Podcast / Sep 9, 2026

How Civilizations Fall—With Patrick Wyman

Patrick Wyman joins Fighting Fascism to explore what ancient societies can teach us about social collapse, human agency, and confronting fascism in the present.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

How Civilizations Fall w/ Patrick Wyman / Fighting Fascism
byThe Nation Magazine

What can ancient human prehistory teach us about fighting fascism today? It turns out, quite a bit! So says historian Patrick Wyman, whose recent book, Lost Worlds, covers the 10,000 years between the end of the Ice Age and the Late Bronze Age collapse. Together, we discussed what makes societies fall apart, what is lost when they do, and how history demonstrates that human agency — and our decisions today — really do matter in determining what comes next for our civilization. Check out Patrick’s wonderful book, Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World⁠. And his great podcast, Past Lives: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/past-lives/id1852618120

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece.

(Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What can ancient human prehistory teach us about fighting fascism today? It turns out, quite a bit! So says historian Patrick Wyman, whose recent book, Lost Worlds, covers the 10,000 years between the end of the Ice Age and the Late Bronze Age collapse. Together, we discussed what makes societies fall apart, what is lost when they do, and how history demonstrates that human agency—and our decisions today—really do matter in determining what comes next for our civilization. Check out Patrick’s wonderful book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World⁠. And his great podcast, Past Lives.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: TheNation.com/subscribe

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Understanding MAGA as a Social Movement w/ Bill Fletcher Jr. / Fighting Fascism
byThe Nation Magazine

For this Labor Day episode we’re joined by Bill Fletcher, a longtime union organizer who’s spent the last several years working to build out the labor movement’s anti-fascist infrastructure. Bill has an important reminder for those of us who direct most of our anti-fascist energy against Trump and the oligarchy: MAGA isn’t some astroturf trick. It’s a genuine social movement representing some 25-30 percent of Americans, and any strategies that ignore this fact are missing something fundamental about today’s dangerous political reality. You can learn more about Bill's organization, Standing for Democracy, here.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Matt DaSilva

Matt DaSilva is a co-host of the Fighting Fascism podcast.

Aaron Regunberg

Aaron Regunberg is a climate lawyer, a contributing editor at The New Republic, and a former Rhode Island state representative.

Jonathan Smucker

Jonathan Smucker is cofounder and executive director of Popular Comms, a cofounder of Pennsylvania Stands Up, and the author of Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals. He has worked for over 25 years as a political organizer, campaigner, and strategist, and has trained thousands of organizers and social movement participants.

More from The Nation

Understanding MAGA as a Social Movement—With Bill Fletcher Jr.

Understanding MAGA as a Social Movement—With Bill Fletcher Jr. Understanding MAGA as a Social Movement—With Bill Fletcher Jr.

Bill Fletcher joins Fighting Fascism to discuss organized labor, anti-fascist strategy, and why understanding MAGA as a social movement matters for confronting it.

Texas’s Radical Roots—With David Griscom

Texas’s Radical Roots—With David Griscom Texas’s Radical Roots—With David Griscom

David Griscom joins Danny and Derek to explore Texas’s overlooked history of populism and socialism—and what it might mean for the left in the state today.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

The Amazing Movement Against Data Centers. Plus, How to Be a Dissident.

The Amazing Movement Against Data Centers. Plus, How to Be a Dissident. The Amazing Movement Against Data Centers. Plus, How to Be a Dissident.

David Wallace-Wells examines the growing resistance to data centers, while Ami Fields-Meyer explores how dissident movements build courage and power in an age of fear.

Jon Wiener

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls on reporters after announcing a new set of sanctions against Iran on August 24, 2026, in Washington, DC.

The US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran, the Syrian Democratic Forces Dissolve, US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse The US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran, the Syrian Democratic Forces Dissolve, US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse

Danny and Derek unpack the week’s global news, from Iran, Syria, and the DRC to Saudi Arabia, Russia, US-Canada trade, and deep-sea mining.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

An official mail ballot drop box during a 2026 primary election in New York.

The Supremes, Trump, and Voting—Plus Colson Whitehead’s Harlem The Supremes, Trump, and Voting—Plus Colson Whitehead’s Harlem

David Cole explains the latest court rulings on Trump’s efforts to undermine Democratic voting, and John Powers comments on the new novel “Cool Machine.”

Jon Wiener

Graham Platner on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.

Unpacking Platner Unpacking Platner

On today’s episode of Fighting Fascism, reflections on Graham Platner, the lessons of primary season, debates over “wokeness,” data centers, and what lies ahead in November.

x