Rachel Maddow on How the Past is ‘Prequel’ to U.S. Struggle With Authoritarianism and an Update on What’s At Stake in The Supreme Court’s New Term

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KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Contemporary efforts to undermine democracy, spread disinformation and subvert elections are not without precedent in American politics, according to Rachel Maddow, the longtime MSNBC host, author and podcast creator. Rather, they’ve got a “prequel,” a period of American history before and during World War II when an “ultra-right authoritarian movement, weirdly infatuated with foreign dictatorships” planned to attack government targets to sow chaos and ultimately overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt. We’ll talk to Maddow about what we can learn from the Americans who beat back the domestic authoritarians of the 1930s and 1940s. Her new book is “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s latest term is underway with another round of big cases to watch. The future of an entire federal agency – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – is expected to be decided, along with cases about whether someone under a domestic violence restraining order can possess a gun, and the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone. We’ll look at the Court’s docket and what’s at stake with Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent at Vox who covers the Supreme Court. Guests: Rachel Maddow, author, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism"; host, "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC. Maddow's other books include “DRIFT: The Unmooring of American Military Power” and “Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth” Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent, Vox - His books include "Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted" and "The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. At SFO, you can shop,
0:06.7	dine, and unwind before your flight. Go ahead, treat yourself. Learn more about SFO restaurants and
0:12.7	shops at flysfo.com. Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:23.1	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:29.6	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
0:35.3	unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion.
0:43.3	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
0:51.7	Tickets on sale now at Broadwaysf.com.
0:56.6	From KQBD in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim.
1:17.2	Coming up on Forum, one of the most prominent voices on cable TV news, Rachel Maddow joins us.
1:22.6	We'll get her take on the latest headlines and talk to her about her new book, Prequel,
1:26.8	on the rise of authoritarianism
1:28.4	in the U.S. during World War II. We'll also learn why the time was right for her two years ago
1:33.6	to step back from hosting Knightley MSNBC's very popular, The Rachel Maddow Show. Then we'll
1:39.8	look at the new U.S. Supreme Court term that got underway this month and why Locke's correspondent
1:44.4	Ian Milheiser says we could see the court's conservative majority actually reigning in right-wing
1:50.3	overreach. That's all next on Forum. Join us. Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. People have tried to subvert elections in the U.S. spread disinformation and undermine democracy before. And Rachel Maddow, author and longtime MSNBC host, has written a new book that focuses on the period of the Second World War when an ultra-right,
2:19.5	authoritarian, anti-Semitic movement, plan to attack government targets to sow chaos and overthrow
2:25.4	President Franklin Roosevelt.
2:27.7	We'll talk about the similarities between then and now, also the latest headlines, and the many
2:32.8	projects Maddow's working on since the Rachel Maddow show started airing one night a week Mondays.
2:38.5	Rachel, such a pleasure to have you on Forum. Welcome.
	...

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