Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Latest Episodes:

Will Trump or Harris Be Worse? Two Palestinians Weigh In Nov 01, 2024

Filmmaker Lexi Alexander and political strategist Rania Batrice each take a side

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Victoria Nuland Preemptively Warns Putin Stole the Election https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/victoria-nuland-preemptively-warns?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

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“What is your overall view of 2024 and what should be done?”

This is the question we asked two Palestinian-Americans: Lexi Alexander, a filmmaker, and Rania Batrice, a political strategist who served as deputy campaign manager for Bernie Sanders in 2016. Both guests took the question not to mean who will be better between Trump and Harris, but instead which evil will be worse.

“Number one,” responded Lexi, “is that I don't think anybody in any situation ever should vote for genocide. Not just for Palestinians, but for themselves. And so I find myself constantly shocked to watch Americans eagerly vote for what I consider to be Adolf Hitler in 1942.”

Voting for either candidate, she argues, is a vote for genocide. “If Trump will be worse, then we'll endure it together. And we'll fight that fucker too. But you still can't reward genocide.”

Rania, on the other hand, warns of the dangers of a second Trump presidency. “I don't think we get to continue this fight and continue fighting for humanity, for Palestinian people, and many, many other communities under a Donald Trump presidency. But I do believe that with a President Kamala Harris, we have a fight to fight.”

The two each give a long list of reasons why both candidates are terrible, but give different takes on whether a genocide could get worse, whether or not Jill Stein is a worthwhile candidate, and how the two candidates compare on domestic issues. Plus, Katie reveals who she’s voting for in 2024.

00:00 Intro

02:19 Bill Clinton vs Rudy Giuliani

28:10 Lexi Alexander interview

30:05 Voting for Adolf in 1942

33:49 Will Trump's genocide be worse?

37:55 Is punishing the Dems too dangerous?

46:44 Clinton's messianic argument

49:04 Does Netanyahu want Trump?

57:47 Working in film

1:00:48 HOW TO HELP

1:06:06 Who are you voting for? (Katie shares her vote too)

1:07:52 Rania Batrice interview

1:08:59 A different take on what should be done

1:13:45 There's a fight to be fought under Harris

1:15:09 What do you think of Jill Stein?

1:22:41 What's going to happen?

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“Israel Is NOT WINNING” - Military Analyst Elijah J. Magnier Oct 25, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Elijah J. Magnier: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israel-is-not-winning-military-analyst?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Marvel Announces Next Movie: Liz Cheney the Liberal Superhero https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/marvel-announces-next-movie-liz-cheney?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com

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Over a year after the start of Israel’s mass-murder campaign in Gaza, what Netanyahu anticipated to be a swift destruction and short-order real estate sale has escalated into a regional war, slipping further out of his control with each attack.

Elijah J. Magnier, a journalist who has covered the Middle East for over 35 years, specializing in politics, strategic and military planning, and terrorism and counter-terrorism, joins the show to give an update on Israel’s war on the Middle East.

“We don't have a loser and a winner now,” he says. “They're both fighting, and certainly Israel is not winning.”

So what is happening? After the IDF’s assassinations of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Nasrallah and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who each proposed multiple peace offers which were all refused by both Israel and the US, the chances of a ceasefire have plummeted, leaving only uncertainty for the region.

Day after day, Magnier explains, Israel mounts attacks which aren’t the decisive and strategic successes they planned but instead amplifiers for the international coalition forming against them.

“The mistake that Israel did,” he continues, “was bombing the south of Lebanon, forcing the inhabitants to be displaced. The entire society that Hezbollah is part of and the society that protects Hezbollah is already displaced. Therefore, Hezbollah doesn't have anything anymore to be afraid of. It gave more freedom for Hezbollah to attack the Israelis.”

Subscribe for the full interview with Elijah J. Magnier for a full military analysis dissecting the next moves for each side and the one way to stop Israel. Plus, who does Elijah think would be worse for the region: Trump or Harris?

00:00 Intro

02:08 Harris and Trump LOVE genocide

23:41 Elijah J. Magnier interview

24:54 Israel vs Hezbollah update

28:07 Israel's 'civilian target' strategy

30:51 Why did Hezbollah get involved?

33:45 Did Hezbollah miscalculate?

36:08 Israel is crazier than they realized

41:02 What is Israel's goal?

44:13 The effect of assassinating leaders

51:12 How to stop Israel

We Are Headed for World War – Former IDF Soldier Haim Bresheeth-Zabner Oct 18, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Haim Bresheeth-Zabner: http://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Bill Maher vs Chappell Roan https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/bill-maher-vs-chappell-roan?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

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“They want world war.”

This is the conclusion, after fighting in the IDF, after watching Israeli aggression expand for decades, and after watching the occupation and destruction of Gaza, of Professor Haim Bresheeth-Zabner. Haim’s latest book, An Army Like No Other, shows how the state of Israel has been formed out of its wars.

So after last week’s politically-focused interview with Norman Finkelstein, we’re now running a military analysis with our guest Haim, who fought for Israel in the 1967 War and has seen first-hand how the army is embedded in all aspects of Israeli daily life and identity.

He begins with the notion that what is happening in Gaza could be called a war:

“Israel is not fighting against any army at the moment,” he explains. “They're not able to train an army that can fight guerrillas.” And the reason why is a centuries old truth of war. “Those guerrillas in Gaza, in the West Bank, the people of Hezbollah, and other organizations are all fighting for their home. They are fighting to defend their right to live where they are. And they will fight over it until they're killed or they're winning.” The Israelis, on the other hand, “are fighting for real estate.”

And the US, in it’s long-term plan to weaken Russia and China, is more than happy to have Israel play it’s local part in this. “It is the West,” says Haim, “that is doing this genocide, and Israel is the tool.”

Haim goes on to explain a history of the conflict in the Middle East, how it has expanded, when it will reach the inevitable breaking point, and the only way Israel can be stopped.

“I don't think that anyone can actually stand in the way of this unless BRIC came together and said, ‘We will destroy you if you start this war. You want a deterrent? This is the deterrent.’ Now, the Russians more or less said this. And if you follow the press, Biden thinks that they are bluffing. Well, that's not a joke.”

Iran also gave a similar warning, he says. “What the Iranians have done is told Israel, ‘Please, please, please don't fight us. We don't want to fight you. We don't want to kill people in Israel. We can do that. Just give it up, stop the genocide, and we promise we won't touch you.’”

But if those warnings continue to be ignored? Haim asks: “Who is going to stop it? I don’t know.”

Subscribe for the full interview with Haim Bresheeth-Zabner on the Israeli occupation policy that is worse than the Nazis, an analysis of who in the West is really in charge, and a dark conclusion from this genocide: “Life is [now] impossible in Gaza.”

00:00 Intro

00:58 State Dept lets Israel burn patients alive

14:57 Professor Haim Bresheeth-Zabner interview

15:27 Fighting for the IDF

26:42 Will Israel succeed?

36:57 Can Hezbollah stop Israel?

52:11 What would World War look like?

Norman Finkelstein on One Year of Genocide Oct 11, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/norman-finkelstein-isnt-giving-up-045?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Kamala Harris reveals her main difference with Joe Biden https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/kamala-harris-reveals-her-main-difference?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

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“I think the reasonable conclusion is that Gaza is no more. There's nothing left in Gaza.”

Monday the 7th marked one full year of genocide in Gaza, the darkest era of a decades-long occupation by Israel, which has now begun to spread into the broader Middle East region.

This week we’re joined by Gaza expert and Useful Idiots fan-favorite Norman Finkelstein to look back on this genocidal year.

Norm points out that this is not, as Western and Israeli media claims, an “Israel-Hamas war.” This is not war. This is genocide. And Israel is not targeting Hamas; they are killing civilians, destroying civilian infrastructure, and picking off journalists, health workers, and children.

“I read this letter,” he tells us, “from sixty-five physicians from around the world who gave testimony as to what they observed. And every one of the physicians testified that the children who were coming into the hospital had bullet wounds to the skull or to the chest. No shrapnel. It wasn't bombs and shrapnel. It was targeted bullet wounds to the skull and to the chest of children. What does that have to do with war?”

“There were fifty-four disabled children who used the school in the convent complex. They fired two shells at it. What does that have to do with war?”

Norman also recalls meeting Hezbollah members, and shares what he got wrong about the organization. “Israel, he says, “is willing to kill for material benefit, and Hezbollah and Hamas are willing to die for survival” He also recounts his time meeting Hamas leaders, and explains Israel’s unfair advantage:

“Israel is the entrenched, concentrated manifestation of Western imperialism. It's got deep roots. It's got the whole Western system behind it, that Western system which won't let go. It will nuke China before it lets go of its global dominance. And in order to defeat it, it requires a very long-term struggle and intense calculation.”

Subscribe for the full interview where Norman explains this despair, and the generational hopelessness which lacks historical precedent.

“Our generation,” he laments, “has, for good reason, lost the belief, the conviction that we have the force of history behind us. That we have the force of justice behind us. Our generation believes there's a good chance we'll be defeated. There's a good chance we're not going to win.”

But that doesn’t mean we should give up.

“The only thing I can say as a conclusion is you never know. You can only know one thing for certain: If you do nothing, it can only get worse.”

It’s that certainty that he says keeps him going. “If you resist, there are moments where it looks very grim. And then there's that folk song, it's always darkest before the dawn. It's this hope that keeps me carrying on. It's always darkest before the dawn.”

“There's another reality. There's something in the human constitution that simply can't do nothing. In the face of such death and devastation, you just can't.”

00:00 Intro

01:07 The State Department admits it is COMPLICIT

27:00 Norman Finkelstein interview

28:47 One year of genocide

37:54 Why did Hezbollah intervene?

42:56 What did Norman get wrong about Hezbollah?

48:17 Israel's sadistic advantage

58:18 Palestine doesn't have military targets

1:01:06 Is resistance pointless?

How Biden and Netanyahu PROVOKED the War in the Middle East – with Lebanese Political Scientists Bashir Saade and Karim Makdisi Oct 04, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Bashir Saade and Karim Makdisi: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-interview-how-biden-and?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: John Kerry Wants to Save Democracy (By Ending Democracy) https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/john-kerry-wants-to-save-democracy?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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“It's very bloody and very violent and very dangerous.”

Lebanese political scientists Bashir Saade and Karim Makdisi shed light on Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah and more.

Since the situation is so volatile, news is constantly breaking: after we recorded the interview, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister told CNN that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just before he was assassinated by Israel. The temporary ceasefire, he claimed, was called for by President Biden, President Macron and other allies during the UN General Assembly.

During the interview Karim and Bashir predict what is to come. “The cost is going to be very high,” warns Karim. “It’s going to be very bloody.” They also reflect on why Israel’s attack on Lebanon was inevitable, but not because of Hezbollah.

“I think this is a war that has been coming,” Karim explains. “It's a war that was going to happen. And if it wasn't going to happen now, it would have happened a year from now. You have an expansionist Israel. It has always been expansionist.” And, Bashir adds, “Hezbollah is prepared for this.”

They discuss the double standards faced by the IDF, which is called the most moral army in the world, and Hezbollah, which is described by western media and politicians as terrorist. As Karim explains:

“Hezbollah could target civilian areas. But it's just not in their doctrine, in a sense, to hit civilian areas for the sake of it. In the way that for the Israelis, with the Dahiya Doctrine, you can level the entire civilian area if you think there's some kind of military target inside. This is something the Israelis have been doing since 1948.” Coming tragically full circle, Israel’s Dahiya Doctrine, which calls for disproportionate military responses and the targeting of civilians (war crimes), was named after a Beirut neighborhood where Nasrallah wound up being murdered.

The West justifies Israel’s war crimes by claiming that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. But this week, when Iran launched a missile attack on a Mossad weapons base, CNN itself admitted that the base was embedded in a civilian area.

“The Mossad headquarters and military and defense ministry,” Karim explains, “are in various very civilian areas inside main Israeli cities. So does that mean they’re targets? Does that mean all the civilians working there and around there are targets? Does that mean that it's legitimate under self-defense or any other kind of doctrine? Does it mean that Hezbollah can blow up cell phones and pagers?”

Notably, the very same western politicians and media who accuse Hamas of using human shields are absolutely silent when it comes to Israel’s documented use of Palestinian and Israeli human shields.

Subscribe for the full interview with Bashir and Karim on the state of Hezbollah after the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, how corporate media is constantly working to cover up Israel’s crimes, how martyrdom is portrayed differently based on who does it, and what Bashir and Karim are calling “political suicide” for the Democratic Party.

00:00 Intro

00:50 Harris and Trump want to bomb Iran

18:30 Bashir Saade interview (with BREAKING NEWS)

19:53 Why does Hezbollah fight Israel?

24:05 Nasrallah refused to abandon Palestine

26:49 Nasrallah's ideology

27:53 Karim Makdisi joins

33:54 Why Hezbollah differentiates between civilian and military targets

40:48 Biden announces sanctions on Iran

48:09 Biden officials are celebrating

49:55 Harris vs Trump – will there be a difference?

59:05 Is Lebanon part of Israel's promised territory?

Jordan Peterson, Bernie Sanders, and Elon Musk on the 2024 election – with comedian James Adomian Sep 27, 2024

Click here for the full interview with James Adomian: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-jordan-peterson?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch James' hilarious new standup special here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ5DFrdOyig&ab_channel=800PoundGorillaMedia

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CBS News lets Blinken get away with murder https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cbs-news-lets-blinken-get-away-with?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

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You know him from a hundred cartoons and a thousand podcasts – and now he’s a Useful Idiot. It’s comedian James Adomian, bringing jaw-dropping impressions of Jordan Peterson, Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, Mike Pillow, Marc Maron, and more.

And all of them have a lot to say about the Harris/Trump matchup.

Who is Elon Musk’s new fascist girlfriend? Does Bernie think he sold himself out? What would Chris Matthews say about the election if he were still at MSNBC? Close your eyes, and you’ll be convinced they’re all really here.

Plus, James does a deep dive on the changing nature of comedy, from the conservative era post-9/11 in which he and Katie had to fight to get progressive voices heard, to the leftist scene in the Obama years, and the swing back right in the 2020s. He explains how, similar to left journalism, the progressive comedy space is spread thin, losing ground to a smaller and more cohesive (and heavily funded) right.

Subscribe for the full episode where James gives a roadmap for the left to escape this rut, shares his path as a gay man in comedy, and teaches us about the history of oppression in his family’s country of Armenia (okay, maybe it wasn’t all so lighthearted).

You can watch James’ hilarious new standup special here.

USEFUL IDIOTS NEWS: We have a bonus interview coming out later today with Cornell student Momodou Taal, who Cornell is attempting to deport for his pro-Palestine protests. Stay tuned.

00:00 Intro

01:14 Two presidents admit to foreign interference

27:45 Aaron returns to Piers Morgan

36:12 James Adomian interview

36:38 A comedian's take on 2024

42:46 Jesse Ventura's endorsement

44:30 Dems' ballot censorship

47:04 Did Bernie Sanders sell out?

50:21 Elon Musk's fascist girlfriend

52:29 Jordan Peterson on Elon Musk

53:28 What's happening in Armenia?

The Most Evil Thing I Have Ever Seen – with Ret. Marine Jim Webb Sep 20, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Jim Webb: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/the-most-evil-thing-i-have-ever-seen?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Hillary Clinton Wants to Lock Herself Up https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/hillary-clinton-wants-to-lock-herself?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Retired US Marine Jim Webb joins Useful Idiots to give a military analysis of America’s neoliberal wars waged around the world. If you miss history class or are fascinated by combat strategy and the decisions of generals, this episode is for you.

We start in Ukraine, where everyone waited anxiously this week as Joe Biden teased a dangerous message to Ukraine: the approval of shooting long-range Western missiles into Russia. In the past month, Biden’s hawkish policy showed he was increasingly flirting with the idea, but Webb explains:

“There were leaks leading up to this meeting between Biden and Keir Starmer last week saying that a decision was pretty much imminent, but it didn't happen. And it didn't happen after Vladimir Putin said that if Biden approves this, then basically the U.S. will be at war with Russia.”

And it’s this waning end of hope for Ukraine, with desperate attempts at surprise attacks, forced conscriptions, and escalated war tactics, that Webb describes as the latest failure in the Washington neoliberal war machine.

“We just don't know how bad the war is,” Webb says. “The lengths that the U.S. has taken to ensure the Ukrainians stay on the battlefield.”

And that machine knows that as the number of killed Ukrainians skyrockets into the hundreds of thousands, their clutch of control will finally slip. “The descendants of Hillary Clinton's State Department are still driving the bus. And it's the last grasp, the last dying breaths of a really hardcore neoliberal element that is in control. They know that if this fails, then their entire project across the world is going to come into intense scrutiny, beginning with Ukraine.”

So Webb gives a military history of the conflict, explaining the strategic (and nonstrategic) decisions made by each side that brought us to this point, and maps out how the upcoming decisions of Biden, Putin, and Zelensky could lead to peace or to war.

He also answers the burning question: What will be the foreign policy difference between a President Harris and a President Trump?

Subscribe for the full interview with Jim Webb where he explains who really started the Russia-Ukraine War, how Ukraine’s Kursk invasion was actually a trap laid by Russia, and why Israel’s string of pager explosions should be considered a terrorist attack.

00:00 Intro

01:11 Congress calls Israel's civilian terrorist attack "innovative"

18:23 Jim Webb interview

19:30 Biden calls of long-range missiles

23:06 Zelensky's strategy

28:13 Victoria Nuland's accidental truth

33:06 Do the Ukrainians target civilian areas?

34:46 The Kursk invasion was a TRAP

39:19 The Monty Python Warplan

41:38 West blames Zelensky for everything

43:50 Are the neoliberals losing?

48:26 Ukraine's forced conscriptions

50:21 Who started the war?

Here’s Why Trump and Harris Both Fail on Immigration Sep 13, 2024

Click here for the full interview with John Washington: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-heres-why-trump?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: We found the WORST moment of the debate (and it’s not about pets) https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/we-found-the-worst-moment-of-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Eight years ago, people were shocked at the insanity of the Trump campaign and his xenophobic border policies, pining for a more civil age where debates were proper and kids weren’t kept in cages.

In 2024, those days seem simpler.

John Washington, staff writer at Arizona Luminaria and author of The Case for Open Borders, joins Useful and reports something that may seem hard to believe: Trump’s campaign promises in 2016 are actually more progressive than either of the candidates’ we saw in this week’s debate.

“Kamala Harris,” he says, “has wholeheartedly embraced policies that are to the right of where Trump was when he took office in 2016.”

And it was all there in the debate. When Trump attacked her for being soft on the border, she didn’t argue that America is a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants. In fact, she didn’t talk about immigrants at all. “She talked about drug smugglers, human traffickers, and people who illegally crossed the border. But she didn't really give any idea of America as a nation of immigrants, which is the most boilerplate standard go-to on the left.”

But in the past three years, what the US considers ‘left’ has shifted drastically. “It's also important to remember where we started,” Washington says. “At the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, they were asking for a hundred-day moratorium on deportations. Now they've gone way past the center and are at the right.”

The Biden administration in a single term has already deported or expelled over three million people. “He's taken the mantle of Deporter in Chief,” a title that was previously held by Barack Obama.

And as we heard in the debate, Kamala Harris is following in his footsteps. “The policies that she is fighting for are vehemently anti-immigrant. They would raise the asylum threshold, build more wall. They would put more surveillance technology on the U.S.-Mexico border. They would detain people for longer.”

Tell us, Democrats, which of those things counts as a lesser evil than Donald Trump?

Subscribe for the full interview with John Washington, where he describes the violent reality at the border, how the media is spinning it to protect Biden and Harris, and how borders affect what is happening today in Gaza.

00:00 Intro

00:28 Dems love Dick Cheney now

15:10 John Washington interview

16:05 Are they eating the pets?

19:29 Is Kamala Harris different than Trump?

23:01 The case for open borders

32:52 Do open borders make countries poorer?

39:49 Why should I have to pay for immigrants coming here?

43:49 The contribution to society

Israel’s Sadistic Frenzy of Hate and Revenge – with Israeli activist Sarit Michaeli Sep 06, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Sarit Michaeli: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-israels-sadistic?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: AOC vs Predator – Is Anti-Genocide a Predatory Stance? https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/aoc-vs-predator-is-anti-genocide?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Though Western media has barely covered it, Israeli soldiers engaged in what can only be described as a gang rape of a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman, an Israeli military prison in the Negev desert, which Israeli media has dubbed the Israeli Guantanamo Bay.

When Israeli police detained soldiers who engaged in the rape, which was recorded and broadcast on Israeli TV, Israeli citizens, including Israeli politicians, protested not the rape but rather the attempt to hold the rapists accountable. In addition to these "right to rape" protests, the governemnt has given the rapes its blessing. Hanoch Milwidsky, a member of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, said during a session of the Knesset, that “to insert a stick into a person’s rectum” is "legitimate."

A one off gang rape would be bad enough. But the truth is this is merely one example of a systemic epidemic of abuse. In fact, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released a haunting report on the Israeli prison system which it described as “a network of torture camps.” The title of the report is what an Israeli jailer told a Palestinian prisoner when he arrived at one of these torture camps: Welcome to Hell.

To learn more about this hell, we spoke to Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’tselem, which focuses on human rights abuses in the occupied territories. The abuse suffered by Palestinian prisoners was not random. Rather, “the most gruesome accounts” of the victims revealed “the systemic nature of what has been happening in the Israeli prison system. After October seventh, Israel turned the prison system that deals with Palestinians into a network of torture camps.”

This is not a case of a few rogue actors or bad apples: “The most important thing,” says Michaeli, “is that none of this is the result of individual actions by any sort of individual prison guard. These are systemic actions inspired by [National Security] Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.” And while the torture may have been inspired by Ben Gvir, it's approved of and encouraged by the Israeli government.

The testimony of the Palestinian detainees is harrowing. Fadi Baker, a 25 year old father and lawyer recalled, "they put cigarettes out in my mouth and on my body. They put clamps on my testicles that were attached to something heavy. It went on like that for a whole day. My testicles swelled up." Another detainee witnessed the killing of a Palestinian prisoner:

"He screamed in pain constantly, begging for the doctor. The guard would come now and then and swear at him and tell him to shut up. In the morning, the guards came to count us. One said, 'Get up, you animal. Get up, you dog.' They checked him, and the whole place went silent. Finally, the doctor said, 'There’s nothing to be done.' One of the guards said to them, 'My condolences.' And they all started laughing. They put him in a black body bag and carried him out like trash."

Eighteen year old Muhammad Nazzal recalls, "they kicked us and hit us with metal batons. Every time I tried to cover my head with my hands, they hit me on the hands as well as the rest of my body... people beat me again, and also strip-searched me and took photos of me naked." He also witnessed a fatal beating. When a prisoner dared to ask if there had been a ceasefire, "they beat him to death. The guards simply left him there for half an hour after the assault."

Subscribe to watch the full interview with Sarit Michaeli where she describes the “sadistic... orgy of hate and revenge that Israeli society was plunged into," explains why it's Netanyahu, not Hamas, that's blocking a ceasefire deal, and argues that Netanyahu is rooting for a Trump victory. Plus, she reacts to a truly terrible clip from the Israeli podcast “Two Nice Jewish Boys.”

00:00 Intro

00:58 Jake Sullivan HATES that China chooses diplomacy

14:58 The New Russiagate

25:11 Sarit Michaeli interview

26:01 What's happening in the West Bank?

29:04 R*pe in the name of God

33:42 Netanyahu erases the West Bank

37:56 Israel's real goal

43:07 Welcome to Hell

47:44 Is r*pe legitimate?

50:01 International Court of Justice

56:17 The Biden Admin Doesn't Care

1:01:21 Does Netanyahu prefer Harris or Trump?

France’s Neoliberal Coup – with French MP Danièle Obono Aug 30, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Danièle Obono: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-frances-neoliberal?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN is offended that Palestinians wanted to speak at the DNC https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-is-offended-that-palestinians?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

In the name of democracy, neoliberal French President Emmanuel Macron is thwarting democracy in a move that some are calling a coup.

The French left coalition, The New Popular Front, shocked the nation (and Macron) when they won the elections in July. Usually this would mean that a leftist candidate becomes the Prime Minister. But in the name of “institutional stability,” Macron is refusing to allow this to happen.

So, the leftist France Unbowed party, a member of the New Popular Front, is calling for mass demonstrations on September 7.

Our guest, France Unbowed Member of Parliament Danièle Obono, joins Useful Idiots to explain it all: “It's very disrespectful to the voters that their government would not actually be serious about what they voted for. They voted for us because our platform is to implement changes, to raise the minimum wage, to rebuild social services, to fund healthcare and education and environmental policy, to provide shelter and legal papers to migrant people. The voters should be respected.”

But, Obono vows, “they won’t succeed in silencing millions of people.”

Obono also criticizes Macron for cozying up to France’s fascist far right: “People [are] quite shocked that he would agree with the far right. It triggered something very deep within the people because the National Rally is an actual fascist party. They target migrant people, Muslim people. People feared for their lives, for the future of their kids.”

Subscribe for the full interview with MP Danièle Obono where she explains how Macron plans to use the far-right to launch a coup, how her comments about Hamas incited a government probe on her, and why France just arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

Racism is "in" again at the DNC Aug 23, 2024

Watch Monday Mourning with Rania Khalek: The Cops are Ready for the DNC https://youtube.com/live/U3ZaFJUi6W0?feature=share

Watch Thursday Throwdown: Everyone's laughing at you, CNN https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/everyones-laughing-at-you-cnn?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

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Go to mymorningkick.com/useful and watch Chuck Norris's video on how you can see incredible changes to your health.

The REAL Hezbollah – With Lebanese Journalist Ghadi Francis Aug 16, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Ghadi Francis: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/the-real-hezbollah-with-lebanese?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Everyone's laughing at you, CNN https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/everyones-laughing-at-you-cnn?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

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Western media presents Hezbollah as a group of savages, targeting civilians and trying to drag Lebanon, and the entire Middle East, into war.

But, Lebanese journalist Ghadi Francis explains, this couldn’t be further from the truth: “The armed resistance in Lebanon and in Palestine and in Yemen and in Iraq is just the reaction to the decades of oppression, to the decades of blood.”

And though Ghadi doesn’t share Hezbollah’s ideology, she is grateful for it: “The ideology gives so much confidence to these fighters and patience and resilience to their families.” And she is grateful that Hezbollah is fighting to protect her, the Lebanese people and the Palestinian people. “The concept of resistance, it's the concept of life, to give my kids a future that I couldn't have.”

Ghadi warns against trusting Western media. “After the 40 beheaded imaginary Israeli babies,” why would we “still believe them?”

Social media is revealing the truth that traditional media has been covering up: “You are seeing now the tremendous videos and feeds coming out from Gaza. I tell you, this is not new. The same things have been happening, but cameras weren't there and social media wasn't there.”

Although Hezbollah and other resistance movements are painted as instigating violence, they are reacting to it. “The armed resistance in Lebanon and in Palestine and in Yemen and in Iraq is just the reaction to the decades of oppression, to the decades of blood.”

Israel’s terrorism is presented as self defense, while Hezbollah’s self defense is presented as terrorism. But “when someone else is killing your infants, you’d have to be like God or a prophet to be able to forgive and forgive and forgive and forgive, decade after decade after decade.”

Subscribe for the full interview with Ghadi Francis on the difference between how Israel and Hezbollah fight wars, the growing desperation in the west that could lead to a ceasefire, and her own experience in Hamas’s tunnels.

00:00 Intro

01:08 Aaron's hate crime

04:56 Blinken celebrates the Geneva Conventions

17:48 Ghadi Francis interview

18:26 What is resistance?

22:12 Who is Hezbollah?

27:06 Does Hezbollah have support in Lebanon?

31:43 Is Iran behind it all?

36:40 The role of Hamas

41:26 The ideology of Hezbollah

46:36 How Israel fights vs how Hezbollah fights

Is Israel About to Go to War with Iran? w/ Rami Khouri Aug 09, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Rami Khouri: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-interview-is-israel-about?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Read Rami Khouri's new book Understanding Hamas: https://orbooks.com/catalog/understanding-hamas/

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Is Tim Walz anti-Semitic for not being Josh Shapiro? https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/is-tim-walz-anti-semitic-for-not?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Go to mymorningkick.com/useful and watch Chuck Norris's video on how you can see incredible changes to your health.

“The colonial era never ended in the Middle East. The colonial spirit that drives white, Northern, European, American, military-industrial, racist, apartheid, Christian powers is still with us.”

Palestinian-American journalist Rami Khouri, who is a Distinguished Public Policy Fellow at the American University of Beirut and author of the new book Understanding Hamas, has been reporting on conflicts in the Middle east for 55 years. “And the most striking thing to me in that entire period is what we're witnessing today.”

This week the world is watching the potential face-off between an Israeli-American alliance against a new alliance of forces in the Middle East. Will Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran trigger a regional war?

Khouri explains how the tumultuous history in the region brought us to where we are today, and he points a finger at not just nation states and governments, but Western media:

“The mainstream media has played such a central role propagating the various lies and exaggerations and racist stereotypes that have kept this conflict going for so long.”

And they don’t just report on war. They profit off it. “We have to not be drawn into the CNN, New York Times, MSNBC fantasy world of cartoon-like diplomacy, and the projection of the US as the great provider of peaceful life and democracy in the face of these barbaric Muslims and Arabs and Iranians. This is a fantasy world that has been created in the West, and a lot of people made a lot of money out of it.”

So we asked Rami Khouri: will all this lead to a new war in the Middle East?

Subscribe to hear his full answer, plus how Israel has repeatedly rejected peace deals, the difference between Judaism and Zionism, how to properly understand Hamas, and the one way to end this occupation:

“The Israelis have revealed, in all its ugliness, the barbaric, violent spirit that is their Zionist movement in the genocide in Gaza. There has to be an international mechanism to force Israel to do what it has never done.”

Thanks for supporting independent media. Subscribe for the full episode.

00:00 Intro

01:24 White House helps AIPAC take out progressives

19:15 Rami Khouri interview

20:13 Israel vs Iran

27:49 Does Israel want Iran to attack?

42:20 Israel's violent worldview

48:40 Will they EVER accept a peace deal?

US media is hiding THIS about Venezuela’s elections – w/ Anya Parampil Aug 02, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Anya Parampil: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-us-media-is-hiding?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: The State Dept Doesn't Know What a War Crime Is https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/the-state-dept-doesnt-know-what-a?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Go to mymorningkick.com/useful and watch Chuck Norris's video on how you can see incredible changes to your health.

When the US government has been running a decades-long regime-change operation, sabotaging another country with shadow governments and crippling sanctions, it’s hard to take anything it says about the country’s leaders at face value. Which is why, as Venezuela held elections this week and corporate media shouted reports of stolen elections, dictatorship, and civil war, you might find yourself asking:

Is any of this actually true?

Journalist Anya Parampil, author of the new book Corporate Coup: Venezuela and the End of US Empire, documents the bipartisan efforts of the last four US presidents to destroy Venezuela’s economy enough to remove its leaders from power and instate a US-backed puppet as head of state.

“You can't deny,” she says, “what was an orchestrated demolition of the Venezuelan economy on behalf of foreign powers.” And while we hear repeatedly from corporate media that the problems come from within Venezuela, whether it’s dictatorship, gangs, or corruption, Anya points out a basic truth:

“Coming at it from the point of an American, I'm not going to intervene in your country at all, and beyond that all I know is that their lives would be better if the sanctions were lifted.”

She explains why, even after the constant meddling of neocons like John Bolton and Gargamel-doppelganger Elliot Abrams, the piracy of the country’s oil, and the destruction of countless people’s lives with harsh sanctions, the US has still been unsuccessful in regime change.

Subscribe to hear the full interview with Anya Parampil where she details how each US president from Bush to Biden made efforts to derail Venezuela’s economy, how these efforts have actually created the immigration problems they love to complain about, and Anya’s epic 2019 interview with Tucker Carlson which led to a call from then-President Trump.

00:00 Intro

00:35 Lindsey Graham wants to bomb Iran and Trump falls in love

15:09 Anya Parampil interview

16:38 WTF happened in Venezuela this week?

23:43 Who is the opposition?

29:13 The US role

37:32 A visit from Gargamel

45:49 Is it Venezuela's fault?

Israeli Settlers Are the World’s Worst Neighbors w/ Mohammed el-Kurd Jul 26, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Mohammed el-Kurd: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-israeli-settlers?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Biden forgets he’s at war around the world https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/biden-forgets-hes-at-war-around-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Go to mymorningkick.com/useful and watch Chuck Norris's video on how you can see incredible changes to your health.

Palestinian writer and poet Mohammed el-Kurd is from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. He became known around the world when he resisted the theft of his family home by Israeli settlers.

Now, as he and his community continue to resist, he is constantly asked in Western media: But what about their feelings? Where will the settlers go?

His response created a meltdown for corporate media elites: “I truly don’t give a f***”

In a new satirical parody of the disingenuous Western media, Mohammed expands his answer: “Why should I care about what happens to the settlements? What happens to the people who have been bombed to smithereens? What happens to our relatives who are in prisons rotting away without charge or trial? But what I'm asked to care about is the hypothetical future of the settlers who drink their coffee from my balcony.”

So we chat with Mohammed on Useful Idiots to find out why he’s using satire to make fun of the corporate media that treats Palestinians so disingenuously.

“Ever since this genocidal onslaught on Gaza started,” he says. “It's become more and more circus-like. Being a Palestinian in the media sphere almost feels gimmicky, like it's being done for entertainment values. We are told to take these ridiculous accusations seriously, to respond to them in good faith. In reality, when you're responding to them in good faith, you're giving them power over you.”

Mohammed’s parody, which he made with Jewish Voice for Peace activist Morgan Bassichis, is instead titled In Bad Faith. “When you're satirizing them, when you're dismissing them, you are in fact flipping the script. It teaches the audience at home something. It inspires them and incentivizes them to be more flippant, to be more irreverent, to refuse these kinds of investigations and interrogations.”

What is serious: Mohammed goes in-depth on what it was like to have people violently raid his community and steal their homes.

“They would look at us like they were at an auction for zoo animals. And that's how it felt. We grew up with settlers doing all kinds of sexual harassment, verbal abuses, and they're always protected by police. We would have busloads come into our front yard and sing their religious songs and scream their expletives at us, spit at us. If I didn't live that life, I would not believe it.”

Subscribe for the full interview with Mohammed el-Kurd where we ask him if there’s any difference between Trump and the Democrats, discuss the New York Times’ complicity with their rampant anti-Palestinian propaganda, and find out: will Kamala Harris be any different?

00:00 Intro

00:58 Netanyahu goes to Congress

16:26 Mohammed el-Kurd interview

17:20 MSM parody "In Bad Faith"

21:34 Why should I care about settlers?

25:02 College encampments

27:34 How settlers took their homes

32:17 Killing poets

40:00 Trump vs Dems: What's the Difference?

Roger Waters TAKES ON Piers Morgan Jul 19, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Roger Waters: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/roger-waters-takes-on-piers-morgan?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

See Katie LIVE in Dublin on July 24: https://thefumbally.ie/product/the-katie-halper-show/

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Joe Biden thinks he's the MOST RESPECTED world leader https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/joe-biden-thinks-hes-the-most-respected?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

“Is the revolution around the corner? I effing hope so!”

Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters returns to Useful Idiots as bold and funny as ever, with takes on the UK’s new “self-serving Nazi” Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the meaninglessness of the Trump assassination attempt, the real devastation happening everyday in Gaza, Julian Assange, and so much more.

Roger laments that our leaders are “Joe Biden, who thinks he rules the world” and “Keir Starmer, who's a self-serving, career Nazi. They would do anything, tell any lie, adopt any position that can give them power and influence.”

Waters asks what would have happened if the assassination attempt on Trump had been successful: “Nothing. There'd be another puppet there instead. It doesn't make any difference.”

Which is why Roger believes working hard to get these people, Trump and Biden, out of office is so important. “You have an opportunity now to take part in the existential battle for the human soul that Aaron and Katie and I and millions, billions of people all over the world are engaged in. Because we care about right and wrong and we care about human rights and we care about our brothers and sisters.”

And if we don’t? “We are heading towards World War Three very, very fast.”

Last week, Aaron appeared on Piers Morgan in a debate with two very angry Zionists. The week before, Roger debated Piers himself. The two trade stories of the frustrating environment and how blatant lies (beheaded babies, evidence-less sexual assault of Israeli women), and propaganda (the covering up of Israel’s mass violence of its own people on October 7th) are being shoved down our throats.

“People on this issue just repeat again and again claims that have been debunked. They've been doing it since Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goering suggested it in the late 1930s. The bigger the lie you tell, the better it is. You just have to keep repeating it.”

Subscribe to hear the full interview with Roger Waters where he shares stories of his meeting with Julian Assange, a song from his upcoming album, the fascist uniform he wears for his live shows, and what he does every day to make a difference in the world.

“It's not easy. We all of us wake up in the morning and burst into tears, and then think ‘All right pull yourself together you big lunk. There's work to be done.’ And we think what can I do today to to make a difference? However tiny it is, what can I do today that is not standing by, silent and indifferent? What can I do?”

00:00 Intro

04:11 The Four Food Groups of News

18:04 Roger Waters interview

18:42 UK elections

24:39 England's role in Gaza

31:57 Jeremy Corbyn's fall

39:41 The moment Putin became the enemy

42:54 Israel killed its OWN PEOPLE on Oct 7

46:49 Roger and Aaron on Piers Morgan (subscribe)

UNLOCKED: UK Diplomat Ian Proud Full Interview Jul 12, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com

Watch Thursday Throwdown: NYT accidentally exposes Biden's big debate lie https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/nyt-accidentally-exposes-bidens-big?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

By popular demand, we are unlocking the extended interview with Ian Proud. Watch the full chat here:

From July 2014 to February 2019, veteran diplomat Ian Proud was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow where he advised UK Ministers on sanctions against Russia.

His embrace of diplomacy over war made him a Misfit in Moscow.

Proud joins Useful Idiots to explain how British diplomacy failed in Russia, and how a strategy other than aggression and saber-rattling could have averted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He gives a complex history of the conflict, beginning with the 2014 West-backed coup in Ukraine, and culminating in Boris Johnson’s infamous in person threat to Zelensky that he must reject a peace deal.

We ask Ian if it was Biden who instructed Johnson to do so.

