Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

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.“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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the extended episode, including the full 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.“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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full interview with Michael R. Jackson on the culture war, racism on Broadway, and his next musical. Plus, Aaron’s heated call with the Guardian’s Mark Townsend.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” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Professor Wolff on how to stop inflation.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 discovers that 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Ryan Grim.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.Aaron’s article on Matt DussRestorative Injustice by Ryan Grim This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

To clear up the confusion, Aaron and Max’s livestream on the Grayzone got censored from Youtube. Youtube is still allowing this episode of Useful Idiots. So check it out now! And click here for the full interview.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Max on leaked emails, Bellingcat, and 60 minutes.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Glenn Greenwald on Jan 6, Ukraine, and Biden’s failures.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, with the Ali Abunimah extended interview on Israel’s racist and violent flag marches, the Biden administration’s hypocritical policies, and the collapsing support for Israel around the world.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Become a Useful Idiot to get the extended interview, where Mike Prysner interrupts George Bush and explains how US violence abroad breeds violence at home.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Lev Golinkin on disinformation, weapons manufacturers, and Aaron’s fight with a Nazi denier.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Alan MacCleod and fan suggestions for military-grade baby names.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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, who emphatically condemns all wars, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 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… 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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 is attacked 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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 more sanctions earlier.They won’t tell you about the US escalating tensions for years, stoking the 2014 coup and aiding neo-Nazi forces for its own benefit.Now, two war-mongering countries, both with bloated militaries, whose people are neglected in favor of entrenched elites, whose politicians profit from war, are back to causing destruction.And Ukraine is stuck in the middle.Jacobin’s Branko Marcetic joins us to break down everything happening in the region and the steps that led to Russia’s deadly attack. 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 speaking the truth. 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Click here for the full episode, including an extended interview with Margaret Kimberley.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

“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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

“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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

On the 20 year anniversary of the opening of the GITMO torture center, we speak to Mansoor Adayfi, GITMO survivor, activist and the author of the book Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo. Mansoor shares his story which is full of not just harrowing pain but surprising beauty. In the interview, Mansoor recalls arriving 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. Though “free” Mansoor has been unable to return to his home or be reunited with his family in Yemen. 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.The US government tries to hide and mask their torture of innocent people. Listen to Mansoor Adayfi’s story: It’s tragic, 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

On the 20 year anniversary of the opening of the GITMO torture center, we speak to Mansoor Adayfi, GITMO survivor, activist and the author of the book Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo. Mansoor shares his story which is full of not just harrowing pain but surprising beauty.In the interview, Mansoor recalls arriving 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. Though “free” Mansoor has been unable to return to his home or be reunited with his family in Yemen. 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.The US government tries to hide and mask their torture of innocent people. Listen to Mansoor Adayfi’s story: It’s tragic, 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Matt and Katie consistently critique the Military Industrial Media Complex. But it’s different when actual veterans do it. On this week’s episode, Matthew Hoh, a former Marine and USG Official, who resigned from The State Department in protest over Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and Army Officer Danny Sjursen, an anti-war author and activist who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan expose the over-funded, hypocritical, violent industry from the inside. And they ask an important question:Is there anything we can do about it? Hear their answers. Plus, in this Christmas Eve episode of Useful Idiots, Jen Psaki’s hypocrisy of the week, Republicans with guns, and former model gulping down his own pee.Join our Substack to hear our chat with Matthew and Daniel about the absurdity of Obama’s Nobel Peace prize, Liberal brain worms which prevent people from criticizing Biden, regardless of his policies, and make people reject Trump’s policies regardless of what they are, and how frighteningly close we are to a nuclear winter.Merry Christmas, Happy belated Hanukkah (which came early this year— what’s the deal?), and Joyous Kwanzaa from Useful Idiots. Matt, Katie, and Wilson all thank you for spending the year with us and for your subscriptions which not only make the show happen but help independent journalists everywhere. Plus if you subscribe you don’t have to watch the ads. It’s a Useful Idiots ChristKwanzukkah miracle.Enjoy your holiday and enjoy the episode. Love, the Useful Idiots.Links: Matthew’s twitter, website, and article which we discuss.Danny’s twitter, website, and articleThe Eisenhower Media Network, an organization of expert former military, intelligence, and civilian national security officials who have an independent, alternative story to tell, which Danny and Matthew are part of. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Journalist and professor Christian Parenti’s latest NonSite (the Adolph Reed site) article, The First Privilege Walk, has, among other things, one of the greatest subtitles 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,”) explores the way identify politics (or the weaponization of it) undermines the fight for economic (and racial) equality and looks at the origins of one of its exercises, namely “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. #SMHIt’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. And click here for the ad-free episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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)Subscribe for extended interviews and to support independent journalism. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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.And see the ad-free episode here, which helps independent journalists through the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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 aboutWhite 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

*This week, we had tech issues during out international interview, so we had to reschedule for next week. Now enjoy your food groups.*Can you guess what eco-friendly-back-to-normal-Earth-loving-diplomatic Joe Biden is doing? That’s right! Reopening oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. We’re not saying Let’s Go Brandon, but we won’t yell at you if you say it in the comments.And while Joe and the Dems are doing bad things, at least their work is consequential. The Republicans are all in on their newest “futile and stupid gesture.” And it’s really “let’s”ing stupid.And if we weren’t already annoyed enough, we have Corporate Media’s next attempt to bury Substack and independent journalism. Are the “Substack Scaries” over? Or are we just beginning to take them down. Join us and we’ll topple Big Media together.It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out.And click here for the ad-free version of the episode, which helps independent journalists through the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Well, it looks like there’s new information out there about Russiagate. Who knew?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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

Subscribe for extended interviews at http://usefulidiots.substack.comFacebook 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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 megaphone.fm/adchoices This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

“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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

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 megaphone.fm/adchoices This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe

*We did Idiots Live this week instead of the Four Food Groups. Check it out here*“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. Check it out now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe