Audio From A Collapsing State | Jared Yates Sexton

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comWe are standing at a crossroads. As the wealth and oligarchical classes takes over we are watching capitalism evolve into its next form: oligarchical autocracy. In this episode, we trace capitalism from its inception and theoretical free markets to imperial capitalism, the form which we have known our entire lives, and beyond. This is the story of our h…

Dispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent media venture and depends on your support. Unfortunately, corporate platforms don’t support actual critiques of capitalism and power, so I rely on your subscriptions. Subscribe today to keep this effort going and growing.Subscribe to Dispatches From A Collapsing State and support independent media meant to speak truth to powerAs we head into the holidays, I wanted to talk about hope. These are hard times. Watching the wealthy and the powerful cement their control over our politics, economy, and culture can decimate our ability to fight back. Authoritarianism relies on weaponized, systematic abuse to make us feel small, alone, and powerless.Well. You’re not. In this free episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, we discuss how to cultivate hope in the most trying of times as we strive to heal ourselves from the ravages of Neoliberal capitalism and begin reaching out to others and construction coalitions so that we can challenge power and make a better world. There are exercises in this episode meant to lift you up when the going gets hard. And it is going to get hard.This series of podcasts has largely been subscriber-only. To keep listening as we go step-by-step into how to build those coalitions and eventually the movement that will challenge the wealth class, subscribe today. Below you can find additional resources, including past episodes and articles that help explain that process as well as detail how we arrived at this moment. As you build your connections, feel free to share them so you can be on the same page.Resources* Beginning to Resist: Thoughts on how we, as individuals, should spend the months leading up to the second Trump presidency and preparing for the cruel austerity his wealth class donors are going to unleash.* What the Hell is Going On: Here is an explainer regarding our present circumstances for anyone who has had a feeling that the traditional Democrat / Republican / Red / Blue narrative was hiding something. Here, we go through the problems in the United States and how the wealth class has effectively put itself in a position to totally takeover our government.* The Oligarchical Order: A primer on how to give up conventional and failed political understandings in favor of seeing how capitalism directs the course of events and where it is leading and what to expect.* Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Meaning: Here we get into how consumerism represents an addictive drug that has hollowed out our sense of purpose, leaving us to take this as a moment of self-reflection, recognize that we have effectively been made to hate and doubt ourselves, thereby keeping us from realizing we deserve better.* Americans Should Learn From South Koreans: The attempted coup in South Korea serves as an incredible example for how popular mobilization among the population can change the political paradigm and undermine authoritarian power grabs. We should pay attention and take heed.* The Snake, The Rat, and Neoliberal Authoritarianism: Using Survivor and reality-TV culture, we discuss how Neoliberalism turned us against one another, rewarded manipulation and other sociopathic behaviors, and simultaneously divorced us from the skills we need to establish trust, intimacy, and solidarity, all things that organizing and creating a movement requires.* A Thoroughly Confused Country: Americans have little in the way of class consciousness, which was an intentional state desired by the wealth class. This primer gets into the class makeup of the United States, including contradictions and motivations, that will be crucial in understanding as we do our work.* Authoritarianism as Clarity: As authoritarians take power, the world becomes a lot clearer. We can see who we can trust and who we shouldn’t. This episode gets into the history of Vichy France and the lessons we can learn on how to operate as individuals within an authoritarian environment. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comDispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent media venture. Unfortunately, corporate platforms do not support actual critiques of capitalism or power. Subscribe today to keep this project going and keep it growing.Dispatches From A Collapsing State depends on your support. Subscribe today for full access to Audio From A Collapsing State and othe…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comIt’s…infuriating watching people get it so wrong. In the wake of the 2024 Election, the Democratic Party and the liberal media has continually pushed for politics to move to the Right, spend more time “engaging” with white voters, especially white men, and generally continue the process of normalizing authoritarianism.In this episode of Audio From A Col…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comNeoliberalism isn’t just an economic or political project. It was a cultural project as well. Increasing precarity, slashed social programs, and an emphasis on greed, consumerism, and self-advancement turned us against one another, leaving us bereft of mass politics that could change anything.We begin this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State with a…

