Answering (Some of) Your Burning Questions

This week on our podcast Assembly Required, we’re closing out the year by centering this episode on you, our audience. We’re reflecting on what we’ve accomplished, how we’ve taken action together, and answering some of your questions. Take a peek…

There are three things you have to do to defeat authoritarianism:

1. Recognize it.

2. Activate resistance.

3. Build what comes next.

First, we have to acknowledge where we are. This isn’t a temporary political cycle or a repeat of 2017. We are living under competitive authoritarianism right now.

Second, we activate. Authoritarianism doesn’t end with elections. Elections matter, including 2026, but they’re only one piece. Resistance means knowing what’s happening, sharing it, organizing people to act, and continuing to do that work.

Third, we have to build something better. Authoritarianism often collapses and then reappears under a new name. If we only try to restore what existed before, it will come back. We have to fix what was broken and demand more than restoration.

If we recognize the problem, activate resistance, and build what comes next, that’s how authoritarianism is permanently defeated.

These are fair critiques. The reality is that not everyone in Congress believes this is authoritarianism. Many see it as extreme but normal politics and believe winning elections alone will fix it.

That’s a mistake.

Authoritarianism isn’t confined to Congress or Washington. It operates at the state level, local level, through courts, and through the economy. Congress is only one front.

That misunderstanding explains much of the muted response. This isn’t polarization pushed too far — it’s something new and embedded.

What Congress should do is be louder, clearer, and more relentless. Even when legislation won’t pass, members should articulate what democracy can deliver, expose the harm being done, and coordinate with state and local leaders. Democracy needs its own echo chamber.

Threats to our voting rights, and voter suppression are very real issues, but there are also real guardrails and protections — if people engage.

Voter suppression happens at the local level: registration, staying on the rolls, and having ballots counted. That’s why organizations like Fair Fight, Fair Count, Black Voters Matter, and Democracy Docket exist.

But protecting our right to vote isn’t something a distant party does for us. Elections are run county by county. People need to know who runs elections where they live, attend meetings, serve as poll workers, and show up for primaries — where suppression is often tested.

There are strong national efforts underway, but democracy is protected from the bottom up as much as from the top down. Participation matters.

Three standouts:

• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

• On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

• Now Then by Morgan Radford (forthcoming)

Each stayed with me in different ways — and I hope you’ll pick them up this holiday season.

I’m not naming names — that’s how you never get a movie made.

I’ll just say this: to every actress who wants to play Avery Keene, I’m paying attention.

Watch the full episode for more questions (and answers!) Maybe your question was featured on this episode 😉

I’m deeply grateful to every one of our listeners for spending time with us this year. Your questions, curiosity, and commitment make these conversations possible, and I can’t wait to continue them with you in the year ahead.

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