“Putin is a Dead Man Walking”

Happy Russia Military Transport Aviation Day, everyone! This June 1st, all Nazi hunters celebrated as Ukraine destroyed 34% of Russia's warplanes. We’re throwing a Gaslit Nation block party, featuring an old friend from the war, warning the world what comes next. 

Splitting his time between the frontline in Ukraine and his animal sanctuary in South Africa, conservationist Lionel De Lange runs aid to animals and people alike on the frontlines of Russia’s genocidal invasion, including shooting down drones at night. We discuss how World War III has already started; Russia’s recent attempts to bomb Chernobyl to weaponize its radioactive waste against Ukraine and broader Europe; the recent disappointing elections in Poland; Zelensky’s brilliant Operation Spider's Web that will live in history books; and why Putin is a dead man walking. 

This week’s bonus show focuses on how to protect our rights in a time of lawlessness, featuring insights from Leah Litman of the Strict Scrutiny podcast and author of Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes, and why everyone should watch the livestream of George Clooney’s Goodnight, and Good Luck on June 7th. 

Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! 

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EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• June 16 4pm ET – Keira Havens of Citizens’ Impeachment joins our salon to discuss the growing movement to impeach Donald Trump. 

• June 30 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Lillian Faderman’s The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle

• NEW! Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.

• Have you taken Gaslit Nation’s HyperNormalization Survey Yet?

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

Show Notes:

“The PayPal Mafia”: Meet the South African Oligarchs Surrounding Trump, from Elon Musk to Peter Thiel https://www.democracynow.org/2025/2/10/elon_musk_doge_south_africa_apartheid

Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans: The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work with the government, spreading the company’s technology — which could easily merge data on Americans — throughout agencies. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html

The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI: Thousands of newly obtained documents show that Clearview AI’s founders always intended to target immigrants and the political left. Now their digital dragnet is in the hands of the Trump administration. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/clearview-ai-immigration-ice-fbi-surveillance-facial-recognition-hoan-ton-that-hal-lambert-trump/

'Russian bombers are burning en masse' — Ukraine's SBU drones hit 'more than 40' aircraft in mass attack, source says https://kyivindependent.com/enemy-bombers-are-burning-en-masse-ukraines-sbu-drones-hit-more-than-40-russian-aircraft/

Trump still ‘open’ to meeting Putin and Zelenskyy; Russia rejects unconditional ceasefire – as it happened https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jun/02/ukraine-russia-istanbul-talks-vladimir-putin-voldymyr-zelenskyy-latest-news-live?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky&CMP=bsky_gu

Curtis Yarvin’s Plot Against America: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile?utm_social-type=owned&utm_brand=tny

Trump's image of dead 'white farmers' came from Reuters footage in Congo, not South Africa https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trumps-image-dead-white-farmers-came-reuters-footage-congo-not-south-africa-2025-05-22/

Musk Takes Stephen Miller’s Wife—as Trump Aide Rage-Tweets https://www.thedailybeast.com/musk-takes-stephen-millers-wifeas-trump-aide-rage-tweets/?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=owned_social&source=TDB&via=FB_Page&utm_source=facebook_owned_tdb&fbclid=IwY2xjawKlaapleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE2NDZCMG9NM2dOSFU5S1pDAR7384ziZGmp4sVCXoBU-SJd5L0hk9-SmD8wC7QaL0SH9EuinWQA5ZeNuXW8ow_aem_RnI6u7CVeXAc2hZZFo63AQ