Podcast Summary

Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone
Episode: Totalitarians at the Gate
Date: November 7, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Sasha Stone explores the post-2024 U.S. political landscape following a Trump victory and the subsequent aggressive realignment of the American left, warning of rising totalitarian tendencies within the new generation of leftist movements. Stone critically examines the implications for American democracy, the shifting dynamics within both major parties, and the dangers posed by ideological zealotry on both sides. The episode features commentary and notable guest voices, focusing on the existential threat of political extremism—especially the willingness to sacrifice individual liberty, culture, and dissent in the pursuit of utopian visions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Aftermath of the 2024 Election and the Rise of the New Left

• Post-election Democratic Reaction:
  Democrats, after Trump’s 2024 win, did not accept defeat gracefully. Instead, Stone claims, “they became meaner, angrier, and more willing to blow through norms and abandon what remained of their humanity, to chase victory by any means necessary.” (01:08)
• Characterization of the New Left:
  Stone sees the left not as innovators but as mimics, desperately imitating right-wing strategies (memes, masculine posturing) without success. The left, Stone argues, has become “the monster in the movie, the thing that could imitate but could never be what they thought won Trump the election” (02:20).

2. Totalitarianism as an Ideological Endgame

• Definition & Dangers:
  Stone cautions that utopian projects, whether socialist or fascist, invariably demand sacrifices: "Utopias only have two potential paths. They become totalitarian... or they collapse. What you sacrifice in chasing utopia is personal freedom, art, journalism, comedy, and common ground with those who disagree with you.” (03:30)
• Power and Enforcement:
  Citing Barry Goldwater, Stone warns that those who seek absolute power—no matter how righteous their intentions—are suspect and prone to creating tyranny (00:49).

3. The Ascendancy of Zorhan Mamdani and Democratic Socialists

• Leftist Power Consolidation:
  Zorhan Mamdani’s rise is described as a hostile takeover of the Democratic Party by democratic socialism. "The Democratic Party cannot last much longer by denying the future," Stone quotes Mamdani, reflecting on the party’s existential inflection point (05:15).
• Internal DSA Strategies:
  Citing reporting, Stone notes that DSA leaders see Mamdani as an instrument to abolish prisons, borders, and capitalism itself, through “subversion of democracy” by doctrinal “democratic socialism” (10:00).

4. Cancel Culture and Thought Policing

• Left’s Self-Policing:
  Stone reflects on the enforced ideological purity within leftist circles: "In our bubble of the left, we required no military because a system we built made it possible to destroy people with a single accusation" (11:20).

5. Response and Commentary from the Right

• Ben Shapiro on Socialist Politics:
  Shapiro delivers a scathing analysis of the emerging left: “If you want to do this on an electoral level... play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” (04:37)
  He derides the left’s economic promises and characterizes their platform as: “All it’s going to cost you if they win is all your money and all your freedom.” (15:46)
• Bernie Sanders Defends Progressive Policies:
  Sanders (as a guest) argues that what’s truly radical is the status quo—tax breaks for the rich, climate denial, and inequality: “What is radical is that we have more income and wealth inequality than... we’ve ever had.” (07:21)
• Zorhan Mamdani on Funding Progressive Agendas:
  Mamdani calls for both working-class and wealthy support, justifying new taxes on millionaires and increased corporate taxes to fund social programs (17:41).

6. Dangers of Censorship and Media Control

• Stone warns of what could happen if totalitarians control AI, big tech, and culture: “Just wait until they have control of AI, YouTube, Facebook... That is where they were mentally before this November 4th and their blue wave revived the movement.” (15:13–15:41)

7. Fallout and Future Risks for MAGA and the Right

• GOP's Strategic Failures:
  Political analyst Victor Davis Hanson states the Republican shutdown strategy was incoherent, ultimately serving to foster chaos favorable to Democrats: “They did it because it was part of a larger strategy of chaos, bedlam. So you attack Tesla dealerships, you riot against ICE, you drop F bombs... and that was the narrative they were doing” (20:03–21:37).

8. The Rise of the ‘Woke Right’ and Identity Politics

• Konstantin Kisin Analyzes Reaction:
  Kisin draws parallels between the woke left’s identitarian dogma and the emerging "woke right" identity movement, warning: “Groipers, as Fuentes’s fans are known, are not conservatives. They...don’t want small government. They want revenge” (27:23)
• Dangers of Censorship-Driven Radicalization:
  Stone and guests warn that silencing figures like Nick Fuentes only amplifies identity-based radicalization among disaffected young people (24:46–26:05).

9. Economic Anxiety as a Mobilizing Force

• Vivek Ramaswamy on Republican Strategy:
  Ramaswamy urges Republicans to focus on affordability and reject identity politics: “Make the American dream affordable, bring down costs... identity politics doesn’t suit Republicans. That’s the woke left’s game, not ours.” (24:46)
• Turning Point’s Benny Johnson on Homeownership:
  Announcing a new homeownership initiative, Johnson aims to “make the American dream affordable again” for young Americans, restoring access to homeownership (34:07–35:45).

10. Stone's Final Warning and Closing Thoughts

• Stone signs off by affirming faith in America’s resilience and diversity, but underscores the urgency of confronting rising totalitarianism: “America wasn’t built for totalitarianism. It was built to be exactly the opposite. Just visit a socialist country, any one of them, and you’ll see why.” (33:34)
• Reminds listeners: “A republic if you can keep it. Godspeed, MAGA. Godspeed.” (36:02)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Those who seek absolute power... must be suspect and must be opposed.”
  — Barry Goldwater, quoted by Sasha Stone (00:49)

• “Utopias only have two potential paths. They become totalitarian... or they collapse.”
  — Sasha Stone (03:30)

• “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”
  — Ben Shapiro (04:37)

• “[Cancel culture] was straight out of the Cultural Revolution or Stalin’s Komsomol or Hitler’s Youth.”
  — Sasha Stone (11:11)

• “What is radical is that we have more income and wealth inequality than... we’ve ever had.”
  — Bernie Sanders (07:21)

• “They want your mind, your heart, your devotion, your loyalty, your past, your present and your future. They want it all and they will take it all. And if you aren’t on board, out you go.”
  — Sasha Stone (30:00)

• “America wasn’t built for totalitarianism. It was built to be exactly the opposite.”
  — Sasha Stone (33:34)

Key Segment Timestamps

• [00:49] – Barry Goldwater quote on absolute power
• [04:37] – Ben Shapiro critique of the Democratic Left/Mamdani
• [07:21] – Bernie Sanders on economic inequality
• [11:11] – Stone on cancel culture as ideological control
• [15:13] – Stone on risks of tech/media control by totalitarians
• [17:41] – Mamdani on taxes and funding progressive agenda
• [20:03] – Victor Davis Hanson on chaos and the government shutdown
• [24:46] – Vivek Ramaswamy's lessons for Republicans
• [26:05] – Konstantin Kisin on the “woke right” and fascism
• [34:07] – Benny Johnson's homeownership pitch at Turning Point
• [36:02] – Stone’s closing message: “Godspeed, MAGA. Godspeed.”

Tone & Style

Throughout, Sasha Stone delivers a frank, cautionary, and sometimes sardonic appraisal of America's political moment, conveying urgency, skepticism, and a call for common sense resistance to ideological extremes—whether left or right.

For listeners:
This episode delivers a compelling, if at times polemical, analysis of post-2024 American politics, focusing on the threat of ideological totalitarianism, the collapse of the center, and the stakes for American liberty and identity in coming years. It weaves together personal reflection, political journalism, and external commentary for a vivid narrative on our nation’s crossroads.