George Packer, writing for The Atlantic, argues, "We can't see the threat of authoritarianism because we don't recognize it. We're living in a in an in an authoritarian state," he writes. It didn't feel that way this morning when I took my dog for his usual walk in the park and dew from the grass glittered on my boots in the rising sunlight. It doesn't feel that way when you're ordering an iced mocha latte at Starbucks or watching the Patriots lose to the Steelers.The persistent normality of daily life is d ...

for joining the conversation. We have former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with us. It's really great to have you. >> It's wonderful to be back with all of you. >> Thank you so much. So, um the big news yesterday, there's a there's always news going around in I would say for me personally, the big news was this shift >> on Russia. Mhm. >> And I'm curious just looking at the arc of this story over the past month or two from Anchorage to that European leaders meeting at the White House to John Lamir has ...

Joining us now, senior editor at The Atlantic and host of Radio Atlantic, Hana Rosen, staff writer for The Atlantic and MSNBC political contributor Mark Lieovich, and presidential historian and professor of history at Rice University, Douglas Brinkley. Um, all right, speaking of backlash, let us also play a a little bit from Andrew Schultz's podcast. In terms of censorship, freedom of speech is is more under attack now, honestly, than I think it has ever been. >> I don't know if that's me being hyperbolic. ...

Gary Kasrav is a Russian dissident, exile and chess grandmaster. He has seen authoritarianism with his own eyes. And this week, he wrote this in his Substack newsletter, The Next Move.As demagogues go, Donald Trump is not especially original. A tragedy occurs, the leader starts pointing fingers and blames the other guy as a pretext for overreach. It's so formulaic that no TV show with this plot would ever have made it near near this past weekend's Emmys.Kasprov warned that we should understand this for what ...

Legendary talk show host David Letterman has weighed in on Jimmy Kimmel's indefinite suspension. Uh here he is with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic at the Atlantic Festival. >> This is misery and uh in in the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship.Sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched. And then my good friend Jimmy Kimmel, I you know, I just uh I feel bad about this because uh we all see where this is going, correct. It's managed media and uh it's no good. It's silly. It ...

Today, we heard from the former director of the CDC for the first time since she was fired just 29 days after being confirmed by the Senate. Susan Manarez, who was chosen and nominated by Donald Trump, testified before the Senate Health Committee about how she was fired for quote holding the line on scientific integrity, telling senators about the meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. that ultimately led to her dismissal. On the morning of August 25th, Secretary Kennedy dem ...

Yeah, this is completely playbook what is happening and scholars of authoritarianism have been warning about this for years. Every authoritarian ever waits for an atrocity to happen, a terrorist attack, and they have planned how they're going to use it. They're going to use it to target the political opposition.Steven Miller is now talking about Democrats the way he talks about immigrants. So this is just what we expected. Uh it's exactly what happens uh in any author.It's it's what you would do if you were ...

Joining me now, Ben Rhodess, former deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama. He's the co-host of Pod Save the World and an MSNBC political contributor. He's the author of After the Fall, the rise of authoritarianism in the world we've made.Uh Ben, you're the perfect person to have this this conversation with because of the news cycle that we're in. Some of this was lost. People uh either maybe didn't see it and certainly maybe haven't studied it, but I think it's really really instruct ...

We talk a lot on this show about the future of American democracy and the fight against authoritarianism. So far in 2025, Republicans in Congress have declined to participate in that fight. The president has trampled their authority again and again.Today, in a new oped published on MSNBC. com, our own Michael Steele wrote, "The next few months will determine whether lawmakers will defend their constitutional powers or surrender them to an increasingly imperial president, perhaps for good." Here, here. Micha ...

Emergency Powers & Executive Overreach - The discussion centers on concerns that President Trump is abusing emergency powers by falsely declaring emergencies to expand executive authority [2][3][5] - The volume of emergency declarations under Trump's presidency is notably high compared to past presidents [4][5] - A key example is the declaration of a trade deficit as an emergency, which is viewed as a misuse of presidential power [6][7] Legal & Constitutional Implications - The Supreme Court's potential review of these emergency declarations is critical, particularly regarding the tariff emergency [6][9][19] - The court's deference to executive power, especially concerning Trump, raises concerns about the checks and balances on presidential authority [8][19] - Statutory interpretation, as seen in the Alien Enemies Act case, suggests the court may limit Trump's emergency powers if no actual emergency exists [10] Societal Impact & Authoritarianism Concerns - The use of emergency powers on immigration, including the border wall and actions in Los Angeles, is highlighted as potentially manufactured emergencies [11][12][13][14] - Concerns are raised about the potential for authoritarianism, drawing comparisons to Victor Orban, and the critical nature of the next few months in determining the direction of democracy [17][18][19] - The potential consequences if the Supreme Court defers to Trump's declarations, allowing for unchecked executive power, are significant [19][20]