The 24-hour news cycle and social media have been abuzz this year with the U.S's continuing decline into authoritarianism. While our attention moves from post to post, article to article, we miss the deeper, more nuanced understanding of the various right-wing movements perpetuating this democratic backsliding.

In pursuit of a deeper understanding, PRA spent some time reading this year.

“The strategy of ‘good’ immigrant versus ‘bad’ immigrant ultimately targets all immigrants. We knew that would happen: as abolition teaches us, that’s how the system works,” says Silky Shah in an author Q&A with Ethan Fauré.

“For what is 'Make America Great Again' if not a gospel? It’s a nationalistic prosperity gospel, to be sure, mixed with a few 'American carnage' fire-and-brimstone threats if Trump’s ways are not followed,” says Matthew Taylor in the excerpt from his book The Violent Take it by Force.

Below are the Q&As, roundtables, and excerpts from the books we've covered in our Public Eye issues, and online. As the year winds down, we hope you have the time to read up and inform your resistance for the coming year.

Author Q&As

How the Far Right Capitalizes on Neoliberal Ideas and “Race Science”: Author Q&A with Quinn Slobodian on Hayek’s Bastards by Kitana Ananda

PRA speaks with Quinn Slobodian on his latest book, Hayek’s Bastards, and how the modern Far Right emerged out of a “frontlash” to neoliberal capitalism.

“We Must Fight for Everyone” for Immigrant Justice: Author Q&A with Silky Shah on Unbuild Walls by Ethan Fauré

PRA Senior Research Analyst Ethan Fauré speaks with Silky Shah, author of Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition, to discuss how abolition is the key to a strategy for combating the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

The Libertarian History of the LGBTQ Movement: Author Q&A with Neil J. Young on Coming Out Republican by J. Gieseking

PRA sat down with author Neil J. Young to discuss the gay Right’s political history. The conversation offers vital context for understanding the stakes of the second Trump regime’s attacks on LGBTQ rights.

The Global Fight Against LGBTI Rights: Author Q&A with Phillip M. Ayoub and Kristina Stoeckl by J. Gieseking

A Q&A with authors Phillip M. Ayoub and Kristina Stoeckl on their book, The Global Fight Against LGBTI Rights, covers the methods used by moral conservative transnational networks to strip LGBTQ people of their rights.

Three Way Fight: Author Q&A with Xtn Alexander and Matthew N. Lyons by Ben Lorber

Ben Lorber interviews authors Xtn Alexander and Matthew N. Lyons about their book Three Way Fight, a collection of essays designed to serve as a guide to antifascism and revolution.

Calling In: Author Q&A with Loretta Ross by Chancie Calliham

PRA talks to Loretta Ross about her journey through activism and her framework for addressing conflict within and beyond social justice movements.

Roundtables and Discussions

It’s Not Backlash, It’s Strategy: How We Got the Christian Right We Know Today by Chelsea Ebin, Matthew Taylor, and Julie Ingersoll

Chelsea Ebin, Matthew Taylor, and Julie Ingersoll discuss the intersection of today’s New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and the New Christian Right of 1970s and 1980s formed by conservative Catholics and Protestants.

Fire Dreams: Making Black Feminist Liberation in the South: A Conversation with Deon Haywood, Laura McTighe, and Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson by Kitana Ananda

A discussion with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson and the authors of Fire Dreams: Making Black Feminist Liberation in the South about Black feminist liberatory praxis and resistance strategies to White supremacy.

Excerpts

The Moral Conservatism Behind Global Resistance to LGBTI Rights by Phillip Ayoub and Kristina Stoeckl

An excerpt from The Global Fight Against LGBTI Rights explores the global coordination of movements around Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) rights.

Pro-Family Politics: The Political Convergence of Conservative Catholics and Protestants in the 1980s American Right by Chelsea Ebin

An excerpt from The Radical Mind: The Origins of Right-Wing Catholic and Protestant Coalition Building explores how The Family Policy Advisory Board moved forward Christian organizing for “traditional” families in the 80s.

A Televangelist in the White House: The Rise of Paula White and the Independent Charismatics by Matthew Taylor

In this excerpt from The Violent Take It by Force, Matthew D. Taylor examines the role of Paula White as a televangelist-turned-advisor for the Trump administration.

Trolling for Trump: An excerpt from Coming Out Republican by Neil J. Young

In this excerpt from Coming Out Republican, author Neil J. Young explores far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos’ role in launching Donald Trump’s political career.