The Joy Reid Show

Episode: Friday Night Fights: Eat the Rich!
Date: November 8, 2025
Host: Joy-Ann Reid
Guests: Dr. Heidi Anderson (President, UMES), Michelle Eisen (Starbucks Workers United), Narmeen Chowdhury (Journalist), James Walker (Attorney)
Theme: Oligarchy vs. the People, Far-Right Culture Wars, Attacks on DEI and Academia, Workers’ Rights, and a Pivotal NYC Mayor’s Race

Episode Overview

This episode of The Joy Reid Show dives deep into the current American moment: the alarming rise of oligarchy and the unchecked power of the super-rich, the state of right-wing culture wars on race and diversity, orchestrated attacks on Black leadership in academia, the ongoing struggle of workers against corporate oppression, and the consequential, hope-inspiring election of New York's new mayor, Zorhan Mamdani. Joy-Ann Reid moves between breaking news updates (SNAP benefits, shutdown impacts), incisive political commentary, soundbites from right-wing ideology architects, and heartfelt interviews with frontline figures in today’s battles for justice and equality.

Major Topics and Key Insights

1. Breaking News & Immediate Crises

[00:31–09:15]

• SNAP Benefits in Jeopardy

  • 42 million Americans rely on SNAP; confusion over whether USDA can deliver full benefits by deadline.
  • Trump administration is appealing the court order to supply full benefits, but payments continue during the appeal.
  • Notable quote (Joy Reid):

    "The guy who threw the Great Gatsby party and boasted about the ugly, hideous marble bathroom in the White House... that guy appealed [the order to feed the poor]... F them kids." (05:00)

• Historic Government Shutdown

  • Senate Dems offer a deal, propose an extension of Obamacare subsidies for millions.
  • GOP Senate (John Thune) rejects even a temporary extension, compared to making tax cuts for the rich permanent.
  • "All they [Democrats] are saying is do the same thing for the regular people. You made the rich people's tax cut permanent. Do the same thing for the regular guy." (07:45)

• Travel Chaos

  • 700 flights canceled, air traffic controllers working for free, posing safety risks amid the shutdown.

2. Oligarchy, Project 2025, and Right-Wing Panic

[09:15–19:20]

• Far-Right Panic Over Accountability

  • Soundbites from Steve Bannon and associates express urgency to “seize institutions” and codify Trump’s executive orders—fearful that losing power means jail time for their crimes.
    • Steve Bannon:

      "If we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included." (10:43)

  • Joy’s commentary: Bannon knows the statute of limitations hasn’t run out on his and Trump’s alleged crimes—“He understands the participation thing, it's a real thing that he worries about...”

• Coordinated Attacks on Diversity

  • The right’s open campaigns to remove BIPOC leaders ("Draining the diversity"); 300,000 Black women lost jobs; surge in attacks on “DEI” in employment, academia, government.
  • Trump’s agenda: rollbacks, deportations, ethnic cleansing, weaponizing federal investigations against critics.

3. Academic Purges: Plagiarism Accusations as a Weapon

[19:20–35:01, Dr. Anderson Interview]

• Plagiarism Accusations Against Black Women Leaders

  • Dr. Heidi Anderson (President, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, UMES) discusses being falsely accused of plagiarism in her 1986 dissertation, in the wake of the right-wing’s successful smear of Dr. Claudine Gay at Harvard.

    • Dr. Anderson:

      “My dissertation… was done with highest integrity… This attack on me is an attack on my advisor, it is an attack on the committee, the faculty… and my alma mater.” (20:08)

  • The accuser, Donna Satterley (former faculty), also filed a suit alleging anti-white discrimination, echoing right-wing talking points—publicized through Newsmax, Daily Wire.

    • Dr. Anderson:

      "No, I don’t know if she’s conservative… We focus on transforming students, building global citizens. Doesn’t bother us whether our faculty are conservative or not." (23:54)

• HBCUs and Resilience

  • Anderson pivots to the positive: HBCUs’ outsized contributions; UMES launching Maryland’s first veterinary school—a landmark for Black professionals.
    • “HBCUs are punching way above their weight… We stand on greatness here. 139 years is our institution, and I am so proud.” (29:29)

• Legal Pushback

  • UMES’s counsel, James Walker, outlines affirmative lawsuits against Satterley as a necessary pushback—targeting those using right-wing media to smear Black leaders.
    • “If you had such a strong plagiarism claim, why didn’t you put it in your lawsuit? ...This was clearly a smear tactic, clearly a way of trying to oust this president just like they did our poor sister at Harvard.” (33:28; 33:52)

4. Rise of the American Oligarchy and Far-Right Thought

[35:01–53:05]

• Oligarchy Ascendant:

  • Discussion of America’s first trillionaire (Elon Musk), the unchecked power/wealth accumulation of billionaires at the expense of workers and democracy.

• The “New Right”: Intellectual Roots and Open White Supremacy

  • Joy breaks down the “Project Cosmos” podcast: key figures—Christopher Rufo (CRT panic architect), Curtis Yarvin (a.k.a. Mencius Moldbug, open proponent of monarchy/fascism and racist social order), Patrick Deneen, Christopher Caldwell.
  • [42:29] The “deracination” conversation — “To remove the racial or ethnic characteristics or influences. So he's concerned about a deracinated American culture… who do you think he thinks are being deracinated?”
  • Dialogue demonstrates how anti-diversity, anti-DEI, and anti-‘wokeness’ are vehicles for a restorationist, white Christian ethno-state vision.

• Shockingly Open Calls for Re-segregation/Indenture

  • Yarvin proposes “gang bangers in Baltimore” be placed under religious masters who track/control them and distribute welfare:

    “What that means… is you wake up one morning, you’re a gang banger in Baltimore… and you are going to get your welfare check… from your minister. …Your minister can drug test you, assign you work, put an air tag on you…” (46:46)

• Justifying Slavery

  • Clip plays Pastor Doug Wilson and Yarvin discussing the “good times” of slavery for both whites and Blacks, labeling post-slavery years as the “nadir”; outright ahistoric, offensive justifications for the antebellum social order.

    “There were also numerous slaves pining for slavery time…” (51:03–53:05)

5. GOP Civil War, Groypers, and the Future of the Far-Right

[53:05–69:57]

• Right-Wing Youth Radicalization

  • The Republican youth base has moved “openly fascist,” embracing figures like Nick Fuentes—arch racist, incel leader, vocal Hitler apologist (“Hitler has aura… is it not true that he’s compelling?” – 67:01).
  • Fuentes’s influence reflects an open swath of the GOP staff base (30-40%) now recruited from “Groypers”—white nationalist youth movement.

• Fracturing Over Israel

  • The right is now split: pro-Israel (e.g., Ben Shapiro’s faction) vs. anti-Israel, isolationist (Fuentes and younger base)—fueling further internal chaos.
  • “Who gets to inherit the Charlie Kirk portion of the right? Who gets to inherit MAGA when Trump inevitably goes away?” (passim)

6. NYC’s Swing Left: Zorhan Mamdani’s Election and the Oligarchs’ “Panic”

[83:53–98:22]

• Election of Zorhan Mamdani as NYC Mayor

  • A major blow to the oligarchy: Mamdani, a Bangladeshi immigrant, wins on a left-populist, pro-immigrant, pro-union, anti-corruption, anti-oligarch platform.

    “We will hold bad landlords to account because the Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable… We will put an end to the culture of corruption… New York will remain a city of immigrants…” — Mamdani (83:53)

• Ground Reaction & Representation Gap

  • Journalist Narmeen Chowdhury describes the divide: gloom among the UES elite vs. joy and hope in Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx.

    "Who’s going to leave the greatest city in the world? ...You’re going to need both the mayor and the billionaires to work together for the betterment of this city." - Narmeen (86:39)

  • Discussion of nearly complete erasure of Muslim journalists in major media coverage of the race, the role of anti-Muslim bigotry in establishment pushback.

    “Sometimes you just wondered, is it only because he is the Muslim candidate? Is it really purely that?” (92:25)

• Policy Challenges Facing Mamdani

  • Affordability crisis, high child poverty, billionaire resistance, and what it means for a new era in city governance.

7. Workers’ Rights and Corporate Greed: The Starbucks Labor Fight

[99:11–111:47]

• Michelle Eisen (Starbucks Workers United) Interview
  • Chronicles the David vs. Goliath struggle for a union contract at Starbucks: 12,000 baristas organized, but the company (record profits, $96M CEO pay, millions on vanity events) stonewalls negotiations, closes stores, fights unions tooth and nail.

