The killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis has sparked outrage and protests, but also an outright defense of the use of state violence by the Trump administration and its allies. This week, Stacey is joined by NYU Law Professor and Strict Scrutiny host Melissa Murray to talk about the fallout from Minneapolis, the legal ways citizens can fight back against ICE, and the politicization of the Justice Department and the investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: No matter your legal status, knowing your rights when you encounter ICE is more important than ever. Visit the national immigrant justice center at https://immigrantjustice.org/for-immigrants/know-your-rights/ice-encounter/ to learn more about how to prepare and protect yourself, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/yes-you-have-right-film-ice to learn best practices for lawfully filming ICE activity.
• Solve Problems: Contact your officials to put pressure on them to take action, including your congressional representative, governor, mayor, and city councilor
• Do Good: Donate to organizations like the Envision Freedom Fund at envisionfreedom.org, which helps free people from immigrant detention and advocates for policies against incarceration.

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If the first week of 2026 is any indication, President Trump and his regime has their eyes set on controlling not only the United States, but the entire western hemisphere. This week, Stacey talks about the administration’s brazen move to attack Venezuela and send a special forces team in to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. She’s joined by Ricardo Zuniga, founding partner of Dinamica Americas, to talk about how the dictator came to power in Venezuela, where the opposition currently stands, and how the country’s oil reserves are inextricably linked to its political fortunes. They also comb through the truths and lies of Venezuela’s role in narco-trafficking, and how Trump’s cabinet members and staff are leveraging foreign policy for personal and dangerous ambitions.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: Seek out trusted sources of information on both domestic and international policy. To learn more about modern authoritarianism and the fight for Democracy, pick up a copy of the book “The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy” by William Dobson.
• Solve Problems: This issue is closer to home than many of your friends and loved ones may think. Talk to them about why this matters, start rallying your community to protest the administration’s actions, and call your members of Congress.
• Do Good: If you’d like to help the nearly 600,000 Venezuelan refugees in the US now subject to deportation, visit www.immigrationadvocates.org.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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In the last episode of 2025, Assembly Required is focusing on our audience. Stacey reflects on the lessons learned this year and answers listener questions about everything from how to defeat authoritarianism to what her favorite books were. We also hear stories from listeners who took action in their communities this year. Joining the conversation is the show’s Associate Producer, Farrah Safari.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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