Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams
Episodes
How to Defeat Authoritarianism in 2026
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode of 2025, Assembly Required is focusing on our audience. Stacey reflects on the lessons learned this year and answers listener ques...
How Big Tech Has Sold Us Out
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The internet was originally seen as a tool of progress and innovation, but the reality has turned out to be economically, politically, and morally fra...
Hegseth’s Strike Order, “Remigration” & the Midterm Stakes (with Alex Wagner)
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Assembly Required, Stacey sits down with Alex Wagner, veteran journalist and host of the new Crooked Media podcast “Runaway Country”....
What's the future of organizing? + Ken Martin with Vote Save America’s Shaniqua McClendon (Crooked Con)
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Live from Crooked Con, Shaniqua McClendon, Vice President of Politics at Crooked Media, hosts Maurice Mitchell of the Working Families Party, Ezra Lev...
Redrawing Democracy: Prop 50, Trump’s Maps, and the Battle for 2026
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The battle for 2026 has already begun, and it’s all about the maps. Step three in the 10 steps to authoritarianism is to weaken competing powers, an...
Samantha Bee on How the Funny Can Fight Trump and Republicans
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Late night comedians have become some of the most recent high profile targets for Donald Trump and Republicans, because like most wannabe authoritaria...
Gaza Under Siege: Netanyahu’s Use of Violence to Maintain Power
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Authoritarianism is on the rise globally, from hard-line leaders in Europe to despots in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Wherever they eme...
How 3.5% of People Can Change Everything
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The act of protest is a vital, visible, and essential tool in resisting the fall of democracy, and it takes commitment, disruption, and denial – t...
The Rise of State Violence in the United States
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
National Guardsmen are being deployed into Democratic-led cities under the guise of fighting crime. ICE, using military-style tactics, are racially pr...
The Politics of Fashion: How What We Wear Shapes the World
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fashion isn’t just functional — it’s transformative. It can be a form of political speech, like when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines in ...
The Republican War on Knowledge
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Knowledge is power — a familiar cliché, but one that’s never felt more urgent. Trump and his Republican lackeys have launched alarming efforts to...
How to Build a Winning Coalition in Trump’s Broken America
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of authoritarianism’s core tactics is claiming the system is broken beyond repair and only one man can fix it. Enter Donald Trump. He’s reshap...
How MAHA Is Coming for Women
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Propaganda is a powerful tool for an autocrat. It’s crucial to step six of the Ten Steps to Autocracy: weaken the truth and fill the void with propa...
Stacey Abrams’ On The Ten Steps to Save Democracy
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode of Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams breaks down the “Ten Steps to Autocracy,” a framework inspired by Princeton Professor...
The Republican Dismantling of Public Education
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As back-to-school season kicks off, the Trump Administration has gutted the Department of Education, and his Republican allies in Congress have follow...
More Happier: Talking Romance Writing with Stacey Abrams and Lori Gottlieb
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Assembly Required team is taking a break this week but we’re excited to bring you an episode of Happier with Gretchen Rubin featuring our very o...
How to Fight Back Against the Republicans’ Anti-Abortion Authoritarianism
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Authoritarianism takes many forms - including stripping women of their rights. This summer marked three years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, eradic...
Ezra Klein on Abundance and Reclaiming the Democratic Vision
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the Ten Steps to Autocracy, step four is convincing citizens that democracy just isn’t working. If democracy isn’t working, then people will be...
How Christian Nationalism Threatens Democracy
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Christian nationalism is an extremist, anti-democratic ideology rooted in the belief that the United States should be a nation for Christians to the e...
How Trump’s War on Journalism Can End America
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has been called many things: authoritarian, racist, liar, scam artist. Stacey Abrams is adding one more…aspiring autocrat. Inspired by ...
How the Republican Megabill Hurts Everyone
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On July 4th, Trump signed the devastating and dangerous Republican "Megabill" into law — a sweeping measure that targets the young and the vulnerabl...
Buffy, Bad Bills, and Burning Questions with Stacey Abrams
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the very first edition of Assembly Required’s listener mailbag, Stacey Abrams tackles your wide-ranging, urgent questions—from politics to pop ...
How to Find the Funny in Times of Crisis (with Amber Ruffin)
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Political humor is more than just a distraction. It’s where punchlines meet headlines and chaos turns into catharsis. It offers us moments of levity...
How We Can Save Our National Story - One Park at a Time
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
National parks and public lands tell us who we are - and remind us of how we fit into the grander scheme of things. They give people the chance to con...
The Danger of Trump’s Supreme Court
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Late June marks the end of the Supreme Court term—a moment when some of the most consequential decisions in American life are handed down. At stake ...
ICE Raids, Military Force on American Soil, and the Fight for Justice in America
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, ICE stormed through Los Angeles, raiding Home Depots, warehouses, and schools in a cruel, targeted crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Th...
The Future of Political Messaging Is Young and Online
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Winning elections starts now, and that’s only the beginning. The way we get our news has always evolved, and today we face a fractured media landsca...
Who Should Reproduce? The Politics of Family Planning in the Trump Era
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. birth rate is falling, and the Trump administration has a solution: Make. More. Babies. But instead of expanding support for families—throu...
How Project 2025 Is Rewriting America - Phase II
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Project 2025 is no longer just a blueprint—it is rapidly in motion. Over the past four months, the Republicans have begun implementing its sweeping,...
The Real Power of Protest: How We Fight Back and Win
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is nothing more toxic to tyranny than those willing to fight back. Across the country, every day Americans are exercising their First Amendment ...
Rachel Maddow on Winning America’s Fight Against Fascism
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, we’ve watched Republicans erode American democracy with alarming speed. While this political mome...
100 Days That Shook the World: How Trump and the GOP Broke America’s Role in Global Leadership
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In just 100 days, Donald Trump and the Republican Party have upended the post WWII international order. From pulling out of the WHO to undermining int...
How the Right’s War on Academic Freedom Hides a Darker Mission
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the Republican Party’s most dangerous campaigns is their continued assault on academic freedom. Under the pretense of fighting antisemitism a...
Breaking America's Economy: Unpacking Trump's Tariff War
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump’s unhinged, unpredictable global trade war is causing chaos and confusion. In just one week, the President announced tariffs on the entire wor...
Lessons from Ryan Holiday: How to Stay Grounded in Turbulent Times
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Whether your instinct now is fight or flight, many of us are searching for the way to navigate these turbulent times. In this episode, Stacey shares h...
The Rise of Bad Medicine and Anti-Vaxxers: Combatting Trump’s Health Agenda
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy's so-called assault on medical science is putting Americans at grave risk. Measles has resur...
Defying the Courts: Trump's Legal Battles and Our Fight for Justice
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump Administration is openly defying the courts, racking up over 100 federal lawsuits due to its tyrannical actions. Trump and his allies have c...
How John Legend Learned To Forgive His Mother (From Your Mama's Kitchen)
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sharing another podcast we can’t get enough of: Your Mama’s Kitchen. It’s a show about cuisine and culture, ingredients and identities, and the ...
Why Trump’s Attack on Veterans Weakens America
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our nation’s veterans are being disproportionately impacted by the Trump administration’s assault on government agencies, from cuts to the VA, to ...
Decoding Trump’s Address to Congress w/ Jen Psaki
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump’s speech to a joint chamber of Congress was the longest in history, clocking in at nearly 100 minutes. Instead of providing viable solutions t...
Trump’s Crypto Presidency: What It Means For You
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump’s affinity for crypto currency has emerged as another vehicle for profit and peddling influence. On today’s episode, we break do...
Don’t Let Trump’s Cuts Destroy the Government That Works For You
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Another week, another Trump admin scheme to cripple the government—this time by targeting the very workers who keep it running, from food inspectors...
How Trump Is Selling Out America to Elon Musk
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A league of unextraordinary gentlemen has taken over the White House. This week, Stacey breaks down how Donald Trump has allowed Elon Musk and his squ...
How To Fight Trump’s Anti-American Agenda on Immigration and Refugees
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump's immigration crackdown is in full force. Three weeks in, he’s signed 10 executive orders targeting everyone from migrants attempting to cross...
Cory Booker On Winning the Messaging War Against Trump with Radical Empathy
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Donald Trump’s first 100 days are well underway, implementing ruthless and legally questionable executive orders, eviscerating American po...