And today, with a (“so-called”) peace summit convened by the Ukrainian government and Putin making his most concrete peace offer to date, Ian’s long history as a British diplomat in Moscow gives us a chance to pull back the curtain on the talks that could potentially end the proxy war.

Subscribe to hear the full interview with Ian Proud where he explains:

•How the US’s Victoria Nuland undermined peace talks at every step since 2014

•Boris Johnson’s admission that the proxy war is about “defending western hegemony” (and his embarrassing meeting with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion)

•The UK’s role in the dirty war in Syria

•The UK’s role in aiding Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza

•How much the British government and its allies invest in propaganda (or, as they call it, strategic communications) to deceive the public into going along with their proxy wars

•And the 2024 US presidential election: Would there would be any foreign policy difference between Biden and Trump?

Useful Idiots is off this week, so we are unlocking a fan-favorite episode. Thanks for your support!

Israel is heading for "national suicide" says Jewish Arab Israeli Jul 05, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Alon Mizrahi: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-israel-is-heading?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: NYT accidentally exposes Biden's big debate lie https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/nyt-accidentally-exposes-bidens-big?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The one way to stop Israel – w/ Diana Buttu Jun 28, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN compares Keffiyehs to Confederate Flags https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-compares-keffiyehs-to-confederate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. 265 days into Israel’s mass assault on Gaza, Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization Diana Buttu joins us from Haifa, Israel with a stark warning: Things are going to get worse. “For Netanyahu,” she explains, “he needs to open up another front in order to maintain his power. He's made it clear that he's not going to push for a ceasefire. He doesn't care about the Israeli captives. And so it's pretty clear to me that he's going to go ahead and attack Lebanon.” Israel has no aim to rescue its hostages. It never did. “If they actually cared about them, they would have done what should have been done very early on, which is negotiate a ceasefire. Instead, they’ve done the opposite. And this is why you can look at these ceasefire proposals with such skepticism. Because instead, what they’ve done is bombed Gaza to virtual smithereens.” Diana, whose father survived the Nakba in 1948, moved to Haifa in 2000. And like many others, she believed what the media told everyone to believe: that with a simple peace plan, Palestine would be fixed. Then she arrived in Palestine and saw the true reality. “All of the things that had been dismissed by the mainstream media,” she says, “I had dismissed too. I had dismissed this idea of settlements and the impact of settlements. And I kept thinking, it'll be undone. It'll all be undone. I dismissed the harm of what it means to be a Palestinian political prisoner, to be somebody who's abducted in the middle of the night. I dismissed the harm of the checkpoints. I dismissed a lot of things. And so when I arrived here, it was the first time that I had to confront the reality that this political process was not going to undo any of those harms.” Stopping the bombs is one thing. Stopping settlements, returning land, granting rights to Palestinians, and removing the literal wall that cages them is another. “They talk about reconfiguring the prison, reconfiguring the occupation, but they never talk about ending the occupation because this mentality of control permeates deep inside Israel.” There’s only one way this ends, Diana says. “It's going to end when the world says that it's enough. And that's it.” Diana also shares haunting stories of Palestinian children who were kept in Israeli torture prisons for months, and the ways that western corporate media has worked to cover it up. This week’s interview with Diana Buttu will not be paywalled. We hope you’ll listen to and share her important perspective. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: CNN compares Keffiyehs to Confederate Flags, where Van Jones claims that wearing a keffiyeh around Israeli government supporters is as much a call for violence as waving a confederate flag in Harlem. And we celebrate the freedom of Julian Assange, a rare victory that couldn’t have happened without supporters of independent media like you. Thanks for your support, we’ll see you next time. 00:00 Intro 00:37 The Four Food Groups of News 18:10 Diana Buttu interview 18:52 Will Netanyahu attack Lebanon? 23:17 Why Netanyahu needs the war 24:50 Does Israel care about the hostages? 28:24 Is the peace process bogus? 33:01 Responding to Israeli talking points 42:10 Israeli is torturing child prisoners 52:10 How does the occupation end? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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UK diplomat reveals NATO STARTED the WAR in Ukraine Jun 21, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Ian Proud: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/uk-diplomat-reveals-nato-started?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: White House would NEVER pause shipments to Israel, reports White House https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/white-house-would-never-pause-shipments?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. From July 2014 to February 2019, veteran diplomat Ian Proud was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow where he advised UK Ministers on sanctions against Russia. His embrace of diplomacy over war made him a Misfit in Moscow. Proud joins Useful Idiots to explain how British diplomacy failed in Russia, and how a strategy other than aggression and saber-rattling could have averted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He gives a complex history of the conflict, beginning with the 2014 West-backed coup in Ukraine, and culminating in Boris Johnson’s infamous in person threat to Zelensky that he must reject a peace deal. We ask Ian if it was Biden who instructed Johnson to do so. And today, with a (“so-called”) peace summit convened by the Ukrainian government and Putin making his most concrete peace offer to date, Ian’s long history as a British diplomat in Moscow gives us a chance to pull back the curtain on the talks that could potentially end the proxy war. Subscribe to hear the full interview with Ian Proud where he explains: •How the US’s Victoria Nuland undermined peace talks at every step since 2014 •Boris Johnson’s admission that the proxy war is about “defending western hegemony” (and his embarrassing meeting with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion) •The UK’s role in the dirty war in Syria •The UK’s role in aiding Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza •How much the British government and its allies invest in propaganda (or, as they call it, strategic communications) to deceive the public into going along with their proxy wars •And the 2024 US presidential election: Would there would be any foreign policy difference between Biden and Trump? 00:00 Intro 01:11 The Four Food Groups of News 15:17 Ian Proud interview 16:05 Peace talks in Ukraine 18:26 What the media gets wrong about Putin 23:06 The bridge that could have prevented a war 27:26 Did Biden instruct Johnson to threaten Zelensky? 33:10 Censoring his new book 38:02 Was the west involved in the 2014 coup? 40:50 Victoria Nuland undermines it all Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Former Israel negotiator Daniel Levy: THIS is Israel's real goal Jun 14, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Daniel Levy: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/former-israel-negotiator-daniel-levy?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Brian Stelter warns Trump will arrest Rachel Maddow https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/brian-stelter-warns-trump-will-arrest?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web President of the US/Middle East Project Daniel Levy used to be an Israeli peace negotiator. Today, he’s a leading critic of the Israeli government. This former insider talks to us about the real goals behind Israel's assault on Gaza, why the U.S. is so enabling of Israel, and the political impact this will have on Biden. He describes Israel's depressingly narrow political spectrum: “from apartheidists with a smiley face, through to ‘reoccupy Gaza permanently,’ through to the expulsionist eradicationist camp.” It’s a bleak but increasingly undeniable reality that what was once considered the left in Israel and the US has now become ‘the right but nicer about it.’ And what is Netanyahu's plan? “Right now I'm not sure that Netanyahu has a plan of what his morning-after looks like. To the extent to which there is an ongoing Israeli position, it’s ‘entrench the control,’ it's ‘maximum land,’ and it's this matrix of domination which is going to prevent any Palestinian freedom rights. The idea is push them out and resettle Gaza now.” Daniel also blasts the so-called peace process: “What they’re essentially saying,” Daniel explains, “is ‘let's go back to the status quo ante,’ which is a regime accurately described by Palestinians, Israeli human rights NGOs, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and the International Court of Justice as meaning the bar of a legal definition of apartheid.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Daniel Levy where he explains what the US gets out of its enabling of Israel, Hamas’s new goals, and how he went from Israeli government official to leading critic. 00:00 Intro 04:36 The Four Food Groups of News 29:12 Daniel Levy interview 29:37 What's going on with the ceasefire? 34:35 Netanyahu's real goal 38:04 Israel's real goal 42:36 A refuge of scoundrels 46:34 How does peace happen? 52:42 Will Palestinians have rights? 57:31 Why is the US fueling this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Pulitzer Winner Nathan Thrall on Israel’s ceasefire ruse Jun 07, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Nathan Thrall: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/pulitzer-winner-nathan-thrall-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Aaron Maté debunks the Washington Post's Grayzone propaganda https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/aaron-mate-debunks-the-washington?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Netanyahu has messaged over and over again that he will not end this war. Israel absolutely and categorically refuses to end the war until Hamas is totally defeated.” This is the analysis of Nathan Thrall, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and writer who lives in Jerusalem. What’s surprising, however, is the newly announced deal brokered by Israel and the US which stipulates that Israel would agree to a ceasefire if the hostages were returned. “The giant loophole in this deal,” explains Thrall, “is that it comes in three phases. A permanent ceasefire comes in the second phase. The first phase is a limited prisoner exchange, and so Hamas has very little reason to believe that Israel will go into this and actually see it through to the end of the three phases.” Israel’s intransigency and unyielding occupation makes Thrall loath to talk about the potential of a one state or two state solution. “The discussion about solutions and about one-state-versus-two has served to distract people from the real present day reality. What that distraction has allowed people to do is to treat the present reality, the more than half century long present reality, as though it's temporary.” Focusing on the one or two state solution allows people to “debate the fantasy Utopia” and perpetuates the lie that the occupation is “only temporary. Clearly it can't last, they say, Israel is going to have to choose either to give Palestinians citizenship or give them a state” The reality is that “Israel doesn't have to choose. It will require a revolution in the way that the world treats Israel for it to have to choose, and maybe we're on the road to that now but it's a very long road.” Subscribe to watch the full interview with Nathan Thrall in which he discusses his Pulitzer-winning book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, which tells the story of a deadly school bus crash caused by harsh restrictions imposed on Palestinians living in Jerusalem. Thrall also updates us about how the main characters have been affected by Israel’s response to October 7. For example, Abed recently told Thrall “in all his life and experience of this occupation, these are the greatest restrictions on movement he has ever seen. It can take hours to travel distances that used to take half and hour inside the West Bank.” Also in the extended interview: For people who claim that Hamas broke the ceasefire, what was the state of violence in the occupied West Bank prior to October 7? What is life like in Gaza, where he spent 6 weeks. What’s it like being an American Jew in Gaza? And what kind of revolution would have to happen to reach peace? 00:00 Intro 01:08 The Four Food Groups of News 17:57 Nathan Thrall interview 19:00 Is the ceasefire real? 22:15 What's going on in Jerusalem? 23:40 Israel's goal 26:14 Hamas's goal 32:12 Life for Palestinians in Jerusalem 38:48 A Day in the Life of Abed Salama 43:02 The crime of saving children Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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UN Rapporteur accuses Israel of sexual violence against Palestinian women May 31, 2024

Click here for the full interview with UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/un-rapporteur-accuses-israel-of-sexual?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: John Kirby feels "perfectly comfortable" with Israel bombing Rafah https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/john-kirby-feels-perfectly-comfortable?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “They knew,” repeats Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. “They knew this would result in killing. They knew this would result in immense physical and mental harm. They knew that by declaring a siege with no food, no water, no fuel, no medicines, people would be destined to die.” She continues, citing the definition of genocide: “These are conditions calculated to ‘bring about the destruction of a group in whole or part,’ and this is why it's genocide.” Working at the UN, Francesca Albanese released a groundbreaking report titled Anatomy of a Genocide, which concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide has been met. And Albanese is not alone in her conclusions. The International Court of Justice found plausible grounds for the genocide case against Israel. And the International Criminal Court has sought arrest warrants for Israeli officials over genocide. “The reason,” Francesca explains, “why Israeli leaders are being investigated and hopefully one day prosecuted by the ICC is because Israel has proven unwilling and unable to comply with international law [related to] war crimes against humanity, genocide, and oppression.” And the Biden administration is complicit: “The US administration considers the ‘red line’ as a sort of movable geometry. They keep on pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable, they keep on pushing the red lines further and further in order to justify their lack of action. The current administration is embroiled in this catastrophe in a way that words can’t say but justice can fix.” Subscribe for the full interview with Francesca Albanese where she responds to the argument that Israel has a right to defend itself, explains how mainstream media has censored her accounts of sexual violence against Palestinian women, and details the threats the ICC has received from Israel over their war crimes inquiry. 00:00 Intro 00:32 The Four Food Groups of News 19:32 Francesca Albanese interview 20:16 Can the ICJ stop Israel? 25:01 Anatomy of a Genocide 27:46 No red lines for John Kirby 34:55 The trick of humanitarian camouflage 40:59 Does Israel have a right to defend itself? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Israel Spies on the World – with Antony Loewenstein May 24, 2024

The first 50 people to click this link get 30% off ONE YEAR of Useful Idiots: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/first50 See the full interview with Antony Loewenstein here: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/how-israel-spies-on-the-world-with?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web The Palestine Laboratory: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2684-the-palestine-laboratory Not in My Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOSMdSYZtMw&ab_channel=ABCNewsIn-depth For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Blinken's Neo N*zi Pizza Party https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/blinkens-neo-nzi-pizza-party?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Israel makes a killing from the occupation,” says journalist Antony Loewenstein in his new book The Palestine Laboratory, which uncovers how Israel has profited off the terror it reigns over Palestinians. “Israel's military uses the occupied Palestinian territories as a testing ground for weaponry and surveillance technology that they then export around the world to despots and democracies.” And with this scheme, he explains, Israel is able to genocide three birds with one stone. First, most obviously, they achieve their goal of control and carnage in Palestine, making the territory unlivable for the indigenous people in an effort to take the land. Second, Israel’s military industrial complex is vastly enriched from the sale of weapons and tech. And third, Israel’s weaponry allows them to to commit mass terror in Gaza: “After 1967, there were many nations that publicly opposed what Israel was doing, but the insurance policy is that Israel has been selling weapons and surveillance tech to so many countries for so long that those nations were less likely to criticize Israel where it matters, like the UN.” And the vast extent of this insurance policy is likely greater than we realize. “No one even knows, by the way, how many countries Israel has sold weapons to. I calculate anywhere between 125 and 145 nations, which is the majority of nations on the planet, have bought some form of Israeli weapons, surveillance tech, or repressive technology.” But since October 7, Antony explains, Israel’s grip over the world is slipping. Subscribe to hear the full interview in which Antony explains why “Israel is a house of cards,” how companies like Google and Amazon “are directly complicit in potential war crimes,” and why Israel’s potential war on Hezbollah “would make what's happening in Gaza seem like kindergarten.” 00:00 Intro 00:49 ICC wants to arrest Israel: The Four Food Groups of News 20:31 Antony Loewenstein interview 21:38 How Israel exports the technology of occupation 24:24 Israel's insurance policy 28:25 The Palestine laboratory 32:49 Israeli surveillance of Gaza 36:57 How the US uses IDF tactics to silence protesters 43:10 Google and Amazon war crimes? 49:26 What is Israel's goal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Palestinian Writer Breaks Down At Gaza’s Mass Graves May 17, 2024

The first 50 people to click this link get 30% off ONE YEAR of Useful Idiots: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/first50 See the full interview with Susan Abulhawa here: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/palestinian-writer-breaks-down-at?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web See Katie’s mashup of politicians’ and corporate media’s hypocrisy on Zionist violence here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDOlPim1wc0&rco=1&ab_channel=KatieHalper For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: GOP brags Trump hates Palestinians more than Biden does https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/gop-brags-trump-hates-palestinians?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “I really have never seen anything like this, in Palestine or anywhere else in the world.” Palestinian-American writer and human rights activist Susan Abulhawa has been to Gaza twice since October 7th. Her harrowing experience is hard to hear, but so important to listen to. “The inhumanity is hard to fathom,” she says as she describes images far worse than what we’ve been told so far about Gaza. “It is a constant state of terror.” We had Susan on to pull back the curtain of censorship held over Palestine, and she reveals the horrifying truth: zip ties tied tight for children’s hands, a heat wave turning tents into ovens, an epidemic of flies, mosquitos, and scorpions, grandparents who have lost their entire families, and a story of a house cat wounded and orphaned from his family, barely able to survive. And as the US continues to fund this terror, Susan gives a stark warning: “If we allow this to continue without any accountability or serious consequences, then there will be no more limits for what these fascists will do. And it won’t stop with Gaza.” But this week after a just-for-show shipments pause, Biden sent another $1 billion of weapons to Israel. So we asked Susan about the 2024 election and the question that keeps coming up: But won’t Trump be worse? Susan responds: “I don’t know what’s worse than what Biden’s done. What can possibly be worse than genocide? What is worse than besieging two and a half million people in a tiny, densely-populated place and then bombing the hell out of them? Watching for seven months a live-streamed genocide and sending billions upon billions every month to this monstrosity to continue this genocide. What could possibly be worse?” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Susan Abulhawa about academic censorship, the policing of pro-Palestine speech, and why she was canceled for her comments about Zelensky. This episode is very hard to hear, but Susan explains that we cannot become desensitized to the horrors our governments are creating. Listen to and share Susan’s reporting. We appreciate your support of Useful Idiots and independent media. Subscribe to watch the full episode here: 00:00 Intro + Special Offer 01:14 The Four Food Groups of News 19:44 Susan Abulhawa interview 20:43 What's happening in Gaza? 27:43 Susan's harrowing footage at Gaza's mass graves 36:35 The children of Gaza 41:27 Rescuing an orphaned cat 46:04 Will Trump be worse than Biden? 49:32 Canceled over Ukraine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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“Israel is a Gangster State” says Palestinian DC-based Journalist May 10, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Said Arikat: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israel-is-a-gangster-state-says-palestinian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Billionaire tech bro calls protesters an "infection inside our society" https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/billionaire-tech-bro-calls-protesters?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Palestinian journalist Said Arikat may have the hardest job in the world: every day he walks into the State Department briefing room to ask serious questions about the United States’ support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, only to be met with the smirking grin of Joker-cosplayer Matthew Miller. Arikat is one of the last legitimate journalists working in Washington, and his pressure on warmongers like Miller, John Kirby, and the Biden administration is essential in holding their feet to the fire, especially at a time when the Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times is working around the clock to cover up their complicity. So from inside Washington establishment politics, Said shares his thoughts on the US’s plans for more war and the way the Biden admin enables the “gangster state” of Israel. “This is really an army that is indoctrinated in criminality to kill the Palestinians, to show them they’re not human, to torture them. Shame on the Europeans, shame on the Americans, they’re the ones that should be held in contempt for allowing such a huge crime to take place under their eyes.” Said, as is sadly the case with all of our Palestinian guests, also has personal stories of family members killed by Israel. Which is why it is so important for him and the rest of us to continue to stand up against the genocide. But more and more people are seeing through Israel’s lies, which has Israel worried: “They are panicking because Americans can’t be fooled and blackmailed by AIPAC for much longer.” Subscribe for the full interview with Said Arikat on the power of the college encampments, the House’s racist antisemitism bill, Israel’s attack on Rafah, and the Biden administration’s meaningless “pause” on weapons that will have no impact on Israel’s plans. 00:00 Intro 00:33 The Four Food Groups of News 21:31 Said Arikat interview 22:19 Israel shuts down Al Jazeera 24:35 Invasion of Rafah 26:12 Hamas agrees to ceasefire 27:55 Said vs Matthew Miller 35:01 Jake Tapper's ridiculous take 39:05 Biden and Johnson exploit the Holocaust 50:23 College protests and antisemitism bill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jill Stein on getting assaulted by cops & campus crackdown May 03, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Dr. Jill Stein and Jason Call: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jill-stein-on-getting-assaulted-by?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Pervy Prof is Horny for Genocide https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/pervy-prof-is-horny-for-genocide?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web In a disturbing assault caught on camera, Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein was attacked and arrested by police at Washington University in St. Louis. She, along with her campaign manager Jason Call and hundreds of others, were arrested for peacefully protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. As they held their ground, cops attacked Dr. Stein with a bike and pinned Jason to the ground. They recount the aggressive story in this week’s interview. This campus beatdown is the latest in a long line of fascist attacks at colleges around the country, with students and professors hospitalized as US leadership looks on. President Biden, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, corporate media journalists, and countless members of congress have condoned or even encouraged these police attacks, giving them the green light to escalate their violent methods. And Dr. Stein has a theory for why: “The red flags are flying all over the place that they really are losing their stranglehold,” she says of the global empire. “It’s a scary moment because the bear has been cornered and knows that it’s under attack. The empire is striking back in every way that it can because its days are numbered.” The growing protests around the country are a sign that things are changing and people are committed to that change. “It’s a very distressing and disturbing moment but it’s important to also recognize that behind that is this power of a different world rising up.” Subscribe to watch the full interview with Dr. Jill Stein and Jason Call where we analyze Mayor Adams’ claim that professional protesters are taking over Columbia, debunk CNN’s propaganda that the wife of a terrorist has joined the students, and explain why it is actually the Zionist counter-protesters who are spreading dangerous antisemitism. And for a full recap of corporate media’s dishonest bias against student protesters, including a sickening speech from CNN’s Dana Bash and a weird rant from NYU Professor Scott Galloway, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Pervy Prof is Horny for Genocide. 00:00 Intro 01:03 The Four Food Groups of News 22:27 Dr. Jill Stein and Jason Call interview 23:51 Assaulted by cops (video) 34:10 Professor attacked (video) 36:04 Why is the US breaking up protests? 39:11 Politicians fuel the fire 41:41 Congress passes $95 billion for war 47:11 Dems make ballot access impossible 51:22 Eric Adams demonizes students Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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This book debunks everything Netanyahu just said Apr 26, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Columbia protests organized by CHINA (say MSNBC conspiracy theorists) https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/columbia-protests-organized-by-china?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Get a copy of Deluge at http://orbooks.com Jamie Stern-Weiner, Ahmed Alnaouq, and Colter Louwerse, authors of Deluge: Gaza and Israel from Crisis to Cataclysm, join the show just in time to check Netanyahu on his sickening new video address instructing the US government to censor college protesters: “Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities,” begins the Israeli leader in a speech that comes across as desperate. “They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty. They want to kill Jews wherever they are. It has to be stopped.” Israel murdered many family members of our Palestinian guest Ahmed, including fourteen children under the age of 13. When Netanyahu lies that protesters are against Jewish people and not against Israel’s uncountable horrors, it becomes crucial for journalists to thoroughly debunk his dangerous claims. So Jamie, Ahmed, and Colter lay out a complete history of Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, from the mass murder in Jaffa in order to create Tel Aviv, up through the massacre at the Great March of Return (Ahmed shares personal stories from the march). They show the countless attempts at peaceful protests by the Palestinians that were met with Israeli violence, and explain how today’s college protests, including a large contingent of Jewish students, signify that years of peaceful protesting is finally making a global impact. This week’s interview will not be paywalled because we think Netanyahu’s claims should be debunked for everyone. If you want a full breakdown of the college campus protests, the Israeli actors posing as protesters to disrupt them, and the professors who are gunning to censor and expel the brave students, subscribe to watch our Thursday Throwdown. We cover it all here: Columbia protests organized by CHINA (say MSNBC conspiracy theorists) Thanks for supporting Useful Idiots and independent media. 00:00 Intro 01:47 The Four Food Groups of News 24:41 Biden is stoned 31:02 Jamie Stern-Weiner, Ahmed Alnaouq, and Colter Louwerse interview 38:41 We Are Not Numbers co-founder 44:42 Ahmed shares how Israel bombed his family 50:11 Is Hamas to blame? 57:53 Hamas' peace offer 1:11:50 The Great March of Return 1:20:34 A Palestinians vision for the future 1:21:36 Netanyahu's shameful speech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Professor Exposes Campus Free Speech Crackdown Apr 19, 2024

Click here for the full interview with As'ad AbuKhalil: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/professor-exposes-campus-free-speech?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Order Karina Gonzalez’ new children’s book, “Churro Stand”: https://booksofwonder.com/products/churro-stand-street-vendor-project-english-vers For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Morning Joe begs you to love the US military https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/meltdown-joe-begs-you-to-love-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web At a time when genocide is being broadcast live on TV and western democracies are cracking down on free speech in order to enable it, As'ad AbuKhalil, Lebanse-American Professor of Political Science at California State University Stanislaus, finds a silver lining: “The rest of the world is watching,” he says. “The west is being seen for what it really is: a racist, colonialist west that stands for war crimes.” And as the United States supplies the weapons that massacre civilians, uses the press to cover up the crimes, and arrests students who speak out against it, it becomes “a full participant in the genocide.” But will the Western governments that support Israel ever stop supporting it? “I don’t think that Israel can cross any threshold” for its supporters. He gives a history of Israel’s crimes. “Every crime of terrorism in our region has been pioneered by the Israelis: throwing bombs in buses and crowded markets, letter bombs against British embassies, booby-trapped cars, the incineration of the people of Jaffa in order to create the greater Tel Aviv region.” And he shares harrowing stories from his own life in Lebanon, where Israel “incinerated Palestinian refugee camps,” indiscriminately killing “20,000 Lebanese, Palestinians, and Syrians.” But instead of condemning any of that, the US is fighting its students who refuse to support a genocide. “In this country that prides itself on being the freest country in the world, members of Congress are summoning presidents of universities and holding them to account about which views are allowed on college campuses. They’re taking pride that they are clamping down on the freedom of speech of students of the United States. That is very significant. That is western democracy at work.” Subscribe for the full interview where we watch some of the most outrageous moments from Congress’ questioning of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, discuss why the Zionist lobby has “every reason to be worried,” and get Professor AbuKhalil’s take on the Biden-Trump rematch. 00:00 Intro 04:42 The Four Food Groups of News 19:41 As'ad AbuKhalil interview 20:24 NYT covers up Israel's attack on Iran 30:37 Does the western left care? 31:55 Israels massacre in Lebanon 40:59 US backs Israeli invasion of Rafah 43:41 US vetoes proposal for Palestine statehood 49:04 Will Israel fight Hezbollah? 53:17 Columbia president testimony Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nancy Pelosi is Working for Putin + Jeffrey Sachs Unlocked Apr 12, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Sam Harris thinks Nazis are better than Hamas https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/sam-harris-thinks-nazis-are-better?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web After several connection issues, we were unfortunately unable to record our interview this week. Here is our brand new Food Groups plus the previously-paywalled section of our Jeffrey Sachs interview: “Biden’s frustrated, because someone told him he was president, and then he found out that it’s actually President Netanyahu who determines US policy.” This is how Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor of economics at Columbia University, sees the “pathetic” administration. “The truth is the Israel lobby is very powerful. Netanyahu has gotten his way on every single thing. If the US is actually going to try to have a US foreign policy, that would be something new.” But what about The Call, which the White House rushed to leak, where Biden supposedly urged Netanyahu to reach an immediate ceasefire? Well, once Netanyahu finishes “laughing off” anything said on this call, there’s not likely to be any change. Because the United States doesn’t have to convince Israel of anything. “All it has to do is stop providing munitions. Biden can say ‘the munitions stop, period.’ That’s what an immediate ceasefire is. We don’t have to convince the Israeli government, we have to stop arming the war. That’s all.” Biden is still pushing votes in Congress to arm Israel with fighter jets, weapons, and money. But while we at Useful Idiots have focused on Biden’s storied career of obsession with Israel, Sachs disagrees on what Biden’s true motive is. He says it’s not a deep, emotional attachment to Israel. “I think he’s got a deep, emotional attachment to becoming president. And he determined early on that never show light with the Israel lobby and someday you might grow up to be president. I don’t think Biden has too many deep attachments to public policy. This was the politics necessary to get him to the presidency.” But then he found out “being president isn’t as good as being prime minister of Israel. That’s the part that frustrates him. He found out it doesn’t have that much power for the same reason he towed the line for forty years.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs on the US’s disastrous wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the upcoming wars with Iran and China, and the recent mania around TikTok. 00:00 Aaron at the Knicks game 04:39 Nancy Pelosi works for Putin?? 08:30 AZ Republicans pray in anti-choice tongues 11:27 John Bolton reveals who he's voting for in 2024 13:32 Testicles stabbed by what?? 15:55 Our guest mixup 18:31 Jeffrey Sachs on Biden's call with Netanyahu 26:34 US troops in Taiwan 29:24 TikTok mania 31:48 $61 billion to Ukraine 41:15 NYT admits Ukraine proxy war is a failure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jeffrey Sachs: Biden is a miserable failure Apr 05, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jeffrey-sachs-biden-is-a-miserable?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN says Israel killed food workers because of workflow breakdown https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-says-israel-killed-food-workers?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Biden’s frustrated, because someone told him he was president, and then he found out that it’s actually President Netanyahu who determines US policy.” This is how Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor of economics at Columbia University, sees the “pathetic” administration. “The truth is the Israel lobby is very powerful. Netanyahu has gotten his way on every single thing. If the US is actually going to try to have a US foreign policy, that would be something new.” But what about The Call, which the White House rushed to leak, where Biden supposedly urged Netanyahu to reach an immediate ceasefire? Well, once Netanyahu finishes “laughing off” anything said on this call, there’s not likely to be any change. Because the United States doesn’t have to convince Israel of anything. “All it has to do is stop providing munitions. Biden can say ‘the munitions stop, period.’ That’s what an immediate ceasefire is. We don’t have to convince the Israeli government, we have to stop arming the war. That’s all.” Biden is still pushing votes in Congress to arm Israel with fighter jets, weapons, and money. But while we at Useful Idiots have focused on Biden’s storied career of obsession with Israel, Sachs disagrees on what Biden’s true motive is. He says it’s not a deep, emotional attachment to Israel. “I think he’s got a deep, emotional attachment to becoming president. And he determined early on that never show light with the Israel lobby and someday you might grow up to be president. I don’t think Biden has too many deep attachments to public policy. This was the politics necessary to get him to the presidency.” But then he found out “being president isn’t as good as being prime minister of Israel. That’s the part that frustrates him. He found out it doesn’t have that much power for the same reason he towed the line for forty years.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs on the US’s disastrous wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the upcoming wars with Iran and China, and the recent mania around TikTok. 00:00 Intro 00:41 The Four Food Groups of News 21:27 Jeffrey Sachs interview 22:22 How to end four wars 27:20 Kicked off MSNBC 30:47 Blocked by the New York Times 35:51 US coups 39:21 Biden's war in Ukraine 45:26 Israel wars with Iran 47:32 What is US hegemony 54:35 Biden's ceasefire call with Netanyahu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Norman Finkelstein: UN ceasefire resolution shows that Biden is scared Mar 29, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Norm Finkelstein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/norman-finkelstein-un-ceasefire-resolution?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: MSNBC's Hypocritical Meltdown Over Ronna McDaniel's Hiring https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/msnbcs-hypocritical-meltdown-over?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Israel is confronting a legitimation crisis, political scientist and prolific author Norman Finkelstein observes, as international pressure on Israel grows from both global protesters and the UN. He flashes back to before the current war for context: “Another war was inevitable, senior Israeli officials observed in 2016. We cannot conduct a constant war of attrition. Therefore, the next conflict has to be the last conflict.” This conflict will be the last one. They’re not going to mow the lawn again, Norm explains. They’re going to extirpate every blade of grass from Gaza. “It’s not about Hamas,” he says, shedding light on Israel’s real plan to solve the Gaza question. “It’s about the refusal on the part of the people of Gaza to accept the fate that has been meted out to them by the state of Israel to languish and die in a concentration camp.” That’s the dark part, but Norm also gives his reason why we can’t give up. “During the Iraq War, many young people concluded in despair that here are the largest anti-war demonstrations in world history and nonetheless the Cheney-Rumsfeld administration goes ahead with the war in Iraq. That to me is a naive understanding of how formidable and concentrated the power we’re up against is. It’s a very long battle.” But though it’s hard to see, the protests are working: “The pressures on Biden gradually accumulate and accumulate until they reach the proverbial critical mass and have a real political impact. “You’re not going to see it. You’re not going to see the connection between your demonstration in your town square and the abstention in the UN Security Council, but it’s there. And so we should always remember not to despair.” Subscribe for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein where we discuss Bernie Sanders’ recent comments on Israel and Golda Meir, the history of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, and what comes next in this genocide. 00:00 Intro 00:39 The Four Food Groups of News 12:29 Norman Finkelstein interview 13:12 UN Security Council ceasefire resolution 20:43 Why did the US let it pass? 31:14 Biden vs Netanyahu? 52:57 Bernie Sanders on Israel 53:32 Katie tells Norm a joke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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John Mearsheimer – Full Interview on the US role in Gaza and Ukraine Mar 22, 2024

US Media is STILL lying about October 7 after UN debunks Israel Mar 15, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: US Politicians Ban TikTok to Save Free Speech https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-politicians-ban-tiktok-to-save?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “This propaganda is a weapon to kill Palestinians.” The New York Times, the US government’s most prestigious arm of state media, has continued to churn out headlines accusing Hamas of a systematic and deliberate campaign of sexual violence as a weapon of war. An independent UN investigation, as well as countless journalists and primary sources, has shown these claims to be completely evidence-free. Even factions within the Times have refused to go along with the story. This has not stopped the paper of record. Throughout history, rape accusations have been a tool of dehumanization. Claims of sexual violence have been used to justify colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, and the West’s violent regime change in Libya. “The bottom line,” explains guest Ali Abunimah, editor of the Electronic Intifada, “is we are now well into the sixth month of this genocide which is partly justified on the basis of these allegations and other claims of atrocities that have turned out to be false. To this day, not a single specific victim, living or dead, has been identified. We keep hearing the refrain ‘believe Israeli women;’ to this date there is not a single Israeli woman who has come forward to say that she was a victim of this kind of assault.” So where are these rumors coming from? After the lies were debunked by journalists, a UN report was published though as it admits it was not “investigative in nature.” Ali explains, “What the UN report did was simply to compile allegations from the Israeli military.” Even this biased non-investigation debunks specific claims of violence and proves that sexual violence was not systemic, and yet you’d never know that from the way legacy media is covering the report. But while journalists like Ali Abunimah are kept busy debunking these dehumanizing lies, Israel’s assault on Gaza continues. And the independent journalists who are busy covering that are putting themselves in serious danger to shed light on the genocide. Ali reports that four journalists from the Electronic Intifada have been killed and many more are in daily danger. “People do not know from hour to hour if they will live or die.” Hear and share the important voice of Ali Abunimah and the reporting of the brave journalists at the Electronic Intifada. Your support of independent media makes a difference. 00:00 Intro 02:59 The Four Food Groups of News 16:20 Ali Abunimah interview 16:51 Claims of sexual violence on Oct 7 21:29 New York Times LIES 26:42 Source revealed: the Israeli government 35:52 Israel can't keep its story straight 45:35 Hillary Clinton and the history of spreading these lies 50:19 Israeli officials in US media 55:41 Digging into the dodgy NYT story 1:06:13 How the justify the genocide 1:17:41 Dems pivot on Netanyahu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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"This is for Gaza" – UK's George Galloway returns to office to challenge pro-war elites Mar 08, 2024

Click here for the full interview with George Galloway: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/george-galloway-returns-to-office?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web See Katie LIVE TONIGHT in-person or on Zoom: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laughs-for-good-tickets-793162168397 For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "F you!" – Morning Joe gets desperate https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/f-you-morning-joe-gets-desperate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “This is for Gaza!” announced the veteran British politician George Galloway in his victory speech, shocking the UK establishment with his win in Rochdale to rejoin the country’s parliament nearly forty years after his first election. He addressed his words to Kier Starmer, the leader of the UK Labour Party: “You will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe in occupied Palestine.” Galloway explains that the parties in the UK aren’t much different than the Democrats and Republicans: you have Rishi Sunak and his Conservative Party, who send weapons to Israel and prolong the proxy war in Ukraine, and then you have Starmer and the Labour Party, who are in complete lockstep. After Biden waited until the very end of his State of the Union address to even mention the crisis in Gaza and Trump recently called for Israel to finish the job, the Uniparty is alive and well in both our countries. And like everyone brave enough to speak out against the War Party and its genocide in Gaza, Galloway gets accused by good narrative-following Twitter users of spreading hate speech. However they, and the entire UK media, were largely silent when George was viciously assaulted by a pro-Israel supporter. He describes the harrowing attack and shares the origin story of how it led to his iconic hat. Subscribe to hear the full interview with MP George Galloway on his relationship with former Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn, the immediate goals of the Workers Party, and the smears and lies that he most wants to debunk. Thank you for supporting independent media. 00:00 Intro 03:13 The Four Food Groups of News 19:51 Something funny 22:00 George Galloway interview 27:53 Rishi Sunak is MAD 31:23 The Hat origin story 34:50 Spanking Kier Starmer 38:27 Running to help Gaza 44:55 UK's role in Ukraine 48:04 BREAKING: Leak from Germany 52:05 Jeremy Corbyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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“Biden is a senile warmonger” – veteran US Diplomat Chas Freeman Mar 01, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Chas Freeman: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/biden-is-a-senile-war-monger-veteran?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN Melts Down Over Uncommitted Voters https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-melts-down-over-uncommitted-voters?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Our foreign policy is diplomacy free.” As he watches the escalating crises in our world today, this is the main takeaway for Chas Freeman, who, as the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, knows a thing about diplomacy. “It’s a lot cheaper and more effective to sit down and talk to someone than to pull a gun on them and shoot them,” he says. “But that’s what we seem to have substituted for our normal course of diplomatic interaction.” Freeman explains the leading cause of forever wars: “There's nobody quite as bloodthirsty as a civilian with no experience of war.” As shown in the episode thumbnail above (side note: you know it’s a bad crew if the most likable character in the picture is Matthew Miller), the warmongers in charge of foreign policy are all civilians. When the top US general Mark Milley called for peace talks in Ukraine, it was these bad actors who shut it down. “The military know that they can die in a war, that their comrades will die,” says Freeman. “They know that you should never enter a war without figuring out first how you're going to end it, on what terms, and with whom.” But the ‘leaders’ we do have never had to fight. “Civilians typically define no end state, have no war termination strategy, which is why we get forever wars.” And the future only looks bleaker. “Here we have an election which is between someone who is widely regarded as a senile war monger and somebody who has been correctly diagnosed as a malignant narcissist.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Chas Freeman on why the protest vote against Biden in Michigan was “very significant,” how the New York Times has been complicit in the information war, the main similarity between the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza (bet you can guess it), and the main difference between the genocide in Israel and the one in South Africa: “South Africa was on the verge of having a race war but it never had one. Israel is having a race war.” Freeman’s important voice makes this an episode of Useful Idiots you’re not going to want to miss. Subscribe now to hear the full interview and support independent media. 00:00 Intro 00:51 The Four Food Groups of News 08:49 Chas Freeman interview 09:29 Uncommitted shocks Biden 14:01 Our foreign policy is diplomacy-free 20:33 Does Israel have a right to exist? 23:43 Israel vs South Africa 28:08 Aaron Bushnell 33:23 Has this ever happened before? 36:47 Palestine vs Ukraine 41:19 Diplomats kill peace in Ukraine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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"Insanity" – John Mearsheimer on the US role in Gaza and Ukraine Feb 23, 2024

Click here for the full interview with John Mearsheimer: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/insanity-john-mearsheimer-on-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Nancy Pelosi needs Russiagate Detox https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/nancy-pelosi-needs-russiagate-detox?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Professor John Mearsheimer, whose political analysis predicted today’s horrors in Ukraine and Palestine, joins Useful Idiots to give his take on what’s next in the world’s biggest wars. And since he’s been largely excluded from corporate media for his dissenting views, it’s more important than ever to get his word out. “What you have here is a real disjuncture between what the elites think and what the publics think,” he says of the two conflicts, in what is already a clear affront to the narratives of elitist western media. “There are recent polls produced by the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Quincy Institute that show that only 10% of Europeans and 12% of Americans think that Ukraine can win the war.” And when it comes to Israel, Mearsheimer explains that US policy is even further from what the people want. It’s not the voters who have a say, and even Congress (as pro-Israel as they are) isn’t in control: “I believe that 90% of it is accounted for by the [Israel] lobby.” Professor Mearsheimer deep dives into each war: he explains why the US tanked Ukraine’s peace talks to further instigate Russia and what he would do now if he was in Biden’s or Putin’s position. He also delves into the influence of the Israel lobby and how Biden has given impunity to Israel’s killing Gaza killing spree. Subscribe for the full interview for his full analysis and predictions on Israel’s assault on Gaza. 00:00 Intro 00:53 The Four Food Groups of News 22:17 Professor John Mearsheimer interview 23:17 Schools of political science thought 26:23 Is Ukraine losing? 29:26 What does Putin want? 38:47 Who's the real puppet? 44:07 Why does the US want war with Russia? 51:21 Western leaders screaming the quiet part 59: 42 When will the truth come out? 1:03:43 Gaza and US support for Israel's assault Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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“Pure evil” – Dr. Mads Gilbert on Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s hospitals Feb 16, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: AOC calls Genocide Joe "the most successful US president" https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/aoc-calls-genocide-joe-the-most-successful?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For 30 years, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert has risked his life to give medical care to Palestinians, performing surgeries, training medical students, and supporting their renowned healthcare system. But in their most recent assault, Israel banned Dr. Gilbert from entering Gaza. “This is the politics of elimination,” Dr. Gilbert tells us. “Israel is the only nation on Earth who has a military strategy to attack, to kill, and to dismantle civilian hospitals.” Forced to watch the unfolding tragedy from afar, Gilbert struggles to believe the horrors he’s seeing. “It is such an avalanche of human suffering that it is almost incomprehensible. And it’s all done with full will, planning, dedication. It is a 100% man-made disaster, designed to achieve exactly the goals that they have achieved: to maim and destroy Palestinian society.” What should have led to a huge uproar has instead been tolerated and even encouraged by Western politicians and media outlets, who have laundered false claims about militant hideouts at Palestinian hospitals. But while the genocide of Palestinians has only just broken through to mainstream consciousness, Dr. Gilbert explains that none of this is new. “Israel is going against absolutely every international law aimed at protecting civilian hospitals. This is unprecedented, but I’d like to add that for us who have been working with the Palestinians and their healthcare for many years, it’s not a new feature. The Israelis have always been attacking healthcare. In last year’s report from WHO, they reported 600 attacks on healthcare in the last two years.” And in the latest assault on Gaza, there have been “hundreds and hundreds” more. “We’ve seen attacks in the West Bank where they even dress up as doctors and kill patients in their beds.” Gilbert gives his scathing post-mortem: “This is a historical low point in human history. This enormous collapse of western morality and principles. We’re back to the jungle.” Hear the full, unpaywalled interview with Mads Gilbert, and listen to the end for his message on how to help. “We can all do our part: write a poem, sing a song, participate in a demonstration, write a letter to your politician. Take part in history because we need to change history now.” He finishes, solemnly: “What you are doing now, or what you are not doing now, is what you would have done, or not done, during the Holocaust.” 00:00 Intro 5:55 The Four Food Groups of News 20:57 Dr. Mads Gilbert interview 22:13 Israel warns of new hospital attack 27:35 Stories of killed doctors 40:34 Israeli doctors sign letter to BOMB MORE HOSPITALS 55:13 Israeli protesters block humanitarian aid 1:00:58 Israel shuts of water 1:09:13 Answering Israeli arguments 1:23:40 Rafah update 1:29:01 HOW TO HELP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dennis Kucinich Takes on the War Machine Feb 09, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Dennis Kucinich: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/dennis-kucinich-takes-on-the-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Tucker Carlson's Putin interview enrages MSNBC https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/tucker-carlsons-putin-interview-enrages?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Mayor, Congressman, and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is making his triumphant return to Useful Idiots. Oh, and also to Congress. After serving as an Ohio Representative for more than 15 years until 2013, Kucinich has been out of politics for over a decade. And after watching his country decline both internationally and domestically, the veteran lawmaker and peace advocate realized that his service is needed once again. “We have to consciously evolve in our politics as a nation to recognize that human unity is the underlying truth of our existence,” he says. “It’s about time that we called for a ceasefire, we gotta make sure that people aren’t paying another $97,000 out of their pockets for the next war.” Homelessness rates are at an all time high and half of Americans can’t afford their rent, but instead of fixing anything, Congress is sending all of our money to the military. “The sons and daughters of America are being sacrificed in unnecessary wars,” Kucinich says. “Their service is honorable. But the people who sent them there? Not honorable.” Which is why he’s running against Rep. Max Miller (just wait until you hear this war monger boast about turning Gaza into a parking lot) to rejoin Congress as an Independent. “People are horrified about the direction the world’s going in, and I’m stepping forward as a voice of sanity, common sense, and a willingness to say the obvious: war is stupid!” Subscribe to hear our full discussion with Dennis Kucinich, and if you want to help kick a psychopath out of Congress and replace him with someone fighting for peace, you can support Dennis’ campaign here. 00:00 Intro 00:27 The Four Food Groups of News 17:24 Dennis Kucinich interview 19:16 Psychopath Max Miller 23:51 Why he's running for Congress 27:31 Homeless as a child 35:27 What can a member of Congress actually achieve? 40:40 $$$ to Israel and Ukraine 44:29 What the US SHOULD be doing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Fmr. UNRWA Spox Refutes Israeli Smears Feb 02, 2024

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Morning Joe wants to play Battleship with Iran https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/morning-joe-wants-to-play-battleship?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web In early January, a former Israeli Foreign Ministry official said “It will be impossible to win the war if we do not destroy UNRWA. This destruction must begin immediately.” A few weeks later, UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, had its funding cut after Israel accused 12 of its more than 30,000 employees of involvement in Oct. 7th (its since reduced the number of alleged offenders to six — half the original amount). Their purported evidence came mostly from “interrogations” of Palestinian prisoners — aka, most likely torture. The Biden administration admitted that it hadn’t corroborated Israel’s claims, but nonetheless announced a suspension of US funding for UNRWA. Other countries, including Germany and Canada, have followed suit. Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness joins the show to refute Israel’s claims. “Just as UNRWA is being held up to be accountable,” he says. “I think we have to hold the donors up to accountability and ask: ‘What did Israel give you?’ and ‘Did you independently verify it?’” Antony Blinken himself told the press: “We have not independently verified this evidence but we think it’s very credible.” Chris asks: “How would you know it’s credible if you haven’t independently investigated?” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called for ending the agency in yet another sign that the move was political. “UNRWA’s mission has to end,” he said. “UNRWA is self-perpetuating in its desire to keep alive the Palestinian refugee issue.” So the state which is lobbying thousands of munitions every day, including 2,000-pound bombs, is accusing an unarmed refugee agency of perpetuating the conflict? Chris argues that the opposite is true. “UNRWA wants nothing more than to go out of business. And UNRWA goes out of business when the refugees are granted full dignity, human development, prosperity, justice, and accountability in the context of a just and durable solution. Someone who is working hard to achieve this goal is the founder of HEAL and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund Steve Sosebee. He shares stories of the many heroes and losses he has encountered in his thirty years working in Palestine. He also shares a way to help. “Just to see their entire lives destroyed is very, very saddening and I think all of us have a responsibility to help rebuild and show them love and compassion and give them opportunities to heal. That’s what my goal is for the rest of my life.” Hear these important voices share their messages in this unpaywalled Useful Idiots double header. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Morning Joe wants to play Battleship with Iran 00:00 Intro 1:51 The Four Food Groups of News 22:43 Chris Gunness interview 25:12 UNRWA funding cut 35:44 Netanyahu wants UNRWA ended 45:06 Are the allegations true? 52:51 Steve Sosebee interview 55:08 Genocide of children 1:03:58 Story of Palestinian child 1:09:29 Israeli doctors call for more bombing 1:13:08 HOW TO HELP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Son of Israeli victims slams Netanyahu + Journalist reveals what REALLY happened on 10/7 Jan 26, 2024

Click here for the full interviews with Asa Winstanley and Maoz Inon: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/extended-episode-son-of-israeli-victims?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Adam Schiff mourns the genocide he's supporting https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/adam-schiff-mourns-the-genocide-hes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “I see the government of Israel as accountable for October 7th.” Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon lost both of his parents on October 7th. And while many Israelis who didn’t lose anyone want increased bloodshed, Maoz’s calls for peace show compassion and bravery. “It’s very difficult in Israeli society to speak out right now, and he’s one of the few people doing it. He’s not letting his tragedy become weaponized to create even more tragedies.” While it’s still unclear which side ultimately killed his parents, Maoz says it doesn’t matter: “Maybe you’re right, maybe they were killed in Israeli crossfire. But what does it matter? What does it matter? My parents died because of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And I decided to commit my life to making peace. What does it matter who killed them. They were killed because of the conflict, and I’m going to make peace from the river to the sea.” And though Israeli police make it dangerous, Maoz is protesting in Israel “with a very direct call and message that the government is accountable and the government must go.” As information comes out about the events of October 7th, Israel’s role in the death count of its own civilians continues to increase. So we also interviewed Asa Winstanley, a journalist with the Electronic Intifada, whose reporting shows more and more evidence that Israeli forces killed their own people on October 7th. He explains that even today, with Israeli hostages still in Gaza, the Israeli government shows no signs of letting up their deadly assault. “It’s starting to seem like the political leaders of Israel do not want those captives to come home alive.” Subscribe for the full interview with Asa Winstanley where he uncovers more Israeli military fabrications and we discuss an article in the Washington Post that smeared Asa, the Electronic Intifada, and the Grayzone. 00:00 Intro 4:34 The Four Food Groups of News 17:51 Asa Winstanley interview 19:42 What really happened on October 7th? 28:18 The Hannibal Directive 39:00 Israel or Hamas? 46:51 Maoz Inon interview 47:36 What happened to Maoz's parents 53:58 How Israel has responded to October 7 57:08 Could Israel have prevented it? 1:04:56 Who is responsible? 1:17:17 A call for peace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jewish South African who worked under Mandela Applauds Israel Genocide Case w/ Andrew Feinstein Jan 19, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Andrew Feinstein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jewish-south-african-who-worked-under?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "Butcher Biden" Loses Irish Citizenship https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/butcher-biden-loses-irish-citizenship?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Andrew Feinstein, a Jewish South African son of a Holocaust survivor, who was an ANC Member of Parliament under Nelson Mandela, joins the show to shed light on South Africa’s genocide case of against Israel at the International Court of Justice. He explains Israel’s history as an occupier, an international arms dealer, and a friend to apartheid-era South Africa itself. “Israel and apartheid South Africa had an incredibly close relationship,” he says. “Israel really assisted South Africa to remain a brutal apartheid state in that they provided huge amounts of weaponry, significant amounts of military training in the horrific techniques that they had used and continue to use in the occupied territories, but most important of all enabled South Africa to become a nuclear power.” Israel, he believes, will become a pariah state just like South Africa did. But it isn’t just the occupiers that tie the countries together. “The South African struggle for liberation was always fraternal with the Palestinian struggle for liberation,” he explains, which explains why South Africa is taking huge political, financial, and security risks by bringing the US’s client state to court. “When Nelson Mandela emerged after 27 years in imprisonment, he didn’t dance and shout and say yay I’m free, but instead he said: ‘Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people.’ “The struggle of the Palestinian people is really at the forefront of South African politics.” Subscribe for the full interview with Andrew Feinstein where he explains the extent to which South Africa is taking a risk by challenging Israel and the US, the fight for Palestinian freedom in the International Court of Justice, and the shadow world of international arms trade. 00:00 Intro 00:50 The Four Food Groups of News 14:17 Andrew Feinstein interview 19:02 Israel's dark history with South Africa 26:59 The ICJ Case 35:48 South Africa's huge risk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Genocide trial should convict Blinken and other US officials – Palestinian analyst Jan 12, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Mouin Rabbani: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/genocide-trial-should-convict-blinken?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web And see Katie LIVE this Tuesday at the People’s Forum: https://peoplesforum.org/events/live-at-tpf/ For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Jamie Raskin defends democracy by removing peace activist https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jamie-raskin-defends-democracy-by?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Palestinian analyst and Middle East expert Mouin Rabbani joined Useful Idiots this week ahead of the International Court of Justice’s genocide trial against Israel. And though the ICJ’s verdict is not actionable (only the Security Council can punish countries, and we already know where who's boss there), Rabbani explains why the case still has huge ramifications. “This same state that has hid behind the extermination of Europe’s Jews for every one of its actions,” he tells us. “Now itself stands accused of genocide. I think after this case, irrespective of its outcome, Israel will forever be tainted by what it is doing in the Gaza strip, and people will begin to recognize that Israel is not the Jewish state, but rather it is a Zionist state.” Meanwhile, as the case begins its first days in court, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the region, trying to convince other Middle East countries to support Israel, bombing those that don’t, and condemning the ICJ case, calling it meritless and galling. And he should be upset, says Mouin. “Antony Blinken should be outraged because if Israel is guilty of genocide, then not only the United States, but Blinken personally is complicit in genocide and would be hauled before a court and convicted of his role in perpetrating this genocide as well.” If Israel is convicted, it won’t be hard to show the secretary’s influence: “Blinken’s not only implicated, he’s been giving it a standing ovation since the moment it started.” Subscribe for the full interview where Mouin Rabbani lays out Israel’s history of ethnic cleansing, exposes the New York Times’ faked claim that Hamas used the Al Shifa hospital as a command center, and explains Biden’s plans to ramp up his support for Israel even further. 00:00 Intro 01:13 The Four Food Groups of News 12:40 Mouin Rabbani interview 18:31 Israel carrying out assassinations 23:27 Israel is creating enemies 26:45 Blinken condemns ICJ case 35:36 PREDICTING the VERDICT 40:09 history of Israeli ethnic cleansing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Palestinian Pastor: It is Hell on Earth Jan 05, 2024

Click here for the full interview with Rev. Munther Isaac: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/palestinian-pastor-it-is-hell-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Israeli psychotherapist wants 30,000 Palestinians killed https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israeli-psychotherapist-wants-30000?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “When I say it’s Hell on Earth, it is Hell on Earth. I don’t know if there are levels to Hell, but this is horrifying.” After Christmas was canceled in Bethlehem, Reverend Munther Isaac gave a liturgy to his church. He stood in front of a nativity scene in which the baby Jesus lay on a pile of rubble. “If you fail to call this genocide, it is on you,” he said in a biting and now viral speech. “Words of regret won’t suffice. We will not accept your apology after the genocide.” Rev. Isaac recently visited Washington to speak to US senators in an attempt to educate and change their minds on US policy. While some listened, he told us, most wouldn’t speak with him, and the rest who did told him that they planned to help Israel keep the Gaza massacre going. So while Washington ignores him and corporate media continues its propaganda cycle, we spoke with the pastor, who called us from his church in Bethlehem. “Israel is destroying everything,” he said. “Churches, cultural centers, schools, universities. If you get sick right now in Gaza, the chances are that you will not survive.” He explains the frustration with the lack of coverage of Palestinian voices. “If people just walk in our shoes for one day and understand what it means to live under occupation and apartheid, you will understand why people are leaving and why it’s so hard for anybody to build a future here or survive.” But instead of listening to voices on the ground like his, people in the US are overrun with the corporate and government narratives about Christians in Palestine. “Israel’s main point is to say ‘We’re fighting Hamas and Hamas fights Christians, and they’re come to you next in America.’ “The idea is to demonize all Palestinians and promote the narrative that Christians are persecuted in the Middle East and in Palestine. If people really cared, they would listen to us. We will tell you how we’re doing.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Munther Isaac, where he shares horrifying stories of life in Palestine under siege, what it’s like to live in constant fear that your life could end at any moment, and why he’s tired with calls for peace. “I’m tired of the language of peace and praying for reconciliation because it gives the impression that there are two men fighting. We don’t have two men fighting, we have one man literally stepping on the throat of the other and you lecturing the person who’s on the ground about peace.” Listen to and share our interview with Reverend Munther Isaac. 00:00 Intro 00:56 The Four Food Groups of News 13:18 Rev. Munther Issac interview 16:27 Viral Christmas Liturgy 22:55 US Senators vs Christian Pastor 28:11 Christians in Gaza 31:29 Jerusalem Mayor's racist tirade 37:46 The Lie about Hamas and Christians 44:23 The Bible and the War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Gideon Levy on Israel’s Nazi Proposals – Full interview unpaywalled Dec 29, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Award-winning Israeli journalist Gideon Levy is such a scathing critic of Israel’s policies and outspoken defender of Palestinian human rights that he’s only narrowly escaped physical attacks, even needing to have a bodyguard. But the Haaretz columnist and author wasn’t always like this. He describes his former self as “a full member of the nationalistic religious orgy [of Israel]. We were all under the feeling that the whole project of Israel is in existential danger. We all felt that another Holocaust is around the corner.” So when Israel won its 1967 war on Palestine, he didn’t think of killed Palestinians and Israel’s occupation: “We felt that victory in 1967 was like a messianic miracle, and we were so grateful for this. We didn’t ask any questions. We didn’t see any Palestinians.” Levy was 14 at the time. And, as he realized years later, “totally brainwashed.” He is now one of a very small number of prominent Israeli voices speaking out against Israel’s assault on Gaza and its brutal occupation. Joining Useful Idiots from Tel Aviv, Israel, he shares what he sees happening in his country. “There are three things that let Israelis live in peace with the occupation,” he says. “The belief that they’re the chosen people. The belief that they’re victims. And the dehumanization of Palestinians.” He discusses how Israeli media spreads these three beliefs, and how Netanyahu and his far-right government exploit them to bomb hospitals and humiliate Palestinians on a daily basis without pushback. Levy sees the two state occupation as no longer possible. A one state of apartheid is the status quo and a one state with equal rights as the ideal, but an unlikely one for now: “I don’t see any hope from any direction. Israelis will not wake up one morning and say ‘oh this occupation, this apartheid, we don’t like it so much. Let’s put an end to it.’ This will never happen. It will only happen when Israel is punished for it. And this is not going to happen because the international community basically supports the occupation. The United States supports the occupation.” Subscribe for the full interview with Gideon Levy where he explains how young people in both the US and Israel view the war, the horrors he’s witnessed in the West Bank, Israel’s “Nazi proposals” and why the two-state solution is dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Israel is assassinating journalists (with US media’s help) Dec 22, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Ted Cruz on Liberal Women's Sex Lives https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/ted-cruz-on-liberal-womens-sex-lives?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “They’re targeting journalists,” says Anan Quzmar, a volunteer with the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate. “But it’s maybe a wider segment of the Palestinian society. The target is the foundations of Palestinian society.” Anan speaks to us from the West Bank city of Tulkarm, reporting on the estimated 97 journalists who have been killed by Israel. “These people represent a portal for hope for the people of Gaza. They deliver their voices to people around the world. And targeting them is basically killing hope.” Anan shares the stories of his journalist friends and heroes who have been hunted, killed, or forced to flee by Israel. He goes on to explain that it isn’t just Israel, but the US, President Biden, and our corporate media who are inciting this genocide: “They are complicit in justifying, facilitating, and covering up for an ongoing genocide.” Just this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that it is the Palestinians who are the aggressors and Israel who is the victim. This comes after Biden doubled down on his false claims of seeing photos of beheaded babies and state-media propagandists like Jake Tapper and Dana Bash pushed unverified claims of mass rape. These tactics contribute to the US strategy of dehumanizing Palestinians and selling a genocide. Subscribe to hear the full interview with Anan Quzmar where he debunks claims that Hamas is using human shields (and proves that Israel does use them), calls out Israeli journalists who are cheering on the murder of Palestinian journalists, and what he’s witnessing living in the West Bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Remembering Refaat Alareer Dec 17, 2023

Click here for the latest interview with former UN official Craig Mokhiber: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/former-un-official-biden-is-inciting?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Biden tells Jews they're not safe in America https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/biden-tells-jews-theyre-not-safe?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Gazan writers Muhammad Shehada and Yousef M. Aljamal, both students of Refaat Alareer, join us to remember their teacher. Refaat, who was a guest on Useful Idiots in October at the beginning of Israel's assault on Gaza, was killed this week in a targeted attack by Israel. Watch the full interview with Refaat here: https://youtu.be/Nk0x_s_h-pU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Former UN official: Biden is inciting genocide Dec 15, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Craig Mokhiber: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/former-un-official-biden-is-inciting?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Biden tells Jews they're not safe in America https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/biden-tells-jews-theyre-not-safe?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web International human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber served as the director for the New York office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, but resigned over the UN’s failure to stop what he, and others, calls a "textbook case of genocide" in Gaza. He describes the politicalization of the organization and the West’s refusal to follow international law. “If you have a message coming from the United States and their western allies that says these rules do not apply to us or to our western friends, or in short-hand, they do not apply to white people, but they do apply to the rest of the world, that is maybe the last nail in the coffin of these international laws.” “The security council belongs in a Cold War museum,” he says. “It is an entity that empowers five permanent members with a veto that is usually used to prevent any action to the benefit of normal human beings. The US in this case used its veto to prevent ceasefire, and after each veto, thousands of more Palestinians are being massacred in Gaza. It’s an act of complicity.” So when Israel commits war crimes that are empowered by the US, it is no longer only their crime: “Just to put it simply, this assault on Gaza is being perpetrated by Israel and the United States. The US is a party to this.” And given that Biden has repeatedly claimed that he saw photos of beheaded babies (even after his staff urged him not to and the White House walked it back), we asked Craig: Can the argument be made that Joe Biden is inciting genocide? His response: “Absolutely.” Subscribe to watch the full interview with Craig Mokhiber on the fear used to silence UN officials, and Israel’s allegations of rape on October 7. 00:00 Intro 00:43 The Four Food Groups of News 11:45 Craig Mokhiber interview 12:15 Resigning from the UN 20:43 What should the UN do? 30:38 UN staffers protest 34:20 Is it genocide? 46:49 Why is Biden lying? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Israeli historian Ilan Pappé on Genocide of Palestinians Dec 08, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Ilan Pappé: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israeli-historian-ilan-pappe-on-genocide?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN Declares Palestinian Civilian Death Ratio 'Tremendous' https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-declares-palestinian-civilian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat This week, Useful Idiots guest Refaat Alareer was killed by Israel. We interviewed him on October 11 when Israel had just begun its assault on Gaza, and he shared important on-the-ground information all while sheltering 15 children in his Gaza apartment. Bombs could be heard falling in the background of the interview, but still Refaat bravely spoke out. We are heartbroken and angry by this devastating loss. Which means it is more important than ever to continue to expose the crimes of Israel. Ilan Pappé, an Israeli historian, joins Useful Idiots from Haifa, Israel to give historical context to both Hamas’ attack and the assault committed by Israel, which he deems a genocide under international law. And he also gives his outlook on the future of the tragedy: “The near future doesn’t look good,” he tells us. “It looks bleak.” “But there is some light at the end of the tunnel. That light is being radiated by the younger Palestinian generation. It’s a far more assertive generation, a far more united generation.” “I draw a lot of inspiration and courage from them,” Pappé continues, “and also hope that together with the amazing solidarity movement, they have the potential to challenge this powerful coalition of multinational corporations, security companies, military industries, and governments that support global Israel. I’ve never seen such a solidarity movement in history as we see now across the globe.” Subscribe for the full interview with Ilan Pappé on the alleged spread of antisemitism in the US and college campuses, the historical difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, his analysis of Hamas, and what needs to happen to end the occupation. 00:00 Intro 01:10 The Four Food Groups of News 16:21 Ilan Pappé interview 16:53 Becoming and anti-Zionist 21:41 Israel is a plan of ethnic cleansing 34:04 Historical context of Oct 7 52:16 Alleged antisemitism on college campuses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Israel’s Nazi Proposals w/ Gideon Levy Dec 01, 2023

Click here for the full episode with Gideon Levy: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israels-nazi-proposals-w-gideon-levy?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Democrat claims that voters LOVE GENOCIDE https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/democrat-claims-that-voters-love?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat Award-winning Israeli journalist Gideon Levy is such a scathing critic of Israel’s policies and outspoken defender of Palestinian human rights that he’s only narrowly escaped physical attacks, even needing to have a bodyguard. But the Haaretz columnist and author wasn’t always like this. He describes his former self as “a full member of the nationalistic religious orgy [of Israel]. We were all under the feeling that the whole project of Israel is in existential danger. We all felt that another Holocaust is around the corner.” So when Israel won its 1967 war on Palestine, he didn’t think of killed Palestinians and Israel’s occupation: “We felt that victory in 1967 was like a messianic miracle, and we were so grateful for this. We didn’t ask any questions. We didn’t see any Palestinians.” Levy was 14 at the time. And, as he realized years later, “totally brainwashed.” He is now one of a very small number of prominent Israeli voices speaking out against Israel’s assault on Gaza and its brutal occupation. Joining Useful Idiots from Tel Aviv, Israel, he shares what he sees happening in his country. “There are three things that let Israelis live in peace with the occupation,” he says. “The belief that they’re the chosen people. The belief that they’re victims. And the dehumanization of Palestinians.” He discusses how Israeli media spreads these three beliefs, and how Netanyahu and his far-right government exploit them to bomb hospitals and humiliate Palestinians on a daily basis without pushback. Levy sees the two state occupation as no longer possible. A one state of apartheid is the status quo and a one state with equal rights as the ideal, but an unlikely one for now: “I don’t see any hope from any direction. Israelis will not wake up one morning and say ‘oh this occupation, this apartheid, we don’t like it so much. Let’s put an end to it.’ This will never happen. It will only happen when Israel is punished for it. And this is not going to happen because the international community basically supports the occupation. The United States supports the occupation.” Subscribe for the full interview with Gideon Levy where he explains how young people in both the US and Israel view the war, the horrors he’s witnessed in the West Bank, Israel’s “Nazi proposals” and why the two-state solution is dead. 00:00 Intro 01:43 The Four Food Groups of News 19:52 An Ode to Henry Kissinger 24:00 Gideon Levy interview 28:05 How Israeli's live with occupation 35:27 Can the truce hold? 45:47 Is there any hope for peace? 56:15 What do young Israelis think? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Cornel West and Gabor Maté on Gaza Nov 24, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: White House Triggered by Genocide Joe nickname https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/white-house-triggered-by-genocide?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat Presidential candidate Cornel West and author Gabor Maté met for the first time this week to discuss the horrors of Israel’s war on Gaza. “I don’t know about you,” Dr. Maté says to Dr. West, “but for me, what’s going on is one of the heaviest things, if not the heaviest thing, I’ve witnessed in my whole life. I don’t know how to compare tragedies, but there’s something about what’s going on right now that seems heavier and darker.” West responds: “When you watch precious human beings being literally killed, crushed, demeaned, degraded, day after day, it makes you think that this particular historical moment has a certain grimness and darkness that others don’t.” The two men use their complex histories with tragedy and suffering to analyze the horror of the current moment. “I’ve always felt that no evil would surprise me and no despair would paralyze me,” West continues, “because you and I know the history of the species.” But the conversation that stems from this is a much more hopeful one, where the scholars’ vast study of philosophy and history intertwine to create a message not of helplessness but of possibility. Hear the full conversation on how oppressed people create music of rebellion, their favorite philosophers, and a final message to take from the conversation: “Never again is not a tribal slogan. It’s a universal slogan. It applies to everybody.” This week’s special episode is free to everyone. We hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and we thank you for supporting Useful Idiots. Plus, catch this week’s Thanksgiving Throwdown: White House Triggered by “Genocide Joe” nickname Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Egyptian Podcaster Destroys CNN Reporter for Israel Propaganda Nov 17, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Rahma Zein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/egyptian-podcaster-destroys-cnn-reporter?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Sen. Chris Coons Throws Aaron Maté Off a Train https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/sen-chris-coons-throws-aaron-mate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat When Rahma Zein, host of the podcast The Arab Narrative, confronted CNN’s Clarissa Ward on camera at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt over CNN’s biased neglect of Palestinians, the video went viral. More importantly, it exposed Western media’s complicity in Israel’s crimes against Gaza. “The Zionist movement has” influence “not only in major industries but with thought leaders, major politicians, and media outlets,” Zein says. “So who’s left to speak up for the Palestinians?” But can you really blame Clarissa Ward, Zein asks. “I shouldn’t really reprimand her, because the United States president came out and said that he saw beheaded children. So why should I reprimand a mediocre news anchor who is just a puppet of that?” Following the confrontation, Zein went on Piers Morgan to call out the US’s “sick relationship” with Israel. She breaks down the entire story here. Subscribe to watch the full interview with Rahma Zein where she debunks Israel’s malicious claims that the Al-Shifa hospital housed a Hamas command center, shares how it feels to be erased by western media for being an Arab woman, exposes the DNC police for attacking peaceful protesters, and sheds light on Israel’s covered-up history of attacking Jews: “I believe that Israel is one of the most antisemitic entities there ever was.” Important voices like Rahma’s are rarely heard on corporate media. Listen here for a new perspective on Israel’s assault on Gaza. 00:00 Chris Coons throws Aaron Maté off a train (teaser) 01:04 The Four Food Groups of News 14:50 Rahma Zein interview 15:33 Rahma confronts CNN's Clarissa Ward 25:19 What should media cover? 29:07 Rahma on Piers Morgan 41:00 Don't feel sorry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Yanis Varoufakis on Israel’s war crimes Nov 10, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Yanis Varoufakis: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/yanis-varoufakis-on-israels-war-crimes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: John Kirby has no tears and no red lines for Gaza https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/john-kirby-has-no-tears-and-no-red?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat “The United States fully endorses Israel’s war crimes,” says Greece’s former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. “Because that’s what it is. When you switch off the water to two and a half million people, by the Geneva Convention that’s a war crime.” The economist, who shares a European perspective on the war, says that “the West has conspired to ensure a generalized massacre.” And the real question is “how much Palestinian blood is required to cleanse the hands of Europe?” As a European, Varoufakis tells us how his continent’s mix of guilt and cowardice are keeping the war fueled. “You have a situation where the European Union simply doesn’t exist anymore as a geopolitical entity, and therefore it simply mimics whatever is coming from Washington DC.” This wasn’t the case even twenty years ago, but today governments are too afraid to have their own positions. “Even if they secretly oppose what the United States is doing, European presidents and prime ministers are too scared to actually express these disagreements. And that is a major defeat of European democracy.” So for now, without faith in any government to do what’s right, Yanis Varoufakis encourages the people to take the streets. “I try to make the point that the protests in favor of Palestinians are also protests of solidarity with our Israeli and Jewish comrades who are suffering immensely under the apartheid regime of Netanyahu.” Subscribe for the full interview where Varoufakis shares his deep disappointment in Bernie Sanders, the nefarious reasons for NATO’s existence, the disaster that is the war in Ukraine, and a look at his new book Technofeudalism, which posits that capitalism actually ended over a decade ago. 00:00 Intro 01:42 The Four Food Groups of News 19:25 Yanis Varoufakis interview Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Rashid Khalidi: How Biden fuels Israel's war on Palestine Nov 03, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Rashid Khalidi: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/rashid-khalidi-how-biden-fuels-israels?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Israel stuns former Israel lobbyist Wolf Blitzer https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israel-stuns-former-israel-lobbyist?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat “Have you been surprised at all at how extreme Biden has been in supporting Israel,” we asked Professor Rashid Khalidi, author of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, “refusing to call for a ceasefire and downplaying the death toll?” “Short answer,” he responds. “No.” “I think that what the president said about the Palestinian death toll is absolutely despicable and unforgivable, and requires a public apology by the president himself. When you have, day after day after day after day, the administration harping on Israeli civilian casualties, and you have nine times the number of Palestinian civilian casualties, with the president of the United States disparaging the numbers, it is insulting, demeaning, and repugnant.” Khalidi continues on to explain that Biden’s actions are not just morally untenable, but politically as well. “He will lose the support of vast numbers of people. This administration has been beyond Trumpian in its furtherance of every position put forward by the Trump administration, without exception.” Khalidi predicts that if Biden stays on this track, he’ll not only lose the presidency, but also cost the Democrats the House. “So, was I surprised? No.” Subscribe to hear the full episode with Professor Khalidi where he responds to a recent Atlantic article claiming that Israel is not a settler colonial project, an important update on the occupied West Bank, and his final answer to the question: “What should we be fighting for right now?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Israeli Lawmaker's Dire Warning – with Ofer Cassif Oct 27, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Ofer Cassif: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israeli-lawmakers-dire-warning-with?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Fox News Guy is SO Over Palestine https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/fox-news-guy-is-so-over-palestine?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat “I am not anti-Israeli,” explains Israeli Knesset member Ofer Cassif, who was suspended from the legislature for 45 days after criticizing Israel’s “fascist assault” on Gaza. “The government is anti-Israeli. The government undermines the security and the well-being of the state and its citizens.” Cassif, who is Jewish and served in Israel’s military, goes on: “Because I stand with Israel, I stand against the government of Israel. Because I stand with Israel, I stand with the Palestinians.” Rational, empathetic voices like Ofer’s have become not only controversial in today’s political culture, but illegal. “There is now persecution of every and any voice which is in opposition to the war, to the assault on Gaza, or even expresses any sympathy for the children of Gaza. People who try to demonstrate are violently beaten by police.” And after the interview concluded, Ofer called us back to share an ominous breaking update: “Netanyahu and his thugs use the smokescreen of the war to impose a martial law on Israeli citizens, predominantly Palestinian ones: PROTESTS ARE PROHIBITED AND CAN NOW BE ANSWERED WITH LIVE AMMUNITION, workers and students are suspended and dissidents are persecuted for posts on the social network. “I plea to the world - supporting the Israeli government is not supporting Israeli people - it is supporting fascism, death and dictatorship. If you wish to help Israeli people in this dire time - support the peace movement, not the warmongers who waged a war against their own people!” Subscribe for the full interview with Ofer Cassif where he responds to Bernie Sanders’ refusal to call for a ceasefire, the only way to find a solution to this war, and his dire warning if we continue on this path: “We are on the verge of an international or even world war, and everyone is going to pay the price.” And after listening to the extended interview, we challenge you to find any US politician with half as much journalistic knowledge or bravery to criticize their own government as Ofer Cassif. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Israeli general's son slams Israel's savagery – with Miko Peled Oct 20, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Miko Peled: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/israeli-generals-son-slams-israels?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Senator Chris Murphy (D–CT) believes anything Israel says https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/senator-chris-murphy-dct-believes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat “Israeli society has always been held together by scotch tape. The scotch tape is falling apart,” says Miko Peled. And he would know. Miko is the son of one of Israel's highest ranking generals and the grandson of a signatory to Israeli independence. He was raised in Israel and served in its army. And he condemns Israel's "savage" attacks on Palestinians. He answers several questions: How was Hamas able to do what it did? Where was the Israeli army? Is the IDF prioritizing keeping the hostages alive or killing Hamas? And explains the history of Israel’s control over Gaza, how it led to the brutal massacre we’re witnessing today, and the way to end this war. “That really is the conversation: how we bring this to an end, for real. Not a ceasefire, but a complete end to the blockade, a complete release of Palestinian prisoners, immediate aid to Palestinians. And all this with no conditions.” He’s not stopping at just a reprieve from the bombings: “To the point that at the end of the day we bring the unconditional surrender of the apartheid state. That should be the main goal.” Subscribe for the full episode to hear Miko’s logical plan for achieving this, and the harsh reality Palestinians face until we do. “Between now and then, we can be certain that Palestinians are going to continue to pay a heavy price. And the world is silent.” The world is silent, for the Palestinians at least. In the US, the president, Congress, and media brazenly cheerlead the genocide, lamenting the deaths of only Israeli citizens, understanding that referring to Palestinians as “civilians” will get you in trouble. “One party explicitly rejects talking about Palestinian civilians and explicitly blames Hamas for whatever happens to them. The other party pays some lip service but doesn’t do anything. And that is American democracy.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Palestinian Journalist on Israel's ATTACK on Gaza Oct 13, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: US politicians call for religious war against Palestine https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-politicians-call-for-religious?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat After Hamas’s attack in Israel on Saturday, the Israeli massacres of Palestinians in Gaza have skyrocketed. This genocidal ethnic cleansing has scarcely been reported by mainstream media at any time in its 50 year history, let alone at a time when western media and politicians openly support a religious war against Palestine. So we’re giving a platform to three Palestinian voices to share their story. We speak with Refaat Alareer, a Palestinian academic currently sheltering 15 children in his Gaza apartment, Yumna Patel, the Palestine news director for Mondoweiss, and Muhammad Shehada, a Palestinian writer from Gaza. Their stories of bombings, murder, cruelty, and lies from the Israeli government and malicious rumors from US media and politicians are difficult to hear, but so important when they’re being silenced everywhere else. “The American public and the general public around the world is being sold a genocide,” they tell us. “We are being convinced through the rhetoric of Israeli politicians, the US president, and US state department spokespeople that Palestinians, specifically Gazans, are not human. They are trying to wipe Gaza off the map.” And while the deaths of Israelis must be covered and mourned, the West’s hypocrisy and double standard on the value of life is clear. “I have never seen the amount of profiles and interviews with the families of victims than I’ve seen of mainstream media interviewing these Israeli families. I have never seen this level of attention paid to one singular Palestinian.” Israeli children matter. Why don’t Palestinian children matter? “No attention is being paid to the killing of 270 children just in the span of three or four days.” Refaat, Yumna, and Muhammad share their frustration and disgust with “the fact that our government and the President of the United States is repeating dehumanizing genocidal language, repeating these unsubstantiated claims.” And sadly, we may not be able to hear their voices for long. Refaat, calling from Gaza with the sounds of bombs exploding in the background during the interview, warns that resources are running low. “But in a couple of days, maximum a week or two, if things don’t change, we’re looking at a total blackout, no coverage, no media, no internet. Not that Israel cares, and mainstream media is complicit.” Hear them speak, and share the interview to spread their message. At a dangerous time, we thank you for continuing to support Useful Idiots and our guests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ukraine's Inconvenient Truth Oct 06, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Gordon Hahn: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/ukraines-inconvenient-truth?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Speaker Trump to the Rescue? https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/speaker-trump-to-the-rescue?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiotspodcast.com/chat Analyst Gordon Hahn has been covering the Ukraine conflict since long before Russia invaded, focusing on the West’s strategic efforts to use Ukraine as a proxy under the guise of defending its sovereignty. “You have to lie about everything,” Hahn explains, detailing how self-serving Western narratives became so successful. “You have to maintain that Putin is Hitler II.” But the real goal of the west, as independent journalists tirelessly report and US/NATO officials endlessly prove, has nothing to do with the Ukrainians. “The goal is eternal NATO expansion.” “It’s all got to do with the inability to make some kind of a compromise,” Hahn says. “It’s all or nothing. And it’s leading to a disaster. And the greatest sufferers are the Ukrainians.” Subscribe for the full interview with Gordon Hahn where he explains the western sabotage of the Ukrainian-Russian peace deal (and the tens of billions of dollars made from its collapse), the struggle to reach the people who believe the US really does care about Ukrainians, and how to end the war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Norman Finkelstein on Canada’s Applause for Nazis Sep 29, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Norm Finkelstein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/norman-finkelstein-on-canadas-applause?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: US Govt shutdown threatens workers' salaries – but not Ukraine's https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-govt-shutdown-threatens-workers?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Norman Finkelstein, whose latest book is I’ll Burn that Bridge When I Get to It, returns to Useful Idiots with as much heretical bravado as ever: he’s coming out swinging. First, he’s dissecting the embarrassing Nazi celebration in Canada: the Orwellian push to have it erased from history, Trudeau’s fake apology, and the despicable claims that Zelensky, who speaks English and understands Ukrainian history, didn’t know that he was saluting a Nazi soldier. “When he [Zelensky] raised his hand,” Norman explains, “this Jew as we’re constantly told, he was lending himself to the Nazi cause.” Next, Norman’s talking about presidential candidate and celebrated leftist Cornel West. Norm explains he hadn’t read any of West’s books until this month when he prepped for an interview with the candidate. “I was dazzled,” Norm says. “He’s better than me!” The interview, which drops soon on Norman Finkelstein’s Podcast, will be a three-hour wide-ranging intellectual conversation. Norm gives us a preview. Subscribe (before prices rise on Oct 1!) to hear our full 90-minute interview where Norm shares his take on Cornel West’s candidacy, and we get into a long debate about Norm’s favorite pseudo-intellectual millionaire Ibram X Kendi. You’re not going to want to miss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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US Media Can't Stop Lying about Ukraine Sep 22, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Bryce Greene: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-media-cant-stop-lying-about-ukraine?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Nikki Haley's Unhinged China Rant https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/nikki-haleys-unhinged-china-rant?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat In the old world of journalism, reporters forced themselves through rounds of fact checks, dug through sources, interviewed every witness and expert they could find, and even then wouldn’t publish a story until they were absolutely sure of its veracity. And if all that failed and their story was wrong, they swallowed hard and published a correction. An embarrassing yet humbling check on the press that only added points to their credibility. That was the old world. The old world is dead. “Russian missile attack hits market in Ukraine, kills 16,” read headlines from every major news outlet. Weeks later, once the story had spread into the public consciousness, the New York Times quietly posted an update to the story: “Evidence suggests Ukrainian missile caused market tragedy.” The same happened with the evil Chinese spy balloon (later revealed to be a spy balloon that did no spying), the Nord Stream pipeline, and countless other stories in which the US media shaped the war instead of report on it. Journalist Bryce Greene joins Useful Idiots to shed light on the truth, break down the lies, debunk the corporate media. Subscribe to watch the full episode where Bryce explains the US path to peace (and the lies used to sabotage it), the extent of the corporate lies used to blame the missile strike on Russia, the terrifyingly weird English-speaking Ukrainian spokesperson who wants to “hunt down” Russian propagandists (which is extra scary when we’re constantly labeled as Putin puppets…), and how western media is shaping the Ukraine proxy war against Russia as a proxy for the larger proxy war against China. There’s a lot of lies, so let Bryce Greene be your tour guide through the truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Biden's Trumpian War on Korea Sep 15, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Amanda Yee: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/bidens-trumpian-war-on-korea-a0b?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: NATO Chief Spreads "Pro-Putin Talking Points" https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/nato-chief-spreads-pro-putin-talking?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Journalist Amanda Yee of Liberation News joins the show to break up some hardened American propaganda about the “forgotten” war in Korea and what’s actually going on behind the travel ban in North Korea, which Trump started and Biden has renewed each year since. This proves, once again, that despite running as the opposite of Trump, the one campaign promise that Biden has actually kept is the one he made behind closed doors to donors: "Nothing would fundamentally change." Even some of the most jaded skeptics of US propaganda still believe the misrepresentations about North Korea, and the travel ban makes it that much harder to see reality for ourselves. Luckily, Amanda Yee is sharing some first-hand accounts to shed light. She explains the painful family separations caused by Biden’s draconian ban and the untold horrors of the war the US wants us to forget. A war which never ended. Amanda also discusses the national security state’s selective, unprincipled and hypocritical war on independent organizations who dare to criticize U.S. foreign policy. Subscribe now (while the price is still low!) for the full interview with Amanda where we discuss the New York Times disinformation campaign to fuel fear of our “enemies” and the New Cold War with China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Taibbi on GOP Debates, Censorship, and Trump on Shrooms Sep 08, 2023

