One of authoritarianism’s core tactics is claiming the system is broken beyond repair and only one man can fix it. Enter Donald Trump. He’s reshaped the Republican Party around his insidious MAGA ideology, casting Democrats as enemies bent on destroying the country. For centuries, America’s two-party system has kept Republicans and Democrats locked in battle, with third parties rarely breaking through. But today, to defeat autocracy and its effects, something beyond the binary is required. This ...
Oct 02, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Propaganda is a powerful tool for an autocrat. It’s crucial to step six of the Ten Steps to Autocracy: weaken the truth and fill the void with propaganda and lies. And since RFK Jr. allied with Trump and the Republicans before the 2024 election, the Make America Healthy Again movement has grown into a juggernaut of misinformation. You’ve seen it on your feeds - one minute you’re watching a recipe video or checking out someone’s post about a new workout, and then suddenly you’re listening to a yo...
Sep 25, 2025•49 min
On this week’s episode of Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams breaks down the “Ten Steps to Autocracy,” a framework inspired by Princeton Professor Kim Scheppele that outlines the warning signs of a country sliding toward authoritarian rule. We’re watching Trump and the Republicans check off those steps in plain sight: expand and consolidate executive power, break down government institutions, sow distrust in the media, scapegoate vulnerable communities, incentivize violence, and their final goal: ...
Sep 18, 2025•1 hr 7 min
As back-to-school season kicks off, the Trump Administration has gutted the Department of Education, and his Republican allies in Congress have followed suit by slashing funds for our public schools. Locally, GOP governors and state legislators are jamming through private school voucher bills paid for with public dollars. That means rollbacks to special education services, massive cuts to Title I grants that support low-income students, and reduced civil rights enforcement in public schools. And...
Sep 11, 2025•1 hr 11 min
The Assembly Required team is taking a break this week but we’re excited to bring you an episode of Happier with Gretchen Rubin featuring our very own Stacey Abrams. In this Roundtable discussion, we explore the role of romance in fiction and real life. Author and political leader Stacey Abrams explains how she weaves it into her suspense novels by focusing on authentic human connection, while therapist Lori Gottlieb brings her perspective on love off the page. Together, we look at how romance i...
Sep 03, 2025•39 min
Authoritarianism takes many forms - including stripping women of their rights. This summer marked three years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, eradicating the federal constitutional right to abortion and handing states the power to impose extreme restrictions or outright bans. The fallout has been devastating. Women have been hospitalized, dragged into court, and some have died as a direct result of Roe’s reversal. On this week’s Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams is joined by New York Times best...
Aug 28, 2025•1 hr 14 min
In the Ten Steps to Autocracy, step four is convincing citizens that democracy just isn’t working. If democracy isn’t working, then people will be seduced by populist promises and grievance politics. That’s why Democrats and the rest of us standing up to autocracy must have a positive vision of the future, and a realistic path to get there. One idea that has taken off among those thinking about Democrats’ next act is the “abundance agenda.” Crafted in their co-authored book Abundance , Ezra Klei...
Aug 21, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Christian nationalism is an extremist, anti-democratic ideology rooted in the belief that the United States should be a nation for Christians to the exclusion of all others. In modern times, the Trump administration and its Republican allies have wielded this ideology as a weapon to divide Americans and implement an agenda via plans like the infamous Project 2025 that eviscerates the rights of immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community, questions the rights of women to vote, restores a freedom to discr...
Aug 14, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Donald Trump has been called many things: authoritarian, racist, liar, scam artist. Stacey Abrams is adding one more…aspiring autocrat. Inspired by Princeton professor Kim Scheppele, Stacey has remixed the “The Ten Steps to Autocracy” to reflect today’s political reality. And embedded in that framework is a chilling move the administration and Republicans have played repeatedly since inauguration: attack the media until no one knows what’s true. Just this year alone, Trump has launched frivolous...
Aug 07, 2025•1 hr 3 min
On July 4th, Trump signed the devastating and dangerous Republican "Megabill" into law — a sweeping measure that targets the young and the vulnerable to further enrich the wealthy. But we’re all collateral damage. Among its many cruelties: new Medicaid restrictions that could strip coverage from 11.8 million Americans over the next decade, a cost shift in SNAP that may cut food benefits for 22.3 million families, and a $5 trillion debt ceiling hike. While working and middle class families across...
