Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté
Useful Idiots, LLC
Recent Episodes
Click here for the full interview with Scott Horton: http://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Aaron Maté Silences Piers Morgan Panel with Facts on Syria & Palestine https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/aaron-mate-silences-piers-morgan?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
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He’s the author of the new book Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine and host of the Scott Horton Show – it’s Scott Horton! And he’s joining Useful Idiots this week in a Santa hat to bring us the much-needed gift of finding out WTF is really going on in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
A theme of this interview – and much of our reporting these days – is that so much of what was previously dismissed and smeared as Russian propaganda is now admitted openly as fact. Two glaring examples: the US and UK prevented a peace deal that had been negotiated between Ukraine and Russia right after Russia invaded in February 2022. And the idea that this whole conflict is a US proxy war.
When we reported these on our show, we were called Putinists, Russian propagandists, and, by some really clever haters, useful idiots.
But today, either everyone has fallen for these Russian talking points, or the West has finally realized it can’t hide the truth much longer as mountains of evidence prove these to be true. Just listen to Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister who famously warned Zelensky not to finalize the peace deal, describing the war now:
“We are, let's face it, we're waging a proxy war. But we're not giving our proxies the ability to do the job. For years and years now we've been allowing them to fight with one hand tied behind their backs, and it has been cruel and we need now to give them what they need.”
He admits that this is a proxy war, but using Ukraine as fodder against Russia isn’t the cruel part. The cruel part, according to neocons, is that we’re not giving them all the weapons possible to fight and die on our behalf.
That’s the perspective that Scott Horton takes apart in this week’s episode, giving a very detailed account of the US role in provoking the proxy war in Ukraine and the methods to prolong it ever since.
Subscribe to hear the full interview with Scott Horton where we discuss how so-called anti-war President Trump has stood as firmly by NATO as anyone else, whether actual Ukrainians want western support, and a complex look at the Middle East where Scott reveals the country that spies on the US more than anyone else.
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Click here for the full interview with Bassam Haddad: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/who-will-rule-syria-with-professor?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Rachel Maddow Finds a Way to Connect Alleged CEO Shooter to Trump https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/rachel-maddow-finds-a-way-to-connect?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee!
Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!
To the applause of the United States, Mohammad al-Julani and HTS (formerly known as al-Qaeda in Syria) overthrew the Assad government in Syria, a shocking victory for Western regime-changers that has been years in the making.
But now the question remains: who will rule Syria?
Founding director of the Middle East Studies program at George Mason University Bassam Haddad shares his analysis: it won’t be al-Julani. He gives an in-depth history of the conflict from the perspectives of the Syrian government, HTS, the US, and Syrian citizens to explain why.
The situation in Syria is trickier to analyze than other global conflicts: with so much destruction on all sides and the overflowing propaganda surrounding it all, it has become exceedingly difficult to find the truth of what’s happening on the ground in Syria, let alone analyze it from afar. Which is why (and we try never to use the word), the situation needs *nuance.* Bassam Haddad’s analysis is extremely well-rounded and unbiased, which makes his take very crucial to anyone looking to cut through the noise.
Subscribe to watch the full interview with Bassam on the type of rule he predicts for the future of Syria, if the corruption-plagued Syrian government would’ve collapsed even without US interference, and why Israel is benefitting from the fall of Assad.
00:00 Intro
01:18 Democrats give the NLRB to Trump
05:15 Republicans want to cut everything except the military
07:28 Fox's terrible takes on Luigi Mangione
13:53 CNN's (faked?) Syrian prisoner rescue
17:17 Bassam Haddad interview
18:06 Relationship to Syria
28:15 Dueling narratives from Assad and the West
35:52 Imprisoning leftists
50:53 Do Syrians want regime change?
57:04 Why al-Julani won't rule Syria
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Click here for the full interview with Lindsey Snell: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/syrian-analyst-and-former-al-qaeda?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN’s Hunter Biden Pardon Therapy Session https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnns-hunter-biden-pardon-therapy?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee!
Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!
This week on Useful Idiots, we’re doing a deep dive on Syria, a foreign policy issue constantly shrouded in propaganda and misinformation. We hear reporting from two sources:
Kevork Almassian, whose family lives in Syria, is a geopolitical analyst and host of Syriana Analysis, and Lindsey Snell, an independent journalist who was taken captive by Al-Qaeda in 2016.
Syria is back in the news because a long-dormant war there has reignited with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the group formerly known as Al-Qaeda, which has launched a major offensive taking Syrian territory, including the major city of Aleppo.
This is a huge setback for the Syrian government, sparking widespread fears that we're going to see a repeat of the awful years after 2011 when there was a massive war inside Syria fueled by foreign powers, including the U.S.
The group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, is led by Mohammed al-Julani, the founding leader of al-Qaeda in Syria and the former deputy to the founding leader of ISIS, al-Baghdadi. But after multiple name changes and rebrands, HTS is portrayed as “reformed” in western media.
There’s a lot of propaganda to cut through. Kevork and Lindsey are guiding us through it all.
00:00 Intro
00:48 Blinken wants younger Ukrainian boys
03:53 GOP rep wants to cut Medicare (but not defense)
08:39 The View covers for Hunter Biden
14:40 Jesse Watters hates orgies
17:06 Kevork Almassian interview
19:17 What's happening in Syria?
25:01 Why Israel benefits from Syrian rebels
30:11 Is the US backing Al-Qaeda?
39:05 The toll on the people of Syria
44:24 Why is the war so bad?
49:12 Lindsey Snell interview
39:28 Kidnapped by Al-Qaeda
53:43 Who's on whose side?
55:18 What is Turkey's agenda?
56:29 The Israel-Turkey relationship
59:05 Why does the US prefer Al-Qaeda to Assad?
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For a break from the news this Thanksgiving weekend, Katie and Aaron have a chat with Bronx comedian Adrienne Iapalucci, whose new special The Dark Queen is available to stream on Netflix.
Adrienne didn’t earn that title lightly: she’s got jokes about Ukraine, Gaza, school shootings, and even a pedophile joke that got her kicked out of a Connecticut benefit. For her, nothing’s off limits.
So for a change of pace and a Thanksgiving laugh, take a trip to the dark side for this funny interview with Adrienne Iapalluci.
This week especially, we want to thank all our listeners for supporting independent media – we couldn’t do what we do without you. Happy Thanksgiving, and we’ll see you next week.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com
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Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Katie DEBATES Alan Dershowitz on Piers Morgan https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/katie-debates-alan-dershowitz-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!
After President Biden gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use long-range US missiles in Russia, the Russians responded by shooting an intercontinental ballistic missile back into Ukraine. Now, as we wait for the next move that could ignite nuclear war, we’re talking to TIME correspondent Simon Shuster to analyze the conflict.
At TIME, Shuster covers international affairs, with a focus on Russia and Ukraine. For his first book, The Showman, he reported inside the Ukrainian President’s compound in Kyiv as the Russian invasion unfolded.
Our interview includes insights into President Zelensky’s inner circle, a fascinating story of the Ukrainian president during the early days of the war, and first-hand accounts of the back and forths of generals.
Plus, Simon and Aaron have an extended debate over the cause of the conflict as well as the motives of Putin, Zelensky, and NATO.
And don’t miss this week’s Thursday Throwdown, where Katie breaks down her debate with Alan Dershowitz during her recent appearance of Piers Morgan.
Thanks for supporting independent media. Enjoy this week’s full episode, unpaywalled, and have a happy Thanksgiving.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com
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