions coming. To get access to that, support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon by subscribing at Patreon.com/Gaslit! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Show Notes: How to Help Victims of the Israel-Gaza War https://time.com/6322238/how-to-help-israel-gaza-war-victims/ Anne Applebaum: "this government, which is the worst government in the history of the state of Israel, led by a corrupt, dysfunctional, and egoistic man who sees only himself—Benjamin Netanyahu—failed us." An extraordinary survivors' story: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/amir-tibon-how-his-family-survived-hamas-massacre/675596/ "The current government of Israel is not a partner for any constructive plan in the region. It is overwhelmed by ultra-nationalistic and messianic ideas, lack of experience, and inferior intellectual capacity." https://time.com/6322046/israel-after-hamas-attack/ Louis Fishman, Associate Prof Brooklyn College; Author of Jews and Palestinians in late Ottoman era: Turkish: “For months experts in the Israeli media warned that this gov was ignoring the growing security threat as a result of the pushback to Netanyahu’s judicial coup; they said Israel was losing its military superiority as more people refused serving in the reserves. Now we are here.” https://twitter.com/Istanbultelaviv/status/1711521792945516716 Mattia Nelles, German Ukraine analyst: Yair Golan, the former Israeli left Wing MP, is a true hero 👇 https://twitter.com/gadishamia/status/1711240299987562977 Amir Tibon @amirtibon Diplomatic Correspondent for Haaretz Newspaper, Israel to Josh Hawley: “What a cynical move. Shame on you Senator. Iran is sending drones to Ukraine and guns to Gaza, to murder Ukrainians and murder Israelis. God help us if USA cant support both countries against this brutal anti-democratic axis. Glad Biden is in charge.” https://twitter.com/amirtibon/status/1711597411007627510 Israel massed troops in the West Bank. Then Hamas attacked from Gaza. https://wapo.st/3rC42FT Lisa Goldman: “The Israeli media now...

Check out the video version on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18gEu4hJc8ZpoIafeB5Pgg Get this and all shows ad free, bonus episodes, submit questions to our regular Q&As, join the conversation, and more by supporting our independent journalism on Patreon at Patreon.com/Gaslit This week's bonus episode is available to all given that it provides important updates on Cop City, an issue that's the Standing Rock of the 2024 election and has serious ramifications for our democracy. Thank you to Patreon supporter Jennifer whose question inspired this discussion. Jennifer asked: "Can you talk about Cop City in the context of our global authoritarian shift. Have you seen this in other countries and do you expect it to grow?" The opening discussion is the Fox News Tea livestream from Thursday afternoon, in case you missed it. While this episode is available to all, our Patreon community receives both the audio and video ad free, and supports our independent journalism. Thank you so much! And we're working on a fun festive surprise for both you and Merrick Garland to be announced soon. :) We're working on organizing a social media workshop for our community here on Patreon featuring various experts in community organizing as well as the arts and media who have found new life on other platforms post-Elon Musk's deliberate destruction of Twitter. If there's anyone you're following on a platform that is not Twitter who has been helpful to you, providing insights, inspiration, community, drop their social media account in the comments and we'll consider reaching out to them to see if they might be willing to chat with our community here to provide guidance. Twitter was a real community power center, which is why the far-right elites had to destroy it, and starting over elsewhere can feel daunting and demoralizing. It's going to be a process, which will include still using Twitter for now, and expanding our presence elsewhere, including through fun events and collaborations. Thank you to everyone who supports the show -- we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Hope you’ll join Andrea at the October 26 6pm ET phonebank party with Sister District to stop Posh Trump Glenn Youngkin from getting the state power he needs to ban abortion. RSVP here: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/585389/ Show Notes: 2019: Over 380,000 gallons of oil spill from Keystone pipeline in North Dakota. The amount of oil spilled could fill half an Olympic-sized swimming pool. https://abcnews.go.com/US/380000-gallons-oil-spill-keystone-pipeline-north-dakota/story?id=66683075 Dakota Access Pipeline protests - Key Moments In The Dakota Access Pipeline Fight https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/514988040/key-moments-in-the-dakota-access-pipeline-fight Future of controversial Dakota Access pipeline's river crossing remains unclear https://www.npr.org/2023/09/08/1198492185/dakota-access-pipeline-river-crossing-environmental-review The U.S. Supreme Court last year refused to take up an appeal of the tribe's lawsuit over the pipeline. The tribe first filed the lawsuit in 2016. Thousands of people gathered and camped near the pipeline's river crossing for protests that lasted months and sparked hundreds of arrests in 2016 and 2017. More than 830 criminal cases resulted from the protests. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-officials-leave-future-of-dakota-access-pipelines-river-crossing-unclear-in-draft-review Great video: What is Copy City? https://twitter.com/cwebbonline/status/1709317070264172703 Important must-read article: Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Neighbors Have No Voting Rights to Stop It https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-10-04/-cop-city-referendum-aims-to-repeal-planned-atlanta-police-training-center ‘Watershed moment’: activists speak out about ‘Cop City’ conspiracy charges The same law used to charge Donald Trump is being wielded against...

It’s a government shutdown by another name! Accused sex trafficker, proud January 6 insurrectionist, and Kremlin shill Matt Gaetz makes Russian state TV gleeful by leading the Kremlin Kaos Kaucus (KKK) by blocking much-needed aid to Ukraine and overthrowing Kevin McCarthy as speaker for trying to do a Ukraine deal with the Democrats. You may remember McCarthy as that guy who admitted Putin pays Trump, yet went on to support him and his MAGA death cult, earning his place in history as the first speaker to be ousted. Gaetz’s Kremlin disinformation antics are part of a larger operation serving the Republican Party’s dark money backers that include dirty Russian-linked financing that helped elect George Santos, the Koch political network that wants to drop sanctions against Russia to protect their profits, and the PayPal mafia like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel that deliberately destroyed Twitter, an organizing space for activists and journalists, in a unified bid to weaken American democracy and usher in dictatorship. Yes, this is all happening, and none of it is normal. The KKK in Congress makes America look like an unreliable ally and demoralizes Ukrainians fighting and giving their lives to stop Russian imperial fascism. When they scream on the House floor about the national debt, what they really mean is protecting their corporate backers’ record profits, historically and criminally low taxes, and wealth hoarding at the expense of the public good. This is Reagan’s Revolution ideologically aligned with Putin’s court of oligarchs: Greed is good and the firehose of corruption and scandal ensures they live above the law. As history shows, our courts are the anecdote when Congress is gridlocked. Unfortunately, Biden’s judicial appointments were stalled this year as Senator Dianne Feinstein and her enablers refused to let her retire with dignity, tarnishing her legacy by slowing down Biden’s appointments for months. If people weren’t getting rich off of Washington being broken, it would have been fixed by now. The great Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of the latest must-read book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, stops by Gaslit Nation to give us insight on how we got here and what to do about this dangerous crossroads in our nation’s history. Needless to say Andrea and Heather geek out over Ulysses S. Grant! This week’s bonus episode will include a livestream on Patreon and on Instagram (to help wean us off of Twitter – the largest Russian disinformation outlet in the world, according to the European Union). That will take place on Thursday at 4pm ET – Patreon subscribers should look out for a link posted shortly before we go live, or join for free on Instagram. The topic will be some disturbing tea spilled about Fox News and how the sausage gets made there, according to a former insider. If you would like to support our independent journalism, get our episodes ad free, bonus shows, special invites, our archives, and more, subscribe at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Check out HelloFresh, our sponsor for this week’s episode. Go to HelloFresh.com/50Gaslit and use code 50gaslit for 50% off plus free shipping! Show Notes: Save the date! Thursday October 26 6pm - 8pm ET we’re getting together with Sister District for a virtual phonebank to get out the vote in Virginia to prevent Posh Trump (Glenn Youngkin) from banning abortion. Signed copies of the Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think! will be given out to three attendees as a thank you to our community. Sign up here, selecting the October 26 6pm ET phonebank to join us: https://www.mobilize.us/sisterdistrict/event/387377/?utm_source=2023-natlpb-gaslit Feeling festive? Send us a 5-page or less Halloween-themed radio play about the Kushners and other ghouls we’re up against and how to defeat those monsters. We’ll turn one of the scripts we...