Podcast Summary: "Finding Your Outside Voice"

Podcast: Next Comes What
Host: Andrea Pitzer
Date: January 15, 2026
Main Guests/Contributors: David Brooks, Jake Tapper, Laura Jadid, Reverend Paul Brandeis Rauschenbush, Harvard Study Director

Episode Overview

In this episode, Andrea Pitzer confronts the alarming rise in authoritarian tactics and violence under Trump’s administration—connecting these trends to global patterns of "strongmen" leadership. Pitzer explores how information overload, online discourse, and police-state tactics are used to overwhelm, intimidate, and produce anxiety in citizens and activists, urging listeners to step away from virtual outrage and rediscover their "outside voices": building real-world relationships, taking concrete action, and protecting community well-being. Through on-the-ground protest coverage, examples from history, and current statistics, the episode challenges listeners to move past online performativity and engage meaningfully for lasting political change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Escalating Authoritarianism and Violence

• Recent Incidents Recap (00:00–02:26):
  • US “kidnapping” of Venezuela’s de facto president.
  • Federal Reserve chairman threatened with prosecution by Trump for resisting political control.
  • Minneapolis mother Renee Goode killed by ICE, with government painting her as a terrorist.
  • Pitzer: “Since the killing, ICE has doubled down on its police state punishment of the city for daring to be unhappy about murder in their midst.” (01:02)
  • City and state lawsuit against Trump administration over ICE presence in Minneapolis.
  • Heightened intimidation tactics and retaliations by federal agents.

2. Mental Overwhelm and Police-State Psychology

• Information as Control (02:21–03:32):

  • Police state tactics aim to "overwhelm opponents mentally before they ever even take action."
  • Social media’s rapid cycle of outrage amplifies anxiety and feelings of helplessness.

• Quote:

  “You don't have to spend your life feeling helpless or marinating in fear and fury.”
  — Andrea Pitzer (03:32)

3. Managing Anxiety, Building Real Connections

• Harvard Study on Well-being (04:11–05:24):

  • Interpersonal relationships—not online engagement—are crucial for happiness and health.
    • Harvard Study Director: “The single choice...most likely to keep us on a good path of well being is to invest in our relationships with other people.” (05:12)

• Andrea Pitzer’s Guidance (05:09-05:24):

  • Avoid self-defeating cycles of doomscrolling.
  • Acknowledge historical warnings (Hannah Arendt) about overexposure to political horror.

4. From Online Performativity to Real-World Action

• Social Media as a Trap (06:48–07:29; 08:50–10:13):
  • Overemphasis on knowing, commenting, and one-upping on social media, versus acting.
  • Laura Jadid’s ICE job exposé (08:38–10:13):
    • ICE’s careless hiring practices—a microcosm of broader chaos and lack of oversight.
    • Jadid: “They can't even keep track of who's behind the masks.” (10:10)
    • Real threat posed by “unknown armed thugs in masks terrorizing citizens.” (10:31)
  • Many activists and change-makers spend less time online, more time on direct action.

5. Hannah Arendt’s Lessons: Seeing, Naming, and Acting

• Discipline and Perception (11:00–11:50):
  • Arendt’s advice: Don’t rationalize or escape—see the facts, accept their horror, and act.
    • David Brooks: “You have to see it for what it is, and you have to accept it, as horrible as it may be...you should become politically active to save the Republic.” (11:26–11:44)

6. Pointless Criticism vs Useful Action

• Counterproductive Critique (12:00–14:00):
  • Online criticism (“armchair commentary”) often wears down activists instead of empowering them.
  • Social media outrage is not a substitute for real-world action.
    • Pitzer: “Before you make any effort to criticize people out there doing good works...am I about to take issue with someone doing good work in a way that is going to wear down motivated people in the world?... Pointless armchair commentary can be dispiriting day after day for people who showed up to actually do something.” (13:00–13:44)

7. Faith Community Mobilization and On-the-Ground Protest

• Protests Nationwide (14:00–17:30):
  • Over 1,000 events against ICE’s “lawless operation.”
    • Rev. Paul Brandeis Rauschenbush: "These abuses are being fueled by a blasphemous co-opting of my faith by adherents of a white Christian nationalist agenda." (14:28)
  • Reports from D.C., Arlington, and across the US: anti-ICE rallies, education on rights, and community actions to protect vulnerable people.
    • Terry, activist: “We need a return to the rule of law. I miss it.” (15:58)
    • Jessica, protester: ICE feels “entitled to attack and harm more and more people…” (16:54)
    • Laura Jadid: “If someone's to shoot me, then so be it. I'm going to stand up and I'm going to protest at every opportunity.” (17:24–17:30)

8. Patriotism, Justice, and Media Narratives

• Challenge to Hollow Patriotism (17:40–18:04):

  • Jake Tapper & David Brooks: Patriotism is not about aesthetics, “Patriotism is about loving the people who live in the damn country, every single one of them.” (17:56)
  • Contrasts between performative patriotism and actual justice.

• Media’s Role and Interpretation Wars (18:28–20:36):

  • David Brooks compares interpretations of violence to fans arguing over a football game: “what you believe now determines what you see.” (19:36)
  • Andrea Pitzer criticizes centrist both-sides-ism, calling for media honesty and clarity when lives are at stake.
  • Jake Tapper: Challenges instant narratives and government justifications, connecting them to past incidents and the undermining of law enforcement and accountability.

    “How can you assert that? There's no ambiguity in this before any investigation has taken place. ... Is that Agent Ross's voice calling Renee Goode a fucking bitch?” (21:13–21:45)

9. Shifts in Public Opinion and the Path Forward

• ICE Approval Collapse (23:07–23:34):

  • Jake Tapper: ICE’s net approval rating among independents dropped 17 points since Trump’s first term.
  • Public increasingly sees ICE enforcement as making cities less safe (51%).

• The Real Work is Offline (23:57-end):

  • Pitzer urges listeners to use their relative freedom for meaningful acts—demonstrations, volunteering, supporting the vulnerable, and building local relationships.
  • Social media presence is not enough; visible real-world action is vital to create change.

• Note on Community and Hope (24:30):

  • Jack Jenkins (Religion News Service) filmed a Minneapolis vigil where community members practiced protest songs—offering a glimpse of resilience and unity.
  • Pitzer: “When it comes to our political crisis, I wish our social media could be more like that, focusing on the big similarities instead of the small differences. People connecting to learn, to take action together, to get strong enough in their knowledge and in the extent of their shared morality and vision that they can find their own voices, improvise and carry those beliefs out into the world.” (24:30–24:52)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Since the killing, ICE has doubled down on its police state punishment of the city for daring to be unhappy about murder in their midst.”
  — Andrea Pitzer (01:02)

• “Police state's goal is to overwhelm opponents mentally before they ever even take action.”
  — Andrea Pitzer (02:50)

• “The single choice...most likely to keep us on a good path of well-being is to invest in our relationships with other people.”
  — Harvard Study Director (05:12)

• “You can't actually win the Internet.”
  — Andrea Pitzer (06:32)

• “Is it on purpose, or are they really that sloppy with paperwork?”
  — Laura Jadid (10:21)

• "You should become politically active to save the Republic."
  — David Brooks (11:41)

• "These abuses are being fueled by a blasphemous co-opting of my faith by adherents of a white Christian nationalist agenda."
  — Reverend Paul Brandeis Rauschenbush (14:28)

• "Patriotism is about loving the people who live in the damn country, every single one of them.”
  — David Brooks (17:56)

• "If someone's to shoot me, then so be it. I'm going to stand up and I'm going to protest at every opportunity."
  — Laura Jadid (17:24–17:30)

• "How can you assert that? There's no ambiguity in this before any investigation has taken place."
  — Jake Tapper (21:13)

• "But if the only sign of what matters to you in your real life is what you post on social media, you are missing your chance to build a new world. Out there is where all the actual change happens."
  — Andrea Pitzer (23:57)

Important Segments with Timestamps

• [00:00–02:26]: Summary of recent authoritarian incidents and violence
• [03:24–05:24]: The toll of mental overwhelm, Harvard Study on relationships
• [08:38–10:13]: Laura Jadid’s ICE hiring exposé
• [11:00–11:44]: Hannah Arendt’s “Home to Roost” & political responsibility
• [13:00–14:00]: The toxicity of endless online critique
• [14:00–17:30]: Reporting from nationwide protests, faith community involvement
• [17:56–18:04]: Real patriotism defined
• [21:13–21:45]: Media accountability, Jake Tapper refutes government spin
• [23:07–23:57]: Polls showing ICE falling out of public favor, call to action

Takeaways

• Authoritarian government tactics—intimidation, violence, media distortion—are designed to exhaust and disempower.
• Healthy societies and resilient activists must prioritize real-world relationships, local organizing, and mutual support.
• Social media critique can easily become performative; real action requires moving offline.
• Solidarity, direct action, and reframing "patriotism" as inclusive and compassionate are tools against rising authoritarianism.
• The work of social change belongs to everyone—especially those with the freedom and ability to show up, speak out, and act.

For listeners:
Engage beyond the feed. Find your outside voice—walk out the door, connect with others, and make your beliefs visible and real in your world.