Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Latest Episodes:

Did the FBI Kill Martin Luther King? Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

“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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Guantanamo Survivor: I Was in Hell Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

David Cross on Useful Idiots Jan 07, 2022

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

WTF Happened in 2021? w/ Thomas Frank Dec 31, 2021

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Veterans Attack Military Industrial Complex Dec 24, 2021

Show notes

Hear the ad-free version at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Cult of the Privilege Walk Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Reacting To Assange Verdict With UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer Dec 10, 2021

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oliver Stone Knows Who Killed JFK Dec 03, 2021

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Adolph Reed Returns Nov 26, 2021

Show notes

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
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Biden Shills for Oil Drills Nov 19, 2021

Show notes

See the ad-free episode at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy