AlternativeRadio

A new world order is emerging that is dangerously more wicked and destructive. Led by the United States, it is marked by savagery at home and abroad. The old order has collapsed, buried under the weight of its contradictions, mendacities and hypocrisies. The so-called rules-based international system was never what it was designed to be but it had some merit, such as the United Nations and its agencies. Today, that framework is shattered. The U.S. is the imperial hegemon, the global robocop. Rules, laws, treaties, and agreements are all gone. Washington, with its trillion-dollar military budget, commands the waves and the skies. Law, UN resolutions, and judgments from the International Court of Justice are for designated enemies. The master and his servants are exempt. Our media, with few exceptions, are stenographers to power.

The post-WW1 Weimar Republic in Germany was the height of European civilization. Its scientists and scholars led the world. Its Bauhaus architecture was the rage. Its arts featured such luminaries as Fritz Lang, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Thomas Mann. Yet, out of this modern democracy sprang Nazism, German fascism, and one of the most barbaric regimes ever. How did Hitler happen? It is one of the most important questions of history. What happened in Germany has disturbing resonances for our own time. Fascist-like regimes are taking power in many countries. We ignore disturbing signs at our peril from torchlight parades in Charlottesville with crowds chanting, “Jews Will Not Replace Us” to a synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh to the murder of African-Americans in a church in Charleston. What can we learn from the past to ensure it doesn’t happen again? Recorded at Hunter College. Interviewed by David Barsamian

U.S. foreign policy objectives often conflict with its professed values. On the one hand, Washington affirms its dedication to democracy and human rights, and on the other, it supports dictators and repressive regimes. Do the interests of large U.S.-based multinational corporations factor into the formulation of foreign policy? What role does the world’s most powerful military play? Is there an intersection between the sword and the dollar? Recorded at Washington State University.

The movie Nuremberg is about the trial of Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering. One of the characters asks rhetorically about the German atrocities: “You wanna know why it happened here?” He answers his own question: “Cause people let it happen. Cause they didn’t stand up until it was too late.” No historical situation is identical, yet we can draw some parallels and inferences from the past to shine light on the present and predict the future. What is the relationship between Trump and the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein? And how does Putin of Russia factor in? Trump seemingly bends over backwards to accommodate the Kremlin leader. A close examination reveals connections. The New York Times reviewed the so far publicly available Epstein files and found that “Trump, his properties, his associates and related terms were referred to more than 38,000 times.” Crucial files remain unreleased or redacted. Key files are missing. Sheldon Whitehouse calls it “a cover up.”

The era of traditional colonialism, with a few exceptions, is over. But it continues in new shapes and forms to have a profound influence on former colonies all over the world. We are in the age of what may be called neo-colonialism, where former colonies are simultaneously independent and dependent. Neocolonialism is a more insidious form of imperialism in which more powerful countries keep developing nations in a state of economic dependence. This dependent relationship is seen primarily in structural inequality, where the rich countries exploit the resources and labor of the poor. Colonialism fostered and institutionalized racist ideologies that continue to manifest in systemic racism. Scholar Robin D.G. Kelley says, “It's important to recognize that the consolidation of the modern colonial state and the rise of the fascist state occurred pretty much at the same time. The modern colonial state and the fascist state are both particular forms of capitalist states.” Recorded at Socialism 2025.