Convicted felon Trump went to China and brought his son Eric along on the nepo-baby express. Eric runs the family business. And by "family business," we mean a transnational crime network of bribes operating like a geopolitical yard sale, selling out our country to the highest bidder. While they were there, Dictator Xi Jinping told the U.S. to back off defending Taiwan. And Trump, in defiance of decades of established U.S. foreign policy, is suddenly sounding suspiciously wishy-washy on approving arms deals for Taiwan. Which is just music to Xi's ears. It's the 1930s all over again, complete with secret alliances of transactional autocrats, and the people forced to build their own resistance networks in the storm.

How do we get through this era without having to literally storm the beaches of Normandy again? To help us figure it out, we're bringing you Part II of our discussion with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy. She is a Brennan Center fellow, a law professor at Stetson University, and the author of Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians. (And if you missed Part I, where we discussed how American corporations funded Trump's violent January 6th coup attempt, go back and listen to it right here).

It's easy to despair right now, but the resilience of the people, especially powerful community networks, reminds us that the Constitution still matters, and protects everyone on our soil. We are not powerless against a corporatocracy eager to cash in on transactional autocrats. We just need to confront the absolute, unmitigated disaster that was the Reagan Revolution, undo its damage by building localized power through groups like the States Project, and commit to a relentless, stubborn defiance. We can and will do it, together. Because there's no other choice.

To listen to this full episode, subscribe at the Truth-teller tier, which is just $5 a month, or higher on Patreon. We have discounted annual subscriptions, and you can even give the gift of membership to that uncle who still thinks trickle-down economics works. A massive thank you to everyone who subscribes to Gaslit Nation—we literally could not make this show without you.

Show Notes:

Corporatocracy How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians https://nyupress.org/9781479828371/corporatocracy/

Corporatocracy - Part I: https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/corporatocracy

'No idea it was coming': Pentagon officials stunned by Hegseth decision on troops in Poland https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/14/poland-pentagon-hegseth-troop-withdrawl-surprise-00922169

Eric Trump, Who Runs the Family Business, Hops Along on the Plane to China https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/us/politics/eric-trump-china.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ilA.uxcA.YKSI7CnAWkZs&smid=url-share

Poland railway blast was unprecedented act of sabotage, says Donald Tusk https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/17/poland-railway-blast-was-unprecedented-act-of-sabotage-says-donald-tusk

Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mlvc3nzpjc23

Gaslit Nation unmasks the real villain: the corporations hijacking our democracy, using Trump as a distraction as they loot and destroy our country. Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a Brennan Center fellow and professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, and author of Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians, explains how corporations funded Trump's violent coup attempt on January 6, 2021.

In Part I of our discussion, Torres-Spelliscy shows us the inner-workings of corporate greed, and why boardrooms are fine with Trump chaos. In Part II of our discussion, out Thursday in our bonus show for Patreon (get access to that for $5/month at the Truth-teller level), we discuss concrete ways to fight back, including as the corporate lobbyists on the Supreme Court kill what's left of the Voting Rights Act, which Americans gave their lives for.

Gaslit Nation is being censored by the corporations that run Big Tech. We see a drop in views after one of our videos, on a topic such as exposing Epstein's transnational crime network, receives a lot of views. We immediately see a drop in viewership of our videos that come after. Your help amplifying Gaslit Nation–sharing our episodes on your social media, joining our Patreon even as a free member to help amplify our voice–makes a big difference in fighting back. America is sinking in a Trumpian swamp of corporate greed and corruption, but the people can and must organize to build a better world–like generations before us who prevailed to give us the rights under attack today.

Thank you for everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you.

Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

• New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join here!

• The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult, available on Patreon.

• Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon.

• Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other, available on Patreon.

• Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.

• As always, keep it kind in our chat groups, extend grace and assume good faith. A culture of care is how we build a better world.

Today is Andrea's birthday. Gaslit Nation is celebrating the only way we know how: by re-reading Dorothy Thompson's 1941 essay, "Who Goes Nazi?", on how to tell who among you at your next dinner party would become a Nazi if given the chance. How does she know? She met these types during the Nazi takeover of her beloved Austria and Germany, hotbeds of intellectual thought and progressive movements, including for LGBTQ and women's rights, before traditional conversatives and business elites put an end to all that by joining forces with a fringe death cult led by a narcissist conspiracy theorist.

Our Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm ET will open with the reading of the first ten pages of Andrea's screenplay-in-progress, read by Gaslit Nation listeners, and featuring voices from the past reminding us how to overcome the threats we face. To join us today, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit -- discounted annual memberships are available and you can give the gift of membership. Thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you.

Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chats, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

In this special bonus show, Gaslit Nation reminds you that Hitler and Trump rose to power in very similar ways, and why we must stay grounded in that historical truth. The fate of the world literally depends on it. The Holocaust and World War II happened, because people didn't want to believe it would be so bad. Normalcy bias is a dangerous coping mechanism.

