Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry

Is Trump a fascist? Is MAGA a fascist movement? Give a listen to the first half of this two-parter and decide for yourself.

In the 1990s, Umberto Eco published the essay "Ur-Fascism," which explored fourteen common points of fascist movements and governments. In this episode, we present the first seven of those characteristics and then present Trump's own words, along with excerpts from the 2024 Republican Platform and...

It’s been a minute since Alyssa’s been here–she’s been on a vacation and doing some really cool stuff in the entertainment world, but I’m sure you all miss her. After all, you don’t tune in to Ben Jackson Sorry Not Sorry! Well, a few times over the years, Alyssa has actually been the guest on this show instead of the host, and I thought it would be fun to give you what you want–some of Alyssa’s best moments here on Sorry Not Sorry.

...

In recent weeks, Jeffrey Epstein has burst from the grave and back into the news. Trump made much of his campaign identity about releasing the Epstein files and promised to release them–a promise on which he has since reneged. Trump had a longstanding friendship with Epstein, and recent reporting from the Wall Street Journal claims that Trump wrote Epstein a letter for his 50th birthday depicting a naked woman and wishing for more ...

The rule of law is the foundation of our society, and yet the Trump regime is shamelessly trying to undermine that rule at every turn. We've seen a united states senator thrown to the ground and handcuffed for asking a question, a New York Mayoral candidate arrested for confronting ICE over an arrest, targeting of citizens and visitors in Democratic-led areas, and a plethora of authoritarian maneuvers which threaten our democra...

This episode was recorded on June 12, 2025.

It has been 236 years, 3 months, and one week since the United States Constitution came into effect on March 4th, 1789. The President of the United States has federalized the state militia of California and deployed it, along with the United States Marines, against the citizens of our country in Los Angeles. The Governor of Texas has deployed the Texas national guard against the citizens i...

It’s been nearly three years since the Dobbs decision, which the Supreme Court used to strip women of the right to control our own bodies. In that decision—and frequently presented across the ideological spectrum as an alternative to abortion—adoption has been at the forefront of the discussion. But is adoption as benevolent and empowering as it is presented to be?

Our guest today argues that it is not—and she’s got compelling e...

Watching the news has been especially horrifying lately. We’re drowning in video of armed, masked ice agents charging into neighborhoods, refusing to identify themselves, snatching up our neighbors, and the next thing you know they’ve been deported to terrible prisons in other countries, deprived of due process, and at the mercy of a government that is refusing to follow orders of federal courts. Cristina Jimenez knows that fear, a...

The archetype of “mother” is a weight many women carry-but it’s certainly not our whole story, or necessarily an accurate one. In fact, the stories we are told about women, the complexities of womanhood, are often shackles that serve to keep us bound to a society that claims to value us but holds us back in so many ways. Nicole Graev Lipson’s new memoir in essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters captures the complexities of m...

The early part of this decade seemed like it might signify a realignment of the social and cultural power of Black Americans. But the realities of that power–and how it translates into meaningful justice and social change–are less clear, and perhaps less optimistic. Especially now in the second Trump era, where everything which does not perpetuate white power is treated as suspect and anti-American. To discuss the shifting dynamics...

The Trump regime built much of its identity–and certainly campaigned around–its hatred of LGBTQ Americans. Unfortunately, the success of that campaign again revealed just how much anti-queer bias there is in the American populace. And while there may be no populated nation in the world that is truly free of anti-queer bias, there are places that are better, are different, or that offer new perspectives. Alden Jones’ work explores q...

It’s hard to overstate the danger the Trump regime is posing to Americans. This is especially true for Americans who rely on our healthcare system for chronic diseases or conditions. From cuts to research funding, building registries for people with autism, attacks on women’s access to healthcare, and so much more, it’s truly horrifying what is in store in this country.

To help us unpack it, and maybe help find a way to act agai...

There is a rapist presiding over the United States. That rapist has directed his government to gut federal efforts to protect women from violence of all sorts. Health and Human Services fired nearly all of its staff at the Division of Violence Prevention. The office on violence against women has removed all funding opportunities from its website and reports are coming in that all of the grants it issues are being cancelled. Online,...

The United States executes more people than nearly any other country. In fact, in 2023, the only countries with more reported executions were Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Iraq. Inside the United States, courts are trying to navigate the legality of execution and methods of execution, and the various states have different rules and customs of this barbaric practice. Gianna Toboni has faced some of the world’s most dangerous peopl...