Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Michael R. Jackson had no idea that a monologue he wrote two decades ago would turn into a Broadway musical that would win countless awards, including a Tony and Pulitzer Prize. And when he criticized the political establishment, including Obama, he had no idea that Michelle Obama would be one of the countless celebrities who would flock to see the show. Nor did he imagine that Aaron Maté would fall in love with his musical and play it on loop. The musical A Strange Loop is about a Black, queer writer who has written a musical about a Black, queer writer and it’s all written by Michael R. Jackson, a Black, queer writer. Michael dishes on whether he would talk to Tucker Carlson if he came to his show, subverting the Broadway world while becoming a part of it, and how he wrote his Tony-and-Pulitzer-winning musical. Watch the interview then go see the show or listen online. And subscribe to hear the full interview where Michael talks about the culture war, racism on Broadway, and his next musical. Plus, Aaron calls Guardian journalist Mark Townsend, who recently named him the “most prolific spreader of disinformation” on Syria, to ask why he wasn’t contacted for the story. Townsend’s cowering response is a must hear. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Hear our favorite songs from “A Strange Loop” "Intermission Song" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT_mLAYtUoI "We Wanna Know" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXR67aAABV4 "Inner White Girl" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6wra5JtEv4 "Memory Song" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x5HUpqiqXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRWwZaw63wA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gajJmGwp7Ew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full interview where Chris talks psychedelics, paradigm shifting experiences, and how the government is lying to us. Chris Ryan, author of Civilized to Death and Sex at Dawn, as well as host of the podcast Tangentially Speaking, wants to help you live happier. He’s studied hunter gatherers; our closest relatives in the animal kingdom; and human philosophy/history to learn why we do what we do, what makes us want to live, and what we’re doing wrong today. Of course we ask him how all this shapes media and politics, but Chris also shares practical tips for any Useful Idiot to meaningfully improve their mindset on life. These include helping others, living less alone, spending less money of stuff we think makes us happier, and saying screw it and jumping into cold rivers. He’s got the science and philosophy behind all of it. And subscribe for the full interview where Chris talks psychedelics, paradigm shifting experiences, and how the government is lying to us. It’s all this, and more, on a transformative episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-richard-wolff-doesnt?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Finally! A Marxist economist you can show to your parents and say “See?” Class is in session with economics Professor Emeritus Richard Wolff. He’s here to teach us about inflation, what steps could be taken to tame it, and why the hell no one’s doing anything about it. He doesn’t want to scare you with the alarming future our leaders are pushing us toward, but if he didn’t, he’d be lying. So buckle in for a fantastic lecture in which Wolff uses economic history to shine a light on the dark road ahead. And subscribe for the full interview, where Professor Wolff shares what can stop inflation: “I’m gonna give you two things that we could do that will get us through the worst of it; one from a conservative republican and one from a progressive democrat.” Can you guess who? Plus, Biden wants you to earn the right to not get shot, Laura Ingraham realizes the mass shootings are because the kids are all smoking weed, and another Kamala stoned moment. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com Host of Bad Faith podcast and Rising and former Bernie Sanders press secretary Briahna Joy Gray explains why dems are rapidly losing voters: Trump gets mocked for failing to put up his wall, but his supporters watched him try the whole time, putting up pieces of wall and getting blocked. He showed them what he will do if they get him more votes. So they’ll vote harder. Democrats have given their voters failures on Build Back Better, healthcare, gun safety, and now Roe v. Wade, with little evidence of trying to fulfill these promises. Why would dems keep voting for that? As a former lawyer, Gray explains the legal side of the Supreme Court’s decision and what can be done to protect the rest of our privacy rights, like contraception and marriage equality. And subscribe for the full interview, where we pick 2024 candidates, rank the squad, and Briahna and Aaron debate the importance of Jan 6 hearings. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Briahna Joy Gray, where we pick 2024 candidates, rank the squad, and Briahna and Aaron debate the importance of Jan 6 hearings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended episodes and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com The Intercept’s Ryan Grim shares his new article Elephant in the Zoom, which explains how internal struggles have progressive advocacy groups at a standstill during a critical political moment. He argues that workplace problems, while important to deal with, are distracting these groups from the issues they were created to fight for. And while progressives are doing internal evaluations, do you think Republican groups are analyzing their micro-aggressions or are they busy seizing power? Plus, Grim ‘calls out’ the left’s call-out vs call-in problem, explains why the left is ditching their anti-war stance to escalate the proxy war in Ukraine, and why journalists are fine with the recent extradition of Julian Assange, which is, of course, an attack on a free press. Subscribe and watch the full interview to get it all. Oh yeah, and Aaron’s now a top conspiracy theorist, according to the great journalists at The Guardian. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-are-progressive?