Jul 31, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In the very first edition of Assembly Required’s listener mailbag, Stacey Abrams tackles your wide-ranging, urgent questions—from politics to pop culture. She dives into MAGA’s Epstein-fueled outrage, breaks down Trump’s mega-bill, and fully embraces her inner nerd with takes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, her all-time favorite romance novels, and much more! For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here . For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.co...
Jul 24, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Political humor is more than just a distraction. It’s where punchlines meet headlines and chaos turns into catharsis. It offers us moments of levity amid an overwhelming, anxiety-fueled news cycle. In an America galloping towards autocracy, where the political landscape shifts by the hour and human rights teeter on the edge of policy, humor isn't just helpful…it’s essential. This week, Stacey sits down with someone who knows how to find the funny in the bleakest of times. Amber Ruffin, comedian,...
Jul 17, 2025•46 min
National parks and public lands tell us who we are - and remind us of how we fit into the grander scheme of things. They give people the chance to connect with the awe-inspiring beauty of nature, create jobs and fuel economic growth, and preserve vital historical and cultural landmarks. But despite their broad, bipartisan popularity, Republicans appear determined to dismantle our parks and auction off our natural history to the highest bidder. Back in February, the administration began gutting t...
Jul 10, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Late June marks the end of the Supreme Court term—a moment when some of the most consequential decisions in American life are handed down. At stake are rulings that could reshape democracy and redefine or limit civil rights. Still pending: major cases on the future of birthright citizenship, transgender rights, the Affordable Care Act’s coverage of preventive care services, and more. This week, Stacey sits down with Leah Litman, University of Michigan law professor, co-host of Strict Scrutiny , ...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Last week, ICE stormed through Los Angeles, raiding Home Depots, warehouses, and schools in a cruel, targeted crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Those raids sparked a wave of protests as thousands of Angelenos marched through downtown, denouncing the Trump administration’s unjust actions. What began as largely peaceful demonstrations escalated after Trump defied both the California governor and LA mayor by deploying the National Guard and the Marines to the city. It was a deliberate show of f...
Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Winning elections starts now, and that’s only the beginning. The way we get our news has always evolved, and today we face a fractured media landscape that makes it harder to reach people consistently. The American right has often been at the forefront of navigating these waters by finding compelling messengers and putting them on new platforms that reach voters, from the rise of talk radio in the 80s to Fox News, TikTok and YouTube today. That innovation has too often led to domination of these...
Jun 12, 2025•58 min
The U.S. birth rate is falling, and the Trump administration has a solution: Make. More. Babies. But instead of expanding support for families—through childcare, reproductive healthcare access, or paid leave—they’re turning to policies touted by a set of right-wing members of a movement called pronatalism, which includes Christian nationalists and tech-industry eugenicists who see increasing the birth rate as an existential mission, for a select few. Today’s pronatalists include figures like Elo...
Jun 05, 2025•58 min
Project 2025 is no longer just a blueprint—it is rapidly in motion. Over the past four months, the Republicans have begun implementing its sweeping, 900+ page plan to transform America into a Christian nationalist state. We are seeing it unfold in real time: attacks on bodily autonomy, the dehumanization and targeting of immigrants, the erasure of history and DEI initiatives, and deep cuts to essential government programs. In this episode, Stacey sits down with Atlantic staff writer and author o...
May 22, 2025•53 min
There is nothing more toxic to tyranny than those willing to fight back. Across the country, every day Americans are exercising their First Amendment rights and raising their voice in protest against this dangerous administration and the right-wing autocrats who lead it. Emerging leaders are standing up for their values and running for office in their local communities. In this episode, Stacey talks about real pathways to meet the moment with action with two leaders who walk the walk: Congresswo...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, we’ve watched Republicans erode American democracy with alarming speed. While this political moment may feel unprecedented, it isn’t new. America has dealt its share of far-right movements, fascist provocateurs, and anti-democratic threats. But time and again, heroes have risen to meet those moments. In this episode, Stacey unpacks how we’ve fought fascism before - and won. She’s joined by the host of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and author of...
