Next Comes What – Episode Summary

Podcast: Next Comes What
Host: Andrea Pitzer
Episode: Why This Is Bigger Than Trump
Date: January 8, 2026
Theme: Understanding the recent U.S. intervention in Venezuela and examining its roots in long-standing American patterns of power, showing why resisting Trump and his circle requires deeper changes than simply defeating one man.

Overview

In this episode, Andrea Pitzer dissects the 2026 U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, arguing that it represents not only a crisis driven by Trump but a continuation of historic patterns in American presidential power. Pitzer draws lessons from the past century of U.S. foreign interventions and the rise of global strongmen leaders, showing that the challenge facing Americans is much larger than the figure of Trump. Instead, systemic changes—particularly in how power and wealth are distributed—are required to prevent future abuses.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Venezuela Crisis: Summary and Immediate Implications

• US Attack on Venezuela: The episode opens with breaking coverage of the U.S. striking Caracas, kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, following weeks of tension over oil, drugs, and migration.
  • “The US attacked Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, then kidnapping Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores, flying them out of the country…” — Andrea Pitzer [00:44]
• Legal and International Fallout: The move is unprecedented and illegal under international law, with Venezuela’s UN representative condemning it and legal scholars questioning its legitimacy.
  • Quote: “Unfortunately, I don't think there's a legal basis for what we're seeing in Venezuela. ... all the arguments I've heard so far don't hold water.” — Andrea Pitzer summarizing UNA Hathaway [05:43]

2. Why This Isn’t Just About Trump

• Bigger Than One Man: Pitzer stresses the importance of recognizing that Trump is a symptom, not the ultimate cause, of America’s authoritarian drift.
  • “Perhaps the most important thing that I'll say today is about why in some ways this is hardly about Donald Trump at all.” — Andrea Pitzer [01:19]
  • “Donald Trump didn't hijack the system. He is the fulfillment of a long dominant strain of American presidential power.” — Andrea Pitzer [14:14]
• Presidential Overreach Is Historic: Drawing on history from the Monroe Doctrine through the Latin American coups of the 20th century, Pitzer explores how American presidents have often pursued unchecked power abroad.
  • “Presidents in the United States have always knocked at the door of unlimited and extra legal power.” — Andrea Pitzer [21:01]

3. The Pattern of Strongmen and Manufactured Crisis

• Distracting from Domestic Issues: Trump’s intervention is compared with historic uses of foreign conflict to shore up power at home.
  • “There's a long history of leaders sparking foreign conflicts to protect their rule at home in moments of crisis.” — Andrea Pitzer [13:25]
• Strongmen Around the World: Pitzer draws parallels between Trump and leaders like Berlusconi, Hitler, Duterte, and Orban.
  • “Looking at our own Trump, you can see the similarities to people like Berlusconi, Hitler, Duterte, Orban and others.” — Andrea Pitzer [20:10]

4. The Failure of US Institutions & Billionaire Capture

• Systemic Weakness: Congress has failed to check presidential overreach; U.S. institutions have capitulated to the interests of billionaires and corporations.

  • “Our institutions caved to those billionaires interests first.” — Andrea Pitzer [17:33]

• The Role of Media and Propaganda: Pitzer addresses how the rise of right-wing media and billionaire control over platforms has undermined democratic accountability.

  • “One can even imagine a Clintonian Democratic Party... leaning farther into the scapegoating of black America...” — Andrea Pitzer [16:34]
  • “But our institutions caved to those billionaires interests first. Musk is funding the Republicans again.” — Andrea Pitzer [17:33]

5. The Limits of Resistance & What’s Needed Now

• Voting Is Not Enough: Voter action alone hasn’t sufficed to curb authoritarianism, in the US or abroad.

  • “If voting was the way that we were going to exit this authoritarian trap, then it would have worked in 2018. It would have worked in 2020... and I don't need to tell you the cat came back the very next day.” — Andrea Pitzer [26:16]

• Root Cause: Economic Capture: The underlying economic system, run by and for billionaires, is at the heart of America’s political ills.

  • “We have an economic problem that is masquerading as a political problem. We have to reimagine government entirely.” — Andrea Pitzer [26:45]

• Hope and Agency: Pitzer advocates for local action, visionary policymaking, and sustained movement-building beyond any one election or leader.

  • “The thing that, that we have to do is give people a sense of their own agency and a sense that actually what you do matters and what you do can make a difference in your own life.” — Andrea Pitzer [27:13]
  • “Pick a policy that you believe would make the country a better place over time and work close to home over the long term to bring that one good thing into the world.” — Andrea Pitzer [31:41]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Strongman Politics:
  “Trump is both their leader and their conduit.” — Andrea Pitzer [16:01]

• American Tradition of Illegitimate Force:
  “It is vanishingly rare for a president to reject these kinds of measures wholesale.” — Andrea Pitzer [21:50]

• Reflection on Trump’s Character:
  “There is no intellectual or spiritual conflict happening, no struggle for his soul.” — Andrea Pitzer [18:21]
  “He is the pure untrammeled desire for power and a greater ability to punish anyone he wants.” — Andrea Pitzer [19:12]

• Historical Parallels:
  “In 1954, the CIA carried out a coup to oust the sitting president of Guatemala and assist the United Fruit Company's land interests under the guise of the Red Scare...” — Andrea Pitzer [10:40]

• On Institutional Cowardice:
  “Less than courageous members of Congress fall all over themselves to avoid taking responsibility, to avoid the momentous vote declaring war. But make no mistake, bombing another nation's capital and removing their president is an act of war, plain and simple.” — Jake, guest/cohost [22:33]

• Path Forward:
  “We have so much space in which to offer Americans a vision of a better future.” — Andrea Pitzer [31:05]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:16: Breaking: US military action against Venezuela, the kidnapping of Maduro
• 05:43–06:36: Legal & international reactions; UN and scholars weigh in
• 07:32–08:41: Discussion of Congress’s impotence, history of executive overreach
• 09:05–13:25: Historical backdrop: Monroe Doctrine to Cold War coups
• 13:25–15:00: Why Trump’s actions are part of a recurring pattern
• 18:04–19:12: The billionaire influence and Trump’s lack of inner conflict
• 20:10–21:36: Parallels with global strongmen and historical precedents
• 25:06–27:13: Limitations of voting, need for systemic change
• 27:51–28:35: Concrete policy examples (e.g., congestion pricing)
• 30:09–31:41: Closing on hope, agency, and building new institutions

Conclusion – Tone and Call to Action

Andrea Pitzer brings urgency but clear-eyed historical analysis, warning that the US’s latest crisis isn’t unique to Trump but rooted in decades—or centuries—of patterns. Her call is both sober and hopeful: defeating individual strongmen is not enough without deep structural change and active citizen involvement in remaking government.

“Take up the challenges of the moment, but also pick a policy that you believe would make the country a better place over time and work close to home over the long term to bring that one good thing into the world.” — Andrea Pitzer [31:41]