It's the Brian Laris show on WNYC. Good Friday morning, everyone. So there are at least two

different ways we plan to have conversations on this show about the

incoming Trump administration. One is to have straight up policy debates and policy analysis

of policies that they implement or policies that they propose. We'll get multiple points of view.

We'll kick them around. The other is kind of a fascism watch. You all know by now that there's so much concern from Trump's

former top national security officials and others that he wants to actually change the nature

of governance in the United States from the democracy that it is, imperfect as it is, to more

of a strong man authoritarian model of government, right, with fewer checks

and balances.

You know about Trump's previous Homeland Security Secretary and Defense Secretary and Joint

Chiefs of Staff Chairman, all using that word, fascist, to describe Trump or his aspirations.

So in addition to regular policy debates, we will have a stream of

segments here that will be a fascism watch. Maybe it's all just rhetoric and all just talk and

there'll be nothing to see here. I hope that's the case. And if it is, that's what our guests

and I will say. But if it's more scary than that, if Trump and his appointees

actually try to break our democracy, we'll be obligated to call it out and call it by its name,

and we will. So come here for straight up policy debates and policy analysis, pros and cons,

and come here for a fascism watch

as needed. And on the latter, here we are just 10 days after the election, and there are already

two topics in play in the fascism watch file, at least two, two that I see. One is that Trump is

asking the Senate to voluntarily give up

its role in the Constitution of holding confirmation hearings on the members of Trump's cabinet

...