On Offense with Kris Goldsmith

For years, people have asked me the same question: Where are the veterans?

In this episode, Ken Harbaugh and I answer.

Ken is a former Navy pilot, veteran advocate, filmmaker, and president of VALOR Media Network. We discuss the experiences that transformed his understanding of service—from his daughter’s medical crisis and his work building veteran-led organizations to his reporting from Ukraine and firsthand exposure to the future of drone warfare.

We also announce the Veterans Day Democracy March.

On Wednesday, November 11, veterans and allies from across the country will gather in Washington, D.C., for a peaceful, lawful national action in support of constitutional government, lawful election results, and the rule of law.

Why are we organizing now for an event after Election Day? Because the work of democracy does not end when the polls close. We expect Trump and his allies to challenge election results that threaten their hold on power, and preparation cannot begin after the crisis has already started.

The march is organized around three points of unity:

The voters decide. The results stand.

No president is above the Constitution.

America must keep faith with those who serve.

The Veterans Day Democracy March is being organized through the Unite for Veterans Coalition. Veterans Fighting Fascism, VALOR Media Network, and other coalition partners are mobilizing veterans, creators, advocates, artists, and allies from across the country.

Ken and I also discuss what real patriotism demands, why the oath does not expire when the uniform comes off, and what veterans owe the country when its democratic institutions are under attack.

I also explain why On Offense will be taking a break for at least the month of August while I focus on writing my book.

The podcast may be taking a pause. The work is not.

LEARN MORE AND GET INVOLVED

Join and support the Veterans Day Democracy March:
VeteransFightingFascism.org

Follow Ken on The Ken Harbaugh Show:
TheKenHarbaughShow.Substack.com

Preorder War Is a Racket, featuring a new introduction by Kristofer Goldsmith:
Penguin Random House

Subscribe to On Offense:
OnOffense.Substack.com

Lindsey Graham’s death has me thinking about the choices that define a political legacy.

As someone who spent years lobbying Congress on behalf of veterans, I saw firsthand the difference between politicians who were willing to listen—and those who simply weren’t. Graham built a career championing American military intervention while resisting reforms that would better protect the men and women sent to fight those wars.

His life raises a question that extends far beyond one senator:

What does political courage actually look like?

My guest this week, Reed Galen, took a very different path.

A longtime Republican strategist who worked for George W. Bush, John McCain, and other Republican leaders, Reed eventually concluded that remaining inside the party meant compromising principles he wasn’t willing to abandon.

Today, through Civic Forum, he is trying to build a different kind of civic movement—one grounded in honest conversation, local engagement, and the belief that democracy requires more than simply reacting to authoritarianism.

We discuss whether America’s institutions can still be reformed, why political parties struggle to speak honestly about economic power, what meaningful civic organizing looks like, and why ordinary people should start locally if they want to make a real difference.

Follow Reed’s work on Substack and learn more about Civic Forum.

I also wrote the introduction to a new edition of Major General Smedley Butler’s War Is a Racket, which will be published by Steerforth Press this September. Preorder the book here.

On Offense with Kris Goldsmith is a podcast about fighting for democracy and organizing against fascism—because being on defense is not enough.

For years, we've been told that young white men are drifting to the political right. But what if we're asking the wrong questions?

When I met fitness coach and content creator Colin Davis, I was reminded of my best friend who died at 18. It made me wonder: if he'd lived, who would he have become? Would he have followed the same path I did—or would he have been swept into the culture and politics that have transformed so many communities across America?

Colin represents something too many people misunderstand. He works in a space—fitness and gym culture—that has become increasingly associated with the political right, yet he's building a different vision of masculinity rooted in community, personal responsibility, and democratic participation.

In this episode, we discuss:

How gym culture became intertwined with right-wing politics

Why young men are searching for belonging

The role of healthcare, economics, and social isolation

What progressives often misunderstand about young white men

Why local organizing matters more than most people realize

How strength and empathy can exist together

This isn't a conversation about young men.

It's a conversation with one.

Follow Colin Davis:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colin_coaches/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colin_coaches

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review, and share it with someone who would appreciate the conversation.

Americans are angry. Millions of people recognize the danger posed by authoritarianism. So why does opposition so often feel fragmented, exhausted, and ineffective?

My guest this week is historian, Army veteran, and returning On Offense guest Tad Stoermer, author of A Resistance History of the United States.

In his new book, Tad argues that Americans have been taught a version of history that encourages us to trust institutions, celebrate founders, and wait for change rather than understanding how ordinary people have actually resisted abuses of power throughout American history.

We discuss:

Why so many Americans feel exhausted after a decade of political crisis

The difference between protest and resistance

What today’s opposition can learn from the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement

Why Tad believes “pacifiers” hold democratic movements back

What we’ve misunderstood about George Washington, the American founding, and the mythology surrounding both

Why resistance movements need a vision for the future, not just a reaction to the present

How ordinary people can identify their role in a broader movement for democratic change

This is not a conversation about nostalgia. It’s a conversation about power, organizing, and what it takes to build something capable of confronting authoritarianism.

As always, I end by asking the same question:

What can you do to go on offense?

Tad’s answer may challenge everything you’ve been told about how change happens in America.

Follow Tad Stoermer:Tad Stoermer on Substack

Buy the book:A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer

What happened to QAnon?

Most Americans stopped talking about it after January 6. The headlines faded. The QAnon Shaman disappeared from the news. The movement seemed to dissolve.

But according to former Congressman and January 6 investigator Denver Riggleman, QAnon never really went away.

In this episode of On Offense, Kris Goldsmith sits down with Riggleman to discuss how QAnon evolved from an internet conspiracy theory into a broader political identity, why conspiracy culture remains deeply embedded in American politics, and what the January 6 investigation revealed about the networks and personalities behind the movement.

Drawing on his book The Breach, Riggleman explains how conspiracy movements adapt, fragment, and survive—and why understanding those movements is essential for anyone concerned about the future of American democracy.

Topics include:

QAnon and its lasting influence on American politics

The role of Mike Flynn and other influential figures

The January 6 attack and its aftermath

Radicalization, conspiracy culture, and political identity

How extremist movements evolve over time

What Americans still misunderstand about January 6

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to On Offense on your favorite podcast app and visit OnOffense.Substack.com for additional reporting, analysis, and interviews.