Category: Uncategorized
-
Building Solidarity in this Deeply Divided Moment
Much of my research on social movements and protest has focused on understanding who protests and how they’re connected to one another. Since we know that pushing back to power requires movements that span identities, orientations, and social classes, some of that work looks particularly at solidarity and intersectionality. We are now in year 2…
-
Why Targeting Activists Will Backfire
As I mentioned in my last installment, the federal government has been increasing its surveillance of activist groups that focus on immigration and more. There are numerous accounts of the Trump Administration working to limit the rights of Americans to assemble and observe federal agents in order to document their actions, or what I call…
-
Earth to Trump: You Can’t Cancel Climate Change
Yesterday, President Trump eliminated the endangerment finding that classified greenhouse gases as air pollutants. This finding was the basis for federal climate policy in the United States and made it possible to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Without it, the rules that regulate emissions standards for vehicles, power plants, and fossil fuel…
-
Introducing the Apocalyptic Optimist Podcast:
Real talk about what’s broken and how to fix it. The Apocalyptic Optimist Podcast is LIVE! In the first episode, I speak with Rachel Carmona and Tamika Middleton from Women’s March about the Free America Walkout and what’s next for Resistance 2.0. For details on how to watch or listen to the conversation, go here.…
-
Resistance 2.0 Pushes Back
This weekend, I published a piece in The Guardian that discusses how activists participating in the Resistance to the second Trump Administration are getting more confrontational. In it, I discuss data collected from participants in the Free America Walkout on January 20th that shows how Resisters (yes, most participants in the walkout continued the trend…
-
Remaining Awake through this Social Revolution
Lessons from MLK that can help guide us in these precarious times: In honor of Dr. King, I want to talk today about one of his lesser known speeches: a commencement address he delivered at Oberlin College in June 1965 (so over 60 years ago). The title of the address is “Remaining Awake Through a…
-
Will Winter 2026 Be Like Summer 2020?
On Wednesday, January 7th, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good was shot in the head by an ICE agent less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020. While the details of the shooting are still coming out, videos by bystanders from various angles contradict claims made by members of the…
-
What’s on my Radar for 2026:
What apocalyptic optimists need to be thinking about as the new year begins
-
Introducing the COPOut Podcast
This weekend, I am launching the COPOut Podcast for apocalyptically optimistic climate conversations. During each episode, I will host a panel of guest experts who will share their unique perspectives on the state of climate action, the path towards more effective climate solutions, and the role that the international regime—including the annual UN sponsored Conferences…
Dana R Fisher 