The Chauncey DeVega Show
by Chauncey DeVega
The Chauncey DeVega Show is the official podcast of Salon.com politics writer Chauncey DeVega. On a weekly basis the show features a relaxed and free-form conversation with artists, authors, musicians, researchers, academics, journalists, activists, as well as Hollywood actors and directors.
Episodes
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Ep. 457: The Age of Trump Is a Massive Mental Health Crisis -- The Danger to America Goes Far Beyond the Midterms
Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic and social psychiatrist and a world expert on violence who taught at Yale Law School from 2003 to 2020 while serving on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine. She subsequently joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where she remained until 2024. She is the…
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Ep. 456: The Nerd Reich. Confronting Technofascism and Defending Democracy and Humanity's Future
Gil Duran is a former advisor to Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and Kamala Harris. He is now an independent journalist and the publisher of two newsletters: The Nerd Reich, focused on extremist tech politics, and FrameLab, which explores political language. His new book, the New York Times...
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Ep. 455: The People's Historian Howard Zinn and the Importance of Radical Optimism in Dark Times
Dave Zirin is the sports editor for The Nation, a columnist for The Progressive, and the author of eight books on the politics of sports, including What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States and A People's History of Sports in the United States. His new book, The People's...
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Ep. 454: As President Trump Feels Increasingly Imperiled, His Authoritarian Grip Will Only Tighten
This is a special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Steve Cash is Executive Director of The Steady State, a nonprofit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials. He previously served as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for...
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Ep. 453: Investigative Journalist Greg Palast Explains Trump's Plot Against Democracy Through the Midterms and 2028 Presidential Election
Greg Palast is an investigative reporter whose work has been featured by The Guardian, BBC Television, and Rolling Stone. His books include the New York Times bestsellers The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits. His latest documentary is Vigilantes INC.: America's New...
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Ep. 452: Reflecting on This Very Mournful July 4 and America's 250th Anniversary in the Age of Trump
This is a special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Steve Cash is Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials. He previously served as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for...
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Ep. 451: Nell Irvin Painter Reflects on Her Landmark Book "The History of White People" and the Color Line in the Age of Trump and Beyond
Nell Irvin Painter is Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Princeton University. She also holds degrees in painting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers and the Rhode Island School of Design. Painter is the author of many books including Sojourner Truth, A Life, A Symbol; Old...
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Ep. 450: The Age of Trump Has Inflicted a Great Moral Injury on the American People
Dr. Michael Valdovinos is a board-certified clinical psychologist and U.S. Air Force veteran. His new book is Moral Injuries: When Good Conscience Suffers in a World of Hurt. His writing has appeared in The Guardian and Time Magazine. Valdovinos argues that the Age of Trump has inflicted a...
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Ep. 449: The Battle for Minneapolis and the Fight for America's Soul
Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, an ordained Baptist minister, and a leading voice on religion, civil rights, and religious freedom. He is a frequent commentator on CNN, NPR, The New York Times, and the BBC. What does it mean to be a person of faith in…
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Ep. 448: The World Is Broken and on Fire. Use Your Anger to Remake It for the Better
Fatima Bhutto is an acclaimed journalist and novelist. She is the author of the novels The Runaways and The Shadow of the Crescent Moon. Her nonfiction works include New Kings of the World and Songs of Blood and Sword. Fatima Bhutto's new book is The Hour of the Wolf: A Memoir. Her essays and…
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Ep. 447: Trump's War of Choice Against Iran is Not a Video Game or Action Movie
Jeffrey Stern is an award-winning journalist and the author of five books, including his latest, The Warhead: The Quest to Build the Perfect Weapon in the Age of Modern Warfare. His reporting has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic. Stern shares his anger at how...
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Ep. 446: Taking a Holy Ghost Walk -- Honoring the Life and Legacy of Robert Duvall and His Iconic Film "The Apostle"
This special episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show honors the life and legacy of Robert Duvall, who recently transitioned to the next plane of existence at the age of 95. Duvall's extraordinary career includes unforgettable performances in The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, To Kill a Mockingbird, and...
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Ep. 445: The Data Is Clear — A National Security Expert Assesses America's Slide into Authoritarian Rule
Steve Cash is Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials. He explains the findings of the organization's new report, Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline. Its conclusion is...
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Ep. 444: Heather McGhee on Racism, Zero-Sum Politics, and Why America Can't Have Nice Things
Heather McGhee is a leading expert in economic and social policy and the New York Times–bestselling author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. A former president of the think tank Demos, McGhee is a frequent commentator on national affairs and now serves…
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Ep. 443: Despair Is Not an Option in 2026 -- Thom Hartmann on the Next Year of Trump 2.0
Thom Hartmann is the nation's #1 progressive talk radio host and a New York Times bestselling author. His new book is The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink. Hartmann reflects on the first year of Trump 2.0 and the destruction and chaos it has…
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Ep. 442: Christmas Holiday Weekend Special -- Our Hope Tanks and Hard Times
On this special Christmas holiday episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on this very surreal and challenging year and tries to find some mirth, merriment, positive energy and joy to refill his (and our) hope tanks. Chauncey taps into the joy of childhood nostalgia and a longing for a...
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Ep. 441: From The Boondocks to Crownsville: Rodney Barnes Reflects on a Life in Storytelling
Rodney Barnes is an American screenwriter, producer, and author. He has written and produced such TV shows as The Boondocks, Everybody Hates Chris, Marvel's Runaways, American Gods, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. His graphic novels and comic…
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Ep. 440: The American Middle Class is Hanging On By a Thread in the Age of Trump
This is a special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Mechele Dickerson is the Arthur L. Moller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and author of Homeownership and America's Financial Underclass. Her new book is The...
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Ep. 439: The Human Tragedy and Exploitation of the "True Crime" Genre
John J. Lennon is a prison journalist who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in Sing Sing prison in New York. His work has been featured by such leading publications as New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and New York magazine. John's...
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Ep. 438: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall
Dr. Carol Anderson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. She is the author of several books including the New York Times bestseller White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, and One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our...
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Ep. 437: "Our Enemies Will Vanish" -- Everyday People and Ukraine's War for Independence
Yaroslav Trofimov is Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books including Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence. Yaroslav shares what he experienced on the ground in Ukraine and the moral clarity of...
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Ep. 436: The Great and Complicated Legacy of Hulk Hogan aka Terry Bollea
Professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan (real name: Terry Bollea) passed away on Thursday, July 24 in Clearwater, Florida. He was 71 years old. Hulk Hogan was and remains one of the most important figures in American and global popular culture. Hulk Hogan/Terry Bollea also leaves behind a very...
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Ep. 435: Welcome to Prison, USA
Brittany Friedman is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California. She is also a 2023-2024 American Association of University Women faculty postdoctoral fellow and an Affiliated Scholar of the American Bar Foundation, whose writing and other work have been featured...
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Ep. 434: Navigating Trumpistan and the MAGAverse One Day at a Time
Sabrina Haake is a federal trial attorney with twenty years of experience specializing in First and 14th Amendment defense. Her essays have been featured in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader, and Raw Story. Her Substack newsletter is The Haake Take. Sabrina Haake reflects on how the Age of...
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Ep. 433: How White Fear Fuels The Age of Trump
Andrew Goldberg is an Emmy-Award-winning investigative producer and journalist. He has directed 14 prime-time documentary specials for PBS/public television, and both long and short-form segments for outlets like CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC News, Live From Lincoln Center, and National Public...
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Ep. 432: Screenwriter Rob Edwards Reflects on His Life Journey From "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" to "Captain America: Brave New World"
Rob Edwards is a thirty-year veteran of movies and television who wrote and produced shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, and In Living Color before writing two classic animated films for Walt Disney Feature Animation: the Academy Awards and Golden Globe nominated The Princess...
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Ep. 431: How "Iron Mountain" and Other Conspiracy Theories Birthed the Age of Trump
Phil Tinline is the author of the new book Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today. Over the course of twenty years working for the BBC, Tinline has made and presented many acclaimed documentaries about how political history...
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Ep. 430: Trump's 100 Days, America's Empire is Rotting From Within
Norman Solomon is an author, journalist, media critic and activist. He is co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. Solomon's books include War Made Easy, and Made Love, Got War. His new book is War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll…
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Ep. 429: Honoring the Titan Nikki Giovanni
On this impromptu Easter Day installment of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on our collective discombobulation (and mass disinhibition), building our inner Noah's Ark to survive these dark times that are getting much worse and much faster with Trump's return to power, and the symbolism and...
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Ep. 428: The Age of Trump is an Extreme Moral, Ethical, and Spiritual Crisis
There are two guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Dr. Justin Frank is a former professor of psychiatry at George Washington University. He is the author of several books including Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank returns to the podcast and...
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Ep. 427: The Democrats Are Now Willingly Surrendering to Trump's MAGA Shock and Awe Campaign
This is a special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge. Professor Fish returns...
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Ep. 426: President Trump's Shock and Awe Campaign and the American People's Mental and Emotional Health
There are two guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Dr. Justin Frank is a former professor of psychiatry at George Washington University. He is the author of several books including Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank reflects on how the American...
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Ep. 425: The Truth Report -- The American People Are Being Targeted and Manipulated By a Disinformation and Propaganda War
Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and a Senior Advisor for Public Trust in Science at the Aspen Institute. He is the author of many books including On Disinformation and How to Talk to a Science Denier. Lee McIntyre explains...
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Ep. 424: Author Dayton Ward is a Caretaker of the Star Trek Universe
Dayton Ward is a New York Times bestselling author or co-author of more than forty novels and novellas. His most recent Star Trek novel is Pliable Truths. Ward's essays and other writing have been featured at Tor.com, StarTrek.com, and Syfy.com Dayton Ward reflects on his decades-long love of…
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Ep. 423: The Truth Report -- Decoding Donald Trump's Great Power and Control Over the News Media
David Altheide is the Regents' Professor Emeritus on the faculty of Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University and author of many books including his most recent, "Gonzo Governance: The Media Logic of Donald Trump." David Altheide explains how…
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Ep. 422: The Black Working Class are the Beating Heart of American Democracy
Blair Kelley is an award-winning author, historian, and scholar of the African American experience. She is currently the Joel R. Williamson Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the incoming director of the Center for the Study of the...
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Ep. 421: Author Willy Vlautin Reflects on Being a Voice for the Working Class
Willy Vlautin is the guest on this week's special Thanksgiving Day episode of the podcast. He is the author of seven novels including Lean on Pete, The Motel Life, and The Night Always Comes. His new book is The Horse. He is the founder of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines. Willy…
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Ep. 420: The Corporate Democrats and the Mainstream News Media were the Midwives For Donald Trump's MAGA Victory in the 2024 Election
There are two guests on this week's special post-Election 2024 episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Heidi Siegmund Cuda is an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, filmmaker, and bestselling author. Her Substack newsletter is Bette Dangerous. She is the co-host and producer of RADICALIZED...
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Ep. 419: Election Day 2024 is Finally Here. Harris or Trump? What Comes Next?
There are four guests on this week's special Election Day 2024 episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Joe Walsh was a Republican congressman and a leading Tea Party conservative. He is now a prominent conservative voice against Donald Trump and the host of the podcast The Social Contract with Joe...
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Ep. 419: The Truth Report -- The Lincoln Project's Stuart Stevens Predicts That Kamala Harris Will Win the 2024 Presidential Election
Stuart Stevens has worked as a strategist and consultant for the Republican Party at the highest levels including with the Dole, George W. Bush, Romney, and McCain presidential campaigns. He now serves as a senior advisor to the Lincoln Project, a political advocacy group founded by...
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Ep. 418: AEW Professional Wrestler Eddie Kingston Reflects on His Emotional and Mental Health Wellness Journey
Eddie Kingston is an American professional wrestler currently signed with AEW (All Elite Wrestling). Kingston is a twenty-year veteran who has wrestled for and held championships in leading promotions all around the world including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor (ROH). Eddie...
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Ep. 417: The Polls Show That Kamala Harris Will Likely Lose the 2024 Election to Donald Trump – Here is What She Must Do To Win
This is special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge. Professor Fish returns…
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Ep. 416: "Trump Fatigue Syndrome" and the 2024 Election
This is special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Dr. Justin Frank is a former professor of psychiatry at George Washington University. He is the author of several books including Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank explains how Donald…
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Ep. 415: Ukraine, the Middle East, and How the Future of Warfare is Here Right Now
Elliot Ackerman is both a former White House Fellow and Marine. He served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. Ackerman is also an ex–CIA paramilitary officer. Ackerman in the author of numerous books,...
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Ep. 414: Kamala Harris Destroyed Donald Trump During Their First and Now Only Debate -- What Happens Next?
There are two guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. D. Earl Stephens is the former Managing Editor at Stars and Stripes and the author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump's Very Important Letters. Stephens returns to the podcast and shares his thoughts and...
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Ep. 413: Dr. Mary Trump on Escaping the Nightmare Black Hole That is the Age of Trump and the MAGAverse
This is special joint episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Dr. Mary Trump is a clinical psychologist and businesswoman. She is also Donald Trump's niece. Mary Trump is the author of the books Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man and...
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Ep. 412: Kamala Harris Needs to Use a High Dominance Leadership Style To Defeat and Vanquish Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement
There are three guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge. Professor Fish explains how...
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Ep. 411: American Madness -- An Attempt on Donald Trump's Life and President Biden and the Democrats are in Disarray
There are three guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Mark Jacob is a media critic and a former Metro Editor at the Chicago Tribune and Sunday Editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. He explains why the mainstream news media is obsessively focusing on President Biden's health and...
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Ep. 410: The Force is Not Very Strong with Star Wars: The Acolyte
On this heat dome episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega previews (and warns about) the first debate between President Joe Biden and the Jan. 6 coup plotter and convicted felon Donald Trump. In an (unsuccessful) attempt to escape the hellish heat, Chauncey then declares a political sanctuary and...
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Ep. 409: The Truth Report -- Felon Donald Trump and The Mainstream News Media's Dangerous Obsession With "The Vibes"
Hello, good humans and members of The Chauncey DeVega Show Secular Church Family. I am continuing, as promised, to share my essays over at The Truth Report. Here is my recent essay "Making sense of the post-Trump conviction polls". You can listen to the full episode here. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?…
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About this show
The Chauncey DeVega Show is the official podcast of Salon.com politics writer Chauncey DeVega. On a weekly basis the show features a relaxed and free-form conversation with artists, authors, musicians, researchers, academics, journalists, activists, as well as Hollywood actors and directors.
Hosted by
Chauncey DeVega
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