Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté transcripts on Tapesearch

Trump Accidentally Admits His Strikes Haven't Damaged Iran's Military At All

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Transcribed - Published: 1 June 2026

Ukrainian Journalist DESTROYS Zelensky for Nazi Support

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Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2026

“WORST CASE SCENARIO” Leaked in Secret Cuba Files—Here’s What They 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.Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/usefulVisit 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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support our work and get the ad-free version here: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-worst-case-scenario-leaked?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webRead Peter Kornbluh's latest reporting: The CIA Goes to Cuba https://www.thenation.com/article/world/cia-cuba-trump-regime-change-sanctions-military-threats-havana/Watch the Friday Free-For-All: When Even the Newsmax Guy Calls Out Your Cuba Lies 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.After starting two regime change wars in Venezuela and Iran, Donald Trump is now ramping up his campaign to overthrow the government of Cuba, and in the process impose serious misery on its people by tightening his blockade and deepening the country’s humanitarian crisis.And much like in Venezuela and Iran, there are suddenly reports of an imminent threat from Cuba, the tiny, starving island off the coast of the United States: Members of the Trump administration have begun claiming that Cuba has hundreds of Russian and Iranian drones that they will use to attack Florida.It seems to be the same exact playbook each time: claim an “imminent” threat, increase sanctions, take out the leader, and start a regime-change war.And as if to prove to the world that this is indeed the game plan, the CIA just made an uncharacteristically overt trip to Cuba.CIASo to discuss the humanitarian crisis and potential regime-change war in Cuba, we’re speaking with Peter Kornbluh, Director of Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects for the National Security Archive, who has been unearthing classified documents showing the reality of US foreign policy in Cuba.In his latest piece, The CIA Goes to Cuba, Kornbluh examines the CIA’s aggressive operation in Cuba, detailing how CIA Director John Ratcliffe gave a “do or die” ultimatum to the Cuban government, how Marco Rubio seeks to benefit from a false flag attack, and reveals documentation that proves US officials “don't believe Cuba is an imminent threat, or actively planning to attack American interests.”It’s the latest in Trump’s “empire-building” scheme that now spans across the globe, all fueled by neocons like Marco Rubio, and would be a sizable “Cold War trophy” to boost Trump’s imperial ego. Watch and share Peter Kornbluh’s full analysis (ad-free version):00:00 Intro03:39 He just said they need to use "Jewish money" to oust politicians...09:40 These MAGA people are getting destroyed by Trump's war on Iran13:38 What's happening in Cuba?16:47 Peter Kornbluh interview19:18 Trump on Cuba34:12 "Marco Rubio is wrong about everything" Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2026

Lindsey Graham: "The Iran War is worth losing my job" (and how to make that happen)

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Transcribed - Published: 18 May 2026

The Commencement Speech Israel Doesn't Want You To Hear

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Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/usefulVisit 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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Is Genocide Worth It If We Get To Have Cherry Tomatoes? https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/is-genocide-worth-it-if-we-get-to?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.Watch Rami Elghandour's full uncensored commencement speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcP9wnphWAg&t=1sFollow Wyatt Reed on Substack: https://wyattreed.substack.com/It’s another classic Useful Idiots double header!First up we’re speaking with Rami Elghandour, biotech CEO whose company is developing transformative immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. He’s also executive producer of the Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab and The American Doctor. (note to other CEOs: it’s possible to do good things with your money)Rami was scheduled to give the convocation speech at Rutgers this week but was abruptly canceled, being told by a dean that “we’ve had a few students who feel that your social media posts are opposed to their beliefs.”Here is the tweet that got Rami canceled:“Forget a free ride. They’ve committed genocide. They’re running dungeons where they train dogs to sexually assault prisoners... Weapons embargo is the absolute minimum. Sanctions and diplomatic isolation are beyond justified. This we’ll sell them weapons won’t fly…”Rami reveals his full conversation with the dean and shows us a clip of the speech he would have given, which is now available on YouTube.We also speak with Wyatt Reed, journalist at the Grayzone who is currently reporting in Lebanon and Iran. As one of very few western journalists to actually go to Iran, Reed’s reporting is crucial to understanding what’s really happening on the ground, what actual Iranians feel about the US and the war, and how Trump’s attacks inadvertently pushed Iranians to rally around their own government.“Every night in cities all across Iran, there are pro-government protests in the major squares and town centers. This is happening throughout the entire country.Before the war, the die-hard support for the government was relatively limited to people who tended to be more conservative or more religious.After their country came under an existential threat, an existential attack that sought to topple not only their government, but clearly was not distinguishing between their government and their civilian population at all, this expanded to include a huge part of the population.So, the irony is that if they wanted to overthrow this government in Iran, they’ve done basically the opposite. They have solidified support for it through every segment of Iranian society. Iranians came to understand that basically their choice was between ruling themselves in a somewhat authoritarian manner or being ruled by an occupying foreign power which clearly seeks to conduct basically a genocide against them. It’s not hard to understand why more and more people began to side with their government.”Wyatt also shares footage of his reporting of the US bombing on the Minab elementary school, as well as the Israeli bombings of a hospital and synagogue in Tehran. It’s tough to watch, but Wyatt’s journalism is some of the only western journalism we’ve seen from Iran. Help to share his reporting!00:00 Intro01:09 Worse than 9/11??03:08 Let's raise gas prices so that they don't go up!06:06 JD Vance just figured out the REAL villain behind everything06:49 Rami Elghandour interview10:26 Rami vs Rutgers19:31 Michigan Commencement goes viral41:58 The speech Rami would have given44:49 Journalist Wyatt Reed interview49:09 Visiting the elementary school the US bombed55:25 ...and the hospital Israel bombed1:08:46 ...and the synagogue Israel bombed Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2026

Netanyahu EXPOSED for Sabotaging US-Iran Peace Talks in 60 Minutes Interview

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Transcribed - Published: 11 May 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 MELTDOWN Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2026

Over Two Months Into the War on Iran, The Trump Admin Still Can't Decide If We're At War with Iran

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Transcribed - Published: 4 May 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 OPSEC Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2026

Iran Forces Israel To Backpedal in Lebanon w/ Mohamad Hasan Sweidan

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.This week we’re looking at the latest in Trump’s regime-change war on Iran and how it’s spilled over into Lebanon, where Israel has just killed another journalist, Amal Khalil.Khalil was assassinated in a “double tap” strike while she was reporting in South Lebanon: the Israelis first hit her car, and then the house she fled to in an attempt to seek refuge. Israeli soldiers then blocked rescue workers from reaching her and she died under the rubble.She is the latest in the hundreds of journalists who have been targeted and killed by Israel since October 7th.To discuss Amal Khalil, the broader regime-change war in Iran, and why Israel is “afraid” of invading Lebanon, we speak with Mohamad Hasan Sweidan, researcher and academic based in Beirut.Useful Idiots: What explains Hezbollah’s resilience? They lost their leader, they suffered very big setbacks with the pager attacks, and lost their land bridge in Syria, through which they could receive arms from Iran.But yet on the ground in Lebanon, they’re still able to fight toe-to-toe with Israel and impose serious costs, to the point where now Israel is afraid of invading and engaging in another land war.So what explains how Hezbollah, which many people thought was on its last legs, has been able to persevere and still be effective militarily?Mohamad Hasan Sweidan: There are three main reasons.Number one is ideology. Hezbollah has a very strong religious ideology that doesn’t believe in backing off. It believes it should continue fighting the oppressor until the end.Number two is that Hezbollah doesn’t have a choice. If they don’t rebuild themselves and if they don’t return to the fight, then all of Hezbollah will be destroyed. It’s a battle of no choice. And when you are in a battle of no choice, you continue till the end.Number three: Hezbollah represents a huge amount of the people inside of the country. There are Lebanese people who believe in resistance. So if Hezbollah decides to disarm, then you have other Lebanese people who will hold the weapons and go defend the land. Because history proved that the only way to defend the land is when you become a resistance.So there are three main reasons. Ideology, battle of no choice, and the people. When you have these main factors, you don’t have really a choice other than trying to resist, even if the cost or the price of resistance is very high.00:00 Intro01:50 "We're starving them!" Congressmen celebrate killing Iranians07:28 Washington Post columnist: "Kill the Iranian leaders who don't want a deal!"09:23 Mohamad Hasan Sweidan interview10:36 Israel murders journalist Amal Khalil49:39 Why Israel is AFRAID of invading Lebanon Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2026

They got money for wars but can't feed the poor

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 full hour-long extended interview with the Makdisi Brothers: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-and-israel-plummet?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Alan Dershowitz Threatens Trump If He Doesn't Follow Israeli Orders https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/alan-dershowitz-threatens-trump-if?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webCheck out the Makdisi Street Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MakdisiStreetJoin 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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 20 April 2026

