If the first week of 2026 is any indication, President Trump and his regime has their eyes set on controlling not only the United States, but the entire western hemisphere. This week, Stacey talks about the administration’s brazen move to attack Venezuela and send a special forces team in to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. She’s joined by Ricardo Zuniga, founding partner of Dinamica Americas, to talk about how the dictator came to power in Venezuela, where the opposition currently stands, and how the country’s oil reserves are inextricably linked to its political fortunes. They also comb through the truths and lies of Venezuela’s role in narco-trafficking, and how Trump’s cabinet members and staff are leveraging foreign policy for personal and dangerous ambitions. 

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: Seek out trusted sources of information on both domestic and international policy. To learn more about modern authoritarianism and the fight for Democracy, pick up a copy of the book “The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy” by William Dobson.
• Solve Problems: This issue is closer to home than many of your friends and loved ones may think. Talk to them about why this matters, start rallying your community to protest the administration’s actions, and call your members of Congress.
• Do Good: If you’d like to help the nearly 600,000 Venezuelan refugees in the US now subject to deportation, visit www.immigrationadvocates.org.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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In the last episode of 2025, Assembly Required is focusing on our audience. Stacey reflects on the lessons learned this year and answers listener questions about everything from how to defeat authoritarianism to what her favorite books were. We also hear stories from listeners who took action in their communities this year. Joining the conversation is the show’s Associate Producer, Farrah Safari. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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The internet was originally seen as a tool of progress and innovation, but the reality has turned out to be economically, politically, and morally fraught. The question isn’t whether technology is good or bad. It’s who it serves, who it harms, and who profits. Our dependence hasn’t just created better gadgets, it’s created a new economic ruling class. Companies that don’t just dominate the market; they are the market. Platforms that don’t just reflect culture; they steer it. This week, Stacey is joined by former Special Assistant to the President for Technology and Competition Policy, law professor, and author of The Age of Extraction, Tim Wu to break down how these dominant platforms manipulate attention, extract wealth, and deepen inequality. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More 

• Be Curious: If you enjoyed Stacey’s conversation with Tim Wu check out his book, “The Age of Extraction”
• Solve Problems: Right now, Congress is again considering legislation that would prevent states from passing their own AI regulations, and Trump has floated an executive order that would override state laws. In contrast, Senator Richard Blumenthal has proposed a minimum set of federal regulations while also allowing states to add their own. Call your member of Congress and ask them to oppose any legislation that would block AI regulation. In addition, urge your state legislature and local leaders like your school board to pass legislation for policies that protect data and privacy. Urge them to do it now, before Congress takes action. Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU, and the Center for Humane Technology can be resources for understanding good local tech policy. You also have power as a consumer. Look to alternative platforms for search like Duck Duck Go, and NPR has an excellent resource for ethical shopping options.
• Do Good: Take a tech mini-break. Go do something that exists off-screen. See a friend in person, take a workout class, sit in a park, go for a walk. If you’re game, try and set some real limits for yourself.

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This week on Assembly Required, Stacey sits down with Alex Wagner, veteran journalist and host of the new Crooked Media podcast “Runaway Country”. Together, they unpack Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s alleged order to execute the two remaining survivors of an American missile strike on a fishing boat suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean, and the rare moves in Congress to investigate the matter. They also talk about how the Trump administration is using the shooting of two National Guard members in D.C. to further anti-immigrant policies, what the Republicans’ razor-thin House majority means for the 2026 midterms, and more.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More 

• Be Curious: If you enjoyed Stacey’s conversation with Alex Wagner, be sure to check out her new podcast Runaway Country.
• Solve Problems: As protests continue across the country in response to ICE’s cruel abductions and other authoritarian actions by this administration, it’s more important than ever to know your rights. Visit the ACLU’s website at aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights for comprehensive guidance on organizing a protest, participating safely, filming law enforcement, and more.
• Do Good: Republicans in Congress have allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire, putting millions of Americans at risk of skyrocketing premiums and losing healthcare access altogether. Just Fix It is a nationwide, nonpartisan activation led by the 10 Steps Campaign in partnership with SEIU-NW, Caring Across Generations, MomsRising, and other labor and advocacy organizations. Learn how you can get involved and help protect healthcare for everyone.

