Autocratic Despair

About Autocratic Despair

Stare into the abyss of the United States' descent into Authoritarianism with a truly funny comedian from Green Bay, WI and a very serious PHD in Global Fascism Studies from Cal-Berkeley. Very Funny. Very Serious.

Publisher

Nick Mortensen & Dr. Craig Johnson

Category

comedy · news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

2 Apr 2026

Latest episode

3 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

33 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Nov 2026

   Fashionably Late Midterm Preview feat. Gargamel

   Autocratic Despair: The Podcast. 2026 Midterm Elections Preview. The Funniest one in the space, that's for certain. Connect with us today! Autocratic Despair is a comedy podcast about surviving American authoritarianism. Nick Mortensen is a comedian and father of three from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Dr. Craig Johnson holds a PhD in global fascism, lectures at UC Berkeley, and wrote How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism.

2. 

   29 Oct 2026

   We’re Doing Dog Armies Now, Dr. Craig

   Some weeks the abyss stares back. This week it blinked. Dr. Craig Johnson, the UC Berkeley lecturer with a PhD in Global Fascism Studies, opens this episode of Autocratic Despair at a five, a full reset, the lowest number he’s ever given, and the reason is Brazil. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday’s runoff to win a fourth term as president, becoming, by Craig’s account, the first candidate in Brazilian history to lose the first round and win the second. A month ago, af...

3. 

   23 Oct 2026

   The Most Spatially Aware Man in France

   France is on fire, and the most thoughtful Frenchman alive has thoughts. Dr. Craig Johnson, UC Berkeley lecturer and PhD in Global Fascism Studies, opens at a seven. The days are getting shorter, the ennui is setting in (second week running for that word, a show record), and the thing driving his number is France’s slide into a youth uprising that the far right is, in his view, perfectly positioned to exploit. For listeners who haven’t been following it, and most Americans haven’t, Nick and C...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

3.0 / 5

2 ratings

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