Pushback with Aaron Mate

In a new four-part series for the Columbia Journalism Review, veteran journalist Jeff Gerth documents US media's journalistic malpractice in covering Russiagate. Guest: Jeff Gerth, journalist who spent three decades as an investigative reporter at the New York Times, where he won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize. His new four-part series about US media’s Russiagate coverage in the “Columbia Journalism Review” is called “The press versus the president.” Read “The press versus the president" by Jeff Gerth https://www.cjr.org/special_report/trumped-up-press-versus-president-part-1.php Aaron Maté's new article on the NYT and Durham investigation: https://mate.substack.com/p/unchastened-by-russiagate-the-ny Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Author and scholar Norman Finkelstein on how the Left undermines class politics from within; the legacy of Barack Obama; censorious culture within US academia and his new book, “I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It." Guest: Norman Finkelstein. Author and scholar whose new book is “I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It." https://www.sublationmedia.com/product-page/i-ll-burn-that-bridge-when-i-get-to-it-print-edition https://www.normanfinkelstein.com/ Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Matt Taibbi joins The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté to discuss his reporting on internal Twitter files exposing US government pressure on the social media giant to validate Russiagate propaganda — and censor dissenting voices. Guest: Matt Taibbi, https://taibbi.substack.com/. Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Scholar Nicolai Petro discusses the overlooked influence of Ukraine's far-right nationalist movement and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent admission that the Minsk Accords -- the international formula for ending the post-2014 Donbas civil war -- "was an attempt to give Ukraine time" to prepare for a conflict with Russia, rather than make peace. Petro is the author of the new book, "The Tragedy of Ukraine." Guest: Nicolai Petro. Professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island, and author of the new book: "The Tragedy of Ukraine: What Classical Greek Tragedy Can Teach Us About Conflict Resolution." Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

After a 12-day visit, UN expert Alena Douhan calls for the lifting of US-led sanctions on Syria, where 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, 12 million grapple with food insecurity, millions are internally displaced, and electricity is scarce. The impact of the sanctions are compounded by a US military occupation of areas containing Syria's oil and wheat. Guest: Alena Douhan. UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights. Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

After accusing Russia of firing missiles into Poland -- and triggering calls from Ukraine for direct NATO military intervention -- US officials are now acknowledging that Ukrainian air defenses were likely responsible. Douglas Macgregor, a retired Army Colonel and former senior Pentagon adviser, says the Poland scare underscores why the US top military officer, Gen. Mark Milley, has split from White House bureaucrats to call for diplomacy with Russia in order to end the Ukraine war. Guest: Douglas Macgregor. Retired US Army Colonel and former Pentagon senior advisor. Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

As Russia escalates attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines and the Ukrainian attack on the Kerch bridge, diplomacy is nowhere to be found. Scholar and author Richard Sakwa on the latest in the Ukraine crisis. "The human losses are appalling," Sakwa says. "And yet, the language of peace cannot find an adequate expression." Guest: Richard Sakwa. Emeritus Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent. His books include “Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands” and his latest, “Deception: Russiagate and the New Cold War.” Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Dennis Kucinich, who led Congressional opposition to the Iraq war, reacts to the Congressional Progressive Caucus retracting a letter calling for diplomacy with Russia. "If we don't believe in diplomacy," Kucinich asks, "then where do we go as a country?". Guest: Dennis Kucinich. Former Congressmember (D-Ohio) and former Mayor of Cleveland.

Jeffrey Sachs joins The Grayzone's Aaron Maté and Max Blumenthal to discuss escalating nuclear rhetoric in Ukraine proxy war, the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines, and why a diplomatic off-ramp is more urgent than ever. Sachs also addresses the investigation into the origins of Covid-19. Guest: Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He has also served as chair of the Lancet COVID-19 commission. Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Aaron Mate on Substack: https://mate.substack.com/

Former Swiss intelligence officer and NATO adviser Jacques Baud on the next phase of the Russia-Ukraine war and new allegations that the US and UK undermined a peace deal that could have ended it. The West's aim "is not the victory of Ukraine, It's the defeat of Russia," Baud says. "The problem is that nobody cares about Ukraine. We have just instrumentalized Ukraine for the purpose of US strategic interests -- not even European interests." Guest: Jacques Baud. Former intelligence officer with the Swiss Strategic Intelligence Service who has served in a number of senior security and advisory positions at NATO, the United Nations, and with the Swiss military. Corrections: In his Sept. 21 speech, Putin did not make an explicit threat to use nuclear weapons. He vowed to "make use of all weapon systems available to us," in the event of "a threat to the territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people." On nuclear weapons, the US did not have a "No First Use" policy. On the 2020 campaign trail, Joe Biden said that he supported the idea of "No First Use." He abandoned that in his presidential nuclear posture; but that was reversing his campaign stance, not official US policy.