I’m keeping this week’s round up short, since I know you have football and Thanksgiving leftovers to get to today. But I did want to make sure I expressed my gratitude for your support as The Freedom Academy passes its two-year anniversary!
One of the cool things about Substack is that it gives you lots of fun stats about your subscriber base, and I was thrilled to see that The Freedom Academy has readers from all 50 states and around the world! I am especially intrigued by the 16 subscribers in Russia and the 9 in China, who I assume are the intelligence handlers assigned to monitor my content…hopefully they are learning something (Russia and China, I am waving to you guys right now!).
Thanks so much for your support and engagement — this has truly been one of the most rewarding projects I have worked on in the last couple of years, and I look forward to continuing it in 2025!
And now, if you want to take a break from football (and are ready to start day drinking), here is my and Renato’s last pod about the potential damage Trump’s nominees could do to their respective agencies:
Noteworthy clips from this week:
I discussed what may come next following Special Counsel Jack Smith’s dismissals of the charges against Trump:
Movies worth watching:
So I have recently learned about the Museum of Political Corruption, which was started by a concerned citizen as the beginning of the first Trump administration unfolded. It’s right now only an online museum, though they are raising funds to create a brick-and-mortar one. Still, they partner with various groups and institutions to put on some great programming (I will be speaking at an event they are putting on in the spring!), and one of the things I love is their DISRUPT film series. One of their upcoming events is a live online discussion event on how to preserve democracy, which will center around the following film currently being aired on PBS, which is on my watch list for this weekend:
Upcoming events:
I am so excited to be joining my colleagues Amb. Norm Eisen and Professor Ruth Ben Ghiat for a virtual panel sponsored by the Brookings Institution on “Democracy’s next act: How to build resilience around the world.” The event will take place online at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4 — you can find the link here to join!
NEW! Zoom Office Hours, Wednesday, December 5, 5-6 p.m. We’ll discuss the latest. Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers three hours before the event. This will not be recorded.
Guest speaker Ruth Ben Ghiat, author of Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present, on Sunday, January 5, at 8 p.m. EST. Ruth and I will springboard from the Brookings talk to take hard look at what lies ahead in the coming Trump administration, and how to prepare for the worst while remaining active and engaged. We promise to leave you with action steps and hope, so please join us!
Thank you again for your support and have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
Congratulations on two years. We really appreciate you.
Asha, one of the bright lights I can follow.. Gary