Jimmy Kimmel and the Power of Public Pressure

The Washington Roundtable discusses how, in the wake of the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, public resistance has a chance to turn the tide against autocratic impulses in today’s politics. They are joined by Hardy Merriman, an expert on the history and practice of civil resistance, to discuss what kinds of coördinated actions—protests, boycotts, “buycotts,” strikes, and other nonviolent approaches—are most effective in a fight against democratic backsliding. “Acts of non-coöperation are very powerful,” Merriman, the former president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, says. “Non-coöperation is very much about numbers. You don’t necessarily need people doing things that are high risk. You just need large numbers of people doing them.” 

This week’s reading:

• “Donald Trump Keeps Finding New Ways to Shock the World,” by Susan B. Glasser
• “Is Trump’s Attack on the Media Following Putin’s Playbook?,” by Joshua Yaffa
• “Where Should the Democrats Go from Here?,” by Jon Allsop
• “Donald Trump’s Firing of a Federal Prosecutor Crosses the Reddest of Lines,” by Ruth Marcus
• “Seeing Enemies Everywhere,” by Jonathan Blitzer
• “Can Progressive Mayors Redeem the Democratic Party?,” by Bill McKibben

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The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.