Audio From A Collapsing State | Jared Yates Sexton

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