Click here for the full episode with Matt Taibbi: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/matt-taibbi-on-gop-debates-censorship?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Click here for the full interview with Max Blumenthal and Matt Orfalea: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/matt-taibbi-and-max-blumenthal-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: NATO Pinky Swears that it's a "Defensive Alliance" https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/nato-pinky-swears-that-its-a-defensive?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Did you ever wonder what Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman would sound like if she was played by director and actor Werner Herzog? Or what Chris Christie would do if Trump ordered food for him that he was allergic to? Have you wondered what the German word is for a Brazilian spider bite that causes painful, hours-long erections? Do you know the world-record time for drinking 2-liters of soda? Can you guess how many buffalo wings Matt Taibbi has eaten in one hour? Or how many hugs two erotically-charged men can do in one minute? Did you ever wonder if hugs could be counted? Or if an act of love such as a hug can’t be quantified as there is so much more to a hug than a physical entanglement of arms, and that in the same way a competition for who can fall in love more times is a fleeting grasp at ordering the confusing nature of life, it is ultimately an impossible feat, and maybe the point of life isn’t to count but to live, so when you finally allow yourself the freedom of falling out of control instead of waiting indefinitely behind the curtains of a stage that only exists in your own mind, preparing to say the lines you wrote for yourself but know deep down you’ll never perform, when you finally let all that go and “embrace” the lack of control you realize you aren’t falling but flying? Did you ever wonder those things? If so, you’re in luck! Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper have all the answers while they celebrate three and a half years of Useful Idiots with a reunion episode, throwing it back to the four food groups, terrible media clips, a scary new censor, and as always, a whole lotta nonsense. Subscribe to watch the full episode where Matt and Katie do shrooms with Trump in a bowling alley and discuss the dystopian future of government censorship where the word transparency no longer means we get to see what they’re doing, but where they get to always keep an eye on us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Taibbi and Max Blumenthal on Neoliberal Censorship Sep 01, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Max Blumenthal: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/matt-taibbi-and-max-blumenthal-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch the latest Thursday Throwdown: NATO Pinky Swears that it's a "Defensive Alliance" https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/nato-pinky-swears-that-its-a-defensive?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat “The constitution is just a sideshow at this point.” Censorship, no longer just a threat from the government but now from private tech corporations as well, has snowballed into dystopian size. And the scariest part about censorship? It hides itself. So it’s hard to know just how huge it really is. Which makes this an issue on a scale so large that the only team possibly fit to crack into its titanium shroud is the original Useful Idiots: Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper. That’s right, Matt’s joining us for a two-week special. Buckle up. This week, we’re interviewing two journalists recently trampled by the wheels of big tech. First is Max Blumenthal, editor and founder of the Grayzone, which had a recent fundraiser frozen and withheld by GoFundMe “due to some external concerns.” GoFundMe, along with corporations like PayPal, has buried other independent news sites for speaking out against US war. But none as big as the Grayzone. Which means they can speak up and fight back. Tune in and join the fight. The second guest is Matt Orfalea, video editor and Racket News contributor, whose videos on Youtube have been deleted and demonetized for being “potentially harmful,” or for spreading election lies. The main video in question was simply a mashup of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump claiming that the 2016 and 2020 elections were stolen from them. No opinion, just documentation. Check out the video, it’s back up on Youtube but demonetized. You wouldn’t want such a dangerous video to make any money for its creator. Subscribe for the full interviews with Max and Orf where they explain the digital de-democratization of the world under the guise of a NATO proxy war, the terrifying new DIIA app which is creating a new digital passport, and Max Blumenthal’s grim prediction: As the power of corporations takes hold, “the only kind of activism that’s going to be allowed is activism that supports the state’s objectives.” It’s a new world model where transparency no longer means we get to see what they’re doing, but where they get to always keep an eye on us. Subscribe to watch the full episode and support independent media at a dangerous time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Both Parties Work for ‘Tyranny, Inc.’ Aug 25, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Sohrab Ahmari: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/how-both-parties-work-for-tyranny?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Read Tyranny, Inc. here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708057/tyranny-inc-by-sohrab-ahmari/ For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: NATO Pinky Swears that it's a "Defensive Alliance" https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/nato-pinky-swears-that-its-a-defensive?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat After claims of fraud in the 2020 election and the rise of Trump’s pseudo-populist wing of the GOP, Sohrab Ahmari wrote Tyranny, Inc. In the book, the journalist and founding editor of Compact magazine gives a tour of our political economy from the point of view of ordinary people who faced private tyranny and paid the price for it. Private being the key word. Ahmari, even as a conservative columnist for the NY Post, can sometimes sound more leftist than some Congressional progressives. “Conservatives are quite used to thinking of government as the only potential source of coercion,” Ahmari tells us, “so the fact that a segment of the right was suddenly alert to what big tech could do to you, seemed to me an opening to say, ‘Hey, let me show you other kinds of private coercion which are less visible, but all the more insidious.’” Sohrab Ahmari’s in-depth reporting and bipartisan critiques emerge as some mix of conservative populism and Marxist theory. It’s a fascinating perspective that, in a world ruled by tech censorship and private coercion, is increasingly rare to hear anywhere other else than on Useful Idiots. Watch the full interview to hear his response to Jacobin excluding him from a left-right coalition because of his cultural views, Oliver Anthony’s controversial country song, the actual difference between his critique of capitalism and the leftist one, and the unprecedented support by the US so-called left of the military industrial complex and the Ukraine proxy war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Exposed: US Backed regime change in Pakistan Aug 18, 2023

Click here for the full episode with Professor Junaid Ahmad: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/exposed-us-backed-regime-change-in?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Hillary Clinton and Rachel Maddow Save Democracy https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/hillary-clinton-and-rachel-maddow?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Professor Junaid Ahmad, director for the Center for Global Dialogue, joins Useful Idiots to shed light on a bombshell story that you may not have heard about. And you have western corporate media to thank for that. The Intercept released a secret Pakistan cable which documents US pressure to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan from power. That was achieved in April 2022, when Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote. Since then, the Pakistani government has arrested Khan and banned him from the next election. Ahmad explains the consequences of the findings in the classified documents and shares one of the craziest quotes reported in the Intercept article: “All will be forgiven,” said a U.S. diplomat, “if the no-confidence vote against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan succeeds.” So why did the US want Khan out? Because he didn’t follow the rules of western imperialism. In a speech, Khan responded directly to Western demands that Pakistan rally behind Ukraine. “What do you think of us? That we are your slaves and that we will do whatever you ask of us? We are friends of Russia, and we are also friends of the United States. We are friends of China and Europe. We are not part of any alliance.” Of course, such a statement is blasphemy under US rule, so Imran Khan was swiftly taken care of. Watch the full interview with Junaid Ahmad where he explains in depth what Khan believed as leader of Pakistan, how the regime change happened, and the next steps for the imprisoned prime minister to walk free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Debate: Is Trump’s Jan 6th plot kooky or criminal? Aug 11, 2023

Click here for the full debate: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/debate-is-trumps-jan-6th-plot-kooky?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "Livin' on a Prayer (for endless war) https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/livin-on-a-prayer-for-endless-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Trump Indictment Season is officially in full swing, and corporate news, in their best attempt to give Trump as much free campaign coverage as possible, is covering it nearly 24/7. Whichever network you tune into, whether Fox News or MSNBC (and we sincerely hope you never tune into either), you’ll find panels with talking-head lawyers professing to know the exact legal implications of the indictment. As is our mission at Useful Idiots, we aim to be fundamentally opposite of corporate media in all ways. So accordingly, we admit to not mastering the legal implications of anything. Which is why Useful Idiots is hosting a proxy debate on the criminality of Trump’s actions around January 6. Congressional Dish host Jennifer Briney argues that Trump did in fact break the law, while writer and substacker Michael Tracey claims this indictment, like the others, is merely political. It’s a debate you could only get from independent media: respectful, evenly-matched, and honestly hard to choose a winning side. So cut the cable, tune into Useful Idiots, and let us know in the comments who wins you over. Did Trump break the law, or are we watching Russiagate 2.0? Subscribe to support independent media and watch the full debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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NATO is the Zombie that won’t Die Aug 04, 2023

Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4381986/nato-is-the-zombie-that-won-t-die For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: MSNBC Celebrates Trump Indictment with 24/7 Campaign Promotion https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4375164/msnbc-celebrates-trump-indictment-with-24-7-campaign-promotion Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat “The likely outcome of the Vilnius summit,” Anatol Lieven, Director of the Eurasia program at the Quincy Institute, explains, “will be once again to dangle a never ending timetable for Kyiv’s admittance into the alliance.” As we progress further and further into the proxy war against Russia, Ukraine’s roadmap for joining NATO grows foggier and foggier. In 2008, Ukraine was given an explicit list of steps to complete in order to gain acceptance. Today, they’re told something else: “Ukraine can join NATO when allies agree and when certain conditions are met.” This purposefully vague promise seems to be the West’s way of pushing off Ukraine indefinitely while still making sure that they fight to the last Ukrainian. As Lieven says: “At the very least I’d say Ukraine is just as far away as it was in 2008. The case for Ukraine’s NATO membership is the zombie that won’t die.” At Responsible Statecraft, he writes of the danger NATO faces if they ever actually followed through on their promise: “The West will be committed to an endless strategy of arming and financing Ukraine against Russia, while praying that the United States remains fully committed to this and is not drawn away by more important domestic and international threats.” He adds: “For if America ever does pull back, NATO’s European members may find that the only thing more stupid than pulling a bear’s tail and running away is pulling its tail when you can’t run away.” Watch the full interview with Anatol Lieven where he explains how journalists have become part of the elite system they once reported on, the danger of Russophobia, and his scary answer to the question: “Do you have any fear that we’re heading towards World War III?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Oppenheimer expert on what Christopher Nolan’s movie gets wrong Jul 28, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Greg Mitchell: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4350544/oppenheimer-expert-on-what-christopher-nolan-s-movie-gets-wrong For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Congress Says the Aliens are Coming https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4342771/congress-says-the-aliens-are-coming Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Now I am become Useful Idiot. With the Hollywood blockbuster forcing everyone to remember the nuclear bomb again, Oppenheimer expert Greg Mitchell, who you can find on Substack here and here, joins the Useful Idiots to analyze Hollywood’s portrayal of the man and his bomb. “Only four movies in 75 years” have really dealt with the bomb, he tells us. We have countless movies about World War II, but when the US becomes the killer, Hollywood has fallen silent. So how did the fourth movie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, do? “What is included in the film is extremely accurate,” Mitchell says, but the details omitted tell a different story. “In the movie we don’t see warnings about the radiation effect, we don’t see the horror in Japan.” Nolan apparently leaves the audience with a grave warning about the future of nuclear warfare, but is he giving a pass to his characters who dropped the bombs already? “There’s tremendous focus on the Trinity test,” he says, explaining something the movie does show. “Every filmmaker loves to focus on Trinity because no one died there and there’s great special effects and it’s a great moment of triumph and celebration.” But what’s omitted: “They’d rather do that than look at happened when we killed 160,000 civilians.” Watch the full interview with author and historian Greg Mitchell where he explains the faults of the “harm reduction” argument, the rising nuclear tensions in North Korea, and how the Ukraine proxy war has brought us dangerously close to nuclear war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ukrainian Journalist “Shocked” by New Poll Jul 21, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Lev Golinkin: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4318784/ukrainian-journalist-shocked-by-new-poll The poll: https://voxukraine.org/en/the-ability-of-ukrainians-to-distinguish-messages-of-russian-propaganda-results-of-public-opinion-research For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Anderson Cooper upset by Cornel West's morality https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4311701/anderson-cooper-upset-by-cornel-wests-morality Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat “This poll is earth-shattering.” “I wonder if any media will pick it up.” “Of course not!” Ukrainian-America journalist and author Lev Golinkin joined the show this week to discuss on a new poll that flips everything we’ve been told about “real Ukrainians.” And before you write off the poll as Russian propaganda, check out who conducted it: not Moscow, with its memes of deception to trick Americans, and not Useful Idiots, those secret Putin agents, but Vox! Now the poll: A shocking 43% of respondents in Ukraine disagreed with the statement “Nazi and/or neo-Nazi ideology is not widespread in Ukraine.” Guess what percent of respondents agreed with the statement “The West is using Ukraine for its own purposes in the war against Russia.” Check out the interview to find out. But you’ll see that Ukraine is not the monolith of pro-war nationalists that our media claims they are. As Lev goes through the responses of the poll, each one shockingly truthful about the split of what Ukrainians actually believe, he has a dark conclusion about the US government which refuses to look at the data: “These people who have control over our future know nothing about us.” But Vox Ukraine’s conclusion (we give props to them for even publishing the results at all), is very different. “The conducted survey revealed the overall ability of Ukrainians to differentiate narratives of Russian propaganda. In this case, the active promotion of counter-narratives is necessary.” So now it isn’t “listen to Ukrainians” but “these Ukrainians are duped by Russian propaganda and we need to teach the troglodytes that they like the war.” So, don’t listen to them. Join Lev, Katie, and Aaron as we analyze a poll that surely won’t be reported by the New York Times or any other corporate warriors, and watch the extended interview where Lev shares the truth about the real people of the Donbas, the war crimes committed by the West and Russia (“Any war crime you can name that has been committed by one side has been committed by the other”), and the one difference between Wagner neo-Nazis and Azov neo-Nazis: “The Wagner neo-Nazis are not put on MSNBC. The Wagner neo-Nazis are not being trained and armed by the United States. The Wagner neo-Nazis are not being invited to Congress.” It’s an enlightening interview with a Ukrainian voice ignored by the mainstream. Check it out, share the poll, and watch the extended interview with Lev Golinkin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Former CIA Analyst: The West Cannot Defeat Russia in Ukraine Jul 14, 2023

Click here for the full interview with former CIA analyst Larry Johnson: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4286903/former-cia-analyst-the-west-cannot-defeat-russia-in-ukraine For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Biden Throws "Vladimir" Zelensky Under the Bus https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4280521/biden-throws-vladimir-zelensky-under-the-bus Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat “The west cannot win.” Former CIA analyst and deputy director of the US Office of Counterterrorism Larry Johnson has a grave outlook for the proxy war in Ukraine. And it ends with a lot of dead Ukrainians. Even with the hundreds of billions of dollars of HIMARS, Stingers, Javelins, and now the potential for F-16s and war-crime cluster munitions, Ukraine, according to Johnson’s military analysis, has not made a single successful stand against fortified Russian forces and will only suffer more losses as the pointless war rages forward. And what’s his solution? Well, you won’t be surprised to hear it’s just about exactly the same as every other Useful Idiots guest’s: diplomacy. The west wins through peace. Johnson covers it all: how Russiagate led to the war, the Wagner Group’s “coup” and Prigozhin’s silly disguises, and the real reason the west hates Putin so much. Hint: it’s not because of the communist/dictator/Hitler/4D-chess super genius stuff they tell us. “We’re angry at Putin because he shut down the money flow from the oligarchs that was going into the pockets of a lot of western capitalists. It’s that simple.” Catch it all in the extended interview with Larry Johnson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Israel's Illegal Assault on Jenin w/ Noura Erakat Jul 07, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Noura Erakat: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4255962/israels-illegal-assault-on-jenin-w-noura-erakat For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: US "Free Press" Loves State Censorship https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/us-free-press-loves-state-censorship?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat “Their crime is to exist,” Palestinian human rights attorney Noura Erakat says of the Palestinians resisting Israel’s state-perpetrated terrorism and the recent attacks on the West Bank city of Jenin in particular. “When they attack, with war planes and tanks, indiscriminately, it’s a message to Palestinians that you are not safe. Anywhere. That unless you completely surrender, we will terrorize you. And the rest of the international community is going to blame you.” But, she tells us, sharing the resilience of Palestinians, “this is not a people that watches this and gives up. We’ll fight. We’ll fight and we’ll die fighting for our freedom.” And their fight is challenging Israel’s illegal violence: “The fact that Palestinians refuse to disappear is the existential threat. It’s not Molotov cocktails, or IEDs, or armed Palestinians. It’s the fact that Palestinians have united themselves across violent geographic demarcations that are meant to separate us, and refuse to disappear.” Watch the full interview with Noura to hear her family’s tragic first-hand experience with Israeli terror and her predictions for the future of the brave people of Palestine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Scott Ritter: Putin Won the Coup and Will Win the War Jun 30, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Scott Ritter: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4225085/scott-ritter-putin-won-the-coup-and-will-win-the-war Watch this week's FREE Thursday Throwdown on Locals: A "Non-Panicky" Nuclear War https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4216874/a-non-panicky-nuclear-war For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat “How does this war end?” we asked former marine corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter. The answer was not pretty. “With a lot of dead Ukrainians,” he told us gravely. “When Lindsay Graham gets out there and does his sick cackling and says we’re going to fight to the last Ukrainian, unfortunately that’s what’s going to happen.” Ritter explains that Putin and Russia will not be beaten militarily, and every day the US extends the proxy war in its attempt to bleed Russia and enrich weapons manufacturers, our “friends” will suffer even more. “We are condemning our friends the Ukrainians, everyday hundreds of families, to a fate that is in many cases worse than death. Bombing houses, people out on the street with their kids; this is what we’re doing to our friends every day of the week.” He finishes, giving the proper name for our relationship with the Ukrainian people: “We’re not friends. We’re the worst enemy one could imagine.” So what would Scott Ritter do if he was president today? “I would stop this war instantly,” he says. “There’s no more weaponry going to Ukraine. It’s over. I’d call Zelenskyy and say it’s done. And then I would call Putin and say we’re going to stop the fighting and we’re never going to start it again. We need to sit down and talk. That’s it, it’s called diplomacy.” Watch the full interview with Scott Ritter where he explains the history of Prigozhin and the Wagner Group, the disastrous Ukrainian counteroffensive, evidence of the peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and his full plan for how to end the war. Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown, which we’re giving to you for FREE on Locals: A “Non-Panicky” Nuclear War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Kennedys vs The Deep State Jun 23, 2023

Click here for the full interview with David Talbot and Aaron Good: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4191638/the-kennedys-vs-the-deep-state For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown – Biden: Build a 700-mile Fence to Keep Out the Illegals https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/biden-build-a-700-mile-fence-to-keep?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “We’ve gotten to the point now where we’ve been lied to for so long that people are really pissed off. One major event after the other we’ve been lied to. And we want the truth.” These wise words come from our guest David Talbot, journalist and author of The Devil’s Chessboard and Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. He’s joined by Aaron Good, a historian and host of the American Exception podcast. They both bring their extensive research of the deep state, the secrets of the American empire, and previously-classified info from first-hand interviews and loads of documents. Plus they share their respectful disagreement with Noam Chomsky over JFK. Watch the full interview where they reveal who their research shows killed Robert F. Kennedy, their thoughts on presidential candidate RFK Jr, and how news media has collapsed since David founded Salon in 1995, one of the first online news magazines. The deep state has a lot of secrets, but the Useful Idiots are digging them up. Listen in. Don’t miss this week’s Thursday Throwdown where we watch a newly-resurfaced clip of Biden calling for a 700-mile fence on the Mexican border to keep out the “illegals.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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80s Grooves that Explained the News w/ Touré Jun 16, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Touré: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4160086/80s-grooves-that-explained-the-news-w-tour For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Cornel West Blows Jake Tapper's Mind https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/cornel-west-blows-jake-tappers-mind?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web We’re throwing it back to the 1980s with Touré, host of the excellent new podcast Being Black: The 80s (70s and 90s to follow), which breaks down some of the most impactful Black music of the decade, including what was happening in Black America at each moment in time. We listen to Dianna Ross, Public Enemy, Tracy Chapman, Stevie Wonder and more as Touré explains the Black culture history that led to the iconic songs, not just how they reflect the stories of the time, but how they ushered, or forced, in a new era of revolution. Touré, who was a cohost of MSNBC’s The Cycle and a writer for Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and The New Yorker, deep dives into the rich political and cultural history of Black life and music, including the influences of gay liberation, the power of MLK, mass incarceration, and the crack epidemic. It’s a fascinating musical episode of Useful Idiots that you won’t want to miss. And watch the full version where things get political: Touré, whose past as an MSNBC host can’t be hidden forever, debates Katie and Aaron on Cornel West, Bernie Sanders, and Obama. It’s a heated back and forth that seems to only prove the power of music, because no matter the disagreements on political issues, the tunes we listen to bring everyone back together. Listen and groove along with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Oliver Stone Goes Nuclear Jun 09, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Oliver Stone: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4126347/free-preview-oliver-stone-goes-nuclear For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: FBI Helps Ukraine Censor Aaron Maté – Twitter Files https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/fbi-helps-ukraine-censor-aaron-mate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Oliver Stone grew up in a world that hates nuclear energy: we heard horror stories of catastrophic “disasters” like in Chernobyl and Fukushima, subconsciously linked it to the nuclear bomb, even died under the trampling feet of its nuclear spawn in Godzilla and Them! So what, after decades of mistrust against the nuclear boogeyman, made Oliver change his mind? “Fear. Fear and confusion.” His new documentary Nuclear Now debunks years of propaganda, misinformation, and sensationalism, urging us to see that “nuclear energy is the only viable way to get out of this mess.” It turns out, the documentary shows, deaths from nuclear energy are minuscule compared to any other form of energy: “The HBO series Chernobyl is a fear document,” he says. “It’s sensationalism. The World Health Organization and the UN did extensive studies and they came out with 4,000 people who possibly died from cancer. A lot of people say millions died, but it’s not coming out in any scientific evidence.” And the “disaster” at Fukushima caused one (disputed) death. And there are no other cases. So why are we told nuclear energy is so dangerous? Well first, “keep in mind that the fossil fuel industry has benefitted from renewables.” When you have oil and gas and coal lobbies fighting against you, we’ve seen too many times how easy it is to get lost in the propaganda. But while renewables like wind and solar energy are good things, Oliver explains that they “won’t make the gap. It will not make the continental volume to get where we need to be to really have clean energy.” “An Inconvenient Truth popularized renewables, but here we are twenty fucking years later and we still have the same amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It’s not working.” Subscribe for the full interview with Oliver Stone for his take on the Ukraine proxy war and its effect on climate change, his scathing review of the Green Party and their neocon friends, and why he believes “America is divorcing itself from reality.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Henry Kissinger: Kill Anything that Moves Jun 02, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Nick Turse: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4092319/extended-episode-henry-kissinger-kill-anything-that-moves Read Nick's article Blood on his Hands: Survivors of Kissinger’s Secret War in Cambodia Reveal Unreported Mass Killings https://theintercept.com/2023/05/23/henry-kissinger-cambodia-bombing-survivors/ For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "The Russians are dying...It's the best money we've ever spent." https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4084907/the-russians-are-dying-its-the-best-money-weve-ever-spent Since CBS is celebrating Henry Kissinger’s 100th birthday, we figured it’s time to look into the “elder statesman’s” past with journalist Nick Turse, author of books including Next Time They'll Come to Count the Dead and a recent investigation “Blood on his Hands,” an extensive examination of the unreported mass killings of Kissinger’s secret war in Cambodia. “It’s long been known that Henry Kissinger has a lot of blood on his hands for Cambodia,” Turse begins. “But this investigation, using an archive of US military documents and never-before-published interviews, shows that Kissinger was responsible for far more civilian deaths than we knew about, and that the violence was far more intimate.” Turse, who visited Cambodia to hear the stories of survivors, shares in-depth accounts of the horrors unleashed by Kissinger. And he was asked over and over again by the people of Cambodia: “Why? Why were we bombed?” Nick, in an ambush interview with Kissinger himself, asked the statesman those very questions. “Why were they bombed?” “We didn’t bomb Cambodians,” Kissinger lied back. “We bombed North Vietnamese in Cambodia.” “Then how were 50,000 Cambodians murdered by your bombs?” And the answer Kissinger gave, as strange as it is chilling, Nick still doesn’t understand: “He told me to ‘Play with it and have a good time.’ And then he stomped his cane on the floor and stalked off.” Hear the full interview with Nick Turse in which he recounts finding the secret tape recordings from Kissinger’s office, widely unreported, that detail the extent of Henry Kissinger’s hands-on control in the murders of tens of thousands of people. As Aaron puts it: “Well that was bone-chilling.” Subscribe to watch the full interview below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Syrians Find Hope Under Crushing US Sanctions May 26, 2023

Click here for the full interview: https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4059339/full-interview-syrians-find-hope-under-crushing-us-sanctions Read Hekmat’s article: Immiserated, humiliated, yet resilient: how Syrians survive America’s economic siege https://thegrayzone.com/2023/05/16/syrians-survive-americas-economic-siege/ For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Find us on Substack at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "Donald Trump loves communist Russia," announces Democrat https://usefulidiots.locals.com/post/4051134/donald-trump-loves-communist-russia-announces-democrat From Iraq to Syria to everywhere else the US government attempts regime change, when corporate media tells us what the “voices of the people” are saying, it’s not often that we actually hear voices that deviate from the US agenda. That’s why we invited Syrian analyst Kevork Almassian and journalist Hekmat Aboukhater. And even under accounts of dangerous war zones, terrorist groups, and crushing US sanctions, they both noted that there is hope in Syria. And the truth they found in Syria only underscores how much western corporate journalists lie to us to help keep the oppressive sanctions going: “The western journalists who are the so-called experts on Syria,” Kevork, who founded Syriana Analysis, says. “They also have blood on their hands. They’re like a parallel intelligence apparatus giving justifications and information so that these criminal psychopaths in Washington would continue in their policy. Their entire goal is to give justification for US regime change and sanctions.” Hekmat, cofounder of Project Onwards, shares the story of a Syrian student unable to access most websites and learning materials under US sanctions: “At every single turn as a youth trying to better himself, he’s blocked by a country oceans away that seems to have its knee on his neck as he’s just trying to exist as an internet student.” But the US government and media pretend that sanctions are targeted only at President Assad, not destroying the lives of citizens. It’s a world of propaganda that’s become increasingly difficult to see through, but the first step to finding out what’s really going on is hearing the voices of real Syrians. Subscribe to hear the full interview with Kevork and Hekmat where they share stories of US weapons used against the Syrian people, the CIA-backed army that kidnapped and threatened to behead Kevork’s brother, and the glimmer of hope they found back home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Former Buzzfeed Chief on the End of a Media Era May 19, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Ben Smith: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/former-buzzfeed-chief-on-the-end?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: BlueAnon Cracks under Russiagate Report https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/blueanon-cracks-under-russiagate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web The era of corporate media is dying. The future is independent. Ben Smith, former Buzzfeed chief and New York Times media columnist, is the founder of Semafor, a news site which, unlike corporate rags who pretend otherwise, doesn’t hide the author’s opinion. Check it out here. Ben joins Useful Idiots to explain the beginnings of the internet age of media that led to Obama’s election, the rise and demise of outlets like Buzzfeed News and Vice, and describes what he sees as the next era. And yes, it includes Useful Idiots. Watch the full episode where Ben debates Aaron on the Durham Report, which this week showed that the six-year story of collusion between Trump and Russia was a hoax led by corporate media. Buzzfeed, with Ben in charge, was the first outlet to publish the Steele Dossier in 2017. When Aaron challenges him on this, things get heated. Then, as an ex-Times writer, Ben exposes the biggest clusterf*ck from his years at the paper, a notorious example of choosing traffic over truth. Hear his report in the full interview. And speaking of Traffic, check out Ben Smith’s new book on media genius, rivalry, and delusion in the billion-dollar race to go viral. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ex-CIA Agent Reveals the Truth about JFK May 12, 2023

Click here for the full interview with former CIA agent Ray McGovern: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ex-cia-agent-reveals-the-truth-about?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: If you're voting for Joe Biden, you ain't 18-29 https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/if-youre-voting-for-joe-biden-you?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web A 23-year-old Ray McGovern, fresh in the CIA, a believer in John F. Kennedy, sat for a lecture from a senior operations officer at the agency. And was shocked by the rant he heard: “This president is a coward! He failed to back us up on the Bay of Pigs! He’s so cowardly, this is an awful, awful thing!” That was the summer of 1963. Three months later John Kennedy was assassinated. McGovern, who worked in the CIA for 27 years and has spent an equal number of years critiquing it, lays out step by step the factors that led to what he suspects is the agency’s role in the assassination of a president. First, he explains, was that “Kennedy threatened to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and throw it to the four winds. Now, what President Kennedy didn’t realize is you don’t say those kinds of things. You don’t threaten to do those kinds of things.” Already in dangerous territory, Kennedy also went rogue on the CIA’s war: “Not only had John Kennedy already made two executive orders to pull our troops out of Vietnam, but in June 1963 he gave an incredible speech saying ‘Why can’t we just get along with the Russians?’” The result? “He was killed. Very simply. He was assassinated and it was a warning to all other presidents who might want to threaten the CIA.” McGovern, who since leaving the CIA founded the anti-war group Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, is calling for the CIA to be disbanded. “It should be splintered. It serves no useful purpose. Somebody should set up an apolitical, agenda-free institute to do substantial, substantive, and untainted intelligence.” He adds, slyly: “And then if you want to do operations like blowing up pipelines, you put that in the Pentagon.” Watch the full interview to hear Ray McGovern dissect the CIA’s proxy war in Ukraine, the Biden administration’s hoax of Russian disinformation, and the shocking private Trump quote that made him ask: “Who the hell is running this country?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Kremlin Droned + Tucker Carlson Debate May 05, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Branko Marcetic: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/kremlin-droned-tucker-carlson-debate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Biden Toasts Media for Ignoring Julian Assange https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/biden-toasts-media-for-ignoring-julian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Humanity escaped by the skin of its teeth.” But you wouldn’t know it without journalists like Branko Marcetic, a returning Useful Idiot revealing the contents of the Pentagon leaks that the media has tried so hard to bury. And after this week’s attempted drone strike on the Kremlin, these leaks of US aggression become even more important. “One of the topline revelations,” he tells us. “Was that despite the fact that Joe Biden said early in the war we’re not going to send US troops, it turns out that there are boots on the ground.” What they’re doing there, we don’t know yet. What it means for the war, Branko explains. Another major revelation, he explains, is that “last year there was a run-in between a Russian and British plane. It turns out, we know from these documents, that a Russian plane fired at a British spy plane because the pilot misunderstood the instructions he was getting from the ground.” The only reason the plane wasn’t shot down, potentially leading to World War III: “The plane malfunctioned. And humanity escaped by the skin of its teeth.” But our heads of military in both the Pentagon and the media can’t let Americans know how dangerous this increasingly escalating war is for fear of losing support for the billions of cash we spend on it. And that’s where Branko gives the third revelation from the Pentagon leaks: “US officials lied about Ukraine winning the war. Privately, they believe Ukraine can make modest land gains at best. But if Americans believe that Ukraine is winning, they’re more likely to support sending further military aide.” The Pentagon leaks are being censored to keep a deadly proxy war alive, to keep support for sucking Ukraine dry until we fight to the last Ukrainian. Branko Marcetic is uncovering it. Watch the full interview to hear the scary extent of the Pentagon leaks, the depressing reelection campaign of “yesterday’s man” Joe Biden, and a heated debate: Is Tucker Carlson actually anti-war? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Taibbi Reacts to Dems' Prison Threat Apr 28, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Matt Taibbi: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/matt-taibbi-reacts-to-dems-prison?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "Arm Taiwan to the teeth (for peace)" https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/arm-taiwan-to-the-teeth-for-peace?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web If you thought beef with Elon Musk and threats of imprisonment from Congress would stop Matt Taibbi from breaking more of “the biggest story” of his career, you underestimate the power of a Useful Idiot: Matt returned to the show this week to drop an explosive new Twitter Files. What he and journalists Matt Orfalea and Andrew Lowenthal uncovered was Project Osprey, Twitter’s secretive method of categorizing threats to the establishment as Russian agents. Twitter had two different algorithmic lists of Russians: “A Priori Russians” and “Inferred Russians,” the latter including presidential candidate Jill Stein and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. “It’s another example,” Matt explains, “of how there’s lots of stuff in the Twitter Files that if the quote unquote “left” cared, there’s stuff pertaining to them.” The reports consistently show collaboration between media companies, private corporations, and the US government to control a narrative of information and censor whatever doesn’t fit into it. As Collusion author (and “Buzzsaw” victim) Luke Harding wrote in his Orwellian view of the future of journalism: “Rivalry between media titles is a thing of the past. The future is collaboration, the hunt for evidence a shared endeavor.” Matt translates: “What these people are really talking about when they’re making decisions about content, it’s not just a First Amendment violation, it’s not just an antitrust violation, it’s a complete demolition of the whole model of how democracy is supposed to work.” And this, not Hunter Biden’s penis, is the underlying theme of all the Twitter Files: “It’s this collaboration between a tightly-knit group of insiders who have decided that they’re gonna do this thing together without the input of the public.” For all the unprecedented revelations of government censorship and control, Matt can’t understand why no one in the mainstream media seems to care about the story: “In American history there’s never been a story like this.” Watch the full interview with Matt Taibbi where he responds to the infamous Mehdi Hasan interview, spills some Elon gossip, and reports on a story you won’t hear in corporate media: the indictment of four U.S. citizens accused of being Russian agents for speaking out against the US government. It makes us wonder who’s next. Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: "Arm Taiwan to the teeth (for peace)" And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Lee Fang on Pentagon Leaks, Twitter Files, and Mehdi vs. Matt Apr 21, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Lee Fang: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/lee-fang-on-pentagon-leaks-twitter?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web *We recorded this episode before it was revealed that Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett had written Matt Taibbi a letter threatening him with prison time over his Twitter Files testimony. This makes our discussion with Lee even more crucial.* For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Build Back Better in Ukraine https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/build-back-better-in-ukraine?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Lee Fang, an independent and highly accomplished investigative journalist, is needed this week more than ever. His in-depth research and reporting, increasingly foreign to “intellectually lazy” corporate pundits like Mehdi Hasan, is a superpower for independent journalism in the fight against a mainstream media which has become little more than a traffic cop for the US government. Lee explains the contents of the leaked national security documents (something people know very little about thanks to the NYT & co) and corporate media’s response, sharing the importance of one specific unearthed secret he found in the leak: Biden and national security officials, while publicly parading Ukraine’s advantage in the war, privately claim that Ukraine is losing rapidly to Russia. But instead of allowing Ukraine to negotiate peace, they continue the lie to “weaken” Russia and bleed Ukraine dry of any money they can suck out of it. And then we get to the Twitter Files. Lee, who had exclusive access to Twitter documents, explains what he unearthed about a sweeping Pentagon propaganda campaign. But the more the Twitter Files reveal about the government, the harder corporate media tries to bury them. After Mehdi Hasan’s embarrassing attack on Matt Taibbi (with enough name-calling and avoidance to make Trump proud), Rep. Stacey Plaskett sent a letter to Taibbi threatening him with jail time for committing perjury in his Congressional testimony. Lee’s response: “That is bullshit. What Matt Taibbi said in his testimony is 100 percent accurate.” He proves it point by point. One bright side, however, is that Mehdi, whose flashy punditry needs no actual research, clearly chose the wrong people to go after when he attacked real investigative journalists. Lee’s entire career is highlighted by his willingness to go in the weeds with mountains of documents and sift through years of archives. So he decided to comb through Mehdi’s entire career. And what he found: multiple instances of plagiarism. Watch the full interview with Lee Fang where we read Mehdi’s articles side-by-side with the originals he lifted and decide for yourself if Mehdi Hasan can be considered a journalist. Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Build Back Better in Ukraine. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Disinformation Hoax of the Century Apr 14, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Jacob Siegel: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/the-disinformation-hoax-of-the-century?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Matt Taibbi vs Mehdi Hasan https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/matt-taibbi-vs-medhi-hasan?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Read A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/guide-understanding-hoax-century-thirteen-ways-looking-disinformation “Something monstrous is taking shape in America,” warns journalist Jacob Siegel in an article at Tablet: Formally, it exhibits the synergy of state and corporate power in service of a tribal zeal that is the hallmark of fascism… A state organized on the principle that it exists to protect the sovereign rights of individuals is being replaced by a digital leviathan that wields power through opaque algorithms and the manipulation of digital swarms.America is ruled by a regime of censorship whose aim “is not to censor or to oppress, but to rule. That’s why the authorities can never be labeled as guilty of disinformation.” What is disinformation? It’s “whatever they say it is.” But, Siegel argues, “if the underlying philosophy of the war against disinformation can be expressed in a single claim, it is this: You cannot be trusted with your own mind.” Since 2016, the US has pumped out Orwellian programs like the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act and Nina Jankowicz’s (Scary Poppins) Disinformation Governance Board, claiming that protecting citizens from state spying was jeopardizing national security. The US was losing “influence warfare.” Make sure to watch the full Substack-only interview, in which Siegel weighs in on the Twitter Files, discusses the significance of Hunter Biden’s laptop story, and pushes back against the claim that they didn’t reveal any censorship. Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Matt Taibbi vs Mehdi Hasan. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Congressman Ro Khanna vs Useful Idiots Apr 07, 2023

Click here for the full interview with Congressman Ro Khanna: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/congressman-ro-khanna-vs-useful-idiots?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Even Trump-Crazed Media can't get it up for Indictment https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/even-trump-crazed-media-cant-get?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Congressman Ro Khanna joins Useful Idiots to answer the question once and for all: can we still call him, or any member of Congress for that matter, a progressive? Aaron and Katie come ready with hard-hitting questions on the Ukraine proxy war, the strangling sanctions on Syria, Biden’s drilling hypocrisy, and more, challenging the corporate establishment’s propaganda, constantly shoved down the throats of progressive members of Congress. But did the establishment get to Ro? Watch the full episode as the interview turns to debate, with Aaron confronting the congressman’s version of history in both Ukraine and Syria; the idea that the US wants peace, even after multiple top officials have denounced a ceasefire as unacceptable; and the blind trust in a president who hasn’t fulfilled a single progressive promise. Katie and Aaron don’t pull punches, citing facts and history when given the White House narrative, calling out the president’s lies. In a time when sitting for an opposition interview is almost unheard of for US politicians, it’s a big deal to have Ro Khanna, the last willing member, on the show. Hopefully, other politicians will follow his lead and allow their policy to be challenged. We’re looking at you next, Adam Schiff… Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: even Trump-crazed media can’t get it up for the indictment. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Middle East kicks out the US Mar 31, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with Sharmine Narwani: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/the-middle-east-kicks-out-the-us?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Aaron Maté vs British Diplomat at UN https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/aaron-mate-vs-british-diplomat-at?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “It’s the biggest lie I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I’ve never come across this amount of misinformation.” The Middle East, known geographically correct as West Asia, is fogged with years of propaganda and misinformation, lies told to us from within and out. And from just reading western media, the perspective of the region is wholly different than what’s really going on. But Sharmine Narwani, columnist at The Cradle, is actually there, interviewing people in Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, and more, discovering the real story of West Asia. And now she’s sharing her findings with Useful Idiots. She explains the truth about the war in Syria and the propaganda coming out of it, lamenting that “a picture is no longer worth a thousand words.” She shares the unreported stories of the women in Iran and the truth about hijab laws. And she reveals a truth about Israel that isn’t told by the protective US media: “Israel is being hit from all sides. It’s so deeply fractured from within.” It’s a chance to learn about a culturally-rich region, outside the veil of western propaganda. Watch the full interview with Sharmine Narwani on the US’s “no values” policy on dictators in the region, the truth about the morality police in Iran, and the lie of the US fight against ISIS in Syria. Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown about Aaron’s testimony at the United Nations: “Aaron Maté vs British Diplomat at UN.” And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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"Ceasefire is Unacceptable" – The US stops pretending Mar 24, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with Michael Tracey: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ceasefire-is-unacceptable-the-us?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "Suck on this!" – Thomas Friedman celebrates 20 years in Iraq https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/suck-on-this-thomas-friedman-celebrates?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web The US has finally stopped pretending to be pro-peace: with China proposing a plan for a ceasefire, Secretary of War Antony Blinken announced that stopping the war is unacceptable. And when CodePink’s Medea Benjamin called for Blinken to act as a diplomat instead of a war hawk, she was dragged out of the room by security. The US does not want peace. So to dig deeper into the US’s aggression, we asked Twitter superhero Michael Tracey to help us unearth more evidence of warmongering weapons-dealers calling themselves politicians. What he found was a 2014 interview with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, after a trip to Ukraine with best bud John McCain, unknowingly giving away the US’s entire efforts of regime change. “With him being forthright about the decisive role that the United States played in ousting Yanukovych from power,” Tracey explains, noting that Murphy didn’t know this would become a hot topic. “He’s talking about it as though he’s recounting just an average day’s work that wouldn’t have any noteworthy political content.” But he tells us why Murphy’s confession is so important: “If today somebody who was not a US senator uttered the same exact words that Murphy did in these clips to describe US conduct in 2014 in Kyiv, they would be accused of being a Russian propagandist.” Watch the full interview with Michael Tracey on the state department-funded report that Russia is kidnapping Ukraine’s children, Ron Desantis pretending not to be a war hawk, and the House hearing on TikTok, where free speech and free market are only cool if the US gets to do it. Plus, watch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: "Suck on this!" – Thomas Friedman celebrates 20 years in Iraq. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Will the Left Stand Up to the Deep State? Mar 17, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and chat live with Katie and Aaron in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with Christian Parenti: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/will-the-left-stand-up-to-the-deep?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Democrats' Matt Taibbi Meltdown https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/democrats-matt-taibbi-meltdown?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Why has the Left turned its back on free speech?” asks Christian Parenti, professor of economics and author of Radical Hamilton. As Democrats censor Matt Taibbi over the Twitter Files, smear journalists Seymour Hersh and Jeff Gerth for reporting facts they don’t like, bury coverage on the Ohio train derailment, and vote for censorship bills in the name of stopping Putin, Parenti recalls a time when it was the Left who were the defenders of the First Amendment. But now, as US leaders move deeper and darker into warmongering and censorship, lying to us at every turn to grow their power and wealth, Parenti instead asks: “When will the Left stand up to the deep state?” The most recent move by the rich and powerful is the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank. “This is triage,” Parenti explains. “This is a tourniquet on a shattered leg, and that has to happen. You cannot let the US financial system collapse and not bring down the rest of the economy.” But while he agrees that the bailout is necessary in the short run, Parenti explains that the collapse is the fault of the capitalist system itself. Hear his analysis on how to fix it. Plus, listen to the full interview on how the FBI intervened in the election, why liberal media is against free speech, and Christian and Aaron’s debate on Trump’s anti-war message. Check out this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Democrats’ Matt Taibbi Meltdown where Useful Idiot Matt Taibbi goes to Congress. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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No Episode This Week! See You Next Week! Mar 10, 2023

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Europeans Protest the Proxy War Mar 03, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with Glenn Diesen: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/europeans-protest-the-proxy-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: The Covid Lab Leak https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/the-covid-lab-leak?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “You either fight to the last Ukrainian or you’re pro-Russian.” As this motto of CIA-backed corporate media and politics strengthens, there is suddenly a glimmer of hope: people are beginning to wake up. Protests, no matter how “random” Rachel Maddow may claim, are growing across the world, demanding peace, not backing down in the face of increasingly intense propaganda. Glenn Diesen, professor at the University of Southeastern Norway and author of the book Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics, joins Useful Idiots to report on the largely-uncovered peace protests and explain what’s actually going on in Ukraine. “This is what we’re doing,” he says. “We’re shipping weapons in, we’re sabotaging all the peace agreements, and we’re accusing China of doing what we’re doing. I think it’s called projection.” The Chinese, if you ask the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman or MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, are prolonging the war to destroy the West. The truth, Diesen explains, is that China is the only country with a peace plan. “I think that China is the best actor at the moment to rally the whole world and push for negotiations because the West can’t. We’re part of this conflict. We’re sending the weapons. We’re giving the intelligence. We’re celebrating every time we see a dead Russian general.” Listen to the full interview, where Diesen explains why the Chinese peace plan is the most practical path to peace and who he believes blew up the Nord Stream pipeline. Plus, check out this week’s Thursday Throwdown on the Covid lab leak and the propaganda around it on MSNBC and Fox News. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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David Sirota vs Pete Buttigieg Feb 24, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with David Sirota: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/david-sirota-vs-pete-buttigieg?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Biden https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/brave-brave-brave-brave-sir-biden?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For all the Pete Buttigieg-defending Democrats who say that the chemical explosion in East Palestine, Ohio isn’t the chief regulator’s fault because Donald Trump repealed the Brake Rule, and for all the Trump-defending Republicans who argue that the Brake Rule wouldn’t have helped this crash because Obama sided with the chemical lobby to narrow safety requirements, David Sirota has good news for you all: You’re both right. This story truly does span three presidential administrations,” Sirota explains. “The truth of this story is that this was a bipartisan effort to allow the rail industry and the chemical industry to avoid the safety regulations that needed to be put in place.” Sirota’s work at Lever News sparked national attention and outrage over the deadly train derailment and pressured Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to visit the explosion site and promise to fix the rules. You can support their important work which is holding politicians accountable and saving lives. Of course, not everyone supports independent media. As Politico reporter/Buttigieg stenographer Adam Wren tweeted, “David Sirota’s The Lever is fundraising off of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.” Because true journalism isn’t sponsored by the readers, but by the corporations that the corporate media claims to report on: Subscribe to watch the full interview with David Sirota detailing the bipartisan collusion to peel pack safety rules, the sickening politicians attempting to downplay the disaster, and why journalists should work for their readers, not corporations. Plus, check out this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Biden rode forth to Ukraine; and Rachel Maddow is so triggered by a certain politician, she refuses to even say her name in her very disdainful coverage of the Rage Against The War Machine rally. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est in the Substack app. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Chris Hedges Rallies for a Left-Right Coalition Against War Feb 17, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Watch the full interview with Chris Hedges here: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/chris-hedges-rallies-for-a-left-right?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Join the Absurd Arena live chat with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est at https://usefulidiots.substack.com/chat Rage Against the War Machine Rally on Feb 19: https://rageagainstwar.com/#home Chris Hedges substack: https://chrishedges.substack.com/ “If we do not build left-right coalitions on issues such as militarism, health care, a living wage and union organizing,” warns Chris Hedges, “we will be impotent in the face of corporate power and the war machine.” Award-winning journalist Chris Hedges returns to the show to argue for a left-right alliance and explain why he’s speaking at the Rage Against The War Machine rally on Sunday. The stakes are too high to not form a coalition: “We’re flirting with a nuclear holocaust.” “The Democrats made a conscious decision to become the Republican Party,” he says. They consciously and very cynically decided to sell out the underclass for political expediency. But the damage they did, the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of families that they destroyed, we don’t talk about it. There’s just no accountability.” But people, on both the left and right, who were terrorized by these policies, know who hurt them. “They know what the Democrats did to their neighborhoods by militarizing police and creating internal armies of occupation. I teach at a prison and half the students wouldn’t be there but for Clinton. They know who did that to them.” But fighting the powerful from just one side has shown not to work: “It’s much scarier for politicians when you have people from both sides of the political spectrum making demands than it is from just one side.” A left-right coalition can’t be bought off, it can’t be smeared as partisan. It’s a movement. This is why Chris Hedges is joining activists from all across the political spectrum to rally this weekend to Rage Against the War Machine. If you can get to DC this weekend, your voice can make a difference. Watch the extended episode where Chris Hedges discusses how the silence on the Nord Stream story is an indication of how degraded the media has become, how mainstream consumers may never learn the truth of Russiagate, and his disgust for the leaders in our government: “These people are really frightening, amoral, they cover themselves in the veneer of Ivy League degrees and cloying snobbery, but they’re very limited intellectually. They’re drunk with their own power and hubris, and of course they have made a very good living being shills for weapons manufacturers. They’re pimps of war.” Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown where the White House takes a break from covering up the chemical explosion that devastated East Palestine, Ohio to cover up the other major story (not) in the news: Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh’s groundbreaking reporting that the US blew up the Nord Stream pipeline. And join the Absurd Arena live discussion board with Katie and Aaron every Tuesday at 12pm est. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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US sanctions block aid to earthquake-hit Syrians Feb 10, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with Professor Joshua Landis: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/us-sanctions-block-aid-to-earthquake?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Sanctions are a form of war. They’re economic warfare. And they destroy people’s lives.” Joshua Landis (https://twitter.com/joshua_landis), Sandra Mackey Chair in Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, is one of the foremost experts on Syria. This week, as Syria, along with neighbor Turkiye, grapples with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Professor Landis joins the Useful Idiots to explain the deadly consequences that sanctions pile on to the damage. “America likes to talk about all its precision bombing and hitting someone with a drone to avoid collateral damage,” Landis explains. “But sanctions? It’s all about collateral damage. Very little of it is targeted.” But if you read corporate media outlets like the New York Times or Washington Post, you’d find a much different story. Both papers this week published headlines that were hastily changed when they realized they were being a little too truthful. See if you can tell the difference: (In case you missed it, they changed it from “Syria is not able to receive direct aid from many countries because of sanctions” to “The Syrian government tightly controls what aid it allows into opposition held areas.”) When the Times accidentally tells the truth, they can always be trusted to fix their mistake. WaPo’s original opinion headline Their fixed headline, hours later The original WaPo headline implored “Don’t lift sanctions of Syra to help earthquake victims.” But when they realized they were saying the quiet part too loud, they made a quick change to “Lifting sanctions on Syria won’t help earthquake victims.” Good catch. Professor Landis knows that sanctions are exacerbating the death toll in Syria, as indicated by both original headlines. Watch the full episode to hear him explain the history of sanctions, why the poor bear the worst of their destruction, and how to help. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown where Seymour Hersh reveals how Lyin’ Biden blew up the Nord Stream pipeline and Katie explains why Joe Rogan’s antisemitic defense of Ilhan Omar’s non-antisemitic statements was so unhelpful. Oy. And don’t miss the Absurd Arena’s new home: the Substack app chat. Katie and Aaron will now be live in the discussion board each Tuesday at noon EST. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Taibbi Exposes Russiagate Bots Feb 03, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full interview with Matt Taibbi: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/matt-taibbi-exposes-russiagate-bots?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web With Matt Taibbi’s Twitter Files and Jeff Gerth’s new in-depth reporting for CJR exposing the years of lies spread by Russiagaters, bitter attacks from outed journalists are rolling in. Gerth and Taibbi, who come from the old style of journalism where you fact check your work and don’t accept government officials’ claims on faith, have each shown clear, indisputable evidence of disinformation campaigns pushed by corporate reporters. And since the so-called journalists can’t argue the facts, they dig themselves a deeper hole with more lies and name-calling. Jeff Gerth has been working as a reporter for decades and published, in the very mainstream Columbia Journalism Review, a 20,000-word report on his findings, only to be called a liar and misdirecting magician in the most self-important article by Mother Jones’ David Corn (“The true media failure is that Trump got away with it and that articles like this one that you are now reading are still necessary.”) And possibly worse than that is the near complete silence from the rest of mainstream media who, as Gerth reported, refused to follow Bob Woodward’s pleas for introspection. They’re not silent, however, about Matt Taibbi. These corporate stenographers, either angry that Taibbi called them out for lying or jealous that they didn’t get the Twitter Files story themselves, haven’t made any substantive arguments against his findings both because they can’t, but also because they know they don’t need to. Their audiences are trained to believe them. There are, however, two people who suggested one substantive criticism of the Twitter Files. Funny enough, they’re two of the real journalists who have been defending Taibbi’s work: Briahna Joy Gray and Glenn Greenwald. Their question: if Musk and Twitter are the guardians of this information, how can you be sure you aren’t being manipulated by the possibility that they are handpicking what they want you to see? Watch the extended episode to hear Taibbi’s response, plus Matt unveils never-before-shared info on the Twitter Files. It’s a Useful Idiots exclusive. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown where the US says yes to the jets. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How to Be a Human Again Jan 27, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Or find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.com Click here for the full episode: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/how-to-be-human-again?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web If an alien life form (or just someone who watches mainstream media) happened across the Useful Idiots community, watched a few episodes, and read the the Absurd Arena, they might start to think: “Hey, these people seem pretty down.” We’ve talked extensively about the discouraging nature of constant news and how escaping it feels increasingly impossible, waves of bad news drowning us, the next one always breaking just when we think there’s a moment of peace. But we also learned from you that 2023 is a year of wellness, a time to fight back and build a boat to sail atop those waves. You shared your tips for feeling good each day, and we promised an expert to teach us how to feel like humans again. Darcia Narvaez is a professor of psychology emerita at the University of Notre Dame. She joins the Useful Idiots to explain how we’re living in a culture that goes against everything it means to be human, emphasizing toughness over tenderness, isolation over togetherness, making the US the most depressed, anxious, and chronically ill country in the world. “We’re stuck in a cycle of competitive detachment, where we feel disconnected from others and even ourselves, while at the same time feeling we have to compete for anything worthwhile.” But Professor Narvaez has hope: we can break the cycle. “There are still societies around the world though that resist this hierarchicalism and think it’s immoral,” she explains. “We have a lot to learn from them because they successfully live in egalitarian and healthy, happy ways. Unlike us.” Watch the full episode to learn how other cultures and species are able to live rewarding, fulfilling lives, why learning and school is actually one of the biggest detriments to humanity, and everyday, practical tips to help you break your own cycle. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown on the other way we might break the cycle: nuclear Armageddon. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou: GOP won't do real intel oversight Jan 20, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with former CIA counterterrorism officer John Kiriakou: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-cia-whistleblower?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web After CIA officer John Kiriakou blew the whistle on US torture, no one in the CIA was arrested for their crimes. Except, of course, John Kiriakou. John became the sixth whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act. He served 23 months in prison as punishment for his opposition to the Bush administration’s torture program. This week, he joins Useful Idiots to speak (freely this time) about the torture and war crimes of the US Government, the sickening purpose of Guantanamo Bay and its continuing crimes against humanity, and the hardest question of all: Who’s worse – The CIA or the FBI? Don’t worry, John’s got a lot of dirt on each. It’s one of the most jarring, sickening, revealing, scary, and funny episodes of Useful Idiots, which is why you’re probably going to want to watch… …the extended interview, in which Kiriakou uncovers the CIA’s sadistic psychedelics testing, the hawks in the mainstream media who are gunning for war with China, and his last words spoken to Keith Olbermann and Alec Baldwin: “Fuck you, Olbermann.” and “Fuck you, Baldwin.” And don’t miss this week’s Thursday Throwdown on Hollywood's New "It" Couple: Volodymyr Seanpenskyy. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Force the Vote with Pelosi Challenger Shahid Buttar Jan 13, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with Shahid Buttar: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-force-the-vote-with?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Advocate, artist, lawyer, organizer, musician, and former politician Shahid Buttar joins Useful Idiots to explain why Democrats are failing. Why is he a former politician, you ask? Well after running a campaign against Nancy Pelosi and getting buried by racist attacks from liberals, Shahid realized a sad truth about politics: “Politicians, as well as journalists and lawyers,” he told us. “Are all about careerism. People care about their careers more than the principles of their profession.” And so self-proclaimed non-racists like Pelosi use racist attacks against opponents of color, like Shahid and Nina Turner, to keep their claws sunk deep into power, shielding themselves from any review of their own anti-democratic voting records. But Shahid doesn’t put all the blame on these power-hungry, corporate vultures for choosing power over human values: “It’s impossible not to in a fascist country.” Shahid continues to explain how corporate Democrats cover up their power-hungry policy through distraction, claiming Donald Trump and January 6 are the real threats to democracy — all so that Americans are too beaten down from hearings to realize our government is busy overthrowing democracies around the world and spying on us at home. Plus, watch the full interview to hear how Shahid got arrested for confronting former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper: “Why are you above the law for perjury and mass surveillance while Eric Garner lies dead in the street?” And catch yesterday’s Thursday Throwdown: Media Wants No $$ for Workers, More for FBI It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ukrainian scholar calls out US media's lies about war Jan 06, 2023

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with Ukrainian Professor Ivan Katchanovski: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-ukrainian-scholar?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Ivan Katchanovski, Ukrainian-Canadian political scientist who teaches at the University of Ottawa, is exposing US media lies about the Ukraine proxy war. And, like many Useful Idiot guests, no one will report on his story. This week, Katchanovski shares his research on the Maidan Massacre, a mass killing of Ukrainians protesting the Yanukovich government in February 2014. The US and opposition leaders blamed Yanukovich, triggered a coup and the ensuing civil war that radically escalated with Russia’s invasion eight years later. But when Professor Katchanovski dug into video, witness testimony, and other evidence which reveals who really committed the massacre — including footage that CNN tried to bury — he was ignored by mainstream media for attempted disruption of the approved narrative. But now he’s joining the Useful Idiots to tell us what really happened: the massacre, he argues, was carried out by pro-Maidan snipers. Watch the full interview with Professor Katchanovski for his take on who committed the massacre, how the US media is covering it up, and that weird interview between David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “We did a survey,” Zelenskyy told Letterman. “It showed that 98% of our country’s population today would rather stay without electricity and water as long as they are free from Russia.” Ivan responds to that seemingly impossible statistic. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown on how our “free press” is really just US-state media. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Useful Idiots 2022 Special plus Claire Daly & Mick Wallace Unlocked Dec 30, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full end of year special on Ukraine, Guantanamo Bay, and Meet the Press’s cringiest moments: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-useful-idiots-2022?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 2022 is nearly dead! Last year in our year recap with Thomas Frank, we asked “WTF will happen in 2022?” While we predicted correctly some brutal Jan 6 hearings and a nightmare midterm year, none of us thought the biggest news of the year would be a proxy war in Ukraine. So in our 2022 end of year special, Aaron and Katie deep dive on the latest in Ukraine, Zelenskyy’s Churchillian visit to Congress, Pelosi’s weird kiss, and all the insane politicians, generals, and corporate journalists who can’t seem to stop saying the quiet part out loud. And now that the year is over, we’re asking you: WTF will happen in 2023? Let us know your craziest theories in the comments. Subscribe for the full end of year special. Plus, miss our full interview with Irish members of European parliament (and Useful Idiot rockstars) Claire Daly and Mick Wallace? We’re giving everyone the full extended interview for free. It’s the Useful Idiots 2022 end of year special. Thanks for sticking with us all year, it’s been a wild ride. Let’s keep mourning and laughing into 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Far-Right Israeli Government is Most Extreme Yet Dec 23, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with Miko Peled: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-far-right-israeli?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Miko Peled, author of “The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” is the son of an Israeli general and former family-friend of Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, he’s an anti-Zionist fighting for Palestinian rights. He joins Useful Idiots to warn about Israel’s new far-right government, headed by Netanyahu and far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whose positions give them newfound power over occupied Palestinians. “The lives of Palestinians are going to be governed by two men who are dedicated more than anyone to the expulsion and terrorizing of all Palestinians,” Peled says. “Palestinians are going to be looking back at the years leading up to this government as the good old days. This year has been a record year in terms of killing of Palestinians. But they’re going to be looking back at this year as the good old days. What is coming up is the worst that Palestinians have ever suffered.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Miko Peled on Israeli apartheid, US hypocrisy, and why we ignore Palestinians while funding billions in weapons for Ukraine. Plus, watch our Thursday Throwdown where we say goodbye to CNN’s Barbara Starr, the Pentagon’s most aggressive cheerleader, and join the holiday Absurd Arena to give presents to this year’s suckiest politicians. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Do Pro-Russian Ukrainians See the War? Dec 16, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with Luhansk Deputy Foreign Minister Anna Soroka: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/how-do-pro-russian-ukrainians-see?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web War in Ukraine did not start with Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Ukraine has been at civil war since 2014, when the US backed a coup to overthrow President Viktor Yanukovych. When the new post-coup government cracked down on ethnic-Russian Ukrainians and their Russian culture, Ukrainians in the eastern Donbas region rose up in rebellion, leading to the creation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Anna Soroka, joining the Useful Idiots from Ukraine, is the former Deputy Foreign Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic. She joins Useful Idiots to share what it’s like being on the other side of a civil war that has now escalated into a full-blown proxy war with Russia. Sometimes discussions about war can become abstract, but it’s important to go “behind enemy lines” and hear from real people on the other side. It’s a perspective that you don’t get to hear at all in the NATO states. Unless you follow shows like Useful Idiots. Plus, watch our Thursday Throwdown where Biden completes his transformation into Trump as he kills Bernie's bid to stop the Saudi war on Yemen. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why is Establishment Media Finally Defending Julian Assange? Dec 09, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with Matt Kennard on the crimes against Julian Assange and the right to free speech: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-why-is-establishment?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “It’s a complete stitch up,” Matt Kennard, author and co-founder of Declassified UK, tells Useful Idiots about Julian Assange’s extradition case. “None of the rules of the game apply.” Assange, who has been jailed and tortured for nearly a decade for releasing documents which shed light on the crimes of the US government, now faces an extradition trial teeming with corruption. But after a crucial witness admitted to lying, the US government was caught plotting an assassination, and UK judges were revealed to have major conflicts of interest, the case is somehow still continuing on. “It doesn’t seem like anything can come out that will stop it.” Kennard says. “That for me is the scariest thing. If certain powerful forces within the deep structure of our country want to get you, they can, and none of the principles we’re taught at school apply. They will get you and you will be ruined and the message will be sent that you can’t play at this level again.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Matt Kennard on the crimes against Julian Assange and the right to free speech, and why corporate media like the New York Times is suddenly backtracking its stance against the journalist. Plus, Katie and Aaron deep dive into the Twitter Files and mainstream media’s vitriolic reactions to Matt Taibbi in this week’s Thursday Throwdown. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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‘Union Joe’ Biden sells out rail workers Dec 02, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview with locomotive engineer Michael Paul Lindsey and host of Working People Maximillian Alvarez: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-union-joe-biden?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Congress and Joe Biden are pushing through a contract backed by the rail companies and rejected by workers. Michael Paul Lindsey, a locomotive engineer for Union Pacific, and Maximillian Alvarez, editor in chief of the Real News Network and host of the podcast Working People, join us to explain why this standoff is a dangerous step backward for all working people. “The rail carriers are going to take it as a sign that they can keep doing what they’re doing and we are all going to be worse off for it.” For the rail workers, this has included denying even a single sick day. “Gradually over the years they got tighter and tighter and stingier until it became you’re straight up asking for permission. They believe that they own a right to your life 24/7.” And ‘Union Joe’ Biden, who calls himself a pro-labor president, continues to side with the companies. “This is what happens when the reigning philosophy is to eliminate the cost of treating your workers like human beings. If you treat workers like faceless meatbags and no one stops you, you can exploit the shit out of them.” And corporate media, doing what it does best, all but blames the workers, warning viewers that a rail strike could mean economic catastrophe and cripple the economy — ignoring the crippling conditions the workers face. During the interview, news broke that a Congressional proposal for seven sick days, a meek bill that would do the bare minimum to help workers, would fail. Michael Paul, who’s worked 17 years for the rail industry, laments: “Anyone who works for a living just lost ground on better pay and benefits. You lost today.” So how do we fight for workers’ rights? “This is such a systemic problem for working people and we cannot rely on politicians to just bequeath us some sort of solution to this. Working people need to band together and assert their needs as an independent working class.” Subscribe for the full interview with Michael Paul and Max. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown on how the US decides to censor itself (but only when it accidentally tells the truth). It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Unlocked: Norm Finkelstein Part 1 – "I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It" Nov 25, 2022

Click here for Part 2 with Norm Finkelstein: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/norm-finkelstein-part-2-ill-burn?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Head to our homepage for the brand new part 2 of our 2-hour interview with Norman Finkelstein. If you heard the free version of Part 1 on Nov 11, the interview continues at 28:50. In Part 2 of the interview, Norman X Finkelstein previews his new book, "I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It," which unleashes his fiery analysis on identity politics and President Obama. To write it, he first had to do some mandatory reading from the experts in those fields. “I felt in order to write [the book],” Norm tells us, already exasperated, “I should sit down and read this new leftist cancel culture. So I sat down, I read Ta-Nehisi Coates, I read Kimberley Crenshaw, I read Ibram X Kendi, I read Robin DiAngelo, and it’s impossible not to conclude that this stuff is intellectually vacuous and worthless.” But it isn’t meaningless in today’s politics. Far from it: “My conclusion was that identity politics is fundamentally a weapon of the Democratic party to derail, deflect, and diffuse a radical class-based politics.” Norm, a classical scholar who understands Left history like the back of his hand, shares proof of his analysis when he quotes Leon Trotsky, who “talked about all these people who pretend to be radical, but when a moment of truth comes, you see their real colors.” “I felt that moment of truth came with the Bernie Sanders campaign. Crenshaw, Coates, Angela Davis, all these people went out and started to attack Bernie Sanders. They all, in the moment of truth, backed the Democratic party establishment and sought to derail and discredit the Bernie Sanders candidacy.” He goes on, even more fired up here, to take down the one politician who is so brazen to flaunt that he won an election by standing for nothing, the “hollow vessel” known as Barack Obama. Norm’s taking no prisoners, and you’re not going to want to miss it. It’s Part 2 of Norm Finkelstein on Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Inside the Ukraine-FTX Connection Nov 18, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-inside-the-ukraine?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Journalist Kit Klarenberg’s latest article at the Grayzone, “FTX partnership with Ukraine is latest chapter in shady Western aid saga,” sheds new light on the money-grabbing schemes emerging from the Ukraine proxy war. The report details how Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, the crypto exchange that saw its valuation implode from $32B to $0 in a single day, used a Ukraine fundraiser to raise $60 million from donors. This was followed by the mass selloff of FTX currency and a declaration of bankruptcy from the scam company. This raises the question: where did the money for Ukraine go? Kit Klarenberg joins the Useful Idiots with the scoop. He, along with his fellow Grayzone writers, has been the subject of multiple attacks for uncovering stories like this and his other new piece: “Leaked documents: British spies constructing secret terror army in Ukraine.” It seems that when government officials and the corporate media don’t want the truth uncovered, they don’t argue against the story but make personal attacks against the writer as character assassination. And sadly, it works all too often. One such corporate official, Useful-Idiot-favorite of Scary Poppins fame Nina Jankowicz, went after Klarenberg on Twitter. Kit describes the online beef in the extended episode. (turns out we can’t see those tweets because…) Subscribe to hear the full interview, where Klarenberg reveals plots from UK operatives to blow up Ukrainian bridges, more Western destruction of peace talks, and how the US uses Britain to spread propaganda. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Plus, catch our Thursday Throwdown on the near-nuclear Armageddon, Trump’s big announcement, and Aaron getting canceled by Olena Zelenska. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Norm Finkelstein Takes Down Bernie and the Squad Nov 11, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the extended interview with Norm Finkelstein: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-norm-finkelstein?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Norman “X” Finkelstein returns to Useful Idiots, fired up and with a scathing critique of Bernie Sanders and The Squad. He begins with a definition of radicalism and The Left, citing the writing of Rosa Luxemburg: “The whole job of The Left is to constantly point out the conflict of interest between the ruling elite, the capitalist class, and yourself. To constantly point out: ‘Their interests are not your interests. Don’t be fooled.’” Historically, he says, Bernie Sanders has upheld this left tradition, calling out the crooks who steal your money. But when it came to Ukraine, “the bunch of crooks metamorphosed into a band of angels. You’re telling me the same people who are cheating you day in and day out, stealing your wealth, stealing your labor, those same people are suddenly heartbroken by what’s happening to the Ukrainian people?” Norm does not pull any punches in his assessment of The Squad and Sanders: “The day the squad and Bernie voted for war credits for Ukraine, that whole progressive enterprise turned into a rotting corpse.” Plus, subscribe to hear the full interview where Norm dissects the midterm election results, the Israel election, and the weaponization of identity politics. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Leak: US Government Plans To Police ‘Disinformation’ – with Ken Klippenstein Nov 04, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-leak-us-government?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “This isn’t a Biden story. It’s not a Trump story either. This is a national security state story.” This week Ken Klippenstein and Lee Fang at The Intercept broke a huge story: Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation. Ken joins Useful Idiots to share how he uncovered the bombshell revelation, what it tells us about our powerful security state, and his predictions for the dark future of information censorship. The story, which reveals collusion between tech companies and the US government, massive CIA incompetence, and Orwellian levels of surveillance, is not a partisan issue, Klippenstein argues. It’s an issue of national security. And yet looking at the headlines from corporate media following The Intercept’s publishing, there was immediate political spin. The Washington Post told its readers that only conservatives would “go after DHS counter-disinformation work,” which means good Democrats should celebrate speech censorship. Meanwhile, as Ken writes in his story, Republicans claim we’ve defeated disinformation by taking down Biden’s disinformation governance board, ignoring that the same DHS tactics happened under Trump. “It’s crammed into this partisan framework,” he explains, “that doesn’t reflect the reality that when someone’s in power they tend not to care about free speech.” And the scariest part, Ken tells us, “this is not formalized in statute. There's no law saying ‘we're going to create the disinformation team.’ They can do this administratively without sign off from Congress. And they probably have beyond what I'm able to report because I'm only able to get details that my sources have access to. We don't know what else might exist.” It’s a huge story that, as with most issues you see on Useful Idiots, is dangerously underreported. Subscribe to hear the full interview with Ken Klippenstein as he shares the government secrets we know about and what still remains covered up. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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US Threatens Haiti with Intervention Oct 28, 2022

For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com While independent media like Useful Idiots try to cover all the important news that corporate media purposefully ignores, Haiti is an especially overlooked story. The US, with its hooks deep in Haiti’s elections, businesses, agriculture, and daily life, has slowly drained the country of autonomy. Jemima Pierre, associate professor at UCLA and the Haiti-America coordinator for the Black Alliance for Peace, joins us this week to explain what is actually happening in Haiti. She tells stories of US coups against the government, the purposeful destruction of the Haitian rice and pig industries to prop up those of the US, threats to activists calling for sovereignty, and even a door in the Haiti palace marked: “US OFFICIALS ONLY.” Jemima also points out that Haitians have begun flying Russian flags: “Unlike the people in the US who believe everything they hear in the mainstream media about Ukraine, I think everyone outside of the US understands that what's happening in Ukraine has everything to do with pushing and maintaining US power. Haitians see Russia as a counterweight to US imperialism.” For $5 a month, subscribe to hear the full interview with Jemima Pierre, plus get exclusive access to Thursday Throwdowns and the Absurd Arena where you can get your questions answered by Katie and Aaron on the show. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why are US Progressives Pro-War? Oct 21, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Medea Benjamin: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-why-are-us-progressives?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and a chance to have your comment read on the show in the Absurd Arena at http://usefulidiots.substack.com With AOC (and the Squad by extension) being recently heckled for their support of sending weapons to Ukraine and prolonging the proxy war, Useful Idiots had anti-war activist Medea Benjamin on to explore the question: when did US progressives become pro-war? Benjamin, known for such bold acts as announcing “Here comes the war criminal!” as Donald Rumsfeld entered the White House Correspondents Dinner, is the founder of Code Pink, a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism. She discusses how building an anti-war movement was easier during the Iraq War, while the left now has become more divided and often in support of proxy wars like Ukraine. This, she explains, stems from US demoralization efforts: “During the Iraq War, we were able to build a movement that got hundreds of thousands of people out into the street. The problem is, that did not change Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, and so many people were demoralized. It made people question putting their energies in front of this war machine.” But Benjamin urges us not to give up hope. “We have to recognize that it is our absolute responsibility right now. And I do feel as I travel around the country that there are many people recognizing the need to go in front of the offices of their representatives and protest, to educate their friends and families, I think we are in the midst of building up again.” And, importantly, we need to “keep the pressure up on the Biden administration.” To educate yourself, your friends, and family, Medea Benjamin’s book and short video are great learning tools. And follow Code Pink to support their activism and their coalition Peace in Ukraine. Plus, this week we announced two new features: Thursday Throwdowns: Our new mini-episodes premiering each Thursday to get your exclusive dose of midweek media madness. This week, we watched the Tapper/Biden interview. The Absurd Arena: The Useful Idiots discussion board for people who think you can talk back to a podcast. Share your opinions and get your questions and comments read on the show. Get it all at http://usefulidiots.substack.com It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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US Journalist on Ukraine Hit List Survives Bombing Oct 14, 2022

Click here for the full interview with Wyatt Reed: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-episode-us-journalist-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $5 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get access to extended interviews and bonus content here: http://usefulidiots.substack.com “Welcome to Donetsk. You survived your baptism by fire.” Wyatt Reed, a US journalist who writes for Sputnik, a Russian-state media outlet, is reporting from the front lines in Ukraine. His hotel was bombed by a Ukrainian strike just hours after he had arrived there — and while he was just steps away. He shares with us his videos of the attack and describes what it’s like in the war zone. In Donetsk, Reed reports, the war is in every moment of daily life. He details the choice of which direction to face when choosing a seat at a restaurant, taking into account which way the bombs will come from, which way the shrapnel will fly. “This is something that people here just live through.” And yet western media refuse to cover these deadly parts of Ukraine. Donetsk, home to many ethnic Russians, is one of the breakaway republics that has fought the Ukrainian government since a US-backed coup in 2014. For them, the war didn’t start when Russia invaded this past February, but eight years earlier. Reed tells us that he can count the number of western journalists in Donetsk on one hand, and that Useful Idiots is one of few western outlets that would share his story. The people just want to be heard, he explains, telling the story of a man who “through tears, said ‘I wish that these so-called western journalists that are saying all this about the situation would have to spend just one day in my shoes.’” But these days, reporting on a perspective from the other side only gets you labeled a Kremlin propagandist. It is important to note that Reed works for a Russian state outlet when analyzing his reporting. But it is impossible to fully assess the situation if you don’t hear from both sides. And Reed is sharing the perspective of the people of Donetsk: “It’s really unimaginable until you come here and you understand this is what people have been enduring for nearly a decade.” Note: We apologize for the poor quality of the interview, wifi and war zones don’t seem to mix well. Subscribe for the full interview with Wyatt Reed. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Col. Doug Macgregor on Nord Stream and Nuclear War Oct 07, 2022

Click here for the full interview: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-col-doug-macgregor?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Who bombed the Nord Stream pipeline? Will we have nuclear war? These are today’s two big questions puzzling journalists (and not really bothering Western politicians, it seems). So who better to break down the walls than former army Colonel and senior Pentagon advisor Douglas Macgregor. “In this war, for which nobody voted, you have to set aside rationality,” Macgregor says. “We’re not dealing with reasonable people.” So let’s analyze what we do know. “I think it’s very clear that when President Putin began this campaign, he fully expected that when he demonstrated he was serious, he would have a negotiating partner. He thought Washington would be interested in negotiating an end to the fighting. I don’t think he appreciated the level of ideological commitment and hatred in support of a war with Russia.” And then comes the daunting prediction. Although he doesn’t think that Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, he does think that the conflict could get far worse. “If ]Putin] has no success and no one will talk, I think he’s going to unloose hell.” Plus, subscribe for the full interview where Col. Macgregor explains Russian and Western war strategies, his views on “globalism”, and his prediction for the future of NATO. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Iranians Protest Repression while Suffering under US Sanctions Sep 30, 2022

Click here for the full interview with Assal Rad: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-iranians-protest?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “The state is responsible. Period. There’s just no question.” Author and historian Assal Rad joins Useful Idiots to discuss the Iranian protests over the case of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died after being detained by Iran’s “Morality Police” for not adequately covering her hair. “She shouldn’t have been detained in the first place,” Rad says. “The fact that there is this law, this dress code, that doesn’t allow women a basic form of free expression is the problem.” Amini’s death has sparked protests across Iran and the west, with politicians and celebrities weighing in from around the world. “This is a human rights issue,” Rad says. “But so were the sanctions on Iran during the pandemic. It’s problematic when you only cite human rights organizations and international law and the UN when it serves your purpose.” Today, crippling sanctions on Iran are starving its people, and women are affected the most. But Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber aren’t posting on Instagram about it. The West chooses when to call out human rights abuses against women and when to ignore them. “And that’s why outside powers having any kind of intervention is so problematic. They’re not doing it in the interest of those civilians, they’re doing it in their own national interest,” Rad says. “This is why listening to and supporting voices in Iran is so important.” Assad Rad’s new book is “The State of Resistance Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran.” Plus, subscribe to hear the full interview on why Biden won’t reenter the Iran nuclear deal, the historic suppression of the Iranian left stemming from the Cold War, and how sanctions are crushing Iranian workers. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How the West Provoked War in Ukraine Sep 23, 2022

Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-interview-how-the-west-provoked?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web How the West Brought War to Ukraine: https://www.amazon.com/How-West-Brought-Ukraine-Understanding/dp/0991076702 Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Researcher and writer Dr. Ben Abelow, a scholar who lobbied Congress on nuclear arms policy, joins Useful Idiots to explain, as his new book argues, how the west brought war to Ukraine. “The goal of the US,” Abelow says, “is not to save Ukrainians but to degrade Russia’s military until they won’t be able to fight in the future. And while some say stopping Russia is a humanitarian goal, the way one would degrade Russia’s military is to keep an extended war going and fight to the last Ukrainian.” Abelow analyzes the history of this cold war, the aggression by each side, and the hypocrisy of the argument that Ukraine has a sacrosanct right to join NATO. “The right to join NATO is the right to place a western military arsenal on Russia’s border. If Russia made a military alliance with Canada or Mexico, US leaders would not be talking about their right to do so.” And on this week’s news of Putin announcing military escalation and giving a thinly-veiled threat of nuclear war, Dr. Abelow warns: “I hope it’s taken seriously.” These are scary times. So buckle up, cook some Nyquil chicken, and get ready for this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Taibbi Returns Sep 16, 2022

Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-matt-taibbi-returns?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Once a Useful Idiot, always a Useful Idiot. Matt Taibbi, who’s taken a hiatus from this pod to write his next book (he gives a sneak peek in the extended interview), just can’t stay out of the game. He’s back to talk about Democrats and Republicans sucking, the weird and terrible media, and the scary stories that are ignored by the mainstream. His newest article on taint teams sheds like on a dark new phenomenon. The FBI has given itself the power to raid lawyers, take all of their documents, and then give itself permission to use the stolen documents in unrelated cases. It’s an easy way to skip getting a search warrant, and gives the government unprecedented power to bury its enemies. Matt explains the ominous story in detail. And subscribe for the full interview: Matt and Aaron ask why hasn’t Hillary Clinton been questioned for her Russiagate involvement, Matt remembers pranking General Secretary Gorbachev, and we take Matt’s new media quiz. Taibbi’s back this week, and you’re not gonna want to miss it. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Katrina vanden Heuvel on Gorbachev’s legacy and the Ukraine proxy war Sep 09, 2022

Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-katrina-vanden-heuvel?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “We need to not treat the idea of peace as subversive.” Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher and editorial director of The Nation, predicts a dark cold war ahead if our leaders continue their craven militarism. The first step, she says, is talking about it openly, which, sadly, the media won’t do. “The crisis is on us. And there’s a lack not only of preparedness but of thinking about the crisis.” Katrina, who was close with the late Mikhail Gorbachev, shares the leader’s personal thoughts on peace, nuclear weapons, and the worsening relationship between US and Russian presidents. She calls Gorbachev “a great reformer in his country’s tormented history.” And shares some private stories about him too. And she reflects on her late husband, scholar Stephen Cohen, when we react to a video of him offering a very prescient analysis of the new Cold War. Plus, Biden does fascist Roger Waters, Liz Truss wants to nuke you, and the latest in terrible Trump-themed drinks. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Kurt Metzger on Comedy in Communist China Sep 02, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Emmy-winning writer and comedian Kurt Metzger, who wrote for Who is America? and Inside Amy Schumer, stops by to talk comedy with the Useful Idiots. We figured since August is wrapped, it’s probably time we all had a Summer Friday. So instead of talking death in Ukraine and poverty in the US, Kurt shares stories of running from Chinese cops, illegal standup comedy in Shanghai, joining (and then ditching) the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and, most importantly, how he’d look with Katie’s hair. When the Useful Idiots decide to go silly, we’re no-nonsense about it. So we also enroll in the new college major Lesbian Dance Theory, chat about stoned (and dry-diapered) President Brandon in a fighter jet, and announce a watch party for the new off-the-wall Hunter Biden movie (watch the trailer with us in the four food groups). And subscribe for the full episode, including the extended interview with Kurt Metzger on call-out culture, Youtube suppression, and whatever the hell is going on with that “robot with salmon eyes” Mark Zuckerberg. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Noam Chomsky: We're Repeating Afghanistan in Ukraine Aug 26, 2022

Click here for the full interview: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-noam-chomsky-were?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Professor Noam Chomsky has a stark prediction for the future of humanity if the US refuses to cooperate with other countries: “It is absolutely necessary for the great powers to cooperate if there’s going to be any hope for survival,” he explains. “China, the US, Russia, they have to be cooperating on the major issues of the day: climate, nuclear war, pandemics. You work on them together or you all fall over the cliff together.” And while cooperation sounds like a smart idea, Chomsky doubts the US will go along. “The US orders allies to follow its rules-based international order while China calls for the UN-based international order. And the US doesn’t accept that for a very good reason: the UN rules out US foreign policy explicitly. The UN charter bans the threat or use of force in international affairs. Can you think of a US president who hasn’t engaged in a threat or use of force?” This sparks an analysis of US censorship and how the government can suppress the truth without throwing us in gulags. “Read things carefully that do come out: the Washington Post had a long, comprehensive article in which they reviewed in great detail the background for the war. Nothing in it about possible negotiations. They don’t want it on the agenda.” Plus, subscribe for the extended interview in which Noam Chomsky explains his worst fear if the Republicans take control of Congress, calls out politicians who oppose forgiving student loans, and criticizes the underwhelming US response to climate change. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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‘I was sure they were going to kill me’ – African Socialist Leader On FBI Raid Aug 19, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-i-was-sure-they?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “It’s the US’s attempt to crush the Black liberation movement.” On July 29th, members of the African People’s Socialist Party were raided by the FBI. At the St. Louis home of APSP Chairman Omali Yeshitela, armed agents threw flash grenades, drones swooped in to spy, and snipers trained lasers on their targets’ chests — all while the FBI taped over the ‘smart doorbells’ of neighbors to avoid being filmed. Anyone have 1984 bingo yet? And the purpose of the raid? To bust the Russians for, in the FBI’s eyes, secretly running the African People’s Socialist Party. The raid came in conjunction with an indictment that day of Russian national Aleksandr Ionov for an alleged “malign influence campaign” against the United States. “There’s this insidious assumption in the mind of most white people globally that African people are too stupid to know what our own interests are, that somebody else must’ve come and told us that we are mistreated in the United States,” Chairman Yeshitela tells us. “So if Black people are saying something is happening to us, it’s not because it’s happening, it’s because Russia is talking through us. That is what they constructed.” Now, Yeshitela and his team of activists are under intense legal threat from the US government. They’re trying to raise awareness, but very few in the media are covering it. Every American knew about the Trump raid that happened weeks later, and calls to defund the FBI were solely in defense of the former president. No one talked about the Black activists threatened and raided. “Generally speaking,” the Chairman explains, “Americans are the most backwards people in the world in terms of living right in the heart of the most oppressive system while being the most ignorant about what it is that this government does.” Subscribe for the full interview, where Chairman Yeshitela describes the full raid, the dark history of American colonization, and how he and the APSP are making real change — not “malign influence” — in cities all around the country. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Subscribe now For more information on the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru, visit https://apspuhuru.org/ Upcoming events to support the movement: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inpdum-2022-convention-defending-the-black-community-tickets-388189955607 14th annual Black People’s March on the White House is happening November 5 and 6. Info will be posted at https://blackisbackcoalition.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Vijay Prashad: US threatens China because China threatens US hegemony Aug 12, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “The jaws of Hell have opened wide.” Historian and author Vijay Prashad is worried about the next war that the US will provoke. Nukes in Ukraine, a new missile crisis in Taiwan, destabilizing sovereign South American nations, asserting control in Africa. All in the name of US hegemony. He focuses in on China: what if Xi Jinping flew to Guam like Nancy Pelosi flew to Taiwan? What would the US do? There are 29 US military bases in Africa. How many Chinese military bases are there? None. The US is expanding NATO to bypass the UN treaty in an attempt to rule the world. Is China to blame? Prashad, who has a new book co-authored by Noam Chomsky, analyzes the US’s increasingly dictatorial role in the world from Russia to China to Cuba to South America: Colombia just elected a new left president. One of Gustavo Petro’s first moves was to call for an end to the US-led, so-called “war on drugs.” Subscribe for the extended episode to hear Vijay discuss all of that, plus how capitalism has destroyed the ability of people to control their own lives; the nonsensical decision to place Cuba on the state sponsor of terrorism list; and why Jordan Peterson needs a hug. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Vijay Prashad on the US expanding control over South America and why Jordan Peterson needs a hug: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-vijay-prashad-us?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Reporting from Ukraine: Lindsey Snell Aug 05, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Lindsey Snell, journalist at ishgal.com, crossed the Ukraine border to talk to soldiers and civilians. What she found surprised her: There are Ukrainian forces who are “openly Neonazis, and we’re still giving them weapons and calling them something that they’re not.” All across the frontlines Lindsey found swastikas, SS symbols, and Wolfsangels. But negative news in Ukraine undermines the West’s mission to bleed Russia and sell more weapons, so corporate US media paints over it. Lindsey also found that while the western mercenaries who flew over to kill Russians are loving the war, most of the Ukrainians she spoke to, both soldiers and citizens, want it to end. “The corruption and lack of equipment is worse in Ukraine than anywhere I’ve been, Syria, Iraq, Libya. It’s just so bad.” And for the Ukrainians who are starving, losing their homes, and dying, “there’s no end in sight.” What’s worse — as is the norm with guests on Useful Idiots — no one in western media will report on Lindsey’s story. “Journalists come and see how corrupt everything is and that the soldiers have nothing, but none of is is reflected in mainstream reporting. It’s very well known but it’s just not getting past the filter of western media.” Plus, subscribe for the full interview, where Lindsey shares the story of getting kidnapped in Syria, how the war is hurting Europeans, and Turkey’s potential invasion of Syria (that you probably won’t hear about). It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mick Wallace and Clare Daly want to save us from NATO Jul 29, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “Democracy is about having a say in how your country is run. Right now, that’s not happening. The way the system works, the politicians don’t feel under pressure to answer to the majority of the people.” Mick Wallace and Clare Daly, members of the European Parliament, are Irish progressives. This means they speak out against the proxy war in Ukraine, Julian Assange’s torture, and the Syria dirty war. Elected progressives in the US are quite different. “From what we can see,” they tell us. “You don’t have any left politics in the US. The Democrats are indistinguishable from the Republicans and Bernie would be seen as just right of center in Europe.” And what does it take to get actual progressives like Clare and Mick in office? “Until people take to the streets, it’s going to be very hard for any left wing party to show its head in America.” Plus, subscribe for the extended interview where Claire and Mick discuss abortion rights in Ireland and the US, mainstream media’s constant attacks and misinformation about them, and why our government and media are too afraid to talk about Assange, the realities of the Ukraine proxy war, and US hegemony. As Mick always says, “democracy means you can say what you like, but you’ll do what you’re told.” And that’s this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full interview: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-mick-wallace-and?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Tony Winner Michael R. Jackson on "A Strange Loop" Jul 22, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Michael R. Jackson had no idea that a monologue he wrote two decades ago would turn into a Broadway musical that would win countless awards, including a Tony and Pulitzer Prize. And when he criticized the political establishment, including Obama, he had no idea that Michelle Obama would be one of the countless celebrities who would flock to see the show. Nor did he imagine that Aaron Maté would fall in love with his musical and play it on loop. The musical A Strange Loop is about a Black, queer writer who has written a musical about a Black, queer writer and it’s all written by Michael R. Jackson, a Black, queer writer. Michael dishes on whether he would talk to Tucker Carlson if he came to his show, subverting the Broadway world while becoming a part of it, and how he wrote his Tony-and-Pulitzer-winning musical. Watch the interview then go see the show or listen online. And subscribe to hear the full interview where Michael talks about the culture war, racism on Broadway, and his next musical. Plus, Aaron calls Guardian journalist Mark Townsend, who recently named him the “most prolific spreader of disinformation” on Syria, to ask why he wasn’t contacted for the story. Townsend’s cowering response is a must hear. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Hear our favorite songs from “A Strange Loop” "Intermission Song" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT_mLAYtUoI "We Wanna Know" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXR67aAABV4 "Inner White Girl" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6wra5JtEv4 "Memory Song" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x5HUpqiqXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRWwZaw63wA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gajJmGwp7Ew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Sex, Drugs, and Ancient Humans Affect Today’s Politics with Chris Ryan Jul 15, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview where Chris talks psychedelics, paradigm shifting experiences, and how the government is lying to us. Chris Ryan, author of Civilized to Death and Sex at Dawn, as well as host of the podcast Tangentially Speaking, wants to help you live happier. He’s studied hunter gatherers; our closest relatives in the animal kingdom; and human philosophy/history to learn why we do what we do, what makes us want to live, and what we’re doing wrong today. Of course we ask him how all this shapes media and politics, but Chris also shares practical tips for any Useful Idiot to meaningfully improve their mindset on life. These include helping others, living less alone, spending less money of stuff we think makes us happier, and saying screw it and jumping into cold rivers. He’s got the science and philosophy behind all of it. And subscribe for the full interview where Chris talks psychedelics, paradigm shifting experiences, and how the government is lying to us. It’s all this, and more, on a transformative episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Richard Wolff Doesn't Want to Scare You But... Jul 08, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-richard-wolff-doesnt?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Finally! A Marxist economist you can show to your parents and say “See?” Class is in session with economics Professor Emeritus Richard Wolff. He’s here to teach us about inflation, what steps could be taken to tame it, and why the hell no one’s doing anything about it. He doesn’t want to scare you with the alarming future our leaders are pushing us toward, but if he didn’t, he’d be lying. So buckle in for a fantastic lecture in which Wolff uses economic history to shine a light on the dark road ahead. And subscribe for the full interview, where Professor Wolff shares what can stop inflation: “I’m gonna give you two things that we could do that will get us through the worst of it; one from a conservative republican and one from a progressive democrat.” Can you guess who? Plus, Biden wants you to earn the right to not get shot, Laura Ingraham realizes the mass shootings are because the kids are all smoking weed, and another Kamala stoned moment. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Briahna Joy Gray on Beta Dems and Republican Chads Jul 01, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Host of Bad Faith podcast and Rising and former Bernie Sanders press secretary Briahna Joy Gray explains why dems are rapidly losing voters: Trump gets mocked for failing to put up his wall, but his supporters watched him try the whole time, putting up pieces of wall and getting blocked. He showed them what he will do if they get him more votes. So they’ll vote harder. Democrats have given their voters failures on Build Back Better, healthcare, gun safety, and now Roe v. Wade, with little evidence of trying to fulfill these promises. Why would dems keep voting for that? As a former lawyer, Gray explains the legal side of the Supreme Court’s decision and what can be done to protect the rest of our privacy rights, like contraception and marriage equality. And subscribe for the full interview, where we pick 2024 candidates, rank the squad, and Briahna and Aaron debate the importance of Jan 6 hearings. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Briahna Joy Gray, where we pick 2024 candidates, rank the squad, and Briahna and Aaron debate the importance of Jan 6 hearings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Progressive Organizations Self-Implode while Roe is Overturned – with Ryan Grim Jun 24, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended episodes and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com The Intercept’s Ryan Grim shares his new article Elephant in the Zoom, which explains how internal struggles have progressive advocacy groups at a standstill during a critical political moment. He argues that workplace problems, while important to deal with, are distracting these groups from the issues they were created to fight for. And while progressives are doing internal evaluations, do you think Republican groups are analyzing their micro-aggressions or are they busy seizing power? Plus, Grim ‘calls out’ the left’s call-out vs call-in problem, explains why the left is ditching their anti-war stance to escalate the proxy war in Ukraine, and why journalists are fine with the recent extradition of Julian Assange, which is, of course, an attack on a free press. Subscribe and watch the full interview to get it all. Oh yeah, and Aaron’s now a top conspiracy theorist, according to the great journalists at The Guardian. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-are-progressive?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Aaron’s article on Matt Duss: https://mate.substack.com/p/on-ukraine-progressive-proxy-warriors?r=nrwh&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Elephant in the Zoom: https://theintercept.com/2022/06/13/progressive-organizing-infighting-callout-culture/ Restorative Injustice by Ryan Grim: https://theintercept.com/2022/05/08/maryland-campaign-brandy-brooks-progressive-accountability/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Max Blumenthal on Censorship and Masongate Jun 17, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com In secret meetings and leaked emails, Paul Mason and Nina Jankowicz work to silence journalists who don’t promote the approved message. In public, they complain that journalists bully them, and do vile things like publish past things they’ve said. And who does Youtube side with? The supercalifragicensors. The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal is here to explain. Leaked emails show that Paul Mason, a prominent UK journalist, privately discussed plans to collaborate with UK intelligence to “deplatform” independent journalists like The Grayzone and target UK’s Corbynite, anti-war left. As #Masongate trends on Twitter, Mason nonetheless got his wish: YouTube removed Max and Aaron’s livestream about it. So, fellow Useful Idiots, listen, learn about Mason, and then tweet the hell out of #Masongate. And hear the full interview where Max discusses deeper censorship plots, leaked emails, and a shameless 60 Minutes promotion. Plus, Aaron just got accused of being a top Russian-influenced Twitter account for such offenses as “promoting a general mistrust in institutions and elites.” It gets crazier every week. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-max-blumenthal-on?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Glenn Greenwald on Jan 6 and Ukraine Jun 10, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com There’s a whole lot of terrible stuff going on which means Glenn Greenwald has a whole lot to say: •Biden’s failure at the Summit of the Americas: Latin American leaders are boycotting Biden’s summit because he refused to invite the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Meanwhile, Biden’s packing for his big trip to the dictatorship of Saudi Arabia… •Jan 6 in Prime Time: “I don’t think dramatizing this three-hour protest from 18 months ago will do very much at all other than underscore the fact that this is the only strategy the Democrats have.” •More Russiagate developments: “When I heard that first ad where Hillary Clinton had that sinister music playing and said, ‘What is this relationship between Donald Trump and the Russians?’ to me it just immediately sounded like the kind of McCarthyite toxicity I had spent many decades abhorring.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Glenn where we deep dive on January 6, play Trump vs Bernie vs Chomsky, and hear about Glenn’s animal shelter run by unhoused people in Rio. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Israel Gets Away with Murder – with Ali Abunimah Jun 03, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com After another Israeli murder of a Palestinian journalist, The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah shares a scary truth: “The message Israel drove home with the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh was that no matter who you are, how famous you are, or what religion you are, no Palestinian is safe from Israel.” With US backing, Israel has been free to kill with impunity. But seeing the Palestinian people unite in protest after each massacre, Ali has hope. “Palestinians are coming back together with every Israeli atrocity, and that is really terrifying for Israel because divide-and-rule has always been their strongest and most successful tactic.” They don’t have the US government on their side, or deadly US weapons, or any truth from US corporate media, but their growing anger and spirit is creating a stronger, unified Palestine. And subscribe for the extended interview, where Ali discusses Israel’s sickening actions at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral, racist and violent flag marches, the Biden administration’s hypocritical policies, and the collapsing support for Israel around the world. Plus, Biden’s getting smothered, Marjorie Taylor Greene in a peach tree dish, and 15,000 pounds of hot dog paste. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Did Texas Police Fail School Massacre Victims? May 27, 2022

Become a Useful Idiot to get the extended interview: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-did-texas-police?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Amid growing scrutiny of the police response to the Uvalde school massacre, Mike Prysner, producer of the Empire Files and Iraq war veteran, tell us: “In a way, they were accomplices to the mass shooter. The number of dead was aided by the police. Perhaps through cowardice or racism, Prysner says, the police stood outside and subdued parents while their kids were shot inside. “With car accidents, there are steps you can take to protect your child,” Prysner explains. “There’s nothing you can do to protect them from guns other than move to Canada as a refugee of US violence.” Hear Prysner’s full take on the shooting and guns in America, an important perspective from a veteran who once loved guns. Plus, in the extended episode Mike explains why he yelled at George Bush and how Memorial Day is only another militaristic holiday to whitewash a deadly and racist history. And watch Mike and Abby Martin’s episode on the true history of Memorial Day, Used & Betrayed, and their important documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ukrainian Journalist Exposes the Azov Battalion May 20, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Lev Golinkin on disinformation, weapons manufacturers, and Aaron’s fight with a bloody normal Nazi denier: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-ukrainian-journalist?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web The Nation’s Lev Golinkin has an important message that most people in mainstream news can’t seem to wrap their heads around: “Russia is committing war crimes. That is true. And not everyone who is fighting Russia is a good guy. That is also true.”And some of these bad guys are Nazis. Lev, who sees his home country being terrorized by Russia while also by it’s own neo-Nazi extremists, brings a new perspective to the war that is rarely shared. And why is his voice stifled? Because of disinformation launderers like Nina Jankowicz, Orwellian head of Biden’s (now-paused) Disinformation Board, who have a pro-war agenda, whitewash Nazism, and smear anyone who disagrees with them. Read Lev’s articles at the Nation, read his memoir, and watch Useful Idiots. It’s the last stand against the supercalifragicensors. And become a Substack subscriber to see the full interview where we discuss disinformation, weapons manufacturers, and Aaron’s fight with a Nazi denier. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Media and Biden Cover Up Journalist's Murder May 13, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Alan MacCleod and fan suggestions for military-grade baby names: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-media-and-biden?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web This week, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces. The way the New York Times reported it was that she “die[d]”: The Times, CBS News, the Associated Press, and more corporate media outlets all referred to the incident, in which Israeli military opened fire on journalists, through words like “clash,” “conflict,” or other misleading terms to cast doubt on who the attackers were. Multiple eye witnesses confirmed the Israeli military shot and killed Abu Akleh. Journalist Alan MacCleod of MintPress News joins the Useful Idiots to expose media bias and propaganda that’s become increasingly difficult to dig through. (We highly recommend following his twitter to stay informed) In the extended interview, Alan uncovers the dark truth of TikTok’s shady executives and a Ukrainian news source that’s become a favorite of western corporate media but isn’t what it seems. And unfortunately, as we learned with Mnar Adley last week, MintPress’s journalism is at stake after sites like PayPal decided to wipeout the accounts of dissenting voices. “If you are going to challenge the government or challenge power in any way,” MacCleod explains. “You might want to remove your money from PayPal because it could get zapped at any point just like it happened to me.” Plus, Biden ditches Covid relief to spend more money on weapons for Ukraine, Lindsey Graham’s war-mongering speech, and a funeral proposal. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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PayPal Steals from Independent Media May 06, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended episode with Mnar Adley, proof that Nancy Pelosi doesn’t care about Roe v. Wade, and a bonus Biden Stoned Moment. MintPress News’ Mnar Adley has bravely reported on Israel, Ukraine, and national security agents running TikTok. In response, PayPal shut down MintPress’s account and threatened to take their money. PayPal has begun doing this with multiple independent media outlets who don’t fall in lock-step with the Biden administration’s policies. And it’s gone nearly unreported. Google “PayPal” and you’ll mainly see why you should buy their stock today (!). And as the MintPress name gets attacked, notice that the people calling MintPress News “fake news” are the ones tampering with the Wikipedia page to slander their name. Check out the site and read their journalism for yourself. And hurry, because the way censorship has been trending, you may not be able to read them for long. Plus, Rep. Gaetz and Justice Alito lead Republicans in the Roe v. Wade decision, Biden and Pelosi refuse to do anything about it, and in case anyone forgot, Amazon doesn’t care about its workers. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Plan C for safe, at-home abortion access: https://www.plancpills.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Sociopath Neocons Sacrifice Ukrainians and Global Poor – Economist Michael Hudson Apr 29, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Michael Hudson. We asked economist and “futurist” Michael Hudson, economic advisor and professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, his thoughts on the people who have run our country for the 50 years he’s studied US politics. “They’re sociopaths. They think it’s a game. They don’t care about the things you and I care about.” He shares a dark story of the Carter administration’s strategy to cause a drought that would raise American grain prices so they could pay for higher priced oil. This, plus the constant racist, elitist sacrifice of people in third-world countries, caused him to leave his post as economic advisor. And nearly 50 years later, the US strategy in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Africa, and all over hasn’t changed. It’s all about money and power. “I won’t say that Biden and Trump are Chinese agents,” he says in a scathing review of the presidents. “But if they were, they couldn’t have done anything to serve China more.” Hudson is the next in a long line of Useful Idiots guests to take down President Joe. And after last week’s explosive clip of Biden mocking a former marine, we’re pretty sure a lot of people are beginning to agree. Plus, Taibbi exposes defense contractors on MSM, Greg Abbott accidentally helps migrants, and we help you get out of your next boring zoom meeting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How to End the War in Ukraine with Scott Ritter Apr 22, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including an explosive extended interview with Scott Ritter. Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and Chief UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter resigned his post in protest of US war mongering. Immediately, he was mocked by Joe Biden. And when the FBI came after him, well, as he puts it, it went something like: So when he joined the Useful Idiots to discuss Joe Biden, he (like many of our recent guests), didn’t have much nice to say. “The marine in me says he stinks. He went to war knowing it was a lie and his chief of staff told me he knew it was a lie. And yet he held a hearing that lied to the American people about a threat that put marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen’s lives at risk. People died. And not just our people, Iraqis. They didn’t deserve this, but they got it. “And the person that gave it to them? Joe Biden. He’s the President of the United States today, and I have zero use for the man. That’s about as honest as I can get.” He details Biden’s terrible approach to the war in Ukraine and the simple steps he’d need to end the whole thing and reach peace. But of course, Biden’s gonna Biden. And hear the extended episode where Ritter shares some explosive takes and seething views of the government whose war crimes have led to countless deaths. Oh, and if you want to win our hearts, take advice from Scott Ritter with quotes like: “You guys probably get far more viewers than CNN does, so you’re far more influential.” He’s right, especially after CNN+ officially shut down this week (thanks to viewers like you). Plus, Biden’s Trumpian approach to Assange, an MSNBC pundit joins the war, and Katie and Wilson debate whether Ted Cruz meant that Mickey would be “going at it” with Pluto or with Goofy. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Liberalism Aids Fascism Apr 15, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including an extended interview with Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly. Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, professor at Carlton College, coordinating committee member of the Black Alliance for Peace, and author of many books including the upcoming Black Scare/Red Scare, has had it with liberals pretending to care about regular people. Biden promises to help people with student loans while prosecuting bankrupt people in courts. Obama pretended to fight for civil rights while shutting down protests in Ferguson. Kamala Harris claims to help migrants while blaming them for underlying causes and telling them not to come. Liberal media calls to aid Nazis in Ukraine while ignoring genocides in other countries. And just this month we got the newest liberal win: “Ketanji Brown Jackson said Bush and Rumsfeld should be tried for war crimes, but that’s easy to say in retrospect. She didn’t say Joe Biden should be tried for war crimes, or Obama, or Kamala Harris.” And to all the people who do criticize Obama, she’s not cheering them on either. “Obama’s an easy target now, but where were your antennas in the moment?” The scholar goes through a history of liberal lies and war crimes and comes to the stark conclusion that “liberalism has always been amenable to fascism.” Plus, Dr. Charisse shares her reading list of books by Black scholars, and when it comes to controversies over CRT and the 1619 Project and other issues of race, she only has one piece of advice: just read Gerald Horne. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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David Sirota on "Don't Look Up" Apr 08, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with David Sirota and a Biden Stoned Moment. David Sirota, whose site Daily Poster is now The Lever, returns to Useful Idiots as an Academy-Award nominee for his movie Don’t Look Up. And he’s got a message for the Oscars: We’ve got to do something today about climate change. It’s like a giant comet is headed towards earth and no one seems to care. “The movie’s giant audience proves that you don’t have to choose between focusing on important things and not having a big audience, or focusing on stupid, silly things and getting a big audience.” In this interview, David gives us the fun stuff: a tour of his celebrity sitings and stories; and then the dark stuff: Fossil fuels: “Why are we preserving an industry and jobs if in 10 or 20 years, the livable ecosystem that supports all human life is going to be significantly deteriorated or gone?” And student debt: “Student debt and Joe Biden are a 40-year story. You have to understand how motivated he has been, how much he believes in the idea of student debt. He has been a sculptor of the laws in this country that govern debt for 40 years.” To put it lightly, David Sirota doesn’t trust Joe Biden. “If you want to tell people not to believe anything politicians say, if you really want to deeply disillusion people to not believe the government will ever do something concrete and permanent to help, that seems to be the message that Joe Biden is trying to deliver. “This is how you turn a country into the joker.” Plus, dems are confused why drug prices (that they set) are so high, Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks we’re pro-pedophile, and a total jerk-off on a flight. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Colin Powell's Chief of Staff on Ukraine Apr 01, 2022

Click here for the the full episode, including an extended interview with Larry Wilkerson on why the FBI is tailing him and why others don’t stand up to the machine. Larry Wilkerson, former US Army Colonel and high-ranking member of Bush’s White House as Colin Powell’s chief of staff, has spent his post-government career criticizing our war-mongering policies. Wilkerson discusses the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the US response from an inside-the-government perspective: He’s worked with Biden and understands his motives. He knows the US oligarchs whose wallets will be hurt if Russian oligarchs are hit. He’s been through the army and Washington and understands why the current strategy isn’t designed to help anyone but the US. So we think he’s a good person to listen to. We also think that may be why the FBI is suddenly following him around. And, it seems that Wilkerson’s advice on drone strike information doubles as a pretty good characterization of some of the politicians in power today: “Your intelligence is never as good as you think it is.” Plus, Dems are ripping up the shelters of the unhoused while Republicans are having cocaine orgies. Oh yeah, and @usefulidiotpod is now #truthing on Truth Social. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Oliver Stone: We're Living in a Censored State Mar 25, 2022

This week, we’re unpaywalling our extended interview with multiple-Oscar-winner Oliver Stone. His new documentary Ukraine on Fire has been censored by Youtube, but you can still see it on Rumble. He wrote and directed multiple classic, culture-defining American movies. He created groundbreaking documentaries, interviewing Putin, debunking Russiagate, and uncovering JFK’s murder. He won three Academy Awards. There was only one thing left for Oliver Stone to do: Become a Useful Idiot. Stone’s new documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, uses newly declassified and reexamined footage to present a case that conspiracy theories about the president’s death are actually “conspiracy facts.” And it creates a big debate on Useful Idiots. Watch the pod, watch the doc, then let us know: do you agree with Matt, Katie, or Oliver? Who really killed President John F. Kennedy? The Oscar-winning filmmaker shares stories of censorship, getting yelled at about Russiagate by Bill Maher (kinda like another Useful Idiot we know), and being pushed out of the mainstream for being a controversial filmmaker, cementing his legacy as a Useful Idiot. Plus, watch Matt’s reaction when one of his all-time favorite directors quotes his “vampire squid” piece. It’s pretty cool. It’s Oliver Stone on Useful Idiots. Don’t miss this one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Abby Martin on World War III Mar 18, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Abby Martin, the moment when Abby confronted Nancy Pelosi, the latest dishonest attack from The Young Turks against Aaron Maté, and Biden’s stoned moment. The Empire Files’ Abby Martin returns to Useful Idiots to speak out against censorship and the corporate media’s duplicitous and hypocritical coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Censorship is something Abby knows quite a bit about, given that Youtube has removed every single episode of “Breaking The Set,” the show she hosted at RT from 2012-2014. Abby can’t help but notice how the corporate media is celebrating Ukrainians for doing things they condemn when the people doing it are, say, Palestinian. “I feel like I woke up in an alternate universe,” she says. “Where there’s wall-to-wall coverage of anti-war messaging and everyone decided: ‘We hate war and we support occupied people’s right to resist.’ “For people like us who have been sounding the alarm on so many heinous US atrocities that are committed in our names on a daily basis, this manufactured outrage is shocking.” “Why now?” she asks. “Where were you all these years? Because people have been dying this whole time.” Why didn’t Rachel Maddow cry on TV for Palestinians or Yemenis. Because they US supports the occupation of Palestine and the siege of Yemen. And it’s good for the arms industry. And now, Abby, who is bravely calling out the BBC and CNN and New York Times, is, you guessed it, censored. With her videos being scrubbed off Youtube and RT getting banned in so many western countries, it’s scary to think how far this censorship could go. “None of us should be okay with this and none of us should be celebrating this,” she says. “I believe in critical thinking and media literacy and the answer to all of this is not censorship.” And as we head closer and closer to war, the danger (and ignorance) grows: “Censoring media poses a big problem because when you are facing down a conflict that could potentially turn into a hot war with two nuclear-armed powers, don’t you want the Russian perspective? Don’t you want the Chinese perspective?” But say that on TV and you get blacklisted as a Russian apologist. So listen here, because it’s getting harder and harder to find real journalists anywhere else. And until we get taken out too, we won’t stop searching for reporting and analysis that challenges, and doesn’t merely regurgitate, state department talking points. Plus, Trump wants you to lay down your life to fight CRT, Iranian-revenge-killing dating apps, and our new favorite segment: ‘This Week in MSM Nazi Propaganda.’ It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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RT's Afshin Rattansi on Ukraine and Censorship Mar 11, 2022

