Foreign Exchanges: the Podcast

As promised, I did a 20 minute spot with the District Sentinel guys earlier today to discuss Netanyahu's presentation yesterday. You can go check it out on their Patreon and also check out the other great work they're doing, but they were kind enough to let me also post the audio here for you guys as well. One thing I'll add here: I mentioned Netanyahu wanting his speech to get on Fox and Friends so he could be sure Trump saw it. I actually gave him too much credit, because it turns out Netanyahu himself appeared on Fox and Friends this morning to deliver his sales pitch directly at Trump. I did not know this when we were doing the interview. In my defense, you would need to drug and restrain me to get me to watch Fox and Friends. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Today I'm pleased to be joined by Dan, aka Twitter user @dankmtl, for a crash course on the history of Armenian communities in the Middle East. Obviously we spend a fair amount of time on the Armenian Genocide, its causes and lingering effects, but we go all the way back to good old Tigranes the Great (see one of his coins above), who expanded Armenia to its largest extent in the first century BCE. This is a subject that can only be given the most cursory of treatments in a single podcast episode, but Dan is more than up to the challenge.I was going to post this on Tuesday as usual, but events in Armenia are kind of overtaking the interview. As I say in a section I just added, ex-Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan just resigned today after days of protests over his decision to switch over from president to PM in order to hang onto power. Dan and I did this interview on Sunday and talked briefly about the protests, but obviously we didn't have any idea he was about to step down. I figured I better get this out before anything else happens. Anyway, enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Today's episode is another interview and it is again going to be available to the public. I'm grateful to have been joined by John Feffer of the Institute for Policy Studies to talk about his recent piece for Foreign Policy in Focus on Donald Trump's majoritarian politics and the spread of majoritarianism around the world (I know I mention "a couple of pieces" in my intro but consider that a function of the fact that I got about five hours of sleep last night and that my plan for the interview changed as we were recording it). John walks us through the concept of majoritarianism, examines the construction of a "majority" in the first place, and looks at majoritarianism's causes and a hopeful counter to it. You can find more of John's work at Foreign Policy in Focus, LobeLog, and his own website. Enjoy!I close with an appeal for you to support a new resolution in the US Senate offered by Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee, and Chris Murphy that could potentially end America's role in the ongoing Yemen atrocity. WinWithoutWar.org's petition is here. I know I usually post episodes on Tuesdays but because the petition is timely I wanted to get this episode out as soon as it was ready. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

We're lucky to be joined by freelance writer, full-time grad student, and Russian active measure Hannah Gais to talk about the 2016 election, Russiagate, Vladimir Putin, the state of US-Russia relations, and Russia's many crimes including killing God. I'm opening this episode to the general public for a change, so please share widely.Hannah's Baffler piece, "Who's Afraid of the Russian Soul?" is here.Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

I'm proud to bring you our first interview! Veteran reporter Jim Lobe joins me to talk about neoconservatism, a subject on which he has been reporting and lecturing and giving interviews for many years now. We talk about defining neoconservatism, about its development from a niche intellectual movement on the leftish side of the spectrum into perhaps the dominant foreign policy ideology on the right, and about its ability to thrive despite its close association with the bar-none worst foreign policy decision in modern American history.Jim's website, which you should know if you read my work, is lobelog.com, and the piece he references on Sheldon Adelson and Donald Trump is here. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe