From Authoritarian Drift to Auschwitz?

The 84th episode of No Hair, All Heart features another solo rant from Mookie Spitz, recorded in Orange County, California on Sunday, September 21, 2025—and not Berlin, Germany, on Saturday, September 21, 1935. Mookie reminds us that ninety years in time and a continent in space gives context to the fire of America’s current political and cultural chaos. He asks the hard question: are we living through our own 1935 Germany moment—or something very different?

To answer that question on many people's minds, Mookie dives into the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Trump’s escalating war on media and institutions, and the ever-expanding reach of the “unitary executive.” But rather than add to the panic, he puts these events in historical perspective, insisting that America’s democratic foundation, imperfect as it is, won’t collapse overnight.

Drawing on his family’s Holocaust survival stories, he contrasts the fragile democracies of 1930s Europe with the ingrained culture of American rule of law. Along the way, he examines Romania and Hungary’s brutal wartime histories, the Soviet Union’s failed democratic experiment, Putin’s authoritarian grip, and Bolsonaro’s downfall in Brazil.

The episode challenges listeners to step outside the daily outrage cycle and see the bigger picture:

• Why the U.S. system—even under stress—remains resilient compared to nations with no democratic tradition.
• How authoritarian temptations have always haunted America, from Huey Long to Nixon to Trump.
• Why social media has amplified a false sense of impending civil war while most Americans are still quietly living their lives.
• What history teaches us about the momentum of culture, precedent, and values that can’t be erased in a single election cycle.

At once fiery and reassuring, this episode is a reminder that America’s great experiment continues, flawed and chaotic, but alive. His answer: "42! And don't panic, at least not yet."