US & Israel PLUMMET Globally After Iran and Cuba Disasters

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 for the full hour-long extended interview with the Makdisi Brothers: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-and-israel-plummet?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Alan Dershowitz Threatens Trump If He Doesn't Follow Israeli Orders https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/alan-dershowitz-threatens-trump-if?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webCheck out the Makdisi Street Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MakdisiStreetJoin 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.We’ve got another Useful Idiots Double Header this week: Second Secretary of the Cuban Embassy to the US David Ramirez Alvarez, as well as the Palestinian-Lebanese hosts of the Makdisi Street Podcast Professors Ussama and Saree Makdisi.And while their respective topics take place a world away from each other (Cuba and Lebanon), a common theme connected both discussions: the US and Israel are losing global support rapidly as they kill and starve innocent people for sinister political reasons.Saree Makdisi: There’s a fundamental split taking place before our eyes. The recent polls show this very, very dramatic shift in American negative perceptions of Israel and Zionism. It’s most pronounced on the left of the spectrum, eighty-plus percent of Democrats. But when you look at people under fifty, even on the right, even among Republican Evangelicals, they’re souring too because they’re like, ‘What the hell, what are we supporting?’Ussama Makdisi: I mean, you can’t slaughter children. You can’t starve a population the way they did in Gaza.David Ramirez Alvarez: We don’t say that the US has sponsored terrorism against Cuba. What we say is that many of the terrorist actions that have been executed against Cuba have been financed and organized from the US. And polls have shown that the American people don’t even support the US blockade. They’re losing support as they make [the people of Cuba] suffer.The US and its Israel arm have been increasing their attacks against civilians, schools, hospitals, and children, either through outright war crimes and terrorism or a brutal criminal blockade. Subscribe for the full hour-long interview with Saree and Ussama Makdisi for a debate on whether the US is being controlled by Israel or if they have their own motive for following Israel into war.00:00 Intro00:53 Hillary Clinton reveals she's working BEHIND THE SCENES to bomb Lebanon04:31 The 7 Dems who voted to send MORE BOMBS to Israel05:39 Chuck Schumer told by Dems: Step Aside!07:31 Second Secretary of the Cuban Embassy to the US David Ramirez Alvarez interview12:33 Trump threatens to bomb Cuba after Iran40:29 Makdisi Professors interview58:31 Debate: Is the new 'ceasefire' legit? Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2026

“No one is willing to trade lower gas prices for Iran becoming a nuclear state.”

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 full interviews with former State Dept Official Alan Eyre and Iranian Journalist Séamus Malekafzali: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-americas-strategic-weakness?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Dana Bash's Obsessive Hatred for Hasan Piker Reveals CNN's Fake Journalism Mentality https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/dana-bashs-obsessive-hatred-for-hasan?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webCheck out Séamus' podcast Turbulence: https://turbulencepod.substack.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. Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 13 April 2026

America’s “Strategic WEAKNESS” in Iran w/ Ex-State Dept Official Alan Eyre and Iranian Journalist Séamus Malekafzali

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 full interviews with former State Dept Official Alan Eyre and Iranian Journalist Séamus Malekafzali: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-americas-strategic-weakness?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Dana Bash's Obsessive Hatred for Hasan Piker Reveals CNN's Fake Journalism Mentality https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/dana-bashs-obsessive-hatred-for-hasan?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webCheck out Séamus' podcast Turbulence: https://turbulencepod.substack.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.This week, after Trump threatened to wipe out Iran’s civilization, he backed down and announced that he was instead accepting a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Israel responded to the ceasefire announcement by going on a rampage in Lebanon, killing well over 200 people, attacking civilian targets, including apartment buildings inside Beirut.When Iran claimed that the U.S. is in violation of the ceasefire because of Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, Vice President J.D. Vance, touted by corporate media as a “skeptic” of Trump’s war, gave this response:“There’s a lot of bad faith negotiation going on. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never indicated that was going to be the case.What we said is that the Israelis offered, frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon. Look, if Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart, that’s ultimately their choice. We think that would be dumb.”It’s just not factually true that Lebanon was never part of the ceasefire: Pakistan, the government that brokered the ceasefire, said explicitly that the ceasefire applies “everywhere including Lebanon.”But Vance is pretending that Lebanon wasn’t included and then scolding Iran for daring to want to spare Lebanon from relentless Israeli attacks. So with Vance now joining Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in negotiations, what is the expectation for this team to be able to produce diplomacy?To analyze this, plus why Iran is emerging from these ceasefire talks with “a superior strategic position” while the United States “is greatly weakened from a strategic point of view,” we spoke with two guests: Iranian-American journalist Séamus Malekafzali, who was formerly based in Beirut and co-hosts the podcast Turbulence, and former State Department Official Alan Eyre, who was part of negotiating the Iran nuclear deal under the Obama Administration in 2015.To see the full interviews with Séamus and Alan, including a full analysis of what happens next in the Strait of Hormuz, whether this ceasefire is legit, and why the US secretly armed protesters in Iran, please subscribe to Useful Idiots.00:00 Intro01:15 Dems respond to Trump's ceasefire in WORST WAY POSSIBLE06:06 NATO Chief defends his "Daddy" Donald Trump08:29 Séamus Malekafzali interview15:01 What is happening in Beirut?30:41 Why Iran has MORE control over Strait of Hormuz now31:57 Former State Dept Official Alan Eyre interview35:13 JD Vance mocks Iran over Lebanon44:00 The Netanyahu-Obama Showdown Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 10 April 2026

Trump Confirms US Armed Anti-Government Protesters in Iran, Accidentally Proving Iran Claim

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 full interviews with Palestinian Lawyer Diana Buttu and Israeli Knesset Member Ofer Cassif: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-end-of-israeliran-nukes?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Rubio Claims Iran Can't Take Care of Its Own People As Trump Announces Daycare Will No Longer Be Funded By the Government https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/rubio-claims-iran-cant-take-care?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 6 April 2026

Iran, Nukes & the Palestinian Death Penalty w/ Palestinian Lawyer Diana Buttu & Israeli Lawmaker Ofer Cassif

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 full interviews with Palestinian Lawyer Diana Buttu and Israeli Knesset Member Ofer Cassif: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-end-of-israeliran-nukes?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Rubio Claims Iran Can't Take Care of Its Own People As Trump Announces Daycare Will No Longer Be Funded By the Government https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/rubio-claims-iran-cant-take-care?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.Israel, the so-called beacon of democracy, with whom the U.S. shares so many values, and, to quote Hillary Clinton, an “unshakeable bond,” just passed an ethnicity-based death penalty law.On March 30, the Israeli Knesset approved a law that was introduced by the party of National Security Minister Ben-Gvir that calls for the execution of Palestinian prisoners by hanging. Israeli prisoners are effectively exempt from this new law.To analyze this “genocidal” new law, we speak with two guests: Haifa-based Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu, and Ofer Cassif, a member of the Israeli Knesset representing Israel’s Communist Party, who lives outside of Tel Aviv.Useful Idiots: Ofer, you have called Israel’s new death penalty law “genocidal.” Can you elaborate?Ofer Cassif: The law doesn’t apply to Jews. It applies solely to Palestinians. No need to say much about it. It’s very clear.Secondly, they are tried by military court, and this law also says that the military court “must accept the death penalty.” It has no other choice. And the law has another section which says that the Chief Commander of the West Bank is not entitled to pardon nor to mitigate the death penalty.When I say it’s a genocidal law more than a death penalty law, it’s not because it’s going to actually carry out a genocide. It’s because it enables and legitimizes a genocide. That’s the point.How come? Those who propose the law and the majority of those who voted in favor of the law consistently say that there’s no such thing as Jewish terrorism. If the law deals with terrorists, and there’s no such thing as Jewish terrorists, by definition they are excluded altogether.But the other side is that all Palestinians are terrorists.The vast majority of those who proposed this bill and in the public at large argue that there aren’t innocent Palestinians. You remember that after October 7, the common parlance in the Israeli discourse was that ‘no one is innocent in Gaza,’ including the children. According to that, all Palestinians are terrorists. But if all Palestinians are terrorists, and this new law says the terrorists should be killed, what’s the logical conclusion? All Palestinians should be killed.That’s the reason that I refer to it as a genocidal law.Useful Idiots: Diana, I heard you in an interview with Jadaliyya where you said that this new death penalty law to some extent “doesn’t matter.” Can you expand on the law and what you mean that?Diana Buttu: There are two different legal systems that exist from the river to the sea.If you are an Israeli, no matter where your crime is committed, you’ll be tried under the Israeli civilian system. So what that means is that if you’re an Israeli settler who’s living in an illegal settlement in the West Bank and you kill a Palestinian, you’re going to an Israeli civilian court.If you’re Palestinian, you’re going to an Israeli military court.So what’s the difference? Under this new death penalty law, the civilian court can sentence the death penalty if the defendant killed “with the intent to deny the existence of the state of Israel.”So let’s think about who is going to have intent to deny the existence of the state of Israel: it’s not going to be an Israeli settler because they’re killing in the name of the state of Israel.Just this year alone, from the start of 2026, Israeli settlers have killed eight Palestinians, and none of them have been tried. Nobody’s even been arrested, much less tried. If you look at the percentages of Israelis who actually get any form of prosecution, it’s three percent. That’s it.Let’s go to the other side, which is the military court system. Only Palestinians fall under that system. And what will happen under this new law is that it’s going to be a mandatory death sentence. And let’s look at the prosecution rates: 90 to 96 percent. The reason it’s so high is because they use “secret evidence.” They extract confessions through torture. So we now have a system where they’re going to impose the death penalty.The reason I’ve said that it effectively doesn’t matter is because we’ve seen that Israel’s now killed, at a conservative estimate, 75,000 Palestinians. It’s committed genocide in Gaza. The Israelis openly talk about there being no innocence. They gun people down at random. As I mentioned, there’s very low prosecution rates, so they can already kill with impunity. So they’ve just codified it. Because they can. Because they know they’ve been able to get away with genocide. So why not entrench it in law? Why not? Why do anything but?Subscribe to Useful Idiots to support our work and see the full interview with Knesset Member Ofer Cassif on whether Israel killed its own people on October 7 with the Hannibal Directive and the rise of Judeo-terrorism.00:00 Intro01:17 Lindsey Graham can't stop grinning while talking about murdering Iranians04:43 Rubio thinks it's THEM who are fanatical religious terrorists06:43 Aaron analyzes his Piers Morgan appearance08:33 Diana Buttu interview41:52 Ofer Cassif interview1:01:29 Did Israel kill its own people on October 7? Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2026

War Analysis: US Threatens Ground Invasion in Iran – No Kings Rally Stays Silent

Come see Aaron speak tonight (March 30) at a panel in Montreal: "The Struggle Continues: The Fight For Palestine Across Borders"https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/the-struggle-continues-the-fight-for-palestine-across-bordersGo 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/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interviews with journalist Hala Jaber and Professor Sami al Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-iran-failure-accidentally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Tulsi Gabbard Just Hit Rock Bottom https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/tulsi-gabbard-just-hit-rock-bottom?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 30 March 2026

Pepe Escobar & Aaron Maté on Israel, America & Iran War: BRICS vs The West

Watch Pepe's excellent documentary: The Golden Corridor, BRICS and Iran's New World Order https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgsStCtRSWEGo 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 full interviews with journalist Hala Jaber and Professor Sami al Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-iran-failure-accidentally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch the Friday Free-For-All: Tulsi Gabbard Just Hit Rock Bottom https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/tulsi-gabbard-just-hit-rock-bottom?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2026

SOMEONE'S LYING: Trump Says Iran Negotiations Are Going Great. Iran Hasn't Heard From Him.

Today's cohost is Sana Saeed! Follow her work here: https://x.com/SanaSaeedGo 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/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interviews with journalist Hala Jaber and Professor Sami al Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-iran-failure-accidentally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Tulsi Gabbard Just Hit Rock Bottom https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/tulsi-gabbard-just-hit-rock-bottom?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.This morning President Trump told Fox News that Iran “wants to make a deal badly,” and that the most recent talks happened last night with Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and their counterparts.Awkwardly, the Iranians claim that no talks have happened. So who’s lying?Are the Iranians misleading the media? Is Trump boasting a deal he’s unable to make? Or is this a repeat of what happened in Cuba, where Marco Rubio lied to Trump about fake negotiations in order to convince him that war was the only possible option? Did Witkoff and Kushner fake these talks to Trump?Aaron and special guest Sana Saeed unravel the story and react to the varying degrees of warmongering responses given on social media. It’s an hour and 45 minutes jam-packed with liars, sycophants, warmongers, and corporate tools. You won’t want to miss it.During all this, Katie’s on a mission to Cuba with CodePink, Jeremy Corbyn, and other brave journalists to end the murderous siege on the country. Your support for Useful Idiots helps fund the journalism we do! Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 23 March 2026

US Iran Failure Accidentally EXPOSED by Pete Hegseth

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/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interviews with journalist Hala Jaber and Professor Sami al Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-iran-failure-accidentally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Tulsi Gabbard Just Hit Rock Bottom https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/tulsi-gabbard-just-hit-rock-bottom?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.“It’s a psyop!” says Professor Sami al Arian, responding to the blustering and bloodthirsty address Pete Hegseth gave this week.In the speech, Hegseth claims that US “capabilities continue to build. Iran’s continue to degrade. We’re hunting and striking death and destruction from above. Iran’s air defenses [are] flattened. Iran’s defense industrial base, the factories, the production lines that feed their missile and drone programs [are] being overwhelmingly destroyed.”For good measure of ridiculous sadism, Hegseth quotes a World War II admiral to flaunt the murder of Iranians: “And to borrow a page from Admiral Ernest King in World War II, we’ve decided to share the ocean with Iran. We’ve given them the bottom half.”But, Professor al Arian claims, this is bluster. This is a psyop against the American people.“What he’s trying to do is to psyche the people and tell them that we’re winning and that the other side is totally decimated and obliterated and defeated. But the fact of the matter is that Iran is still shooting. Iran is having a war of attrition.Whatever he’s blustering, whatever he’s saying, it’s total exaggeration as I see it.First of all, you cannot defeat your opponent or change the regime from the air. The Taliban didn’t have a single air [defense]. And who won at the end? Who was fleeing and leaving in a hurry? Hamas didn’t have any air. And two years, they couldn’t pacify Hamas over Gaza, which was 360 square kilometers.Iran is a vast country. Iran is 1.65 million square kilometers. We’re talking about an area greater than Western Europe. So whatever is hitting is hitting, obviously. But Iran is not going to surrender. It’s not going to submit to whatever dictates he may have.”Subscribe for the full interview with Professor Sami al Arian in which he predicts how Iran’s regional allies like the Houthis in Yemen will affect the war, why Iran is striking other Arab nations, and whether the US actually gets any material benefit from helping Israel in their hunt for dominance over the Middle East.We also speak with Lebanese journalist Hala Jaber, who joins us from Beirut as Israel expands its assault on Lebanon. She reports on Israel’s continued targeting of journalists, including this week’s “deliberate” airstrike on journalist Steve Sweeney, caught on video in Southern Lebanon, the surprising and stifling control the US has over the Lebanese government, and Hezbollah’s role in the fight against Israel and the broader Iran War.00:00 Intro00:53 Hegseth wants $200 BILLION for Iran War03:34 Resigned Counterterrorism Dir. Called ANTISEMITIC for Opposing Israel05:52 Jake Tapper is so mad about it06:32 Hala Jaber interview from Beirut16:24 Israelis Caught on Film Trying to Kill Journalist36:48 Professor Sami al Arian interview on Iran41:59 Debunking Hegseth: Iran isn't losing49:42 How will the HOUTHIS change the course of the war? Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2026

Fanfiction Fearmongering: Watch the Worst People We Know Sell You the War on Iran

"Palestine 36" screening in New York City, Tuesday March 17: Aaron will be doing a Q&A with director Annemarie Jacir. Ticket here: https://angelikafilmcenter.com/nyc/sessions/72557/HO00008114Read Professor Behrooz Ghamari's excellent new book: The Long War on Iran https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-long-war-on-iran/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/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Iranian Professor Behrooz Ghamari: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-interview-israel-shocked-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Jake Tapper: Iran Wants Us to Bomb Them! https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/jake-tapper-iran-wants-us-to-bomb?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 16 March 2026

Israel SHOCKED After Iran Mounts “Surprise” Resistance w/ Iranian Professor Behrooz Ghamari

Read Professor Behrooz Ghamari's excellent new book: The Long War on Iran https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-long-war-on-iran/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/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Iranian Professor Behrooz Ghamari: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-interview-israel-shocked-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Jake Tapper: Iran Wants Us to Bomb Them! https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/jake-tapper-iran-wants-us-to-bomb?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.This week we’re speaking with Iranian Professor Behrooz Ghamari, whose unique history gives him an important perspective that challenges Trump’s regime-change war-of-choice in ways few others can.In the 1980’s, Ghamari was sentenced to death by the Iranian government for being part of a Marxist group trying to overthrow the Islamic Republic. He was held in Evin Prison’s death row, where countless political prisoners have been tortured, and was denied cancer treatment for his worsening lymphoma.But, Ghamari explains in his excellent new book, The Long War On Iran, four decades after getting freed from a place he never thought he’d outlive, Israeli airstrikes hit the prison, along with over 17,000 other civilian sites. Ghamari “had this feeling as if my home was attacked.”Today, we’re asking him why, after the horrible treatment he endured, does he still reject US regime change of a government he fought to oppose.Useful Idiots: It’s fascinating that you were literally scheduled to be executed, you were on death row, you were deprived of cancer treatment, and yet your analysis is so clear-eyed. You are able to criticize regime change. You are even able to give credit to this government that wanted you to be killed.Behrooz Ghamari: A political project cannot be the extension of your own trauma. We need to transcend that trauma in order to advance a political project. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people who are celebrating these military attacks. They’re supporting Israel bombing Iran, supporting President Trump bombing Iran.There are actually people who use the trauma of others to justify their own celebration, which is a very bizarre kind of logic.But I think it’s a sign of political maturity if one tries to transcend these things and understand: what price are we willing to pay? Because that’s the main question.People always cite Immanuel Kant, saying ‘dare to know and speak truth to power.’ But people usually forget the second part of it: ‘Speak the truth to power and be willing to lose your head for it.’ And so I challenge those people who are celebrating in the US, if they’re willing to speak the truth and also willing to lose their head for it. Because they stand at a distance and are quite ambivalent about loss of life in Iran.Subscribe to hear our full discussion with Professor Ghamari where we ask him to respond to the Iranian diaspora claims about foreign regime change, Iran’s treatment of its own people, and why Iranians should have to “pay the price for Palestine.”00:00 Intro01:26 Steve Witkoff TRICKED Trump into Saying Iran Nuke Lie06:50 Professor Behrooz Ghamari interview11:53 Iran War update20:00 Oil is raining from the sky29:50 Why should Iranians "pay the price for Palestine?" Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2026

