What is anti-intellectualism, and why does it show up on almost every list of fascism's warning signs? Tina Marie and Martina break down the attacks on the free press, academic freedom, and science happening right now, from subpoenaed reporters to a political board for NIH grants to the worst measles year in decades. Then we head home: Hawaiʻi's Act 11, the state's answer to Citizens United, goes before a federal judge on Tuesday, October 13, and Martina is flying over to be in the room. 🌴 Resist with Joy Podcast | Episode 21 | October 11, 2026 This week: our Road to Fascism series tackles anti-intellectualism (the war on the free press, academic freedom, and science, plus the cult of hypermasculinity), Russian diesel and sanctions, Ukraine's strikes on Yandex and how to spot bot accounts, the Act 11 court hearing, and the Oct 17 No Dictators day of action with everything you need to know about voting early in Hawaiʻi. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome, plus a little mermaid whimsy 1:15 Road to Fascism: what is anti-intellectualism? 3:43 The attack on the free press 8:05 Academic freedom, Harvard, and the NIH grant board 9:52 Anti-science: MAHA, measles, and RFK Jr. 13:39 Hypermasculinity from Hegseth to Mussolini 15:52 Russian diesel and the sanctions shuffle 17:51 Ukraine hits Yandex and the bot farm problem 24:38 Act 11 heads to federal court 28:13 No Dictators, early voting, and "We are all Susan" 🔗 SHOW NOTES & LINKS 🗳️ Hawaiʻi 2026 General Election: ballots arrive by Oct 16, voter service centers open Oct 20 through Nov 3, voted ballots must be received by 7 PM on Nov 3 https://elections.hawaii.gov ✍️ Mailing your ballot? Send it early. Postmarks don't count; it has to be received by 7 PM on Election Day. ✊ Hands Off My Vote: No Dictators day of action, Saturday, Oct 17 (find your island's event) https://indivisiblehawaii.org/events/ 🧠 Anti-intellectualism (Road to Fascism): academic freedom, independent journalism, and scientific reason are dismissed in favor of official propaganda, emotion, and traditional or hyper-masculine social codes. 📰 New York Times reporters subpoenaed after Air Force One stories on the Qatari jet https://cdapress.com/news/2026/jul/11/new-york-times-reporters-are-subpoenaed-after-air-force-one-stories-raising-press-freedom-concerns/ 📰 Justice Department subpoenas NYT reporters over Air Force One reporting (Michigan Public) https://www.michiganpublic.org/2026-07-11/justice-department-subpoenas-new-york-times-reporters-over-air-force-one-reporting 🎖️ Former Stars and Stripes journalists sue Pete Hegseth over their firings https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/stars-and-stripes-sue-pete-hegseth-firings?redirected=notus_org 📺 Trump threatens to report Kristen Welker to the FCC (Al Jazeera) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/30/trump-threatens-to-report-journalist-kristen-welker-to-broadcast-regulator 🗞️ More on the administration's attacks on the press (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqe8ek7608mlo 🎓 Trump, Vought, and Bhattacharya clash over Harvard's NIH research funding (Politico Pro) https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/09/nih-grants-trump-vought-bhattacharya-harvard-01085413 🔬 White House move to seize control of NIH grant decisions upsets senators and scientists (Science) https://www.science.org/content/article/white-house-move-seize-control-nih-grant-decisions-upsets-senators-and-scientists 🎓 NIH director refuses Trump's demand to cut Harvard funding (Harvard Crimson) https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/9/21/harvard-bhattacharya-trump-funding/ 🎤 RFK Jr. tells the anti-vaccine group he once led that he'll "stay in this fight" https://abc17news.com/cnn-health/2026/09/17/kennedy-tells-anti-vaccine-group-he-previously-led-that-hell-stay-in-this-fight/ 💉 U.S. measles cases pass 4,000 this year, on pace for the worst year since 1991 https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-measles-nightmare-hits-staggering-new-milestone 🌡️ Climate scientists fired by the administration step in to fill the U.S. climate report gap (NBC News) https://www.nbcnews.com/science/climate-change/climate-scientists-fired-trump-step-fill-us-report-gap-rcna598585 🪖 Pentagon begins a review of women in ground combat roles (NPR) https://www.npr.org/2026/01/06/nx-s1-5667583/pentagon-review-women-in-ground-combat-roles 🪖 Hegseth made the fitness test harder for women in combat roles; most female Marines are passing (Military Times) https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/09/15/hegseth-made-the-fitness-test-harder-for-women-in-combat-roles-most-female-marines-are-passing/ 🏳️⚧️ Administration asks the Supreme Court to block a ruling on its transgender inmate policy (SCOTUSblog) https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/09/trump-administration-asks-justices-to-block-lower-court-order-on-transgender-inmate-policy/ 🏳️⚧️ Trump asks the Supreme Court to back his trans military ban (Slate) https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/09/trump-supreme-court-trans-military-cruelty.html 🛢️ Treasury General License 135 authorizing Russian diesel imports through April 7, 2027 https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/937216/download 💻 Ukraine strikes data centers of Russian tech giant Yandex (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw0k0g57mk3zo ⚖️ Act 11 lawsuit tracker from Indivisible Hawaiʻi Statewide Network https://indivisiblehawaii.org/resources/act-11-lawsuit-tracker/ 🏛️ Preliminary injunction hearing in Grassroot Institute v. Lopez set for Oct 13 (Aloha State Daily) https://alohastatedaily.com/2026/10/05/national-chamber-of-commerce-sues-hawaii-over-corporate-spending-law/ 🧠 Citizens United and Act 11, explained by the Campaign Legal Center https://campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/defending-hawaiis-law-ending-corporate-spending-elections-grassroot-institute-hawaii ✊ "We are all Susan": woman escorted out of a Trump rally gives the crowd both middle fingers (Yahoo News) https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/woman-escorted-trump-rally-gives-013238639.html?guccounter=1 🎬 Video: "We are all Susan," the woman escorted out of a Trump rally with both middle fingers up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzeXd5vN2Tk 💬 BEFORE YOU GO | Take our Visionaire Questionnaire Five quick questions about what concerns you, what gives you hope, and what joy looks like for you right now: https://form.jotform.com/261597829396074 🎙️ ABOUT RESIST WITH JOY Resist with Joy is a podcast about civic education, grassroots organizing, and joyful resistance. Real voices, including engaged citizens, experts, and politicians, to help build the wall against authoritarianism, one joyful action at a time. New episodes drop weekly. Interviews with neighbors doing the work are coming very soon. Subscribe | Like | Share | Leave us a review MEET THE TEAM Co-Hosts: Martina Wing and Tina Marie Even Editor: Savannah Maira Producers: Martina Wing, Tina Marie Even, Savannah Maira Sponsored by: VegaBlast https://vegablast.com 🎵 MUSIC "Pacific Time" by Blue Dot Sessions Source: https://bluedotsessions.bandcamp.com/track/pacific-time License: CC BY-NC 4.0 🌴 Aloha until next time. #ResistWithJoy #Hawaii #Indivisible #AntiIntellectualism #FreePress #CitizensUnited #Act11 #NoDictators #VoteEarly #Midterms2026 #Fascism This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistwithjoypodcast.substack.com
