American Democracy Under Occupation

American Democracy Under Occupation

From Autocracy in America by The Atlantic

February 6, 2026 · 28 min · Season 3 · Episode 6

About this episode

Residents of Minneapolis respond to the arrival of federal agents, discussing their motivations and actions.

When heavily armed agents of the federal government arrived in Minneapolis, the people of the Twin Cities responded with surprising strength. In this episode, residents describe what drove them to act, and host Anne Applebaum speaks with Atlantic contributing writer Robert Worth about what he learned when he observed the tactics of the federal agents and the response of Minnesotans. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Anne Applebaum

Guest: Robert Worth

Topics covered

  • American democracy
  • federal government
  • Minneapolis
  • community response
  • political activism

Keywords

  • federal agents
  • Minneapolis
  • community response
  • political activism
  • Anne Applebaum
  • Robert Worth
  • The Atlantic

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Atlantic

Places: Minneapolis, Twin Cities

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