Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté
Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Useful Idiots, LLC

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Episodes

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Useful Idiots is an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalist Aaron Maté and podcaster/writer Katie Halper. Episodes feature analysis of the political news of the week and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of why both Republicans and Democrats suck. Join Aaron and Katie as they examine important stories that have slipped through the cracks and what the media got wrong – and laugh about whatever is left to laugh about.

Recent Episodes

Netanyahu EXPOSED for Sabotaging US-Iran Peace Talks in 60 Minutes Interview
MAY 11, 2026
Netanyahu EXPOSED for Sabotaging US-Iran Peace Talks in 60 Minutes Interview
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Check out the Peace Corps at https://peacecorps.gov/serveCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTSCheck out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the ad-free version: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/subscribers-only-iran-strikes-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Somebody Check In On Pete Hegseth... https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/somebody-check-in-on-pete-hegseth?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webJoin 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.Our Sponsors:* Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/USEFUL* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/usefulAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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84 MIN
Iran Strikes on US Bases Shock World—Here’s What US & Israel Hid
MAY 8, 2026
Iran Strikes on US Bases Shock World—Here’s What US & Israel Hid
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Check out the Peace Corps at https://peacecorps.gov/serveCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTSCheck out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the ad-free version: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/subscribers-only-iran-strikes-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Somebody Check In On Pete Hegseth... https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/somebody-check-in-on-pete-hegseth?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webJoin 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.Despite recent attacks from both sides, a ceasefire is technically in effect between the US and Iran: Is peace at hand? Or are these shaky truce talks just a break before the return to full-scale military conflict?What’s likely to move the scale in one direction or another are recent embarrassing headlines that could push President Trump to panic: the Washington Post reports that the CIA “says Iran can outlast Trump’s Hormuz blockade for months,” as opposed to days or weeks, which the administration has been claiming.Another headline claims that “Iran has hit far more U.S. military assets than reported, satellite images show.” And just this week Marco Rubio announced that the new goal of the war is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get everything "back to the way it was" before Trump launched the first attacks.Will these revelations force Trump into a corner and get him to take the win of a ceasefire, claim victory in Iran, and leave? Or does the embarrassment of losing on the global stage send him and Cartoon Pete Hegseth back out to war?To analyze all the latest in Iran, from a technical weapons level to the geopolitical ramifications of it all, we spoke with Dr. Sajjad Safei, researcher, lecturer, and analyst specializing in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Plus, we watch the latest right-wing commentator to once again prove the Useful Idiots thesis: “At this point, I think it’s in Israel’s interests to act against Iran in a way that blows up this deal.”00:00 Intro03:49 Israel Aims to Sabotage Trump in Iran Peace Deal06:01 Why no one talks about Israel's nukes10:57 ADL releases ridiculous list of "antisemitic incidents"16:09 Dr. Sajjad Safei interview26:34 Rubio wants Iran to go "back to how it was"35:01 Trump admin MELTDOWNOur Sponsors:* Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/USEFUL* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/usefulAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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48 MIN
Over Two Months Into the War on Iran, The Trump Admin Still Can't Decide If We're At War with Iran
MAY 4, 2026
Over Two Months Into the War on Iran, The Trump Admin Still Can't Decide If We're At War with Iran
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Check out the Peace Corps at https://peacecorps.gov/serveCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTSCheck out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to see the full interview on cracking the code to expose the Canary Mission: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-journalist-reveals-israelis?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: "Gas prices may be up, but you'll be happy to know that Iranians can't feed themselves." http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin 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.Our Sponsors:* Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/USEFUL* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/usefulAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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74 MIN
Journalist REVEALS Israelis Behind Secret Doxxing War on Americans
MAY 1, 2026
Journalist REVEALS Israelis Behind Secret Doxxing War on Americans
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Check out the Peace Corps at https://peacecorps.gov/serveCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTSCheck out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to see the full interview on cracking the code to expose the Canary Mission: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-journalist-reveals-israelis?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: "Gas prices may be up, but you'll be happy to know that Iranians can't feed themselves." http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin 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.“Being anonymous is very important to this group. And they had really good OPSEC, which is security to make sure they’re not found. When we saw their internal documents and communications, we found a marketing PowerPoint where they listed core values. And one of the core values was Anonymity to Scare the Enemy.”This is from independent investigative journalist Jacqueline Sweet, who recently exposed and revealed members of the Canary Mission for DropSite News. The Canary Mission is a pro-Israel doxxing site which has been notoriously secretive since its creation in 2015, exposing and creating blacklists to target college students involved in anti-genocide protests.The Trump Administration has used their blacklists to kidnap, imprison, and deport students.One of those students who was doxxed by the Canary Mission and resultantly kidnapped by ICE was Mohsen Mahdawi, Palestinian refugee, Columbia University graduate student, and organizer who was detained and targeted for deportation over his pro-Palestine speech and activism in April 2025.So for this week’s episode we spoke with both Mohsen and Jacqueline about how the secretive Canary Mission found and exposed Mohsen to the Trump Administration, how Jacqueline is “doxxing the doxxers” by naming Canary Mission members, and why Mohsen isn’t backing down after the fear tactics from both the Canary Mission and the government:“If they succeeded in silencing me, it would have a much larger effect on others. So come at me harder and I will show you how I will continue to smile and I will speak up even louder.I go around and people are sometimes surprised. They say, ‘What happened to you is really scaring me.’ And I would say, ‘If you react to them, to their intimidation, that’s what they want us to do so we can lose sight, so we can’t envision, so we can’t imagine, so we can be pushed into survival mode.’And I refuse to do that. I continue to plan. I continue to envision. And I keep telling them, keep coming harder because every time you do that, you’re pushing my profile much higher and you’re bringing more people into my life and you’re bringing me into more people’s life. So I’m making an opportunity out of it. And every crisis has an opportunity. This is my belief.Subscribe for the full interview where Jacqueline explains how she and DropSite News were able to break into the Operational Security (OPSEC) of Canary Mission to expose its members.Subscribers keep us going by supporting our work, and also get Katie and Aaron’s analysis of the craziest moments of the week, the Friday Free-for-All: “Gas prices may be up, but you’ll be happy to know that Iranians can’t feed themselves.”00:00 Intro03:26 DNC Chair Refuses to Show 2024 Election Autopsy07:10 Trump thinks he can "do Venezuela" to Iran08:26 Ro Khanna destroys Pete Hegseth10:39 Mohsen Mahdawi interview11:30 What's happening in Gaza and the West Bank?30:22 Exposing the Canary Mission33:16 How Trump used the Canary Mission blacklist to kidnap Mohsen57:30 How journalists broke through Canary Mission's OPSECOur Sponsors:* Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/USEFUL* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/usefulAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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59 MIN
"Tone Down the Rhetoric!" Say US Officials Who Want to Destroy All of Iranian Civilization
APR 27, 2026
"Tone Down the Rhetoric!" Say US Officials Who Want to Destroy All of Iranian Civilization
Go to groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Check out the Peace Corps at https://peacecorps.gov/serveCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTSCheck out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to support our work and get the ad-free version of our show: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-iran-forces-israel-to-backpedal?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Washington Post Columnist: "Kill the Iranian Leaders That Don't Want a Deal." https://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin 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.Our Sponsors:* Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/USEFUL* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/usefulAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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64 MIN