Episode Details

In a chilling conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, the co-authors unpack their Guardian essay on "End Times Fascism," exposing how today’s billionaires and right-wing leaders aren’t just profiting from global crises—they’re actively accelerating them. As they delve into the apocalyptic ambitions behind Trump 2.0’s economic agenda, the discussion asks: can we counter this death-drive with a bold, life-affirming vision for the future?

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FULL DESCRIPTION: Today's billionaires know our planet can't sustain their business models or lifestyles, but they don't care. Find out why, in this chilling conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, co-authors of a revelatory essay on "End Times Fascism" in the Guardian. “Today’s rightwing leaders and their rich allies are not just taking advantage of catastrophes, shock-doctrine and disaster-capitalism style,” write Klein and Taylor, “but simultaneously provoking, planning and seeking to profit off apocalypse.” These are deeply dangerous times, Taylor and Klein argue: “Trump 2.0's economic project is a Frankenstein's monster of the industries driving all of these threats—fossil fuels, weapons, and resource-ravenous cryptocurrency and AI.” As the Right prepares for the end of life as we know it, can we build a movement to counter their apocalyptic, fascist ideology? What about a vision of love and compassion for people and the planet? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on Elon Musk's recently privately-incorporated Tesla town in Brownsville, TX.

“These people are preparing for the end of the world. They are abandoning this place. They are traitors. And so we respond to them in part by committing to where we are and by being committed to other people. And it sounds very simple, but I think there's something really fundamental and profound about that when you realize the scale to which these folks have decided to embrace this politics of contempt and abandonment.” - Astra Taylor

“Under colonialism, the creation of nation states is pretty arbitrary. Guy with book decides to form country. That's what they see in Israel  . . . The idea that you can have a kind of an apartheid state, wealthy, high-tech fortress as a way to weather the storms that you yourself are unleashing. Israel's become a kind of a beacon for both the tech bros and the Theo Bros.” - Naomi Klein

Guests:

• Naomi Klein: Columnist, The Guardian; UBC Professor of Climate Justice; Co-Author, The Rise of End Times Fascism; Journalist & Best-Selling Author, Doppelganger, The Shock Doctrine, No Logo, This Changes Everything & On Fire

• Astra Taylor: Author & Organizer; Co-Author, The Rise of End Times Fascism; Co-Founder, Debt Collective & Author, The Age of Insecurity, Co-author, Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea

Music Credit: “Power” by Don Glori from his forthcoming album Paper Can’t Wrap Fire released on Mr. Bongo Records.  "Steppin" by Podington Bear. And original sound production and design by Jeannie Hopper.

Watch the special report released on Yo