Photo by Emma Quirk ‘26.
Rachel Maddow, above, spoke at the Odyssey Bookshop about her #1 New York Times Bestseller.
By Kiera McLaughlin ’26
Global Editor
Content warning: This article discusses antisemitism.
American television program host and political commentator Rachel Maddow opened the Nov. 15 discussion of her #1 New York Times Bestseller “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism” by reading a section of her book to the audience gathered at the Academy of Music in Northampton.
“Henry Ford’s antisemitism was rank,” Maddow read, “and it was unchecked. … Ford was hardly the only radical antisemite in the United States circa 1920, but in addition to his fortune, his famous name, and his iconic automobile company, he had a megaphone your average crazy-uncle theorizer lacked: a newspaper.”
The book traces the stories of federal prosecutors, journalists, activists and citizens who worked tirelessly to protect democracy in America against paramilitary groups, Nazi fascist leaders and federal representatives aligned with Hitler’s government.
Maddow continued to read from her book a description of Hitler being interviewed in 1931 as he stood before a framed portrait of Ford while stating: “I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration.”
The seats were packed for the in-person event hosted by the Odyssey Bookshop despite being rescheduled from its original Oct. 29 date because Maddow had COVID-19. The discussion also featured Kate Clinton, a renowned queer comedian.
By starting the talk off highlighting the influence of American antisemitism on the Nazi regime, Maddow set the scene for discussing the relationship that America has with fascist ideals and antisemitic hate. With the help of historians, Maddow uncovers the stories of individuals who actively fought against the fascist campaign in the federal government.
Once she finished reading to the crowd, Maddow questioned the audience about the future of democracy in America: “What are we doing now? What will we do for our future generations?”
These questions are prevalent in her book, based on her hit podcast “Ultra,” where she uncovers the fight against fascism in the United States in the 1940s and during World War II.
At a time when the far-right ideologies of public officials threaten democracy, this book provides insight into the successful fight against fascism that took place in the United States. A prominent false narrative affirms that America was a place of strong democratic allegiance during World War II, but in reality, American soil was a site for internal fights against fascism.
Throughout the event, Maddow and Clinton had the crowd laughing with them. Between all the hard topics, Clinton provided humorous quips about the discussion, like bringing up Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie and Maddow’s accomplishments throughout her career during her research for her podcast and book.
The talk also began with Clinton asking Maddow for her definition of fascism, which eventually led to a discussion about the “bad guys” and the “good guys,” as Maddow calls them in her book. In response to Clinton’s question about why bad guys are remembered more than good guys, Maddow responded that her goal for this book and publishing her research was to educate and to get the good guys, and more importantly, their strategies against fascism, remembered.
“I hope [this history] is interesting and engaging enough that it gets people thinking creatively about these problems in a way that's just better informed. And that just gives us more to draw on,” Maddow said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News.
She elaborated on the role of the justice system when holding politicians accountable and the importance of criminal charges against violence. “The Justice Department cannot absent itself just because those crimes have been committed for political reasons,” she said. Then she pointed out that, when it comes to holding politicians accountable, people cannot, in turn, “count on the justice system to do it itself.”
One of the main narratives in her book and podcast concerns O. John Rogge, a Justice Department prosecutor who tried the senators and Congress representatives working with Hitler’s fascist government in court but ultimately failed to prosecute them. Nonetheless, with the help of journalists who covered his efforts, Rogge’s strong cases publicized the anti-democratic practices of the officials. Citizens then voted most of the representatives participating in the fascist scheme out of office.
In an interview on the podcast “Pod Save America,” Maddow explained that citizens need to believe their vote matters in order for democracy to work. When asked how young activists can defend voting rights and protect democracy by advocating for voting, Maddow told Mount Holyoke News, “If you’re trying to defend democracy, really the only tool you have is democracy.”
“You need to stand up for that system that’s being denigrated,” Maddow explained. She recognized that activists can start to feel “cynical or bored by democracy” and that “telling people [to] go vote is a boring end to a discussion about politics.” However, she stressed that “if that’s the system we are trying to save, you have to save it not only by using it but by … giving people reason to believe in it.”
While discussing her research with Clinton, Maddow disclosed that she will continue her work in another season of her podcast, “Ultra.” Without specifying the content of the second season, Maddow made it clear that her research has not ended and that there is more to this story.
The crowd celebrated through applause and cheered for the idea of an addition to the original podcast, as Clinton read questions from the audience to Maddow varying from the cases against former President Donald Trump to her personal day-to-day life. As the crowd called for an encore, Maddow ended the event with an extra question about paramilitary groups being a threat to democracy, referencing the ultra-right Christian groups from the 1940s in her podcast and book. Many of the audience’s questions mirrored the one she asked the crowd at the beginning of the event: What should we do now?
At the end of the event, the audience filled the room with applause for Rachel Maddow and her work on “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.”
“I think we’re wired to always think that the moment that we’re in is the worst or the first, and [it] very rarely is in either case,” Maddow told the Mount Holyoke News.