On a Scale of Zero to Authoritarianism, Where are We Now? (feat. Tom Pepinsky)

This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the reports of the political insurgency in Colorado Politics appear to have been greatly exaggerated; we check in on how the 2026 primaries are shaping up on both sides of the aisle. Then, did new leadership bring a new dawn and a new day for the Colorado GOP? No, somehow the new Chair is even less competent than Dave Williams, which is a very high or very low bar! Then, we always said Gabe Evans would come to regret his lie that ICE agents are going after “gangsters, not grandmas,” and that day is officially here. Then, Lauren Boebert wants credit for doing the wrong thing, and President Trump may not actually know WHY Tina Peters is in jail in Colorado.

But first, after a year of living in an Oligarchic Kleptocracy or a Kleptocratic Oligarchy, we check back in with Professor Tom Pepinsky of Cornell University to see if we’ve really slid into authoritarianism or if Trump 2.0 is too incompetent to pull it off.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Chapters

• 2:08 Tom Pepinsky interview
• 45:39 2026 Election Updates
• 1:11:19 Gabe-ish Evans
• 1:13:49 The Boebert Report
• 1:16:00 Trump and Tina Peters
• 1:26:31 Quick Hits