It Could Happen Here Weekly 174 — March 22, 2025

Overview

This episode of It Could Happen Here delivers a comprehensive examination of global and domestic collapse, resistance, and adaptation in real time. The team—Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, James Stout, and guests—explore the ongoing crises in Northeast Syria, the rise of authoritarianism and collaborationism in the U.S. government, activism and backlash against Tesla and Elon Musk, historical anarchist movements, executive overreach in immigration and foreign policy, and the looming threats posed by pandemics and economic policies. The episode is a tapestry of urgent news, historical context, and on-the-ground reporting, always tying back to the question: How do we survive, and build something better, amidst unraveling systems?

Northeast Syria: War, Regime Change, and Grassroots Resistance

[03:06] Introduction to the Syrian Crisis

• Host James Stout interviews Jenny Keasden, a writer and long-time activist in Northeast Syria, about the region’s challenges since the collapse of the Assad regime.
• The discussion uses the recent letter from Abdullah Öcalan as a jumping-off point. Media coverage has been sensationalized, misrepresenting what it means for the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces).

[04:31] Understanding the SDF’s Position & Western Media Myths

• Jenny Keasden: “The SDF is not and never has been the PKK ... It’s much more to do with what’s been happening in Syria politically and to do with the government and the interim government...and of course, the ongoing war and situation of invasion that they're facing.”
• The fate of the SDF is connected to Turkish state aggression and the complex interplay between regional and external powers.
• Legacy media often ignores or erases the SDF and minority groups in reporting.

[07:42] Impact of Regime Change

• The collapse of the Assad regime brought jubilation, but also uncertainty, as new, less democratic forces (namely HTS—a coalition rooted in former Al-Qaeda factions and likened to “jihadist gangs” and “mercenaries”) filled the vacuum.
• Jenny: “The force which eventually succeeded in toppling Assad ... was not one of the many, like, progressive democratic alternative forces that originally in the uprisings weakened the Assad government.”

[12:16] Ongoing Turkish Aggression

• In Northeast Syria, there is still an active ground invasion with air support, orchestrated through the SNA/TFSA, groups largely funded, directed, and supported by the Turkish state.
• James Stout: “The SNA have not been backwards in documenting their war crimes ... The SDF has modernized a lot more than the SNA have … Their resistance has been very impressive.”

[17:40] The U.S. Role: Abandonment and Realpolitik

• The so-called U.S.-Kurdish “tactical alliance” was never based on trust—only expediency.
• Despite ongoing SDF resistance and past sacrifices in the fight against ISIS, the U.S. has symbolically withdrawn forces, effectively greenlighting Turkish incursions.
• Jenny Keasden: “Nobody wants to get invaded by one of the largest armies in NATO ... The expectation of at least some sense of dignity. That is a very important concept for people here. Dignity.”
• James Stout on U.S. withdrawals: “They did not actually withdraw. Not exactly, no. You still saw them driving around in big cars, mostly right next to the oil fields... That withdrawal was symbolic.”

[33:00] Civil Resistance at Tishrin Dam

• The frontline of resistance is not just military. At the Tishrin Dam, a mass civil protest convoys continue for over two months, enduring drone attacks and bombings, yet persisting through music, art, and solidarity.
• Jenny Keasden: "Despite this, and in the shadow of this, with the most beautiful defiance … the protest has continued."
• “It's our land, it's our water, and it's our kids, is the refrain that kind of gets repeated over and over again.”

Notable Quote

• [40:45] Jenny Keasden: “The immense power that it has, everyone here has lost someone ... but they’re not going to let that make them step back. They’re going to do their fallen loved ones justice and continue to stand up in their name.”

Resources

• Jenny’s updates: [@jkeasden on Instagram and TikTok]
• Support: Emergency Committee for Rojava, Kurdish Red Crescent, Kurdish Peace Institute

Executive Disorder: U.S. Governance, Collaborationism & Authoritarian Drift

[80:53] Congressional Collaboration with Executive Power

• Hosts Mia Wong & James Stout explain the recent continuing resolution (“CR”) passed to fund the government—a move that surrenders core Congressional power over spending, handing the executive unprecedented discretion.
• The CR allows the White House to cut, reallocate, or suspend funds across myriad sectors (public health, disaster relief, nuclear nonproliferation, immigration court protections) without clear Congressional constraints.
  • [84:03] Mia Wong: “This is more of a thing we've been seeing more and more, which is Congress…abandoning its constitutional power…and just handing it over to the executive.”
  • [85:05] “The bill effectively just allows Trump to fund or defund programs at will.”
  • [90:20] Nuclear nonproliferation programs slashed.
• Ten Democratic Senators—including Schumer and Fetterman—voted for this “unhinged” measure.

Notable Quotes

• [87:02] James Stout: “If they have a year of just randomly slashing stuff … the certainty that contractors will get paid, ... that will have devastating economic consequences.”
• [95:09] Mia Wong: “Do you know how bad a Republican budget thing has to be for Tim fucking Kaine to vote against it?”

[96:59] Unprecedented Backlash

• Unusually broad spectrum of Democratic groups and personalities—including Indivisible, R Neoliberal, Neera Tanden, Nancy Pelosi, and Hakeem Jeffries—are in open revolt against Schumer’s collaborationism.

[101:28 & 104:06] A Shift Among Democrats—And the Limits of Internal Opposition

• The Democratic leadership's alignment with Trumpism and increasing crackdown on dissent (esp. related to Palestine solidarity) is not just pragmatic, but ideological.
• Mia Wong: “He thinks it's fine. He thinks it's fine the Trump administration fucking black bagged this guy … He is just straight up a collaborationist.”
• Electoral strategies like primaries are too slow to stop the rapid drift. The hosts urge organizing outside of the electoral system.

Executive Power and Human Rights: Deportations, Renditions, and the “Enemy Alien”

[143:30] Executive Disorder: News Roundup

Rendition & Deportation

• The Trump administration is using the Alien Enemies Act—a 226-year-old law last used for WWII internment—to rendition alleged gang members to El Salvador, bypassing trials and appeals.
  • [144:36] James Stout: “There are a series of timelines … that suggest they were in the air when (the judge) blocked their removals … These people aren't being deported, they're being renditioned.”
  • [149:55] Mia Wong: “Enemy aliens are not entitled to seek any relief or protection ... unless by the president’s special favor.” Pure fascism.”
• Human rights violations in El Salvador’s mega-prisons—discussed as a new, outsourced model for repression.
• Use of tattoos as supposed gang evidence; James Stout gives a heartfelt anecdote about the real people at risk ([151:13]).

Escalating Incidents

• Black-bagging of permanent residents and immigrants on spurious or political grounds (anti-Trump texts at border search, “deleted” Hezbollah images).
  • [181:01] Mia Wong: “The Border Patrol is arguing that anti-Trump texts are considered terrorism ... so that's bad."
• Mahmoud Khalil’s letter from ICE detention highlights the shift to open political imprisonment.

Tesla Derangement Syndrome: Protest, Repression, and the Fall of a “Cool” Brand

[113:37] Anti-Tesla/Elon Mobilization and Reactions

Garrison Davis reports on the national and international wave of protest targeting Tesla as Elon Musk becomes more deeply associated with Trump and authoritarian “Dogecoin” governance.

• Ongoing weekly pickets at Tesla dealerships; cybertruck arsons and direct actions across the U.S. and Europe.
• Tesla owners themselves vandalize their vehicles with “I bought this before he was a Nazi” and “Don’t buy a Swastikar.”
• Tesla stock plummets as sales crash in key global markets (esp. Germany). Morgan analysts: “We struggle to think of anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly.”
• Musk, Trump, and Attorney General Pam Bondi brand these protests as “domestic terrorism.”

Notable Quotes

• [120:47] Garrison Davis: “Tesla vehicles themselves have become the nation’s hottest graffiti mural service … Some have taken to marking Teslas with a swastika, … a public attempt to link Elon Musk and Tesla with Nazism.”
• [136:15] Musk (as parodied/quoted): “There’s some kind of mental illness thing going on here … I don’t know who’s funding it…”
• Right-wing conspiracy theories blame “Democrat-funded” “NGOs” via ActBlue/Soros for the unrest.
• Despite a pivot to “MAGA conservatives,” the Tesla brand’s cool factor is in free-fall; sales continue to spiral.

Latin America Focus: A History of Uruguayan Anarchism

[49:21–76:57] Andrew Sage & James Stout

• Deep dive into Uruguay’s unique trajectory: from colonial buffer state, through 19th-century wars and utopian socialism, to the rise of mutualist, internationalist, and syndicalist anarchism.
• By 1911, Uruguayan anarchists made up over 75% of industrial workers’ unions (FORU).
• Bolshevik influence led to schisms and decline, but anarchist culture—literary and intentional communities—persisted under dictatorship and exile, with Comunidad del Sur’s story a highlight.
  • [75:07] James Stout: “That’s what we hope for when people are forced into exile—to be able to return eventually... That’s really cool.”

Executive Overreach: Ukraine, Tariffs, Trans Rights, and Bird Flu

[155:27] U.S.-Ukraine Relations: Resources and Nuclear Control

• Ukraine under pressure to “repay” U.S. war support by ceding mineral rights, then nuclear industry control.
• Bilateral agreements nearly signed (details: future revenues, not current reserves), but then White House leaks new demand for control of reactors; Ukraine pushes back.
• [163:36] Mia Wong: “If you can be the last person in the room with Trump, you can decide what he does.”

[164:47] Tariff Apocalypse: "Liberation Day" Looms

• On April 2nd, Trump will impose “reciprocal tariffs” on all countries—on top of existing tariffs, with no exemptions—threatening a global trade war and economic crisis.
  • [165:27] Mia Wong: “The entire U.S. empire is based on outsourcing … so you can buy goods at cheap rates. We love buying things. It's the entire basis of our civilization.”
  • “Liberation Day” was nearly scheduled for April 1 but moved due to Trump’s superstition ([169:20]).

Rights in Retreat: Trans Ban & VA Restrictions

[170:16] Judicial Block on Military Trans Ban

• Federal judges block Trump’s blanket ban on trans people in the military—critical for civil rights and social mobility, but a precarious victory.
• The VA stops offering gender-affirming care to trans veterans unless they are already receiving it, further entrenching a system of unequal citizenship.

Political Dissent as “Terrorism” and the Weaponization of Education Funding

• Immigrants, even green card holders, detained and tortured for old or dismissed infractions; even anti-Trump texts now grounds for deportation.
• Federal power is wielded to force universities to crack down on protesters, adopt right-wing definitions of anti-Semitism, and dismantle academic departments—under threat of losing hundreds of millions in funding.

Bird Flu and the Specter of Bio-Disaster

[187:25] Bird Flu Mishandling

• Bird flu decimating poultry stocks due to refusal to vaccinate or take basic public health measures. RFK Jr.’s “herd immunity” response is “exactly what you’d do to make the virus jump to humans,” warn virologists.
• [188:26] Robert Evans: “The death rate of this thing is staggering … It cannot be overstated how disastrous this would be.”
• [189:32] Garrison Davis: “I’m still eating my chicken tartar. I don’t know why everyone’s so worried.”

Closing Thoughts & Action

• Organizing outside electoral systems is imperative; federal and judicial checks on executive power are crumbling.
• Solidarity with Syrian resistance, immigrants facing repression, and global movements for dignity.
• “If you are a chicken or you know a chicken...” — gallows humor amidst grim news.

Notable Quotes

• [29:58] Jenny Keasden (on US abandonment): “They didn’t, they never relied on America. But ... the expectation of at least some sense of dignity. That is a very important concept for people here. Dignity.”
• [85:14] Mia Wong: “It is obviously hideously unconstitutional.”
• [104:06] Mia Wong (on Schumer): “He’s collaborating because he fucking agrees with them. He agrees with them on … the state [being] used to destroy anyone who supports Palestine.”
• [136:01] Musk (parody): “There’s some kind of mental illness thing going on here because this doesn’t make any sense.”
• [152:58] James Stout (on gang deportation): “It just really makes me sick to think that this is where we’re at now.”
• [188:47] Robert Evans (on bird flu): “The death rate of this thing is staggering in a completely different category from fucking Covid … cannot overstate how disastrous this would be.”
• [174:39] Mia Wong: “The moment that ceases to be true, and it has not been true in this country ever, but ... we’re seeing increasing numbers of people who are not considered equal before the law. ... The actual fundamental, important thing here is ... the fundamental basis of liberal democracy.”

Timeline & Timestamps

03:06 – Interview with Jenny Keasden on Syria
13:42 – Turkish-backed SNA aggression, mercenaries
17:40–33:00 – US role, SDF resistance, anecdotal protest
33:34 – Tishrin Dam resistance, civil protest
40:45 – Meaning of collective loss and joy
80:53 – Congressional collaboration, executive overreach
96:59 – Unprecedented Dem backlash after further collaboration
113:37 – Tesla protests/arsons; Musk–Trump fallout
143:30 – Weekly news: rendition, deportation, disappearing dissidents
155:27 – Ukraine negotiations: minerals, nuclear power
163:36 – Ukraine diplomacy, Trump’s volatility
164:47 – April 2nd: "Liberation Day" tariffs imminent
170:16 – Military trans ban blocked, VA care restricted
181:01 – Border detentions for political speech, guilt by association
187:25 – Bird flu eugenics, pandemic risk

For Listeners

This episode is a dense, often harrowing account of present collapse. It lights up the murk with consciousness of resistance (in Syria, on the street, within institutions) and the insistence on human dignity and solidarity. Organizing, learning, and connecting outside failing systems is the urgent through-line.

Show sources, ways to support, and further resources are available in the episode notes.