I'm Ann Applebaum.
Over the past year, as I watched Donald Trump demand unprecedented new powers, I wondered,
don't he and his team fear that these same powers could one day be used by a different administration and a different president to achieve very different goals?
Well, maybe they are afraid.
And maybe that's why they're using their new tools to change our institutions,
even to alter the playing field in advance of midterm elections later this year.
to make sure their opponents can't win.
Ultimately, destroying trust is the currency of autocrats.
We could win, but we are very, very,
very likely to lose if we keep treating this as business as usual.
Reporting on the sweeping changes unfolding in our country and preparing you to think about what might happen next.
The new season of Autocracy in America, available now.
I'm Natalie Brennan, producer at The Atlantic.
And I'm Yasmin Tyag, a staff writer with The Atlantic.
You've reached how to age up.
Leave us a voicemail after the beep.
Hi, I am 60 years old.
Most people think I'm 45, 50, but I'm actually going to be 63.
And I am 60 wonderful years old at 61.
Yasmin, over the last few weeks,