This is a free episode of Audio From A Collapsing State commenting on developing events. As our corporate media does not support critics of capitalism, I rely on your support to continue this project. Please become a subscriber if you value this work.Today, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, claiming lawmakers seeking impeachment for his corruption necessitated a cessation of rights and liberties. Quickly, the people of South Korea took to the streets and challenged the regime and the military. The Democratic Party was able to enter the Parliament and stand against Yoon.It’s still too early to tell how this situation will play out, but we should take a moment to appreciate what we’re seeing. The people refused an authoritarian power grab. This audio discusses the context of what we’re seeing in the United States, South Korea, and other countries as authoritarian rises, the American Order declines, and what the moment will require from us as individuals.I reference a previous audio “The Oligarchical Order,” which includes an explainer in how neoliberal capitalism has brought us here and some insight into what we should expect as it continues on.But let’s take a moment in all of this to both appreciate the bravery exhibited by the South Korean people and also steel ourselves as we look toward our own future and trials. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comWe’re not just experiencing a democratic or political crisis. This is also a crisis of meaning and purpose. Neoliberal capitalism has changed us, isolated us, and systematically co-opted nearly everything that means something real and sustains us. As a result, we’ve been reduced to earning and consumption machines, our culture reduced to a dog-eat-dog f…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comDespite what you’re told, seeing reality for what it is isn’t easy. We are so awash in delusional fantasies and magical thinking that clarity is one of the rarest of gifts. We have a choice. This moment could be rock bottom or it could get much, much worse. The choice is yours.In this episode, we continue the work of preparing to organize and engage in …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comWe aren’t taught how to create movements or how to organize against power. In fact, so much of our education and the narratives we’re fed in our culture are grounded in the belief that all of it is rather unnecessary. The Founding myth of the Revolution, when coupled with our fictionalized Civil War and watered-down tellings of the Civil Rights Movement…

Please consider subscribing to support this independent venture and to gain access to regular episodes of Audio From A Collapsing State.This is a special edition of Audio From A Collapsing State. The intent is to get people up to speed on some basic facts that have been regrettably, but understandably, absent from conventional and mainstream political coverage. If we are to create a movement to defeat this threat, and we must, this is base-level knowledge.Though we see the world through the lens of Red v. Blue / Republican v. Democratic politics, the truth is that our politics and culture are influenced by capitalistic influences that lie underneath the surface. It is time to shake off childish notions of how our politics work, discard these tired and obsolete stereotypes, and grapple with the real nature of power. This is the story of how we arrived at this moment, how a group of oligarchs and corporations superseded national interests, conspired with dictators and authoritarians, and are now poised to wreck what’s left of our economy, lower our standard of living, and free capitalism from American control, all to line their pockets, expand their power, and realize a world in which democracy is no longer a thorn in their side.Dispatches From A Collapsing State is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.I hope this helps to clarify our present circumstances and, if it does, please share it with friends, family members, and coworkers who might find this analysis helpful in finally overcoming these ideas and stories that have held them back and kept them in cycles of exploitation and suffering. This weekend I will release the regular Audio From A Collapsing State episode that will detail what to expect as this plan is coming out and outline things that you can do as an individual to prepare yourself for what’s coming and prepare yourself to organize and fight against it.In the meantime, here are a list of past posts and videos that will hopefully serve as resources.* 226/312: An Excercise in Self-Destruction: An in-depth response to Democratic Party excuses from the 2024 Presidential loss that deals with a self-defeating mentality that threatens to keep us in this cycle* Where We Are And Where We Must Go: Audio From A Collapsing State: A podcast reacting to the election loss that expresses how we must approach the next few weeks mentally as we prepare ourselves to fight back and create an actual movement and an actual resistance that isn’t just hashtag activism and a total liberal grift* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 1: The Great Chain of Being: The first episode of the YouTube series that explains how wealth and power, beginning with the Fall of Rome and the allegience between the wealth class and Christianity, protected and expanded itself as feudalism gave birth to capitalism and liberal democracy* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 2: Capitalist Apocalypse: The story of how liberal democracy turned to authoritarian control as the economic order melts down and spurs World War I, a capitalist slaughter over resources and power* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 3: Changing of the Guard: As mentioned in this episode, the Great Depression leads to a rise of Fascism and Nazism, which catches on in Europe but also the United States, creating the perfect scenario for the oligarchs of the 20th century to once again attack liberal democracy. At the end of World War II, capitalism as a parasite jumps from Great Britain to America, which quickly begins using the remnants of fascism to cement control* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 4: A New Empire: The new American Empire shapes world politics and preps the world for globalism through military force and conspiracy theories capitalizing on inherent prejudices and evangelical programming* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture series Episode 5: The Crisis: A reckoning with our modern political environment, including the leadup to the 2024 Presidential Election and the circumstances we now face, including the push by oligarchs to coopt the country and cement control This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comThe United States of America has grown more Right Wing, more reactionary, and more dangerous. We must grow up, get serious, see the situation for what it is, and begin taking steps to fight back.In this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I discuss the Democratic Party’s failures, the pitfalls of simulated activism online and in the #resistance, a…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comThis is a frightening time. The rise of authoritarianism is real and democracy is under attack. Tuesday’s election rightfully feels fraught with bristling anxiety. But, as we approach this date with destiny, it is important that we take a breath, process where we are as individuals, and what we must do going forward.In this episode of Audio From A Colla…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comNot long after publishing my own article detailing how Elon Musk is attempting to buy the American presidency, The Wall Street Journal dropped their own investigation into how Musk had been in discussions with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. I wasn’t terribly surprised by these revelations, but seeing it laid out in black and white is surely something.…

Dispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent media venture and depends on your support. As I discuss on this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I’ll be releasing regular episodes of this podcast that go deep into present circumstances but also into what we can do as individuals and as a collective to make things better. This is going to be a new project addressing what I see as a worsening environment. To gain access to those episodes, as well as exclusive videos and interviews, become a subscriber today.This is an exclusive conversation with Sarah Kendzior (author of The Last American Road Trip and her essential newsletter) about the state of American politics as we approach the 2024 Presidential Election. Sarah and I are on the same page about how things feel right now and where they are heading. It is a frustrating, frightening, and enraging time. The litany of horrors and abuses are growing by the day and I think it’s necessary to talk about this, name it, and understand it if anything is going to get better. I sincerely hope this discussion helps with understanding the dread many of you are probably feeling.As well, as I mentioned above and in the podcast opening, I’m going to be focusing on making more regular Audio From A Collapsing State podcasts going forward. This terrible circumstance we find ourselves in is leading us in a direction that many of us feared, and I think it’s time for a new strategy. I will still be publishing articles breaking down headlines and the like, but I also want to go more in-depth about the forces at play while also providing ideas and strategies that we can, as individuals, use to help ourselves and help others, as well as change the direction of things. We will be entering a new chapter in this crisis very, very soon, and so I think this is unfortunately what the moment is calling for.I hope you’ll join me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

Dispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent media venture and depends on your support. If you haven’t already, subscribe to gain access all content, including exclusive articles, podcasts, videos, and Q&A’s where I answer your questions.Labor Day Weekend is a strange thing. What should serve as a time to relax and reflect has been turned into a corporatized consumer extravaganza. Same garbage for the same 40% off. This year, facing a crucial election, gaining authoritarianism, and frightening glimpses of what the world is becoming, we need to take a breath and rededicate ourselves to the fight. And remember what this is all about: building the kind of future we deserve. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, everyone. As I’ve mentioned, I’m taking about ten days off to get ready for the upcoming barrage of election and crises. I hope you’ve had a chance to listen to my conversation with Sarah Kendzior that was published on Monday (I’m writing this Monday…what is time?). I recorded this video/podcast on Monday as well. As noted, there’s a lot of potential for a lot of things to have changed between the moment of recording and when you’re watching/listening to this. But I think it should be relevant anytime, honestly. It’s a meditation on what we, as individuals and collectives, must do to keep ourselves in the fight against authoritarian and to push forward to a better future. It’s about healing, navigating the news and our sense of powerlessness.People often ask what they can do in the face of all this. And this is the beginning of the answer to that question.Thank you for your support and kindness. I’ll be back, tentatively, on August 15th, and will have new dispatches and analysis as I catch up on everything that’s transpired. If you appreciate my work, please consider subscribing today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

As I previously mentioned, I’m going to be out of action for the next ten days as I heal up and prepare for the brunt of the election. But, as promised, I’ve scheduled some treats for you. Today I’m releasing a free and full version of the interview I conducted with Sarah Kendzior for The Muckrake Podcast. You know Kendzior and her work, and undoubtedly you appreciate her as much as I do. She’s been on this same difficult beat for years and has proven to be one of the most indispensable voices we have. She’s also a wonderful writer and her new book, The Last American Roadtrip, is now available for preorder.In this conversation, we discuss the remarkable and changing political environment, the dangers of putting our energies into a cult of personality, the gathering threats that must be addressed, and what it means to actually fight for a better future. I hope you’ll enjoy.If you haven’t already, check out my subscriber Mailbag from this weekend and subscribe to support Dispatches From A Collapsing State. Share with your family, your friends, and anybody who needs to hear what’s actually going on versus the sanitized, misleading “analysis” you’ll get everywhere else. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comDispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent venture. It requires your support. If you haven’t already, subscribe in order to access exclusive content and keep the project growing. If you know someone who might benefit from a deeper and more honest analysis of politics, make sure and share.

I am so grateful for Wajahat Ali. When I began this journey back in 2015 and 2016, I was quick to understand how dangerous the gathering authoritarian movement was and what the implications were for Americans. What I didn’t understand, but would learn quickly, was how a culture of denial and complicity enabled and worsened that crisis. Wajahat understood too, and along with a handful of others, their kindness, solidarity, and clarity steadied and inspired me. We are incredibly, incredibly lucky to have Wajahat in the world fighting the good fight.Wajahat and I sat down to talk on Wednesday to address the big tangle of crises we now face, including the threat of Project 2025, the continuing debate over Joe Biden’s candidacy, the rightward trajectory and radicalization of our culture, politics, and media, and more.I hope you’ll watch our discussion and check out Wajahat’s Substack The Left Hook, an invaluable hub for his thoughts and analysis. And, to support Dispatches From A Collapsing State, subscribe if you haven’t already. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

Dispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent media venture and it depends on paid subscriptions to continue operating and growing. Subscribers gain access to exclusive content, such as the recent Q&A and the follow-up mailbag answering questions from the recent series, The Stakes (Links for Parts I, II, III, and IV). If you haven’t please subscribe to keep this project rolling.This conversation was long overdue. The last time Sarah Kendzior and I chatted was at the beginning of the year and a whole, whole lot has changed since then. Here, we discuss growing authoritarianism, the state of American politics, the ideological and moral clashes over Gaza, and more.Sarah’s book They Knew: How A Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent is now available in paperback. And you can find her writing on her Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

Before we get to the conversation, a reminder that my limited series The Stakes has completed its initial run with Part IV, which details the strategies by which democratic power might reassert itself. Part I discussed the authoritarian plans for our future, Part II tried to reframe the 2024 Election and what lies beyond it, and Part III dissected why our political and media class get it all so wrong. Considering what’s happened since their publication, and the topics in this conversation today, they might be worth checking out.I’ll be answering subscriber questions regarding The Stakes series and related topics, so if you have any follow-ups, please reply to this post or email me at [email protected]. And, if you haven’t already, please subscribe to support my work and this ongoing project. I think recent events have, once more, proven why independent media and analysis is absolutely vital.I’m pleased to present this conversation with Karl Folk, a researcher of authoritarianism and radicalization, and the founder of the Institute of Unreality. Here, we delve into how the college protests are changing, the political landscape as it morphs and accelerates, and where it appears that we’re heading. I hope you’ll watch and take something from it. Things are heating up in a hurry.You can find Karl on Twitter at @brainnotonyet This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comIn this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I talk about the organizing work I’m doing in states where authoritarian regimes have run roughshod, the enduring trauma of our politics and culture, but also how events like the war in Israel and Gaza affect us on the individual level.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.comHey everybody, we’re back for another subscriber-exclusive Q&A, and this one is a good one: A 40+ minute podcast that goes deep on the worsening child labor situation, the 2024 Presidential Election, and revelations that Fox News knew the Big Lie was, well, a lie.If you’re not a subscriber, you’re gonna want to change that.Also, below, you can find the …

If you haven’t already, subscribe to support DISPATCHES FROM A COLLAPSING STATE. This independent media venture depends on your support, and in the new year I’m looking to upgrade everything about it, including new features, Q&A’s, hangouts, special guests, and more. And, if you have subscribed, why not gift a subscription to somebody who needs this information?I used to hate New Year’s Eve. It was a combination of seasonal depression and a general malaise that affected everything. But this year, I’m not just feeling hopeful, I’m feeling determined.In this new episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I discuss the turning of the calendar as a hell of a time to set intentions for 2023, including improving ourselves and the world. This is going to be a crucial year that will likely determine the very near future. If we’re going to win this fight - and I think we will - we’re going to have to defeat all of the programming and trauma this current, awful system has heaped onto us.I apologize for getting into the personal here, but I think solidarity depends on intimacy and connection. I’m heading into 2023 determined to continue healing and to doing the hard work of organizing. If you have a community in need or a group you’re a part of / looking to start, feel free to reply to this post. I’ll be traveling around the country all year, educating, organizing, and, most importantly, listening. Also, if you have strategies for healing, feel free to share.Next week I’ll be back with more deep-dives. In the meantime, if you haven’te pre-ordered THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM: A HISTORY OF POWER, PARANOIA, AND THE COMING CRISIS, you should do so. The copies are going fast and you don’t want to miss this book.And, again, thank you. You remain the best. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

As we prepare for Thursday’s public hearing of the January 6th Committee and the presentation of evidence, we must remember that the problem goes so much deeper than Donald Trump and his criminal cronies. There’s a massive and well-funded conspiracy to destroy democracy and it’s only growing stronger by the day.If you haven’t already, subscribe to support Jared Yates Sexton’s work. Subscribers also gain access to additional material, including podcasts like this one This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe