Freedom Over Fascism brings fact-based media ecosystem to The Democracy Group

We're excited to welcome the newest addition to The Democracy Group: Freedom Over Fascism — a podcast about fighting against fascism through the creation of a media ecosystem.

To officially welcome this amazing podcast to our network, we caught up with host Stephanie Wilson about Freedom Over Fascism, what inspired her to start the podcast and why listeners should pay attention to information gaps.

What inspired you to start Freedom Over Fascism?

Stephanie: I started this podcast not as a podcast for me but as a platform for the candidate I worked for. Her interest reduced and mine increased, and it turned out that I had really strong ideas about where we should go. So she stopped being a part of it and I changed the name to reflect the message itself. I have been interviewing people that I think can contribute to the national conversation ever since.

After the election, I realized that there’s a huge information gap between our side and the MAGA side — we live in a totally, completely different reality because of their close media ecosystem and the disinformation. So I wanted to look at how we could create our own fact-based, value-based media ecosystem with independent journalists, podcasts and Substacks.

Why should listeners pay attention to Freedom Over Fascism and similar podcasts in the democracy sphere?

Stephanie: A lot of us talk to people that aren’t the ones that are front and center communicating a lot of our messages. Sometimes we really get people who have a different, deeper perspective than most of what you hear. There are some really interesting thinkers out there.

The people who have podcasts or who are interesting thinkers can really change the landscape of how we understand democracy, how we understand the world and how we understand what we can do to strengthen democracy because we’re the ones we have to look to — we’re the cavalry. Nobody else is going to come and save us, so we want to figure out how to work together to strengthen and save our republic.

Learn more about Freedom Over Fascism

Freedom Over Fascism: How to Talk to Your Son about Fascism with Dr. Craig Johnson

This episode explores how young men in the internet age can go down the rabbit hole of YouTube and fall into fascism. Guest Craig Johnson talks about how empathy from a parent can stop this from happening.

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This is Jessie Nguyen, The Democracy Group's Community Manager. Here are some of my favorite podcasts this week, check them out!

Let's Find Common Ground: Immigration: Is There a Way Forward?

The conversation starts with a discussion of whether certain criteria permit non-U.S. residents to emigrate to the U.S., including their work skills, countries of origin and refugee status. The episode talks about the current immigration system and policies, their drawbacks and how immigrants have been contributing to America and growing the American economy.

Politics In Question: What defines a political scandal?

This is an interesting episode that dissects a political scandal — what differentiates an honest mistake from a scandal and why we think about corruption the way we do. From a political science standpoint, most scandals include multiple forms of bad behavior where a politician abuses their office in many different ways instead of just one.

The Great Battlefield: Applying the Study of Presidential History to Today with Lindsay Chervinsky

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky is a presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. She joined this episode to talk about her interests in history, shaped by historical fiction and childhood road trips, and the importance of preserving history.  

FEATURED EXPERTS

TPNR: Charlie Sykes on From Reagan Republicans to RFK Jr.: How the Right Lost Its Mind (Again)

Charlie Sykes is a conservative commentator, former talk show radio host and founder of The Bulwark. He is a contributor for MSNBC and the author of the Substack newsletter To The Contrary. Sykes has also authored several critically acclaimed books, most recently "How the Right Lost Its Mind."

An Honorable Profession: Xay Khamsyvoravong on What Real Government Efficiency Looks Like

Xay Khamsyvoravong is a finance and public service professional. He served as the mayor of Newport, Rhode Island, from 2022 to 2024 before being re-elected to the city council as a councilor-at-large. Khamsyvoravong is the son of a Laotian refugee. He has been featured by national outlets like the New York Times, Boston Globe and NPR.