Local Radio Hosts Tackle the Rise of Fascism in America

In order to overcome a problem, you first have to identify what it is. Sarah Livings-Walsh and Analisa Venolia do just that in the latest episode of their show, Revolution Report, as they analyze the Trump administration’s various fascist characteristics.

“America the Fascist?” first aired on Friday, Feb. 21 on Handball Court Radio’s Live365 station, challenging its listeners to confront the uncomfortable reality of the current state of the American government. In the episode, Livings-Walsh and Venolia dove into an examination of Umberto Eco’s essay “Ur-Fascism” and tracked how Eco’s markers of fascism map onto Trump’s administration and the Make America Great Again movement, before exploring the parallels between Trump and Hitler, as well as Trump and Putin.

“We’re seeing what’s happening in our country and couldn’t stay silent,” Livings-Walsh stated. “We saw the historical parallels between Trump’s administration and Nazi Germany and needed to have an honest conversation with our audience.”

“And it’s an important conversation to have,” added Venolia. “We can’t pretend that what’s happening is business as usual.”

Instead of ending their discussion on an ominous note, Livings-Walsh and Venolia make sure to leave their audience with a sense of hope and message of resistance. They encourage their listeners to use their voice to speak out against the actions of the Trump administration and share resources to help them do so.

“The whole reason we founded Handball Court Radio was to talk about important issues while giving people solutions and hope,” said Livings-Walsh. “We didn’t want to leave our listeners feeling depressed after our episodes, we want them to feel empowered to take action.”

Livings-Walsh and Venolia say they intend to keep critically covering the Trump administration and providing their listeners with ways to resist the administration’s attacks on people’s civil liberties.

“Sharing information is especially important right now,” said Venolia. “We’re going to make sure our listeners have the tools they need to fight back against growing fascism.”

Revolution Report airs every other week on Handball Court Radio on Live365.com, with each episode uploaded on audio streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts the week following airing. For more information, visit hanbdallcourtradio.com.