As we fight the daily battles of the "Great Disillusionment," corruption and unchecked greed are poisoning our bodies. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, a group dedicated to helping the world transition away from plastics, joins Gaslit Nation to discuss the systemic corruption wreaking havoc on our environment, our water, and our food.

We are now breathing, eating, and drinking a credit card's worth of plastic every single week. Big Oil, facing a transition away from fossil fuels for energy, financially depends in our dependence on plastic. They have turned our bodies into a landfill to keep their profits soaring. We also discuss the threat of deep sea mining, the minerals war between the US and China, why everyone should read Donut Economics by the "planet's economist" Kate Raworth on how to build a sustainable economy, and why ending the "forever wars" requires a transition to renewable energies.

Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel.

• When: April 13

• Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn
  Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/

Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours.

Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there!

Show Notes:

A Plastic Planet: https://aplasticplanet.com/

Follow-up study of genotoxic effects in individuals exposed to oil from the tanker Prestige, seven years after the accident https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24370900/

Sian Sutherland: "Innovating the Business of Plastics" https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/herman-daly-toward-an-ecological-economics-5-2/

Dr. Jeremy Williams: The Truth About Rare Earth Mineral Mining https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8OMk9JapDM

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.

• Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

"We're not going to get the liberation we all crave on a soul level without risk."

Andrea reflects on why, now more than ever, we must follow our hearts and refuse to let fear, or Steve Bannon, that Jabba the Hutt of American politics, live rent-free in our heads. Being brave, taking risks: that's how we win.

In this special excerpt from last Monday's Gaslit Nation Salon, Andrea honors her beloved uncle, Phil Bourne. "Uncle Phil" was the founding dean of the University of Virginia School of Data Science, earned more than 100,000 citations on Google Scholar, championed the collaboration between the liberal arts and STEM as essential to the future of education, and served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Computational Biology, where he created the "Ten Simple Rules" series.

Honor Uncle Phil's memory by reaching out to your loved ones and saying what's truly in your heart. We do not have as much time here as we think. Don't let the fascists steal that time from you.

Bethany McKee, founder of the Outreach Committee, a group that meets to discuss how to deal with the MAGA cultists in our lives as they awaken to their own self-destruction, will host today's Gaslit Nation Salon at 4 p.m. ET. You can find the Zoom link at Patreon.com/Gaslit.

Thank you to everyone who supports the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you.

Join us for an evening honoring the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by Brahm Revel.

• When: April 13

• Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn
  Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/

Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours.

Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there!

Beyond showing up for No Kings, build power where you live. Join the Good Neighbors Coalition, a vetted decentralized hub linking neighborhoods, groups, and organizers to share support, resources, and strategy, submitted by a longtime Gaslit Nation listener. Check out The Relay, a no-signup start page packed with tools, trainings, and news.

And try the simple 2-10 method, submitted by another Gaslit Nation listener: contact two to ten politicians about an issue you care about, then ask two to ten friends to do the same. That ripple effect can turn one voice into hundreds. Movements grow through small, steady acts of courage right now.

Show Notes:

Harriet Tubman was the first woman in U.S. history to lead a major military operation: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/combahee-ferry-raid

Good Neighbors Coalition: For more info or to join, visit the GNC Entry Portal via Signal:
https://signal.group/#CjQKIC6h0DY9EQaix6yR_hZP4ojCd34cj8pDDhlZKKMUI4PAEhBBwSXJD2JtSg8SZbVnCDxV

The Relay: A startpage of tools, resources, links to trainings, and news. No signup required.
https://start.me/p/NQ4OyY/the-relay

The 2-10 Idea:

We ask people to contact 2-10 politicians about something they care about. Then ask 2-10 friends to do the same. Those friends ask their friends. And it keeps going.

Two people becomes twenty. Twenty becomes two hundred. Fast.

That's the 2-10 idea. It turns one person into a movement - without needing a big platform or a lot of money.

Mrs. Orwell: Join Andrea Chalupa for the launch of her new graphic novel April 13 at PowerHouse Books Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn 7pm ET. Patreon members get in for free and get a book. Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit to suppor the show. Event details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/

Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk at MI6, believes Jeffrey Epstein was a Russian asset. He used girls and young women from Russia and other former Soviet states to lure powerful men into kompromat traps.

Michael Wolff made the allegation, which has since been pulled by The Daily Beast, that Epstein introduced Melania and Trump, and that they even had sex for the first time on the Lolita Express. So was Melania a honeypot, trained to keep Trump in their pocket, and prevent an unpredictable influence from marrying Russia's asset?

Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, of the Trump Tyranny Tracker, and a researcher on explosive books, including investigative journalist Craig Unger's House of Trump, House of Putin, fact checks the Melania honeypot memes, and provides deeper insight into the Eastern European women in Trump's life, like his first wife Ivana.

Olga Lautman will be at the Gaslit Nation Night Out! Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel.

When: April 13

Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn

Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/

Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours.

Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there!

Show Notes:

Trump Tyranny Tracker: https://trumptyrannytracker.substack.com/

Daily Beast pulls story alleging Melania-Epstein connection after lawyers dispute framing
https://www.foxnews.com/media/daily-beast-pulls-story-alleging-melania-epstein-connection-after-lawyers-dispute-framing

Ex-MI6 Spy insists Epstein was a Russian spy and blackmailing Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYRVezF5-hk

Opening clip:
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mhnsvsjc7y23

Um, What Is Going on With Melania Trump in This Video?
https://www.vogue.com/article/melania-trump-vladimir-putin-helsinki-video

Andrea's thread on the Melania propaganda film which you should not watch https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3mgqndjhz4k2b

This article is more than 1 month old Disappeared bodies, mass burials and '30,000 dead': what is the truth of Iran's death toll? https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/27/iran-protests-death-toll-disappeared-bodies-mass-burials-30000-dead

Russia is aiding Iran's war effort by providing intel on US military targets, sources say https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/politics/russia-aiding-iran-targeting

How Russian military intelligence used the Taliban to bleed U.S. forces at the end of America's longest war https://theins.ru/en/politics/277723

Putin Is No Ally in the War on Terror in 2024 https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/putin-no-ally-war-terror-2024

Watch Zerina Zabrisky's powerful film for free and spread the word about Russia's human safaris in Ukraine https://khersonhumansafari.com/

Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit

As we navigate a world of "alternative facts" and corporate-state surveillance, George Orwell's life, times, and pain, transformed into enduring art, like 1984, show us how to be defiant today. Resistance begins in the mind.

This week, we're joined by British critic Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984, to trace the biography of a nightmare. The Orwellian slogan "2+2=5" was taken from Soviet propaganda. Orwell reviewed Assignment in Utopia by Eugene Lyons, an American reporter who confesses in the chapter "The Press Corps Conceals a Famine," to joining with other influential foreign correspondents in Moscow to label Gareth Jones a liar in their articles in exchange for access to the Soviet regime. Lyons and Orwell are both characters in Andrea's film Mr. Jones.

The trauma of 1984 started during the Spanish Civil War, alongside his wife, Eileen Blair, the unsung hero who saved his life and helped him find his voice as an artist, to break through the lies. In Catalonia, Eileen and Eric Blair watched Stalin-backed communists turn a socialist revolution into a paranoid police state. It was here, nearly killed by the "Soviet myth," that they realized nowhere is immune: lies and conformity keep people complacent as the sadists consolidate power.

Orwell's message is clear for us today: in an era of state-sponsored lies, holding onto your humanity is the ultimate act of defiance.

Join us to celebrate the power of art and defiance at the book launch of Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's inspiring new graphic novel, illustrated by the genius Brahm Revel.

• When: April 13

• Where: PowerHouse Books Arena, DUMBO, Brooklyn
  Details here: https://powerhousearena.com/events/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa-in-conversation-with-nomiki-konst/

Patreon Supporters: You and your guests get in free and receive a complimentary book! Just message us through Patreon to claim yours.

Not a member yet? Join our community at Patreon.com/Gaslit. We couldn't make this show without you–see you there!

Show Notes:

Our opening song was "Ride at Dawn" by Deena Marie. Check out her GoFundMe here to help her produce her next album: https://gofund.me/623a9c9b1

IG: @deenamariedmt
Spotify: Listen here
Apple Music: Listen here
TikTok: @deenamariedmt
YouTube: Watch here

The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/580453/the-ministry-of-truth-by-dorian-lynskey/

33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day https://www.harpercollins.com/products/33-revolutions-per-minute-dorian-lynskey?variant=32210443141154

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• New! There's now a California Signal Group for Gaslit Nation listeners to find each other and connect in that state. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• The Gaslit Nation Outreach Committee discusses how to talk to the MAGA cult: Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.

• Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group. Join us on Patreon.com/Gaslit

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

Thank you, Afroman, for standing up for freedom of speech and expression. Our human rights matter, and artists have always been on the front lines defending them with courage and power.

Across America, people are waking up to the fact that Donald Trump has always been exactly who he said he was: a serial con man propped up by white grievance, impunity, and a media that normalized his crimes.

Trump fears accountability. The question is whether we are prepared for what he and his allies may do to avoid it in the 2026 midterms.

Trump's push for the SAVE Act and the broader assault on voting rights should be understood for what it is: a strategy to stay in power by any means necessary. Voter suppression, disinformation, dark money, and foreign interference are ongoing. If Romania could challenge a compromised election and protect its democracy, America can stop pretending "moving on" is any sort of plan.

We need election protection infrastructure now. Call your secretary of state. Ask what they are doing to protect the integrity of the 2026 vote.

Stay defiant. Build power. And join us at Gaslit Nation as we keep asking the questions too many in power still refuse to face.

Join our community of listeners and get bonus shows, ad free listening, group chats with other listeners, ways to shape the show, invites to exclusive events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Discounted annual memberships are available. Become a Democracy Defender at Patreon.com/Gaslit

Show Notes:

American Carnage by Sasha Abramsky https://orbooks.com/catalog/american-carnage/

Opening clip: https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3mhc7boslv22w

The Target boycott is still on! Georgia Forts explains the confusion: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVw6K39DtEd/?igsh=MTV6dXE0N3gydTZnYw==

Sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump – a timeline This article is more than 1 year old A list of the accusations made against Donald Trump between the 1980s and 2013, all of which he has denied https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/25/trump-sexual-misconduct-allegations-timeline

E. Jean Carroll asks Supreme Court to reject Trump's request to review her $5M defamation case https://abcnews.com/US/jean-carrollasks-supreme-court-reject-trumps-request-review/story?id=129216869