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Aaron’s article on Matt Duss: https://mate.substack.com/p/on-ukraine-progressive-proxy-warriors?r=nrwh&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Elephant in the Zoom: https://theintercept.com/2022/06/13/progressive-organizing-infighting-callout-culture/ Restorative Injustice by Ryan Grim: https://theintercept.com/2022/05/08/maryland-campaign-brandy-brooks-progressive-accountability/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com In secret meetings and leaked emails, Paul Mason and Nina Jankowicz work to silence journalists who don’t promote the approved message. In public, they complain that journalists bully them, and do vile things like publish past things they’ve said. And who does Youtube side with? The supercalifragicensors. The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal is here to explain. Leaked emails show that Paul Mason, a prominent UK journalist, privately discussed plans to collaborate with UK intelligence to “deplatform” independent journalists like The Grayzone and target UK’s Corbynite, anti-war left. As #Masongate trends on Twitter, Mason nonetheless got his wish: YouTube removed Max and Aaron’s livestream about it. So, fellow Useful Idiots, listen, learn about Mason, and then tweet the hell out of #Masongate. And hear the full interview where Max discusses deeper censorship plots, leaked emails, and a shameless 60 Minutes promotion. Plus, Aaron just got accused of being a top Russian-influenced Twitter account for such offenses as “promoting a general mistrust in institutions and elites.” It gets crazier every week. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Click here for the full episode: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-max-blumenthal-on?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com There’s a whole lot of terrible stuff going on which means Glenn Greenwald has a whole lot to say: •Biden’s failure at the Summit of the Americas: Latin American leaders are boycotting Biden’s summit because he refused to invite the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Meanwhile, Biden’s packing for his big trip to the dictatorship of Saudi Arabia… •Jan 6 in Prime Time: “I don’t think dramatizing this three-hour protest from 18 months ago will do very much at all other than underscore the fact that this is the only strategy the Democrats have.” •More Russiagate developments: “When I heard that first ad where Hillary Clinton had that sinister music playing and said, ‘What is this relationship between Donald Trump and the Russians?’ to me it just immediately sounded like the kind of McCarthyite toxicity I had spent many decades abhorring.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Glenn where we deep dive on January 6, play Trump vs Bernie vs Chomsky, and hear about Glenn’s animal shelter run by unhoused people in Rio. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com After another Israeli murder of a Palestinian journalist, The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah shares a scary truth: “The message Israel drove home with the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh was that no matter who you are, how famous you are, or what religion you are, no Palestinian is safe from Israel.” With US backing, Israel has been free to kill with impunity. But seeing the Palestinian people unite in protest after each massacre, Ali has hope. “Palestinians are coming back together with every Israeli atrocity, and that is really terrifying for Israel because divide-and-rule has always been their strongest and most successful tactic.” They don’t have the US government on their side, or deadly US weapons, or any truth from US corporate media, but their growing anger and spirit is creating a stronger, unified Palestine. And subscribe for the extended interview, where Ali discusses Israel’s sickening actions at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral, racist and violent flag marches, the Biden administration’s hypocritical policies, and the collapsing support for Israel around the world. Plus, Biden’s getting smothered, Marjorie Taylor Greene in a peach tree dish, and 15,000 pounds of hot dog paste. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a Useful Idiot to get the extended interview: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-did-texas-police?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Amid growing scrutiny of the police response to the Uvalde school massacre, Mike Prysner, producer of the Empire Files and Iraq war veteran, tell us: “In a way, they were accomplices to the mass shooter. The number of dead was aided by the police. Perhaps through cowardice or racism, Prysner says, the police stood outside and subdued parents while their kids were shot inside. “With car accidents, there are steps you can take to protect your child,” Prysner explains. “There’s nothing you can do to protect them from guns other than move to Canada as a refugee of US violence.” Hear Prysner’s full take on the shooting and guns in America, an important perspective from a veteran who once loved guns. Plus, in the extended episode Mike explains why he yelled at George Bush and how Memorial Day is only another militaristic holiday to whitewash a deadly and racist history. And watch Mike and Abby Martin’s episode on the true history of Memorial Day, Used & Betrayed, and their important documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full episode, including the extended interview with Lev Golinkin on disinformation, weapons manufacturers, and Aaron’s fight with a bloody normal Nazi denier: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-ukrainian-journalist?r=je5va&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web The Nation’s Lev Golinkin has an important message that most people in mainstream news can’t seem to wrap their heads around: “Russia is committing war crimes. That is true. And not everyone who is fighting Russia is a good guy. That is also true.”And some of these bad guys are Nazis. Lev, who sees his home country being terrorized by Russia while also by it’s own neo-Nazi extremists, brings a new perspective to the war that is rarely shared. And why is his voice stifled? Because of disinformation launderers like Nina Jankowicz, Orwellian head of Biden’s (now-paused) Disinformation Board, who have a pro-war agenda, whitewash Nazism, and smear anyone who disagrees with them. Read Lev’s articles at the Nation, read his memoir, and watch Useful Idiots. It’s the last stand against the supercalifragicensors. And become a Substack subscriber to see the full interview where we discuss disinformation, weapons manufacturers, and Aaron’s fight with a Nazi denier. It’s all this, and more, on this week’s episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy