Aesthetic Resistance Podcast

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Jonathan the 193-year-old tortoise, Bertrand Russell, Napoleon and ancient the tortoises on St. Helena Island, Trump’s falling star, No Kings protests—performance art with no demands, US allies back away nervously from the Israel-US war on Iran, Iran War as a Project Hail Mary, the atrociousness of Israel exceeds that of South African apartheid in the 1980s, FBI, CIA and military advisors on Hollywood writing teams, Klaus Theweleit’s “Male Fantasies”, Andrew Ross’ choice of four iconic moments of the 1960s, Andy Warhol, Music track: “Betty” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Luna Nguyen, EJ Johnson, Hiroyuki Hamada, Cory Morningstar and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: The branding and marketing of US military organizations, the aesthetics and excesses of military and ICE agent uniforms, military propaganda embedded in all entertainment, the mental decline of Donald Trump, Hegseth’s holy war, the struggling U.S. Navy fleet, reactions in Vietnam to the war against Iran, Vietnam’s history of economic reform and dealing with corruption, the impossibility of mythic journeys in a nation of interstate highways. Music track: “Baby Love” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Ray Hosseini, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Contradictory retroactive justifications for war, the struggling U.S. Navy fleet, Trump administration meltdown and clown show, clown shoes. Israeli officials missing in action, A.I. fakes as proof of life, Stalingrad is to Germany as Iran is to the U.S. The impossibility of mythic journeys in a world guided by GPS, living in the eternal present in the Giant’s realm at the top of the beanstalk. Music track: “Deep Blue Sea Blues” by Clara Smith (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Cory Morningstar, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Contradictory retroactive justifications for war, migrant workers stranded in the Gulf States, Erika Kirk qualified for high-level public office? Western Asian states jostle for position in the coming post-empire order, Trump administration clown show, war motivated by eschatological motives, fog of war and a flood of fake A.I. generated videos of missile strikes, the war emergency being used as a new excuse for citizen lockdowns, etc... Music track: “Desafinado” by Stan Getz (public domain).

Topics covered: The liberal left’s conditional criticism of the war against Iran, the problem with the liberal attack on the “illiberalism of the Iranian regime”, Jon Stewart recycles stale anti-Muslim jokes from 2001, pretends not to know why Iran attacked US bases in the Gulf States, the communist leadership of Vietnam goes along with Trump’s plan for Gaza Board of Peace (Bored of Peace), governments everywhere refuse to condemn the aggression against Iran, voice mild concerns instead, Trump’s cabinet and its supporters claim to be carrying out God’s holy plan, the unconscious assumption of white European supremacy among liberals and among “aspiring whites” in the Global South. Music track: “Spanish Key” by Miles Davis (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Cory Morningstar, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the hybrid war on Iran, US Navy within stinking distance near Iran, report from Cuba, report from Vietnam, the Epstein Regime, ICE and the prison industrial complex, Los Angeles lawyer Harry Weiss’ pool parties (circa 1970). Music track: “Dos Gardenias” by Roberto Sanchez.

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the buildup for war against Iran, Vietnam’s long war for independence, Marco Rubio and AOC do the Munich Security Conference, Epstein files, the labor and materiel shortages and the ecological limits of nuclear arsenal maintenance. Music track: “Perdido” by Duke Ellington (public domain).

This is a panel discussion with four Iranian citizens who live in Japan. They wanted to expresses a dissenting view of the present state of Iran to counter what has been said in official channels about the recent challenges faced by the Iranian government. Participants: Ray Hosseini, Zeinab Bahrami, Elahe Jafarzedeh, Somaiyeh Taheri. Moderator: Dennis Riches. Two of the participants wanted to speak in Persian, so Ray Hosseini and Zeinab Bahrami provided interpretation. Please be patient and wait for the translation after the segments spoken in Persian.

PODCAST 196 by John Steppling

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, Ray Hosseini, John Bower and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: extra ICE in the Minnesota winter, Greenland, Iran, Palestine, Davos, Mark Carney, Michael Parenti. Music track: “Trouble Trouble (Every Time I Speak My Mind)” by Betty Roche (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Cory Morningstar, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Venezuela, ICE, gestapo, Minnesota, Greenland, Iran, Palestine, Argentina. Music track: “Deep Sea Blues” by Clara Smith (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Cory Morningstar, Hiroyuki Hamada, Lex Steppling, John Bower and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Venezuela, ICE, Minnesota, Greenland. Music track: “Blue in Green” by Miles Davis (public domain).

This is the third conversation between Guy Zimmerman and John Steppling, following the previous ones on theater, the work of Murray Mednick, and the Padua theater group.

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, Ray Hosseini, John Bower and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Aging and dead celebrities, working for the man, covert and overt funding of the arts during the cold war and post-cold war period, self-censoring artists, celebrities shilling for Zionism, Seymour Hersh, Blackrock losing its bet in Ukraine, why do China and Russia do so little for Palestine? does the “ceasefire” deflate support for Palestine? the impossible energy demands of data processing centers, the nightmare that is Elon Musk’s vision for the future. Music track: “Thinking Blues” by Bessie Smith (public domain).

John Steppling and Guy Zimmerman continue their conversation in tribute to their recently departed friend and collaborator, Murray Mednick. They discuss the Padua theater group, the history of art and philosophy, and the devolution of American culture, among other topics.

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Venezuela, Hegseth, Bondi Beach shootings, Israel—“heed our warning”, Gaza floods, Who’s watching CBS News? backpackers, digital nomads, migrants, guest workers, exiles, and expats. Music track: “Trouble Trouble” by Betty Roche (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, John Bower, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: US proxy war in Ukraine more likely a war against Europe (F. the EU from beginning to end), deaths in custody of people seized by ICE agents, Israel's conflicting messages in its attempt to polish its image, Pirates of the Caribbean: US seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, Belgium says no to the EU plan to seize Russian assets, hospitals disappearing from US counties, the films of Jean-Marie Straub, neocons never were the sharpest knives in the drawer, Ikkyu Sojun (1394–1481), Zen monk of the 15th century. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “Where did you sleep last night?” by Leadbelly (public domain).

John Steppling and Guy Zimmerman talk about their memories of Murray Mednick, the Padua Playwrights and other related subjects. See also http://murraymednick.com/

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Hegseth in the spotlight as a war criminal, the end game in Ukraine, the US empire’s treasury bonds and Venezuelan oil problem—petrodollar hegemony coming to an end, uncharitable billionaires, the exodus from Israel, the proliferation of “synthetic content” on YouTube, the heart is vortex generator. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “Journey” by Jimmy Cliff.

Participants: John Steppling, Ray Hosseini, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: A.I. demands massive nuclear power expansion, the A.I. bubble, Persian-language Western entertainment in Iran, the impact of Israel’s war on Iranian consciousness, Yukio Mishima’s impact on Japanese culture, Japan becomes the attack dog against China, what’s fascinating about “Landman” and its exposition of the oil industry. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “All Going Out and Nothing Coming In” by Bert Williams (public domain, recorded in 1901).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, John Bower and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Putting the burden of saving the planet on the little guy, color revolutions ain’t what they used to be: weird attempts at fomenting change in Mexico and Venezuela, public outrage forces Thailand to undo Israeli colonization of the popular tourist destination Ko Phangan, panic and don't stay calm: why the encouragement of fear and panic during the pandemic and the climate emergencies? Contrast and compare: Paul Thomas Anderson’s films Inherent Vice vs. One Battle After Another. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “Just a Mood” by Red Norvo Sextet (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, Jennifer Matsui and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: senescent dotard presidents in the White House, the stalled Venezuela invasion, Norwegian oil funds going to Ukraine? Zionism and the Epstein files causing MAGA supporters abandon Trump, FBI director Patel helps his girlfriend sue her critics, the unanswered questions about the Charlie Kirk assassination, manipulated trials for high-profile assassinations and murders, no long-term viability for Israel, the decline of culture and literacy, popular entertainment as a therapy that is “psychoanalysis in reverse,” diversity hires in historical dramas, global warming, people pleasing AI responses—it tells you what you want to hear, climate change, the nature of Netflix, the power of the mayor’s office. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “Kansas City Blues” by Jim Jackson (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, Jennifer Matsui and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Walter Benjamin’s essay “Capitalism as Religion,” America’s Venezuela problem, “The Diplomat,” Dicky Cheney’s legacy, Mayor Mamdani, government workers not being paid, the failing flailing empire—Venezuela, Sudan, Nigeria, Palestine, Ukraine, China, the “big short guy” shorts AI, the non-investigation of the Charlie Kirk assassination. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “How Long Blues” by Leroy Carr (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, John Bower, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, the purpose of public assassinations, Walter Benjamin’s essay “Capitalism as Religion,” America’s Venezuela problem, “The Seventh Seal” and other films about returning soldiers, TV series “The Devil in Disguise”. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode. Music track: “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” by Charles Mingus (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, John Bower, Daniel Broudy, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Is civil war possible in the US? the No Kings astroturf demonstrations, Virginia Giuffre’s writing about the Epstein affair, the plot against Venezuela, renovations at the White House, the Omniwar Symposium, truck driver jobs to be lost to automation? Vietnam: defining “successful socialist country”. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode.

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Digital ID, federal troops in American cities, the dead end of the Ukraine war, the mysterious death and afterlife of Charlie Kirk, dreaming of the post-apocalyptic adventure, the missing radioactive fallout in zombie movies… Music track: “Every Day I Have the Blues” by Count Basie (public domain). See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode.

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: gangs of Chicago, the Gaza ceasefire deal, Charlie Kirk & Erika Kirk—the official story doesn’t add up, why the psychological analysis of fascism matters. Music track: “Everything on the Hog” by Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas. See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode.

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: media personalities who mock the Gaza flotilla, the military escort of Spain and Italy for the flotilla stops short of confrontation with Israel, Hegseth meets his generals, making sense of Covid statistics, trying not to get stuck in the Charlie Kirk assassination rabbit hole. Music track: “Diddie Wa Diddie” by Blind Blake (public domain). See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode.

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Trump’s speech at the UN, US prepares to do something to Venezuela, Christopher Hitchens in 2007 mocking a recently dead televangelist, the curious rise and shining future of Erika Kirk, the history of Israeli blackmail, Colombia and Indonesia propose putting their soldiers' “boots on the ground” to defend Gaza, the long history of parties in liberal democracies smearing each other as communist. Music track: “Desafinado” by Stan Getz (public domain). See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode.

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, John Bower, Lex Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the martyred podcaster, MAGA’s free speech enthusiasts shut down free speech, the X algorithm goes all in for Charlie Kirk, the future of Gaza, the collapse of Israel, medical ethics journal publishes a harsh assessment of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Ontario, Canada. Music track: “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds (public domain). See Aesthetic Resistance on Substack for the links related to this episode.

