When Stewart Johnson staged a one-man No Kings Day protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Estonia, his image went viral.
Stewart tells the story, and paints a picture of a the country he's fallen in love with.
He also discusses government by oligarchs, the Singing Revolution, humor as an educational tool, and spins tales of being the first person to ever do stand-up comedy in a country.
The creator of Estonia's first cancer comedy and first movie in English (*The Chuck Band Show"), Steward is also the author of the book Tales from Estonia.
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Robin Roberts (https://www.yourtherapistabroad.com/) shares insights from her ten years of practice as an American therapist living abroad.
Noting an increase in anxiety and depression among her clients, she discusses how to deal with the consequences of living in these challenging times, how to draw boundaries, and deal with family you don't agree with--or family you do agree with but who live far away.
With a little discussion of Canadian Thanksgiving, typical Amsterdam fare, and Dutch culture.
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What do you need to know when you cross the border into the U.S.?
Attorney Natasha Esponda answers many of the questions that are on the minds of Americans living outside the country--about where searches and seizures can take place, when warrants are required, where your phone can and cannot be searched, and the rights of non-citizen family members.
With nods to a favorite criminal procedures professor and the ACLU, and to joy as an act of resistance.
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Pulitzer prize--winning biographer and historian T.J. Stiles offers his view of where we are now, as he speaks about the dismantling of institutions, what a post-Trump world might look like, the daunting fiscal challenges ahead, the factors that lead to violence, and on what might happen rather than Civil War.
Plus a brief rant against the fool who stepped on the butterfly and sent us into this timeline.
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The guest in the Café is Benjamin Gorman, publisher at Not a Pipe Publishing, and author of Dear America, a Break-up Letter.
Benjamin relates the dramatic story of his family's flight from the U.S. in the wake of Donald Trump's 2024 electoral victory, describes the craziness of some of the hatred directed at him and Not a Pipe, discusses the messaging received by young cis white men, and outlines how fascists exploit anger within the electorate, and why they never make people's lives better.
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Keith Brannum and Hope Mandel visit the cafe to talk about Democrats Abroad's newest country committee: DA Turkiye, which they lead as chair and vice chair.
The two talk about the steps involved in bringing the committee to viability, from the earliest phone calls to existing members, to recognition at Democrats Abroad's most recent annual meeting.
They share impressions of Istanbul, their ongoing conversation about contacting existing members vs finding new ones, and how they'll go about getting out the vote among Americans living in Turkiye.
The conversation also touches on Turkish pastries, the need for a podcast on Turkish men, and a vision of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney dancing to the Pogues at a summer music festival.
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David and Rachel are joined by Robert E. Friedman, founder of the international development nonprofit Prosperity Now, who visited three ICE detention centers in Louisiana in August 2025.
Bob speaks of the numbers of people in detention, the conditions and deprivations, the absence of due process, and of individuals he was able to speak to.
He notes that while videos of arrests are widely available, no one sees what happens after that to the people who are detained.
He speaks of a metastasizing system of concentration camps that are operating in our name, and reminds us to review the language of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
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Libby Jamison of Military Families for Ethical Leadership joins Rachel and David to talk about the challenges our service members and their families face as they are posted across the U.S. and beyond, and the new isues that have arisen with the current administration.
The conversation starts with Manitoba bird life, and ends with a ride on Air Force One, touching along the way on what it means to have a military presence on our streets, on the historic traditions of the East Wing, and on Libby's career of advocating for veterans and military familes and the work she is doing as a member of DA Morocco.
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Paula Lucas joins David and Rachel to talk about Pathways to Safety International, which she founded to assist U.S. citizens living or travelling abroad who experience domestic violence or sexual assault.
Paula tells her own story of fleeing an abusive marriage and discovering to her surprise that she couldn't just go to the Embassy and ask for help.
From the experience of extricating herself and her children and reestablishing them safely in the U.S. came her determination to help other people experiencing similar challenges.
Paula talks about the thousands of pepole the organization has helped, the difficulty of sustaining the organization without sufficient funding, and the ups and downs of this kind of work.
In 2013, she documented her story in the book Harvesting Stones: And American woman's international journey of survival: http://harvestingstonesbook.com/ .
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RoteRote, aka Hunter C.G., gives a crash course on Louisiana politics, along with a taste of what it's like to be a social media personality covering the far right.
