Trump’s a Lame D*ck | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, September 26, 2026

Friends, Today, with just over two weeks to go until the midterm elections, Michael, Kamau, and I take stock of where we are: Trump is acting weirder than ever (which is saying something), his polls are lower than ever, inflation is higher than it’s been in years, his war in Iran is getting even worse and his cozying up to Putin even more bizarre. So please grab a cuppa, pull up a chair, and join the conversation. Robert Reich

Friends, Today, Heather and I are joined by our colleague Vishal Shankar to review where the midterm elections now stand and the issues emerging from them. We take a deep dive into what Trump is doing to save — or, in reality, hurt — Republican Senate and House candidates, and what a Democratic Congress (if we get one) might realistically do. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation. RR P.S. Heather and I will be at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14 for a screening of The Work in Progress film followed by a Q&A. Please join us and invite your friends! Tickets ($5 for students) here.

Friends, Today, Heather and I take a hard look at the allegations over what occurred in a Cornell fraternity and explore why they’re sending tremors across America. Do they have anything to do with Trump’s toxic masculinity, the misogyny of his regime, and the male-dominant underpinnings of neofascism? With a culture of impunity fostered by Trump? We also look at the question of accountability in general and examine some of the other ways Trump and the manosphere — including the AI bros and the industry they’re hatching — are functioning with impunity. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

Friends, Five weeks from today, America will make a choice about the future of our democracy. Today I talk about tyranny, Trump, and the upcoming midterm elections with Professor Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny as well as a number of other important books. Snyder specializes in the history of Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is currently Chair in Modern European History at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, and was previously Professor of History at Yale University. His books include Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017), The Road to Unfreedom (2018), Our Malady (2020), and his most recent, On Freedom (2024).

Friends, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor are two of my favorite thinkers who see the large patterns of wealth and power in our world, and the consequences for our daily lives. Their latest book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World explains how neofascist groups — religious extremists, right-wing nativists, and techno billionaires — are planning for and seeking to bring an end to civilization, while they alone survive. Klein and Taylor also talk about what we can do to encourage a counter-movement based on human interdependence, preservation of our planet, and social justice. My thanks to Naomi and Astra for sharing their thoughts with us. Their new book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World, can be ordered here.