This is America: Checked In for the Checked Out

This is America: Checked In for the Checked Out
Podcast Description
From the front lines of protecting democracy, political analysts Rachel Bitecofer and Aaron Murphy, authors of Hit 'Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game (Crown, 2024), host a brief, weekly look at "what you need to know" about Trump 2.0. They're checked in for the checked out.This is America is a callback to William L. Shirer's groundbreaking This is Berlin broadcasts from the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.Subscribe to Rachel's The Cycle on Substack at thecycle.substack.com.Hit 'Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game:hitemwhereithurts.com.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers themes of political strategy, authoritarianism, and the erosion of democratic norms, with episodes discussing topics such as the 'shock and awe' tactics of Trump 2.0, comparisons to historical figures and events, and current political events like confirmation hearings and inflation. Specific episodes include examining Trump's strategies through the lens of 1930s Germany and analyzing contemporary media responses to political shifts.

From the front lines of protecting democracy, political analysts Rachel Bitecofer and Aaron Murphy, authors of Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game (Crown, 2024), host a brief, weekly look at “what you need to know” about Trump 2.0. They’re checked in for the checked out.
This is America is a callback to William L. Shirer’s groundbreaking This is Berlin broadcasts from the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
Subscribe to Rachel’s The Cycle on Substack at thecycle.substack.com.
Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game:
This week Rachel and Aaron stick to the one scandal that’s finally sticking to Teflon Don: Jeffrey Epstein, and the Trump Administration’s spectacular inability to control the narrative. Rachel dives into the need to “politicize everything.” A look at how Trump 2.0 is using immigration to destroy democracy with quiet bureaucracy. And why are some Dems demanding to fight “fire with fire” after the latest GOP effort to retain control of the U.S. House?
LINKS:
- The Cycle (Substack): Politicize Everything: A Blueprint for a Party that Fights
- YouTube: ‘You’ve got no rights’: teenage US citizen records violent arrest by immigration officers
- The Guardian: How Trump has supercharged the immigration crackdown – in data
- YouTube: ‘Epstein Partied With Trump’: Texas Congressional Candidate Dragged Out Of Hearing
- YouTube: California’s Newsom Calls To ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ As Texas Considers Redistricting
- Surrounded (Jubilee Media): 1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan)
- 50501: Rage Against the Regime | August 2, 2025
- The National: Convicted US Felon to Arrive in Scotland

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