Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war "Their Blood, Our Bullets":

https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the ad-free interview with Jeremy Scahill and Sami al-Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-iran-strikes-us-bases-and?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Analysis: Establishment Dems are seizing the Graham Platner scandal to slander progressives across primary elections https://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war "Their Blood, Our Bullets":

https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the ad-free interview with Jeremy Scahill and Sami al-Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-iran-strikes-us-bases-and?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Analysis: Establishment Dems are seizing the Graham Platner scandal to slander progressives across primary elections https://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

This week we have a powerhouse panel on Useful Idiots: Professor Sami al-Arian and investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill of DropSite News, who join us to analyze Trump’s wars in West Asia.

The breaking news is that Trump is renewing the bombing of Iran, insulting its leaders, and threatening to take out more civilian infrastructure, all while Israel is allowed to continue its genocide in Gaza as well as steal and destroy land in Lebanon.

Useful Idiots: Trump has said the deal is likely over. So where are we with the state of war against Iran?Sami al-Arian: The deal was basically an admission by the United States that it’s been defeated. It is surrender in all points. And I think the Zionists have upped the pressure against this administration, which has been beholden to it for whatever reason. They were trying to find justification to renege on this deal.But regardless, there is nothing that the US could do to defeat Iran. There is nothing that it could do to achieve its objectives, which is basically regime change, regime collapse, breakup of the country, and to reverse its advanced scientific achievements in nuclear power or in missiles or even to stop its support of its allies in the region.None of these objectives were reached in the first thirty-nine days of the war and they are very unlikely to be reached again.Jeremy Scahill: What we’ve seen since Trump took this deal is that he has not been able to effectively spin his victory-narrative on this thing. This is the latest iteration of the Trump pattern, which is that he’s flailing around like a child throwing a tantrum and threatening.And the more he escalates it, the more it becomes clear that he is in the quagmire of all quagmires in this situation. One thing that we have to be always concerned about is that Trump is a very erratic character. I wouldn’t put it past him to authorize a much more significant escalation of the bombing against Iran.My understanding from Iranian officials is that if that happens, if a Rubicon is crossed and it becomes a full-blown war again, that Iran’s response to this in the Persian Gulf and aimed at Israel is going to exceed what it did in the initial weeks when it fought the United States and Israel to a point where Trump was the one essentially begging for some kind of a deal.

Watch our full, unpaywalled interview with Professor Sami al-Arian and Jeremy Scahill. Please consider subscribing to support our work and watch the ad-free version of the show.

00:00 Intro

01:05 Aaron's new book

03:16 CNN manufactures a scandal with Netanyahu to hurt Michigan's el-Sayed

09:35 Jeremy Scahill and Sami al-Arian interview

15:38 Could Israel use its nukes?

28:08 Jeremy's sources in the Iranian government

42:56 Who really benefits from this war?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watch Abby Martin's new film OUT TODAY: https://createsend.com/t/i-96F446CD3620EF692540EF23F30FEDED

Support our work and get the extended interview with Abby Martin: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-interview-abby-martin-exposes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnns-jake-tapper-humiliated-for-zohran?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Friend-of-show Abby Martin, journalist and filmmaker behind the Empire Files, Gaza Fights for Freedom, and Cuba After Castro, returns to Useful Idiots on the premiere day of her bold new film: Earth’s Greatest Enemy.

The new documentary examines how the Pentagon, exempt from international climate agreements or emissions laws and rarely scrutinized in mainstream reporting, is the world’s single largest institutional polluter—spewing carbon, contaminating water, and scarring landscapes across the globe.

Martin went deep into Washington as well as into the communities and ecosystems it destroyed in order to expose the truth about the US military and put pressure on its most powerful conspirators, from bought-out politicians like Nancy Pelosi to squirming army officials to corporate profiteers like Palantir’s Alex Karp.

In this interview, Abby recounts the most shocking discoveries she and her team made while unraveling the story and filming where the military didn’t want them to be filming. She also reveals bonus secrets she uncovered that aren’t in the documentary, explains why a movie on such a serious topic is filled with biting gallows humor, and the real way that AI data centers are “going to literally kill us all.”

To watch our full interview with Abby Martin on what she found on her reporting trip to Israel (and the most racist Israelis she caught on camera), the truth about the US history of violence on Cuba and how she became the first US journalist to be granted a sit-down interview with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and what Israeli military officers are doing in Venezuela after the US coup and a devastating earthquake in Caracas, please subscribe to our show.

00:00 Intro

04:12 Jake Tapper Humiliated for Zohran Mamdani Meltdown

08:16 Fraudfather Jonathan Greenblatt gets mocked for antisemitism rant

09:27 Abby Martin interview

13:08 Confronting Nancy Pelosi

19:53 Palantir's Alex Karp wants to kill the Earth

27:56 Exposing the most RACIST ISRAELIS

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the extended interview with Ross Barkan and Liza Featherstone: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-interview-aipac-panics-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: CNN IS MELTING DOWN AS PROGRESSIVES TAKE OVER https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-is-melting-down-as-progressives?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Click here to watch the full chat with God Test author Robert Wright: https://usefulidiotspodcast.com

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the extended interview with Ross Barkan and Liza Featherstone: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-interview-aipac-panics-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: CNN IS MELTING DOWN AS PROGRESSIVES TAKE OVER https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-is-melting-down-as-progressives?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the extended interview with Ross Barkan and Liza Featherstone: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-interview-aipac-panics-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: CNN IS MELTING DOWN AS PROGRESSIVES TAKE OVER https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-is-melting-down-as-progressives?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

On this week’s show we’re analyzing the Mamdani Sweep in New York City where progressive, populist, pro-Palestine candidates, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won important elections across the board in a huge rebuke to AIPAC and Israel.

So as AIPAC and the entire Democratic establishment freak out about the electoral loss, we’re speaking with journalists Ross Barkan and Liza Featherstone to dissect what went right for the left and how progressive stars like Mamdani and Hasan Piker can leverage this victory into a more controlling stance in the Democratic Party.

Useful Idiots: What’s your one-sentence takeaway from the elections?Ross Barkan: It was a great night for Zohran Mamdani and he is emerging as the new political boss of New York politics.Liza Featherstone: I wondered whether the left should have gone even bigger. Zohran won every single race that he endorsed and DSA won almost all of them. None of their incumbents were taken out and almost all their challengers won. If you’re not losing more, are you really trying hard enough?Useful Idiots: Establishment Democrats are freaking out about these progressive winners, including Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier who sparked controversy with a now-deleted tweet saying “Fuck Kamala Harris.” What’s your response to this?Liza Featherstone: I would just like [these establishment Democrats] to actually spend a day gathering petition signatures for a candidate. When I did that for Zohran Mamdani in Bed-Stuy, a Democratic stronghold, the biggest obstacle was people saying, ‘fuck the democrats.’I would lead with ‘are you a registered democrat?’ and even normie, middle-aged ladies, white ladies, black ladies, you know, who are normally the base of the Democratic Party, would be like, ‘no, fuck them.’ Everyone’s fed up. Everyone’s fed up.

To see the full interview with Ross and Liza on why Trump has more respect for Zohran’s game than Dems do, responses to CNN fear mongering that Jews are no longer safe in New York City after the election, whether Brad Lander is actually a progressive or just establishment-in-disguise, and where AOC was while Mamdani was endorsing candidates, please subscribe to our show.

00:00 Intro

02:00 Dana Bash's Zionist Meltdown

07:49 Sean Hannity cries over Brad Lander

09:02 Ross Barkan and Liza Featherstone interview

09:42 What the Progressives MISSED this week

16:07 Is it GOOD Zohran can't run for president?

30:05 Why wasn't AOC there?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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.

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the ad-free version of our episode: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/bombshell-jd-vance-turns-on-israel?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Even Hillary Clinton is Turning On Israel https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/even-hillary-clinton-is-turning-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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.

Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful

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/serve

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the ad-free version of our episode: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/bombshell-jd-vance-turns-on-israel?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Even Hillary Clinton is Turning On Israel https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/even-hillary-clinton-is-turning-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

This week, after months of demanding Iran’s unconditional surrender, Trump suddenly backed off his regime-change war, signing an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Iran.

And what’s even more surprising than this apparent admission of defeat and push for peace is the Trump administration’s sharp turn on Israel, with Trump distancing himself from Netanyahu and Vice President Vance directly calling the Israelis out:

“You have seen people within Bibi’s cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal and in some ways very personally attacked the President of the United States.If I was in the Israeli cabinet, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have left anywhere in the entire world.What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of 9 million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have.”

So to discuss the peace deal, whether it can withstand Trump’s turbulent negotiation tendencies and expected sabotage from Israel, and why the administration is turning against its ally Israel, we spoke with two Iranians: Trita Parsi, author and executive VP at the Quincy Institute, and Negar Mortazavi, journalist at the Center for International Policy and host of the Iran Podcast.

Trita Parsi: The doubt of US power over Israel has now been completely blown up with the statements of JD Vance. I suspect that we’re going to see more of it, particularly if the Israelis continue to sabotage in the manner that they have been and probably will continue to do.What JD is doing there is not just changing the conversation about Israel. He’s changing the paradigm of U.S.-Israeli relations. He’s clearly pointing out to them how isolated Israel is today, and how few friends it has, which should not be a surprise.And at the same time, he’s reminding the Israelis the tremendous leverage that the United States has over Israel, even though most presidents have not had the backbone to use that leverage. But he’s reminding the Israelis of the extent to which the United States can really put a tremendous amount of pressure on them.Negar Mortazavi: This is incredible. It’s unprecedented. And now J.D. Vance, even Donald Trump, are starting to sound like America-first, anti-war skeptics of militarism, everything that was part of the political discourse in the campaign.I mean, it’s unfortunate that it took two wars, which also, by the way, took thousands of lives in Lebanon. But I think we see a gap and it’s very public and it’s widening. And this also comes after three years of genocide in Gaza, which has already created a gap between Israel and the U.S.Even in Congress now, across the political structure, you’re seeing the beginning of a movement. There are members of Congress or candidates running for elections who say they don’t want to accept money from AIPAC. That has become an unprecedented thing that is publicly being said.

It’s a historic week, and extremely complex in terms of what the deal signifies and the shaky path it could have moving forward. Trita and Negar help us dig into the details and parse through the propaganda. This episode won’t be paywalled.

If you want to support our work, please consider subscribing. You’ll get our recap of the craziest and most cringe-worthy reactions to the deal across corporate media in the Friday Free-for-All: Even Hillary Clinton is Turning On Israel.

00:00 Intro

01:30 Dems are MAD at Trump for ending the war

05:21 CNN Anchor is SHOCKED Iran should be able to defend itself

06:29 JD Vance calls out Israel

08:59 Trita Parsi responds to JD Vance

29:13 Negar Mortazavi breaks down the deal

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the full interview with Ro Khanna and Adam Johnson: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-rep-ro-khanna-exposes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Trump Accidentally Tells Iran He's Secretly Stealing Their Oil http://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the full interview with Adam Johnson: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-rep-ro-khanna-exposes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Trump Accidentally Tells Iran He's Secretly Stealing Their Oil http://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

00:00 Intro

03:22 Republicans are STRUGGLING to defend Trump on Iran

10:28 Rep. Ro Khanna interview

29:49 Adam Johnson on how to sell a genocide

44:52 Why CNN and the New York Times call Palestinians "savages"

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the Ad-free version of our episode: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-israel-cant-beat-iran-in?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: The Most Antisemitic Event of the Year? Watch the American Jewish Committee's Global Forum With Us! https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/the-most-antisemitic-event-of-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the Ad-free version of our episode: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-israel-cant-beat-iran-in?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: The Most Antisemitic Event of the Year? Watch the American Jewish Committee's Global Forum With Us! https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/the-most-antisemitic-event-of-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

The Trump Administration just announced their latest achievement: it’s a ceasefire in Lebanon!

One problem: they excluded from their ceasefire talks Israel’s main target, Hezbollah, and the US is fully backing Israel’s continued assault on the group, which has included the bombing of civilian infrastructure in nearly every attack so far, killing over 3,000 people since March and displacing over 1.2 million.

What this means for the so-called ceasefire: Hezbollah must withdraw from its own territory in the south of Lebanon and Israel has no terms. Unsurprisingly, Hezbollah has rejected this deal, declining the opportunity to freely hand over their own territory to the invading Israeli army.

While corporate media has reported this simply as Hezbollah refusing peace, we’re digging deeper into the story to find out what’s actually happening in Lebanon: where is Israel attacking, what is Hezbollah’s goal, to what extent will Iran back Hezbollah, and why are the US and Israel failing to take control in Lebanon.

To do this, we speak with Michael Young, senior editor at the Carnegie Middle East Center and author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square. He is based in Lebanon.

Michael has a different perspective on Hezbollah and Lebanon than most of our guests, but rather than giving you the same perspective every week, we want to feature different voices who may disagree with us, which gives us a fuller picture of the conflict. So speaking from Lebanon, Michael Young gives his take on the dilemma that Lebanon faces and what he thinks is the best way to stop Israel’s illegal invasion.

00:00 Intro

03:49 An Assault on Capitol Hill!

10:09 Fetterman celebrates Israel blinding kids (and gets a big laugh from the crowd)

10:53 Michael Young interview

14:57 The ceasefire's a JOKE

29:26 Debunking Marco Rubio

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the full interviews with Lev Golinkin and Cat Graham: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-ukrainian-journalist?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Brave Student Journalist Calls Out CBS (While Getting an Award from CBS!) https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/brave-student-journalist-calls-out?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check out Mint Mobile: https://mintmobile.com/useful

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support our work and get the full interviews with Lev Golinkin and Cat Graham: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-ukrainian-journalist?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Brave Student Journalist Calls Out CBS (While Getting an Award from CBS!) https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/brave-student-journalist-calls-out?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Read 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.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.

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.

CIA

So 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 Intro

03:39 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 Iran

13:38 What's happening in Cuba?

16:47 Peter Kornbluh interview

19:18 Trump on Cuba

34:12 "Marco Rubio is wrong about everything"

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=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.

Watch Rami Elghandour's full uncensored commencement speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcP9wnphWAg&t=1s

Follow Wyatt Reed on Substack: https://wyattreed.substack.com/

From Lindsey Graham’s mouth to God’s ears: when asked on Meet the Press if the Iran War was worth losing the midterms over, Senator Lindsey Graham proclaimed: “It’s worth losing my job!”

Finally, something to agree with arch-Zionist warmonger Lindsey Graham on!

And speaking of God’s ears, Trump held a Christian Nationalist party to celebrate the US’s 250th birthday, where speakers claimed that it took God two centuries to bring us Donald Trump so that he could finally put a ballroom in the White House. That’s not a joke they really said that.

From Lindsey Graham to Mike Johnson to John Fetterman to former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, we’ve got a Monday Mourning that oscillates between the importance of bombing civilian infrastructure in Iran to the importance of that ballroom. It’s a ridiculous and jam-packed episode.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/useful

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=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.

Watch Rami Elghandour's full uncensored commencement speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcP9wnphWAg&t=1s

Follow 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 Intro

01:09 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 everything

06:49 Rami Elghandour interview

10:26 Rami vs Rutgers

19:31 Michigan Commencement goes viral

41:58 The speech Rami would have given

44:49 Journalist Wyatt Reed interview

49:09 Visiting the elementary school the US bombed

55:25 ...and the hospital Israel bombed

1:08:46 ...and the synagogue Israel bombed

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Intro

03:49 Israel Aims to Sabotage Trump in Iran Peace Deal

06:01 Why no one talks about Israel's nukes

10:57 ADL releases ridiculous list of "antisemitic incidents"

16:09 Dr. Sajjad Safei interview

26:34 Rubio wants Iran to go "back to how it was"

35:01 Trump admin MELTDOWN

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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.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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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.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.

“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 Intro

03:26 DNC Chair Refuses to Show 2024 Election Autopsy

07:10 Trump thinks he can "do Venezuela" to Iran

08:26 Ro Khanna destroys Pete Hegseth

10:39 Mohsen Mahdawi interview

11:30 What's happening in Gaza and the West Bank?

30:22 Exposing the Canary Mission

33:16 How Trump used the Canary Mission blacklist to kidnap Mohsen

57:30 How journalists broke through Canary Mission's OPSEC

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Washington Post Columnist: "Kill the Iranian Leaders That Don't Want a Deal." https://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Washington Post Columnist: "Kill the Iranian Leaders That Don't Want a Deal." https://usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

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 Intro

01:50 "We're starving them!" Congressmen celebrate killing Iranians

07:28 Washington Post columnist: "Kill the Iranian leaders who don't want a deal!"

09:23 Mohamad Hasan Sweidan interview

10:36 Israel murders journalist Amal Khalil

49:39 Why Israel is AFRAID of invading Lebanon

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=web

Check out the Makdisi Street Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MakdisiStreet

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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=web

Check out the Makdisi Street Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MakdisiStreet

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.

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 Intro

00:53 Hillary Clinton reveals she's working BEHIND THE SCENES to bomb Lebanon

04:31 The 7 Dems who voted to send MORE BOMBS to Israel

05:39 Chuck Schumer told by Dems: Step Aside!

07:31 Second Secretary of the Cuban Embassy to the US David Ramirez Alvarez interview

12:33 Trump threatens to bomb Cuba after Iran

40:29 Makdisi Professors interview

58:31 Debate: Is the new 'ceasefire' legit?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=web

Check 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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=web

Check 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 Intro

01:15 Dems respond to Trump's ceasefire in WORST WAY POSSIBLE

06:06 NATO Chief defends his "Daddy" Donald Trump

08:29 Séamus Malekafzali interview

15:01 What is happening in Beirut?

30:41 Why Iran has MORE control over Strait of Hormuz now

31:57 Former State Dept Official Alan Eyre interview

35:13 JD Vance mocks Iran over Lebanon

44:00 The Netanyahu-Obama Showdown

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Intro

01:17 Lindsey Graham can't stop grinning while talking about murdering Iranians

04:43 Rubio thinks it's THEM who are fanatical religious terrorists

06:43 Aaron analyzes his Piers Morgan appearance

08:33 Diana Buttu interview

41:52 Ofer Cassif interview

1:01:29 Did Israel kill its own people on October 7?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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-borders

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Watch Pepe's excellent documentary: The Golden Corridor, BRICS and Iran's New World Order https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgsStCtRSWE

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Today's cohost is Sana Saeed! Follow her work here: https://x.com/SanaSaeed

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

“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 Intro

00:53 Hegseth wants $200 BILLION for Iran War

03:34 Resigned Counterterrorism Dir. Called ANTISEMITIC for Opposing Israel

05:52 Jake Tapper is so mad about it

06:32 Hala Jaber interview from Beirut

16:24 Israelis Caught on Film Trying to Kill Journalist

36:48 Professor Sami al Arian interview on Iran

41:59 Debunking Hegseth: Iran isn't losing

49:42 How will the HOUTHIS change the course of the war?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

"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/HO00008114

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/serve

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Intro

01:26 Steve Witkoff TRICKED Trump into Saying Iran Nuke Lie

06:50 Professor Behrooz Ghamari interview

11:53 Iran War update

20:00 Oil is raining from the sky

29:50 Why should Iranians "pay the price for Palestine?"

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Watch our Iran Update with Iran experts Trita Parsi and Negar Mortazavi: https://youtube.com/live/G9X2saz2HpI?feature=share

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Check out Ali Alizadeh's excellent YouTube show Jedaal: https://www.youtube.com/@JedaalEnglish

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Check out Ali's excellent YouTube show Jedaal: https://www.youtube.com/@JedaalEnglish

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Intro

00:59 JD Vance WMD Hoax

02:32 Marco Rubio CONTRADICTS Trump

03:24 Sen. Markwayne Mullin does the dumb version of warmongering

05:39 Does he really not know who the leader of Iran is?

06:14 Ali Alizadeh interview

08:56 Israel is trying to sabotage US-Iran talks

11:46 Marco Rubio makes up a threat

23:58 EMBARRASSING moment in Congress with the National Endowment for Democracy

34:40 Do Iranians like their government?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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.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.

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 Iran

00:00 Intro

01:25 Jared Kushner's creepy Board of Peace

03:23 The Democrat who's on board with bombing Iran

06:38 Fmr Obama/Biden official BACKS TRUMP in trashing nuclear deal

08:30 Bushra Shaikh interview

09:02 What's Tehran actually like?

10:43 The impact of santions

12:01 Nancy Pelosi wants to inflict pain on ordinary Iranians

14:27 In Tehran without a hijab

29:21 Interview with Jesse Jackson's former comrades

47:43 Listen to this awesome Jesse Jackson speech

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Help Mohammad document settler attacks in West Bank: https://chuffed.org/project/help-mohammad-document-settler-attacks-in-west-bank

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Help Mohammad document settler attacks in West Bank: https://chuffed.org/project/help-mohammad-document-settler-attacks-in-west-bank

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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.

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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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

Check 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=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.

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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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

Check 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=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.

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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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

Check 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=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.

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 Intro

00:59 Jeff Epstein, the Russian Spy?

09:30 Afshin Matin-Asgari interview

11:43 Responding to Rubio's terms

22:56 JD Vance clearly doesn't understand how Iran's government works

43:45 US Officials can't stop bragging about destroying Iran's economy

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFUL

Check out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFUL

Check 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=web

Watch 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/4906030668972032

It 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 Aaron

Plus, catch last week’s Friday Free-For-All: Smug Man Accidentally Admits He’s MAGA Now

And 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 Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

Get Alec's book Copaganda: https://www.commabookstore.com/shop/p/copaganda-how-police-and-the-media-manipulate-our-news-pre-order

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

Check 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=web

Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Smug Man Accidentally Admits He's MAGA Now usefulidiotspodcast.com

Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.

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 Now

00:00 Intro

00:30 Marco Rubio threatens to bomb Iran if they don't give up bomb defenses

03:26 Rand Paul Calls Out Rubio's Hypocrisy

06:17 Alec Karakatsanis interview

06:55 How Dems are HELPING ICE

17:28 Dem Sen. Chris Murphy EXPOSED

21:12 How the surveillance industry THRIVES from body cams

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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

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

Check 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=web

Watch 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=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

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
* Check out Chilipad and use my code 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