As the world marks the 81st anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, with Putin, like Hitler, hiding in his bunker, reports of his hands shaking, of parades canceled or scaled back across Russia–it's a reminder that we can stand up to fascism, when we align our will with a higher purpose, like Ukraine and its allies.

To celebrate the power of remembering, and Andrea's birthday (caaaaake!), we're opening this Monday's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4pm E.T. with a reading of the first 10 pages of her screenplay, about the power of forbidden love in a time of fascism. To join us, look out for the Zoom link posted Monday morning on Patreon. This week's bonus show, available in full for our subscribers at the Truth-teller ($5/month) level and higher, we continue on with Gal Beckerman about his new book How to Be a Dissident. Listen to Part I here.

Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chats, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

Show Notes:

How to Be a Dissident https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2026/5/5/how-to-be-a-dissident

Putin, 73, Spotted 'In Pain' With Sickly Shriveled Hand https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/putin-73-spotted-pain-sickly-155649060.html

Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6eIox2vOiA

Jessica Valenti on The Heritage Foundation's Plan to Subjugate Women https://jessica.substack.com/p/new-project-2025-250-years-heritage

On this hopeful Gaslit Nation, we confront the MAGA fascist takeover with a look at the ultimate antidote: how to be a dissident. Andrea talks with The Atlantic's Gal Beckerman about his inspiring new book, How to Be a Dissident. While the establishment chooses conformity to protect their wealth, we explore the rare, stubborn individuals—from the abolitionists to the neighbors in Minnesota forming mutual care networks—who ask themselves the only question that matters: Can I live with myself if I obey in advance?

As the toppling of Kremlin allies Assad and Orban, and soon Trump, have reminded us: the human spirit's desire for expression is the one thing a dictatorship can never defeat.

Join us this Thursday for part two of our discussion on the Gaslit Nation Bonus Show–how to survive the stomach ache of fear and build an unrelenting culture of resistance. To listen to the full episode, subscribe to our Patreon at the Truth-Teller level ($5/month) or higher. And don't forget to save the date: we are opening our May 11th Gaslit Nation Salon at 4 p.m. ET to celebrate Andrea's birthday with an exclusive reading of a smutty screenplay in progress. Every bit of support gives us the freedom to tell the truth, so thank you for making this show possible–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you.

Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

• New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join on Patreon.

• The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult. Join on Patreon.

• Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join on Patreon.

• Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join on Patreon.

• Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join on Patreon.

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join on Patreon.

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join on Patreon.

• As always, keep it kind in our chat groups, extend grace and assume good faith. A culture of care is how we build a better world.

Here's what you missed at last week's Gaslit Nation Salon: a lively debate among our listeners over whether Trump, or his allies, somehow staged the WHCD assassination attempt.

The discussion opens with a look at the same heightened "unreality" created by Putin in Russia, thanks to a well-funded propaganda operation and conspiracy theories to come to power and stay in power.

To join today's Gaslit Nation Salon, find the Zoom link, along with our recordings, at Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you.

Is America a cult? How can we help those trapped in cult-like thinking? Discussing her new book The Culting of America, Daniella Mestyanik Young, a US Army veteran, intelligence officer, and survivor of the notorious Children of God cult, joins Gaslit Nation to help us identify coercive control in our own lives, and in our White House.

Daniella breaks down the "sex cult math" of her upbringing, identifying the same tactics of coercive control now fueling the MAGA movement. Trump has pulled disparate groups into a singular cult of personality, where he is viewed as a "flawed vessel" of a "perfect God" delivering a Christian theocracy coming after our rights.

As a counter-terrorism expert, Daniella warns that the "arrogance" of Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's war of choice in Iran is a classic cult leader trap. Tyrants lose when they start "sampling their own Kool-Aid," she points out. She also advises on how to help those in your life who have fallen down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole of cult-like thinking, to help them find their way to reality. This is an episode not to miss.

Save the date! At the Gaslit Nation Salon on Monday May 11 4pm ET, we'll start with a special reading of an excerpt of one of Andrea's screenplays. To join the festivities, become a member at Patreon.com/Gaslit - thank you to everyone who supports the show.

Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chats, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

Show Notes:

Yes, Some Government Conspiracies Are Real, like MKUltra: Welcome to The Church Committee Report https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2026/1/28/the-playbook-for-defeating-maga-the-church-committee-report?rq=The%20Playbook%20for%20Defeating%20MAGA%3A%20The%20Church%20Committee%20Report

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

• New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join on Patreon.

• The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult. Join on Patreon.

• Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join on Patreon.

• Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join on Patreon.

• Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join on Patreon.

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join on Patreon.

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join on Patreon.

• As always, keep it kind in our chat groups, extend grace and assume good faith. A culture of care is how we build a better world.