Our final episode of the season tries to rescue language from the ravages of fascist Newspeak. While not invented by or used solely by fascists, Newspeak -- a term coined by George Orwell in his seminal novel, 1984 -- impoverishes vocabulary in order to limit complex and critical thought and reasoning. Newspeak may appear as historically insidious buzzwords and phrases, like “Living Space” and “Final Solution.” Newspeak may also appear harmless, such as in “Enhanced Interrogation,” or even good, like “Make America Great Again.” Pro-tip: when folks stop speaking in full sentences, watch out.

We'll also sunset Season 1 and give you a heads up on our plans for Season 2.

In our penultimate episode of the season, we will try to make a distinction between populism—anti-establishmentarian political representation of the interests and voices of ordinary people—and the selective populism employed by fascist would-be autocrats. They claim to represent the will of the “true people” while identifying, excluding, and demonizing those that do not fit into their definition of the “true people.” Populism has its own drawbacks, but on the surface, it’s not an immediate threat. Selective, fascist populism, on the other hand, could make an outsider out of any of us.

If the patriarchy promises men power, why do so many of them still feel powerless? Episode thirteen pulls apart the myths of masculinity -- all the scripts that tell men how to stand, speak, fight, and everything else. From dueling pistols to MAGA hats, the performance has always required props, applause, and fear of failure. We trace how fascists and authoritarians have turned sex and gender into battlefields, equating sexual purity and weaponized virility with national strength. But beneath the uniforms and slogans lies insecurity, not strength. This episode asks who writes the rules of manhood, and whether anyone should.

If weakness is to be despised, dying as a hero is a great way to ensure you’re never seen as weak. Episode twelve laments the victims of such a mindset. The powerful—fascist and otherwise—have forever sent idealistic young people to die in the mud over wars of words and ideas. These poor children are hailed as patriots, but they’ll never know it, because they are dead. Their blind loyalties to the leader, who will not get in the trenches with them, have stolen their potential to resist that bleak fate.

The fascist’s utter disdain for weakness is the topic of episode eleven. To be clear, we’re talking about weakness as perceived by the fascist. Strongmen have always legitimized their control by contrasting their ideas about strength to the weaknesses they identify in their opposition. Whether it’s a physical disability, a lack of financial stability, or even lower television ratings, fascists will pinpoint weakness with glee and then rail against it. Thus, they redefine the meaning and appearance of strength for their target audience.

In episode ten, we will see that for the fascist, life is permanent warfare—we live only to struggle. All must be prepared to fight, endlessly, for the leader’s vision. If you are truly one of us, then you will destroy the enemy at every opportunity. If you are not willing to fight, then you must be the enemy, or at least trafficking with the enemy. Fascists remind us that pacifism is akin to degeneracy and leads down a path of ruin. They don’t want peace, much less appeasement, something we would have done well to recognize then as well as now. So much for giving peace a chance.

In our ninth episode, we try to wrap our minds around the duality of man, specifically the enemy, who is both weak and simultaneously too strong. The fascist tells us that the enemy is not only different from us, lesser than us, but that their differences—race/ethnicity, religion, political affiliations—are overwhelming. Furthermore, they are too many, they have too much, and they want to take more. They are, according to the fascist, “poisoning the blood of our country” and they must be stopped—if not by law, then by force.

Our eighth episode reminds us that the plot is all around us. Like the ancient god-kings they try to emulate, fascists are obsessed with the external and internal conspiracies that seek their ruin. From secret assassination cabals to the burning Reichstag to the sad fate of household pets at the hands of immigrants in suburban Ohio, there seems to be no limit to the forces arrayed against the fascist. Revealing the plot is crucial for his success, so he needs the people to see it to. Prepare the propaganda.