When a story broke last month about a website that featured instructions for drugging and sexually assaulting wives, girlfriends, and partners, our society should have come to a screeching halt.

It didn’t.

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To make matters worse, the website wasn’t some niche site lurking in the shadows. There were 62 million visits to the site where you can learn how to sexually assault your partner, or to watch or share videos of other men doing the same. Millions are implicated one way or another. Really. This is the kind of story that brings down whole societies.

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On the surface, it's not a story of White Christian Nationalism. Except, of course, if you're a fan of this show, you know that just about everything bad involved WCN in some way, shape, or form.

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Susan and Sam also welcome Pam Smith, President and CEO of Verified Voting, who discusses what her group is doing to support voters in the runup to the midterm elections. Smith also talks abut what you can do to be prepared for the election, like checking your registration.

Getting your marching orders on the latest edition of The Weekly Assignment, right her on Lincoln Square.

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And are you planning to participate in the May Day general strike? Let us know in the comments!

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Professor Gage visited a variety of landmarks, from museums to battlefields to amusement parks, describing the excitement of seeing destinations that shaped America. While not all of them remain front-and-center, they continue to thrive, embracing the struggles that once defined them and moving forward with a promise of tomorrow.

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“One of the things that you realize in a deep way … is the fact that this is such a big country. You really feel that and experience that when you’re driving in a way that’s quite different than if you’re just flying around or sitting at home. … It suggests some of the challenges that have been at the core of the United States, from whose land is it actually to the incredible array of people and cultures and geographies and landscapes that are all supposed to be contained within this thing that we call the United States of America,” Gage said.

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Fill up the tank, grab some snacks, and buckle up for a road trip through history on First Draft with Susan J. Demas and Beverly Gage, author of This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History.

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If you compare it to some new national numbers — Alex explains why Mississippi is absolutely in play in 2026. When an incumbent Senator’s 20 points underwater in May ... well, that’s shaping up to be one heck of a wave year.

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Actually — that’s not true. On Tuesday, Virginians voted to allow for a redistricting that would potentially add four Democratic seats to the House … if the courts allow it to go through.

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But other than that? Well … RFK Jr. tried his hand at Trump math and tech companies announced they were laying off tens of thousands of employees to make way for their AI overlords. What’s more, employees at Meta are having their keystrokes recorded in order to train those very same AI overlords that will soon be taking their jobs.

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But wait! There’s more!

Trump’s will-he / won’t-he with Iran continues to play itself out, while gas prices continue to climb. There will be some mid-range energy price shock baked in already, no matter when the war in Iran resolves (if it resolves).

Oil prices aren’t the only thing going up because of the war: one of the biggest manufacturers of condoms (yes, that’s right) said it will raise prices around 30% due to material and supply pressures.

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I guess MAGA will get rid of birth control one way or another.

That’s not all Max and Sam had to talk about. Tune in for the whole episode!

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But the big story today is ... all of it, all at once, altogether. Across the polling — across demo and issue and all things — he's falling off a cliff and could end up being the least popular president of all time.

But what does that mean for the midterms? Are Dems using this to their advantage?

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In an era when attention is everything, and the fastest way to grab it is through outrage, Democracy is on the block. We all know it. And if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you spend at least a portion of your day both plugged in and also feeling hopeless, despondent, and mad as hell.

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Simultaneously, many of us have decried the No Kings protests as performative, or token. Yes, of course, we need to do more. But the thing about protest is that it gives us a chance to rub our shoulders together. To see each other in person. To laugh. To scream. To chant.

Together.

And even more than that, protest gives us a chance to collectively imagine the world we want to live in.

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That is what this show is about. We can diagnose the symptoms. We can — and should — hold those guilty accountable. We can rant and rave. But if we’re going to ever live in a better world, then for f*ck’s sake we’ve got to start building it.

And we should have started yesterday.

The Revolution is your recruitment to the movement. Each week, Michael and Maya will welcome guests who have already begun. They’ll tell you what they’ve done and how you can do it, too.

This week, we welcome Skye Perryman, Director and CEO of Democracy Forward, an organization that “uses the law to build collective power and advance a bold, vibrant democracy for all people.” When it comes to suing the Trump administration, to actually holding them responsible, Ms. Perryman and Democracy Forward are the tip of the spear.

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Watch, share, and join The Revolution. And tell us what you’re doing to fight back in the comments!

This is Episode 4 of History of the Present, a series from The Intellectualist in collaboration with Lincoln Square Media focused on how democracy, media, political power, and institutional incentives are converging and reshaping the present moment.

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Watch our previous episodes.
Episode 1 — Sree Sreenivasan on AI and media:

Episode 2 — Charlie Sykes on democracy and the Republican Party:

Episode 3 — Leta McCollough Seletzky on history and identity:

In recent years, the relationship between political actors and the media has shifted in ways that are not always visible on the surface. Coverage of power in the United States is often described as more deferential than in other systems, raising questions about how narratives are constructed, what remains outside public understanding, and how political reality is filtered before it reaches the public.

