NEW: for APT Words, Scout Meredith Best interviews @meglittlereilly.bsky.social about the work of the Center for Community News, a vital project for rebuilding public trust in higher education. aptwords.substack.com/p/the-studen...

open.substack.com/pub/meglittl... #highered #extremist #maga #trump

meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/book-banne... #bookban #parentsrights #momsforliberty #maga #lgbt

meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/book-banne... #bookban #parentsrights #momsforliberty #maga #lgbt

meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/welcome-to... #trump #moralpanic #lgbtq #resistance

As Orbán declared in 2024, "“We have entered the programme-writing system of President Donald Trump’s team, and we have deep involvement there.” meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/the-hungar...

“It’s tempting to assume that things like order and cohesion are social ideals, but order and cohesion can also be hallmarks of oppressive regimes. They are often the promise made by authoritarians seeking control." open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...

“Scapegoating is a persistent temptation for societies in turmoil. It’s a mechanism for maintaining social order and deflecting responsibility. It’s also a primary tactic of authoritarians.” open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...

In order to pave the way for an assault on human rights, authoritarians must first dehumanize the scapegoats through disinformation campaigns that argue it is not only okay to inflict pain on them, it is imperative for the public good. open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...

"Trump cultivates a paranoia around the belief that Christianity is under assault. His “anti-Christian bias” task force reinforces dominionist view that Christianity should be at the heart of governance, and any attempt at church-state separation violates this prophesy." substack.com/home/post/p-...

It's hard to overstate how dramatic and fast the erosion of press access has been. Previous admins--Ds and Rs--have done near daily briefings to a real press corps for decades. The WH press corps is meant to be a proxy for the people. Without access, there's only propaganda.

Economic pain is real, but it doesn’t necessarily fuel the rise of populist authoritarianism. For that to take hold, societies also need fear, distrust, nativism, and charismatic leaders willing to exploit our divisions. open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...

meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/how-we-got... #trump #moralpanic #lgbtq #scapegoat #authoritarianism #democracy

open.substack.com/pub/meglittl... #trump #saveact #authoritarianism #fascism

open.substack.com/pub/meglittl... #trump #extremism #authoritarianism

The moral panic at home can't be disentangled from the chaos and war abroad.

There are lofty reasons for universities to resist pressure from Trump -- because a robust system of higher ed is essential for democracy etc. -- but if those don't move you, it's also clear that capitulation will be super expensive and it won't buy you protection. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/n...

It's actually a few different frauds packed into one.

Um, correct?

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has received hundreds of calls from military installations reporting the use of Christian theology to justify force in the Iran war. These are generals reassuring troops that it's all part of god's plan... meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/episode-2-...

This isn't going to get nearly as much as attention as it deserves.

meglittlereilly.substack.com/p/episode-2-... #SAVEact #Iran #trump

Lest we've forgotten about the nonpolitical 24k gold plaque...

Really good tick tock of the ICE standoff last week in Burlington, VT that involved a barricaded US citizen, protesters rescuing a child, a car crash -- and flash bang grenades and pepper balls used by ICE on the crowd. @sevendaysvt.bsky.social www.sevendaysvt.com/news/immigra...

100%. Any administration has a lot of power to bend institutional forces to their will here, but they still can't control media culture. And this admin is especially bad at using popular culture to realize their vision. They are just devastatingly, incurably uncool.

"Aspiring autocrats have always been obsessed with sex because the most expedient way to consolidate power is to redefine who gets to be American and at the center of public life. They do this by exploiting anxieties around race, family, identity, and sex." open.substack.com/pub/meglittl...

And he's just the first one of these guys to admit it. It's possible that we shouldn't hand over our techno-news/warfare/art/education future to these dudes.

People on awards shows don't "make it political." The world is political. Our lives are political. Our choices are political. The only decision is whether to acknowledge it.

This is the work that’s been consuming me for some time now, and a project that just happened to launch today. I hope you will join me at Pop Illiberalism: The War on Sex, Knowledge and Freedom.

It’s not an accident that extremists movements are gaining traction in the U.S. in tandem with the accelerating tumult of our news media landscape and the business of hollywood.

Culture can be a celebration of pluralism -- or an exploitation of anxieties around race, family, identity, and sex if autocrats get their way.

Aspiring autocrats have always been obsessed with culture because it’s dangerously expansive, inviting and curious. To control culture is to control our ideas about who gets to be American and at the center of public life.

... and the backlash against how we live, who we love, and what we learn is facilitated through culture.

There’s a connection between the consolidation of Hollywood production studies, acquiescent news outlets, disinformation about this illegal war, attacks on higher education, the rise of the manosphere, tradwives, book bans and gender panic. Liberal democracy is under threat...

Of course, artists deserve their moment to celebrate film and their contributions to it. But “making things political” isn’t a departure from that celebration, it’s an affirmation of its value in public life.

Author Daniel Kehlmann made the case for why artists must be brave right now in his fantastic novel The Director and in a prescient op-ed over the weekend in the New York Times. As he points out, there are chilling echoes of these conditions in Nazi Germany.

It matters because nothing is more powerful for moving public opinion than culture. The choices that artists make – filmmakers, pop stars, novelists, fashion icons – create a story of what’s normal, acceptable and true for many Americans.

It matters that very few people of cultural influence chose to use their moment in the limelight at the Oscars to denounce America’s tilt toward the illiberalism, illegality and cruelty.