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Brazil on Fire

Brazil on Fire

By: The Real News Network (TRNN)
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 A podcast with journalist Michael Fox about one country’s descent toward fascism under President Bolsonaro ... and how the United States helped push it along.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/brazil-on-fire--5630445/support.Copyright The Real News Network (TRNN) Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Introducing: Stories of Resistance

    Introducing: Stories of Resistance
    Jul 27 2025
    Hi folks, this is Michael Fox, the host of Brazil on Fire. It’s been a while since I’ve been in touch on this podcast feed, and I’m here to bring you good news. If you liked Brazil on Fire, I have another podcast that I think you will enjoy…

    This year, I’ve been writing, producing, and hosting a podcast called Stories of Resistance. It’s investigative journalism, prose, poetry, historical memory, and above all — story. Think vignettes… Eduardo Galeano-style, for a new Trump era. For a few minutes each week, I transport you to another place, in another time, where others also stood up, resisted, and planted seeds of hope, despite the circumstances. A little bit of hope and inspiration in these dark times.

    In Stories of Resistance, I dive into Brazil often. So today, I’m bringing you episode 14 of Stories of Resistance. We released it on March 31st, the anniversary of Brazil’s 1964 U.S.-backed military coup. And it looks at the Brazilian musicians and music that made up the soundtrack to the resistance against the Brazilian dictatorship.

    And it’s only 6 minutes long. I know you’ll like it.

    Follow Stories of Reistance on:
    • Apple Podcasts
    • Spotify
    • Spreaker

    Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.

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    7 mins
  • Update #3 — An autopsy of Bolsonaro's failed coup

    Update #3 — An autopsy of Bolsonaro's failed coup
    Jan 24 2023
    On Jan. 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's capital in a failed attempt to spark a military coup. In scenes that drew instant comparison to the events of Jan. 6th, 2021 in the US, Bolsonaro supporters smashed windows, destroyed artwork, and even climbed on the roofs of government buildings before being rounded up and arrested en masse by security forces.

    In this update to Brazil on Fire, Michael Fox examines the significance of the failed coup in scattering pro-Bolsonaro forces and uniting the country behind Lula, who has already embarked on an aggressive agenda to undo his predecessor's legacy. While Lula may be triumphant for now, the battle for Brazil's future is far from settled. As Bolsonaro licks his wounds in exile in Florida, the question remains as to how he might scheme with his US-based allies in the future. Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez returns to the show to delve deeper into the links between Brazil and the US's evangelical right and neofascist movements.

    Sign up for the newsletter to follow Brazil on Fire at The Real News Network

    Become a member and join the Supporters Club for Brazil on Fire

    Help The Real News Network continue producing stories like Brazil on Fire by following us and making a small donation: https://www.therealnews.com/donate-pod-brazil-on-fire

    Follow us on:
    Bluesky: @therealnews.com
    Facebook: The Real News Network
    Twitter: @TheRealNews
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    Subscribe to updates from NACLA: https://nacla.org/subscribe
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    47 mins
  • Update #2 — Lula Presidente

    Update #2 — Lula Presidente
    Nov 17 2022
    Brazil has a new president-elect.

    Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidency on October 30th. He defeated far-right president Jair Bolsonaro by just over 2 million votes. Tens of thousands of Lula supporters descended on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue for huge celebrations. Brazil on Fire host Michael Fox was there and he takes us to the streets.

    But Bolsonaro supporters were also mobilizing. They shut down highways and called for the military to intervene.

    In this second update to Brazil on Fire, we look at Lula’s victory, Bolsonaro’s disinformation campaign that is keeping Bolsonaro’s supporters in the streets, Bolsonaro’s ties to Donald Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon, and how Bannon is trying to spread a fake news fraud narrative to bolster Bolsonaro and divide Brazil, like the United States after Trump’s 2020 defeat. We hear from UFSC International Relations professor Camila Feix Vidal about the shared tactics of the international far-right and University of Virginia Media Studies professor David Nemer about Bolsonaro's unprecedented use of fake news and disinformation in the election.

    This is Brazil on Fire, a podcast about Brazil’s descent toward fascism under President Jair Bolsonaro. We look at Bolsonaro’s far-right government that has set the country ablaze, and how the United States helped him do it. We visit the birthplace of Brazilian Nazism, evangelical churches, and Indigenous villages in the Amazon.

    Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

    This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

    Edited by Heather Gies.

    Sound design by Gustavo Türck.

    Theme music by Monte Perdido

    Follow Brazil on Fire at The Real News Network: https://therealnews.com/brazil-on-fire-pod

    Help The Real News Network continue producing stories like Brazil on Fire by following us and making a small donation:
    Donate to TRNN: https://www.therealnews.com/donate-pod-brazil-on-fire
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    30 mins
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