Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comOr find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.comKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourningOur Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with David Sirota: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-secret-meeting-files?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseOrder David's new book Master Plan: http://levernews.com/bookYou can go to our sponsor https://aura.com/usefulidiots to try 14 days for free. That’s enough time for Aura to start scrubbing your personal info off these data broker sites, without you lifting a fingerSupport local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!Go to groundnews.com/useful for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through our link.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Fmr Congressman Reveals What Happens at Closed-Door AIPAC Events https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/fmr-congressman-reveals-what-happens?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseFor $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.Useful Idiots fan-favorite David Sirota returns this week with a new book that dives into the dark money plot for elites to take full and final control of mainstream media. Subscribe for the full interview with David on Bari Weiss’s takeover of CBS News, the rise of tech oligarchs in America, and David’s message for disgruntled leftists.Here’s a preview of our chat:Useful Idiots: You have this great new book out called Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. It’s really relevant to so much of what’s happening today when it comes to media conglomeration, but it’s also relevant to a scary lawsuit that’s being headed by Vice President JD Vance that could have a damaging effect on some of the last campaign finance laws in this country.David Sirota: Master Plan tells the story of the fifty year secret plot to legalize corruption in a systematic way: deregulate the campaign finance system and make it nearly impossible to prosecute bribery. This plot started in the early 1970s with the Powell Memo, a memo written by Lewis Powell before he became a Supreme Court Justice. He was worried about corporations and oligarchs losing power, and he wrote this call to arms about how corporations, oligarchs, and the like had to invest in politics to make sure, essentially, that democracy didn’t continue to get ‘destroyed.’There were secret meetings in which some of the most powerful people in the country laid out how they were executing the Powell Memo. There was an effort to take over media, which we’re now seeing culminating in the Paramount-Skydance takeover with Donald Trump and Bari Weiss.Powell writes these memos that have never been seen before: he engineers a ruling extending constitutional protection for money as speech. Money is speech. Right now, as we speak, JD Vance is spearheading a low profile but huge case at the Supreme Court to try to give the now 6-3 conservative court an opportunity to eliminate all of the remaining limits on campaign contributions directly to candidates.Useful Idiots: So what’s the playbook for selling all this to the public? As a victory for the working class? For freedom? JD Vance fashioned himself as being pro-working class, but I don’t see anything in his record that supports that. So is this just an effort to push this through and hope nobody notices? Or is there a massive propaganda campaign to get people to buy into this agenda?David Sirota: I think their theory is: ‘We don’t care.’ There is no public-facing argument in the effort to deregulate campaign finance. They are making a straight up First-Amendment-legalistic-technical-argument to the Supreme Court, hoping the Supreme Court gives them what they want, because once they get what they want, then it unleashes unlimited spending for them.I don’t think they’re going out to the public saying, ‘hey, we’re deregulating campaign finance. We’re making sure the anti-bribery laws can’t be enforced. We’re doing this for some higher purpose.’ They’re doing this expecting that the media and the public will not follow the ins-and-outs of campaign finance law and anti-bribery law, knowing that if they’re successful, it will give them more power under the law to spend as much money as they want, making the political discourse and public policy whatever it is they want.00:00 Intro00:42 Fetterman cheers for Trump04:24 The missing party in Trump's 'peace deal'07:51 Bari Weiss's TERRIBLE first idea at CBS11:05 Israeli actress says it all13:26 David Sirota interview45:49 Why did billionaires install Bari Weiss at CBS?Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comOr find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.comKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourning🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You can go to our sponsor https://aura.com/usefulidiots to try 14 days for free. That’s enough time for Aura to start scrubbing your personal info off these data broker sites, without you lifting a fingerSupport local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!Go to groundnews.com/useful for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through our link.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: “No More Beardos”: Hegseth’s New ‘Professional’ Military Standards Just Dropped https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/no-more-beardos-hegseths-new-professional?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseFor $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu returns to Useful Idiots, joining us from Haifa, Israel, where she’s based. Diana breaks down Trump’s “peace plan,” which is in no way a peace plan, debunks Israeli talking points, and urges us not to give up, but rather to “disrupt, disrupt, disrupt!” until Palestine is free.We begin our conversation asking about the Global Sumud Flotilla, which, once again, sailed through international waters in an effort to break Israel’s starvation siege on Gaza, this time getting closer than ever before! On Wednesday and Thursday, the IDF kidnapped over 450 Flotilla members including Greta Thunberg and former Useful Idiots guest Thiago Ávila.Useful Idiots: What is your reaction to this news?Diana Buttu: We’ve been spending the past two years watching a live stream genocide. And here we watched 450 people being kidnapped and acts of piracy! And still nobody is doing anything about it. It shows you the lengths to which Israel is willing to go to actually starve the people of Gaza.Useful Idiots: Polls in the US now show that more Americans sympathize with Palestinians than they do with Israelis. After decades and decades of pro-Israel propaganda in the US, which now is only intensifying with pro-Israel oligarchs buying TikTok, CBS, Paramount, and possibly even CNN, a majority of Americans oppose U.S. military support to Israel.But in government, there’s so much to overcome. This week, Trump unveiled a new so-called peace plan to Netanyau. It’s basically a complete surrender for Palestinians. And one of the demands that Netanyahu made was an end to what he called lawfare: no more taking Israel to the International Criminal Court. As a Palestinian attorney, what is your response to this?Diana Buttu: This model of thinking of putting conditions on freedom, there’s a word for that. It’s called colonialism.That model ended a long time ago and the fact that they’re still trying to revive it when it comes to Palestinians is really quite repugnant. The Americans have always treated Palestinians by patting us on the head, like, ‘if you’re good Palestinians, if you do exactly what we say, then maybe, just maybe we will give you the things that you want.’It shouldn’t be a question of what the United States wants, what Israel wants, or what anybody wants. The fact that the country that has perpetrated genocide and the country that is funding the genocide have anything to say about what Palestinians do is so abhorrent. That’s number one. Two is I absolutely insist that these war criminals be held to account. It is step number one!Useful Idiots: I want to talk to you about Israel’s crimes. There’s a pretty scary statement that was tweeted out by Israel’s so-called defense minister, Israel Katz:The IDF has completed the capture of the Netzarim axis up to the Gaza coast, effectively dividing Gaza between north and south.This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza city itself, facing the IDF’s ongoing operations at full force.Those who remain in Gaza will be considered terrorists and terror supporters.The IDF is prepared for all possibilities and is determined to continue its operations.So this is ominous. What is your response to this statement?Diana Buttu: They’re openly saying that they’re just going to kill everybody.There are hundreds of thousands of people living in Gaza City. There’s a number of hospitals there. There are old people, there are young people, there are people who are ill, who are in hospital. There are people who are disabled. There’s just a whole range of society. And what he’s saying is, ‘if you remain, you are a fair target.’Again, it’s like flipping this idea of international law on its head, but they’ve done it now for the past two years. In the way that Israel has been operating, anybody in Gaza equals Hamas. They’ve said this. They’ve warned against this. We’ve been tracking their statements. That’s why it’s genocide. And now they’re coming out very clearly and saying, ‘if you remain in Gaza City, we’re going to treat you as Hamas, and therefore we are going to get rid of you.’ I don’t think they’ve made it any clearer than that.00:00 Intro00:58 Hakeem Jeffries loves Eric Adams04:06 Vance wants to turn away undocumented people at the ER07:55 INFIGHTING: ADL vs TPUSA13:30 Israel is paying influencers $7000 to shill for them18:15 Diana Buttu interview18:41 Israel KIDNAPPED 450 people36:06 Scifi-level evil tweet from Israel defense ministerOur Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comOr find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.comKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourning🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-norman-finkelstein-exposes?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseYou can go to our sponsor https://aura.com/usefulidiots to try 14 days for free. That’s enough time for Aura to start scrubbing your personal info off these data broker sites, without you lifting a fingerSupport local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!Go to groundnews.com/useful for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through our link.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Stephen Miller’s Wife Calls Him “Sexual Matador” on Fox News https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/stephen-millers-wife-calls-him-sexual?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseFor $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.00:00 Intro00:37 Hillary Clinton is Back to Fight Russia06:22 The Terrible Head of the EPA10:47 Question Schumer's Weird Chuck11:56 Jake Tapper on Jimmy Kimmel16:29 Norman Finkelstein interview51:22 Hamas's PlanOur Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comOr find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.comKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourning🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with Chris Hedges: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-chris-hedges-charlie?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseYou can go to our sponsor https://aura.com/usefulidiots to try 14 days for free. That’s enough time for Aura to start scrubbing your personal info off these data broker sites, without you lifting a fingerSupport local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!Go to groundnews.com/useful for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through our link.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Stephen Miller Promises to Carry Out Charlie Kirk’s “Final Wish” https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/stephen-miller-promises-to-carry?