He shares his thoughts on why so many disparate rightwing groups are able to work together while the equally broad assembly of leftwing groups is struggling to coordinate, the right's media advantage, how little time we have to address it, and his 50502000 plan that would start doing so. Find his links at https://linktr.ee/roterotemedia .
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Indivisible Abroad leaders Alyssa Elliott and Louise Parker join David and Rachel to talk about the sudden international emergence of the movement started by Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg.
The four explore how this came about, what Americans living abroad can contribute to a movement back home, and the relationships between Indivisible Abroad with the original US-based Indivisible in the States, as well as with Democrats Abroad.
To get involved, contact Indivisible Abroad at indivisibleabroad@protonmail.com .
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The two young leaders from Young Democrats of America vying to be elected president, Fatima Heyward and Kati Durkin, fill David and Rachel in on YDA and their priorities for the organization.
The conversation touches on labour, reproducitve justice, TikTok, and how to get young people out to vote.
For more information about YDA and Durkin and Heyward's candidacies, visit:
yda.org
ydaevolve.com
fatimaforyda.com
Actor Ingrid Garner stops off from touring one of the one-woman shows she has developed from her grandmother's memoir, Eleanor's Story: an American Girl in Hitler's Germany by Eleanor Ramrath Garner, to make a rare in-person visit to the cafe.
Having travelled to Ottawa to perform at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, Ingrid tells David and Rachel about what it was like to be away from her LA home during the No Kings/No Tryants rallies of June 14.
She also talks about her experiences as an Orange County pollworker, and of course, about her grandmother (now 95). https://www.eleanorsstory.com
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Novelist, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow joins Rachel and David in the cafe to talk about the enshittification of the internet and how we ended up in our current enshittogenic environment.
The conversation touches on digital locks, ink that's more expensive than a Kentucky Derby winner's semen, Robert Bork's taste in movies, "Fiddler on the Roof" the documentary, and moving fast and breaking kings.
Doctorow's most recent book is Picks & Shovels, and the next one to be released will be Enshittification.
For more information: https://craphound.com/, https://pluralistic.net/, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/ .
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Steward Reynolds (aka Brittlestar) joins Rachel and David again to talk about his blazingly handsome looks, the importance of sweet, glorious, naps, and his new book, Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism (Hachette; illustrated by Pablo Amargo)
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/stewart-reynolds/lessons-from-cats-for-surviving-fascism/9781538778005/
Stewart defends the choice of cats to model a resistance to fascism, Rachel works in a Dr. Ruth reference and a shout-out to the cats of DA Canada, and David is said to be wearing an Eartha Kitt-style cat suit.
Reference is also made to Canada Day in Trafalgar Square, and Stewart's podcast, Podcast is Broken, with Lisa B and Steve Boots."
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Ezra Levin, co-executive director and co-founder of Indivisible and Debbie Weiss, Indivisible's first-ever moderator, join David and Rachel to talk about building the coaltion to say no, and to reassert democratic control of the country.
Ezra talks about how Indivisible launched from a Google doc that he and Leah Greenberg co-wrote, and the transformative potential of a nonviolent movement of local communities protesting peacefully and boisterously and demonstrating to each other that we are not alone in fighting authoritarianism.
Debbie talks about the Mod Squad, coins the term "weathervaning," and offers practical tips for how everyone and anyone can contribute, and both underline the message that only the people can save democracy.
Ezra also reminds us all that gathering in your community to protect each other is the most human thing you can do.
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Former Canadian Member of Parliament Charlie Angus tells Rachel and David how he got into politics, and how he's working now to bring people together to fight the threats to democracy.
Charlie talks about building the Resistance, the response he's getting from people in Canada and around the world, and how vital it is to build connection and community.
He also touches on his past and present as a punk rocker, drops the answers to two trivia questions, and gives his recommendation for the best song for a resistance playlist.
Charlie's recently released his book Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed (Anansi Press), and with his band is at work on the Grevious Angels' tenth album .
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Democrats Abroad members share memories of the late Ken Sherman, a longtime member of Democrats Abroad (Canada), a former International Chair, and a transformational leader.
With contributions from Julia Bryan, David Mivasair, Christina Skovsgaard, Denise Roig, Susan Alksnis, Julie Buchanan, Lissette Wright, Steve Nardi, Adrianne George, Marnie Delaney, Art Shankler, Martha McDevitt Pugh, and via email by Ken's son Pascal.
You will be sorely missed, Ken.
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NEC 2025 Chair and Vice Chair
NEC 2025 Secretary
