Beginning on November 5 and until late January, I felt an intense need to ignore the news media, social media, and any other media that might remind me of what was coming. It was too much. It was overwhelming. It still is, but I’m not looking away anymore. I’ve noticed that many mainstream news outlets and legacy media (e.g. The New York Times, The Washington Post, the PBS NewsHour, etc.) have been bafflingly reticent to say what is happening in plain language: The United States of America is under attack by a far-right, authoritarian, and nationalist regime led by the Trump administration and his sycophantic, amoral supporters and enablers. I’m following this unspeakable national tragedy more closely now than ever. Below is a list of individual commentators, media outlets, organizations, coalitions, and readings that are mobilizing me to join the fight against this stupid coup (as it’s called by Rebecca Solnit) with the most radical optimism I’m able to muster. You can find them on social media outlets like Facebook, BlueSky, Substack, on TV and radio, your local library, etc. Google them. (Actually, don’t use Google if you can avoid it; they’re collaborators of the regime.) This list is by no means comprehensive, and any astounding omissions are my fault entirely.
Individual Commentators
I’m following these folks on social media, newsletters, and TV. (Of these, I consider Rebecca Solnit and Heather Cox Richardson to be the most essential.)
Rebecca Solnit: Activist and writer (A Paradise Built in Hell, Men Explain Things to Me, etc.). Her website/newsletter, Meditations in an Emergency (along with her social media posts) is unflinching but radically optimistic.
Heather Cox Richardson: Political historian and creator of Letters from an American. Richardson uses examples from history to put current events into a broader perspective.
Timothy Snyder: Historian of the Holocaust and author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, one of the biggest-selling books on the topic of authoritarianism.
Joyce Vance: Law professor and legal analyst, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, creator of the Civil Discourse newsletter.
Adam Kinzinger: Air Force veteran, former member of the House of Representatives (Illinois), political commentator. Along with Liz Cheney and other Republican members of the January 6th Commission, his outspoken criticism of the Trump administration effectively ended his career as a Republican politician.
Bill Maher: Comedian and host of Real Time on HBO. Maher is a self-righteous prick, but his show is one of the only forums where you can see discussions of current events with people from diametrically opposed viewpoints.
Rachel Maddow: Political commentator, host of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, author of Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: U.S representative for New York’s 14th congressional district (Democrat). The youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Member of “The Squad.”
National Organizations, Groups, Coalitions, Etc.
Indivisible: “A grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.”
Alt National Park Service: This group is not a federal agency. Rather, they are an activist coalition of current and former federal workers who are fighting the Trump administration by highlighting various aspects of the shutdown of federal agencies in real time.
Waging Nonviolence: “A non-profit media platform providing original reporting and expert analysis of social movements around the world.”
Protect Democracy: A nonpartisan nonprofit organization that aims to “prevent our democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government.”
The Lincoln Project: A political action committee formed by conservatives who oppose the Trump administration and are “dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy.
Mobilize: A “technology platform and network that allows volunteers to sign up for events such as rallies, virtual meetings, canvassing, phone blanketing, and get out the vote.”
Local Organizations, Groups, Coalitions, Etc.
Indivisible NOLA: Local chapter of Indivisible
The Resistance NOLA: A public Facebook Group
Forum for Equality: Louisiana’s LGBTQ+ human rights organization.
New Orleans Pride Center: “A welcome, inclusive hub for local and regional LGBTQ2IA+ individuals and communities where all feel safe to celebrate their authentic selves and thrive through connection.”
Journalism and Commentary
The New Republic: A magazine “founded in 1914 to bring liberalism into the modern era.”
The Atlantic: A magazine founded in 1857 that is guided by the following principles: “Reason should always guide opinion; ideas, have consequences, sometimes world-historical consequences; the knowledge we have about the world is partial and provisional, and subject to analysis, scrutiny, and revision.”
Wired: A magazine focused on emerging technology, politics, and culture.
The Nation: A magazine founded in 1865 that “has long believed that independent journalism has the capacity to bring about a more democratic and equitable world.”
ProPublica: “An independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force.”
Mother Jones: “A nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom founded in 1976” that “investigates the big stories that may be ignored or overlooked by other news outlets, including about democracy and voting rights, racial justice, reproductive rights, and food and agriculture.”
Truthout: A nonprofit news organization “dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues.”
Democracy Now: A TV, radio, and internet news program focused on progressive issues.
The Contrarian: A brand new newsletter on Substack led by Jen Ruben and Norm Eisen that describes itself as “unflinching, unapologetic, and unwavering in its commitment to truth-telling.”
The Bulwark: A newsletter on Substack that was “founded to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy.”
The Guardian (US version): “Covering American and international news for an online, global audience.”
(Somewhat) More Light-Hearted Takes
The Onion: America’s premiere satirical news company.
Leopards Ate My Face: Initially formed on Reddit but now on other social media platforms, this group satirizes people who voted for the “Leopards Eating Faces” political party, and are now shocked to find that said leopards are eating their faces.
Andy Borowitz: A comedian and satirist best known for The Borowitz Report.
Mrs. Betty Bowers: “America’s Best Christian.”
God: “Creator of the Universe,” currently satirizing it on social media and The God Pod podcast.
Eric Braden: I can’t get enough of the delicious irony that the actor who plays Victor Newman (a narcissistic, greedy, spiteful billionaire – ahem) on The Young and the Restless is an anti-fascist who’s giving daily hot takes against the stupid coup on his social media accounts. He was born in Nazi Germany, so he knows what he’s talking about, and he couldn’t care less if he loses long-time fans by telling the truth.
Recommended Reading:
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder
Surviving Autocracy, by Masha Gessen
It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis
The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth
The Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt
Why We Can’t Wait, by Martin Luther King, Jr.
How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future, by Maria Ressa
On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee McIntyre
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley
Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, by Jason Stanley
Fascism: A Warning, by Madeleine Albright
A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
The Four Freedoms (the 1941 State of the Union Address, by Franklin D. Roosevelt)
The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution of the United States (and the Amendments)
