Podcast Summary: "Jane Fonda on How to Turn Rage Into Hope"

Podcast: Pivot (special "On with Kara Swisher" episode)
Host: Kara Swisher (New York Magazine)
Guest: Jane Fonda
Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

In this rich and urgent conversation, Kara Swisher interviews legendary actor and activist Jane Fonda about turning personal and political despair into effective activism, her strategies for defending democracy and the environment, and her approach to mentorship and personal resilience. Fonda discusses the intersection of climate and democratic crises, grassroots political organizing, the critical role of artists and celebrities in resistance movements, and offers candid reflections on facing depression, hope, and aging.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Intertwined Crises: Climate and Democracy

• Jane Fonda’s Activism Evolution: Fonda has been a lifelong activist, fighting for peace, civil rights, women’s rights, and environmentalism, but notes a new urgency due to current existential threats.
• Strategic Focus:
  • Fonda identifies “two existential crises: climate and democracy. And they're totally interrelated, interdependent, and they have to be solved together. And the clock is ticking...” (04:08)
  • She describes the pitfalls of expecting meaningful political change when much of the government is beholden to fossil fuel donors.

2. The Jane Fonda Climate PAC

• Origin and Strategy:

  • Disappointed by insufficient legislative progress, Fonda and her team founded the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, focusing on local and down-ballot races — following the effective strategy of the Tea Party (05:01).
  • “We only support candidates who don’t take money from the fossil fuel industry. … Last year, we supported 79 candidates, and 80% of them won in Virginia. Last year, we won all 22 races, including flipping nine GOP seats.” (05:54)

• Broader Impacts:

  • The PAC isn’t just about winning local races but is “building a firewall” against authoritarianism and creating a “deep bench” for the Democratic party (06:55).

3. Protest, Non-Compliance, and Organizing

• On Strategic Protest:

  • Fonda sees the value in both protest and electoral effort: “We need everything. Protests are important because they force us to see, oh, we're not a minority. … But when you have someone in office who can be pressured… then protests are really important.” (07:18)
  • Right now, her focus is on weakening the “pillars of support” that uphold authoritarian regimes, referencing military, finance, and especially the arts.

• Non-Compliance as Resistance:

  • “Boycotts, strikes… are examples of non-compliance. And ideally, they're things that can affect the economy of the country.” (11:09)
  • Fonda emphasizes organizing across all "pillars" — military, finance, arts, professionals — and the special vulnerability and value of artists in resistance.

4. The Power and Risk of Artists and Celebrities

• Reviving the Committee for the First Amendment:

  • Inspired by the 1940s/50s artists’ resistance to McCarthyism, Fonda recently re-launched the Committee for the First Amendment to train and organize artists against authoritarianism (10:08, 13:32).

• Why Celebrity Voices Matter:

  • “If they didn’t attack us the way they did, then I would think, well, maybe it really doesn’t matter. … Artists model courage. Courage is contagious.” (12:22)
  • Comics’ ridicule is especially powerful: “Ridicule and humor are the best ways of confronting authoritarianism. They don’t know what to do about it.” (12:22)
  • When artists take a stand, it ripples outward, empowering other sectors to show bravery (13:51).

• Free Speech and the First Amendment:

  • Fonda is clear: “It’s the cornerstone of democracy. … The First Amendment isn’t just free speech. It’s the five freedoms: assembly, religion, press, speech, protest. … If you really believe in the First Amendment, you have to support her or his right, even if you don’t agree with it. This is a nonpartisan issue.” (14:42)

5. Lessons from Past Activism & Media Fragmentation

• Engaging Across Divides:
  • Fonda recounts her exhaustive 1970s antiwar tours ("80 cities in three months") and the importance of in-person dialogue, stressing, “It’s important to talk to people, to not be partisan, to listen hard and then present all the facts.” (19:19)
  • She warns against the Democratic Party’s historic detachment from grassroots organizing: “A lot of what's happening today is because the Democratic Party got in bed with its donors and stopped talking to people, especially in the middle of the country.” (19:51)

6. Opposing Corporate Media Consolidation

• On Hollywood Mergers:
  • Fonda is outspoken against large media mergers, citing loss of jobs, bargaining power, and First Amendment dangers: "Trump has taken over ... merger control. He is imposing limits on the First Amendment." (23:07)
  • She has personal insight from her marriage to media mogul Ted Turner, recounting the damaging history of industry consolidation (24:22–25:24).

