Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

This week, Stacey opens the show cautioning Americans to watch and learn from Brazil’s election results, where Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva surprised everyone with a victory, and his right wing opponent Flavio Bolsonaro called for the election to be annulled. As we brace for our own midterm elections in just one week, she gets into how the Justice Department is weaponizing power and practicing voter suppression against Americans from the bottom up, most recently attacking voters in California. So, what does free and fair voting require? Stacey talks to Jen Psaki, host of MSNOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki and former White House press secretary, about the larger motives behind what Republicans are chasing ahead of the midterms, how Democrats can remain hopeful but strategic in their messaging, and what to expect on and ahead of November 3rd.
Learn & Do More: 

BE CURIOUS: For more insightful analysis of the political moment we’re in, check out Jen Psaki’s show on MSNOW, The Briefing with Jen Psaki and her weekly Q&A on MS NOW Membership. 

SOLVE PROBLEMS: We’re days away from the midterms, and every little thing you do can still help. Think about your legislative candidates, candidates for Senate, House or Governor, and donate or sign up to volunteer. Organizations like EMILY’s List at emilyslist.org, Run For Something at runforsomething.net, and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee at dlcc.org are great places to look for ways to help. You can also look up who is running in your area to give directly and get involved. 

DO GOOD: Defeating authoritarianism takes thousands of small actions, and a lot of them start in somebody’s living room. Autocrats rely on confusion, apathy and fear. We rely on each other. That starts with building trust with a few neighbors on your block. Download Plurality, a free app that helps you organize in your neighborhood and connect with people nearby. The 10 Steps Campaign has ready-to-use event blueprints on Plurality designed to make civic organizing as easy as hosting a dinner party. Pick one, post your event on Plurality and tag @10StepsCampaign on social media so your neighbors can find it.

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How are affordability and corruption connected? Professor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich joins Stacey to unpack rising gas prices and the cost of living, why he sees Trump’s White House as a symptom  of a much deeper culture of government corruption, and what’s at stake in the upcoming midterm elections.
Then, they discuss how 2026 is shaping up to resemble a new “Gilded Age,” marked by extreme wealth inequality and a government struggling to address the consequences. Stacey also sits down with Sheila Nix, CEO of the Mobile Voting Project, to discuss voter suppression, expanding access to the ballot, and how bringing mobile voting to all 50 states could help increase voter turnout.
Learn & Do More: 

BE CURIOUS: For more sharp insight into the economy and how corruption affects us all, follow Robert Reich on Substack and check out his course on wealth and inequality. Also, check out his new book Coming Up Short and his new film The Work in Progress.

SOLVE PROBLEMS: State and local elected officials play critical roles in protecting our democracy. School board members, city council members, county commissioners, state legislators, and judges are the officials closest to our communities. Right now, they’re some of the most targeted, especially women. Threats, harassment, doxxing, even political prosecution. Too many elected women spend their first year in office shocked by how bad it is, and most of them face it alone. Women’s Democracy Lab is changing that. They build safety and support infrastructure for women in state and local office, because when you make it safe for the most targeted, you make it safe for everyone. We work hard to elect bold leaders. Join them in making sure those leaders can stay.
Give: Help fund rapid-response support for a woman under threat. Go to womensdemocracylab.org.

Share it with an elected official you know: If she’s facing threats, she can reach WDL at safety@womensdemocracylab.org for direct support.

Show up for your local elected officials: Go to the meeting. Show your support. Report harassment when you see it.

Stay connected: Sign up for WDL’s updates and follow their work at hello@womensdemocracylab.org.

DO GOOD: As prices continue to soar, food insecurity remains an urgent problem. Ten Steps partner 901 Community Fridges is committed to fighting food insecurity in Memphis by partnering with neighborhoods to place fridges stocked with food and sundries in the areas where they’re needed most. If you’re in the Memphis region, check outhttps://10stepscampaign.org/partners to learn more and get involved. You can also look for opportunities in your local community to address hunger by supporting.

Become a subscriber to Crooked Media! It’s the best way to directly support us as we build an independent, pro-democracy media company. Subscribers get exclusive benefits, like bonus podcasts, newsletters and more. 
Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends or wherever you listen to podcasts.
You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Fascism has gotten a facelift, and we’ve got tech oligarchs, religious extremists, and ethnonationalists to thank. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, co-authors of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World, sit down with Stacey to unpack how certain groups of fascists believe the end times of our society are not only inevitable, but are invested in precipitating our collapse while ensuring they are the elite few destined to survive. They also discuss the “wealth-rapture,” how extreme economic inequality has created fertile ground for fascists to thrive, and how this new brand of fascism can be stopped if we fight for empathy, equality, and universal rights during this administration and beyond.
Learn & Do More: 

Be Curious: Pick up a copy of Naomi and Astra’s book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World. 

Solve Problems: On October 17th, No Kings, Common Cause, and other 10 Steps campaign partners are taking part in a national day of action, mobilizing their communities to vote early in the midterm elections. Visitnokings.org or protectthevote.net to make a plan to vote or find and host an event near you. Even if early voting hasn’t yet started in your state, there are plenty of ways to get involved and make sure everyone shows up for these elections.

