The Tech Billionaire Plan to Destroy Democracy | Gil Duran | TMR

Jun 20, 2026 | Gil Duran, publisher of the Nerd Reich newsletter, joins to discuss John O’Farrell a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz who recently quit the VC firm over their prioritizing of AI hype over the common good. You can preorder Gil’s book “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley’s Fascism and the War on Democracy” here.

People like Peter Thiel may WANT to live forever, but even though I am no doctor, I can assure him that he will not. Just look at how much and how quickly Peter Thiel has aged in just a few years! Peter Thiel and people like him are living in a land of make-believe. They are totally and utterly delusional. — © Mark Alexander

This Is Oligarchy: Elon Musk Becomes World's First TRILLIONAIRE with SpaceX IPO

Jun 13, 2026 | Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire, with the IPO of his company SpaceX. He is a symbol of how the United States has become an oligarchy, where elections are bought by rich elites and large corporations, and extreme wealth is concentrated in a few hands. Ben Norton explains.

This is just the start! Now we have one trillionaire. How long will it be before we have many? That we have trillionaires at all is the result of Reaganomics and Thatcherism. That political duo were the start of this INSANITY. And the WEAK political leaders the West has had to tolerate ever since have allowed this nonsense to take shape. That we had multi-billionaires hundreds of times over was bad enough, but now, with the start of the trillionaire class developing, things are about to take a turn for the worse. Bleak times lie ahead for us little people! Goodbye democracy; hello servitude! — © Mark Alexander

"How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies": Northwestern Prof Jeffrey Winters on Book "The Blind Spot"

May 27, 2026 | We speak with political scientist Jeffrey Winters about his new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies. Winters argues that democracy's failure to address wealth inequality is by design. While voters have a say on some issues, oligarchs, who succeed in maintaining economic inequality by fighting against wealth redistribution, have more power.

"Liberal democracies around the world are now among the most unequal societies ever to have existed in human history," says Winters.


Democracy Now! can be supported here.

5 Signs a Democracy Is Breaking (What to Do)

April 30, 2026

Trump's America - Is US Democracy in Danger? | DW Documentary

May 23, 2026 | Nations once considered beacons of democracy are under attack. Many countries around the world are moving toward authoritarianism and jeopardizing once staunchly protected democratic values. Among them: the USA.

The new DW documentary series, "Democracy Under Attack," is an urgent look into the heart of these conflicts. It puts a spotlight on countries where democratic values have long been taken for granted.

In an ever-increasingly fractured world, how resilient are today's democracies? Making sense of these questions is Turkish investigative journalist Can Dündar, who has lived in exile in Germany since 2016.

In the DW Documentary original series, "Guardians of Truth," he brought stories from Mexico, Belarus, and his home country, Turkey. He met people who, like him, faced the brutal consequences of corrupt institutions and the suppression of a free press.

Having lived the realities of increasing authoritarianism first-hand, Dündar believes it's time to sound the alarm that more and more democracies are under attack.

The premiere episode of "Democracy Under Attack: Can Dündar and Trump's America" takes viewers to the United States. In 2026, the USA will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding. The country, which has often been called the cradle of modern democracy, is under enormous pressure: The political camps are almost irreconcilably opposed to each other.

For many observers, President Donald Trump is governing in an increasingly authoritarian manner, and he and his supporters fiercely attack their critics.

In the film, directors Can Dündar and Demid Sheronkin meet one such person who has become a target. Mark Bray, a Rutgers professor, was denounced as "Dr. Antifa" and later received death threats after members from the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA launched a petition to get him fired from the university. He and his family fled the country for Spain.

Moving between US college campuses and a political convention, talking to student activists, Turning Point USA members, and professors, the documentary presents a tense collision of competing visions of democracy.

What is the state of freedom of expression and democracy in the United States of America? Is US democracy really in danger?

Back to Autocracy - A Short-lived Win for Democracy in Tunisia | DW Documentary

May 10, 2026 | The Revolution of Freedom and Dignity took place in Tunisia in 2010. In 2024, President Kais Saied was re-elected by a large majority. In 2019, he was still seen as a man of integrity and loyal to the constitution. Today, Saied’s ruling style is autocratic.

In December 2010, the self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi sparked what became known as the Revolution of Freedom and Dignity. The spark spread throughout the region and became the starting point of the Arab Spring.

With the flight of Tunisian ruler Ben Ali in January 2011, a decade of hope began: free elections, an internationally praised constitution, and political pluralism that was exceptional for the region. But the democratic experiment faltered. Islamist influence, political infighting and an ever-deepening economic crisis caused the initial euphoria to fade. Disappointed young people took to the streets once again, chanting "work, freedom and national dignity".

In this politically-torn country, a reserved professor of constitutional law entered the scene: Kais Saied. His demonstrative independence from the political establishment and his supposed loyalty to the ideals of the revolution made him a beacon of hope for many. But after Saied's surprise election in 2019 and his overwhelming re-election in 2024, things took a drastic turn. Saied concentrated power in his own hands, brought the judiciary into line, marginalized the opposition and restricted press freedom.

Step by step, he undermined Tunisia's young democracy - while the international community focused primarily on protecting Europe's external borders and barely reacted.

This documentary hears from witnesses and airs previously unpublished archive material to paint a vivid picture of political change: from the enthusiasm of the revolutionary years to the authoritarian developments that, 15 years later, appear to be a definitive betrayal of the hopes of the Arab Spring.

Jon Meacham: Trump Introduced a Virus into Democracy | Amanpour & Co.

Feb 18, 2026 | An exhibit featuring people enslaved by George Washington must be restored to its original place. This is the ruling of a federal judge after the Trump administration had the display removed from Philadelphia's National Historical Park last month. Renowned presidential historian Jon Meacham argues that the move was part of the administration's campaign to sanitize America's history. Meacham’s new book, “American Struggle,” takes us back to critical moments in American history in which disagreements over the meaning and direction of American society were in focus. Meacham joins Walter Isaacson. | Originally aired on February 18, 2026

‘Washington Is a Kleptocracy’ — How Close Is US Democracy to Collapse?

Feb 17, 2025 | “Washington today is a kleptocracy… [America is] much closer to the end of democracy than most other Western democracies.

In part two of this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, Mehdi Hasan continues his conversation with Financial Times’ editor and columnist Edward Luce to unpack foreign policy under Trump 2.0 and dive into whether or not Trump will actually use military force to annex Greenland.

Luce also explains the ’Trump effect’ on countries like Canada and the UK, trade deals with China and if Britain can take a leadership role outside of the EU. They also discuss how American democracy is on the brink of collapse.

How Peter Thiel Is Destroying Democracy

Dec 7, 2025 | This is Peter Thiel - a major player in Silicon Valley who wants to transform humanity. But what does he actually want? What’s his problem with democracy? And is there an endgame?

Chris Hedges on Trump, Epstein and the Decline of American Democracy | UpFront

Feb 7, 2026 | One year into Donald Trump’s return to office, a wave of hard line actions - from volatile ICE raids to growing concern over political pressure on the media - has raised alarm about the expansion of the president’s power.

Then with US midterms approaching, attention is turning to whether there is any meaningful challenge to Republican grip on Congress.

So what happens next? This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with journalist and author Chris Hedges about Trump’s second presidency and whether US democracy is on the decline.

Will Trump Trigger a New World War? | Max Hastings

Jan 30, 2026 | The legendary historian Max Hastings on NATO, China, democracy — and whether today’s world resembles 1914.

In this episode of Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by Sir Max Hastings — one of Britain’s most distinguished military historians, journalists, and former newspaper editors — for a wide-ranging conversation about war, power, and the fate of the Western order. They explore whether today’s fractured international system bears dangerous similarities to 1914, the impact of Donald Trump on U.S. foreign policy, Europe’s strategic vulnerability, NATO’s future, the rise of authoritarianism, and the challenges posed by Russia and China. Drawing on decades of scholarship and reportage, Hastings reflects on nationalism, Brexit, technology’s growing political power, and the enduring strengths — and vulnerabilities — of democratic societies in an age of renewed great-power rivalry.

American Democracy on the Brink a Year after Trump’s Election, Experts Say

THE GUARDIAN: Scale and speed of president’s moves have stunned observers of authoritarian regimes – is the US in democratic peril?

Three hundred and sixty-five days after Donald Trump placed his hand on the Bible and completed an extraordinary return to power, many historians, scholars and experts say his presidency has pushed American democracy to the brink – or beyond it.

In the first year of Trump’s second term, the democratically elected US president has moved with startling speed to consolidate authority: dismantling federal agencies, purging the civil service, firing independent watchdogs, sidelining Congress, challenging judicial rulings, deploying federal force in blue cities, stifling dissent, persecuting political enemies, targeting immigrants, scapegoating marginalized groups, ordering the capture of a foreign leader, leveraging the presidency for profit, trampling academic freedom and escalating attacks on the news media.

The scale and velocity of what he has been able to accomplish in just a year have stunned even longtime observers of authoritarian regimes, pushing the debate among academics and Americans from whether the world’s oldest continuous democracy is backsliding to whether it can still faithfully claim that distinction.

