All tagged United States

October Seventh Fourteen Ninety Two: Creating The World Of Many Belows / Mohamed Abdou

October Seventh Fourteen Ninety Two: Creating The World Of Many Belows / Mohamed Abdou

Patrick Farnsworth
Mohamed Abdou, 375

Author and scholar Dr. Mohamed Abdou returns to the podcast, one year after October 7, 2023.

Our discussion flows across various subjects: Al-Aqsa Flood and the US-Israel genocide of Palestinians in Gaza; Islam and the crusading Euro-American imperial project; anti-colonial struggle as resistance, decolonization as "creating the world of many belows"; and Abdou's participation in the Palestine  solidarity encampment at Columbia University, where he was targeted, threatened, and slandered by Zionists in the university administration, United States Congress, and by prominent media figures.

Don’t Give Them The Gift Of Our Joy: Genocidaires, Fascists, + The Vibes-based Election / Vicky Osterweil

Don’t Give Them The Gift Of Our Joy: Genocidaires, Fascists, + The Vibes-based Election / Vicky Osterweil

Patrick Farnsworth
Vicky Osterweil, 371

Writer and agitator Vicky Osterweil returns to the podcast to discuss some of the themes raised in her essay, Feeling Good Doesn't Require the Democrats, published for her newsletter. The piece tackles the very vibes-based election cycle in the US, as Vice President Kamala Harris takes up the Democratic Party ticket to face up against Donald Trump this November. Vicky deftly navigates the affect-shift this change in the nominee, from current president Joe Biden to Harris, has had, both in its desired effect, and what is lost in riding this wave of "positive vibes only" while looking away from the realities that demand our fuller attention. In short, Vicky imparts this bit of wisdom that will remain relevant as we continue to move swiftly though our crises-laden times: don't give them the gift of our joy.

Earth’s Greatest Enemy: The US Military-Industrial Complex Is A Climate Behemoth / Abby Martin

Earth’s Greatest Enemy: The US Military-Industrial Complex Is A Climate Behemoth / Abby Martin

Patrick Farnsworth
Abby Martin, 359

Independent journalist and documentarian Abby Martin joins me to discuss Earth's Greatest Enemy, a feature length documentary that examines one of the largest polluters and contributors to global climate change in the world: the United States military. I ask Abby what the seeds of this massive project were, and why the military-industrial complex is the "elephant in the room" in the political discourse on human-caused climate change. Also, we connect this subject to the horrific mass violence in Gaza being enacted by the State of Israel—with full US complicity—to the ecocide implicit in the maintenance of US hegemonic interests globally.

The Invasion Of Ukraine: An Imperialist War, An Unfolding Conflagration / Eric Draitser

The Invasion Of Ukraine: An Imperialist War, An Unfolding Conflagration / Eric Draitser

Patrick Farnsworth
Eric Draitser, 314

Eric Draitser, independent political analyst and host of CounterPunch Radio, joins me to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We recorded this discussion March 3rd 2022 — exactly seven days into this ongoing conflict.

Eric has been publishing very concise, clear, and measured analysis of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military almost daily since it began — mostly through 15-20 minute videos published publicly, and through his Patreon page for his supporters. He applies a principled anti-imperialist, anti-war, and leftist approach to his detailed summaries of this situation as it unfolds — pointing to the roles that both Russian leadership (primarily Russian President Vladimir Putin) and the United States and its NATO partners in Europe have played in the escalation of this conflict. What are the short-term, and long-term, aims of Russia in this invasion? What is the historical context this war sits within? What are the ideological components to this? And most importantly, who ultimately suffers from this conflagration in Eastern Europe? We discuss all this and more in this interview.

This Is America: The Apocalypse Of Settler Colonialism w/ Gerald Horne

This Is America: The Apocalypse Of Settler Colonialism w/ Gerald Horne

Patrick Farnsworth
Gerald Horne, 120

Prolific author and historian Dr. Gerald Horne joined me to discuss his recently published book, The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, and Capitalism in 17th Century North America and the Caribbean. 

In the 17th century, major European powers were undergoing massive colonization projects on the North and South American continents, resulting in mass genocide and enslavement of countless indigenous peoples. Simultaneously during this same period, millions of Africans were kidnapped from their respective homelands, transported across the vast Atlantic Ocean, and then sold for staggeringly high profits, resulting in one the most economically profitable periods—for the major European powers involved—in human history.