7. Mentorship, Repair, and the Power of Confrontation

• Nurturing Growth in Others:
  • In response to Chelsea Handler’s question, Fonda shares her approach to constructive confrontation and support: “Not many people are able to say, ooh, I don’t like that about myself. I’m going to change, and then actually do it. She has changed. … I don't do that with everybody.” (28:07)
  • On staying engaged: “I don't relate to [the idea] that there’s some point in life where you stop getting better or stop trying to get better or stop mattering.” (27:52)

8. Rage, Despair, and Finding Hope Through Action

• Turning Hopelessness into Agency:
  • Fonda recounts her depression in the face of worsening climate disasters, finding hope only by taking action: “I was so depressed, I got a bird feeder ... and then I said, fuck it. I said, I'm gonna make a difference. ... The minute I did that, my depression lifted.” (29:24)
  • She quotes Greta Thunberg: “Everybody goes looking for hope. Look for action, and hope will come. Hope is very different than optimism. ... Hope is a muscle. Hope is when you fight, hope can be rage filled.” (30:14, 33:21)
  • She references Václav Havel: “Hope is not about fighting for something because you think it’s gonna succeed. Hope is about fighting because it’s right.” (31:07)

9. Practical Advice for Sustained Activism and Personal Resilience

• Daily Habits and Mindset:
  • On keeping hopeful: “I meditate ... to keep myself hopeful, to keep myself grounded and to keep myself present. … Another thing is sleep. ... Don't be alone. You're vulnerable when you're alone—to depression, to danger, to being not impactful.” (44:17)
  • Build community and seek strategic, experienced allies: “I now have a team ... very experienced and totally strategic and very connected to the entire ecosystem of movement across the country.” (45:40)
  • She encourages local resilience: “You can join a local indivisible, you can organize your neighborhood, ... when the climate shit... We have to harden our communities and make them resilient in all kinds of ways.” (45:50)

10. Specifics on Current Political Battles

• Climate PAC Strategy:
  • "We want to elect as many people as we can to the House. ... [When I visit] we triple the amount of money they can raise. We quadruple the amount of volunteers they can get." (35:05)
  • The PAC now also refuses to support candidates who back SMRs (small modular reactors) or data centers with destructive environmental footprints (36:01).

11. Technology, Tech Titans, and Escapism

• On Musk and Billionaire Escapism:
  • Fonda is critical of tech moguls talking about fleeing Earth: “I would try to reason with them. … You’re never going to remove everybody from here to some other planet. How dare we consider ourselves so much more important than other sentient things ... that we could just dismiss them?” (39:17)

12. Wisdom on Aging, Mortality, and Purpose

• On the Lessons of Mortality:
  • “Mortality gives us creativity, it gives us impetus to do things right.” (41:50)
  • Her guiding principle from age 60 onward: “I realized, okay, I'm not scared of dying. I'm scared of getting to the end with a lot of regrets when it's too late to do anything about it… Figure out how you want to be at the end ... and then that informs how you’re gonna live between now and then.” (42:19)
  • “I went into therapy at 82 years old. Never too late to figure it out.” (43:21)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Choosing Action Over Despair:

  • "I was so depressed, and then I said it. I said, I'm going to make a difference." (00:34)
  • “Everybody goes looking for hope. Look for action, and hope will come. Hope is very different than optimism. ... Hope is a muscle. Hope is when you fight, hope can be rage filled.” (Jane Fonda, 33:21)

• On Artists as Pillars of Resistance:

  • “Artists model courage. Courage is contagious. ... Comics in particular, ridicule and humor are the best ways of confronting authoritarianism. ... The goal of the authoritarians is always to show we're impermeable, impenetrable. ... And then a kid comes along, a comic, and says, look at you with no clothes.” (Jane Fonda, 12:22)

• On Aging and Regrets:

  • “I realized, okay, I'm not scared of dying. I'm scared of getting to the end with a lot of regrets when it's too late to do anything about it. ... Figure out how you want to be at the end ... and then that informs how you’re gonna live between now and then. And it's made all the difference in my life.” (Jane Fonda, 42:19)

• On Trump and Empathy:

  • “The behavior is the language of the traumatized, and you have to see through it. ... I don’t hate him. ... I would try to touch that early Trump, but I don't think I'd succeed.” (Jane Fonda, 47:05)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 04:08 | Fonda identifies dual crises: climate & democracy | | 05:54 | Jane Fonda Climate PAC strategy, impact | | 12:22 | On the impact and role of artists/celebrity activism | | 14:42 | First Amendment as nonpartisan bedrock | | 19:19 | Lessons from antiwar activism, power of conversation | | 23:07 | Why Hollywood/media mergers threaten democracy | | 29:24 | Turning depression into climate activism | | 33:21 | Distinguishing hope from optimism – hope as a muscle | | 35:05 | Climate PAC's down-ballot and midterms strategy | | 36:01 | On SMRs, data centers, and environmental priorities | | 39:17 | Response to escapism by tech moguls | | 42:19 | Reflection on aging with intention, living without regrets| | 44:17 | Personal keys to resilience: meditation, sleep, community |

Practical Takeaways for Listeners

• Hope is an action, not a feeling: Activism and community involvement are antidotes to despair.
• Grassroots democracy is critical: Supporting and organizing at the local level can function as a powerful firewall against authoritarianism.
• Artists and comedians are vital: Their courage, storytelling, and humor can disrupt authoritarian narratives and inspire broader resistance.
• Personal growth is lifelong: Reflection, therapy, and connection matter, regardless of age.
• Community resilience is essential: Organizing locally isn't only politically smart—it's a bulwark against both climate and political crises.

Jane Fonda’s story is both an inspiration and a blueprint: brave honesty, clear-eyed criticism, and a call to use whatever platform or privilege one has—for as long as one draws breath.