Can the Free World Survive Trump and Putin?

This week's special guest, Adrian Karatnycky, has been on the frontlines for decades fighting for democracy both at home and abroad. In his critically acclaimed book Battleground Ukraine, Adrian traces Ukraine's struggle for independence from the fall of the Soviet Union to Russia's genocidal invasion today, drawing important lessons for protecting democracies worldwide. He has worked alongside civil rights legend Bayard Rustin and the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in America. He also supported Poland's Solidarity movement, which helped bring down the Iron Curtain, and played a key role in preserving Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in the 1990s, when many thought the Cold War had ended.

In part one of their discussion, Andrea and Adrian explore how Europe and the free world can survive the chaos of Trump's America First isolationism and Russia's weaponized corruption and election interference. In part two, they discuss the PayPal Mafia's war on Ukraine as part of a broader global assault on "wokeism" (a.k.a. empathy and democracy), Adrian's impressions of meeting Curtis Yarvin, and how the war in Ukraine can ultimately end.

A big thank you to everyone who joined the Gaslit Nation Salon hosted by our Security Committee, which shared valuable insights on protecting our digital worlds in these dystopian times. The recording will be available soon on Patreon. Our next salon is Monday, April 14 at 4pm ET, featuring Patrick Guarasci, chief political strategist for Judge Susan Crawford, discussing their campaign's victory against Elon Musk in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The Zoom link will be available on Patreon Monday morning.

Thank you to everyone who supports Gaslit Nation–we could not make the show without you!

EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION:

• April 14 4pm ET – Live-taping with Patrick Guarasci, chief political strategist for Judge Susan Crawford, discussing their campaign's victory against Elon Musk in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race!

• April 28 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower

• Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.

• Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.

• Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet?: https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/survey-reject-hypernormalization

• Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community

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Show Notes:

Battleground Ukraine by Adrian Karatnycky https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300269468/battleground-ukraine/

Exclusive: Russia could concede $300 billion in frozen assets as part of Ukraine war settlement, sources say https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-could-concede-300-bln-frozen-assets-part-ukraine-war-settlement-sources-2025-02-21/

Who is Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's Trump-whisperer: Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, has become a key figure in the Kremlin's outreach to the Trump administration. https://kyivindependent.com/whos-kirill-dmitriev-putins-trump-whisperer/

Nerd Reich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiju_ky55EI