MeidasTouch Podcast – Full Episode Summary (8/29/25)

Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Date: August 29, 2025
Episode Theme:
This episode delivers a fast-paced, incisive, and frequently irreverent breakdown of current events under the Trump regime, focusing on the collapse of federal institutions, the normalization of authoritarianism, the spiraling of disinformation, escalating crises in public health and global security, and the urgent need for pro-democracy, fact-based media in the U.S. and abroad. The brothers share updates on government dysfunction, powerful moments of grassroots resistance, analysis of how propaganda endangers democracy, and their vision for international expansion of the MeidasTouch network.

Main Topics & Insights

1. Federal Institutions in Crisis

[03:05] Ben: The episode opens with news of mass resignations at the CDC and administrative leave for FEMA leadership, following openly raised concerns about the agencies' ability to protect the public under Trump. The CDC has experienced a walkout, and Brett notes, “We are showing this active dissent as Donald Trump and this regime and the Republican Party actively do things that are going to kill the American people.”
[05:48] Brett: The team lampoons Senator Susan Collins’ perennial “concern,” as emblematic of the GOP’s inability/unwillingness to stop Trump’s corrosive actions.
[39:17] Ben: “The outcome Republicans want… is the worst possible outcome: more disease, more death, more murders, horrible economy… let’s literally pick the worst people for each possible position.”
[47:56] Brett: Strong focus on RFK Jr.’s anti-vaxx agenda and the installation of an anti-vaccine deputy as acting CDC director, gutting the CDC of expertise, and restricting vaccine access.

2. Political Propaganda & The Media

[14:41] Brett: The administration’s economic lies are dissected—e.g., fabricated claims of multitrillion-dollar foreign investments, amorphous trade “deals” with no documentation, and promises of “DOGE checks” and other fantasy payouts.
[17:17] Jordy: “Our media landscape with corporate media just parroting what Donald Trump and chief propagandist Caroline Levitt says… it gets so ingrained in people’s minds…”
[24:43] Brett: “He’s behaving like a dictator.” Ben: “I feel like one of the last survivors sometimes in a zombie movie that the zombie hasn’t bitten me yet.”
[62:37] Ben: “That’s what I’ve been looking for for so long… it’s not beneath us to highlight these things that are being said… we scream from the rooftops, guys, fascism. He’s saying the same things that Hitler’s saying… Stop it. This is serious.”

3. Government Accountability and Grassroots Response

[07:37] Ben: Highlights the growing wave of grassroots activism flipping districts in red states, e.g., Iowa Senate District 1, where activist Caitlin Dray defeated a MAGA favorite.
[23:10] Brett: U.S. faces growing international economic isolation as Trump’s tariffs upend global commerce—even international mail shipments are halted by U.K., Australia, Germany, more.
[72:01] Charlie Angus: International summit clip underscores the importance of alternative, pro-democracy media outlets like MeidasTouch to counter authoritarian disinformation in the U.S., Canada, and beyond.

4. Normalization of Fascism & Authoritarian Actions

[38:08] Brett: “The normalization of fascism… it’s like a creep, creep, creep. I called it the ‘leaky fascist faucet.’”
[39:17] Ben: Installing unqualified ideologues (a 22-year-old former intern to lead domestic terrorism threat monitoring) is framed as intentionally orchestrated to yield negative outcomes.
[60:54] Governor Newsom: Critiques Trump’s authoritarian actions at a press conference, highlighting hypocrisy and factually higher crime in GOP-led states.

5. Crisis in Public Health, Safety, and Economic Security

Mass Shootings & Gun Policy

• [32:41] Brett and Jordy trace the recurring inaction by Republicans on gun violence, noting the tragic school shooting in Minneapolis, media’s failings, and the “zombie” response of thoughts and prayers over meaningful action.
• [36:54] Jordy: “How do you plan on explaining to your child that little Timmy was gunned down in math class…?”

CDC & Vaccine Policy

• [47:56] RFK Jr.’s policies, gutting of the CDC, strict new vaccine restrictions, and mass staff walkout are discussed in detail.
• [50:20] Brett: “He’s going to spread more harmful information that is going to get people hurt. Because we have a guy who’s basically straight out of a Facebook comment section now in charge of our health system. It’s absolutely crazy.”

Economic Alarm

• [64:31] Ben raises data on credit defaults, student loans, surging deficits, and a Federal Reserve warning of stagflation, connecting the dots to Trump policies that intentionally harm the economy.

