The Dig

State of Impunity w/ Alberto Toscano and Stuart Schrader

23 snips
Sep 22, 2025
Alberto Toscano, a philosopher focused on fascism and race, and Stuart Schrader, a historian specializing in policing and immigration, dive deep into the authoritarian practices of the Trump era. They discuss how heightened police and ICE budgets strengthen repressive capacities, creating a future of unchecked state violence. The duo also examines the troubling role of police unions and the aestheticization of repression through media. They highlight grassroots resistance tactics in major cities, juxtaposing local activism with the challenges posed by the courts.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Impunity Holds The Coalition Together

  • Impunity is a cheap but powerful political currency binding disparate Trump allies.
  • Stuart Schrader links police, crypto capitalists, and extractive industries through their desire for nonprosecution and deregulation.
INSIGHT

Dual State: Delegated Freedom To Punish

  • Authoritarian politics operate as a 'dual state' where some people are legally protected and others live under prerogative law.
  • Alberto Toscano argues this delegation of punishment creates racialized freedom to punish while others lack self-defense rights.
INSIGHT

Militarized Spectacles Aim To Crush, Not Convert

  • MAGA's militarized spectacles seem aimed less at winning urban voters than at crushing opposition and traumatizing institutions.
  • Toscano says the project appears ideological and punitive rather than electorally hegemonic.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app