No Q&A Today; Taking Trump's Threats Seriously; Fascism Syllabus Coming Tomorrow

And a dramatic and dreamy Florida sunset

Welcome back to Lucid, and hello to all new subscribers. There is no Q&A today since I am taking a mini-vacation. Our next Q&A will be Friday, July 28th, 1-2mET, with Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg as our guest. Paying subscribers will receive a link to register for the Zoom call several hours before the event.

I will be sending a version of the syllabus I use to teach Italian Fascism (which includes novels and films) to paying subscribers tomorrow. If you'd like to join the weekly Q&As and access bonus content (extra essays, syllabi, webinars) you can sign up or convert your subscription to paid here:

Here is a clip of my Wednesday evening MSNBC interview with Ali Velshi. I went to the studio at 30Rock, which is always fun. Those who attended a recent Lucid Q&A, when we discussed the problem of "disbelief" that we face the threat of authoritarianism in America, will see an echo of that in my on-camera remarks.

Authoritarians tell you what they’re going to do, but we often don’t listen, don’t take them seriously, or don’t have the understanding and framework to assess the threats they pose.

In that spirit, here is my new MSNBC op-ed on what a second Trump term would mean for U.S. democracy. An except:

“Those plans, as reported by The New York Times on Monday, are consistent with a 21st century playbook for authoritarians: Tell the public how you will set up an authoritarian state. Frame your intended expansion of executive powers as a streamlining of government. Don’t forget to repeatedly praise dictators as “brilliant” and “top of the line” people so there’ll be no surprises when you act in a similar manner. And whet your followers’ appetites for destruction of existing norms by advertising how you will purge ‘the sick political class that hates our country’ from government.” 

In the meantime, Trump has another indictment coming his way!

Every Friday I publish a photo, many of them sent to me by members of the Lucid community. That’s the case with this image of a dramatic and dreamy sunset at Fort Myers beach in Florida. Enjoy!