CBS turned their news operation into propaganda, kicked Colbert off the air for making too much trouble, and all that just to have Charles Barkley go on the air on one of their most-watched telecasts of the year and say this lmao
Yesterday I recorded an ep with @danieltavana.bsky.social, one of the few political scientists with an active research agenda on Iran. We spoke at length about the regime, divisions in Iranian society, the prospects for democracy in Iran. One of my best episodes to date. Link in replies.
Want a thoughtful perspective on Iranian politics and society? Come join me tomorrow at noon EST on Substack Live for a discussion with @danieltavana.bsky.social. We'll talk about the inner workings of the regime, divisions within Iranian society, and prospects for democracy. Session link in replies
"Trash-talking democracy" - a new concept every American needs to know. Budding dictators attack democratic institutions as corrupt, unresponsive, or captured by foreign interests. This provides the pretext for them to “reform” said institutions in ways that erode guardrails in the system.
I am such a huge fan Elle! Keep it up!
The Civic Forum 🚨NEW EPISODE🚨
Last week I spoke with @marceldirsus.com on his perspective on American authoritarianism, why strongmen are actually weak, and the long term costs of the US-Europe breakup.
Link in the replies 👇
There goes $300 million dollars.
Got invited by @rorytruex.bsky.social to discuss American democracy and US-EU relations. I told him both are in crisis because of Trump. But, as always, there's hope. Watch below:
youtu.be/fOy1uuKo-vs?...
Had the honor of joining Edi on @sinobabble.bsky.social to talk about the dismal state of US-China academic exchange.
open.substack.com/pub/sinobabb...
youtu.be/aSOgiQbohk4?...
Also on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or anywhere you get your pods: open.spotify.com/episode/3h12...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
The Civic Forum 🚨NEW EPISODE🚨
This week I spoke with Stephen Cash of the @thesteadystate.org on the authoritarian threats posed by Trump, the rise of ICE, how the intelligence community has changed under Trump 2.0, and the consequences for national security and democracy.
Link in the replies 👇
Why does the United States need to better understand China?
Rory Truex (@princeton.edu) joined us to discuss the high barriers to studying China and the consequences a lack of China expertise could have for the future of U.S. foreign policy.
▶️ Watch: https://www.ncuscr.org/video/china-expertise/
You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling.
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
The top fraud experts in the office left. So did...a veteran in prosecuting sex crimes & child pornography cases. Calhoun-Lopez, who oversaw the major violent crimes unit, also departed. “It will take years to build the contacts in state and local law enforcement that has been lost,” Mr. Luger said.
Name them
shame them
The majority of organizing happening in Minnesota isn’t just peaceful, it’s INVISIBLE. Moms showing up who won’t be interviewed on TV, people whose ICE patrols don’t turn into viral video. The grocery runs, the donations, the people filming bc they happen to be there. Please remember this.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."
Just staggered by the complete moral void of not even *pretending* to wait for more information before pivoting to “the opponent of the state deserved it.” It is so insanely depraved. Soulless.
From Civic Forum interview with Paul Poast:
"Go back to 1895, New York. Find a businessman, bring him to the present, make him president of the United States, and then ask yourself what would make sense to him and what would make no sense to him."
open.spotify.com/episode/6836...
This has been the plan all along.
- Foment violence and chaos in the streets of MN
- Implement the Insurrection Act
- Declare Martial Law
- Suspend elections
@chrislhayes.bsky.social: “A 37-year-old American citizen, the mother of a young child is dead tonight. She was shot in the face by an agent of the federal government, and that government has spent the day telling despicable lies about her.”
I am impeaching Secretary Kristi Noem, who is an incompetent leader and a disgrace to our democracy.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting "They killed my wife," the distraught woman says, adding, "They shot her in the head." An ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman who was driving an SUV in Minneapolis on Wednesday. / Screenshot/@Breaking911
"They killed my wife. I don't know what to do," the woman says through sobs in the footage, with a damaged SUV visible in the distance behind her. "We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head," the woman cries. "We have a six-year-old at school," she says, almost unable to breathe, as a chaotic scene in which federal officers prevented at least one doctor who was on the scene from assisting the shot victim unfolds. "We're new here," the distraught woman says in despair.
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.
This could be you.
I wrote up a Year in Review for 2025, “Our Authoritarian Year.” So much has happened, I tried to synthesize the story into chapters— The Authoritarian Onslaught, Overreach, Popular Backlash, and Defection. I am optimistic about the chapters to come in 2026.
open.substack.com/pub/rorytrue...
The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.
Come for the insightful analysis from Michael, stay for my lite conspiracy theories about oil at the end. Thanks Michael for joining, I learned a lot from our conversation.
