A Better Way to Take On Trump 2.0 — Inauguration Episode
What to expect when you're expecting an authoritarian. Our inauguration episode. Read the post that inspired this episode. Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What This episode of Next Comes What is about how to manage the next four years, starting from Day One. Andrea Pitzer discusses the amazing ways that countries around the globe in danger of losing democracy are trying to save themselves right now, the new dangers that the twenty-first century presents to those facing authoritarianism, and some of the most effective ways to confront the threat barreling down on us. She looks at heroic examples in Poland, Myanmar, Brazil, and South Korea, as well as times when everyday Americans have helped change the U.S. into the country they wanted it to become. And she outlines the very real risk, if we're not careful, of people on the left falling into an existence just as removed from reality as the one adopted by MAGA on the right. And she explains how to stay engaged during the crisis now confronting us.
--------
43:20
How Authoritarians Abuse and Use the Homeless
Homelessness has long been used to criminalize suffering and expand detention. Read the post that inspired this episode. Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What. Today's episode of Next Comes What is about the relationship between homelessness and concentration camps around the globe, as well as a close look at those living without a home in America today. Andrea Pitzer explains how homelessness has historically been used as a political weapon to expand detention for other groups of civilians. She recounts how Mussolini, Hitler, and even Herbert Hoover went to war against the homeless between World War I and World War II, and narrates the terrible worldwide legacy of their actions. In the second half of the episode, she interviews Brian Goldstone, the author of the forthcoming book There Is No Place for Us, which tells the story of five families who are all part of Atlanta's Black working homeless population. Goldstone lays out the violence that consigns people to homelessness, and discusses with Andrea the concrete ways listeners can take action to secure housing for everyone currently without it — and keep those of us who are lucky enough to have it from losing it.
--------
32:15
Why Determination Beats Inspiration
Not everything will go wrong. Some thoughts for the New Year. Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/everything-won-t-go-wrong Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Today's episode of Next Comes What is about finding holiday joy even in bleak times. In preparation for the New Year and a new administration coming in, Andrea Pitzer recounts how people in extreme conditions in the past held religious services, celebrated feasts, and even set up circus performances. She considers stories of Arctic explorers celebrating Twelfth Night or turning their clothes inside out to bring good luck in the New Year, with little possibility that they would survive the winter. Even presidents who tried to do the right things historically have often failed in their efforts. Andrea looks at actions by Jimmy Carter and Harry Truman that were undone by their political foes. And yet—just as in the camps and in the High Arctic—not everything that could have gone wrong did. She makes a plea for determination over inspiration and hopes that everyone might choose to embrace their agency in 2025.
--------
20:23
The Power of the Quiet Voice
From years of teaching self defense and martial arts, some tips for difficult holiday conversations. Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/fighting-words Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/next-comes-what/id1779885475 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7lUaIWeKl0oET2DJVTWhy4 Those times you want to punch somebody over holiday dinner, but you don’t? Andrea Pitzer is here to say “Well done” and to give you some options between starting World War III and just enduring nasty rhetoric. In this short holiday-themed episode of Next Comes What, Andrea talks about the years she spent teaching martial arts and self defense and offers ideas for fraught conversations when you’re more interested in getting your point across than winning. From the power of reaching people with the quiet voice to minding your footwork and not wasting your energy, here’s hoping you can enter 2025 with no hangovers, no arrest record, and no regrets.
--------
14:52
Somebody To Hate
Defending immigrants from camps and chaos This week's episode traces the ties between immigrants and concentration camp history then turns to an immigration expert to discuss what Trump will do next. Andrea Pitzer dives into the past of a centuries-old law used to lock up foreigners in America—the very law Trump allies hope will expedite mass deportation. Then she talks about the situation on the ground with Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council, who describes Trump's plans for the coming months and the big obstacles to executing them. They offer concrete ways the public can help at-risk immigrants, from volunteering with the Council itself to passing laws in their own communities. Read the post that inspired this episode. Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What.
USA