The Chauncey DeVega Show is the official podcast of Salon.com politics writer Chauncey DeVega. On a weekly basis the show features a relaxed and free-form conversation with artists, authors, musicians, researchers, academics, journalists, activists, as well as Hollywood actors and directors.
There are four guests on this week’s special Election Day 2024 episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.
Joe Walsh was a Republican congressman and a leading Tea Party conservative. He is now a prominent conservative voice against Donald Trump and the host of the podcast The Social Contract with Joe Walsh.
D. Earl Stephens is the former Managing Editor at Stars and Stripes and the author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters. His Substack newsletter is Enough, Already!
Steven Beschloss is a journalist and author of several books, including The Gunman and His Mother. His Substack newsletter is America, America. His essays and other work have been featured in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Republic, Smithsonian and The Economist Intelligence Unit, among many others.
Heidi Siegmund Cuda is an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, filmmaker, and bestselling author. Her Substack newsletter is Bette Dangerous. She is the co-host and producer of RADICALIZED Truth Survives podcast.
These four guests share their reasoning behind and predictions about the outcome of the 2024 presidential election and if Vice President Harris will win and American democracy will continue or if Dictator Trump will take power and unleash a reign of terror, revenge, and destruction on his personal and political enemies.
This week’s guests also offer their expert insights about what happens after the 2024 Election, the necessity of democratic renewal, the likelihood of political violence and unrest, and how deeply broken the American people and their institutions and culture are for Donald Trump to even be the Republican Party’s nominee and so very close, again, to victory.
Chauncey DeVega offers counsel that the American people and the pro-democracy movement need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best -- and do the necessary hard work -- to ensure the future of their multiracial pluralistic democracy and the American project.
Stuart Stevens has worked as a strategist and consultant for the Republican Party at the highest levels including with the Dole, George W. Bush, Romney, and McCain presidential campaigns. He now serves as a senior advisor to the Lincoln Project, a political advocacy group founded by “Never-Trumpers” and former Republicans that is committed to defeating Donald Trump and his MAGA anti-democracy movement.
His most recent book is The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy.
Stuart Stevens explains why he believes that Vice President Kamala Harris will defeat Donald Trump – by more than what the conventional wisdom suggests – to become the next President of the United States. However, Stevens warns that the weeks that follow may be some of the most dangerous and violent in the country’s history.
To that point, Stuart Stevens is trying to prepare the American people for the reality that Donald Trump and his MAGA movement and the larger neofascist threat will not suddenly disappear or otherwise dissipate even if he and they are defeated on Election Day.
Stuart Stevens reflects on his role in creating today’s Republican Party and why it is incapable of being fixed or salvaged because it has sold its soul to Donald Trump, MAGA, and American and global fascism.
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Eddie Kingston is an American professional wrestler currently signed with AEW (All Elite Wrestling). Kingston is a twenty-year veteran who has wrestled for and held championships in leading promotions all around the world including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor (ROH).
Eddie Kingston reflects on his life journey and decision to be open and vulnerable about his struggles to be a more mentally and emotionally healthy man as shown by his widely-read and viewed essays, social media posts, and videos in support of mental health and suicide prevention.
Chauncey DeVega and Eddie the “Mad King” Kingston also talk about the lost art of “kayfabe”, promos and authenticity, and the importance of storytelling and the human dimension in the drama that is professional wrestling.
Chauncey DeVega continues to sound the alarm that Kamala Harris is likely going to be defeated by Donald Trump and feels a deep disturbance in The Force from Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden hate festival.
Chauncey is also very exhausted from doing battle with local slumlords and other life travails and is blessed to encounter a real-life superhero.
Hal Brown is the guest on a special bonus segment for this week’s podcast. He is a clinical social worker and was one of the first members of the Duty to Warn group.
Hal Brown has extensive expertise in working with multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder). His daily essays on American politics and society can be read at his eponymous blog here.
Hal Brown reflects on his four decades of experience as a clinician and shares some advice and insights about managing our emotions, trying to be healthy, and doing the things that make us happy as a way of fighting back against despair and surrender when our society (and personal lives) often feel so dark and dire.
Hal Brown was in transit, and we spoke via phone. The bonus segment can be listened to at the end of the podcast.
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This is special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report.
M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge.
Professor Fish returns to the podcast and warns that with less than two weeks until Election Day that Kamala Harris is at risk of losing to Dictator Trump because she has deviated from the high-dominance leadership style she used to crush him during their only debate and that gave the Democrats life after President Biden made the brave and honorable choice to stop aside.
Professor Fish outlines how Harris should emphasize Trump’s extreme danger to the country, unfitness for office, counterprogram him at every rally and other event, and attack his ego.
Professor Fish also explains how Harris and the Democrats should emphasize their record of patriotism and economic growth to counter master propagandist Donald Trump’s skill of doing horrible and unconscionable things -- and as well as making genius moves such as holding rallies in blue states such as New York and California -- to captivate the public and news media.
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This is special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report.
Dr. Justin Frank is a former professor of psychiatry at George Washington University. He is the author of several books including Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President.
Dr. Frank explains how Donald Trump continues to exhaust the American people and why his pathological and other antisocial behavior are a type of social contagion. Dr. Frank describes this deep feeling of exhaustion from the Age of Trump and how it is getting worse as Election Day approaches as “Trump Fatigue Syndrome”.
Dr. Frank warns that Donald Trump is fueled by destructive and violent impulses, and that many of his MAGA cult members are so loyal to and idealize him precisely because he gives them permission to act the same way.
Dr. Frank counsels that there will be many different responses to the outcome of the 2024 Election and that we should remain focused on doing healthy things that will sustain us for what will be a long fight against authoritarianism in American society, one that will last long after Donald Trump.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
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Elliot Ackerman is both a former White House Fellow and Marine. He served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. Ackerman is also an ex–CIA paramilitary officer.
Ackerman in the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller 2034: A Novel of the Next World War. His new book is 2054: A Novel.
Ackerman explains how the war in Ukraine, and the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, are a frightening vision of the future right out of science fiction where increasingly lethal drones and other new technologies are rewriting the rules of warfare – and reminding us of very old lessons that will need to be relearned again (at a deadly cost).
Ackerman reflects on America’s combustible domestic politics and the attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania, the dangers of conspiracy theories, and how the country's politics and culture are increasingly toxic and what that means long-term for the democracy crisis and the struggle against neofascism and authoritarianism.
Chauncey DeVega ponders the question of time and how the next 30 or so days until Election Day will feel like an eternity that will simultaneously go by very quickly.
He also shares the lessons he learned in his neighborhood travels about human dignity, poverty, and economic precarity. Chauncey also offers a public health lesson and warning about the dangers of nose spray, hand sanitizer, incense and cheap lighters.
And Chauncey DeVega attempts to save you from the new movie “The Substance”, a movie that is more proof of payola and the herd mentality of movie critics and other influentials and cultural tastemakers.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
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There are two guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.
D. Earl Stephens is the former Managing Editor at Stars and Stripes and the author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters.
Stephens returns to the podcast and shares his thoughts and emotions about Kamala Harris’ rout of Donald Trump during the debate last week. Stephens also discusses his ongoing frustration with the mainstream corporate news media and how it is more interested in profits and normalizing Donald Trump’s aberrant behavior and existential danger to democracy than in highlight how he is the greatest internal threat to America since the civil war – and doing what is necessary to stop him from taking power as the country’s first dictator.
M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge.
Professor Fish returns to the podcast and reflects on how Kamala Harris used what he describes as high-dominance leadership style to so thoroughly defeat Donald Trump in their first and only debate. During the debate it appeared that Harris was literally working from Professor Fish’s book in how she systematically dismantled the corrupt ex-president. Chauncey and Professor Fish discuss what they know and suspect about Harris’ strategy and preparation for the debate. Professor Fish shares his hopes and predictions about how Harris and the Democrats will win the 2024 Election if current trends continue.
Chauncey DeVega begs whoever is running this infernal simulation to please stop and reboot it as a second reported assassination attempt against Donald Trump took place, literally, as he was recording his segment of this week’s podcast. Chauncey reacts in real-time to this event, and shares his thoughts on America’s boiling political cauldron, conspiracism, and the role of malign actors such as Donald Trump and his anti-democracy agents and forces in stoking those flames.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega
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My email:
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?
Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com:
Patreon:
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This is special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report.
Dr. Mary Trump is a clinical psychologist and businesswoman. She is also Donald Trump’s niece.
Mary Trump is the author of the books Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man and The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal. Mary Trump’s new book is Who Could Ever Love You: A Family Memoir.
Mary Trump is a friend of the podcast and is always so generous with her teaching and sharing. She reflects on the state of our individual and collective mental and emotional health over these last 8 or so weeks, and the importance of balancing joy and hope about Kamala Harris with the reality that there is so much hard work to be done until (and after) Election Day.
Mary Trump also discusses the personal cost of being a real member of the Resistance and the pro-democracy movement to our relationships and lives. In this expansive conversation, Mary shares her thoughts about why we must imagine a world beyond the Age of Trump and then do everything we can to make it a reality.
Chauncey DeVega provides “proof of life” and shares how he was under attack by the super DNC cooties bug and how that left him discombobulated and delayed the podcast. Chauncey also shares some quick thoughts about the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and how the mainstream news media continues the “sanewashing” of the obviously very dangerous aspiring Dictator Trump.
And Chauncey DeVega honors the titan James Earl Jones who passed away on Monday and is now one with the Force.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega
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There are three guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.
M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge.
Professor Fish explains how Donald Trump and the Republicans use a high dominance leadership style against the Democrats and liberals and progressives, and why to this point they have been unable to effectively defeat it. Fish also explains why “when they go low, we go high” is such a horrible strategy against authoritarians and fascists such as Donald Trump and the other members of today’s right wing.
Professor Fish counsels Vice President Kamala Harris and her advisors about how she can best counter Trump’s leadership style (and then defeat him and the MAGA movement) by adopting her own high dominance leadership style that is inspired by such Democratic and liberal-progressive titans as President Johnson, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Lance Dodes is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a training and supervising analyst emeritus at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.
He explains how Donald Trump’s obviously unwell mind and personality are appealing to his cultists and why they see him as a type of god and savior. In addition, he shares his advice about emotional health and well-being in these troubled times and why people succumb to addiction and other unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Dr. Dodes also evaluates if Chauncey DeVega’s habit of going to Trump Tower several times a week (as a way of confronting Dictator Donald Trump by proxy) is a healthy or unhealthy coping mechanism.
D. Earl Stephens is the former Managing Editor at Stars and Stripes and the author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters.
He returns to the podcast to reflect on his feelings about the whiplash effect of these last few weeks and how President Biden’s stepping aside and passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris may impact the 2024 Election and our chances of saving American democracy from Donald Trump and the neofascist MAGA movement and their forces.
Chauncey DeVega reflects on how time has been broken during these last few crazy weeks here in America and the Age of Trump and the importance of remaining grounded. Chauncey also shares some new polling data about the whiplash effect and Kamala Harris’s lead over Donald Trump in the 2024.
And Chauncey shares his thoughts about this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay per view and the art of storytelling, why he is even more concerned about his beloved New England Patriots, and offers some reviews about the new movies Longlegs, Deadpool and Wolverine, and Sing Sing.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega
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https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega
My email:
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There are three guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.
Mark Jacob is a media critic and a former Metro Editor at the Chicago Tribune and Sunday Editor at the Chicago Sun-Times.
He explains why the mainstream news media is obsessively focusing on President Biden’s health and aging and has, to this point, mostly refused to pay similar attention to the much greater dangers of Donald Trump’s emotional and mental health and the extreme threat he represents to American democracy and society. Mark also warns that the mainstream news media is desperately muckraking about President Biden instead of focusing on the democracy crisis because the former is a much easier story to tell.
Dr. Justin Frank is a former professor of psychiatry at George Washington University. He is the author of several books including Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President.
Dr. Frank shares his thoughts about President Biden’s horrible performance during the debate against Donald Trump and why he self-destructed. Dr. Frank also explains how President Biden’s mortality was fully revealed by the debate and how that has caused great pain for the many Americans who view him as a stable and responsible, if not great leader, who protects them from the extreme dangers and abuse of Donald Trump and his forces. Dr. Frank also shares his thoughts about the mind of Donald Trump and our rapidly worsening national calamity.
Dr. Frank was in transit, and we spoke via cell phone.
D. Earl Stephens is the former Managing Editor at Stars and Stripes and the author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters.
He shares his great frustration with how the mainstream news media continues to normalize Donald Trump and the neofascist MAGA movement and has mostly failed in its responsibilities during the country’s worsening democracy crisis. Stephens warns the news media and others who are in denial that Donald Trump and his agents are deadly serious in their threats to end free speech, and punish in the most extreme fashion any voices who oppose them when/if they take power in 2025.
These three conversations took place several days prior to Saturday’s horrific events in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Chauncey DeVega reflects on the attempt on Donald Trump’s life and how matters are now much worse in America where the spiral of violence and ascendant neofascism, and what is likely a near-unstoppable Dictator Trump MAGA takeover in 2025, have greatly accelerated.
Chauncey also reflects on our collective emotions in this moment of extreme crisis and how it impacted his trip home to see his mother along with all the regular stress and emotional labor about aging, money, and life that entails.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega
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On this heat dome episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega previews (and warns about) the first debate between President Joe Biden and the Jan. 6 coup plotter and convicted felon Donald Trump.
In an (unsuccessful) attempt to escape the hellish heat, Chauncey then declares a political sanctuary and reads some kind emails from the good people who appreciate the podcast and his essays, is joyful as he recounts a story about a miracle in his neighborhood, reads part of a wonderful short story from Walter Mosley’s award-winning collection The Awkward Black Man, and honors the great recently departed titans Roger Corman and Donald Sutherland.
Heroes and greatness are everywhere: In that spirit, Chauncey DeVega also honors Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan, a closeted gay man and decorated US Army Veteran, who recently transitioned to the next plane of existence. Col. Ryan was the subject of a series of stories at the New York Times, The Guardian, and other leading publications.
On this episode of the podcast, Chauncey’s fellow Star Wars traveler and expert Mr. Bill makes an appearance. They discuss the new TV show The Acolyte, its many problems and failures of storytelling, why “representation” is not a substitute for good writing and a coherent and compelling narrative, what it means to be a real Star Wars fan, and how the Star Wars universe has gone so very wrong and if it can be salvaged.
Chauncey DeVega also shares several Star Wars TV series pitches that are much better than The Acolyte and the other recent shows and films set in that universe.
There is also a special bonus segment at the end of this week's episode of the podcast about Star Wars: The Acolyte and the anticlimactic reveal of the Sith Lord and the fifth episode of the show.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega
On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega
My email:
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?
Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com:
Patreon:
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