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Live from Crooked Con, Shaniqua McClendon, Vice President of Politics at Crooked Media, hosts Maurice Mitchell of the Working Families Party, Ezra Levin of Indivisible, DeRay Mckesson of Pod Save the People, Kate Barr of Can’t Win Victory Fund, and Melissa Morales of Somos Votantes to talk about the best ways to contact and engage the low-information voters we know we desperately need. Then, Shaniqua McClendon sits down with the chairman of the DNC, Ken Martin to answer questions about how the party is rebuilding and where we go from here. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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The battle for 2026 has already begun, and it’s all about the maps. Step three in the 10 steps to authoritarianism is to weaken competing powers, and step 10 is to end democracy itself by disrupting election systems and restricting who can vote so no meaningful opposition can ever win again. In California, voters passed Prop 50, the Election Rigging Response Act as a way to fire back at Republican gerrymandering in Texas that was designed to steal power by making it harder for voters to make their voices heard. Now, the battle lines for a competitive democracy are being redrawn, with partisanship, not representation, as the explicit strategy. More than 13 states across the country are seeing mid-census redistricting efforts taken on by Republicans, with Democrats fighting back. This week, Stacey is joined by co-host of Pod Save America, author of The Message Box, and Crooked Media’s resident polling expert Dan Pfeiffer to break down what this redistricting war means for democracy, why it’s a fight for survival, and what it reveals about the Democratic Party’s future. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More: 

• Be Curious: If you enjoyed my conversation with Dan Pfeiffer, subscribe to his weekly Message Box newsletter, where he breaks down the latest polls, key events, and political trends—it’s one of my go-to sources for analysis and insight. You can also become a Friend of the Pod here at Crooked Media and get access to his subscriber only shows like Pollercoaster!
• Solve Problems: As Dan said, polling can offer useful insight into where people stand, but it is a reflector, not a predictor. However, we have the ability to shape outcomes using polling as an illuminator: what people are hearing, what worries them and what they want for the future. Instead of slipping into anxiety, we can channel that energy into action - starting now. Voting is the end of the process, but the work starts immediately: encourage your neighbors, your community, your friends, and your family to understand how politics will affect them, whether they know it or not. Look for issues that resonate, and work together to see who is responsible for making it better. The midterms are more than Congressional races. City, county and school boards will also be impacted. All of this may feel far away, but they’ll be here before we know it. Start planting seeds now. Volunteer with organizers. Knock on doors. Have real conversations with people - asking what they need to make their lives better. Percentages can only tell you so much, but talking to real people can tell you everything.
• Do Good: This past weekend, more than a thousand Starbucks workers went on strike across 40+ cities, due to stalled contract negotiations. Organizers say they’re ready to widen the strike if executives don’t budge—and they’re asking customers to stand with them by steering clear of Starbucks as part of the ‘No Contract, No Coffee’ campaign. We’ve talked a lot on this show about the power of protest, and boycotts are one of the most effective tools we have. It’s also a muscle we have to flex if we want to be ready for broader actions.  So please: do your part. Skip the latte. Stand with the workers.

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Late night comedians have become some of the most recent high profile targets for Donald Trump and Republicans, because like most wannabe authoritarians, they can dish it out, but certainly can’t take a joke. This week, Stacey is joined by comedian, podcast host, writer, and former host of Full Frontal, Samantha Bee to discuss comedy’s role in pushing back against political censorship with relentless humor. They take on the current state of late night comedy, the very real threats to truth and free speech, and how we can all process this very fraught moment. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: Take a listen to Samantha Bee’s podcast, Choice Words to hear inspiring stories from people we all admire about the power of the choices we make.
• Solve Problems: Keep up the pressure to demand affordable healthcare, especially since the government shutdown is coming to an end without solving the issue. Visit https://10stepscampaign.org/JUST-FIX-IT and make your voice heard.
• Do Good: Help families who are struggling to put food on the table and in the crosshairs of Trump and Republicans who are targeting SNAP benefits. Ask local businesses if they can set up a community fridge to donate to, in addition to contacting food banks and anti-hunger organizations in your area.

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Authoritarianism is on the rise globally, from hard-line leaders in Europe to despots in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Wherever they emerge, these leaders are doing whatever it takes to stay in power, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is no different. In this episode of Assembly Required, Stacey looks at how Netanyahu has overseen the erosion of Democracy in his country, and how it’s coincided with the devastating campaign of violence carried out against the Palestinian people after Israel was attacked on October 7th — a war that experts and allies across the globe, and across the political spectrum have labeled as genocide. This week, Stacey is joined by foreign policy analyst and author Rula Jebreal to discuss the current state of the conflict. Senator Chris Van Hollen also joins to share how he is trying to bring accountability into America’s relationship with Israel.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: Learn more about the history of Israel and Palestine. Pick up a copy of Rashid Khalidi’s 100 Years’ War on Palestine to gain a deeper understanding of the region and how we arrived at the current tragedy.
• Solve Problems: Authoritarianism and the abuses that sustain it are wrong, no matter who is responsible. Call your members of Congress and ask them to enforce the Lahey Law.
• Do Good: More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, facing widespread starvation, destitution, and preventable deaths. Over one million more are experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity. Organizations like the World Food Programme are scaling up operations and aim to feed up to 1.6 million people over the next three months. If you can, please donate. Doctors Without Borders, the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, and World Central Kitchen are also excellent places to contribute.

Notes:

• The New Yorker: Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of Chaos
• The New York Times: U.S. Considers Sending Israel 24,000 Assault Rifles Held Back Under Biden
•  Memo in a Bunker, Intercepted Communications and Hamas’s Oct. 7 Plans
• Crisisgroup.org: Mapping Israeli Settlement Expansion in the Occupied West Bank
• The Times of Israel: For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces
• Middle East Eye: Israel opposition leader says Netanyahu arming 'equivalent of Isis' gangs in Gaza
• Al Jazeera: Israel releases five Palestinian prisoners as killings continue in Gaza
• Haaretz: Hundreds of Prominent Jews and Israelis Urge World Powers to Hold Israel Accountable 'For Gaza Atrocities'
• The Guardian: BBC reckons with bias accusations over Israel and Palestine coverage

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The act of protest is a vital, visible, and essential tool in resisting the fall of democracy, and it takes commitment,  disruption, and denial – three  of the ten steps to freedom and power. While protest gives us a platform to voice our grievances, foster solidarity, and demand change, it is not the only tool we have in our toolbox. When combined with other forms of direct nonviolent action — such as strikes, economic boycott, documenting abuses of power, and providing mutual aid like meals , and more — the impact multiplies. And one of the leading scholars of resistance has a theory: if just 3.5% of a nation’s population engages in sustained nonviolent civil resistance, they will succeed. This week on Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams is joined by Erica Chenoweth, the professor and political scientist behind the 3.5% theory, who talks about how making a difference is more within reach than we imagine. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious:If you enjoyed my conversation with Erica about the power of peaceful protest, check out their book Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict.
• Solve Problems: As we discussed in this episode, physical protest is just one tactic in the broader act of nonviolent civil resistance. As we lay out in the 10 Steps campaign, on the road to freedom and power, we don’t all need to do the same thing, but we can all do something. Donate to causes you care about, participate in economic boycotts, vote in local elections, or contact your elected officials. And if you do decide to physically protest, remember to know your rights and stay safe. Visit the American Civil Liberties Union for a guide to knowing your rights as a protester, and check out Wired’s article on how to protest safely.
• Do Good: The Trump administration and Republicans are refusing to tap into a $6 billion contingency fund to cover SNAP benefits if the shutdown continues into next month. That means in November, 42 million Americans will not receive food assistance. This unprecedented cruelty demands action. Please consider making donations to your local food bank or volunteering. Organizations like Feeding America can help you find places to volunteer near you. And get your kids involved. Feeding America has an age appropriate guide for ways families can help together, like hosting a food drive. Finally, call your governor and ask them to urge the secretary of agriculture to reverse this devastating decision.

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National Guardsmen are being deployed into Democratic-led cities under the guise of fighting crime. ICE, using military-style tactics, are racially profiling and terrorizing communities and brutalizing citizens and undocumented immigrants alike. Trump and the Republicans cynically describe millions of peaceful protestors raising their voices against authoritarianism as a violent threat. Taken separately, each of these events is disturbing. Together, they paint a stark and terrifying portrait of America in 2025. The Trump/Republican regime’s campaign against so-called “enemies within” has unleashed a wave of violence across the country. Step Nine of the Ten Steps to Autocracy  is militarizing law enforcement and fomenting state-sanctioned or private violence to silence dissent. That’s why this week on Assembly Required, Stacey talks to two experts on recognizing, responding to, and rebuilding after state violence: Lindsay Toczylowski, Co-Founder and President/CEO of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Insha Rahman, Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice and Director of Vera Action. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: To better understand our immigration system and how it impacts undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, visit organizations like Refugees International and the American Immigration Council . Explore Lindsay Toczylowski’s  organization, the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, for resources that can help you or your loved ones understand your rights. Insha Rahman’s organization, the Vera Institute of Justice, works to end mass incarceration and advance immigrant rights. Their series, Justice in the Age of Trump, offers insights and tools to help you make sense of the current moment.
• Solve Problems: This episode was recorded before the No Kings protests that swept across the United States. Whether you marched or watched from home, it’s crucial to keep showing up, speaking out, and taking action. Peaceful protest and civic engagement remain among the strongest tools we have to hold this administration accountable and push back against totalitarian policies. Don’t underestimate the power of consistent, collective action—every voice, every step, every sign makes a difference.
• Do Good: Donate to organizations like ImmDef and explore their volunteer opportunities to support immigrant communities struggling to access basic resources. We also have the right to document abuses carried out by ICE. Get involved with rapid response networks in your community to gather and share footage—especially at local courthouses—to shine a light on what’s happening and ensure accountability.

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Fashion isn’t just functional — it’s transformative. It can be a form of political speech, like when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines in a white gown emblazoned with “Tax the Rich.” It can also be a statement of resistance, as when the Black Panthers adopted black berets, a uniform that came to symbolize unity and power. Understanding the language of fashion is key to understanding the times we live in. It’s a translator for anyone trying to navigate this moment and one of the ten steps to reclaiming freedom and power as we challenge norms and assert our identity. Those of us who are pro-democracy may one day need to show who we are just as clearly. What we wear might matter more than we think. This week on Assembly Required, Stacey is joined by fashion editor and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Robin Givhan. She breaks down how fashion reflects our culture back to us and what that reflection reveals about the political moment we’re in.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: If you enjoyed my conversation with Robin, pick up her latest book, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh.
• Solve Problems: Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills — the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes every single second. To help reduce waste, be mindful of your clothing consumption and shopping habits. Before clicking “buy” on that fast fashion site for the latest trend at the cheapest price, ask yourself: Do I really need this? Can I buy it from a sustainable source? Can I thrift something similar instead?
• Do Good:If you have old clothes or have been meaning to clean out your closet, don’t throw them away. Instead, consider donating them to those in need. Goodwill, your place of worship, or local homeless shelters are great places to start.

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