People are waking up to the profiteering at the heart of the administration. We can use the resulting fury to build a movement.

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This week's episode looks at the many ways that corruption underpins every part of Trump administration policies. Andrea Pitzer considers the deliberate choice to inflict suffering in the U.S. and abroad, which has been done across the board for direct personal or political gain. She notes that the catastrophic shifts in U.S. policy that set the stage for much of what is happening today took place in response to the 9/11 attacks, but that Trump 2.0 does not even have that flimsy fig leaf of a justification, given that the president has intentionally created the crises now engulfing the country. All this has led to illness, hunger, war, and death.

Andrea explores the realms of immigration, citizenship, voting, democracy, law, wars, and international alliances, showing how the current administration's corruption is the common element underpinning every disaster. She also assesses the ways that oligarchs' expanding control over media has likewise corrupted democracy and our access to information--all in favor of expanding authoritarian rule in the U.S. Yet this corruption, she suggests, is now being recognized by voters across the board, as the profound harms Trump has unleashed are affecting everyone directly in highly visible ways. Using corruption as the battle cry for regaining control of government and cleaning house, Andrea believes, is a path to building a coalition of voters without throwing anyone under the bus. The episode closes with a look at how an anti-corruption coalition could work in defeating the expanding police state here at home.

0:00 The Anatomy of Trump 2.0 Corruption
2:15 Weaponizing Democracy, Law & the DOJ
5:40 ICE Contracts & The $2.8B Detention Grift
9:20 The Maduro Deal & Untracked Oil Revenue
12:35 Putin, Sanctions, & The Diesel Trade Betrayal
16:10 Oligarchs Buying the News & Information Ecosystem
19:45 Smears, Bigotry, & Manufactured Election Threats
23:30 Forcing AI and Toxic Data Centers on Communities
27:10 SNAP Benefits, Food Scarcity, & Hurting Families
31:00 Building an Anti-Corruption Movement to Fight Back