Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

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

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

During the first Gulf War, there was a transformation to an era of constant new news. The face of this change was CNN reporter and Useful Idiots Hero Charles Jaco.Viewers went from checking the news once or twice a day to constantly staying plugged in, anchors got famous, and the whole thing became a spectacle. Jaco’s response?“What the devil is going on?”Jaco, who’s the star of the weekly UI segment "Jaco of the Week,” discussed the negative impacts of unending news.“We should've put up slides that said, ‘Look, this is being brought live. The first draft of history is always wrong. Take this with a grain of salt and we'll try to sort this out.’” With the need to always have fresh news, time for fact-checking went out the window. And since the early 90s, trust in media has plummeted. Jaco says that’s why.We also discuss the shift from focusing on in-the-field reporters to idolizing talking heads in the studio:“One of the things that really annoys me now is that you've got these platforms that can give you 24-hour news, but on the three major channels, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, it's degenerated into just talking heads rather than using the expertise of the reporters in the field.It's irritating as hell to those of us who did it for so long.”It’s a fun interview with our charming and funny UI hero. And check back on Monday for the extended interview where Charles discusses teabaggers, conspiracy theories, and the impending US civil war (sense a trend?)Plus, we find out just how much Dems and Republicans suck as Biden lets Haitian migrants get whipped and McConnell plans to let the government default. Ugh.It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. 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 at http://usefulidiots.substack.comDuring the first Gulf War, there was a transformation to an era of constant new news. The face of this change was CNN reporter and Useful Idiots Hero Charles Jaco.Views went from checking the news once or twice a day to constantly staying plugged in, anchors got famous and the whole thing became a spectacle. Jaco’s response?“What the devil is going on?”Jaco, who’s the star of the weekly UI segment "Jaco of the Week,” discussed the negative impacts of unending news.“We should've put up slides that said, ‘Look, this is being brought live. The first draft of history is always wrong. Take this with a grain of salt and we'll try to sort this out.’” With the need to always have fresh news, time for fact checking went out the window. And since the early 90s, trust in media has plummeted. Jaco says that’s why.We also discuss the shift from focusing on in-the-field reporters to idolizing talking heads in the studio:“One of the things that really annoys me now is that you've got these platforms that can give you 24-hour news, but on the three major channels, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, it's degenerated into just talking heads rather than using the expertise of the reporters in the field.It's irritating as hell to those of us who did it for so long.”It’s a fun interview with our charming and funny UI hero. And check back on Monday for the extended interview where Charles discusses teabaggers, conspiracy theories, and the impending US civil war (sense a trend?)Plus, we find out just how much Dems and Republicans suck as Biden lets Haitian migrants get whipped and McConnell plans to let the government default. Ugh.It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit 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

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

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

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

“That was what the unity after 9/11 really concealed: who it was aimed against.”Next week marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. And as usual, Obama’s apology-free drone strikes, the domestic racism, the enhanced government surveillance, and curtailed civil liberties will be downplayed, if not completely ignored.“The longer this war on terror circumstance goes on,” says Spencer Ackerman, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the new book Reign of Terror, “the more and more it's going to be indistinguishable from domestic American politics. And the more the tools of the war on terror are going to be used against Americans.”Will the corporate media outlets discuss liberal complacency and hawkishness in their 20-year-anniversary-paloozas? Will they discuss the fear felt by Americans who were racially profiled not just by other citizens, but by the FBI?Ackerman, whose book lays out how Trump capitalized on the disguised racism in the violent policies of the Obama and Bush admins, worries they won’t.So listen here for the darker side of American unity, and read Spencer’s Substack “Forever Wars” here.Plus, Texas Republicans try to strip our rights away with their restrictive abortion and voting laws, and new Useful Idiots hero Charles Jaco mocks right-wing teabaggers.It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out now. 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 the full interview at http://usefulidiots.substack.com“That was what the unity after 9/11 really concealed: who it was aimed against.”Next week marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. And as usual, Obama’s apology-free drone strikes, the domestic racism, the enhanced government surveillance, and curtailed civil liberties will be downplayed, if not completely ignored.“The longer this war on terror circumstance goes on,” says Spencer Ackerman, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the new book Reign of Terror, “the more and more it's going to be indistinguishable from domestic American politics. And the more the tools of the war on terror are going to be used against Americans.”Will the corporate media outlets discuss liberal complacency and hawkishness in their 20-year-anniversary-paloozas? Will they discuss the fear felt by Americans who were racially profiled not just by other citizens, but by the FBI?Ackerman, whose book lays out how Trump capitalized on the disguised racism in the violent policies of the Obama and Bush admins, worries they won’t.So listen here for the darker side of American unity, and read Spencer’s Substack Forever Wars here.Plus, Texas Republicans try to strip our rights away with their restrictive abortion and voting laws, and new Useful Idiots hero Charles Jaco mocks right-wing teabaggers.It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out now.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matt and Katie sit down with Julian Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, and journalist Kevin Gosztola to talk about the astonishing new development in the Julian Assange case, which the mainstream media has kept from you. Namely that the government’s star witness in its extradition case has admitted that he lied about Assange in exchange for immunity. Why has mainstream media reported only on the Biden administration’s continued efforts to extradite Assange--and its recently won right to appeal a UK lower court’s ruling blocking his extradition--and ignored the fact that the government’s case has unraveled with the recanting by a convicted embezzler and sex offender. Why do The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC stay silent as the government criminalizes a pioneering digital journalist they once lauded? In addition, Shipton and Gosztola correct the myth that Assange is charged with anything related to the 2016 election or Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump or Paul Manafort and a meeting that never happened. Rather all the government’s charges relate to what Wikileaks published in 2010, like the Collateral Murder video, which depicted the US military indiscriminately killing over a dozen people in Iraq, including two Reuters news staff. Shipton and Gosztola urge the media and the public to follow the real story. As Gosztola warns, The New York Times may not care now, but a President Mike Pompeo or or another enemy of a free press could easily decide the paper of record was un-American.Also in this episode of Useful Idiots:–Art critic Nina Felshin critiques Hunter Biden’s paintings–Texas Governor vows to arrest Democrat lawmakers who have fled the state in an attempt to stop an overhaul of election laws.–Miami mayor calls for airstrikes on Cuba.–Plus: Is it ethical to murder a drone?It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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