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Daniel Broudy, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: assassination in Utah, Israeli attack on Qatar, the history and future of social credit, can tasteless and uncultured tech bros be patrons of the arts? Music track: “John the Revelator” by Blind Willie Johnson (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Bari Weiss gets a $100-million deal to work for CBS, Western media freaked out by Chinese summit and military parade to mark 80 years since WWII victory, Israel assassinates the political leadership of Yemen, US Navy becomes pirates of the Caribbean by sinking an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. Why can’t the BRICS nations do anything to stop the genocide in Palestine? Uprising in Indonesia forces president to cancel his trip to China. Music track: “Blue in Green” by Miles Davis (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Adult journalists lose their minds over Taylor Swift’s engagement ring, US gunboats to Venezuela to do what exactly? China marks the end of WWII with a film about the Nanjing massacre as well as other memorials, Hirohito’s lesson on how to lose a war: just don’t call it surrender, “Kirishima Desu”—a film about a Japanese radical who came in from the cold, old style alternative media—magazines, radio, public access television, Canadian parliamentary committee wants to let “mature minors” receive medical assistance in dying. Music track: “Bemsha Swing” by Thelonius Monk (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: fake meat, cows rejecting fake feed, Russophobia on the rise after the Alaska summit, Israeli criminals working for the NSA allowed to flee the US, “political prisoner” convicted of three murders sent from Venezuela to the US, sinking Philippine coastlines, ICE agents quitting, the influence of A.I. on Hollywood. Music track: “Take the Wind” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Jennifer Matsui, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the rise of adjustment therapy in Western culture, Zionist sex crimes, the war on farming—bugs and artificial meat, the obsession with A.I. sentience, Zionist in-laws for the US political class—what’s up with that? one continuum: from the extremes of outrageous moral transgression to unforgiving moral outrage against it, if the adjective for the innovation is “smart,” it’s actually dumb, an excerpt from the introduction of Aesthetic Resistance (the book, Mimesis International, 2016). Music track: “Surrender” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, John Bower, Lex Steppling and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Accessories to the crime of genocide promise “recognition of Palestine”, criminalizing the homeless and other proposed solutions for them, below replacement—economic and sociological causes of low birth rates, modeling complex systems and the failure of the Biosphere project (1991-94), remembering Nagasaki and the Battle of Okinawa eighty years after the Japanese surrender, a farewell message for Zionists. Music track: “Suffer Me” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Genocide in Palestine, artists against apartheid, artists against Zionism, historically inaccurate portrayals of race in contemporary entertainment, a fitting farewell for Hulk Hogan and Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, “The Autobiography of Malcom X”—its relevance to contemporary culture, leftist nostalgia for the Bolshevik Revolution and the USSR, the public school and the community—an example of an extracurricular event in Japan. Music track: “Rapture” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the importance of outdoor sports in childhood, why are there still politicians in the closet, and why are they the meanest ones? endgame in Ukraine, Mossad infiltration of the US government, J. Epstein and the previous 50-year reign of blackmail under FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, “Trump’s” Iran war or the US war on Iran to maintain hegemony? is the US being subjected to the economic destruction that was inflicted on Russia in the 1990s? Music track: “Carpenter’s Son” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, John Bower, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the disappearing Epstein file, Shakespeare’s atypical tragedy “Coriolanus”, what’s behind the “No Kings” lawn signs? pro-vaxers who turned anti-vax when they got tired of the official guidelines for mRNA injection, the deep state and “deep events”, Iran-Contra and Tom Cruise’s biopic of CIA mercenary Barry Seal, quote from “The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity.” Music track: “Big Plans” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Aghogho Akpome, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: the new artists against apartheid: summer rock festivals express the popular uprising against enablers of genocide, why Russia and China avoid direct confrontation with the zero-sum thinking of the US-NATO bloc, the latest “Washington Accord” for the ongoing resource extraction amid the Congo-Rwanda conflict, everyone is a socialist in their time of need, the class divide visible in who supports Zionism, pro-military themes in new television dramas, why you need to be an autodidact, Antonioni’s “The Passenger” (1975). Music track: “Betty” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: ICE, the “Mara Lago look” of Trump’s appointees, theater of war/war as theater, ritualized warfare, hypocrisy, shortcomings and contradictions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), changes coming to the Congo-Rwanda conflict, Tulsi Gabbard, the US occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Music track: “Baby Love” by Jack Littman (used with permission).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Trump becomes Bush, the pale criminal, Franz Fanon on colonial war and mental disorders, is the Israel-Iran conflict a controlled demolition of the Zionist state? curbing one’s enthusiasm for schadenfreude, BBC obeys Israeli state censorship rules, the Scofield Bible and its influence on American politics, the color of marble. Music track: “Tin Tin Deo” by Dizzy Gillespie (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, Daniel Broudy, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Palestine, a few words in honor of the life of Christopher Black, police actions in Los Angeles against migrants and minorities and their defenders, Mike Davis’ “No One is Illegal” (2006), Alexandre Havard-Dianine on Descartes, Rousseau, and Nietzsche, Jacinda Adern’s career after the covid years in New Zealand, digital money vs. travelers’ checks, the occupation of the mind of the target population, Jacques Ellul: agitation and integration propaganda. Music track: “Spanish Key” by Miles Davis (public domain).