Do Good: The horrors of capital punishment have recently made headlines. Whether you support ending the practice, as I do, or believe it needs reform, there is more we can do to make a difference. Visit the Equal Justice Initiative to support their important work to end mass incarceration and excessive punishment and challenge racial and economic injustice. The ACLU has a list of reputable organizations working to reform the death penalty, and we’ll link to it in the show notes.

You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

Can we make injustice unprofitable? Author and former president of Color Of Change Rashad Robinson joins Stacey to discuss how we can come together to confront authoritarianism, make it harder for bad actors to profit from harming individuals, and hold corporations accountable. They explore the connection between the fight for a stronger economy and a functioning democracy, why voters of color particularly in the South are not a monolith, and why bipartisanship is a legal ethos, not simply a political strategy. Robinson also discusses his new book,  From Presence to Power: How to Take On the Fights That Matter—and Win, and why visibility, protests, hashtags, and media attention aren’t the same as building real power. 
Learn & Do More:

Be Curious: To learn more about how to not just take action, but work towards building sustained power, pick up a copy of Rashad’s new book, From Presence to Power: How to Take on the Fights That Matter – and Win. 

Solve Problems: As we look ahead to the midterms, supporting and mobilizing voters of color is essential. Visit the Ten Steps Campaign website at 10STEPSCAMPAIGN.ORG to check out our partners that help build political power for these communities. Organizations like Voto Latino at VOTOLATINO.ORG, Higher Heights for America at HIGHERHEIGHTSFORAMERICA.ORG, and others are mobilizing volunteers—so find an organization at the national and local level, and let’s get to work

Do Good: Kids have already started school, and with states across the country facing cuts in SNAP benefits, childhood hunger and the ability to learn are growing more dire. Please visit NOKIDHUNGRY.ORG to find out how you can help children in your community.

Also, last week, three red states sued three blue states in the Supreme Court of the United States. Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas want the Court to strike down the abortion shield laws in California, Massachusetts and New York. Those are the laws that protect doctors who prescribe abortion pills by telehealth to patients in states that have banned abortion. Here’s how you can help: 
Commit. Know what’s coming. Read your own state's shield law, if you have one. Twenty-two states and D.C. do. If your state is one of them, it's in the Supreme Court's crosshairs now, even if it isn't named in this case. If you have one of these states' attorneys general, ask them publicly whether they plan to defend the law or file a brief supporting it. And bookmark this podcast so you can share it with others.
Deny. Don't let them justify this violation of civil rights. Whether it’s at your dinner table or in your group chat, a familiar pattern is about to unfold. Cousins will say these doctors are dealing drugs. Friends will say that shield laws allow criminals to be sheltered from consequences. Wrong. These doctors are practicing legal medicine under FDA rules the Supreme Court left in place in May. Support the organizations defending them, like the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, and the abortion funds that help women pay for care. Visit the National Network of Abortion Funds to donate and directly support access to abortion care.
Elect. On November 3rd, four states will vote on abortion directly. In Missouri, voters will decide whether to repeal the abortion rights amendment they passed just two years ago. Nevada and Virginia will vote on putting abortion protections in their constitutions, and Idaho will vote on whether to restore access through viability. If you live in one of those states, vote, and bring three people with you. If you don't, find a campaign in one of them and call or text voters from home. Also, remember, most states will elect state leaders  on Nov. 3. Look at your own ballot for attorney general and governor, because those are the offices that decide whether a shield law gets defended or a doctor gets extradited. Send your friends emails about what’s happening, and remind them that this is not a drill.

This week, Stacey opens the show with a warning about why Americans need to closely watch Brazil’s elections on October 4th and what it means as we fight back against authoritarianism here at home. Then she gets into AI: the daily headlines about how fast the technology is developing, a growing list of incidents where AI has gone outside of human control, and the snail's pace at which Washington is dealing with the problem…. are all painting a very grim picture. So can AI still be stopped?
This week, Stacey is joined by Susan Rice, a former United Nations Ambassador, National Security Advisor to Barack Obama and Domestic Policy Advisor to Joe Biden. Ambassador Rice lays out the case for how we can still regulate AI, why the UN is stuck in gridlock on global issues of this magnitude, and why voters making their voices heard is so critical this November.
Learn & Do More:

Be Curious: To learn more about the companies that, for better or worse, are shaping our AI future, pick up a copy of Karen Hao’s excellent book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s Open AI. 

Solve Problems: The Ten Steps Campaign continues to add new partners. Visit 10stepscampaign.org/partnersto find a local cause you care about. This week we want to spotlight the Southern Legal Center for Youth, which provides free civil legal support to young people ages 12-24 in Georgia. Visit SLCY.org to learn more, donate, and get involved. 

Do Good: The East coast is being pummelled by storms this weekend, which can cause flooding and power outages. Check on your friends and neighbors, particularly those who are elderly or in need of medical support, and make sure they are safe.

You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.