Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

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‘I was sure they were going to kill me’ – African Socialist Leader On FBI Raid Aug 19, 2022

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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