Click here for the extended episode, including the full interview with Afshin Rattansi. And don’t miss Aaron’s take on The Young Turks meltdown over him. Afshin Rattansi’s show Going Underground is becoming harder and harder to see as the US, UK, and EU have all censored the RT. But Afshin has some good news for viewers: “With a VPN, you can always say you don’t live in unfree places like the US or Europe or Britain, and say you live in Pyongyang where there is freedom to watch it.” Rattansi, whose channel RT has become known as pro-Russia propaganda, regularly calls out the Russian invasion and has guests who condemn Russian aggression. But that doesn’t fit with the western narrative for the channel, so we don’t actually get to see him. If only we lived in North Korea. In this interview, we examine the problems that led to the crisis in Ukraine and how world leaders dangerously get history wrong. “Scholars only talk about Putin and Putin’s mind. This is corollary to the idea that WWII was about Adolph Hitler and not the Treaty of Versailles and the impoverishment of the German people after the war of reparations.” Without understanding the structures around leaders, like the hawkish state department and Russian Duma, “we’re in the realm of Marvel comics and Hollywood individual good and evil.” This individualism is what leads people to blindly call for a no-fly zone, which sounds good in terms of good-against-evil, but in reality, will only cause more destruction. Or, as Rattansi puts it: “It’ll be the end of the earth.” In this episode of Useful Idiots, we analyze no-fly zones, media censorship, and the path to peace in Ukraine. And we get treated to a very fun letter from Donald Trump. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How the Ukraine War Helps US Empire Mar 04, 2022

Click here for the extended episode, including the full interview with Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison. For a while, pundits have been predicting the decline of American superpower. Although some decline is inevitable, don’t expect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to precipitate it. As the American Prestige podcast’s Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison explain, the US ability to invade another country and commit war crimes that would merit US sanctions if it was any other country, and without any backlash, underscores America’s overwhelming strength. “What would these scholars, who say Russian students should be kicked out of schools and that there are no good Russians, have thought if in 2003, scholars in Russia said there are no good Americans because we invaded Iraq? They would have been aghast.” “They can’t process the thought that those situations are analogous. We’re virtuous and everyone else is evil.” With the war ramping up, US ghoulishness runs rampant. Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Nancy Pelosi all giggle at the brink of war while Bucky is left to take the fall. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How the US Caused the Ukraine Crisis Feb 25, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including an extended interview with Branko Marcetic about Ukraine, Epstein & more, plus a chat about Vaush. Note: This episode was recorded before Russia invaded Ukraine. The interview with Branko Marcetic provides a lot of useful context on how we got here. When we look at the progression of this war, the Biden administration and cable news hosts will tell you that Mastermind Putin foresaw this six moves back in his chess game, and that the only thing we could’ve done was impose sanctions earlier. They won’t tell you about the US escalating tensions for years, stoking the 2014 coup and aiding neo-Nazi protesters for its own benefit. Now, two war-mongering countries, both with bloated militaries, whose people are neglected in favor of raising military spending, whose politicians profit from war, are back to causing destruction. And Ukraine is stuck in the middle. Jacobin’s Branko Marcetic joins us to breakdown everything happening in the region and the steps that led to Russia’s deadly aggression. See the extended episode for the full discussion on Ukraine plus a look at his in-depth reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s death. It’s a dark day, but Useful Idiots will always keep spreading our anti-war message. Join us as we follow the news and keep the people of Ukraine in our thoughts. It’s this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Rania Khalek Debunks Anti-Cuba Propaganda Feb 18, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including an extended interview with Rania Khalek. Breakthrough News’ Rania Khalek recounts her horrifying travel nightmare: “So I went to Cuba and it was terrifying… just like Marco Rubio said.” Then she laughs and proceeds to share an enlightening and inspiring story of a country perpetually beat down by the US that still continues to survive. Seeing the stellar healthcare, education, and public safety of a poorer nation only underscores that we’re doing something wrong here. She explains: “When you see how this poor country, which is poor because of the US, spends all of its revenue providing medical care and education for everybody, it really tells you something about the US system.I walked around all of Havana and not one person begged for money. That was astounding to me after being in New York. Plus, Rania, who’s currently based in Beirut, gives her on-the-scene takes on Syria, ISIS, and Ukraine mania. Subscribe now to hear it all. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Obama Failed Black People Feb 11, 2022

Click here for the full episode, including an extended interview with Margaret Kimberley: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-how-obama-failed?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Black Agenda Report’s Margaret Kimberley is fed up with the US progressive caucus. With zero politicians in Congress calling out Biden for escalating tensions with Russia or doing little more for progressive causes than sending hopeful tweets, she believes that US politicians who call themselves left are finally revealing their true colors. This loss of true progressives worsened under President Obama: “I think Obama’s presidency is one of the worst things to happen to Black people politically.” “No one talks about what he did to Libya. What he tried to do to Syria. When you see a story about migrants drowning at sea, that’s Barack Obama.” And yet, in the halls of Democratic Congress, he remains infallible. To Kimberley, if you’re silent on war mongering and profiteering, you shouldn’t be considered left. Plus, Margaret shares her thoughts on Joe Rogan, Biden’s terrible Covid response, and the fall of progressive news: “Would the Pentagon Papers be published today? I don’t think so. I think if there was some bombshell revelation about Ukraine, the New York Times and Washington Post wouldn’t touch it. We need people with more courage.” It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Katrina vanden Heuvel on Putin & Ukraine Feb 04, 2022

There is only one truly bipartisan issue in the United States Congress these days: increasing military spending. Every year it passes, and every year we spend trillions of dollars on weapons and soldiers. Money that could be spent on education, homelessness, and infrastructure all goes to the war chest. The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel joins the Useful Idiots to warn of the dangers of the US escalating tensions with Russia over Ukraine. It’s not about helping Ukraine, she explains. It’s about money and power. We’re at war to show that NATO matters. We’re at war to save Biden’s sinking poll ratings. We’re at war so politicians, lobbyists, and pundits can make money. “That is not a good reason for a soldier to be away from his family. They’re being used for symbolic fodder.” And while anti-war groups are speaking up to stop this, mainstream media is a lot louder. CNN, Fox News, and the New York Times are helping shape the propagandist narrative that a Russian invasion is imminent and US troops and weapons are needed to stop it. So don’t listen to them. Let’s find the facts and figure out for ourselves: are there peaceful solutions? Plus, attempted cancellations of Joe Rogan and Whoopi Goldberg, Trump’s biggest protest this country has ever seen, and please, don’t inject stuff into your penis. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And stay tuned for the full interview with Katrina vanden Heuvel on Monday at 7am. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Did Obama Know? Jan 28, 2022

Hear the ad-free version at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “But if Obama knew,” Aaron and Katie ask Status Coup’s Jordan Chariton, “why didn’t he go to Flint and bust Wall Street and the Republicans for poisoning the city? It would’ve been an easy political win.” “If Obama didn’t go after Wall Street for tanking the global economy,” responds Chariton, “what makes you think he would’ve done anything to go after them for a fraud financial deal that led to a city being poisoned?” Today, Chariton is breaking stories in Flint about Obama’s complicity, Wall Street’s greed, a state-government coverup, and the continued pandemic of Flint residents who are still dying. “I talk to people who are still getting rashes, whose hair falls out in the shower, whose children are growing with learning disabilities, people with early development of Parkinson’s. If you just look at the cherry-picked data, it seems like everything’s fine. These people are still in an 8 year pandemic. It’s not over.” But why don’t we hear about it? No one wants to run the story. “The hardest part of investigative journalism should be breaking the story, not getting outlets to pick it up.” Chariton laments. “But the amount of time and money is not worth the amount of clicks for the New York Times and CNN. Some, like Mother Jones, even asked: ‘Is there a connection to Trump?’” And, darker still, when he publishes his reports himself, it’s hard for people to see them. Youtube refuses to send video notifications even to his subscribers and they dampen every video and livestream. It’s the reason we couldn’t put “Flint” in the title and why Jordan thinks it might be easier to just start making videos about who’s feuding in the political punditry world. So go subscribe to Status Coup on Youtube. It’s real journalism that you will miss if you look anywhere else. One silver lining, however, is that the children of Flint may be reassured that the US Government just sent 200,000 pounds of new weapons to Ukraine. So they’ve got that going for them. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Plus, watch the ad-free episode here, and stay tuned for the full interview with Jordan on Monday at 7am. Peace out, Useful Idiots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Did the FBI Kill Martin Luther King? Jan 21, 2022

“There’s an underestimation of how dangerous the United States government is right now.” Prolific and esteemed historian Dr. Gerald Horne, who holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies and has authored over 40 books, warns that the greatest threat to world peace is the US government. Whether taking down civil rights leaders, starting countless wars, killing foreign civilians, using imperialism to rule other countries, causing economic ruin for entire regions… need we go on? Just this week, we got to see the FBI cheer on Dr. Martin Luther King after aiding his assassination. Plus, measures were introduced in the Senate to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline…in another country. It’s US imperialism that would cause economic disaster in Europe. It’s not easy being the world’s policeman, but someone’s gotta do it. So join us as Dr. Gerald Horne unravels the danger of the United States government. But make sure not to speak up too much about it, or who knows what will happen. As the FBI wrote to Dr. King: “You are done.” It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And come back Monday for the extended interview with Dr. Horne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Guantanamo Survivor: I Was in Hell Jan 14, 2022

Hear the ad-free version at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Mansoor Adayfi shares his harrowing story of being kidnapped and brought to Guantanamo: “Then I was dragged to my cage, naked. Six of the guards beat me and tied me with a hood and duct tape. It was messaging. When they took the hood off, I couldn’t see for hours because of the bright light and my eyes were swollen from the beating.“I was asking: Am I in Hell? Am I dead?” Fourteen years later, Mansoor was proven innocent and released to Serbia. He still lives with years of trauma and the social shame of being formerly-labeled a suspected terrorist. And after all that, our government does nothing to help him. Now, Adayfi is working to shut Guantanamo down with activism, paintings, and his book Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo. The US government tries to hide and mask their torture of innocent people. It’s time for us to learn what’s really going on. Listen to Mansoor Adayfi’s story. It’s tragic, evil, and in the end, inspiring. Plus, terrible Dems love Dick Cheney, Tucker Carlson’s awful joke, and virtual reality cows. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And stay tuned for the extended interview on Monday, in which Adayfi discusses his hunger strike, the cruelty of American torture, and how he’s learned to live with trauma. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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David Cross on Useful Idiots Jan 07, 2022

The infinitely funny and smart David Cross stopped by for a chat and we couldn’t contain our excitement. You know him from Mr. Show, Arrested Development, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (tip from Wilson: the best hidden gem show you’ll find), and his hilarious standup specials. And now you know him as a Useful Idiot. We talk comedy: creating a standup special, using audience feedback to perfect his set, and how he felt when Netflix took down an episode of w/ Bob and David for having a character in blackface. We talk politics: why Bernie would’ve won, why (some) Hillary Clinton supporters were blinded by tribalism, and why Andrew Yang should “fuck all the way off.” And for good measure we geek out about our favorite David Cross roles and bits. Come back Monday for the extended interview where we take a deep dive into his new special “I’m From the Future,” politics, and more. Plus, Joe Manchin and the crackhead daughters, military-grade snow removal, and naked but masked. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And subscribe to hear the ad-free version. Your subscription goes to help the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press and independent journalists everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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WTF Happened in 2021? w/ Thomas Frank Dec 31, 2021

Hear the ad-free episode at http://usefulidiots.substack.com 2021 was a shit show, so who better to help us dig through it than friend-of-show Thomas Frank, author of Listen Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas. So what happened in 2021? Democrats and Republicans definitely both sucked. Covid got better and then a lot worse. Dems didn’t do the one thing to ensure they’d never lose another election. And politics turned from policy to pure culture war. We go through it all, why it happened, why it sucked, and what it means for 2022. Plus, Biden’s giving up on Covid (and has something in his throat), Republicans embrace unemployment for certain people, and a sad announcement before a final penis story. It’s all this, and more, in this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And become a subscriber to get the ad-free version and an extended interview on Monday. You're helping independent journalists with funding, legal fees, and more. Happy new year, from Useful Idiots! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Veterans Attack Military Industrial Complex Dec 24, 2021

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The Cult of the Privilege Walk Dec 17, 2021

Hear the ad-free version at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Journalist and professor Christian Parenti’s latest NonSite (the Adolph Reed site) article, The First Privilege Walk, if nothing else, has the greatest subtitle of all time: How Herbert Marcuse’s widow used a Scientology-linked cult’s methodology to gamify Identity Politics and thus helped steer the U.S. Left down the dead-end path of identitarian psychobabble.The article, which Matt described as “an article after my own heart,” to which Katie replied: “It’s like it was made in a lab for you,” details the rapidly-growing movement disguising itself as left. The nexus of the movement is the privilege walk. As Parenti explains: Mainstream critics say the exercise propagates divisive identity politics and mock it as foundational to the Oppression Olympics. A Marxist critique would say that the Walk transmogrifies material problems into cultural ones, economic exploitation becomes the more nebulous problem of oppression.In the same way Professor Adolph Reed criticizes Robin DiAngelo’s antiracist jumble as fake left, the new liberal “identitarian psychobabble” not only contradicts the Sandersian left, but hurts it. Take a listen as Christian Parenti unravels the cult. Plus, Biden won’t extend the student loan pause, McConnell is still a hypocrite, and oh god the new Jimmy Fallon/Ariana Grande/Megan Thee Stallion song. #SMH It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Reacting To Assange Verdict With UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer Dec 10, 2021

Nils Melzer responds to the Julian Assange verdict on a special Useful Idiots Livestream. Nils Melzer is the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; Human Rights Chair, Geneva Academy; Professor of International Law, University of Glasgow; Vice-President IIHL, and the author of The Trial of Julian Assange (https://twitter.com/nilsmelzer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Oliver Stone Knows Who Killed JFK Dec 03, 2021

Subscribe at http://usefulidiots.substack.com for the ad-free version, which helps independent journalists through the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press. He wrote and directed multiple classic, culture-defining American movies. He created groundbreaking documentaries, interviewing Putin, debunking Russiagate, and uncovering JFK’s murder. He won three Academy Awards. There was only one thing left for Oliver Stone to do: Become a Useful Idiot. Stone’s new documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, uses newly declassified and reexamined footage to present a case that conspiracy theories about the president’s death are actually “conspiracy facts.” And it creates a big debate on Useful Idiots. Watch the pod, watch the doc, then let us know: do you agree with Matt, Katie, or Oliver? Who really killed President John F. Kennedy? Plus, this week’s Dems and Republicans Suck finally breaks Matt, leading to an impassioned stump speech of the good of all Americans. Once we stop laughing, we’re pretty sure we’ll realize he’s telling the truth. It’s Oliver Stone on Useful Idiots. Don’t miss this one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Adolph Reed Returns Nov 26, 2021

See the ad-free episode that helps independent journalists at http://usefulidiots.substack.com When Professor Adolph Reed joins the zoom call, Matt welcomes him: “Hi, Professor, how are you doing today?” Reed responds: “I can’t complain.” Matt eyes him, incredulous. Reed smiles. “Actually, I can complain. And I’m going to.” Reed, author of the forthcoming book The South: Jim Crow and its Afterlives and host of the new podcast Class Matters, has a lot to complain about White liberal #resistance fighters, gun-toting right-wing survivalists, naive (French for “stupid”) politicians, and, in Monday’s subscriber-only episode, Kyle Rittenhouse and Lebron James. Our favorite (don’t tell the others) unpredictable, thoughtful, funny, and angry guest is back, and we think it’s a good thing to be thankful for this year. Check it out and subscribe for the ad-free version that supports independent journalists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Biden Shills for Oil Drills Nov 19, 2021

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Aaron Maté + Matt Taibbi vs The World Nov 12, 2021

See the ad-free episode at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Your two favorite Russiagate addicts are back and feeling very vindicated. We watch as Adam Schiff, the Washington Post, and more slowly realize their facts were only conspiracy theories. Now we’re just waiting for a resounding “Great job, Matt and Aaron!” Aaron Maté of The Grayzone’s Pushback has spent years putting in journalistic work to track down facts, read thick dossiers, and interview top suspects who were ignored by the entire US government and press. Now, he has answers. Our guess is that not many others on the left will be covering this one. So stick around with us and we’ll get to the bottom of it, the Useful Idiot way. Plus, Biden’s royal fart, Big Bird gets vaccinated, astronauts in diapers, and a tale of two penises: one terrible, one beautiful. It’s all this, and more, in this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. And stay tuned for the extended interview with Aaron on Monday. Why ads? Useful Idiots announced we’re donating a large portion of revenue to the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press to help independent journalists with things like legal fees. A couple ads means more money for them. But, to support them yourself and get an ad-free episode, subscribe today on substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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WTF Happened to Dems: Election Night Wrap Up Nov 05, 2021

Subscribe for ad-free extended interviews at http://usefulidiots.substack.com This week, Taibbi went down to Virginia to get Useful Idiot boots on the ground for the crucial election. Let’s just say it didn’t go as planned for Dems. What does this mean for 2022? 2024? What caused the disastrous loss? Was it messaging? The candidate? Bernie and the progressives? In our election wrap up, we cover it all, and if you’re hankering for more election coverage, see the full live election special here: It’s a special election week edition of Useful Idiots. Check it out now. And for an ad-free episode that supports independent journalists, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Biden's Charade EXPOSED with David Sirota Oct 29, 2021

Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com for an ad-free listen and extended interview On this week’s show, award-winning journalist David Sirota justly rips Democrats for not only selling out the American people but for enabling Right Wing authoritarianism: “Democrats get elected promising to help people, promising various programs to directly help people. And then you get into power and you shield your corporate donors who don't want that change. You choose your corporate donors and you betray your promises to voters. What you're saying to voters is that democracy doesn't matter. And if you do that, there's going to be a lot of voters who say, ‘Look, I just voted for you. I just used democracy to put you in power. You're saying we got to get Donald Trump out of here because he's not helping people. I have to support you only because of democracy. You're proving to me that democracy doesn't matter.’" If Dems keep wasting their time in power, they’re going to stop holding power and push people into the arms of people like Trump, which is what happened in 2016. Listen to this interview with the exceptionally interesting, intelligent and prolific David Sirota, and then listen to Meltdown on Audible. Plus, Dems are cutting everything Dem voters want in their bill, and so much more vaccine debating. And don’t worry, there’s some poop stuff in here too. Heads up: this week, we have begun donating a large portion of our profits to the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press to help independent journalists in need. To help this, we’re starting ad reads this week. If you want to donate to indie media (and not have to hear ads), become a subscriber today to hear our chat with David about an important study about the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism. And NO we’re not comparing Trump to Hitler. It’s all this, and more, on the Halloween episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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What Everyone Gets Wrong About Facebook Oct 22, 2021

Subscribe for extended interviews at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Facebook is changing its name. The reason? They’re not just a social media platform anymore. They’re so much more! Definitely not the reason? Distract and distance from a whistleblower scandal, rampant fake news issues, and an evil reputation. No, really, it has nothing to do with those things… Activist and writer Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, joins the Useful Idiots to discuss The Company Soon to Be Known As The Company Formerly Known As Facebook. We delve deep into the whistleblower’s findings, how Facebook has made free speech litigious, and its most recent laundry list of crimes against humanity. Plus what whistle blower Frances Haugen gets right and what she gets wrong. We think we found a guest more “absolutist” (whatever that means) about the First Amendment than Matt is. Evan asks the question: Can we see a world without Facebook? If the answer is yes, then it’s time to abolish it. Plus, a final word on Colin Powell and Joe Manchin obstructs the Carbon Offset Consideration Kickoff. Yeah, he’s a real COCK block. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And stand by for the Substack-only episode in which Katie and Matt discuss potato chips and Evan discusses sex workers and the internet, which drops Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Exclusive: Biden Bombshell Book Author Ben Schreckinger Oct 15, 2021

See the full interview at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “By the time Biden won the presidency, I was struggling to square what I was learning about the family's business dealings with the folksy image I had of him and his family. I just wanted to tell the story in full.” Author Ben Schreckinger dug up the history of a family dynasty and put it into his book The Bidens, which explores the Biden family, Joe’s childhood, weird Delaware loyalty politics, the shady business dealings of Joe’s brother Jim, his son Hunter and, of course, the 2020 laptop story. But what makes this book truly interesting? This tell-all book is inconvenient to both sides of the aisle because it’s just as critical of Trump, the Republicans, and even some Fox members (looking at you, Tucker). Schreckinger is an equal-opportunity offender, and that’s part of what makes The Bidens such a great book. As Matt Taibbi puts it: “This is reporting. This is what it looks like. I kinda forgot what it felt like. It’s a great book. And incriminating.” Watch for yourself. Can you get a handle on what’s actually going on in the family? Plus, drunk Kamala in space, Laura Ingraham’s kryptonite, and we take the Washington Post conspiracy quiz. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Useful Idiots LIVE + The Final Act of the Spending Bill Show Oct 09, 2021

We did Idiots Live this week instead of the Four Food Groups. Let us know what you think of it. “We're at the beginning of the fourth quarter.” This is what The Intercept’s D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim predicts for the play unfolding in Washington: Will Biden get his bill passed? He analyzes the major players. The Dems. 48 of them want a bill that has free college and a whole bunch of other Sandersian provisions. This really confuses us after they spent the last two elections trying to bury Bernie and his ideas. Grim explains: '“Hugo Chavez had this funny quote, ‘I saw a revolution coming and it was either going to wipe me out or I was going to carry out a revolution. So I figured I'd rather carry out a revolution.’” Maybe the Dems realized they were falling behind, so they (conveniently) changed their principles. The Villains. Manchin and Sinema. Do they really oppose the bill or are they just cast as the foils for the Dems who don’t really want to pass their own bill? The Republicans. Or are the Villains serious? Could Sinema switch to the Republican party? Will Manchin really defy Biden’s angry tirade: “Joe, you're going to take my fucking bill down. You're going to destroy my fucking presidency.” We’re closing in on the end of the infrastructure and spending bill saga. Maybe we’ll finally get some answers (and get to talk about something else.) Plus, Ryan talks the two Useful Idiots unfairly stuck in prison, Assange and Donziger. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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He Made the First Covid Vaccine. They Shut Him Down Oct 01, 2021

See the extended interview at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Josiah Zayner wants to teach you genetic engineering. For two reasons: 1. He thinks it’d be awesome. And 2: It would hurt Big Pharma. “Gene therapies can cure and treat diseases,” he explains. “We can engineer animals and plants to make fuels and food and crazy stuff. The applications are limitless. We just need people working on it. And the only reason people aren't is because there's that knowledge gap.” But the knowledge gap is something that can be fixed, right? All we have to do is educate people. And that’s the mission of Odin, Josiah’s company that helps you become a scientist without huge grants and a PhD. And if regular people learn how to make this stuff for themselves, we can stop relying on pharma companies. “The drug market is so messed up. These companies are only trying to make drugs that make money,” he laments. “We literally have a cure for a disease that is not being provided to people because drug companies think they can't get the price they deserve for it. How fucked up is that?” Josiah’s latest venture, which got him heavily censored on the internet, was engineering a Covid vaccine. “We found that those who had the vaccine were protected. And it was pretty crazy because I was like, wow, that's amazing data, right? Why isn't everybody jumping on this?” He and his team created a DNA (easier and cheaper than mRNA) vaccine and proved its effectiveness. This was in the summer of 2020. But it wasn’t the big drug companies’ vaccine. So they suppressed him. And only now, over a year later, are other countries finally starting to use it. About time, right? It’s one of our most interesting interviews with a curious experimenter who wants to teach us all to be scientists. It’s worth a listen. Plus, new Russiagate docs, Trump’s toad penis, and throwing shit at politicians. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How the 24-Hour News Cycle Ruined Journalism Sep 24, 2021

Subscribe at http://usefulidiots.substack.com During the first Gulf War, there was a transformation to an era of constant new news. The face of this change was CNN reporter and Useful Idiots Hero Charles Jaco. Views went from checking the news once or twice a day to constantly staying plugged in, anchors got famous and the whole thing became a spectacle. Jaco’s response? “What the devil is going on?” Jaco, who’s the star of the weekly UI segment "Jaco of the Week,” discussed the negative impacts of unending news. “We should've put up slides that said, ‘Look, this is being brought live. The first draft of history is always wrong. Take this with a grain of salt and we'll try to sort this out.’” With the need to always have fresh news, time for fact checking went out the window. And since the early 90s, trust in media has plummeted. Jaco says that’s why. We also discuss the shift from focusing on in-the-field reporters to idolizing talking heads in the studio: “One of the things that really annoys me now is that you've got these platforms that can give you 24-hour news, but on the three major channels, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, it's degenerated into just talking heads rather than using the expertise of the reporters in the field. It's irritating as hell to those of us who did it for so long.” It’s a fun interview with our charming and funny UI hero. And check back on Monday for the extended interview where Charles discusses teabaggers, conspiracy theories, and the impending US civil war (sense a trend?) Plus, we find out just how much Dems and Republicans suck as Biden lets Haitian migrants get whipped and McConnell plans to let the government default. Ugh. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Chris Hedges: "I Wasn't Surprised by 9/11" Sep 17, 2021

See the full interview at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “The charade of statesmanship played out by George W. Bush and his enabler, Condoleezza Rice, as they wander the Middle East is a fitting end to seven years of misrule, stripped of power and transformed from monsters into buffoons. One half expects to see him stand up at the next president's inauguration and screech ‘I’m melting! I’m melting!’ as he sinks into a puddle of slime.” This was penned by friend-of-show and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges back in 2008. And at the time, it seemed to reflect the opinion of George W. Bush among Leftists and Liberals. But now, he’s back. Liberals who used to condemn him now love him! He hangs out with Obama, he gives speeches denouncing Trump, he paints! Now that’s a thoughtful and cultured war criminal with whom we’d like to grab a Sauvignon blanc. In addition to blasting the grotesque rehabilitation of Dubya, Hedges shares his experience of 9/11 which he witnessed in New York City where he happened to be for a meeting with his then-employer The New York Times. He recalls those who jumped from the buildings who were edited out because “that mass suicide just didn't fit the narrative that both the media and the ruling elites were propelling.” When we asked him if 9/11 surprised him after years of serving and reporting in the Middle East, watching US bombs fall on cities, he responded, “That is how we communicate with the rest of the world. Huge explosions and death above a city skyline. That's how we have communicated for decades. And the hijackers learned to communicate back to us in the language we taught them. So when I saw the devastation, it was familiar. That was of course lost on most of the public who drank deep from that very dark elixir of nationalism.” Plus, the new Useful Idiots Wigged Moose Party announces a plan to ride in an armored pangolin and shoot Covid pellets at the Pharma companies refusing to share the vaccine. Maybe you have to see it to get it. It’s all this, and more (including a #JacoOfTheWeek), on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And don’t forget to subscribe to hear the rest of the interview with Chris Hedges, which drops Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Adolph Reed has ENOUGH White People Explaining Racism to Him Sep 10, 2021

Subscribe at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Matt lost his voice this week, so we’re unpaywalling this extended interview with Adolph Reed. We’ll be back next week with Monday Mourning and a new UI episode. Subscribers can still get their UI fix with Katie’s attempt at the Taibbi dating app, also out today. “But if that doesn’t happen, then that’s gonna be the end of American democracy in the next year.” Does he mean Republicans taking the senate? The creation of a new religion of Wokery in deference to Robin DiAngelo? Duke winning March Madness in 2022? You’ll have to watch to find out. Professor Reed has big statements and important messages for you in this informative and irreverent extended interview. He shares with Matt and Katie his perspective on the changing progression of civil-rights activism from policy-oriented protest to squabbling over abstract moral superiority. The pre-eminent scholar on this new ideology of course being Robin DiAngelo and her new book Nice Racism, which Professor Reed awards Matt the purple heart for finishing. It’s in this “book” (apologies to Norm Finkelstein for using the term) that DiAngelo calls for such BIPOC-infantilizing ideas as moral reparations, seeing white people collectively while seeing BIPOC as individuals. And this new teaching is quickly becoming the dominant theology. This, according to Professor Reed, is dangerous. “What we need,” he argues, “is having frank conversations with actual people in society, not mediated through mass media, about the problems and policies in their lives that confront them.” And he’s planning to do just that. In a Useful Idiots Breaking News Alert, Reed announced his upcoming podcast Class Matters, in which he and other scholars will discuss what society would look like if it were governed by and for the concerns of the working class. Listen to the interview now. Learn something, laugh, but please, whatever you do, stop telling Adolph Reed he doesn’t understand the depths and intensity of racism in America. Because we’re pretty sure he does. Plus, Matt and Katie break their silence on the Aaron Maté vs The Young Turks feud, and yes, they have some demands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How Obama's War on Terror Led to Trump Sep 03, 2021

Subscribe for the full interview at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “That was what the unity after 9/11 really concealed: who it was aimed against.” Next week marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. And as usual, Obama’s apology-free drone strikes, the domestic racism, the enhanced government surveillance, and curtailed civil liberties will be downplayed, if not completely ignored. “The longer this war on terror circumstance goes on,” says Spencer Ackerman, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the new book Reign of Terror, “the more and more it's going to be indistinguishable from domestic American politics. And the more the tools of the war on terror are going to be used against Americans.” Will the corporate media outlets discuss liberal complacency and hawkishness in their 20-year-anniversary-paloozas? Will they discuss the fear felt by Americans who were racially profiled not just by other citizens, but by the FBI? Ackerman, whose book lays out how Trump capitalized on the disguised racism in the violent policies of the Obama and Bush admins, worries they won’t. So listen here for the darker side of American unity, and read Spencer’s Substack Forever Wars here. Plus, Texas Republicans try to strip our rights away with their restrictive abortion and voting laws, and new Useful Idiots hero Charles Jaco mocks right-wing teabaggers. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Afghanistan Vet on Biden Pullout: "I'd Change Nothing" Aug 27, 2021

Subscribe for full interviews at http://usefulidiots.substack.com After 9/11, the US government jumped into war in Afghanistan, giving shells of reasons for their aggression. But at least they still gave reasons. However, after Bin Laden was killed in 2011, even the illusion of a reason for this war was gone. It’s been time to come home for a while. In an April interview with Matt, Adrian Bonenberger, author and veteran, predicted that Biden would execute the withdrawal from Afghanistan. And like Biden, he didn’t expect the immediate collapse in the region. But still, says Bonenberger, Biden made the right decision. This was a pointless effort wasting time, money, and lives, and after two tours of duty and much reporting in the area, it became clear to him that US presence was doing nothing productive. Ok, so it’s time to leave. But why is it going so poorly? This, he continues, is more of a problem with the State Department than with Biden: “The system is not set up to get people from Afghanistan or Russia or Mexico or China to America. There needs to be some type of capability that we can switch on, some emergency act.” And without that, this extraction was doomed. But Bonenberger, and your Useful Idiots, believe it’s a necessary move. So hear us say it today, because who knows when we’ll say it again: “Good job, Joe.” Plus, we don’t forget Biden’s terrible side in his nomination of Rahm Emanuel, we watch Newsmax’s racist coverage of “Afghani” men, and we side with the woman who’s deep in an affair with a chimp. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Deadliest Coverup of the 20th Century Aug 13, 2021

Subscribe for full episodes and extended interviews at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Lesley Blume is a journalist. She married a journalist. Her father wrote for Walter Cronkite. Her whole community is journalists. So, in 2016, when Trump rose to power, her community was suddenly under attack. “All of a sudden to see your entire community be under assault like that and be designated as enemies of the people was so shocking and demoralizing, and it felt like an all hands on deck moment.” The best way to fight back, she decided, was to write a book that proved to America just how crucial reporters are in democracy, to “reinstate this idea that journalism at its best serves the common good.” “And so,” she explains, “when I came across Hersey’s story, which had been shockingly untold, I knew that I had my story.” John Hersey, a Pulitzer-prize-winning pioneer reporter who saw combat to cover World War II, wrote what some consider the most important work of journalism of the 20th century: Hiroshima. In her book, Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World, Blume uses painstaking research to document how the US government obfuscated its role in the deadliest attack in history and comes to the realization that dropping the bomb was not justified, despite what we’re taught in school. Plus, future-ex-Governor Cuomo couldn’t take the heat from last week’s Useful Idiots review, how Trump’s big beautiful tax cut actually (surprise) helped the rich, and the world burns from climate change. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s (gloomy) episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Cuomo's Kiss Compilation & Dystopian Media "Bullshit" w/ Walter Kirn Aug 06, 2021

Subscribe for the full interview at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “America finally had enough media awareness after being taught in high school to look for bias that they suddenly were able to see, with new eyes, just how slanted and silly and contradictory and boring [corporate media is.]” Thus spoke Walter Kirn, writer for Time magazine and author of eight novels including Up in the Air (which was turned into a George Clooney movie), on this week’s Useful Idiots. And, like Matt and Katie, Kirn ditched the mainstream and made the move to Substack. where you can check him out. Years ago, Walter tells us, he would complain that every Time article ended the same way: “Some experts believe this while others believe that, but one thing is for sure, the issue is not settled and only time will tell." But now he yearns for the days of yore when the media would take the burden off of itself and leave readers with vague cliches. But at least the readers were left with a chance to think for themselves. Today there is no two sides. There is no debate. They tell you what to think. And at that point, can it still really be called journalism? The answer to that question is hard to say. Some experts believe it can, others believe it can’t, but one thing is for sure, it’s all a lot of bullshit. Plus, after reading 165 pages of the attorney general’s report on Andrew Cuomo, Katie and Matt come to the (hot take) conclusion that the Governor is, indeed, a sexual harasser and dick. And we mourn the loss of Nina Turner’s congressional campaign. Oh yeah, and a bunch of penis stuff. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out now and stand by for the Substack-only portion where Kirn talks about the novel he’s working on, his parents’ divorce, and the fall of Stephen Colbert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nina Turner Takes on the Establishment in Run for Congress Jul 30, 2021

Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com for full episodes and extended interviews Even just days before the election in Ohio’s 11th district, Nina Turner is pulling voters to her side. Just this week, an influential city councilman announced he switched his support from opponent Shontel Brown to Turner because on one side he saw angry attack ads, while on the other he saw policy. And this race is centered on policy: Brown, backed by corporate dems like Hillary Clinton and pro-Israel lobbies, represents the moderate side of democrats, while Turner, supported by Bernie Sanders and AOC, is part of the progressive swing led by the Squad. Jennifer R. Farmer, a social publicist and campaign surrogate for Turner, joins the Useful Idiots to share what Nina believes in: This is Medicare for all and “ensuring that a health event does not derail a person’s future.” This is affordable college and equal pay for equal work. This is creating “a future that we’re leaving behind for future generations that ensures climate justice.” And on Tuesday, we have an election. Will Nina Turner use her #UsefulIdiotsBump to become the next member of the Squad? Or does the national Democratic Party still have power to reach voters? Watch along with us. Plus, we watch Biden yell at reporters, Republicans pretend America isn’t racist, and Brian Stelter lose his pants. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Biggest Government Coverup of the Century Jul 23, 2021

Join our substack for the full interview and bonus content http://usefulidiots.substack.com Subscribe for clips and full episodes Follow us on twitter at https://twitter.com/UsefulIdiotpod The press is a crucial part of democracy, checking on the government and alerting the public to what’s going on. The water supply has been poisoned––that's the kind of thing we depend on the fourth estate to report about. But where have they been? The national press was universally late in reporting on the Flint Water crisis, and quickly dropped the corruption, greed, and mismanagement that poisoned Flint's water and people. But the story continues, though you'd never know it from mainstream media. So is the crisis over? Jordan Chariton and Jenn Dize of Status Coup say no. In their recent article, they uncover mounds of corruption, finding the government guilty of a huge coverup with cleared text messages, piles of thrown away phones, and then-Governor Rick Snyder telling his staff: “Don’t put anything in writing because emails are cannons for our enemies.” They lay out a real case against Snyder for misconduct, willful neglect of duty, and even involuntary manslaughter. But today, he’s facing penalties equivalent to a parking ticket and a potential of up to one year in prison. And no one else is talking about it. In this interview, we examine the evil side of politics and the news that sadly can only be found in the reporting of independent media. Plus, Biden’s no longer is going door-to-door to give you a vaccine, a tribunal for human rights abuses in Cuba, and two important messages: don’t make guns that look like toys and if you’re going to commit bestiality, please make sure the animal is bigger than you. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Julian Assange's Brother: #FreeAssange Jul 16, 2021

In the past few weeks of the crucial case for free speech and press, Wikileaks-founder Julian Assange was granted a new appeal on his extradition trial and it came out that a key witness (who is a diagnosed sociopath) admitted to lying, a smear campaign distorted much of what we know, and psychological torture was reported in the prison where he’s being held. Remember all that? You don’t? Well, do you read the New York Times and Washington Post? You do? But do you watch CNN and MSNBC? You watch those too? And they didn’t mention it at all? Hmm. So why does no one cover the story that creates a precedent of criminalizing journalism? Because there’s a narrative that Assange helped Trump. What Assange did do was release court-deemed-pertinent documents on Hillary Clinton before the election. What he did not do is meet with Paul Manafort to brainstorm how to help the Trump campaign. But that’s the evidence-free story they’re going with. So of course liberal media can’t defend a guy who helped Trump! But most importantly, this shouldn’t matter even if he did have any connection to Trump. The charges don’t have anything to do with 2016. They’re about 2010 Chelsea Manning revelations and publications of Afghan and Iraq war logs as well as reports of torture in Guantanamo Bay. It’s a serious trial on first amendment rights. And could have even more serious consequences. Julian’s brother Gabriel Shipton and journalist Kevin Gosztola warn of a dark future: The New York Times may not care now, “but a President Mike Pompeo, who led the charge at the CIA against Wikileaks, if elected” could decide he doesn’t like the leaked material you published and bring the same case against you. And when they start throwing your colleagues in jail, don’t you want to be able to say you were against the Espionage Act back then? It’s an important interview about a case that has worldwide consequences, while also about saving one man’s life. Also in this episode of Useful Idiots: –Art critic Nina Felshin critiques Hunter Biden’s paintings –Greg Abbott’s plan to arrest all the democrats –Miami mayor calls for airstrikes on Cuba –Plus: Is it ethical to murder a drone? It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Black Scholar Adolph Reed DESTROYS Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility & Nice Racism Jul 09, 2021

