The Truth Report with Chauncey DeVega

Chauncey DeVega

The truth will set you free. Each week on "The Truth Report", Salon politics and culture writer Chauncey DeVega searches for personal, philosophical, empirical, and moral truth with New York Times best-selling authors, leading opinion makers and other experts on politics, history, social justice, the creative arts, human rights, the economy, technology, and the Age of Trump. read less
NewsNews

Episodes

Ep. 133: Dr. Bandy Lee Warns That Trumpism Is a Public Health Emergency Which is Reaching Terminal Levels For American Democracy and Society
Jan 12 2024
Ep. 133: Dr. Bandy Lee Warns That Trumpism Is a Public Health Emergency Which is Reaching Terminal Levels For American Democracy and Society
Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist and a leading expert on violence who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years before transferring her activities to Columbia and Harvard. Dr. Lee is also the editor of the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. She is currently president of the World Mental Health Coalition, the largest professional organization to address the problem of dangerous leadership and its contribution to a “mental health pandemic.” Dr. Lee continues to warn that Trump and his MAGA movement and American neofascism constitute a public health emergency, which as seen on Jan. 6 and with Trump’s escalating threats of massive violence and destruction is only continuing to get worse. She also warns that Trump’s megalomania and the enduring power of the MAGA cult reflects how American society is sick with malignant normality and how that collective state of evil and pathological behavior can only lead to doom and destruction.  Dr. Lee reflects on where the country would now be if the news media, political class, and other elites had responded properly to the warnings issued by mental health professionals more than seven years ago that Donald Trump represented an extreme threat to American society and that his obvious unwellness would spread and infect the nation if he were to become president – and if he wins the 2024 Election Dictator for Life will become a terminal disease for American democracy and society.  WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com or directly here:
Ep. 132: On Jan. 6 Capitol Hill Police Officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell Defended American Democracy From Donald Trump's Coup Attempt and MAGA Attack Force
Dec 21 2023
Ep. 132: On Jan. 6 Capitol Hill Police Officer Sgt. Aquilino Gonell Defended American Democracy From Donald Trump's Coup Attempt and MAGA Attack Force
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is a Dominican immigrant, former U.S. Army Soldier, and Iraq War veteran. He’s been a Capitol Hill Police Officer for the past 17 years and was one of four police officers who testified before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Insurrection. He’s been recently featured in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS Mornings, NBC News, Fox-TV, MSNBC, The Daily Beast, The Hill, and Rolling Stone. He is the recipient of the Carnegie Immigrant Award. Sgt. Gonell’s new book (with co-author Susan Shapiro) is American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy. Sgt. Gonell shares what it was like on the ground as he and his fellow officers tried to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6 against Trump’s MAGA terrorist mob and attack force who were trying to end American democracy as part of the coup attempt. Sgt. Gonell also reflects on his personal trauma, healing, questions of character, and how he became the type of man he is as shown by his service to the country when it would have been much easier to not have shown up to work on that historic Jan. 6. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com or directly here:
Ep. 122: The Republican Party's "Red Tide" of Fascist Sewage Didn't Fully Drown the American People
Nov 17 2022
Ep. 122: The Republican Party's "Red Tide" of Fascist Sewage Didn't Fully Drown the American People
*** This is a special combined episode of The Truth Report and The Chauncey DeVega Show*** Jeff Sharlet is a journalist and bestselling author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. His forthcoming book is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. Sharlet reflects on the meaning of the 2022 midterms and how the American people voted to slow down the Republican fascist assault on their democracy and by doing so won an important reprieve in what will be a very long struggle. He also counsels that hope is very important and a source of strength and fuel in the long war for American democracy. Sharlet also highlights how writing and community and other forms of creating social capital will be a bulwark and source of resistance and fuel against the Republican fascists, the larger white right, and other forms of civic evil. Chauncey shares his insights on the 2022 midterms, what the polling data and other evidence really shows about how the American people voted to support “democracy” (or not), and counsels that many countervailing forces were at work on election day. Ultimately, Chauncey warns that the final story about the 2022 midterms is far from being written and that the conventional wisdom will likely be proven wrong again. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow
Ep. 121: American Democracy and Freedom are on the Ballot in the 2022 Midterm Elections
Nov 7 2022
Ep. 121: American Democracy and Freedom are on the Ballot in the 2022 Midterm Elections
*** This is a special combined episode of The Truth Report and The Chauncey DeVega Show*** David Neiwert is an investigative journalist. He is the author of numerous books including Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump, The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, and Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories That Are Killing Us. His forthcoming book is The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right's Assault on American Democracy. Neiwert warns that there is a high potential for right-wing violence in response to the midterms and beyond. He also explains how the Republican fascists and larger white right have been planning their attempt to end American democracy in plain sight for decades – and that the Age of Trump and this escalating democracy crisis should not be a surprise. And he reflects on what it feels like to have been sounding the alarm about American neofascism and the violent extremism of the American right-wing for decades and to not have been listened to. David Rothkopf is the CEO of The Rothkopf group. He was also a senior official in the Clinton Administration and CEO and editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy Magazine. He is the author of many books and articles including the new book American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation. Rothkopf is a frequent contributor to such leading news media outlets as The Washington Post, The New York Times, Financial Times, Time, CNN, and Newsweek. Rothkopf is also the host of the podcast Deep State Radio. David Rothkopf explains why being calm and focused is necessary to defeat the Republican fascists and the larger white right’s attempt to end American democracy. In the end, panic is a recipe for disaster – and is exactly what the Republican fascists and their forces want to create among the American people. He warns that voter turnout and mobilization are one of the few ways to stop the Republican fascists and their campaign against American democracy during the 2022 midterms and beyond. And Rothkopf reflects on what he learned from his time in the Clinton administration and why there can be no compromise with today’s Republican fascists and why doing so is to surrender and betray American democracy and freedom. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow
Ep. 119: The South Side of Chicago is Not a Problem to be Solved, It is a Home for the American Spirit
Sep 1 2022
Ep. 119: The South Side of Chicago is Not a Problem to be Solved, It is a Home for the American Spirit
Sudhir Venkatesh is the William B Ransford Professor of Sociology and African-American Studies at Columbia University. His books include Floating City and Gang Leader for a Day. Sudhir Venkatesh’s new book is The Tomorrow Game: Rival Teenagers, Their Race for a Gun, and a Community United to Save Them. He reflects upon his 30-year relationship with the South Side of Chicago and how racism and classism distort the complex truth about that community and the people who live there. Sudhir Venkatesh also explains the importance of listening, respect, and allowing people to tell their own life stories and how sociologists – and people more generally in this moment of democracy crisis and other troubles – can benefit from learning that lesson. In this wide-ranging conversation, he also grapples with how American higher education and its most elite institutions have failed to rise to the challenge in this moment of ascendant fascism, the coronavirus pandemic, gangster capitalism, and other great crises. Sudhir Venkatesh also shares his thoughts on the critically acclaimed HBO TV series The Wire, and how contrary to the wishes of many white liberals and others who want easy answers while being entertained, it is not some type of definitive text and the authoritative final word about “urban poverty” and crime in America. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com
Ep. 118: Nuclear Espionage? More Proof That Donald Trump is The Worst President in American History and a Traitor
Aug 17 2022
Ep. 118: Nuclear Espionage? More Proof That Donald Trump is The Worst President in American History and a Traitor
*** This is a special combined episode of The Truth Report and The Chauncey DeVega Show*** Brynn Tannehill is a leading trans activist and essayist. She has written for such leading publications as The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and The Advocate. Tannehill is a former United States Naval Aviator and officer who also served as a campaign analyst for the 5th Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain. After leaving the military, she worked as a senior defense research scientist in private industry. Tannehill is the author of several books including American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy. Tannehill explains that the Republican-fascist movement is in full revolutionary mode and will not stop until America’s pluralistic multiracial democracy is destroyed. She highlights the need to use the correct moral language to describe the Republican-fascists and Trump-led anti-democracy movement as evil and why the Democratic Party and too many centrist “reasonable” liberal and progressive types are unable to do what is necessary to save American democracy. Tannehill also separates fact from fiction regarding what is actually known about Donald Trump being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and betraying America’s nuclear and other most closely guarded secrets. She details a scenario where Donald Trump is (finally) arrested and charged with committing high crimes, then escapes responsibility, and the United States spirals into widespread neofascist violence and other deadly mayhem. Chauncey DeVega reflects on the pressures of writing “hot takes” about America’s escalating crises, why so many public voices succumb to chasing controversy and “if it bleeds it leads”, and the necessity of being calm, cool, and collected during this national emergency. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com
Ep. 117: Eddie Glaude Explains That America is in Great Pain and on a Horrible Journey and White Racial Innocence Will Not Save It
Jul 18 2022
Ep. 117: Eddie Glaude Explains That America is in Great Pain and on a Horrible Journey and White Racial Innocence Will Not Save It
Eddie Glaude Jr. is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. His publications include "Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul", "In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America", and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, "Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own". Professor Glaude has also written for The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and Time and is a frequent guest commentator on MSNBC. He is also the host of the new podcast “History is US”.   Professor Glaude explains how American society is stuck in a state of grieving, loss, death, and pain because of the covid pandemic, neofascism, and the other unresolved and worsening existential crises facing the country.   He also reflects on how Black Americans and their Blues Sensibility has gifted them with a unique insight into and capacity for surviving and triumphing over American fascism and the many related lies and myths that (White) Americans tell themselves about the country Professor Glaude warns that white racial innocence and an American culture that is infantile, immature, and in profound denial about reality will likely bring the end of the American experiment. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com
Ep. 116: Day-to-Day Advice on Getting Your Balance and Momentum for the Long Fight Against American and Global Neofascism
Jul 2 2022
Ep. 116: Day-to-Day Advice on Getting Your Balance and Momentum for the Long Fight Against American and Global Neofascism
On this special installment of The Truth Report, Chauncey DeVega reflects on the fascist tsunami and escalating disaster that is a rogue Supreme Court that has taken away women’s reproductive rights, the “revelations” that Trump’s coup plot was even more dangerous than most among the chattering class and centrist punditry hope-peddlers wanted to admit, and other happenings that have left so many Americans off balance and in a state of despair. As part of that reflection, Chauncey offers some advice about what you can do on a day-to-day basis to center yourself and regain your balance and momentum for what will be a very long fight against American and global neofascism.    You can listen to the entire episode 362 of The Chauncey DeVega Show – with guest Jeff Sharlet – where this segment originally appeared at the link below: https://thechaunceydevegashow.libsyn.com/ep-362-jeff-sharlets-journey-into-the-dark-heart-of-the-american-fascist-nightmare-fever-dream WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Music at the end of this week's episode of The Truth Report is by JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound. You can listen to some of their great music on Spotify.
Ep. 114: The Battle to Save American Democracy From the Republican-Fascists Will Be Long and Difficult -- And Quitting Is Not an Option
May 3 2022
Ep. 114: The Battle to Save American Democracy From the Republican-Fascists Will Be Long and Difficult -- And Quitting Is Not an Option
Don Winslow is a bestselling crime fiction author, political activist, a hope warrior, and one of our premiere truth-tellers. His videos about the dangers to democracy embodied by Donald Trump and the Republican Party have been viewed online more than 250 million times. Don Winslow is the author of many bestselling novels, including "Savages" (2010), "The Cartel" (2015), "The Force" (2017), and "The Border" (2019). His work has also been adapted for major Hollywood movies and TV series. His new book, the first in a trilogy, is "City on Fire." He explains that the struggle to save American democracy will be a very long one and that exhaustion, quitting, and surrender are not options. Winslow also warns that Donald Trump and his cabal will escape serious punishment for their crimes and why naïve optimism is the enemy of democracy and the long struggle against the global right. Don Winslow also offers advice on writing and his vocation, and the lessons about life and being a good father, husband, man, and citizen that he learned from his role-models and mentors. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE TRUTH REPORT? Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheTruthReportPodcast Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Music at the end of this week's episode of The Truth Report is by JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound. You can listen to some of their great music on Spotify.