Saturday's NO KINGS is the beginning of a movement. Thoughts on what it means and where we go from here. Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What and get Andrea's posts first: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/what-just-happened Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/-ozqcCEtRRc?si=nyvG3tY3-UGofGEd TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews This week, Andrea Pitzer looks at the October 18 No Kings marches and rallies nationwide and jumps into what seven million people showing up means for the country. She narrates the Saturday march from Arlington National Cemetery across the Memorial Bridge into DC and along the National Mall. Along the way, she talks to demonstrators, members of the National Guard stationed in the District, and DC cops. She recaps surveys of those who showed up and what matters to them, including data from Dana Fisher* and some great points made this week in a conversation between Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky.** Addressing why police departments around the country put out press releases, Andrea wonders if—for their own reasons—they're trying to create some distance between themselves and the administration. She also reviews how shook the White House was by No Kings. Different people will play different roles in mass protests, and they may diverge even more in their approaches as mass protests become a mass movement. Andrea considers how this range of experiences, goals, and tactics can be a strength, rather than something that deepens conflict. And as always, at the end, she reviews ways to think about and take action in the moment, to push back against authoritarianism. * Fisher's topline data from Saturday is now available here: https://danarfisher.com/2025/10/23/nokings-2-0-brings-joyful-resistance-across-the-us/ ** You can see the whole conversation between Chenoweth and Levitsky in The Breakdown from the Ash Center: https://youtube.com/live/dqoSPLEK2Mg?si=C1f53eivbGGV2Pm3Â
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How to Spook a Fascist
Our society is descending deeper and deeper into authoritarianism, but hitting the streets this weekend is a good way to push back. Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What and get Andrea's posts first: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/the-opposite-of-complicity Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/DeOVwwATutg TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews This week's episode looks at the US crisis and how protest plays a key role in demanding a more accountable democracy. Andrea Pitzer considers the many ways that the administration is trying to suppress dissent. By calling the demonstrators terrorists, America haters, and supporters of Hamas, Trump's allies are trying to intimidate those who oppose them. But they're also revealing just how frightened they are. The government's response to inflatable frog and unicorn costumes, impromptu marching bands, and at least one naked bike ride has made them look ludicrous, and helps to expose the violence our expanding police state is unleashing on its own people. Andrea explores what protests are doing right now in the country, and what they have the potential to do. She addresses the limits and failures of democratic movements as well, with a nod to why it’s crucial for you to get involved right now if you can. She covers how to take action if disability or your personal risk level makes it inadvisable or even impossible to march. Looking at recent research on the power of popular protest and at the risks of backsliding into authoritarianism, Andrea explains how developing communities of public dissent and mutual aid can help not only in building real democracy, but holding all leaders accountable going forward.
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The State of The Degenerate Union
 Public apathy is a greater danger to the country than actual oppression in this moment. As our first anniversary approaches, we've gathered the most important bits from the debut year of "Next Comes What." Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What and get Andrea's posts first: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/state-of-the-degenerate-union Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/RTsu0EG5LYQ Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@degenerateartnews Nearly a year since the 2024 election and the start of "Next Comes What," Andrea Pitzer brings together the most critical parts of what she's shared so far on the podcast. She begins with a look back at the first post-election episode, and predictions she made about how 20th-century events in Chile, Germany, and Russia were likely to repeat here in the U.S. Offering a mea culpa for her biggest misstep, Andrea gives a state of our degenerate union today, considering where things stand with the Courts, Congress, the executive branch, our institutions, and the people. Pulling together success stories from at home and abroad, she considers how both overreach and resistance are likely to unfold from here. In closing, Andrea reminds listeners about the upcoming October 18 "No Kings" events and provides specific paths to action going forward.
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You don't have to swallow frogs
If you aren't sure what you stand for, you're going to get played. Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What and get Andrea's posts first: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/you-don-t-have-to-swallow-frogs Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/yVS10nrdWu8?si=okUVNHwIpOe98aTF This week, Andrea Pitzer considers the recent conversation between New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and what it means for all of us as American authoritarianism expands. The two men shared very different thoughts about what the moment requires, including their doubts about each other's approach. Andrea summarizes the talk and suggests that Coates's emphasis on history and his intellectual heritage offers more possibilities for avoiding paralysis in the moment. She worries that Klein's willingness to barter away protection of some vulnerable populations leads to a lost state in which it becomes impossible to stand for anything. Sharing a Czeslaw Milosz quote about a man who rationally convinces himself to swallow live frogs, Andrea suggests that Klein has lost sight of the fact that doing something unpleasant isn't the same as doing something effective. She closes with thoughts on how you can find your own moral or ethical center—one that might offer some clarity on how to take action today.
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Kill this podcast?
What if my telling you there's still time to save democracy keeps you from thinking you need to act now? Subscribe to Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art newsletter to support Next Comes What and get Andrea's posts first: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/subscribe Read the post that inspired this episode: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/mind-the-gap Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/YYqsM-LoYlM This week's "Next Comes What" focuses on the difference between staying on top of the administration's attacks on democracy and actually doing something to save democracy. Nearly a year into the podcast, Andrea Pitzer outlines the ways that Trump continues to overreach, even as he grows more and more unpopular. The federal government is in the process of hiring people who seem willing to assault Americans (documented and not) on the streets. Yet it doesn't have enough of them to silence the majority of Americans who oppose Trump. Now is the time to act. But Andrea wonders whether constantly telling listeners that there are still actions they can take is too reassuring. Do people get lulled into thinking things will just be fine, and they don't need to stand up? In the last week, a Congressional candidate, a Chicago pastor, and elected officials have faced attack or arrest by law enforcement agents ostensibly carrying out immigration operations. But what most of us need to do in our communities is nothing nearly that heroic. Andrea looks at rising food insecurity and ways we can tackle the effects of immigration detention and tariffs close to home. She closes with a look at a study by university researchers who suggest that most U-turns—even those that radically reorient a country toward authoritarianism—wind up leading to greater democracy in the end. Authoritarian U-turns are often followed by counter-shifts that reverse the harms and result in the growth of democratic rights and institutions. But one key to these reversals is that they need to happen quickly. It's up to us to go to work in our communities today checking Trump's power and rebuilding our freedoms.
USA