“In 2025, the United States ceased to be a full democracy in the way that Canada, Germany or even Argentina are democracies,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, the prominent Harvard political scientists and authors of How Democracies Die, and the University of Toronto professor Lucan Way, wrote in Foreign Affairs last month. They argued that the US under Trump had “descended into competitive authoritarianism”, a system in which elections are held but the ruling party abuses power to stifle dissent and tilt the playing field in its favor. » | Lauren Gambino | Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Trump's Project 2026: How American Democracy Gets Dismantled by Stealth

Jan 1, 2026 | Donald Trump’s political project is often misunderstood as a campaign, a presidency, or a movement. This video argues it is something far more dangerous: a sustained effort to hollow out democratic constraints until elections still happen—but no longer decide outcomes. From the Big Lie and January 6 to loyalty tests, voter suppression, gerrymandering, and narrative control, this analysis traces how elections can be deformed without ever being formally abolished. It examines how rules are rewritten, institutions weakened, and doubt normalized—so that defeat is treated as illegitimate and intervention becomes “justified.” This is not about one election. It’s about whether American democracy remains real or becomes performative.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Post-Truth Is Pre-Fascism: Can We Still Save American Democracy?

Dec 11, 2025 | “Post-truth is pre-fascism.” In this conversation, we dig into what that actually means for the United States right now — the state of American democracy, the collapse of local news, tech oligarchs, social media, and even the impossible question: how do you know when it’s time to leave?

We talk about why democracy is not a thing you have but something you do, why facts are a form of protection for the least powerful among us, and how “both-sides” coverage and endless online outrage are quietly doing the work of authoritarians for them.

Thom Hartmann: Are We Watching Democracy Collapse?

Nov 28, 2025 | Corruption is at a level America has NEVER seen before.

Brian Klaas: “The United States Is Now a Competitive Authoritarian System”

LSE: Is the United States still a democracy? In an interview with EUROPP’s editor Stuart Brown, Brian Klaas discusses Donald Trump’s impact on American and global democracy.

I would say the United States is now a “competitive authoritarian” system. This is political science jargon for countries that have the trappings of democracy, but without a level playing field.

In other words, there is genuine competition in the United States between political parties and democratic institutions persist, but the state is able to manipulate outcomes to its advantage, disadvantage its opponents and use state power in illegitimate or undemocratic ways with little to no recourse against it.

Political scientists continue to debate this topic, but few would classify the United States as a robust democracy. It is either a democracy in crisis that is barely clinging onto the label, or one that has tipped over the edge into competitive authoritarianism – and I believe it’s the latter. » | Brian Klaas | Friday, September 19, 2025

Are We Losing Our Democracy?

THE NEW TORK TIMES: Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12.

Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China. But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues. We offer these 12 markers as a warning of how much Americans have already lost and how much more we still could lose. » | The Editorial Board | The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. | Friday, October 31, 2025

What Would You Do If Democracy Was Being Dismantled Before Your Eyes? Whatever You’re Doing Right Now

THE GUARDIAN — OPINION: In California, daily life under Trump is marked by sporadic resistance and avoidance. Neither will defeat the autocrats

How would you behave if your democracy was being dismantled? In most western countries, that used to be an academic question. Societies where this process had happened, such as Germany in the 1930s, seemed increasingly distant. The contrasting ways that people reacted to authoritarianism and autocracy, both politically and in their everyday lives, while darkly fascinating and important to study and remember, seemed of diminishing relevance to now.

Not any more. Illiberal populism has spread across the world, either challenging for power or entrenching itself in office, from Argentina to Italy, France to Indonesia, Hungary to Britain. But probably the most significant example of a relatively free, pluralist society and political system turning into something very different remains the US, now nine months into Donald Trump’s second term. » | Andy Becket | Friday, October 31, 2025

Trump’s Election Plans Are a ‘Dire Threat’ to American Democracy | Sidney Blumenthal

Oct 26, 2025 | “We're going to face a pattern of intimidation and subversion. Trump is an election denier.”

Trump plans to “monitor elections” in states with large Hispanic populations, potentially using ICE - a “dire possibility” for US democracy, says former Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal.

Jamie Raskin: “Democracy Will Be the End of Fascism”

Oct 15, 2025 | Congressman Jamie Raskin joins Terry Moran for an urgent conversation about the state of American democracy, Trump’s assault on the rule of law, and the path forward. From the courts to Congress, Raskin offers a rare mix of constitutional clarity and personal conviction — and a call to defend democracy before it’s too late.