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Media framing, political incentives, and strategic messaging interact to produce a version of political reality that can appear coherent on the surface while masking deeper contradictions underneath.

Stanage examines how that system functions in practice, including the gap between private Republican sentiment and public positioning around Donald Trump, and how that gap reflects broader structural pressures shaping political behavior.

The conversation also looks at how Donald Trump’s public rhetoric, including references to mortality and the afterlife, becomes part of the narrative environment through which the presidency is interpreted, and how repetition, tone, and media coverage shape public perception over time.

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These patterns exist alongside major external pressures, including controversies surrounding the Epstein files and geopolitical tensions with Iran, both of which have affected the administration’s political position and operating environment.

We also examine how this presidency differs from Biden’s in structure, incentives, and governing conditions, and what those differences reveal about how political power operates today.

In this conversation, they discuss:

• The gap between what politicians say in public and what they actually believe
• Why U.S. media often treats political power more gently than it should
• Trump’s handling of the Epstein files and what it reveals about power and transparency
• The war in Iran and its impact on U.S. political and strategic positioning
• The erosion of goodwill toward the United States during this presidency
• How the perception of the United States abroad has weakened significantly
• How media narratives, political incentives, and institutional trust reinforce each other
• Where American politics may be heading next

This is a conversation about the gap between what appears to be happening in American politics and what is actually driving events beneath the surface.

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History of the Present, hosted by Brian Daitzman, Editor-in-Chief of The Intellectualist, in collaboration with Lincoln Square Media, examines not just political events, but the system that determines how those events are seen and acted upon.

Follow for future episodes, check out The Intellectualist’s YouTube.

The Intellectualist

The Intellectualist Substack delivers fact-based analysis and thoughtful commentary focused on defending democracy and fostering informed public discourse. At a time when truth and civic engagement are under threat, it serves as a vital platform.

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We might see Montana as a classic example of red ruralism, but Sam and the Joes know that’s only a recent development. The Joes ask Sam whether he can be the one to reignite the Democratic Party in Montana.

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That’s what author and historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat told Frank Figliuzzi about just some of the similarities of the strongmen of the past and the comparisons to leaders like Donald Trump today.

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat joined the The Frank Figliuzzi Show on Lincoln Square. She writes the Lucid newsletter on Substack and has taught how ideologies like fascism and totalitarianism have crept into societies across modern history. And since Trump’s entrance into U.S. politics over a decade ago, she has been sounding the alarm bells on how closely he’s modeled his governing style upon authoritarian figures of the past and present, like Viktor Orban in Hungary.

“Here we’re in a process where we’re starting to fit the conditions under which today’s studies say that people start to wake up. And one is blatant corruption. If the government and the leader are just getting really rich, that was partly why Viktor Orban lost and had to concede,” she said. “Another is autocratic overreach. Either the state is on the streets being openly brutal and we have ICE, or they’re actually, we don’t discuss this enough, they’re just absent because these people don’t care. They’re in power to get rich and to amass more power. And then the third is that when they cause hardship, economic hardship, and we are getting in that zone.”

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You don’t want to miss a second of Frank’s insightful interview with Ruth Ben-Ghiat on how we got here and how we can beat back the Trump’s strongman politics.

Plus, don’t miss Frank’s comments on the court’s dismissal of Kash Patel’s defamation lawsuit against him on The Frank Figliuzzi Show, right here on Lincoln Square.

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Republicans have been way ahead of the gerrymandering game, even before Trump. And now the Calais Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act could essentially flip 12 to 19 seats across the South in favor of Republicans.

But whether Dems do it or Republicans, gerrymandering does not make for a healthy democracy. And with changing demographics, by 2035, roughly 70% of the U.S. population will live in just 15 states, diluting Democrats’ power even further.

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David Daley, author of RatF*cked and the new book, Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections, joined Susan J. Demas to talk about the damage that could be inflicted to us all if we don’t push for fair elections.

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A second outcome — at least in the coming days — would be a short-term escalation by the Americans to gain leverage. Again, though, after months of pounding, what kind of damage are we proposing in the short term that will bring Iran to its knees? That brings us to outcome #3: prolonged conflict that destabilizes the entire region.

None of these options are great, and none appears to have even a 50/50 chance of working out for Trump. The Iranians are holding a pretty solid hand at the moment, and they know it.

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They also know that the bumbling fools who decided to leap into this worthless war and the idiots trying to get us out of it are one and the same.

Bobby Jones has served in the region as a former Navy commander. He knows the logistical challenges we’re facing. He knows the bases that have been destroyed because he’s stood in them. Heck, he knows what the guys on board the ships are eating.

In this episode of Anchor Watch, he breaks down the stakes of the Iran War in a way few people can.

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Rick Wilson, Joe Trippi, and Stuart Stevens break down the Virginia redistricting fight, where Democrats have the chance to counter GOP gerrymandering in red states like Texas. Republican enthusiasm is collapsing, and new states and new seats are suddenly in play heading into 2026.

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Why it’s not hopeless — there are some big wins that gun violence protection advocates can point to. What’s the biggest challenge facing the movement in 2026? What’s next for driving the culture change needed to reduce gun violence?

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Read more about how you can help Brady United and Kris’s Substack.

Locked & Unloaded

Cutting through the noise on America’s gun crisis—insights, action, and accountability from Brady President Kris Brown.

By Kris Brown

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But when you connect the dots, a much larger strategy comes into focus.

From NSPM-7 to Project Esther, this episode explains how these efforts tie together, what they mean for dissent, and why this moment is about more than just politics — it’s about long-term power.

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If you want to understand what’s actually happening beneath the headlines, this is the conversation.

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But one thing has been constant: some people are making a killing off of these wild swings in the financial markets and bets with insider information in betting markets.

On The Weekly Assignment, Susan J. Demas and Sam Osterhout look at the corruption running rampant through this administration. And why we’re all losing with higher gas prices.

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Plus, Amanda Litman, co-founder and president of Run For Something, stopped by to talk about the amount of people under 40 rushing to run for office. She discussed the resources and support they offer, as well as some of the success stories they’ve had in special and primary elections. And according to Amanda, it’s not too late to, well, run for something!

“It’s not too late in a couple places to get on the ballot for 2026. And it is definitely not too early for 2027 or 2028!” she said.

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Head to their Run For What page for more information on how you can get involved and check out more with Amanda Litman on the latest edition of The Weekly Assignment with Susan J. Demas and Sam Osterhout, right here on Lincoln Square.

This is Episode 3 of History of the Present, a series from The Intellectualist focused on the convergence of major forces, including artificial intelligence, robotics, climate change, inequality, democracy, and space exploration, and how they are interacting at a critical moment in human civilization. The series examines how these forces intersect and reshape the world, bringing in voices that help make this moment more legible.

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In The Kneeling Man, Leta McCollough Seletzky reconstructs her father’s life and his presence in that moment. At the time, he was a young Memphis police officer and, as the book presents it, operating in an undercover capacity in connection with the Invaders, a Black activist group in Memphis during the civil rights movement. After the shot, he moved toward Martin Luther King Jr. and attempted to render aid.

The conversation also touches on FBI surveillance of Dr. King during this period. In the discussion, the memo is referenced in connection with J. Edgar Hoover, but upon further clarification, it was, in fact, written by FBI official William Sullivan.

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Learn more about the book

• the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and its historical context

• the Memphis sanitation workers strike and the tensions in Memphis in 1968

• Marrell “Mac” McCollough’s role at the scene and his later work in law enforcement and government

• the civil rights movement context surrounding the assassination

• how a daughter reconstructs her father’s past through research and writing

• how identity can shift across institutions, roles, and historical moments

  ---

This is a conversation about a moment in American history that is widely recognized, and the person within that moment who was not fully understood.

Follow The Intellectualist for future episodes of History of the Present on Youtube.

The Intellectualist

The Intellectualist Substack delivers fact-based analysis and thoughtful commentary focused on defending democracy and fostering informed public discourse. At a time when truth and civic engagement are under threat, it serves as a vital platform.

Subscribe now

It’s the End! ... of the Week with Max Burns and special guest Peter Rothpletz, who writes with for The New York Times and Zeteo, break down the biggest stories of the week.

With rising gas prices and looming oil shortages, Rothpletz hammers Trump for being unable to relate to the common man. “This is one of those things that absolutely penetrates. And I think that Trump is uniquely vulnerable to an issue like this. … He’s just untethered from our daily common experience as human beings. And similarly, I don’t think he’s probably once in his life ever pulled up to a gas pump.”

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Get your doomsday prepping done because It’s the End! … of the Week with Max Burns and special guest Peter Rothpletz, right here on Lincoln Square.

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Tell Congress: Impeach Trump

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What is Lanny’s third way to reignite a political party? Is there a way to reframe compromise between the Republicans and Democrats? Lanny shares what inspired him to write his new book, Finding the Third Way: Lessons in the Politics of Civility from My Journey through History, and what it means to compromise.

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“What’s not changing in the polling is the direction here, and nothing else is really changing. The direction of Trump’s polling is just straight down into the gutter,” Andrew notes.

Much of this polling was done before Trup’s feud with Pope Leo XIV, but you can already see picking on the Pope — not to mention his AI slop dressed as Jesus — turning MAGAngelicals off.

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So what accounts for the decline in his polling? You guessed it — Iran.

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