As 2025 comes to a close, many of us may still be trying to make sense of what we are living through with the second Trump administration. This article offers several distinct but complementary narratives: “Uncertainty about where we find ourselves in political time—’back to the future,’ back to the GOP of 1989, or back to Germany in the mid-1930s—goes beyond what any fact checking could resolve.” Our friend Brian Stout wrote an important piece on Understanding the emotions driving fascism. This map of the Authoritarian Tech Complex, offers a useful breakdown of existing connections between leaders of tech companies and current government contracts and power centers. Nonprofit Quarterly has been offering a series of articles “to articulate why we need bold, courageous action to bring a Third Reconstruction – and offers strategies for systemic change that can help us get there; including this article on ‘Four Ways Philanthropy Can Support the Movement for a Third Reconstruction.’ And this article ‘The Next Era Could Come Sooner than you Think’ describes “several intersecting trends [that] have begun to point towards a massive reform window opening. Not just in our lifetime, but potentially within a few election cycles.”
Part of making sense of the moment is uncovering narratives that will resonate with different audiences; the recently released Pro-Democracy Narrative Playbook is a helpful resource. And don’t miss the collaboration between The Forge and RadComms offering a provocative series of articles on ‘Narrative Power for a Radical Tomorrow’. Learn more about all the artistic and creative actions around the country that took place recently under the banner of Fall of Freedom. “The movement’s symbolic epicenter was Washington, D.C., where over 50 artists, recently dismissed employees, and cultural workers demonstrated outside the Kennedy Center.” Another moment of joyful protest was during the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center this month, demanding ‘No Ice in the Cup’ and a safe and welcoming games for all this summer.
From the Horizons’ team, you can read our Chief Organizer’s latest article in Just Security: When Loyalties Shift: Americans’ Growing Noncooperation with Federal Abuses of Power. And we hope you’ll join us in January for the virtual Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance 201 training. This month, we are thrilled to welcome the newest member of the Horizons team, Ruth Moreno, as Director for Ecosystem Engagement.
Enjoy the additional resources we are reading, watching, and listening to this month. And we wish everyone a Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
📚 READING
The Economic Consequences of the Second Trump Administration
edited by Gary Gensler, Simon Johnson, Ugo Panizza and Beatrice Weder di Mauro, Centre for Economic Policy Research
“This collection is [assembled] by a diverse and bipartisan group of scholars who bring academic rigour to a fluid and complex policy environment. While the early months of the current administration have already produced an array of significant and often fast-moving policy actions – ranging from tariff restructurings and shifts in executive authority to realignments in international alliances – the authors have sought, as best as possible, to quantify and contextualise these developments… What emerges [is a multifaceted] and evolving picture of economic policymaking at a consequential juncture. The editors have taken care to organise this volume in a way that reflects the interconnections between domestic policies and global dynamics. We hope that readers – whether scholars, policymakers, business leaders, or engaged citizens – will find value in this work as a foundation for further discussion and inquiry.”
How Community Organizing Can Stop Authoritarianism and Advance Justice
by Sulma Arias, Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ)
This article is the fourth in NPQ’s series Toward a Third Reconstruction, co-produced with Dēmos. Sulma from People’s Action writes that “not all organizing is created equal: Good organizing requires relational power building, which centers and elevates ordinary people. Good organizing is never transactional or extractive…[to usher in] an era of reconstruction, multiracial working-class movement groups must be capable of acting together—inside, outside, and beyond elections—to build power and hold institutions accountable to people. To block authoritarian consolidation in the short term and lay the foundation for the long fight ahead requires a range of tactics and strategies. We must forge alliances with uncommon partners and create narratives of liberation rooted in shared stories of survival, dignity, and democracy that millions recognize as their own.”
The Art of Paradigm Shift
by Bert Wander, The Other Side of the End of the World
“A paradigm is something we can rarely see because we live inside it. It’s all the unspoken assumptions that underpin ‘how things are’. The stuff nobody argues about because it’s taken for granted. So the first step is seeing the existing paradigm. But it’s not enough to see what is wrong with ‘what is’. Transcending it means actively building ‘what might be’. This raises a profound tension for change-makers…If a paradigm shift is necessary, but it won’t happen until the new paradigm has been built, then we must ensure we’re not spending all our energy dealing with the consequences of the old paradigm on its own terms. We need to start building the new one.”
📺 WATCHING
Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust
Reos Partners
You can re-watch the global launch webinar with Adam Kahane, Manuela Restrepo and Ian Prinsloo, for the much-revised and expanded second edition of Collaborating with the Enemy. “In our increasingly polarized world, collaboration has become both more important and more difficult. To tackle the issues that matter most…we often must work with people we disagree with, dislike, or distrust. With new frameworks, practical exercises, and a discussion guide, this bestselling book returns with updated strategies for working across deepening divides…Adam Kahane challenges the myth of harmonious teamwork and offers a revolutionary approach that embraces discord, experimentation, and genuine cocreation.” To join the free three-session “Super-User Study Group” in February 2026, sign up here.
The Woman Who Predicted Tech Fascism — Paulina Borsook Was Right
The Nerd Reich
“In this episode, host Gil Duran speaks with legendary tech critic Paulina Borsook, author of Cyberselfish, the prophetic book that warned about the rise of Silicon Valley authoritarianism and technofascism decades before Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and the far-right tech elite took power. We dive deep into how Silicon Valley’s toxic libertarianism evolved into a global far-right propaganda machine, why tech journalists failed to sound the alarm, and what happens next as AI, surveillance, and billionaire power reshape democracy.”
The Committee for the First Amendment (1A Committee) is “a collective of artists and cultural leaders standing together to defend free expression against repression, industry complicity, and intimidation.” Check out their YouTube channel where you can find recordings of all their recent virtual trainings, including discussions on Free Speech and Authoritarianism; Fighting for Facts, Free Expression & Freedom; Media Consolidation and the First Amendment; and Back to the Basics – First Amendment 101.
🎧 LISTENING TO
Citizen soldiers under fire: A closer look at the D.C. attack and Afghan vetting
Eye on Veterans, CBS News
“After a former Afghan ally attacked West Virginia National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., killing Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounding Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, we’re hearing a National Guard veteran’s view of these deployments to major U.S. cities, and the vetting process of allies seeking asylum. National Guard veteran and CEO of The Chamberlain Network, Chris Purdy, has served both in Iraq and with organizations to bring our Afghan allies to the U.S. for their safety. Purdy offers a deeper look at the intended role of National Guard troops, the issues related to being assigned law enforcement duties, and the actual results of these deployments.”
Remembering disability activist Alice Wong
Code Switch podcast
“Alice Wong was a major force in disability activism. She passed away last month at the age of 51. For Here and Now, reporter Elissa Nadworny speaks with Yomi Young about Wong’s impact as a fellow activist, and what she leaves behind as a friend.”
Bigger Than Me: When history comes knocking, you have to figure out what to do.
This American Life podcast
“Prologue: Brittany’s job is to answer anonymous calls and texts from people in the military. This year, she’s gotten more than usual–most of them are wondering about what to do with orders they’ve been given. Or orders they’re afraid they’ll get someday in the future. Mother Knows Best: Jad Abumrad tells the story of the “ideological genealogy” of Fela Kuti’s anti-colonial politics–his mother. In late 1940s Nigeria, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti found herself at the center of a big, historical moment: an uprising led by thousands of women selling goods in Nigeria’s markets. Jad goes searching for who she really was, and how she became the person who galvanized a movement when history demanded it of her.”
😜 FOR EVERYONE
What My Toughest Audience Taught Me
by Deepa Iyer
Deepa shares her experience reading her picture book, We Are The Builders! to a group of first and second graders. “It’s a book about the ten roles that we can play, regardless of age and background, to improve our communities…Elementary school children, it turns out, are primed to become community changemakers. They possess a natural curiosity about the world, an intuitive sense of empathy, and the readiness to get things done.” You can also find updated materials available from Social Change Now, including the Social Change Map and Workbook and much more.