As PC culture, led fearlessly by Miss Woke 2021 Robin DiAngelo, moves deeper into decreeing what terms and actions count as racist, Professor Adolph Reed has a warning for us: “Both the discursive and institutional have emerged around a systemic disposition to find ways to evade talking about class and economic inequality, then it just grows in that dark environment with other fungi and so forth and so on.” That’s “historian of ideologies” talk for a simple yet important concept which he explains further: When we focus too much on the struggle against racism and prejudice, what recedes from view is the struggle against specific policies that cause essential problems of economic inequality. In his return to Useful Idiots, Professor Reed judges excerpts from DiAngelo’s new book Nice Racism, shares stories of civil rights history, and does something basic yet suddenly important in a time when both racism and faux-anti-racism seem to be growing: he simply defines racism. It’s an important episode which also turns out to be one of the funniest ones yet. Here’s what else you’ll get: –Katie Halper’s NBA Finals Predictions –Poor Saudi Arabia tries to defend itself against Yemeni children –Biden and Republicans finally find a chastity belt for their mouths –And of course, it sucks to Zuck It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Follow us on twitter @usefulidiotpod for clips, games, forums, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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How to Discharge Your Student Loans with Austin Smith Jul 02, 2021

What do you do when your congressman is an a**hole who celebrates the January 6 insurrection and uses it to try propel himself to governor of New York? You run against him and f*cking beat him. At least that’s what attorney and former Onion writer Austin Smith plans to do. And he’s using his “furious, blood-boiling” anger toward Lee Zeldin and the rest of Trump’s losers to help the people of New York’s first district to finally get a decent guy to represent them. Smith, who previously worked for the campaigns of both John McCain and Hillary Clinton, has a clear mission in Congress once he unseats Zeldin: help people understand and navigate the ridiculous stupidity of student loans. He discusses his lawsuits against the deceitful companies who keep people buried in debt and shares well-hidden secrets for people who might not know they’re eligible to discharge their loans. Listen here to what he has to say and then support his intellectual and for-the-people campaign here. Or just send him your junk (no, really). Also in this week’s episode of Useful Idiots: –Nina Turner gets the much-coveted “Jim Clyburn backs the other candidate” bump –Katie goes from inviting a NYT writer onto the show to cursing him out in a record-setting 7 minutes –Republicans love their ugly confederate heroes –And Matt laughs louder than he ever has on Useful Idiots It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Norm Finkelstein on Cancel Culture Jun 25, 2021

Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Norman Finkelstein, the prolific (and widely canceled) political scientist, and author of 11 books, joins the show to give us a sneak preview of his new book on cancel culture and identity politics. He explains what makes today's cancel culture new, what makes it not so new, and why it’s worse, in some ways, when the Left does it: “Obviously there’s cancel culture on the right. But the cancel culture on the right, or the mainstream, the establishment, whatever you want to call it, for a person of the left, is a given. That’s a part of what it means to be on the left. The true Left. You’re going to be marginalized, ignored. That’s the history of the Left.” He critiques MSNBC's Bernie-bashing and identity-politics-weaponizing—Joy Ann Reid and her body-language expert, who diagnoses Bernie Sanders’ self-incriminating “turtling,” in particular— gives Noam Chomksy his due credit and sings the praises of W.E.B. DuBois. Finkelstein also directs his formidable fire at White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo: “And what's her message to white people? Her message to white people is every white person... who's laying out in the street because he or she is homeless, which there are quite a lot in my neighborhood. Every white person from that person to Jeff Bezos, they all profit from racism. And then they, the CEOs, they get to play the enlightened ones because they give money to Black Lives Matter. So, the message to white people is be careful what you're willing to give up, because you're benefiting from this system. Every white person benefits from the system. If you let them climb one rung higher, you are going to go one rung lower. So it's a warning to white people to be cautious, careful, wary, of the demands of black people.... ” Plus, Katie and Matt lament the way Andrew Yang sabotaged his own campaign, depriving himself of what could have been a game-changing “Useful Idiots Show Bump,” and review some important penis-representation-related news stories. Stand by for the substack-only section of the interview where Norman talks more about Angela Davis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and reveals an early crush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Cuomosexuals and the NYC Mayor Race Jun 18, 2021

Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Ross Barkan on the New York Mayoral Race and Cuomosexuals, Plus Whale Mouthwash, Republicans Hit the Pipe, and Jeff Bezos Should Eat the Mona Lisa “This is kind of the Holy Grail for the left that can never quite get pulled off,” says Ross Barkan, author of The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York. “It usually gets pulled off by moderates, or Barack Obama.” We talked to Ross about one of our favorite people — the demented neoliberal monster/werewolf Andrew Cuomo — but also about the upcoming New York City mayoral elections, which will be the large-scale litmus test on the state of the Democratic electorate since the 2020 primaries. New York City has one of the most rabidly progressive voter bases in the country, but the Democratic Primary next Tuesday has for some time now appeared likely to be dominated by moderates like former NYPD officer and Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams. Friend-ish-of-show Andrew Yang, who snubbed a Useful Idiots interview request during this campaign, has fallen off to fourth place in a recent poll, in the most recent demonstration of the ironclad Law of the Useful Idiots Bump. Will he make it back up in time to replace Bill de Blasio? Barkan discusses with us some of the factors that may be influencing the quasi-surprising New York results. Three of the four top candidates — Yang, Adams, and former sanitation chief Kathryn Garcia — seemingly go against national type. “All three of these candidates, Yang, Garcia, Adams, are explicitly against de-funding the police,” he says. “Who’s going to win? I don’t know, but I think Adams has the inside track.” Barkan, who wrote a pleasingly vicious book about Cuomo that depicts him in the garb of Machiavelli on the cover, also explained how the New York governor managed to pull off a surge in popularity last year despite horrific management of the pandemic. “Journalism… too often takes on the tropes of fiction, and seeks narratives, heroes and villains,” Ross said. “Cuomo filled that void,” giving journalists the tough-talking uncle figure to Donald Trump’s crazy-nitwit act. Reporters ran with that simple storyline for months, ignoring things like Cuomo’s craven manipulation of death toll figures for nursing homes. From there we basically just said gratuitous things about Cuomo and his doofus brother, but it’s worth a listen, particularly if you’re high. Also: we plow through the four food groups, stopping to discuss ICE’s sterling wokewash efforts, a dude who maybe got too much credit for being swallowed by a whale, and what “POS” stands for on a U.S. State Department Twitter handle. That and more, on this week’s Useful Idiots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dennis Kucinich Literally Knocked Down Door To Win Race + Hunter Biden Loves His Penis & the N-Word Jun 11, 2021

“Protest with a guitar? Not this candidate.” This written about a 21-year-old city council candidate with hippy sensibilities and a drive to help the underdog: Dennis Kucinich. Since that article in 1967, Kucinich served 16 years as the US house rep from Ohio, gained national fame in his two presidential bids, and was vindicated by the Washington Post as the future of American politics. Now, Kucinich is out with a new book The Division of Light and Power, which shares stories of his early days in politics as a 23-year-old city councilman and later mayor in Cleveland, Ohio (read Matt’s full book review here). What he saw was a corrupt and bent system. So his career became a crusade against it. In his first unsuccessful council run, he realized the incumbent never lost because he took care of people, giving favors to powerful donors and making sure his influential constituents were kept happy. ‘So,’ thought Kucinich, ‘that’s what I’ll do.’ But taking care of people for Dennis meant helping normal Clevelanders who, like his own family, couldn’t pay the rent, couldn’t keep the lights on, couldn’t feed their kids. He helped these people and they noticed. And he won. Whether against cheating vote-counters, corrupt utility companies, war-mongering presidents, or racist legislation, Dennis Kucinich’s political career has been a constant battle against immorality and a fight for the helpless. Kucinich describes how his life is echoed by the sound of coins clinking on a white metal table as his parents counted pennies to pay the rent. By the time he was 17, he lived in 21 different places, including a few cars. All this only built the man he is and “translated into the necessity of standing up for economic justice for people who are struggling.” That, plus music, theatre, and ripping off doors in this Useful Idiots interview. Meanwhile, we accept credit for the Breaking Points’ #usefulidiotsbump, read Hunter Biden’s drug-feuled texts about his tanned penis and love of the N-word, call out Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s attempt to imprison migrant children, and sell an invisible Kurt Loder sculpture for thousands. All this, and more, on this week’s Useful Idiots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti Reach a Breaking Point, plus Dicks By Association, Obama's Drone Addiction, and Water Bear Abuse Jun 04, 2021

After a groundbreaking and enormously successful run at The Hill, Krystal and Saagar have followed the iconic path of a certain former rock music podcast, going solo by launching a subscriber-supported show called Breaking Point that debuts next week. The longtime friends-of-show are true pioneers in the modern media age. At a time when virtually every other political discussion show is aimed exclusively at one political demographic or another, their Rising program represented literally the only mainstream effort to speak to all of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Aaron Maté on Syria, Plus Joe Biden Tells You to F*ck Off May 28, 2021

Lawyer Steven Donziger Under House Arrest for Suing Chevron May 21, 2021

Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger has been trapped in his apartment for two years without a fair trial. Hear his story. Plus: Biden and Republicans kill journalists while the Queen kills her dog Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Abby Martin on Gaza, a Liz Cheney Surprise, the Grammar of Stabbing, and More Feces Fries May 14, 2021

Longtime friend-of-show Abby Martin, maker of the remarkable documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom, drops in for a Zoom chat to discuss the outbreak of hostilities in Israel. Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Thomas Frank, Financial Scams, What Would Jesus Drone, & Woke CIA Ads May 08, 2021

Also, we semi mis-predict a patent waiver outcome, discuss a sex work ruling, and relive a beaver attack Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Cornel West On Biden & Leaving Harvard May 01, 2021

Friend-of-show Dr. Cornel West has been in the news a lot of late, and not always in a happy way. At the end of February, the brilliant professor of Philosophy, Divinity, and African-American studies announced he was leaving his longtime employers at Harvard University, and moving back to Union Theological Seminary, where he began his teaching career back in 1977. Harvard denied his request to be considered for tenure, apparently for political reasons. On Useful Idiots, West talked about the likely reasons behind Harvard’s decision (outspokenness on Palestine?), Joe Biden’s first 100 days, and the influence of his late mother Irene B. West. Also: Katie and I debate how many Secret Service agents it takes to get Mike Pence up a ski hill, we denounce the deeply unfunny campaign against the #YangGang, and we give detailed reviews of all of the movies nominated for Best Picture from this year’s Academy Awards ceremony (without seeing them of course). Is Nomadland a space adventure? Is Mank a misspelled fur-bearing animal? What’s the over/under on debilitating-disease themes for next year’s Oscars? We explore all these important questions, and more, on this week’s Useful Idiots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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David Sirota on the SALT Tax Cap, Plus: Is Biden Really the new FDR? Apr 26, 2021

David Sirota of The Daily Poster weighs in on SALT deductions, Biden's presidency, and the future of journalism. Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bad Chauvin Verdict Reactions, Notes from the Anus-Having Club, and More Vanguard Time Travel Apr 23, 2021

A nation is gripped by a police-abuse trial, and Republicans and Democrats both find a way to suck about it Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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"Don't Let That Liberal Bullsh*t Get To You" with Marianne Williamson Apr 17, 2021

Talking with the former presidential candidate about the progressive candidate summit, smears, and "liberal bullshit." Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com to hear the extended interview with Marianne Williamso Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Noam Chomsky + The True Story of the Rolling Stone Breakup Apr 09, 2021

We interview some guy named Noam Chomsky (extended interview coming next week), get to the bottom of why we broke up with Rolling Stone, and scrutinize the thrilling PBS interview of former al-Nusra/al-Qaeda leader-turned-very-handsome-man Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Katie taps her beard-crit background, while we both investigate the two most important questions of our time: which four goateed male celebrities combined look like one PBS interviewer Martin Smith, and why do I keep thinking Smith is British? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Kamala's Mansion Misery, Mysterious Suez Penis Crash, & Dr. Erica Anderson on Arkansas Trans Ban Apr 05, 2021

[This interview was recorded before the Governor of Arkansas Vetoed the anti-transgender health care bill].] The Arkansas Senate just passed a bill with a title straight out of dystopian fiction: the Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act, or SAFE. Roundly denounced as the most extreme law of its type ever passed, the bill is one of about two dozen laws aimed at trans care currently being considered at the state level. To find out what’s actually in these bills, we spoke with Dr. Erica Anderson, a trans clinician and psychology professor from the University of California, San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ted Cruz, Penis Mishaps + Matt Stoller on Big Tech Monopoly & Surveillance Advertising Mar 26, 2021

In this Useful Idiots interview, Matt Stoller walks us through some of the myths about big tech. Many members of Congress seem to believe the firms don’t intervene enough; Stoller explains that their massive existing levels of intervention are the problem, that the financial incentives of what he calls “surveillance advertising” move firms like Facebook to push users in the direction of ever more enraging, divisive, and conspiratorial content. Plus Matt (Taibbi) and Katie talk about Ted Cruz, Woke-washing and penis mishaps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jesse Singal & Katie Herzog On The Substack Wars Mar 23, 2021

Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog, co-hosts of the podcast Blocked And Reported, join Useful Idiots to talk about the failed campaign to get Singal driven off of Substack and what, according to Herzog, some of Singal's most vocal critics have in common with QAnon. They also talk about how they met and why they started their podcast and how they're not exactly canceled. Singal discusses his new book "Quick Fix," about the dangers of fad psychology. And Matt and Katie discuss the indefensible hoarding of vaccine, and debate the important question: can robbing blind people ever be funny? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Daniel Ellsberg On The Pentagon Papers + Matt & Katie On Cow Therapy & Serial Killers Mar 23, 2021

We spoke to legendary Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about the nuclear threat nobody is talking about, the end of the world and how he, despite all that, stays hopeful. But before diving in with Ellsberg, Matt and Katie talk about, of course, Dems sucking, Republicans sucking, things being weird and terrible and even bring you a stoned moment. Stand by for the youtube episode. And, dear paying subscribers, stand by for the paywalled video and audio sections dropping soon where we talk to Ellsberg about the way he’s been cynically rehabilitated by his critics as a “good whistleblower” in order to present Snowden, Assange, and Manning as bad ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Useful Idiots Unchained Teaser Mar 23, 2021

Useful Idiots, the podcast Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper started in the summer of 2019 at Rolling Stone, is moving. After eighty episodes that included interviews with the likes of Tulsi Gabbard (our first guest), Roger Waters, Andrew Yang, Erin Brockovich, Michael K. Williams, Noam Chomsky, Marianne Williamson, Adam McKay, Bernie Sanders, Nadya Tolkonnikova of Pussy Riot, Tim Robbins, Adolph Reed, Chris Hedges, and many others, the show that was created with the idea of being a home for voices shut out or shouted down in traditional media outlets is moving, appropriately, to Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Stella Moris on the Assange Case, Concealing Pregnancy Mar 05, 2021

Stella Moris, lawyer and life partner of Julian Assange, joins the show to discuss the current status of Assange's case and it’s implications for global journalism. Hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper discuss arguments for and against independent journalism outlet Substack. Merch link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Democrats Try To Cancel Fox News, with Shahid Buttar Feb 26, 2021

Shahid Buttar joins the show to discuss Democrats, Fox News, and free speech. Hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper discuss Tennessee GOP efforts to prohibit kneeling during college sports national anthems. Merch link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Aaron Maté on Biden's Foreign Policy, OPCW, and More Feb 19, 2021

Journalist Aaron Maté joins the show to talk about the start of Biden's foreign policy, and his reporting on Syria and the OPCW Merch Link: https://bit.ly/3uiFz4D Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Glenn Greenwald Returns, Plus Neera Tanden's Confirmation Hearing Feb 12, 2021

Glenn Greenwald rejoins the show to discuss recent journalism news, content moderation, and more on GameStop/Wall Street. Hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi trade off takes related to the contentious confirmation hearing of Neera Tanden. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ro Khanna on Covid Relief, Robinhood, and More, Plus a Review of the Mandalorian Feb 05, 2021

Congressman Ro Khanna makes another appearance to discuss the state of Covid relief, his experience during the January 6 riot and more. Hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi discuss other recent news, including an inspired metaphor from Thomas Friedman on the Gamestop story. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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GameStop Madness with David Dayen Jan 29, 2021

David Dayen joins hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper to break down the GameStop/Wall Street Story. They also discuss the early days of Biden's presidency, and the moves that are available to him with his new authority. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Entering the Biden Era with Thomas Frank Jan 21, 2021

Thomas Frank joins hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper in this special post-inauguration episode, looking ahead to the Biden era, and how the media can transition from Trump. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Scary End of Trump's Reign, Plus How Censorship is Bad for the Left with Andre Damon Jan 15, 2021

Matt and Katie talk about the fallout from the storming of the capitol. Andre Damon of the World Socialist Web Site discusses how censorship has affected political opposition from the left. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Julian Assange Denied Bail with Stefania Maurizi, Plus Covid Cow Coffins Jan 08, 2021

Disclaimer: this episode was taped early Wednesday, before the events at the Capitol. Investigative reporter Stefania Maurizi joins the show to give an update on the Julian Assange case. Hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi discuss the reconfirmation of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Stimulus Checks, Larry Summers, plus Mark Crispin Miller on Academic Freedom Dec 31, 2020

Matt and Katie discuss the latest on the debate over Covid stimulus negotiations, NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller talks academic freedom. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Surveillance in Tech, 'Biracial Commercials,' and Obama's Drones with Edward Ongweso Jr Dec 18, 2020

Vice writer Edward Ongweso Jr joins the show to discuss surveillance by tech companies, Biden's 'Biracial Commercial' thoughts, the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit against Google, and more. Matt breaks down a recent piece from his substack, 'TK Media,' about the flailing efforts by democrats to pass the Covid relief package. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Christman and MSNBC’s Petty War on Sanders Dec 11, 2020

Matt Christman joins the show to talk modern political identity in America and 'Chapo Trap House.' Katie and Matt watch a clip from MSNBC ridiculing him for his record of passing legislation that he's written Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Erin Brockovich on U.S. Water Crisis, Biden's EPA Transition Board Pick, and More Dec 04, 2020

Erin Brockovich joins hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper to discuss her recent book on the U.S. water crisis, Biden's EPA transition pick, Michael McCabe, and how to effectively fight against corporations who pollute. Merch link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Reading Obama Quotes, Plus Ryan McMahon and Jon Thompson on Thunder Bay Nov 25, 2020

Ryan McMahon and Jon Thompson join the show to talk about their excellent podcast Thunder Bay. Katie reads a couple passages from former president Barack Obama's recent memoir 'A Promised Land.' Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters on Biden, Trump, Assange & Censorship Nov 20, 2020

Legendary rock musician Roger Waters joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation on U.S. foreign policy, what happens after Trump, Julian Assange and more. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Thomas Frank on Fake Populism & Silicon Valley Fantasies Nov 13, 2020

Thomas Frank rejoins the show to talk about the past, present, and future of the Democratic party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Glenn Greenwald on Lessons from the Election, Leaving the Intercept and More Nov 06, 2020

Glenn Greenwald joins to discuss the election (taped on Thursday), leaving the Intercept, and more. Matt and Katie ponder the future of both parties after a tightly contested result. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Tinashe on Useful Idiots Live, Bonus Episode! Nov 03, 2020

Genre-bending singer, Tinashe, joins hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper in a livestream event, sponsored by Yappa, to discuss the 2020 election and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on the Election and the Future of Both Parties Oct 30, 2020

Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti from The Hill's 'Rising' rejoin the show ahead of the US election. Matt and Katie discuss Jared Kushner's viral clip on Fox. They also express concern on what the handling of the Hunter Biden story portends in media. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Zoomin Toobin, How to Pitch Biden to Voters, and Analyzing Polls with Ben Tulchin Oct 23, 2020

Katie and Matt analyze the Jeffrey Toobin story and come up with a few ways to pitch Biden to undecided voters. Pollster Ben Tulchin, who worked on Bernie Sanders' campaigns in 2016 and 2020, joins the show to break down the polls and what to look for on election night. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nancy Pelosi Beefs With Wolf Blitzer, Plus Antonio García Martínez on Content Moderation in Silicon Valley Oct 16, 2020

Hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper go over Nancy Pelosi's strategy for passing a new stimulus bill, and review a contentious appearance of hers on Wolf Blitzer's CNN show. Poly-hyphenate Antonio García Martínez joins the show to discuss the recent report from the ICO in the U.K. that seemed to unravel the heated accusations against Cambridge Analytica from a few years back, and how much influence they may have had on the 2016 US presidential election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Trump vs. Covid and 'Amy Hairy Conehead' with David Sirota Oct 09, 2020

Journalist David Sirota joins the show to talk Trump and Covid, Biden and the election, and how 80s pop culture relates to today. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Michael K. Williams on the Debate, Police Reform, Lovecraft Country and More Oct 02, 2020

Renowned actor Michael K. Williams joins the show to discuss his activism, the presidential debate, his acting process and more. Katie and Matt discuss a few moments from the debate and a frustrating Fox News story. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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RBG and the Supreme Court with Samuel Moyn Sep 25, 2020

Yale professor of law and history, Samuel Moyn, joins the show to discuss the Supreme Court after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Matt and Katie discuss a dustup in Syria that hasn't gotten much media attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Glenn Greenwald on Reality Winner Controversy and Asking Trump to Pardon Snowden Sep 18, 2020

Glenn Greenwald returns to the show to discuss a few media moments he was involved in recently, one regarding the Intercept and Reality Winner, the other an appearance he made on Tucker Carlson's show on FOX. Katie and Matt dive into the viral clip of Joe Biden playing a clip of 'Despacito' at a recent Hispanic Heritage Month event. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Trump and Bob Woodward, Plus Filmmaker Juan Passarelli on the Assange Trial Sep 11, 2020

Katie and Matt discuss the revelations from Bob Woodward's book regarding Trump, Juan Passarelli describes the extradition hearing against Julian Assange Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nancy Pelosi Challenger Shahid Buttar Responds to Allegations Sep 04, 2020

California Congressional candidate Shahid Buttar, running to unseat Nancy Pelosi, shares his perspective on recent allegations of sexual and workplace misconduct. Matt and Katie break down the Massachusetts primary returns and Trump's Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Zephyr Teachout, RNC Highlighs & the Myth of the Markey Bros Aug 28, 2020

Attorney, author and former New York gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout joins hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi to talk about the role of monopolies in the American politics, economies, and tech. Matt and Katie break down the drama in the Ed Markey vs. Joe Kennedy III Massachusetts Senate race, and react to the first half of the Republican National Convention. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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DNC Highlights, the USPS Crisis, Plus Katie Hill on Her Scandal and New Book Aug 21, 2020

Former congresswoman Katie Hill joins hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi to talk about her life after resigning last fall. Matt and Katie review the first two days of the DNC, and analyze what's going on with the USPS and its media coverage. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Alex Morse Speaks Out, Plus Kamala Harris as Biden's VP Aug 14, 2020

Massachusetts congressional candidate Alex Morse joins the show to discuss his perspective on the misconduct allegations against him. Katie and Matt discuss Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Thomas Frank on Anti-Populism, Plus Biden's Most-Stoned Moment Ever Aug 07, 2020

Author Thomas Frank joins the show to discuss his latest book ‘The People, NO: A Brief History of Anti-Populism.’ Katie and Matt dissect Biden's most-stoned moment ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dr. Robert Gallo on Vaccines, Plus the Democrats' Campaign Strategy | Useful Idiots Jul 31, 2020

Leading biomedical researcher Dr. Robert Gallo shares his thoughts on the various theories for potential covid-19 vaccines. Matt and Katie caution against overconfidence by the left heading into the presidential election. Katie decries a 'Sharkaganda' story from Australia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Thomas Chatterton Williams on Cancel Culture, Bari Weiss Leaves NYT Jul 17, 2020

Thomas Chatterton Williams talks cancel culture and his contribution to the Harper's Letter on Justice and Open Debate. Matt and Katie discuss the departure of Bari Weiss from the New York Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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True Anon's Liz & Brace on Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein, Plus the Harper's Letter Jul 10, 2020

Liz Franczak and Brace Belden, hosts of the podcast True Anon, discuss the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell and the wider Jeffrey Epstein story, Matt and Katie talk about reactions to the much-debated Harper's open letter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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"White Fragility," Plus Adolph Reed on Identity Politics Jul 03, 2020

Matt and Katie discuss Matt's review of "White Fragility," Professor Adolph Reed joins to discuss identity politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Omar Wasow on Violent vs. Non-Violent Protests, Plus Katie and Matt on Trump's Rally Jun 26, 2020

Omar Wasow, assistant professor of politics at Princeton, joins the show to discuss his paper on protest tactics and 'Agenda Seeding,' and the polarized reaction it's received. Matt and Katie analyze a scene from Delaware involving a manly encounter with a shark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dr. Cornel West on Protests, Bernie's Campaign, His New Podcast, and Much More Jun 19, 2020

Dr. Cornel West joins the show (for the first time) for a wide-ranging conversation about his new podcast The Tightrope, what went wrong for Bernie’s campaign and why he had endorsed Sanders again in 2020, and the tactical efficacy of violent vs. nonviolent protesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Shahid Buttar on Running Against Nancy Pelosi, Kente Cloth, and Police Reform Jun 12, 2020

Shahid Buttar returns to the show to talk about his campaign against Nancy Pelosi, police reform, civil liberties and more. Matt and Katie look at the significance of Kente cloth, and discuss the recent turmoil in major newsrooms around the country Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Marianne Williamson and Dr. Gerald Horne on Protests, Dems' Failures, and 2020 Jun 05, 2020

Matt and Katie briefly discuss a few moments from the past week, including Trump's praise of 'dominating' the protests, then Historian Dr. Gerald Horne discusses the history of racism in the US and contextualizes current issues, followed by Marianne Williamson on intersectional issues and the 2020 election Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Michael Moore on Planet of the Humans May 31, 2020

Michael Moore joins the show to discuss the removal of Planet of the Humans from YouTube, and addresses criticism he and the film have received Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Case Against Censoring Trump and Palestinians With Ali Abunimah + George Floyd and Amy Cooper May 29, 2020

Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, joins the show to discuss the problems with social media censorship. Katie and Matt discuss the horrific George Floyd story, and the similarities with Eric Garner Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jimmy Dore on Bernie Sanders, the CARES Act + the Dems Ditch Civil Liberties May 22, 2020

Jimmy Dore joins the show to deliver blistering remarks on Bernie Sanders, the CARES Act and More, Plus a Discussion of Dems and Civil Liberties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Aaron Mate on New #Russiagate Bombshells, Plus More From the Stupid Bay of Pigs May 15, 2020

Aaron Mate of the Grayzone and 'Pushback' joins the show to talk recent developments in #Russiagate, how it’s helping Trump, plus Matt and Katie continue to dive into the Stupid Bay of Pigs Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Covid-19 With Virologist Dr. Christian Bréchot, Plus Rambo Goes to Venezuela May 08, 2020

Leading virologist Dr. Christian Bréchot discusses the origins of Covid-19, how the virology and wider scientific communities are working together for solutions, how a vaccine may get developed, and why he doesn’t expect one any time soon. Katie and Matt break down the botched coup in Venezuela Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Rashida Tlaib on Urgent Needs During Covid-19, Dealing with Trump, Plus a Discussion of Web Censorship May 01, 2020

Rep. Rashida Tlaib on her initiatives during the pandemic, how she deals with Trump, and more. Matt and Katie discuss the future of internet censorship, and HIllary's conversation with Biden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nina Turner on the Future of Progressive Politics, Plus - Why Networks Air Trump’s Pressers in Full Apr 24, 2020

Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner discusses the future of progressive politics in America after Sanders suspended his campaign. Katie and Matt learn about Biden’s fig newton affinity, and discover some of the most creative DIY protective-wear that people have developed during the pandemic. Also, Taibbi's take on the real reason news networks have been airing Trump's Covid-19 press conferences in full. Hint: Money Merch link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Analyzing Bernie's Endorsement of Biden, Plus David Rees On Predicting The Election Apr 17, 2020

Katie and Matt break down Bernie's endorsement of Joe Biden and have a discussion on how Covid-19 is being covered. David Rees joins the show to talk about predicting election results Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Matt Stoller On The Covid-19 Bailout, Plus Live Reactions To Bernie's Campaign Suspension Apr 10, 2020

Matt Stoller joins the show to discuss the the Covid-19 bailout, Katie and Matt get the news of Bernie's campaign suspension in real-time, and discuss the backlash against Joe Rogan for his Trump vs. Biden quote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dealing With Quarantine Anxiety & Depression With Johann Hari, Plus Matt On Bailouts Apr 03, 2020

Writer Johann Hari joins the show from London to discuss dealing with anxiety and depression during Covid-19. Matt breaks down a piece on the economic bailout **Merch Link**: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Adam McKay on 'Coke vs. Pepsi' Politics, Plus Biden vs. Trump, Matt on Congressional Insider Trading Mar 27, 2020

Acclaimed writer/director/producer Adam McKay joins the show to talk 'Coke vs. Pepsi' politics, making political movies, and more. Matt and Katie play a Trump vs. Biden quote game, field questions from fans, and Matt breaks down his recent piece about congressional insider trading Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Noam Chomsky on the Primary and Media Criticism, Plus a Breakdown of Biden's Lies Mar 19, 2020

Special guest Noam Chomsky joins this under-quarantine episode to talk Democratic primary and media criticism. Katie and Matt break down a list of Biden's lies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bernie vs Trump vs Biden with James Adomian and Anthony Atamaniuk, Plus the Primary Mar 12, 2020

Comedians James Adomian and Anthony Atamaniuk discuss playing Trump and Bernie, Matt and Katie break down the latest on the campaign Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Super Tuesday Review, Sanders’ Strategy Moving Forward, and Saying Goodbye to Chris Matthews Mar 05, 2020

*Disclaimer*: This episode was taped on Wednesday, March 4, before Elizabeth Warren suspended her campaign Matt and Katie discuss the results of Super Tuesday, say goodbye to Pete, Klobuchar, Bloomberg and Chris Matthews, and how Bernie needs to change his strategy. *Merch Link*: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Felix Salmon on Bloomberg, Wall Street, Michael Milken, and the 2020 Campaigns. Plus the Latest WaPo Op-eds Feb 27, 2020

Financial journalist Felix Salmon, of Axios, joins the show to discuss Trump's pardon of Michael Milken, Bloomberg's history on Wall Street, the 2020 election and more. Rolling Stone politics editor Patrick Reis guests for a segment on some recent Washington Post op-eds. *Merch Link*: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on Bipartisan Elitism, Plus a Treasure Trove of 'Stoned Moments' Feb 21, 2020

Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, co-hosts of the popular show Rising on the Hill, join the show to discuss themes from their book ‘The Populist’s Guide to 2020,’ democrats and republicans co-existing, Mike Bloomberg’s campaign and more. *Merch Link Here!*: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ro Khanna on Military Spending, FOSTA-SESTA, and the 2020 Primary, Plus Chris Matthews' Rant Feb 13, 2020

Representative Ro Khanna joins the show to talk about his work in on military spending, FOSTA-SESTA, Bernie's campaign. Matt and Katie dissect a Chris Matthews rant and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Lee Fang on Iowa Shadow App and Bloomberg's Growing Political Machine, Plus the Whole World Sucks After Iowa Feb 07, 2020

Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept, joins the show from California to talk everything Iowa regarding apps and caucus reporting, the security of upcoming primaries in New Hampshire and beyond, and Mike Bloomberg's ambitions for running. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Tim Robbins on Art, Activism, and Bernie, Plus Coronavirus in the Media Jan 31, 2020

Actor, writer, and director Tim Robbins joins the show to discuss his play The New Colossus, balancing art and activism, and Bernie Sanders. Matt and Katie catch up on the coronavirus story and talk Iowa caucus. **We now have Useful Idiots merch! Feel more useful with our mugs, t-shirts, and totes: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Introducing The Topical Jan 29, 2020

Our friends at The Onion created a new podcast called 'The Topical', a satirical takedown of daily news shows. The show premieres January 29, anywhere you listen to podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dennis Kucinich on Surviving Three Assassination Attempts, Plus an Update on Glenn Greenwald Jan 24, 2020

Former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich talks foreshadowing the progressive shift in the Democratic party, governing, and handling repeated assassination attempts. Matt gives an update on Glenn Greenwald Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Glenn Greenwald on Warren vs Sanders, Russiagate, & Bolsonaro Jan 16, 2020

Glenn Greenwald, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-founder of the Intercept, joins the show from Brazil to talk about Russiagate, Bolsonaro, and the 2020 election Matt and Katie discuss Sanders vs. Warren*. *This was taped before the Jan 15 Democratic debate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nina Turner on Campaigning for Bernie, MLK, and Why Class Matters, Plus a Discussion on Iran Jan 09, 2020

Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner talks campaigning with Bernie, and getting her start in politics. Matt and Katie discuss Iran/Soleimani, and a strange Florida story involving turkey vultures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ani DiFranco on Prison Music Project and Centrist Dems, Plus Matt on Playing Pro Basketball in Mongolia Jan 02, 2020

Legendary songwriter Ani DiFranco discusses her Buffalo roots, new music projects, and lefty politics. Katie finally asks Matt about his professional basketball career in Mongolia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bonus Holiday Episode! Michael Moore Pt. 2, Matt on the Afghanistan Papers Dec 26, 2019

Part two of the Useful Idiots conversation with Michael Moore on his childhood, Rumble, the environment and more. Matt discusses the Washington Post's Afghanistan Papers, and a bonus episode of the Most Stoned Moments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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A Conversation With Michael Moore, Plus Debate Bias, The Horowitz Report, and Penis Worms Dec 19, 2019

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Michael Moore joins the show. Matt discusses the Horowitz report, and Katie dives into debate bias Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Cenk Uygur on The Young Turks, His Campaign, and Media Coverage of Progressives Dec 13, 2019

Cenk Uygur joins the show to talk about founding the Young Turks, his congressional campaign, and covering progressive politics. Matt and Katie debut a new segment ‘The Most Stoned Moments of the Campaign’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Andrew Yang on the Yang Gang, Universal Basic Income, and the Press Dec 05, 2019

Presidential candidate Andrew Yang joins the show to discuss his campaign, the Yang Gang, and the press. Matt and Katie talk UK politics, and the British press treatment of Jeremy Corbyn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bonus Ep! Max Blumenthal Pt 2 on The Grayzone, Syria, and more Nov 27, 2019

Part 2 of Max Blumenthal's interview on his publication the Grayzone and the current state of reporting. Matt and Katie discuss a special Thanksgiving animal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Max Blumenthal on His Arrest, the Bolivian Coup, and Biden's War on Raves, Plus an Investigation of #Fartgate Nov 22, 2019

Journalist Max Blumenthal joins the show to discuss his recent arrest and trial, the Bolivian coup, and Biden's war on raves. Matt and Katie dive into #Fartgate, plus a #YangGang challenge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Shahid Buttar on Defeating Pelosi and Impeaching Trump, Plus the Return of Lizholio Nov 14, 2019

Shahid Buttar on defeating Pelosi and impeaching Trump, plus Matt and Katie discuss the return of Lizholio and Big Structural Bailey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jeffrey Epstein with TrueAnon's Liz Franczak, Plus Elizabeth Warren's Dog Nov 07, 2019

Matt and Katie dive deep into the reopening of the Epstein saga with Liz Franczak from TrueAnon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou on Impeachment, "Assets," and the Espionage Act, plus Max Blumenthal's Arrest Oct 31, 2019

Former CIA agent and whistleblower John Kiriakou talks impeachment, "Assets," and the Espionage Act, plus Max Blumenthal's arrest. Matt gives his take on coverage of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Abby Martin on Hillary's NeoMcCarthyism and 'Gaza Fights for Freedom,' Plus #BerniesBack Oct 24, 2019

Abby Martin joins the show to discuss Hillary vs. Tulsi and her film 'Gaza Fights for Freedom, Katie recaps Bernie's rally in Queens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Chris Hedges Pt. 2 on Media "Objectivity," Plus Matt Hits the Biden Campaign Trail Oct 17, 2019

Journalist Chris Hedges finishes up his conversation about the media, plus Matt talks details his time following the Biden campaign trail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Chris Hedges on Impeachment, Plus Matt's Take on Whistleblowers Oct 10, 2019

Journalist Chris Hedges joins the show to talk about impeachment and war reporting, plus Matt talks about his column on the Ukrainegate "whistleblower" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova on Russophobia and Prison Under Putin, Plus a Ukrainegate Discussion Oct 03, 2019

Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova on Russophobia and surviving prison under Putin, Matt and Katie discuss Ukrainegate and impeachment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Sanders vs. Warren with Nathan J. Robinson Sep 27, 2019

Current Affairs' Nathan J. Robinson joins Katie and Matt to discuss the differences between Sanders and Warren, a recap of Sean Spicer's appearance on Dancing with the Stars, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Krystal Ball on Why Centrism Sucks Sep 19, 2019

Journalist Krystal Ball joins the show to talk about why centrism sucks, responding to Bill Maher's Klobuchar for president suggestion, her time at MSNBC, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bonus Episode: Bernie Sanders Sep 13, 2019

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders calls in to discuss Thursday night's debate and his campaign. Matt and Katie discuss the results of Matt's debate night drinking game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Will Menaker on Chapo Trap House and David Brooks | Useful Idiots Sep 12, 2019

Will Menaker of Chapo Trap House joins Katie and Matt to discuss the Democratic presidential candidates, plus a conversation about the relationship between Op-Ed writers and their critics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jimmy Dore and Why Everyone Hates the Media Sep 05, 2019

Comedian and podcaster Jimmy Dore joins Matt and Katie to discuss his show and media bias. Matt and Katie break down the fact-checking controversy involving The Washington Post and Bernie Sanders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Eli Valley on Drawing Bret Stephens, and Why Do Democrats Suck at Merch? Aug 29, 2019

Matt and Katie recap the news of the week, update on the field of presidential candidates (17:16), Matt's article on Trump's reelection campaign (24:26), Cartoonist Eli Valley joins the show to talk Bret Stephens' bedbug controversy and more (33:15) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Tulsi Gabbard on Running for President and The Next MAGA (A Democrat 2020 Slogan Quiz) Aug 22, 2019

Tulsi Gabbard discusses the false alarm in Hawaii that got her to run for president, and meeting with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. And can “Join the Evolution” become the next “Make America Great Again?” Matt and Katie quiz each other on the Democrats’ 2020 campaign slogans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Introducing 'Useful Idiots' with Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper Aug 09, 2019

Introducing Useful Idiots, an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalist Matt Taibbi and podcaster/writer Katie Halper. Episodes feature on-the-road coverage of the 2020 campaign and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of the politics news of the week. Here's a taste of what's to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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