This week’s episode is emotional and urgent. It centers around the famous poem First They Came by Martin Niemöller—a powerful reflection on silence, complicity, and the terrifying ease with which authoritarianism can rise when too many people look the other way. We talk about what the poem meant in post-Nazi Germany, and what it means now in the United States.
RESOURCES MENTIONED: Find an action near you (for April 5 or beyond) at Mobilize.us
Aaron opens up about his early exposure to Holocaust education and how the poem first took root in his thinking. Since 2015, it’s become a touchstone—a flashing red warning light—as we've watched scapegoating, cruelty, and extrajudicial action unfold in real-time. From the Muslim ban to secretive deportations, and the current administration's growing disregard for the rule of law, we explore the chilling parallels that are easy to dismiss—until they're not.
We also dive into two recent stories: the deportation of hundreds of men to a supermax prison in El Salvador and the targeting of a Palestinian student who exercised his right to protest in the U.S. Both stories echo the warning in Niemöller’s poem: If we don’t speak up when others are targeted, we may find no one left to speak up for us.
This episode is a reminder that what seems unthinkable can happen quickly—and that being “alarmed” may actually be the most reasonable response right now. We end with a look at upcoming opportunities for collective action, and a call to show up however you can.
We hope you’ll take the time to listen to this one all the way through. It’s not always easy, but it is necessary. Let’s stay awake—and let’s stay loud.
