3055 - Scenes From A Slow Civil War w/ Jeff Sharlet

Sam and Emma host Jeff Sharlet, professor of English at Dartmouth College, to discuss his recent book The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War. First, Emma and Sam run through updates on the Manhattan Grand Jury returning to their Trump deliberations, the LA school strike, the Supreme Court declining to address Kansas’ severe racial gerrymandering, UAW’s election drama, and an ex-Tucker Carlson producer testifying on behalf of dominion, before diving into Israel’s ongoing mass protests of Netanyahu stripping the judiciary’s power, and the cognitive dissonance of Israel’s “democracy for me and fascism for thee” perspective on the apartheid state. Jeff Sharlet then dives right into how his work reviews the United States’ failing relationship with fascism, and how he views his own relationship to it, as a long-time journalist covering the Right Wing, walking through the complete refusal to even use the term “fascist” to describe the right until Trump’s rise to power, and how his ascendency saw a marked shift of Christian Nationalism towards a cult of personality. After a brief definition of fascism, Jeff, Sam, and Emma parse through what role the cult of personality plays in fascism, and how the Christian Theocrats see Trump as more of an avatar, a tool of god to unite the right, before stepping back to look at the evolution of fascism over the last 80 years, looking at the global rise of fascism today, and its continued connection to cultures of aggrievement. Next, Sharlet looks to the 2020 election and end of Trump’s reign as a particular spark under the far-right, igniting their theocratic attacks on abortion and trans people, also touching on how the far right, and everyone else, view this “slow civil war.” Wrapping up, they explore the concept of the “rabbit hole” of the far right, the absurdity of appealing to a politics of irrationalism with rationalism, and why the strongest measure in the fight against fascism is stepping up and building beautiful things that people want to be a part of. And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma cover Biden’s incredibly mediocre response to criticism over the Willow project, Sam reflects on his appearance on the PBD pod, and Daniel from PA refutes the corporate claim that companies are job creators. Adam from New Jersey dives into non-US coverage suggestions, Donald Trump recycles 2-decade-old GOP talking points, and James Comer thinks Congress should decide local laws. Montana State Senator Daniel Zolnikov goes off on his NIMBY constituents, and Anesh from India argues that the patriarchy was an accident, but feminism is oppression, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out Jeff's book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006497 Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today’s sponsors: ZipRecruiter: Some things in life we like to pick out for ourselves - so we know we've got the one that's best for us - like cuts of steak or mattresses. What if you could do the same for hiring - choose your ideal candidate before they even apply? See for yourself! Just go to this exclusive web address, https://www.ziprecruiter.com/majority to try ZipRecruiter for free! Cozy Earth: One out of three Americans report being sleep deprived, and their sheets could be the problem. Luckily Cozy Earth provides the SOFTEST, MOST LUXURIOUS and BEST-TEMPERATURE REGULATING sheets. Cozy Earth has been featured on Oprah's Most Favorite Things List Four Years in a Row! Made from super soft viscose from bamboo, Cozy Earth Sheets breathe so you sleep at the perfect temperature all year round.  And for a limited time, SAVE 35% on Cozy Earth Bedding. Go to https://cozyearth.com/ and enter my special promo code MAJORITY at checkout to SAVE 35% now. Hurry, holiday offer ends soon. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/