This week, Stacey opens the show cautioning Americans to watch and learn from Brazil’s election results, where Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva surprised everyone with a victory, and his right wing opponent Flavio Bolsonaro called for the election to be annulled. As we brace for our own midterm elections in just one week, she gets into how the Justice Department is weaponizing power and practicing voter suppression against Americans from the bottom up, most recently attacking voters in California. So, what does free and fair voting require? Stacey talks to Jen Psaki, host of MSNOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki and former White House press secretary, about the larger motives behind what Republicans are chasing ahead of the midterms, how Democrats can remain hopeful but strategic in their messaging, and what to expect on and ahead of November 3rd.

Learn & Do More:

1. BE CURIOUS: For more insightful analysis of the political moment we’re in, check out Jen Psaki’s show on MSNOW, The Briefing with Jen Psaki and her weekly Q&A on MS NOW Membership.
2. SOLVE PROBLEMS: We’re days away from the midterms, and every little thing you do can still help. Think about your legislative candidates, candidates for Senate, House or Governor, and donate or sign up to volunteer. Organizations like EMILY’s List at emilyslist.org, Run For Something at runforsomething.net, and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee at dlcc.org are great places to look for ways to help. You can also look up who is running in your area to give directly and get involved.
3. DO GOOD: Defeating authoritarianism takes thousands of small actions, and a lot of them start in somebody’s living room. Autocrats rely on confusion, apathy and fear. We rely on each other. That starts with building trust with a few neighbors on your block. Download Plurality, a free app that helps you organize in your neighborhood and connect with people nearby. The 10 Steps Campaign has ready-to-use event blueprints on Plurality designed to make civic organizing as easy as hosting a dinner party. Pick one, post your event on Plurality and tag @10StepsCampaign on social media so your neighbors can find it.

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How are affordability and corruption connected? Professor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich joins Stacey to unpack rising gas prices and the cost of living, why he sees Trump’s White House as a symptom of a much deeper culture of government corruption, and what’s at stake in the upcoming midterm elections.

Then, they discuss how 2026 is shaping up to resemble a new “Gilded Age,” marked by extreme wealth inequality and a government struggling to address the consequences. Stacey also sits down with Sheila Nix, CEO of the Mobile Voting Project, to discuss voter suppression, expanding access to the ballot, and how bringing mobile voting to all 50 states could help increase voter turnout.

Learn & Do More:

1. BE CURIOUS: For more sharp insight into the economy and how corruption affects us all, follow Robert Reich on Substack and check out his course on wealth and inequality. Also, check out his new book Coming Up Short and his new film The Work in Progress.
2. SOLVE PROBLEMS: State and local elected officials play critical roles in protecting our democracy. School board members, city council members, county commissioners, state legislators, and judges are the officials closest to our communities. Right now, they’re some of the most targeted, especially women. Threats, harassment, doxxing, even political prosecution. Too many elected women spend their first year in office shocked by how bad it is, and most of them face it alone. Women’s Democracy Lab is changing that. They build safety and support infrastructure for women in state and local office, because when you make it safe for the most targeted, you make it safe for everyone. We work hard to elect bold leaders. Join them in making sure those leaders can stay.
   1. Give: Help fund rapid-response support for a woman under threat. Go to womensdemocracylab.org.
   2. Share it with an elected official you know: If she’s facing threats, she can reach WDL at safety@womensdemocracylab.org for direct support.
   3. Show up for your local elected officials: Go to the meeting. Show your support. Report harassment when you see it.
   4. Stay connected: Sign up for WDL’s updates and follow their work at hello@womensdemocracylab.org.
3. DO GOOD: As prices continue to soar, food insecurity remains an urgent problem. Ten Steps partner 901 Community Fridges is committed to fighting food insecurity in Memphis by partnering with neighborhoods to place fridges stocked with food and sundries in the areas where they’re needed most. If you’re in the Memphis region, check outhttps://10stepscampaign.org/partners to learn more and get involved. You can also look for opportunities in your local community to address hunger by supporting.

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You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Fascism has gotten a facelift, and we’ve got tech oligarchs, religious extremists, and ethnonationalists to thank. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, co-authors of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World, sit down with Stacey to unpack how certain groups of fascists believe the end times of our society are not only inevitable, but are invested in precipitating our collapse while ensuring they are the elite few destined to survive. They also discuss the “wealth-rapture,” how extreme economic inequality has created fertile ground for fascists to thrive, and how this new brand of fascism can be stopped if we fight for empathy, equality, and universal rights during this administration and beyond.

Learn & Do More:

1. Be Curious: Pick up a copy of Naomi and Astra’s book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World.
2. Solve Problems: On October 17th, No Kings, Common Cause, and other 10 Steps campaign partners are taking part in a national day of action, mobilizing their communities to vote early in the midterm elections. Visitnokings.org or protectthevote.net to make a plan to vote or find and host an event near you. Even if early voting hasn’t yet started in your state, there are plenty of ways to get involved and make sure everyone shows up for these elections.
3. Do Good: The horrors of capital punishment have recently made headlines. Whether you support ending the practice, as I do, or believe it needs reform, there is more we can do to make a difference. Visit the Equal Justice Initiative to support their important work to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment and challenge racial and economic injustice. The ACLU has a list of reputable organizations working to reform the death penalty, and we’ll link to it in the show notes.

You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.