Rachel Bitecofer & Aaron Murphy

This is America: Checked In for the Checked Out

History EN ↓ 29 episodes

From the front lines of protecting democracy, political analysts Rachel Bitecofer and Aaron Murphy, authors of Hit 'Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game (Crown, 2024), host a brief, weekly look at "what you need to know" about Trump 2.0. They're checked in for the checked out. This is America is a callback to William L. Shirer's groundbreaking This is Berlin broadcasts from the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Subscribe to Rachel's The Cycle on Substack at thecycle.substack.com . Hit 'Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans...

Author

Rachel Bitecofer & Aaron Murphy

Episodes

Episode 04: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once 11.02.2025 28:33

This week, Rachel and Aaron keep up with Trump 2.0's strategy of flooding the zone, resulting in a chaotic political and media environment that can be described as "everything, everywhere, all at once." They explore the parallels of what's happening now to the rise of Nazi Germany, particularly the "golden age of culture"--which MAGA America desperately wants to control. Rachel and Aaron also disc...

Episode 03: A Knife in the Back 04.02.2025 27:28

This week Rachel and Aaron take a tumble through the spin cycle of Donald Trump's second full week in office, which included chaos and confusion, a stock market nose-dive, another off-the-rails news conference, pissed off allies, economic uncertainty and threats of a new consumer tax. They also take the temperature on batshit crazy Senate confirmation heatings and share some thoughts about the inc...

Episode 02: Shock & Awe 28.01.2025 25:37

This week Rachel and Aaron dive into the deliberately exhausting 'shock and awe' strategy by Trump 2.0, drawing comparisons to the "Working Toward the Fuhrer" strategy of 1930s Germany. They also discuss a powerful warning from the New York Times, coffee, inflation, shrinkflation, what you need to know about ongoing confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate, and some tough love from... The Daily Sh...

Episode 01: Day One 21.01.2025 25:52

"Oh Sh!t! There goes the neighborhood!" Episode 01 of This is America launches on the first full day of Trump 2.0. Join political analysts Rachel Bitecofer and Aaron Murphy (authors of Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game) as they report from the front lines of protecting democracy. This first episode explores the Great Indoor Inauguration of 2025...