May 08, 2025•58 min
In just 100 days, Donald Trump and the Republican Party have upended the post WWII international order. From pulling out of the WHO to undermining international courts, backing away from NATO to slashing foreign aid, this generation’s GOP is rapidly dismantling America's role as a global leader. In this episode, Stacey looks beyond U.S. borders and sits down with Ben Rhodes—former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama and co-host of Pod Save the World—to unpack this seismic shift i...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 5 min
One of the Republican Party’s most dangerous campaigns is their continued assault on academic freedom. Under the pretense of fighting antisemitism and dismantling “discriminatory” DEI policies, universities across the country are under threat of losing critical funding, and students are being targeted by immigration authorities. From Trump to state governors, attacks are coming from every level of government. In this episode, Stacey is joined by Wesleyan University President Michael Roth and Bar...
Apr 24, 2025•56 min
Trump’s unhinged, unpredictable global trade war is causing chaos and confusion. In just one week, the President announced tariffs on the entire world, then paused some, upped others, and announced exemptions for certain goods. This capriciousness has sparked fears that another economic recession may be looming. In this episode, Stacey is joined by Dean Baker, economist and cofounder of the Center for Economic Policy and Research to break down how tariffs affect the broader economy. Then, she he...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Whether your instinct now is fight or flight, many of us are searching for the way to navigate these turbulent times. In this episode, Stacey shares her practice of stoicism: an ancient philosophy built to make us more resilient, knowledgeable and grounded in the face of adversity. She’s joined by author, entrepreneur, and host of The Daily Stoic podcast, Ryan Holiday, to explore how we can apply the art of stoicism to this political moment —and use it as a tool to build our capacity and organiz...
Apr 10, 2025•59 min
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy's so-called assault on medical science is putting Americans at grave risk. Measles has resurfaced, HHS is losing tens of thousands of staff, and medical research at the National Institutes of Health is being cut. Stacey is joined by infectious disease researcher and science communicator Laurel Bristow, along with associate professor and infectious disease expert Ghady Haidar, to break down the immediate and long-term impacts of the Trump ...
Apr 03, 2025•52 min
The Trump Administration is openly defying the courts, racking up over 100 federal lawsuits due to its tyrannical actions. Trump and his allies have continuously sidestepped and ignored federal judges issuing multiple injunctions to reign in his power. From flouting a judge’s order to reverse the deportation of 250 Venezuelan immigrants without due process to unlawfully detaining and attempting to deport green card holders, this administration is pushing the boundaries of executive overreach. St...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Sharing another podcast we can’t get enough of: Your Mama’s Kitchen. It’s a show about cuisine and culture, ingredients and identities, and the meals and memories that make us who we are. Host Michele Norris talks to Michelle Obama, Glennon Doyle, Gayle King and so many other guests about the complexities of family life and how their earliest culinary experiences helped shape their personal and professional lives. And of course, each guest shares a recipe for a favorite dish from their youth so ...
Mar 20, 2025•44 min
Our nation’s veterans are being disproportionately impacted by the Trump administration’s assault on government agencies, from cuts to the VA, to job and funding reductions across the board. Not only have Republicans turned their backs on those who have dedicated themselves to serving our country, they are also doing damage to a constituency that was already underserved. Stacey is joined by Jason Kander, an Afghanistan Veteran and former Secretary of State of Missouri to talk through the needs o...
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr
Trump’s speech to a joint chamber of Congress was the longest in history, clocking in at nearly 100 minutes. Instead of providing viable solutions to problems like our affordability crisis or the current trade war , he used his platform to push his ongoing dangerous narrative on immigration, crime, and transgender rights. Stacey is joined by Jen Psaki, Host of MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” and the MSNBC original podcast “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki” to recap, respond, and strategize ways that...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 3 min
President Trump’s affinity for crypto currency has emerged as another vehicle for profit and peddling influence. On today’s episode, we break down the basics of crypto and how the industry infiltrated Trump's world, unpacks the ways this administration is creating a friendly environment for this unregulated market in ways that might impact our economy more broadly, and questions its ethics. Stacey is joined by Zeke Faux, investigative reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek, and Annie Lowrey, staff ...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr
