We Are In The Crisis: A Conversation with Danielle Moodie

I was privileged to sit down today with my friend Danielle Moodie, the author of The DAM Digest newsletter, host of The Danielle Moodie Show, co-host of The Daily Beast’s The New Abnormal and Democracyish.

Danielle is one of the few analysts and pundits I have trusted over the years and this episode should give you some idea as to why that is. We talk about the rapid escalation in the authoritarian war against democracy, including the galling raids against Venezuelans who, against court orders, were shipped to El Salvador, the disappearing of Mahmoud Khalil, and the nauseating lack of response by the Democratic Party. On the subject of the Democrats, we dived into why the party has failed to standup to the authoritarians and oligarchs, laying bare the purpose of this current group of politicians: to keep the capitalist exploitation going.

These are heavy subjects, but Danielle and I get into a lot of hope and what it will take to set things right. It’s about having faith in a better future, a more humane future, in which we reinvigorate our connections and address the spiritual crisis that authoritarianism and fascism feed upon. Going through my own days in the wilderness, this was a much-needed conversation.

As always, you’ll find below a list of resources I’ve been compiling in terms of educating yourself on why this is happening and how to organize, as we discussed in the conversation. If you haven’t already, please become a subscriber to keep this project going.

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Resources

* What the Hell is Going On: Here is an explainer regarding our present circumstances for anyone who has had a feeling that the traditional Democrat / Republican / Red / Blue narrative was hiding something. Here, we go through the problems in the United States and how the wealth class has effectively put itself in a position to totally takeover our government.

* The Oligarchical Order: A primer on how to give up conventional and failed political understandings in favor of seeing how capitalism directs the course of events and where it is leading and what to expect.

* Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Meaning: Here we get into how consumerism represents an addictive drug that has hollowed out our sense of purpose, leaving us to take this as a moment of self-reflection, recognize that we have effectively been made to hate and doubt ourselves, thereby keeping us from realizing we deserve better.

* A Thoroughly Confused Country: Americans have little in the way of class consciousness, which was an intentional state desired by the wealth class. This primer gets into the class makeup of the United States, including contradictions and motivations, that will be crucial in understanding as we do our work.

* Authoritarianism as Clarity: As authoritarians take power, the world becomes a lot clearer. We can see who we can trust and who we shouldn’t. This episode gets into the history of Vichy France and the lessons we can learn on how to operate as individuals within an authoritarian environment.

* Fostering Hope in Hard Times: Some thoughts on how to maintain hope as authoritarianism sweeps in.

* Understanding the Enemy: A guide through the evolution of capitalism from free markets to its current evolving form - oligarchical authoritarianism, as well as insights into how our politics has made this change happen and moments in which the evolution has been curbed.

* Get Ready: Preparing for the incoming ICE / federal immigration raids with resources for immigrants and allies.

* They're Trying to Crush You: I discuss the emotional toll of the beginning onslaught of the Trump Administration and how it is a strategy for demoralizing us before we can begin resisting.

* A Coup in Plain Sight: An explainer detailing what is happening with Musk, DOGE, and the takeover of the government.

* The Birth of a Monster: A history of how the oligarchical class came to be and what their ideology reveals about what a future under their control would entail.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe