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Updated 09/03/2025
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Politics

Politics

Updated Jun 26

09/03/2025

Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism—Episode 1: What is Antisemitism and its Weaponization? A Conversation for Movement Organizers with Shoshana Brown and Ben Lorber

In this first episode of Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, co-hosts Shoshana Brown and Ben Lorber share how they came to be working on the issues of antisemitism and its weaponization. They dive into discussing antisemitism itself—its history, how it looks today, how to understand it, and why the fight over defining it has become a primary means of targeting Palestinians and their allies while driving authoritarian policies and culture wars. Kohenet Shoshana A Brown, LMSW (they/she) is a healer, educator, and organizer. They are the Director of Pedagogy and Training for Diaspora Alliance. As an abolition organizer they are a cofounder of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective and a member of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice where they host Beyond The Pale, a radio show on WBAI 99.5FM. Shoshana has expertise in education, somatic healing, union organizing, and Restorative Justice Practices. They are a Black-mixed race Jewish femme who generates liberation and full selfhood in the essence of love. Ben Lorber works as a Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates, focusing on White Christian nationalism, antisemitism and Christian Zionism. Lorber has worked as a journalist, organizer and movement-builder for over a decade. He has published on right-wing social movements, Israel/Palestine, Jewish culture and other topics at a variety of outlets, and is the co-author of the book Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism. Resources Diaspora Alliance. 2024. “Antisemitism Explained.”Diaspora Alliance. 2023. “The Global Far Right and Israel.”Lorber, Ben. 2024. “The New Antisemitism and Neo-McCarthyism” Political Research Associates. Lorber, Ben. 2023. “Conspiracy at the Core: Five Years After Tree of Life, Antisemitism Continues to Animate the MAGA Movement” Political Research Associates.Burley, Shane and Ben Lorber. 2024. Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism. Melville House. Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism is a collaboration between Political Research Associates and Diaspora Alliance. The show is produced by Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann. Our hosts are Ben Lorber and Shoshana Brown. Original score by Aakash Desai. Artwork by Zoe Newton. Our fact checker is Natasha Roth-Rowland. Sound design and mixing by Thick Skin Media. Also thank you to Natasha Roth-Rowland, Simone Zimmerman, Em Hilton, and Koki Mendis for your insights and thought partnership.
09/03/2025

Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism—Episode 2: Conspiracy Theories, Antisemitism, and the Politics of Holocaust Memory with Valentina Pisanty and Jelena Subotić

Guest host Natasha Roth-Rowland talks to scholars Valentina Pisanty and Jelena Subotić about the anatomy and function of conspiracy theories and the role of antisemitism within them. How do conspiracy theories come about? Why do they so often revolve around false narratives regarding Jewish people, power, and control? How are they used to discredit movements for justice? And what role do the politics of Holocaust memory play? By taking a look at the history of antisemitic conspiracy theories and examining their role in our contemporary politics, Jelena and Valentina teach us to recognize them, how to understand them, and how we might challenge them. Natasha Roth-Rowland is director of research and analysis at Diaspora Alliance. She has a PhD in History from the University of Virginia, where she wrote her dissertation on the Israeli- and American-Jewish far right, and is a former editor at +972 Magazine. She lives in New York with her wife and daughter. Valentina Pisanty teaches Semiotics at the University of Bergamo. She has published articles and essays on Holocaust denial, Fascist racism, political discourse analysis, narratology, humour, interpretive semiotics, the rhetoric of memory-making and the semiotics of testimony. Her books include: Antisemita, una parola in ostaggio (Bompiani, 2025), The Guardians of Memory and the Return of the Xenophobic Right, Primo Levi Editions, 2021); Abusi di memoria: negare, banalizzare, sacralizzare la Shoah (Bruno Mondadori, 2012); La Difesa della Razza: antologia 1938-1942 (Bompiani, 2006); Semiotica e interpretazione (with Roberto Pellerey, Bompiani, 2004); L'irritante questione delle camere a gas: logica del negazionismo (Bompiani 1998, new edition 2014). Jelena Subotić is Distinguished University Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She is the award-winning author of three books: Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance after Communism (2019), Hijacked Justice: Dealing with the Past in the Balkans (2009) and The Art of Status: Looted Treasures and the Global Politics of Restitution (2025), as well as a co-editor of Politics, Violence Memory: The New Social Science of the Holocaust (2023). Resources Eco, Umberto. The Prague Cemetery. Translated by Richard Dixon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.Pisanty, Valentina. The Guardians of Memory and the Return of the Xenophobic Right. Translated by Alastair McEwen. New York: Centro Primo Levi New York, 2020.Subotić, Jelena. Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance After Communism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2019. Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism is a collaboration between Political Research Associates and Diaspora Alliance. The show is produced by Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann. This episode was guest hosted by Natasha Roth-Rowland. Original score by Aakash Desai. Artwork by Zoe Newton. Our fact checker is Natasha Roth-Rowland. Sound design and mixing by Thick Skin Media. Also thank you to Natasha Roth-Rowland, Simone Zimmerman, Em Hilton, and Koki Mendis for your insights and thought partnership.
Jul 15

End Times Crusaders go to Washington, an interview with Ben Lorber

In this episode, PRA Senior Research Analyst Ben Lorber reflects on the contemporary status of the U.S. Christian Zionist movement, embodied by its largest organization: Christians United for Israel. Popular support for Israel has faltered as the U.S. war on Iran grinds on, and influential corners of the Far Right are espousing increasingly vehement critiques of Israel fueled by pervasive antisemitism. Lorber parses the viability of the Christian Zionist movement in the medium and long term and highlights the growing religious Left that is organizing to counter Christian Right power. Ben Lorber is a writer, researcher, and movement strategist, and Senior Research Analyst at PRA, where he focuses on antisemitism and White Christian nationalism. He is co-author, with Shane Burley, of Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism. Ben’s work has appeared on PBS, NPR, The Nation, The Hill, Jewish Currents and more. His analysis has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and many other outlets. Episode Resources Aidan Orly, “101: Christian Zionism,” Political Research Associates, April 24, 2024, https://politicalresearch.org/2024/04/24/101-christian-zionism.Ben Lorber, “Tucker Carlson's Latest Foray Into Far-Right Antisemitism Flies Under the Radar, “ Religion Dispatches, June 26, 2026, https://religiondispatches.org/2026/06/26/tucker-carlsons-latest-foray-far-right-antisemitism-flies-under-radar.Steven Gardiner, “End Times Antisemitism: Christian Zionism, Christian Nationalism, and the Threat to Democracy,” Political Research Associates, July 9, 2020, https://politicalresearch.org/2020/07/09/end-times-antisemitism.Aidan Orly, “Timeline of U.S. Christian Zionism,” Political Research Associates, April 8, 2026, https://politicalresearch.org/2026/04/08/timeline-us-christian-zionism.
09/02/2025

Introducing PRA Presents

Listeners of The Insurgence: Sheriffs, we're thrilled to announce an exciting change to this feed. We’re renaming it “PRA Presents” and it will be a home for all of PRA’s future miniseries. Each miniseries is created with a close research or production partner, and together we dive deep into the nuances of right-wing strategies and rising authoritarianism— and explore strategies for resistance. Our brand new six-part miniseries, Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, in partnership with Diaspora Alliance, is about to drop. The series explores how to understand antisemitism and its weaponization in order to fight for collective liberation. Amidst rising authoritarianism and Israel’s genocide in Gaza, this series offers a rigorous analysis of how authoritarians uses antisemitism and its weaponization as a tool to repress progressive movements and to dismantle democracy itself. Subscribe now to catch all six episodes when they drop. Thanks for listening!
Season 2 Trailer

Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism—Sneak Peek

Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism, a new podcast miniseries brought to you by Political Research Associates and Diaspora Alliance, explores how to understand antisemitism and its weaponization and to fight for collective liberation. Amidst rising authoritarianism and Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the stakes are higher than ever. Launching September 3, wherever you get your podcasts.
10/31/2024

The Insurgence: Sheriffs—Episode 6: Stop the Steal

How are sheriffs undermining elections? Since 2022, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) has teamed up with True the Vote, a multi million-dollar “Stop the Steal” group, to position sheriffs as key players in election denial. This episode explores how these sheriffs’ actions have escalated voter intimidation and suppression, with plans to deputize armed citizens and form “posses” to disrupt election processes and intimidate officials. We reveal how this movement both upholds systemic White supremacy and pushes for a new vision—one that some describe as a modern confederacy. As these alliances converge heading into 2024, what does it mean for the future of democracy? Featured in this episode: Jessica Pishko, independent journalist, lawyer, and author of The Highest Law in The Land: How The Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens DemocracyMary McCord, Executive Director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP)Devin Burghardt, President and Executive Director of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) Further Reading: CSPOA is preparing to disrupt elections in the lead up to 2024.Plans to target election officials in Florida have surfaced in particular.The Claremont Institute’s Sheriff Fellowship discloses the MAGA think tank’s strategy.Read The Highest Law in The Land: How The Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is created and hosted by Cloee Cooper. This episode was co-written by Cooper and Camilo Garzón. Field recording, research, and investigative reporting for this series by Cloee Cooper. Audio production and audio editing for this series by Laura Ubaté and Camilo Garzón. Sound design, engineering, and mix for this series by Daniel Murcia and Juan David Sarmiento. Story editing, story development, and consulting production by Cuentero Productions. All under their client-facing trademark, Cuentero Transeúnte Productions. Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann was our production assistant and creative consultant, and provided fact-checking for the series. Additional production assistance by Rene Martin. Original score is by Aakash Desai. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is executive produced by Cloee Cooper for Political Research Associates and by Camilo Garzón for Cuentero Productions. Thanks to Tony Philips, Jackson Allers, Yahyah Johnson, Ariel Cooper, and Preeti Shekar for their production consultation and for believing in this series. Thanks to Koki Mendis, Becca, and Jasper Bernes for helping me see it through. Thanks to Gabriel Joffe for their creative and design input over so many years. And to Christina Voight and the Soros Justice Fellowship for giving me the time and support to make it happen. And a very special thanks to Javier Briones for always bringing people, stories, and projects like this all together.
10/29/2024

The Insurgence: Sheriffs—Episode 5: Mechanisms of Social Control

Sheriffs wield immense power over U.S. county jails, controlling the lives of a third of the nation's incarcerated population in addition to acting as enforcers of immigration law. But what happens when that power goes unchecked? When sheriffs ignore a pandemic’s threat, mismanage facilities, or oversee jails where dozens die from medical neglect? In this episode, investigative journalists Cloee Cooper and Raina Lipsitz dive into the chilling story of upstate New York’s Constitutional Sheriff Tim Howard. They reveal how Howard—a sheriff with ties to far-right groups like the CSPOA and Oath Keepers—escaped accountability for 17 years. Despite investigations into inhumane conditions, medical neglect, and allegations of sexual misconduct by deputies, Howard used his so-called “constitutional” authority to sidestep responsibility. With few structural accountability measures beyond local elections, sheriffs operate with limited oversight—leading to unchecked power and ongoing neglect and violence in America’s jails. Featured in this episode: Raina Lipsitz, journalist and author of The Rise of the New LeftMonica Lynch, veteran and activist based in Buffalo, NYNan Haynes, Professor Emerita at the University at Buffalo School of Law and former environmental, occupational, and civil rights lawyer.April Baskin, Chairwoman of the Erie County Legislature/Representative County District 2Geoff Kelly, author at The Investigative PostTim Howard, former Erie County Sheriff and Town Supervisor of Wales, NY Further Reading: Check out an in-depth look into why people keep dying in the Erie County jail by Raina Lipsitz, based on a joint investigation with Cloee Cooper.Explore why the former Erie County Sheriff thinks he’s above the law in the context of the rise of the far-right in upstate New York.Read about the surprising powers of sheriff departments in this New York Times opinion piece by Maurice Chammah.Learn about the dire consequences of the trend of sheriffs refusing to enforce COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown mandates at the county level. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is created and hosted by PRA research director, Cloee Cooper. This episode was co-written by Cloee Cooper and Camilo Garzón. Audio production, audio editing, sound design, sound engineering, sound mix, story editing, story development, and consulting production by Cuentero Productions. All under their client-facing trademark, Cuentero Transeúnte Productions™. Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann provided production assistance and creative consulting. Additional production assistance was performed by René Martin. Raina Lipsitz contributed reporting. Interviews conducted for this episode by Cooper and Lipsitz were also featured in an investigation published by the New Republic in March, 2023. Original score is by Aakash Desai. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is executive produced by Political Research Associates (PRA) and Cuentero Productions.
Feb 3

All Eyes on Minneapolis: Lessons on Resisting Authoritarianism

In this bonus episode, PRA researchers discuss the deadly ICE crackdown in Minneapolis and the powerful resistance we’ve seen on the streets. ICE continues to kidnap thousands with impunity, and the brutal murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti show the naked brutality of this authoritarian administration. But everyday people continue to defend their neighbors and communities: by organizing in neighborhoods, on street corners, at airports, and at City Hall; and by grinding business as usual to a halt and showing the entire country, and the world, what it takes to stand up in this moment. To make sense of the moment, PRA’s Ben Lorber talks to fellow Senior Research Analysts Annie Wilkinson and Ethan Fauré, as well as Principal Research Advisor Steven Gardiner. They discuss the decades-long advance of today’s anti-immigrant movement from the margins to the MAGA mainstream; the strategies of lawfare, repression and fearmongering at the heart of the authoritarian playbook; and what we can expect from the Right moving forward. They also explore what the resistance in Minneapolis can teach us as we sharpen our own strategies to block the Right and build a better future. This episode was recorded on Friday, January 30th. Episode Resources Ben Lorber, “The Right Is Shocked by Anti-ICE Organizing,” Religion Dispatches, January 26, 2026, https://religiondispatches.org/2026/01/26/right-shocked-anti-ice-organizing. Annika Brockschmidt, “Make No Mistake About Trump’s Minnesota ‘De-Escalation,’” Religion Dispatches, January 30, 2026, https://religiondispatches.org/2026/01/30/make-no-mistake-about-trumps-minnesota-de-escalation. Kelly Hayes, “In Chicago, We Run Toward Danger Together,” Organizing My Thoughts, November 8, 2025, https://organizingmythoughts.org/in-chicago-we-run-toward-danger-together. Ethan Fauré, “‘We Must Fight for Everyone’ for Immigrant Justice,” The Public Eye, September 23, 2025, https://politicalresearch.org/2025/09/23/we-must-fight-everyone-immigrant-justice.
10/22/2024

The Insurgence: Sheriffs—Episode 3: The Takeover and The Rebellion

Why do far-right activists in the West, from the Bundys to the militias that occupied Oregon's federal land in 2016, harbor such deep resentment toward the federal government? And how did sheriffs become protectors of ranchers in their standoff with federal authorities? In this episode, we examine how key figures within the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) helped orchestrate the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation. The takeover wasn’t just a 40-day armed standoff—it marked a turning point in the growing alliance between far-right activists and local sheriffs in their resistance to federal authority. Host Cloee Cooper touches on the roots of this conflict, tracing decades of far-right resentment and showing how the CSPOA empowered militias to challenge the government. Featured in this episode: Zoe Nemerever, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Auburn UniversityJohn Sepulvado, former journalist with Oregon Public Radio Further Reading: For a thorough exploration of Oregon’s patriot movement and their involvement with the 2016 Malheur Wildlife Refuge Takeover, read Up In Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement.Dive into the history of Sheriffs in the West and their alignment with anti-federal government activists.Learn how GOP politicians planned and executed key aspects of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is created and hosted by PRA research director, Cloee Cooper. This episode was co-written by Cloee Cooper and Camilo Garzón. Audio production, audio editing, sound design, sound engineering, sound mix, story editing, story development, and consulting production by Cuentero Productions. All under their client-facing trademark, Cuentero Transeúnte Productions™. Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann provided production assistance and creative consulting. Additional production assistance was performed by René Martin. Original score is by Aakash Desai. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is executive produced by Political Research Associates (PRA) and Cuentero Productions.
10/24/2024

The Insurgence: Sheriffs—Episode 4: What is FAIR?

What happens when the Constitutional Sheriffs network finds an ally in the White House? In this episode, we uncover how far-right networks leveraged the power of local sheriffs to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a nationwide crackdown on immigrants. In February 2019, ICE launched a series of raids across North Carolina, arresting over 200 undocumented people in retaliation against newly elected Black sheriffs who had pledged non-compliance with ICE. At the center of this backlash was Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who, with the backing of the anti-immigrant group FAIR and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), helped expand sheriffs' roles in immigration enforcement. This episode exposes how far-right forces worked strategically to use local law enforcement to broaden the criminalization of immigrants across the country. Featured in this episode: Stefania Arteaga, Co-Director at Carolina Migrant NetworkFelicia Arriaga, Assistant Professor of Political Affairs at Baruch College, and author of Behind Crimmigration: ICE, Law Enforcement, and Resistance in AmericaEthan Fauré, Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates Further Reading: Learn more about the efforts that led to North Carolina’s Mecklenburg county Sheriff Gary McFadden, campaigning on non-compliance with ICE.Explore sheriff department affiliations with the far right across the country in this map.For tools on how to challenge county sheriffs, check out this Defund Sheriffs toolkit.Read Felicia Arriaga’s book, Behind Crimmigration: ICE, Law Enforcement, and Resistance in America. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is created and hosted by PRA research director, Cloee Cooper. This episode was co-written by Cloee Cooper and Camilo Garzón. Audio production, audio editing, sound design, sound engineering, sound mix, story editing, story development, and consulting production by Cuentero Productions. All under their client-facing trademark, Cuentero Transeúnte Productions™. Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann provided production assistance and creative consulting. Additional production assistance was performed by René Martin. Ethan Fauré contributed research for this episode. Original score is by Aakash Desai. The Insurgence: Sheriffs is executive produced by Political Research Associates (PRA) and Cuentero Productions.

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