With Donald Trump set to return to the White House for season 2 of his dystopian presidential freak show, Democrats and liberals like me are bracing for a potentially major blow to the democratic institutions and processes of the United States.

Based on the past actions Trump has taken to expand and hold onto power, and also on promises he has made to further consolidate power and weaken or eliminate checks and balances against him, concerned citizens on the left, and also many on the right, see a tyrant in the making in Donald Trump. Can he be stopped before it's too late to save the American experiment?

In this episode, I talk with the person who can answer this question perhaps better than anyone. Ira Chaleff is an internationally recognized expert on leadership and political followership studies, a field in which he's considered a pioneer. He has spent decades working in and around Washington in nonpartisan organizations, including over 20 years as director of the Congressional Management Foundation. Ira has led and participated in democracy-strengthening programs in Asia, West Africa, and Eastern Europe. His books The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders, and Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You're Told to Do is Wrong, are used widely in leadership programs and have been translated into multiple languages.

Ira Chaleff's latest book is To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Brake a Toxic Leader, and I am proud to be its publisher under the Wonderwell Press imprint.

Ira is a political independent, and in this interview, he struck a much more balanced perspective than I personally hold (or even feel all that comfortable engaging with). But I learned a lot from him and could feel my blood pressure deescalating even as we spoke. Yes, we are at a risky point in our political history, but no, it's not too late to do something about that.

In this episode, we explore the definitions of tyranny, autocracy, and toxic leadership, emphasizing the importance of political followers in shaping leadership behavior. Ira introduces the concept of proto-tyrants and the critical window for intervention before a leader consolidates power. Our discussion also covers the types of followers—conformists, colluders, and courageous followers—and the dire consequences of inaction against tyranny. We also talked about the challenges posed by the current information ecosystem and the need for informed citizenry to safeguard democracy.

Ira's book and message are for everyone, anywhere on the political spectrum. If you are alarmed or dismayed by the current state of our political climate and feeling powerless, listen in to learn how to effectively wield the power that you really do hold, not necessarily as a member of the opposition, but as a responsible and engaged follower.

Historically, almost all democracies descend into tyranny. Ours doesn't have to.

Learn more about the book, its author and publisher:
To Stop a Tyrant (buy the book)
Ira Chaleff (author website)
Wonderwell Press

More about Selfish Gift host Maggie Langrick:
https://maggielangrick.com/
instagram.com/maggielangrick

Amy Low was a recently divorced mom with two teenage kids when she received some of the worst news a person can hear. She had stage four metastatic colon cancer and a large tumor on her liver with a very low chance of long-term survival. Against the odds, Amy has lived five years with her diagnosis, and the experience has changed her. Incredibly, Amy used this time to write her memoir, a beautiful book, The Brave In-Between: Notes From the Last Room.

The "last room" refers to Amy's way of thinking about our lives as rooms that we move through. We will all find ourselves in that last room at some point, though most of us won't know we are in it. For Amy, it is an opportunity to find the "mundane miracles" in each day. This is a heart-stretching book in which Amy shows us what it looks like to move with resilience and grace through the most difficult and uncertain times. It's a sacred invitation to delve into the depths of the human condition.

Amy and I went into some deep and at times challenging topics. In this interview, she talks about faith and forgiveness, and why she considers herself a "bridge dweller": a person who builds connections with many different types of people from all backgrounds and identities. This episode was recorded in advance of the 2024 election, as the Kamala Harris campaign was in its early days, and she and I were both hopeful of a Democratic win. Amy, who considers herself a liberal Christian, candidly shares her feelings about how American Christianity has changed over the years and how she hopes it might evolve back toward its ideals of love and inclusion.

Of course, we also got into some shop talk about the writing process, which in Amy's case was complicated by the progression of her disease. She is a stalwart writer and an inspiration to anyone who wants to tell their story but feels daunted by the task!

This is a thought-provoking conversation that will inspire you to find the mundane miracles in your life and the courage to share your story with the world.

Find her at:
Amy's Substack, Postcards from the Mountain
Instagram: @amylow112

And find host Maggie Langrick at:
Maggie's Substack, The Underwire
Website: maggielangrick.com
Instagram: @maggielangrick

Writing success comes to those who stick with it, and Diana Raab has stuck with writing for more than sixty years. Over that time she published fourteen books, ranging from poetry to self-help to memoir. How does she do it? Simple: She finds bliss in the act of writing!

In fact, 'Writing From Bliss' is the name of one of her most beloved books. In today's episode, Diana shares wisdom from the book to help all writers lean more deeply into bliss. She also tells the fascinating story of her long and prolific writing life, which began in her early childhood, sparked by a family tragedy.

Tune in for inspiration and encouragement to go the distance, creatively and emotionally.

Diana's latest book is Hummingbird: Messages from My Ancestors: A Memoir with Reflection and Writing Prompts, published by Modern History Press.

For more, visit:
dianaraab.com
maggielangrick.com
wonderwell.press

Follow us on Instagram:
@maggielangrick
@dianaraab