Defeating Trump’s Chaos Playbook with Our New Age of Insistence
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has been inaugurated for a second term as President, and the “blitzkrieg” of orders, insults and rhetoric has already begun. Stacey A...
Why DEI Scares Trump and Project 2025 and Why It Should
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is being weaponized by Donald Trump and Project 2025 and right-wing activists. That's because DEI has been arou...
How to Save the Environment from Trump and Project 2025
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In his first term, Donald Trump pulled out of the global Paris Climate Accords and rolled back over 100 regulations impacting the safety of our air, w...
Do You See What I See? Building AI for All of Us
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the face of unbridled AI development and incoming President Trump’s close advisors who happen to be big investors in AI, it’s more important th...
How to Combat Project 2025’s Dangerous Prescription for Public Health
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey speaks to Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist and editor at large for public health at KFF Health News, about...
How to Stand Up to Project 2025 and Save Public Education
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey talks to Kate Nazemi, a local education activist and parent, and Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings ...
How We Can Take Democracy Back with Ballot Initiatives
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey talks to Rachel Sweet, who has successfully used ballot initiatives in tough states to change the rules. Most recently, she served as campaign ...
How We Can Fix Hunger, Food Deserts, and a Broken System (with Chef Tom Colicchio)
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey talks to renowned chef, activist, and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio about why the United States has a food insecurity crisis despite being the r...
Plotting Our Way Forward by Looking Back at History (with Heather Cox Richardson)
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey speaks with historian Heather Cox Richardson to see what history can teach us about moving forward after Trump’s reelection. They discuss str...
Stacey’s Post-Election Message and The Power of Music
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey offers a reflection and a call to action to move beyond resistance and into insistence after the re-election of Donald Trump. Then she speaks w...
How Your Vote Can Combat Extreme Weather and Save the Planet
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey talks with meteorologist and veteran hurricane expert, John Morales, who describes how growing up in Puerto Rico led him to his career and how ...
How To Fix America’s Maternal Health Crisis and Fight For Reproductive Freedom
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Giving birth in the United States can be dangerous – but it doesn’t have to be. Stacey talks to Representative Jennifer McClellan of Virginia abou...
How Technology Is Transforming Art & Why We Should Care
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey sits down with artist KNA to discuss how artists are impacted by AI and other evolving technologies, how they can use them to fuel their creati...
The Future of Hollywood with Bryan Cranston
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey sits down with award-winning actor, producer and activist Bryan Cranston to talk about how the entertainment industry is evolving one year on s...
The Fight for Voting Rights Across the Country
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey is joined by Mother Jones’ national voting rights correspondent and author, Ari Berman, to untangle threats to voting rights ahead of Novembe...
The Right to Read and Fighting Book Bans with LeVar Burton
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of Banned Books Week, Stacey is joined by two guests: Her mom and former librarian, Reverend Carolyn Abrams, and actor, director, and literac...
The Rent is Too Damn High, But Renters Are Even More Powerful
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If there’s power in numbers, then there are arguably few groups as powerful American tenants. Stacey is joined by founding director of the KC Tenant...
New Media and How Emerging Voices Are Shaping What We Know
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey is joined by journalist and author, Paola Ramos, and Washington Post TikTok host and producer, Joseph Ferguson, to explore how journalists and ...
United We Ball
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
College sports is a huge business. How can we make it more fair for the athletes themselves? Stacey is joined by WNBA forward Brianna Turner and forme...
Deepfakes, Lies, and How to Fight Disinformation
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Disinformation touches all of us, and more often than we think. Stacey is joined by Esosa Osa, founder of Onyx Impact, to talk about how acute the iss...
Gen Z’s Fight for the Future
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This election is in the hands of Gen Z, a cohort of young Americans that’s diverse, creative, and—often—skeptical. At the Democratic National Co...
Down with the Electoral College, Voting Alternatives Rise Up
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the debut episode of Assembly Required, Stacey takes on one of the most intractable problems in American politics: the unequal distribution of powe...
Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams: Coming August 15th
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Let's face it, sometimes the world feels broken. We can see what needs fixing, yet more and more, it feels like the problems are too big and the bad g...