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseFor $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.In the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we speak to Chris Hedges, the leading chronicler of America's slide into authoritarianism and how a society that's built around empire fuels an internal decay.Useful Idiots: Where are you seeing the country now in the response to Charlie Kirk's murder?Chris Hedges: As soon as Kirk was assassinated, he was elevated within the canon of his movement to the status of a martyr. That was instant. Even before they had apprehended Robinson as the suspect, you had Trump declare him a martyr. You had flags lowered and half-mast. He was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom instantly. I've watched this before in other conflicts, and it's very dangerous because the martyr is really the lifeblood of radical movementsAny kind of dialogue, any kind of compassion with the opposing movement is a betrayal of the sanctity of the martyr. It is to essentially collaborate with people who, through the eyes of the radical movement that you're in, have killed the martyr. And that's, of course, precisely what's happening. They are deadly serious, and they will use the death of Kirk to essentially sanctify this crusade against what is left of our open society.Useful Idiots: You talked about the sanctification of Charlie Kirk when it comes from the right, but I'm curious what you think of it when it comes from the liberal side. Ezra Klein, who is a prominent liberal columnist for the New York Times, the paper of record, wrote an article called Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way.Chris Hedges: Well, that's why I don't read Ezra Klein. That's ridiculous.Charlie Kirk was fomenting hate and demonization. Let's begin with the kinds of things he said about Muslims, the kinds of things he said about people of color, in particular Black people, the kinds of things he said about the LGBTQ community, the kinds of things he said about feminists. This was really vitriolic hate speech. And it is, like all hate speech, giving license to people to act upon that hate speech.When I heard about the assassination, I was appalled and horrified, not because I have any love for Kirk, but because I know how it would be weaponized. And in all totalitarian states, vigilante groups are vitally important. And they serve this strange purpose: at once, the formal structures of power. They have a kind of deniability because it's not them. It's one step removed. On the other hand, the vigilante group carries out a lot of the dirty work that whatever police state or totalitarian state wants carried out.Useful Idiots: What do you make of the fallout on the right when it comes to the issue of Israel? A number of sources reported that Charlie Kirk was shifting a little bit on Israel after some unpleasant experiences with pro-Israel donors, including Bill Ackman, and Charlie Kirk was insisting that he was going to keep on giving space to people like Tucker Carlson. The Trump Administration is so completely beholden to the Israeli agenda, and Charlie Kirk, whether it's accurate or not, is being upheld now as a voice of dissent on that. What do you make of that?00:00 Intro01:02 Fox News' Socialism Fail06:55 Trump Wants to Imprison Code Pink09:58 Ted Cruz says "Do you see my bulge"12:39 Israel Lobby just Bought TikTok19:21 Chris Hedges interview19:58 The Aftermath of Charlie Kirk Assassination25:54 The Liberal Sanctification of Charlie Kirk32:45 Was Kirk's Murder a Hate Crime?35:55 Charlie Kirk's take on Israel39:29 The difference between free speech and hate speech44:24 The UN called Gaza a genocideOur Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comOr find us on Locals at http://usefulidiots.locals.comKatie Halper and Aaron Maté go over the worst moments of the Sunday morning news shows that they watch so you don’t have to.If it's Monday Morning, it's #mondaymourning🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4906030668972032Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with Rep. Ro Khanna: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-rep-ro-khanna-theres?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseYou can go to our sponsor https://aura.com/usefulidiots to try 14 days for free. That’s enough time for Aura to start scrubbing your personal info off these data broker sites, without you lifting a fingerSupport local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!Go to groundnews.com/useful for a better way to stay informed. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access to world-wide coverage through our link.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Putin-Xi-Modi Summit Causes Neocon PANIC on CNN https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/putin-xi-modi-summit-causes-neocon?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseFor $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.comJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.This week we’re joined by California Congressman Ro Khanna, one of the only members of Congress willing to appear on shows that are to the left of the Democratic Party. Our conversation spans from working with “bad guy” Republicans on releasing the Epstein Files, protecting Medicare, stopping Trump’s regime change operations in Venezuela, and taking on AIPAC:Useful Idiots: You've been spearheading an effort to get Trump to recognize Palestinian statehood. Can you tell us more about this effort and any new developments around it?Rep. Khanna: We have twenty six signatures to officially recognize a Palestinian state. Now people say, ‘Is this just moral preening? Why does it matter?’ First of all, it obviously matters to Netanyahu and it matters to AIPAC because they have been very opposed to it. So there is real value in recognizing the humanity of the Palestinian people and their national aspirations.Secondly, the Palestinians need some hope, a horizon of hope to overcome the destruction and extremism that they are seeing. And third, the reality is that the United States recognizing a Palestinian state, unlike all the other countries, really matters because we have the ability to have consequences based on our aid and our support.Useful Idiots: So when you bring this pitch to your colleagues in Congress, what kind of pushback are you getting? Why are they not on board with this yet, even though it's supposed to be U.S. policy to support a Palestinian state in just twenty two percent of their homeland?Rep. Khanna: The reality is that when you have the United States actually do it, it sets a marker that says ‘if Israel is not committed to actually taking steps to recognizing a Palestinian state, then there are going to be consequences.’ And that is a red line for AIPAC. It's a red line for Bibi. And so members of Congress have been reluctant to get on.Subscribe for our full interview with Rep. Ro Khanna on AIPAC ousting progressive members of Congress, why he’s teaming up with GOP Reps Massie, Mace, Greene, and Boebert to release the Epstein Files, and why even though he doesn’t support Maduro he is fighting Trump’s regime change operations in Venezuela.00:00 The Four Food Groups of News23:40 Rep. Ro Khanna interviewOur Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy