Refuse Fascism

On the eve of July 4th, against the backdrop of Independence Hall and the Trump-censored President’s House memorial—where enslaved Africans were held in bondage as the foundations of the American republic were laid—Refuse Fascism convened an urgent outdoor public panel discussion, discussing: What does it mean to celebrate “America 250” as fascism is consolidating?  Why is rewriting history so imp...

Trump’s presidential memorandum NSPM-7, designating “antifa” as a domestic terrorist threat, was just deployed successfully against eight anti-ICE protesters in Texas, almost one year after a small noise demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE detention center. This is a horrifying precedent accelerating the fascist attack on ALL dissent, and the sentences issued that stack sentences to cumulati...

This week, Sam talks with Paul Street about the continuing danger that comes from an increasingly embattled Trump regime in the aftermath/continuing horror of the Iran war "operation" debacle. Follow Paul Street on Substack at ⁠paulstreet.substack.com⁠ . Mentioned in this episode: America at 250: Ruled by An Illegitimate Fascist Regime On Track to Destroy the World June 26 at 6pm in Phil...

It has been six years since we started this podcast (during the height of the Covid pandemic and directly before the nationwide uprising demanding justice for George Floyd), and our mission to refuse fascism has never been more needed! Thank you to everyone who has been with us for the past few years and welcome to new listeners. To get involved with and support the movement that this podcast is j...

Sam speaks on the events of the week including the fascist coup fund, the theocratic extravaganza on the national mall, the neo-Nazi mass murder, new green card restrictions, and how to have hope in the face of all that. Then, she speaks with acclaimed historian and author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi about his new book, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age . Mentioned in this episode: Sasha...

Sam speaks to members of the Tennessee state legislature about the state's immediate redistricting designed to disempower Black communities in response to the SCOTUS overturning of the VRA, including Sen. Charlane Oliver (who stood on her desk in the chamber with a banner reading "No Jim Crow 2.0" during proceedings) and Rep. Gloria Johnson. Related episode: Will The People Accept Th...

Sam and Coco discuss the recent SCOTUS ruling that essentially overturned the Voting Rights Act and re-disenfranchised Black voters, the latest step in nailing together a form of fascist rule in this country. Then they chat about the right way to respond to this crisis. Is it by somehow "voting harder..." or through expanding our imagination to envision and act to bring into being a gras...

Sam speaks with Omer Aziz, journalist, lawyer, and former foreign policy advisor. His latest book (published April 28) is Shadows of the Republic: The Rebirth of Fascism in America and How to Defeat It for Good . Stephen King wrote, "Omer Aziz has written a book that should be an alarm bell announcing that the American house is on fire." Aziz is also the author of Brown Boy , and he has...

This week Sam speaks with Wayne Besen, longtime activist with Truth Wins Out , the pioneering LGBTQ rights organization that has led the fight against so-called "conversion therapy." They talk about the recent (terrible) Supreme Court ruling on this cruel and anti-scientific quackery and the movement that is needed to stop fascism in the US now. As MAGA attempts to consolidate fascism ac...

This week we're sharing the recording of the organizing webinar held April 19, hosted by Sam Goldman featuring Refuse Fascism leaders Coco Das and Andy Zee. From the statement posted to refusefascism.org on April 19: This May Day must be a day of no business as usual—walking out of work and school and taking to the streets in nonviolent protest to raise the demand TRUMP MUST GO NOW. That is ho...

Sam recaps the moral challenge before all of us living in a country led by a president who just this week explicitly threatened to unleash genocide against a whole people, saying he would "end the whole [Iranian] civilization" unless they bow to his demands. Join the Refuse Fascism webinar next Sunday April 19 ALL OUT FOR MAY DAY: TRUMP MUST GO NOW! Read/distribute the new flyer Then, we...

Dr. John Donoghue discusses how the Trump regime’s fascism is rooted in deep white supremacist historical currents running from colonial North America through the present. Confronting this history is essential if we are going to determine what it will take to defeat MAGA fascism, which poses a grave menace to freedom, decency, and the common good at home and abroad. John Donoghue’s work has focuse...

Trump’s war on Iran is illegal, illegitimate and immoral. It has already killed thousands. It is threatening to spiral into a far wider catastrophe. At home: ICE terror continues. New camps are being built. More people are dying in detention. Trans rights are being erased. Voices and media that doesn’t toe the fascist line find themselves in the line of fire. Open white supremacy rides high. And M...

To better understand the impact of the US/Israel War on Iran this week, Sam talks with Sussan Tahmasebi, Executive Director and the Co-founder of Femena , the support organization for women human rights defenders in MENA/Asia. Then, she talks with journalist Jonathan Larsen about the influence of Christian fascist ideology on the military and the wider support for this potentially apocalyptic war....

This week, Sam speaks with Matthew D. Taylor, about the religious undercurrents underpinning this incredibly dangerous new war against Iran. Dr. Taylor is a visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center on Faith and Justice. His latest book The Violent Take It by Force offers a history of the New Apostolic Reformation movement and its role in the events of January 6th. Then, she talks with An...

"Donald Trump, in conjunction with Israel,  has launched a murderous, illegitimate, and illegal war  against the sovereign country of Iran—openly aimed at regime change. This is an unprovoked war of aggression, the supreme war crime, and it must be  stopped now ." -from the new statement posted to RefuseFascism.org Friday afternoon, prior to the unprovoked attack that the US and Israel l...

Stephen Miller, Trump’s Goebbels, has openly declared that the new “international law” is “might makes right.” To discuss how that is playing out with the attacks on small boats off the coasts of South America, the kidnapping of President Maduro of Venezuela, the attempt to squeeze the country of Cuba to the point of collapse, Gaza and other outrageous ways this is playing out internationally, thi...

Sam recaps the latest developments as the regime continues to signal their plan to undermine midterm elections and anything that will impede their goal of ethnic cleansing. Then, she speaks with Cliff Willmeng, Minneapolis resident, nurse and activist, about the crisis facing the Twin Cities: the occupation by ICE and other federal forces and the unprecedented resistance that the cities have demon...

All eyes are on Minnesota's Twin Cities, where the people there are showing the world how to unite as a community to reject fascist oppression. Coast to coast, the demand is ICE Out Now. But for ICE to go, Trump has to go. This past week, Sam talked to Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld, author of Responding, Teaching, and Learning Race & LGBTQ Topics as Acts of Resistance in a Declining Democracy:...

Sam and Mark discuss the recent events in the Twin Cities including the murder of peaceful observer Alex Pretti that came one day after a historic Day of Truth and Freedom that shut down the city and brought tens of thousands into the streets in sub zero temperatures, and the response that is required across the country. Recommended: Testimony from witness to Alex Pretti's murder Statement fro...

One year into Trump 2.0: what we face in the Trump regime is fascism. Sam talks to human rights lawyer and writer Qasim Rashid (follow his work on Substack at qasimrashid.com ), and we share analysis and orientation for activists and everyone newly inspired to act for humanity from Coco Das, member of the Refuse Fascism leadership group. Join protests near you on and around the anniversary of Trum...

It's critical that the protests that have erupted in response to an ICE agent's cold blooded murder of Renee Nicole Good continue to grow in size and determination. This whole fascist regime must be driven from power. Renee was the fifth person killed by ICE since the Trump regime's escalated ethnic cleansing campaign, a 37 yr old mother of three who stopped her car to bear witness and...

Sam, Mark and Paul Street ( The Paul Street Report and Refuse Fascism's leadership group) talk about the brazen and criminal attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife, the Trump regime's goals for the hemisphere, and what people of conscience must do in response. Recommended: "Trump’s Fascism and the Drive Toward War in Venezuela" with Matthew Hoh "...

Fascism is no longer aspirational — it’s operational. What 2025 revealed, and what 2026 demands. Featuring voices from the past year: Thomas Zimmer ( 237 ) Sunsara Taylor ( 269 ) David Smith ( 243 ) Judith Levine ( 252 ) Mary Anne Franks ( 266 ) Moustafa Bayoumi ( 260 ) Nicholas Grossman ( 272 ) Michele Goodwin ( 256 ) John Donoghue ( 271 ) A.R. Moxon ( 240 ) Sasha Abramsky ( 259 ) Channyn Lynne P...

We share some of the voices from the December 13 action delivering the People's Indictment of Donald Trump at the White House. Read and share here: The People’s Indictment of Donald Trump: A Unified Declaration of Illegitimacy - Refuse Fascism ⁠ . Then, Sam speaks with Matthew Hoh, former U.S. Marine and diplomat who resigned from the State Dept. in 2009 in protest over the war in Afghanistan,...