6. International Affairs: Ukraine, Russia, Gaza

Ukraine:

• [58:00, 64:01] Russia is escalating attacks on Ukraine, including civilian and diplomatic buildings, as the U.S. and NATO response lags and Trump’s “ceasefire” promises evaporate.
• [64:01] Ben: “Trump’s leadership has got Russia to agree to NATO-like security guarantees… Trump is acting like an asset, knowingly or unknowingly, of Putin.”

Gaza:

• [74:02] Brett discusses the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, with heavy civilian tolls and targeted disinformation campaigns to mask starvation and atrocities:
  “I mean, it’s like a genocidal thing that’s happening right now in Gaza… you see the propaganda here propping up these same heinous actions.”
• [74:02] Brett reflects on the importance of not letting propaganda blind people to humanitarian realities, regardless of media silences.

Notable Quotes and Moments

[05:48] Brett:

• “Susan Collins is the perfect representation of the Republican Party and how it was able to get co-opted by a con man, by a scam artist like Donald Trump. These people are weak.”

[16:18] Brett:

• “They lie about everything. It’s the same playbook that they use for quite literally everything, while they are stripping away essential services… making us poor, making us pay more. I mean, it’s really just evil.”

[32:41] Brett:

• “We have to be one of the most propagandized nations in the world… a lot of it has to do with social media, with algorithms… with Fox News, with a legacy media that is ill equipped to fight back.”

[38:08] Brett:

• “They’re the party of pro-force birth, not the party of pro-life, because they don’t give a damn about kids.”

[49:20] Jordy:

• “Data shouldn’t be a red or blue thing. Data is just a fact… but for Donald Trump and the Trump regime and MAGA, they don’t want to live in reality.”

[62:37] Ben:

• "That's what I've been looking for for so long, that answer right there. And it's not beneath us... to highlight these things that are being said... we scream from the rooftops, guys, fascism..."

[72:01] Charlie Angus (clip):

• “We need to start creating a progressive media that people listen to. I'll give you an example. The Midas Touch from Los Angeles... working class people listen... because they talk about what’s happening in a practical way. They don’t talk highfalutin... they give facts.”

[74:02] Brett:

• “I think the chaos is the point. I think Donald Trump is doing everything he’s doing on purpose.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:05] – Federal crisis (CDC/FEMA/Trump); grassroots Democratic victories
• [07:37] – Town hall clip exposing economic lies
• [14:41] – Wild Trump economic claims, lack of written trade deals, legal explanation
• [23:10] – International mail and trade disruptions
• [24:43] – Media normalization, “dictator chic,” zombie media
• [32:41] – Propaganda’s impact post-9/11 and Covid; mass shootings and government inaction
• [38:08] – Gun violence hypocrisy and normalization of fascism
• [39:17] – Installation of under-qualified loyalists
• [47:56] – CDC gutted, RFK Jr. policies, public health in crisis
• [60:54] – Gov. Newsom exposes crime hypocrisy and authoritarian drift
• [72:01] – International summit, Charlie Angus on pro-democracy media
• [74:02] – Brett mourns Gaza, denounces propaganda

Memorable and Humorous Moments

• The introduction of the “Susan Collins Scale of Concern.”
• [31:37] Brothers rib Ben for doing the show after having wisdom teeth removed.
• [58:00] Montage of Trump officials lavishing praise on him, compared to North Korean/Saddam cult of personality: “What in the Krispy Kreme glazed donut is that?” (Jordy)
• [24:43+] Repeated “zombie” movie analogy for the country’s normalization of extremism.

Tone and Style

• Candid, irreverent, and politically charged.
• Blends hard data, ridicule of right-wing lies, references to pop culture/fantasy (“Power Quest,” “Lord of the Flies”), and authentic, sometimes impassioned, concern for democracy and public welfare.

Closing

The brothers urge listeners to support MeidasTouch’s expansion—including the new Midas Canada and global pro-democracy media initiatives—by subscribing and gifting memberships, joining the “Meidas Mighty” community, and spreading real, fact-based content.
[79:28] Jordy: “Shout out to the Midas Mighty!”

For new listeners:
This episode offers both a darkly comic and deadly serious assessment of the Trump regime’s impacts on American democracy, public health, and the global order, spotlighting the urgent need for critical, pro-democracy journalism and activism at every level.