Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Economist Amartya Sen won a Nobel in part for asking: Why did India avoid the mass famines that killed tens of millions in China? His answer: a free press. Journalists could expose suffering and shame governments into action. Silence and avoidance, by contrast, can be deadly.

How climate messaging should be done

Hi Everyone, on Aug 1 at 1-2pmET over at Substack I am doing an AMA about authoritarianism and #Strongmen. Just download the app, enable notifications and look for the join link at 1!

1/ Very moving interview.

Coach of a college prep baseball team on UWS NYC speaks about half dozen armed ICE agents approaching and harassing the kids (Latino and black youth, all U.S. citizens).

"I am willing to die today" to protect the kids.

Is the US military poised to experience a new surge in conscientious objectors? For troops experiencing ethical dilemmas, following one's conscience can be costly.

Hotline callers were saying, “I do not want to be part of pointing a gun at US citizens and maybe shooting it.”

Network of concentration camps would be fascist Miller's dream come true

Bye!

Mystified as to why DOJ’s withholding of the Epstein files so upsets Trump’s base?

It’s simple.

👉 A third of MAGA Republicans are QAnon.

👉 QAnon teaches that government, media, and financial elites are Satanic sex-trafficking pedophiles.

prri.org/spotlight/th...

DHS posts explicitly Christian nationalist and violent video about how ICE/CBP is delivering the Lord's justice

An example of not obeying in advance.

Holocaust Survivor Bernard Marks, 87 survivor of Auschwitz & Dachau confronting elected sheriff & I.C.E. Director

incredible

Personal bond (Bolsonaro's son was at the WH on Jan 5 2021 meeting with Jared and Ivanka 🤔) and Brazil holding Bolsonaro accountable is deeply threatening to Trump.

very important book

YouTube video by WIRED History Professor Answers Dictator Questions | Tech Support | WIRED

Too many things happening today are exactly what she's talking about. @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social nails it. Just sad it took me so long to find this video.

Sounds like Fascism

The Cult of Elon Musk (Part 2) Sounds Like A Cult · Episode

Love the whole pod, and of course the best bit is the #teslatakedown shout out at about 1:03:00! Thanks @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social and the Sounds like a Cult crew! #MuskMustFall open.spotify.com/episode/5K3V...

There will now be 10,000 new ICE agents & 100,000 new detention beds--and few safeguards protecting people from constitutional violations by the feds.

Time for states to pass laws allowing people to sue fed agents. Read about it these "converse-1983" statutes here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

👀

Fascist Dynamics: criminality is institutionalized

A diseased and impoverished nation is easier to control.

Trump now copies Putin's gold phone. This is pathetic.

Thank you

Classic authoritarian tactic, updated for 21st c

merci!

Original!

Read my latest Lucid essay, The Iran Strike as a Holy War: open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/...

Great piece!

What Mamdani Means Something good can happen in this damnable country.

We're not just trying for harm reduction anymore. There's a future now.

open.substack.com/pub/virginia...

Bar chart titled “The Supreme Court vs. The Lower Courts: Rulings on the Trump Administration” showing three horizontal bar charts for May 1-June 23, 2025. Federal District Courts: large red bar (82 cases, 94.3% against) with tiny green bar (5 cases, 5.7% for). Circuit Courts of Appeal: medium red bar (15 cases, 68.2% against) with smaller green bar (7 cases, 31.8% for). Supreme Court: tiny red bar (1 case, 6.3% against) with large green bar (15 cases, 93.7% for). Shows dramatic reversal from lower courts ruling against Trump administration to Supreme Court ruling for it.

Since May:

Federal district courts have ruled against Trump admin 94% of the time.

Supreme Court has sided with the Trump admin 94% of the time.

A judiciary at war with itself.