    “Starbucks workers depend on SNAP, Medicaid… The government is subsidizing Starbucks workers. This is a multi-billion dollar corporation.”

  • “Starbucks is the #1 violator of labor law in US history—more than Amazon. Over 400 labor law violations, 700 more pending.” (paraphrased 103:00–106:30)
  • Strike vote passes with 92% support; call for consumer solidarity via NoContractNoCoffee.org.

8. Closing: The Sandwich Man and Comic Relief

[113:56–119:03]

• “Moment of Joy”: The Felony Footlong Trial
  • Light-hearted coda: coverage of the “Subway Sandwich Man” charged with a felony for throwing a footlong at a cop—acquitted to much audience/online approval.

    “The people said, look, sandwich man is a hero. …Felony footlong. …He survived his brush with the law—the footlong arm of the law!” (114:18+)

• Joy and chat share sandwich puns as a palate cleanser after a heavy episode.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Steve Bannon:

  "If we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included." (10:43)

• Dr. Heidi Anderson:

  "An attack on me is an attack on my advisor...and my alma mater, Purdue University." (20:08)

• Michelle Eisen:

  "We are tired of listening to billionaire CEOs take sole credit for the billions of dollars...made off our labor." (99:11)

• Curtis Yarvin (paraphrased):

  “There are Americans who should be living…individualized, atomized… and those who need to be part of a community—under authority, tracked and work-assigned by ministers.” (46:46)

• Nick Fuentes:

  “Hitler was a particular leader in a particular time. I don't necessarily think that Hitler is a hero, I said, but he has aura. Is that not true?... He has a mythical significance in human affairs.” (67:01)

• Zorhan Mamdani:

  "The Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable taking advantage of their tenants... New York will remain a city of immigrants... as of tonight, led by an immigrant." (83:53)

• Joy Reid:

  "This is it. We... It's the oligarchy versus the rest of us. It is the billionaire class that has decided they own the country..." (112:22)

Episode Flow Summary

1. Joy opens with breaking news on SNAP, shutdown, and government dysfunction, skewering GOP hypocrisy and elite priorities.
2. Intensifies the throughline: extreme wealth and systemic indifference lead to the suffering of the poor and working class.
3. Brings in soundbites and analysis exposing the reactionary, white-Christian-nationalist ideology reshaping the right, and details organized attacks on diversity and Black academic leaders.
4. Interviews Dr. Heidi Anderson about right-wing, race-baiting attacks in higher education; broader context is a right-wing crusade against DEI and Black leadership.
5. Provides a deep-dive into the dangerous, open-air anti-democratic and white nationalist theorizing in far-right intellectual circles—names, doctrines, influence, and impact on policy.
6. Surveys the escalating, internecine war within the right: youth radicalization shapes the future of Republican politics; new threats loom (Groypers, Fuentes, anti-immigrant fascism).
7. Pivots to hope with coverage of Zorhan Mamdani’s NYC mayoral victory—galvanizing for working-class, immigrant, and minority communities.
8. Highlights grassroots labor organizing (Starbucks) as evidence of ongoing, necessary solidarity against oligarchy.
9. Closes with comic relief, embracing community humor and resilience.

For New Listeners

This episode is a sweeping, urgent catalog of the challenges facing American democracy, fairness, and unity at the end of 2025. Joy Reid moves with mastery from policy grit to cultural critique, from devastating right-wing trends to grassroots victories—letting her guests’ stories and the far right’s own words reveal both the stakes and the possibilities of the current moment. If you want to understand the current American crossroads—where oligarchy, anti-blackness, and fascism encroach, but resistance is flowering—this is the episode to hear.

Resources and Calls to Action

• NoContractNoCoffee.org: Stand with Starbucks workers!
• #WearingJoy, #Readers: Show off your Joy Reid Show merch online.
• Follow Narmeen Chowdhury (@NarmeenNews, Instagram) for frontline NYC reporting.
• Get involved with your local HBCU or support Black educational initiatives.
• Get educated, stay aware, and always—fight for the people, not the oligarchy.

Summarized by The Joy Reid Show Podcast Summarizer – Episode November 8, 2025