This week we revisit a conversation from 2017 with Mark Bray, historian and author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.Since this interview, Bray has faced escalating death threats and was forced to leave his position at Dartmouth after being falsely portrayed as a terrorist for his scholarly work documenting anti-fascism. After being called “Mr. Antifa” by Turning Point USA, the threats intensified to the point that he relocated to Spain. We’re replaying this conversation as a reminder of what anti-fascism actually is—and what happens to those who document it.We discussed:* The historical roots of anti-fascism — tracing the movement from 1920s Europe through the Spanish Civil War to modern militant organizing in the 1970s-80s* What anti-fascists actually do — the investigative work of tracking extremists online, alerting employers and communities, and why physical confrontation is typically a last resort* The “no platform” principle — why anti-fascists view fascism as violence incarnate rather than just another political opinion to be debated* Self-defense vs. “both sides” narratives — how media coverage often misrepresents defensive actions at counter-protests, especially when police protection is absent* Who becomes an anti-fascist — the evolution from punk scene defenders to a broader coalition including queer activists, union organizers, and Black Lives Matter participants* Why the threat was underestimated — drawing parallels between dismissing Mussolini and Hitler as “preening and goofy” and early responses to TrumpThis episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Thanks for reading Magic + Loss! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe
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The Edgelord Apocalypse
This week we talk to Cy Canterel, a scholar of media theory and systems theory in New Orleans and author of the Substack “Abstract Machines.” We discuss:* The chilling subcultures breeding the next wave of violence. Why 4chan, Discord, and “black pill” nihilism are more dangerous than traditional political extremism.* The Kirk assassination wasn’t about ideology. It was about spectacle. Tyler Robinson may have chosen Kirk not for his politics, but because killing him would be the ultimate “high score” in a gamified reality where violence is derealised.* The invisible powder keg: armed, queer, and furious. Are there thousands of young white men crushed between MAGA’s rigid masculinity and the left’s indifference, ready to explode?* Incels, Groypers, and the fascist femboy pipeline. How Greco-Roman fantasies and gender fluidity coexist with white supremacy in ways that confound traditional political analysis.* Why this looks more like Columbine than JFK. Forget political assassination frameworks. This is about desensitization, isolation, and young men who’ve lost touch with themselves.This episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Every dollar goes to the continued fight against fascism!Magic + Loss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe
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The Mitochondria Conspiracy
This week on “What Rough Beast,” we talk to Molly McKew, information warfare expert and author of the Great Power newsletter, about Russia's influence operations and the war in Ukraine. We discuss:* How Russia has been systematically manipulating American politics since the 1980s through oligarchs, soft power investments, and psychological operations* Why Trump's decades-long fascination with Russia makes him vulnerable to manipulation by Putin's regime* The disturbing speed with which Americans can be radicalized online—from wellness enthusiasts to conspiracy theorists in months* How Russian disinformation exploits America's lack of firm national identity, making us uniquely susceptible to foreign influence campaigns* The reality on the ground in Ukraine under Trump's envoys, and why treating the war like a "real estate deal" fundamentally misunderstands what's at stake* Why Americans across the political spectrum are unprepared for the collapse of institutional protections and the shift toward authoritarianismThis episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Every dollar goes to the continued fight against fascism.Magic + Loss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe
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The Deportation Machine
This week, we talk to the great Sarah Stillman, Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at The New Yorker and MacArthur Fellow who teaches investigative reporting at Yale. Her work focuses on profiteering in the criminal justice system—from debtors' prisons and civil asset forfeiture to for-profit prison communications and companies exploiting disaster-recovery workers during climate crises. She previously ran Columbia's Global Migration Project, investigating immigration detention and asylum-seekers' rights. In this episode, we discuss:* That the numbers are staggering—180,000 people deported so far this term, with $170 billion set aside for enforcement* How family separations aren't just cruel policy—they're a deliberate tool that strips people of their humanity by cutting them off from anyone who sees them as infinitely valuable* The weird and disturbing practice of sending deportees to random countries they've never been to (like Mexican nationals being held in South Sudan)* Why enforcement is hitting people who used to be left alone—students, green card holders, even kids who are U.S. citizens* How private detention has created a system that's actually bigger than our entire federal prison system* What happens when climate change forces mass migration, and whether our current asylum laws account for it* The workers rebuilding after climate disasters—many of them climate refugees themselves—who face deportation while fixing the homes of people who vote for anti-immigration policies* Why Sarah thinks actual reporting on human stories matters way more than all the political punditry filling up our feeds* The right to hug your parent when they're in jail (yes, that's a real legal fight happening right now)This episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Every dollar goes to the continued fight against fascism.Magic + Loss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe
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The Dictator Expert Who's Not Worried
This week we sit down with Alastair Smith, author of The Dictator's Handbook, who thinks we might all need to take a deep breath about American democracy. We discuss:* How it's actually better to lose in a real democracy than win under a wannabe dictator (and the math that proves it)* Why keeping 22 million voters happy is fundamentally different from bribing 100 cronies, and what that means for whether you get roads or just graft* How Trump might be accidentally sabotaging himself with tariffs and Fed-bashing (markets hate uncertainty, who knew?)* The bizarre difference between old-school Pravda propaganda and our current hellscape of lizard-people theories and testicle tanning* Real-time institutional resistance: from the FBI actually protecting threatened journalists to Jerome Powell's magnificent "I'm not stepping down" moment* Why this political scientist—who studies how dictatorships actually work—still thinks our messy, frustrating democracy has more fight left than we realizeFair warning: this conversation might leave you feeling weirdly hopeful about America. We know, we're surprised too.This episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Every dollar goes to the continued fight against fascism.Magic + Loss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe
What Rough Beast, hosted by Virginia Heffernan (Wired, Trumpcast) and Stephen Metcalf (Slate, Culture Gabfest) is a podcast where we bear witness to America’s demise, and ask what might be built from the rubble. The sludge. The sparkly phosphorescent faerie dust of recombinant DNA.
It is a spiritual successor to Trumpcast, but with a radical reimagining. Instead of focusing on opposing Trump or trusting institutions, this podcast explores imaginative, unexpected responses to our current political moment. The show takes inspiration from the '68ers' motto "all power to the imagination" and seeks unconventional solutions beyond traditional political frameworks. virginiaheffernan.substack.com
USA