Joan is joined by Nancy MacLean, professor of history and public policy at Duke University, and author of “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America.”

MacLean pointed out that Donald Trump and fellow Republicans have been able to secure "positions of power through disinformation, through Fox, through Clear Channel, through Sinclair Broadcasting, all of that, and by essentially a judicial coup, by using dark money and stealth measures to ensure a 6-3 supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court, which basically enabled Donald Trump to do anything he wanted and prevented him from facing legal accountability for his criminal attack on the Capitol. And that really cleared the way to his winning the election and bringing in other [Republicans] on his coattails. We would have been looking at a very different election if figures like Charles Koch and Leonard Leo had not invested so much in Supreme Court capture."

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).