It's like the Iraq War But Stupider

Watch our Iran Update with Iran experts Trita Parsi and Negar Mortazavi: https://youtube.com/live/G9X2saz2HpI?feature=shareGo 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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Iranian Journalist Ali Alizadeh: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-israels-plan-backfires?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Let's talk about the Democrats who gave Trump a standing ovation for bombing Iran https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/lets-talk-about-the-democrats-who?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 9 March 2026

Iran Update with Iran Experts Negar Mortazavi and Trita Parsi

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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Iranian Journalist Ali Alizadeh: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-israels-plan-backfires?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Let's talk about the Democrats who gave Trump a standing ovation for bombing Iran https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/lets-talk-about-the-democrats-who?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2026

IRAN WAR: Aaron and Katie DEBUNK Corporate Media's Propaganda – EXTENDED EPISODE

Check out Ali Alizadeh's excellent YouTube show Jedaal: https://www.youtube.com/@JedaalEnglishGo 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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Iranian Journalist Ali Alizadeh: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-israels-plan-backfires?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Let's talk about the Democrats who gave Trump a standing ovation for bombing Iran https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/lets-talk-about-the-democrats-who?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 2 March 2026

Israel’s Plan BACKFIRES, Iranians Rally Around Government

Check out Ali's excellent YouTube show Jedaal: https://www.youtube.com/@JedaalEnglishGo 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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Iranian Journalist Ali Alizadeh: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-israels-plan-backfires?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Let's talk about the Democrats who gave Trump a standing ovation for bombing Iran https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/lets-talk-about-the-democrats-who?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.The big question hanging over the world right now is whether Trump, the guy who campaigned against endless wars, especially in the Middle East, is about to launch another endless war in the Middle East, assembling the largest military deployment there since the Iraq War and threatening to bomb Iran.There have been indirect talks in Geneva between the US and Iran, but the Trump Administration is still talking as if it wants to go to war because it sounds a lot like the Bush Administration when they were making the case to go to war with Iraq.Just this week, Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff claimed, without evidence, that Iran is a week away from having enough uranium for a nuclear weapon. Which means the WMD hoax is back in full swing.To understand all this, we spoke with Iranian journalist Ali Alizadeh, host of the excellent YouTube show Jedaal.Useful Idiots: There has just been a third round of indirect talks held between the US and Iran in Geneva. Based on what you’ve heard so far, what is your assessment of these talks?Ali Alizadeh: Americans have claimed they don’t want Iran to ever reach nuclear weapons, and Iranians have provided something which can give them such guarantee.But then if you just listen to the Americans, just before the two sides were supposed to sit at the negotiation table, it seems that they are cheating. Vance talked about the fact that the president has all the options on the table, and again threatened Iran militarily. Marco Rubio suddenly said Iran’s missiles and navy are a threat to the peace and security of America.Since when has Iran’s navy has been a threat? Iran has a navy in its own waters, which is called the Persian Gulf, and it’s been called that since 2,500 years ago.And then your navy and your aircraft carriers have come from 15,000 kilometers away to their land. So how can the Iranian Navy be a threat to your security? And so they are constantly adding pressure and trying to squeeze other things into the negotiation, which in my opinion can sabotage the deal.Useful Idiots: Do you think there’s a chance of an actual deal being reached?Ali Alizadeh: If Iran and America were sitting at a negotiation table, I think Iran could have given Trump something which was stronger than the JCPOA and would send him home happy so he could sell it to his people that he did something better than Obama.But is Iran negotiating with the United States? Or is it negotiating with Israel? Who is Steve Witkoff? Who is Jared Kushner? Because it seems that Israel has a completely different agenda, which is constantly pushing Trump. And now Trump, I think because of his lack of expertise in diplomacy and politics, despite what he thinks of himself, has badly cornered himself.Useful Idiots: You spoke about how you think that Trump miscalculated the strength of the Iranian government and how he’s actually strengthened the government, because the actions of the United States and the actions of Israel, flaunting the role of foreign intervention in people’s faces, has actually rallied the masses around the government. Can you talk more about that?Subscribe to watch our full interview with Ali Alizadeh on what actual Iranians want to change about their government, Nancy Pelosi’s murderous threat to working-class Iranians, and an update on the Geneva talks from an Iranian official.00:00 Intro00:59 JD Vance WMD Hoax02:32 Marco Rubio CONTRADICTS Trump03:24 Sen. Markwayne Mullin does the dumb version of warmongering05:39 Does he really not know who the leader of Iran is?06:14 Ali Alizadeh interview08:56 Israel is trying to sabotage US-Iran talks11:46 Marco Rubio makes up a threat23:58 EMBARRASSING moment in Congress with the National Endowment for Democracy34:40 Do Iranians like their government? Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2026

"Iran Must Capitulate To Us Until They Behave"

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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: We Can't Take the Risk of Not Going to War with Iran https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/we-cant-take-the-risk-of-not-going?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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 23 February 2026

“He’s a piece of sh*t”: Journalist DESTROYS Iran’s Self-Appointed Crown Prince

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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: We Can't Take the Risk of Not Going to War with Iran 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.We’ve got two interviews for you this week: first up we’re talking about Iran.Trump is threatening another regime change war in the Middle East, ordering the largest US military deployment since the Iraq War. To get an understanding of what’s happening in Iran, we spoke with independent journalist Bushra Shaikh.Bushra went viral for a video from a recent trip to Tehran in which she walked through a rally without wearing a hijab. She explains that this is a common occurrence, and that so much of what we hear about Iran in Western media turned out to not be true.Bushra Shaikh: This picture that’s created in the West is more of a very old-school type of Iran. There is a movement in Iran that is taking shape. And it’s purposely being censored from the West.I was walking in that rally. It was such an amazing place to be because there were hundreds of thousands of people coming out in support of their government. I was there without a hijab on. And honestly, it was it was just one of those experiences that I thought I would never have. And given the propaganda in the West, I was even confused because when I got there, I was like, ‘Bushra, you’ve been propagandized.’So having that experience for myself really was an eye-opener.Useful Idiots: And what do you think is happening on the ground?Bushra Shaikh: What’s happening on the ground is you have a large community at the moment who are very worried about the prospect of a war, of being illegally attacked in their country.One of the main concerns that a lot of people spoke about were the sanctions. They told me, ‘We just want to live good lives and we want to prosper and we want to be able to enhance our economy, build good ties with other countries. And these sanctions need to be lifted.’So most of people’s real concerns were sanctions. It wasn’t changing who’s in charge of their country.For our second interview, we’re discussing the life and message of civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson, who died this week at the age of 84. He worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He then ran for president in 1984 and 1988, pushing to cut the Pentagon budget while increasing domestic spending on education, housing, and healthcare.Jackson was also active in international struggles and campaigns, ranging from the anti-apartheid movement to supporting rights for Palestinians. Jesse Jackson also visited Palestine, and of course he was criticized for defending Palestinian rights.To hear firsthand stories of the Reverend, we spoke with Eric Easter, former press secretary to Jesse Jackson for the National Rainbow Coalition, and Albert Mokhiber, who worked on Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign in 1984.Watch or listen to our full, unpaywalled interview with these great guests. Thanks for supporting independent media. If you’d like to help keep us running, please consider supporting us with a subscription.If you do, you’ll get our weekly recap, the Friday Free-For-All: We Can’t Take the Risk of Not Going to War with Iran00:00 Intro01:25 Jared Kushner's creepy Board of Peace03:23 The Democrat who's on board with bombing Iran06:38 Fmr Obama/Biden official BACKS TRUMP in trashing nuclear deal08:30 Bushra Shaikh interview09:02 What's Tehran actually like?10:43 The impact of santions12:01 Nancy Pelosi wants to inflict pain on ordinary Iranians14:27 In Tehran without a hijab29:21 Interview with Jesse Jackson's former comrades47:43 Listen to this awesome Jesse Jackson speech Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 20 February 2026

Hillary Clinton is BEGGING Trump to Start Bombing Russia

Help Mohammad document settler attacks in West Bank: https://chuffed.org/project/help-mohammad-document-settler-attacks-in-west-bankGo 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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Jose Luis Granados Ceja: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-interview-maga-war-marco-rubio?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: John Fetterman and Claude AI Each Just Threatened to Kill People https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/what-do-john-fetterman-and-ai-have?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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 16 February 2026

Israel PANICS After West Bank Doc Wins Oscar

Help Mohammad document settler attacks in West Bank: https://chuffed.org/project/help-mohammad-document-settler-attacks-in-west-bankGo 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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Jose Luis Granados Ceja: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-interview-maga-war-marco-rubio?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: John Fetterman and Claude AI Each Just Threatened to Kill People https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/what-do-john-fetterman-and-ai-have?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.Israel has recently announced new measures that allow it to steal more Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Check out how this was covered in Israeli media vs US media.Can you guess which is more honest in its coverage?First, Israeli media writes this:They explain that the Cabinet intends to further their annexation, or theft, of Palestinian land, which is at least honest in its intention.In contrast, here’s the New York Times:Israel gives itself more control over occupied West Bank?? We’ve never seen this euphemism for theft before. It seems the subservient New York Times has become more creative than ever in its linguistic gymnastics to avoid any legitimate coverage of Israeli crimes.Reminds us of the classic from 2014 when a missile, seemingly shot by no one, ‘found’ Gazan civilians watching the World Cup:To check in on how things are going for the Palestinians who live in the land that Israel is giving itself more control over, we’re speaking with Mohammad Hesham Huraini, an independent journalist from Masafer Yatta, the same West Bank community depicted in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.We ask Mohammad: did winning the Oscar have any benefit for your community? With one of the directors already murdered by settlers and the rest facing constant threats of terror, his answer is depressing.Please share this interview to get Mohammad’s reporting out to the world. Thanks for supporting independent media. Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 14 February 2026

MAGA War: Marco Rubio LIES to Trump about Fake Cuba Talks

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 Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Jose Luis Granados Ceja: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-interview-maga-war-marco-rubio?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: John Fetterman and Claude AI Each Just Threatened to Kill People https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/what-do-john-fetterman-and-ai-have?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.This week we’re looking at the intensification of the decades-old US blockade of Cuba. Trump has imposed an even harsher blockade, blocking fuel to the country, leading to an even more dire humanitarian crisis.Just this week, a report showed that US sanctions are now reportedly killing children with cancer: “Amid worsening shortages, Cuba's rate of childhood cancer survival has fallen by 15% — from roughly 80% to 65% — according to data from Cuba’s Health Ministry.”And this isn’t just collateral damage of US policy: kids with cancer are the targets of the murderous US sanctions, which are aimed to harm the most vulnerable in a society.Joining us to talk about these sanctions and the history of US-Cuba relations is journalist José Luis Granados Ceja.Useful Idiots: For DropSite News, you cowrote the article: Marco Rubio Is Deliberately Blocking Trump From Cuba Talks. Can you tell us what you discovered?José Luis Granados Ceja: What we found was that these claims that Trump was making loudly to media outlets: that they are in talks with Cuba and that they’re thinking about a deal, don’t line up with what we were hearing from people both in the U.S. and in Cuba.We were able to ascertain that these claims of secret negotiations happening in Mexico were also not true. And a source was able to confirm that the official in Mexico City from the Secretary of Foreign Relations was not actually involved at all.So when you put all those pieces together, it very much looks like Marco Rubio is deliberately lying to Trump, that the State Department is not being forthcoming about what’s actually happening in terms of high-level negotiations between Cuba and the United States.And our hypothesis here is that it’s about trying to lay the groundwork for more radical action.Useful Idiots: Can you tell us how Marco Rubio’s history with Cuba might be driving this?José Luis Granados Ceja: We have to remember, Marco Rubio is obsessed with overthrowing the Cuban revolution. Apparently in his own autobiography when he was positioning himself to be a candidate for president, he wrote that he used to dream about leading an army of exiles and installing himself as president of Cuba. He’s obsessed with this idea.Obviously, he already had to concede when it comes to Venezuela. But I’m not sure that he’s willing to accept anything similar when it comes to Cuba. So he may be deliberately misleading Trump in order to say, ‘well, talks didn’t work, right? We were at the table. Nothing happened. Guess we’re going to have to invade or bomb or do something similar to what we did in Venezuela, or possibly more drastic.’Subscribe for the full interview with José Luis where he reveals the new mafia state that Rubio wants to impose on Cuba (with himself as don), how a pan-American coalition could take on the US in Latin America, and whether recent US aggression in Cuba will push China to enter the conflict. Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 13 February 2026

85 SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT (or: US senators can't stop smiling)

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy: Bari Weiss' CBS Brings Back Russiagate https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jeff-epstein-the-russian-spy-bari?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.For our recap of the week, including the new Russiagate conspiracy that Epstein was a Russian agent, subscribe to watch our Friday Free-For-All: Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy. Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 9 February 2026

Palestinian Describes Israeli Settlers "Circling" City Before Stealing Homes

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy: Bari Weiss' CBS Brings Back Russiagate https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jeff-epstein-the-russian-spy-bari?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.For our recap of the week, including the new Russiagate conspiracy that Epstein was a Russian agent, subscribe to watch our Friday Free-For-All: Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy.As the Trump administration turns the world into chaos, threatening to bomb Iran, killing Americans in Minnesota, kidnapping presidents in Venezuela, and gutting the nation’s already-terrible healthcare system, Israel’s genocide in Gaza has fallen out of the corporate news cycle.Our guest, Palestinian-American law student Ahmad Ibsais, joins Useful Idiots to explain that the reports from Gaza weren’t just pushed aside to get more views from higher-performing news stories, but intentionally buried for a much more pointed and, as always, nefarious reason.Useful Idiots: Why have we stopped seeing of coverage of Gaza in Western media?Ahmad Ibsais: Right before the ceasefire was a time where we saw so much public outrage that a genocide was taking place. And it wasn’t because Palestinian voices suddenly became credible in any way. It’s because the extremity of Israeli violence reached the Western consciousness in a way it could process.There were so many news stories about children starving to death, and people could conditionally recognize that Palestinians were dying in a way that was not their fault. And that’s where the ceasefire came.So now, any violation of the ceasefire or coverage of it, brings into question the fallacy that America was able to broker it. Like is America even a superpower anymore? Does the Israeli state even care what America says or does?Second, let’s keep up this illusion that America is not contributing to the genocide or that they’re in any way complicit. Coverage raises the question: Palestinians are still dying, so what are we doing and how are we enabling this?That’s why we don’t see it anymore. And they’ll wait, as they have done in the past, until Palestinians respond in a meaningful way. And that’s when the ceasefire ‘breaks.’Our full interview with Ahmad Ibsais is free to all. As an independent media team, we rely on your support to keep going, so please subscribe and join the Useful Idiots community! Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2026

US War with Iran Will Be ‘Disaster’ – Iranian Professor

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy: Bari Weiss' CBS Brings Back Russiagate https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jeff-epstein-the-russian-spy-bari?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.For our recap of the week, including the new Russiagate conspiracy that Epstein was a Russian agent, subscribe to watch our Friday Free-For-All: Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy.This week, amid volatile tensions, deadly protests, rumors of Mossad infiltration, and threats of war, the US and Iran are scheduled to have diplomatic talks, though one side pulling out would not be surprising as the US can’t seem to stop bragging about how sanctions destroyed Iran’s economy all while threatening to bomb them.For some much-needed clarity on the issue, we spoke to Professor Afshin Matin-Asgari, author of Axis of Empire, who participated in leftist protests during Iran’s 1978-79 revolution.He gives a history of Iran-US relations, mocks JD Vance’s obvious misunderstanding of how Iran’s government works, debates Aaron on which side is really responsible for the violence in recent Iranian protests, and analyzes Marco Rubio’s “unpredictable” diplomacy proposal.Useful Idiots: Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out the terms for what he says would be ‘meaningful talks.’ Do you think that Iran will accept those terms?Afshin Matin-Asgari: To go back to the background of these talks, when Trump canceled the so-called Obama nuclear deal, he said that he did it to force a better deal on Iran. That was during his first term. And that never happened. All the pressure, sanctions, threats, and assassination of Iranian military personnel didn’t work.So he joined Israel’s war on Iran.What happens at this point? The Islamic Republic is in its weakest position it has ever been because of an accumulation of a lot of problems: it has domestic unrest, the axis of resistance, including Hezbollah in Syria, is gone, it’s more vulnerable than it ever was to military attacks.So Bahrain has accepted to come to negotiations. If Trump can make the Islamic Republic accept some of his terms, he could claim victory, impose the new deal on Iran, and kind of walk away from this, which may not be a bad thing because it at least averts a full-scale military confrontation, something that everyone knows would be a disaster. But it can’t be predicted.Our full interview with Professor Matin-Asgari is free to all. As an independent media team, we rely on your support to keep going, so please subscribe and join the Useful Idiots community!00:00 Intro00:59 Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy?09:30 Afshin Matin-Asgari interview11:43 Responding to Rubio's terms22:56 JD Vance clearly doesn't understand how Iran's government works43:45 US Officials can't stop bragging about destroying Iran's economy Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 6 February 2026

Mike Johnson HUMILIATED For Ridiculous Epstein Files Defense

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Alec Karakatsanis: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/dem-senator-exposed-for-reforms-that?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Smug Man Accidentally Admits He's MAGA Now http://usefulidiotspodcast.com🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032It was a crazy weekend, but as Useful Idiots know, a disturbing world means an action-packed Monday Mourning. Here’s what we cover:– A seemingly drunk Lindsey Graham begs Trump to bomb Iran– Mike Pompeo can’t stop bragging about Mossad’s covert plants in the Iran protests– Republicans are flailing to defend ICE’s murder of ICU nurse Alex Pretti– Karoline Leavitt parrots Nancy Pelosi’s paid protester line (with not even a thought about giving evidence of who’s paying them)– TRUMP EPSTEIN FILES– CLINTON EPSTEIN FILES– CBS’s anti-Maduro propaganda– And so much more ridiculousness. Mock it all with Katie and AaronPlus, catch last week’s Friday Free-For-All: Smug Man Accidentally Admits He’s MAGA NowAnd our interview with a civil rights attorney who exposes Dems’ complicity in ICE’s rise to power: Dems EXPOSED for Secret ICE Funding Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 2 February 2026

Dem Senator EXPOSED for “Reforms” That Secretly Fund ICE

Get Alec's book Copaganda: https://www.commabookstore.com/shop/p/copaganda-how-police-and-the-media-manipulate-our-news-pre-orderGo 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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Alec Karakatsanis: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/dem-senator-exposed-for-reforms-that?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Smug Man Accidentally Admits He's MAGA Now 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.While the DHS is sending masked ICE agents into cities, rounding up immigrants and citizens alike, killing protesters, and creating chaos, Democrats are making a big show of being anti-ICE. They’re calling for reforms, body cams, accountability, and training.This sounds great, but civil rights attorney and Copaganda author Alec Karakatsanis reveals it’s actually “extremely dangerous.” Under the guise of reform, the Democrats are playing a key role in a centuries-old strategy of building an oppressive, high-surveillance police state used to target the most vulnerable communities in the country.And it’s all a plot.Useful Idiots: What are the most dangerous reforms being pushed by the Democrats and why are they dangerous?Alec Karakatsanis: One of the most important ones that you hear constantly from Democratic Party leadership right now is body cameras. Now, aside from how silly that is in this context, the officer who shot and killed Renee Goode literally filmed himself doing it, it’s actually much deeper.The evidence is overwhelming that body cameras do not make police less violent and they do not reduce police misconduct. So you have to ask yourself, why are Democrats proposing something that everybody agrees does not make police more accountable? And the history of this is that police agencies wanted body cameras for many, many years, but they couldn’t get the billions of dollars of funding for them.What they wanted is to link all this new footage and data into algorithms that train AI into massive databases. That’s why you see ICE with cameras. They scan people’s faces. Prosecutors also wanted body cameras so they could get guilty pleas really quickly, like trespassing charges against unhoused people and drug possession cases.So they had this problem: the industry wanted to make billions of dollars in contracts. The police wanted them for surveillance and to connect people to AI. But they couldn’t afford it.And then what happened was after Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson, the Obama administration worked with local Democratic Party officials and the policing surveillance industry to just remarket body cams, not as police surveillance but as accountability and transparency for well-meaning liberals who were desperate for something to be done.That resulted in the greatest expansion of policing surveillance technology in modern history.Useful Idiots: So the Democrats’ current stance is that they’re threatening to block the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, where ICE is a component, unless there are certain reforms?Alec Karakatsanis: What the Democrats are basically saying is ICE needs to spend even more money on surveillance technology like body cameras and on so-called training.Anybody who knows what the police and military training industry is in the United States would not support more money going to that. It’s one of the most dark, violent, and fascist corners of our society.These training programs are where they learn to do the stuff that you’re seeing in these videos. That’s why in 2020 there were thousands of videos of police committing intentional, brutal crimes and violence, and it looked the same in hundreds and hundreds of cities. It wasn’t some one off mistake. This is what police are trained to do.The Democrats are saying, ‘if you do those reforms,’ which the police want anyway, because there’s huge industries behind them, ‘we will then give you this entire budget.’The main leverage Democrats actually have is reducing the ICE budget, but they’re starting the negotiation by saying we’ll give you everything you want. It’s really, really insidious.Subscribe to watch the full interview with Alec on why AOC and other Dems calling for the National Guard and police agencies to stop ICE is exactly what the police state wants, and why those videos of police playing basketball or handing out donuts evolve from colonialist tactics used by the French against Algerians.Plus, catch this week’s Friday Free-For-All: Smug Man Accidentally Admits He’s MAGA Now00:00 Intro00:30 Marco Rubio threatens to bomb Iran if they don't give up bomb defenses03:26 Rand Paul Calls Out Rubio's Hypocrisy06:17 Alec Karakatsanis interview06:55 How Dems are HELPING ICE17:28 Dem Sen. Chris Murphy EXPOSED21:12 How the surveillance industry THRIVES from body cams Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2026

ICE Goes Woke After Nurse Murder: Uses Terms 'Gaslighting' and Calls Themselves Victims

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Samira Mohyeddin: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-total-clusterfk-iranian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Elon Musk Unknowingly Quotes Mel Brooks’ Hitler Character https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/elon-musk-unknowingly-quotes-mel?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.🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032 Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 26 January 2026

“Total Clusterf**k”: Iranian Journalist Destroys Media Lies About Iran Protests

Watch Samira's show On the Line Media: https://www.youtube.com/@samiramohyeddinGo 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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Samira Mohyeddin: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-total-clusterfk-iranian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Elon Musk Unknowingly Quotes Mel Brooks’ Hitler Character https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/elon-musk-unknowingly-quotes-mel?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.As protests, violence, and confusion continue to unfold and escalate in Iran, with media coverage somewhere between ignorance and propaganda, we try to break through the lies to learn about what’s actually going on.We spoke to Iranian-Canadian journalist Samira Mohyeddin about why Iranians are protesting the government, how Israel’s Mossad is involved in those protests, the purposefully crippling and murderous effect of sanctions on ordinary Iranians, and why anyone who tells you they know what Iranians think is “full of shit.”Useful Idiots: At this point, what’s your understanding of what’s happened with the protests in Iran: To what extent are they peaceful? Who’s responsible for the violence? And what is the extent of state repression?Samira Mohyeddin: This is sort of unprecedented in Iran during the successive number of protests that we’ve had throughout the years. The merchants in the Grand Bazaar have never really protested until now. This happened because Iran’s currency just plummeted to its lowest that it’s ever been, which reduced their ability to import items.And then things took a very decidedly violent turn, both on the part of the protesters and on the part of the state. All of a sudden you saw buildings being burned, police and security personnel being killed, some of them burned alive. This is very weird. We have been watching protests in Iran for decades. This is not how Iranians protest. I really need to just put that out there.And then the state repression and violence started with Iranian security personnel using live ammunition on protesters.Then the internet went out.So it’s a very muddied story right now both because of the internet blackout, and because you have all these bellicose, reckless statements being made by people like Mike Pompeo and Israel’s heritage minister, Amihai Eliyahu, saying things like, “We were on the ground in June, you better believe we’re on the ground now, we have a hand in this.”[In addition, on January 2, Mike Pompeo tweeted: Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also to every Mossad agent walking beside them...]Making such statements really provides fodder to the Iranian government, who already thinks all of its grievances that its citizens have are something to do with a foreign hand. So it’s a really awful clusterfuck, to be honest.Useful Idiots: It’s almost as if Mike Pompeo and people in the Mossad wanted to endanger the protesters to justify whatever their plans are for further bombings of Iran.Samira Mohyeddin: I mean, it feels like that. This isn’t solidarity, this is sabotage. You can’t pretend to care about Iranians and then write “Happy New Year to the Mossad agents walking beside them.” You are putting a target on the backs of protesters when you say something like that.Useful Idiots: This week at Davos, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bragged that “President Trump ordered Treasury to put maximum pressure on Iran, and it’s worked! Their economy collapsed. They are not able to get imports. And this is why the people took to the streets. So this is economic statecraft. No shots fired. And things are moving in a very positive way here.”Subscribe to hear Samira’s response to this blatant brag about murdering ordinary Iranians, plus how she landed on the “Top 4 Antisemites” list for calling out the most racist podcast clip you’ve ever seen.00:00 Intro00:49 Jared Kushner reveals MASTER PLAN for New Gaza03:39 Why didn't Russia and China veto Trump's Board of Peace?05:15 Elon Musk's horrible joke delivery (it was a Nazi joke too)06:31 Samira Mohyeddin interview07:04 What is happening at Iran protests?09:57 Is the Mossad behind them?32:55 The most racist podcast clip you've ever seen Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 2026

Katie Halper Destroys Kristi Noem on Blatant ICE Lie

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. Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: GOP Senator Accidentally Blows Iran Secret https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/gop-senator-accidentally-blows-iran?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web 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. 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032 Kristi Noem did not do well on her Face the Nation appearance this weekend. And Katie and Aaron did not miss the opportunity to make fun of it. From accidentally calling her own agency’s statistics a fake news lie, to contradicting her claim that ICE agents aren’t using chemical weapons against protesters, to admitting the First Amendment no longer exists when it comes to ICE, to claiming that even mentioning the public case of ICE officer and alleged murderer Jonathan Ross is the same as doxxing, she dug herself into hole after hole. We feel bad making fun of someone so…intellectually challenged, but she’s currently in power running what this week’s guest Craig Mokhiber called “the modern day Brown Shirts,” so we’ve got no choice but to do our part in mockery. Also in this Monday Mourning: Republicans are tripping over themselves over the stupidity of Trump’s Greenland takeover plans, Democrats continue to only call out Trump’s regime change operations for being unsuccessful, mentioning nothing about their moral implications, and Israeli mega-donors Miriam Adelson and Haim Saban accidentally get outed by their own moderator. Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 19 January 2026

Ex-UN Official EXPOSES Israel’s Secret Role in Venezuela

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: GOP Senator Accidentally Blows Iran Secret https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/gop-senator-accidentally-blows-iran?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.In October 2023, Craig Mokhiber resigned as director of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights over the UN’s failure to act to stop the genocide in Gaza. Since then, he has been writing and speaking out about Israel’s crimes in Gaza as well as the other wars launched by the US-Israel Axis. This week, we’re focusing on Israel’s secret role in destabilizing Latin America, the Maduro government in Venezuela in particular, and in training ICE.Useful Idiots: Can you talk about the Israeli regime’s nefarious role in Latin America?Craig Mokhiber: It’s a long story, the history of the Israeli regime supporting far-right governments and death squads in Latin America and attacking or supporting attacks on progressive governments and movements in the region. And that’s why in her first address after the U.S. attacked Venezuela, the vice president, who’s now the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, said that the attack on the country had “Zionist undertones.”People of the region are well aware that the hand of the Israeli regime in destabilizing progressive governments has been going on forever. We’re talking about Israeli weapons, Israeli equipment, Israeli surveillance technology, Israeli intelligence cooperation, spying on opposition, and so on. But what’s really sometimes missed in these conversations is that the Israeli regime has been exporting not just weapons and technology and tactics, but it also exports a kind of violent and racist ideology. Ideas that are very right-wing, very Zionist, very militarist, very anti-human rights, obviously deeply anti-Muslim and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian and anti-left, and this general idea that tries to frame law enforcement as equivalent to military.That has been a big part of it. And that’s why, after the attack by the US on Venezuela, Israeli regime leaders were absolutely giddy celebrating the attacks on Venezuela and the abduction of the Venezuelan president.Useful Idiots: What about Israel’s role in U.S. crackdowns against its own citizens?Craig Mokhiber: This is what I refer to as the Zionist boomerang. This support for Zionism, fascism, apartheid, all of the crimes of the Israeli regime in Palestine, now it’s come back to our own cities. We’re talking about policing tactics that are entirely inconsistent with international human rights standards. You’ve got decades of the US underwriting apartheid, surveillance, repression, and genocide in Palestine. Those practices are now being brought home.We’ve seen it in the brutal persecution of student protesters. You see it in the distortion of US legislation by Israel. The official adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism as an Israeli tool to try to silence dissent about Israeli abuses. You see it in the wholesale suspension of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in the U.S. on behalf of the Israeli regime.This is blowback from support for Zionism in Western Asia and you now see it in the corruption of U.S. law enforcement with this continuous structured flow of Israeli weapons and equipment and surveillance technology. A lot of these things come out of Israel’s so-called counterterrorism tactics. And whenever you hear that word counterterrorism, I think we’ve all learned, human rights runs for cover. It’s surveillance, it’s brutal crowd control techniques, racial profiling, intrusive intelligence gathering that’s now touching all of us.That is a product of this Zionist boomerang. And that alone should terrify everybody who lives in the United States.Watch and share our full, unpaywalled interview with Craig Mokhiber.And don’t miss this week’s Friday Free-For-All: GOP Senator Accidentally Blows Iran Secret00:00 Intro01:42 Lindsey Graham is DEVASTATED Trump didn't bomb Iran03:58 Treasury Sec brags about destroying Iranian economy07:40 Sen. Mullin accidentally admits he supports regime change08:28 Craig Mokhiber interview19:33 Israel's nefarious role in Venezuela26:06 The Israeli Boomerang51:09 Stephen Miller says ICE has full immunity58:11 An update on genocide in Gaza1:01:38 The end of the American empire Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 16 January 2026

Kristi Noem PANICS As ICE Murder Story Unravels Live on CNN

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Professors Gabriel Hetland and Alex Aviña: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-trump-shocked-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Surprise! Dr. Phil is in Israel's Pocket at https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/surprise-dr-phil-is-in-israels-pocket?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.🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032 Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 12 January 2026

Trump SHOCKED After Venezuela Oil Backlash, BRICS Conflict Looms

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interview with Professors Gabriel Hetland and Alex Aviña: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-trump-shocked-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Surprise! Dr. Phil is in Israel's Pocket https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/surprise-dr-phil-is-in-israels-pocket?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.Read our guests' books:Democracy on the Ground: Local Politics in Latin America’s Left TurnSpecters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican CountrysideThe Trump Administration’s regime change operations in Venezuela are escalating rapidly, making it a challenge to keep up with the facts, lies, hypocrisies, kidnappings, and killings. That’s why we’re speaking with Professors Gabriel Hetland and Alex Aviña, two experts on the historical implications of US destabilization attempts in Latin America, who deep dive into why Trump is attacking Venezuela, the role oil and natural resources play in this, and the broader conflict it will bring with China and BRICS.Useful Idiots: Despite the invasion, Alex, you’ve argued that this can be read as a sign of weakness of the United States. Can you elaborate on that?Alex Aviña: The fact that they didn’t opt for a larger military operation could be read as a recognition of the difficulty of such an operation. The military assets that the US had moved in the Caribbean are not nearly enough for an Iraq-style invasion or even what they did to Panama in December of 1989.If we think about the broader context, and thinking about the national security strategy that the Trump administration published late last year, they more or less have conceded that they can’t frontally challenge China and Asia. So one way that they are going to proceed in the future is to indirectly challenge China.China is the largest trading partner for South America, right? Historically every time that the US “comes home” and starts taking it out on Latin America, it’s usually after a moment of defeat or an admission that the global designs of the United States have met obstacles. So they have to retrench their power within Latin America.Useful Idiots: Gabriel, you have a recent article at The Intercept: “The U.S. Desperately Wants Back in the Business of Empire With Venezuela. America carried out a coup in Venezuela to plunder the country’s resources. But Latin Americans will have the last word.” So what do you mean by that, Latin Americans will have the last word?Gabriel Hetland: Trump’s attempt to dominate Latin America doesn’t always work out the way the US wants it to. Specifically, when the US attempts to push Latin Americans around, it sometimes has an immediate or more long-term backlash. And we’ve seen this repeatedly in Latin American history just this year.Trump went after Lula, the president of Brazil, because he was prosecuting Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup. He talked about slapping 50% tariffs on Lula, and that helped Lula’s popularity. We saw something similar in 2002 with Evo Morales in Bolivia. The U.S. ambassador called him a narco terrorist and he immediately went to number two in the polls.There’s also going to be a backlash against U.S. imperialism in other countries. In Colombia, Gustavo Petro has had huge rallies all week. Santos, the conservative former president of Colombia, who’s not an ally of Petro, actually said it was good that Petro and Trump were having a conversation. So when the president of the United States goes after leaders in Latin America, it can put conservatives in Latin America on the back foot and force them to actually defend leftists. It can also provide an electoral boost for nationalists and leftists and anti-imperialism overall. I think that it’s very, very likely that we’ll see more of that.Subscribe to watch full interview with Alex Aviño and Gabriel Hetland on the nearly-satyrical levels of racism in the Venezuelan opposition that MAGA is propping up, as well as a controversial question from Aaron.00:00 Intro00:47 JD Vance CAUGHT Lying About Minnesota ICE Murder07:12 Alex Aviña and Gabriel Hetland interview09:28 What's happening in Venezuela?13:50 Is the US weakening?35:09 The real MAGA agenda in Latin America Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 9 January 2026

US Kidnaps Venezuelan President Maduro – We watched every corporate politician's reaction

Watch the full Monday Mourning here: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-kidnaps-venezuelan-president-maduro?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webClick here for our episode on Trump's Venezuela War: https://youtu.be/-R9OJP5K21AWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Katie & Aaron React to Ridiculous 'Melania' Trailer https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/katie-halper-and-aaron-mate-react?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourning🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032 Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 5 January 2026

"A couple of second chances" – Trump Bends the Knee to Netanyahu At White House Shower

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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULClick here for the full interview with Francisco Rodriguez: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-trumps-venezuela-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseSupport 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!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch our Friday Free-For-All: Katie & Aaron React to Ridiculous 'Melania' Trailer https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/katie-halper-and-aaron-mate-react?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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 Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 31 December 2025

What were those photos of Trump in the Epstein drawer...?

Get the full episode, our Friday Free-For-All, and TWO MONTHS of Useful Idiots for FREE https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe?coupon=d5e84c49Go 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.Click here for the full interview with Francisco Rodriguez: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-trumps-venezuela-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Katie & Aaron React to Ridiculous 'Melania' Trailer https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/katie-halper-and-aaron-mate-react?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourning🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032 Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 22 December 2025

Trump's Venezuela War BACKFIRES, Maduro Calls His Bluff

Get the full episode, our Friday Free-For-All, and TWO MONTHS of Useful Idiots for FREE https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe?coupon=d5e84c49Go 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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULClick here for the full interview with Francisco Rodriguez: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-trumps-venezuela-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseSupport 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!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Katie & Aaron React to Ridiculous 'Melania' Trailer https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/katie-halper-and-aaron-mate-react?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&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.For this week’s interview, we’re speaking with Francisco Rodríguez about the latest in Trump’s regime-change campaign in Venezuela. Rodríguez, a member of the Venezuelan opposition who formerly advised a challenger to President Nicolás Maduro, does not, like other members of the opposition, support the U.S. policy of starvation sanctions and military force to overthrow the government of Venezuela.Useful Idiots: You have warned that Trump’s naval blockade of U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela could lead to the first major famine in the Western Hemisphere. Can you explain what you mean by that?Francisco Rodríguez: The first thing to understand is that the Venezuelan economy runs on oil revenues. Oil is more than 90% of the country’s exports. It uses its export revenue in order to pay for imports of everything, including food and essentials.The Venezuelan economy doesn’t actually produce the food that it needs to feed itself. And that’s not atypical: that’s the case for many economies that are integrated into the world economy. But not many economies get blockaded. In fact, there’s really no precedent of a sustained blockade of any economy in the Western Hemisphere.Useful Idiots: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded to Trump’s blockade announcement by ordering a naval escort for tankers that are carrying oil toward Asia. This obviously raises the risk, if Trump decides to enforce his social media post, of a military confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela in the high seas.Francisco Rodríguez: The U.S. has essentially gone into this strategy of trying to scare the Venezuelan military into turning on Maduro, which is called the credible threat strategy. It’s the idea that if the US can credibly threaten that it’s going to invade, it doesn’t actually have to invade: the military is going to turn on Maduro who is going to give up power.Up until now, Maduro isn’t moving. You don’t have any sign of rebellion in the military, and this strategy has painted President Trump into a corner because now he’s almost forced to show that this threat is credible by carrying out a military attack.But on the other hand, there seems to be absolutely no appetite, at least in American public opinion and among the political leadership of both parties, for an actual war in Venezuela. So is President Trump going to pull the trigger? Is he going to go in and seize that tanker and fire on the Venezuelan ships that are escorting it? We don’t know. It’s highly unpredictable.But what we do know is that a lot of military conflicts begin this way. They begin with threats and then one side either miscalculating or believing that it has to enforce its threat in order to maintain its credibility.Subscribe for the full interview with Francisco Rodríguez for his thoughts on Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado calling regime change an “act of love.”And don’t miss this week’s Friday Free-For-All: Katie Halper & Aaron Maté React to Ridiculous ‘Melania’ Trailer00:00 Intro01:02 Fox News celebrates "squeezing" civilians06:48 Francisco Rodríguez interview29:44 What happened when he challenged President Maduro? Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 19 December 2025

US Senators Politicize Australia Mass Shooting to Deport Muslims From the US

Click here for the full interview with Suad Abdel Aziz: https://youtu.be/AQjkoX28EN0Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Aaron Maté on Confronting Hillary Clinton https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/aaron-mate-on-confronting-hillary?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourningThis weekend, a mass shooting in Australia killed at least 16 people at a Hanukkah celebration. Australian lawmakers responded to the incident rationally: they’re creating new policy to tighten gun restrictions in the country. US politicians, who responded to their own mass shooting at Brown University with the usual “thoughts and prayers,” had a much more ridiculous takeaway:“My heart goes out to all of the Jewish citizens of America and around the world,” says Senator Jim Banks (R-IN). “In America we have to do more to deport terrorists out of the United States to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen in the homeland.” He then adds for good measure: “And our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.”Instead of dealing with the problem of gun violence, or assessing that the ethno-supremacist state of Israel waging a 2-year ethnic cleansing campaign is the leading cause for the rise in antisemitism, US politicians are using this atrocity to fuel Islamophobia and deport innocent people from the country, creating even more suffering in the name of Israel.But please, when you talk about the students killed at Brown, don’t politicize it. Just say thoughts and prayers.We cover this, and so much more, in this week’s Monday Mourning. Plus, don’t miss our limited-time offer to get 2 FREE MONTHS OF USEFUL IDIOTS. Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 15 December 2025

Why the UAE Secretly Funds a Genocide in Sudan

Get the full episode, our Friday Free-For-All, and TWO MONTHS of Useful Idiots for FREE https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe?coupon=d5e84c49Go 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.Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport 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!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Aaron Maté on Confronting Hillary Clinton at 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.This week we speak with Suad Abdel Aziz, a Sudanese-American lawyer and founder of the human rights advocacy organization Decolonize Sudan. The Sudan genocide is a topic we haven’t covered extensively at Useful Idiots, so Suad educates us with a history of the region, explains what’s going on now, and reveals how the US is involved.Useful Idiots: Can you give us a brief history of Sudan and how we got to where we are?Suad Abdel Aziz: Despite how mainstream media frames it, there is not an internal power struggle or civil war that’s happening in Sudan. What’s happening is a foreign-backed genocide, carried out by a militia called the Rapid Support Forces, or the RSF, as part of a colonial project to completely destabilize Sudan in order to seize land within a larger imperial scheme designed to extract resources, consolidate economic control of Sudan, and control Sudan’s foreign policy.Beginning in April of 2023, the RSF violently seized Sudan, and over the course of over two years now, destroyed and leveled the bulk of Sudan’s infrastructure and has displaced over a third of the population, which is over sixteen million people. They have waged a campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing marked by mass killings, including killings of entire family lineages, sexual violence, and the deliberate starvation of entire communities.The RSF is only able to do this through the backing of the United Arab Emirates, who provide the funds, the fighters, and the weapons for this militia. In exchange, the UAE is extracting the resources of Sudan, with the main export that it’s smuggling being gold. And the UAE’s gold exports have increased by over 25% since this siege began.Useful Idiots: What is the connection between Sudan and Palestine?Suad Abdel Aziz: Sudan has historically been allied with Palestine and against Israel, which is key in understanding why the US seeks to align Sudan’s foreign policy with its own in order to serve its larger interests of domination of the Middle East. It’s very clear that if elections were to happen in Sudan, that the people would elect in anti-colonial Muslim governance. And this is a threat to US control of the Middle East and of Muslim countries.Listen to or watch our full interview with Suad Abdel Aziz, unpaywalled for all listeners. And don’t miss our limited time deal: 2 MONTHS of Useful Idiots FREE. Your support of independent media means everything.Plus, don’t miss this week’s Friday Free-For-All: Aaron Maté on Confronting Hillary Clinton00:00 Intro00:29 Chuck Schumer Supports Trump's Regime Change War02:46 CNN says stealing oil from other countries is cool now06:33 Suad Abdel Aziz interview Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2025

CIA's Secret Drug War, Exposed

Get the full episode, our Friday Free-For-All, and TWO MONTHS of Useful Idiots for FREE https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe?coupon=d5e84c49Go 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.Click here for the full interview with Greg Grandin: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-cias-secret-drug-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseSupport 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!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Stephen Miller Says What He'd Do With Pete Hegseth's Children https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/stephen-miller-says-what-hed-do-with?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseJoin 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.This week we’re speaking to Pulitzer-Prize winner Greg Grandin about the Trump Administration’s regime-change war in Venezuela, which now is mired in controversy not just because we’re trying to overthrow a foreign government yet again, but also because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presided over a blatantly unconstitutional strike on a speedboat in the Caribbean.Useful Idiots: Can you walk us through what Trump is doing right now in Venezuela and what is motivating him?Greg Grandin: The big picture is the America First movement, which imagines that the United States no longer superintends a global liberal political economy in which everybody plays by the rules. That’s happened in the past, and Latin America is key to that.But then, of course, there’s Venezuela and there’s oil. There was a split within the Trump administration between so-called moderates, who are tied to Chevron, and the war party, Miller, Rubio, and Hegseth. I think those speedboat attacks were the war party’s attempt to preempt any normalization of relationships with Venezuela.And with Rubio, it’s a confluence of two different strands. One is he was a neocon before he became America First. But he’s also from South Florida, and he’s got deep ties to the Cuban community. And Venezuela is seen as the first step towards taking out Cuba, denying it its oil. So he’s doing it under the rubric of the War on Drugs, which of course is not Donald Trump. That’s a fifty year war.Behind every single horror that Donald Trump represents exists a long train of U.S. presidents that had first put in the policies that make what Trump does today possible. And that’s nowhere clearer than in the Drug War, which started formally with Richard Nixon in 1973. So there’s many things flowing into it.Useful Idiots: Do you think Trump will succeed with these plans in Venezuela?Greg Grandin: The momentum to get Maduro out is quite strong and surprisingly orchestrated, which included the Nobel Peace Prize Committee giving María Corina Machado the prize, and she immediately fulfilled her role as everybody’s worst expectation of what could possibly happen. I can’t imagine any other Peace Prize winner immediately embarking on an alliance with Donald Trump to stage a coup. But that’s where we are.I think that Trump wants Venezuela settled. That either means Maduro’s gone and some provisional government favorable to the United States is in power, or it means the Chevron faction within the Trump administration keeps Maduro and establishes some semblance of normalcy and keeps the oil pumping.Now deportation flights have restarted after being halted for a little while. That’s where I’m a little bit dubious about whether Trump is going to go all in on Rubio’s visions. They don’t have enormous support in the United States. It doesn’t have support in the MAGA base. And obviously Hegseth is having all of these problems. The leaking of the footage of that double-tap speedboat killing suggests there’s deep discontent within the military…Subscribe to watch the full interview with historian Greg Grandin. (Or watch it free with this deal. You’ll also get our Friday Free-For-All: Stephen Miller Says What He’d Do With Pete Hegseth’s Children)00:00 Intro00:59 Friday Free-For-All01:18 Hillary Clinton mocks her own students for opposing genocide07:30 Greg Grandin interview07:54 Pete Hegseth's war crimes31:32 Marco Rubio claims Hezbollah is working in Venezuela Our Sponsors: * Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me * Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcribed - Published: 5 December 2025

Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Useful Idiots, LLC

Overview

406 Episodes