Matt DaSilva, Aaron Regunberg, Jonathan Smucker
Patrick Wyman joins Fighting Fascism to explore what ancient societies can teach us about social collapse, human agency, and confronting fascism in the present.
The post How Civilizations Fall—With Patrick Wyman appeared first on The Nation.

Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece.
(Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)What can ancient human prehistory teach us about fighting fascism today? It turns out, quite a bit! So says historian Patrick Wyman, whose recent book, Lost Worlds, covers the 10,000 years between the end of the Ice Age and the Late Bronze Age collapse. Together, we discussed what makes societies fall apart, what is lost when they do, and how history demonstrates that human agency—and our decisions today—really do matter in determining what comes next for our civilization. Check out Patrick’s wonderful book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World. And his great podcast, Past Lives.
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Matt DaSilva is a co-host of the Fighting Fascism podcast.
Aaron Regunberg is a climate lawyer, a contributing editor at The New Republic, and a former Rhode Island state representative.
Jonathan Smucker is cofounder and executive director of Popular Comms, a cofounder of Pennsylvania Stands Up, and the author of Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals. He has worked for over 25 years as a political organizer, campaigner, and strategist, and has trained thousands of organizers and social movement participants.
David Morales’s campaign manager Ben Shanahan joins Fighting Fascism to discuss the message, organizing strategy, and tactics behind Morales’s primary victory in Providence.
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