One of the most rewarding aspects of my work at Puck has been engaging with feedback from our community of subscribers. This week, as we close out the year, I’m opening my notebook to address some of the most pressing questions on my mind and in my inbox. If you have critiques, feedback, or further questions, write me back at baratunde@puck.news. My inbox is always open.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack recently released a report presenting evidence that Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, was deeply involved in the failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential result. Meanwhile, Trump loyalists are winning local elections around the country with the specific aim of changing election laws to ensure that next time, the coup succeeds. What can ordinary people do about the threat of another assault on democracy in 2024?

First, read this piece in The Atlantic, titled “Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun.” Warning: it takes about an hour to read, and it will greatly upset you, or it should. If it does not, then you greatly upset me, and that’s a different problem. We have to start by understanding that the “threat of another assault on democracy” is not some distant threat timed to 2024 but is happening right now. The Republican Party is preparing to systematically disregard the will of the people by blocking, discarding, or otherwise disqualifying the votes of millions of people—and neither the Democratic Party nor President Joe Biden have yet fully grappled with the scale of the danger.