Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

• The Politics of Fashion: How What We Wear Shapes the World

  Fashion isn’t just functional — it’s transformative. It can be a form of political speech, like when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines in a white gown emblazoned with “Tax the Rich.” It can also be a statement of resistance, as when the Black Panthers adopted black berets, a uniform that came to symbolize unity and power. Understanding the language of fashion is key to understanding the times we live in. It’s a translator for anyone trying to navigate this moment and one of the ten steps to reclaiming freedom and power as we challenge norms and assert our identity. Those of us who are pro-democracy may one day need to show who we are just as clearly. What we wear might matter more than we think. This week on Assembly Required, Stacey is joined by fashion editor and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Robin Givhan. She breaks down how fashion reflects our culture back to us and what that reflection reveals about the political moment we’re in.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.Learn & Do More:Be Curious: If you enjoyed my conversation with Robin, pick up her latest book, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh.Solve Problems: Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills — the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes every single second. To help reduce waste, be mindful of your clothing consumption and shopping habits. Before clicking “buy” on that fast fashion site for the latest trend at the cheapest price, ask yourself: Do I really need this? Can I buy it from a sustainable source? Can I thrift something similar instead?Do Good:If you have old clothes or have been meaning to clean out your closet, don’t throw them away. Instead, consider donating them to those in need. Goodwill, your place of worship, or local homeless shelters are great places to start. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• The Republican War on Knowledge

  Knowledge is power — a familiar cliché, but one that’s never felt more urgent. Trump and his Republican lackeys have launched alarming efforts to distort facts, manipulate evidence, and dilute the truth in order to disempower us. Very little has been left untouched, and the harm to scientific inquiry, the study of history, and institutions that preserve historical memory will be hard to reverse. Understanding our history is how we know that despite the dark chapters, this country is resilient. Knowledge is the key to being able to take action to shape our futures. This systematic campaign to upend reality is straight out of an autocrat’s playbook. This week on Assembly Required, Stacey is joined by Adam Serwer, senior writer at The Atlantic and author of The Cruelty Is the Point, to unpack the Republican attack on knowledge, its real world impact, and explore what we can do to resist their attempts to replace truth with ideology.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.Learn & Do More:Be Curious: Pick up a copy of Adam’s book, The Cruelty Is the Point, and explore his powerful writing for The Atlantic for sharp, insightful commentary on how to make sense of our current reality.Solve Problems: If your local school district is taking steps to undermine education or restrict knowledge, speak up. Attend school board meetings whether or not you have kids in the system. Follow the example of parents in Florida who’ve organized supplemental Black history lessons at local cultural centers. Educators and creators are also using TikTok to share important history lessons, a reminder that learning can thrive anywhere.Do Good: ProPublica reported that the Trump administration destroyed 94 million pounds of food rather than allowing it to be delivered to food banks across the country. As the economy weakens and furloughed federal employees face financial strain, consider supporting your local food bank. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to find one near you and learn how you can help. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• How to Build a Winning Coalition in Trump’s Broken America

  One of authoritarianism’s core tactics is claiming the system is broken beyond repair and only one man can fix it. Enter Donald Trump. He’s reshaped the Republican Party around his insidious MAGA ideology, casting Democrats as enemies bent on destroying the country. For centuries, America’s two-party system has kept Republicans and Democrats locked in battle, with third parties rarely breaking through. But today, to defeat autocracy and its effects, something beyond the binary is required. This week, Stacey is joined by Jane Coaston, host of What a Day at Crooked Media and a former card-carrying libertarian, along with Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party. Together, they unpack the importance  of third parties and explore how collective power might be the key to defeating Trump and the Republicans. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. Learn & Do More:Be Curious: For a sharp primer on how America’s unique approach to partisanship has imperiled our democracy, check out Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.Solve Problems: Third-party ballot access is ultimately about giving voters more diverse political choices. Ranked choice voting helps elevate voices that reflect the complexity of our communities. Learn more at FairVote.org, and listen to our first episode of Assembly Required where we explored how RCV expands representation.Do Good: After our taping, the U.S. government may shut down. Millions of Americans—including thousands of federal workers—could be furloughed or lose access to essential services. Instead of calling your representatives, check in on neighbors who may be affected. In times like these, caring for one another is the best way to resist a government that fails to care for its people. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• How MAHA Is Coming for Women

  Propaganda is a powerful tool for an autocrat. It’s crucial to step six of the Ten Steps to Autocracy: weaken the truth and fill the void with propaganda and lies. And since RFK Jr. allied with Trump and the Republicans before the 2024 election, the Make America Healthy Again movement has grown into a juggernaut of misinformation. You’ve seen it on your feeds - one minute you’re watching a recipe video or checking out someone’s post about a new workout, and then suddenly you’re listening to a young woman talk about how birth control is impure or how vaccines are dangerous. To understand this phenomenon, its unique impact on women, and why it is so insidious, we’re talking to New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg and wellness content creator and podcast host Kate Glavan about the wellness to right-wing radicalization pipelineFor a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. Learn & Do More:BE CURIOUS: Learning more about the history of women’s rights can help us combat efforts to erode our freedom. Backlash by Susan Faludi is a useful primer on the forces opposing women’s independence. The work of feminist scholar Andrew Dworkin can also provide useful context on the current moment.SOLVE PROBLEMS: Support accountability journalism that spotlights the truth about the MAHA movement and the ways that it is impacting our public health. Outlets like the New York Times, STAT News, KFF Health News, and Propublica are doing important work to expose right wing disinformation and replace it with the truth.DO GOOD: Support organizations like Reproductive Freedom for All and immunize.org that fight to promote accurate healthcare information and increase access. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Stacey Abrams’ On The Ten Steps to Save Democracy

  On this week’s episode of Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams breaks down the “Ten Steps to Autocracy,” a framework inspired by Princeton Professor Kim Scheppele that outlines the warning signs of a country sliding toward authoritarian rule. We’re watching Trump and the Republicans check off those steps in plain sight: expand and consolidate executive power, break down government institutions, sow distrust in the media, scapegoate vulnerable communities, incentivize violence, and their final goal: undermine free and fair elections in order to cement authoritarian rule. Today, Stacey is joined by Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent at Mother Jones and author of Project 2026: Trump’s Plan to Rig the Next Election, to examine how Trump is poised to use this authoritarian playbook to undermine the 2026 midterms.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast. Learn & Do More:BE CURIOUS: Visit 10StepsCampaign.org to learn more about the Ten Steps Campaign and how you can help your friends, family, and community recognize the signs, activate, and build power together.SOLVE PROBLEMS: Pick one of the Ten Steps to Freedom and Power and make it your personal mission this week.DO GOOD: Reach out to someone who may be feeling lost, and share what you’ve learned. We grow our confidence by growing our numbers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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