Going Underground Hosted by Afshin Rattansi

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Paul Craig Roberts, former US Assistant Treasury Secretary for Economic Policy under Ronald Reagan and former Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He discusses why the US under Donald Trump continues to supply intelligence to Ukraine despite pursuing an end to the NATO-Russia proxy war, the grip of the neoconservatives on American foreign policy, why he believes Ukraine’s Zelensky is ‘finished’, the US-Russia diesel deal and why it was struck, how Iran handed Trump a midterm victory on a silver platter only to be met with rejection and more bombing threats, why he believes Benjamin Netanyahu orchestrated October 7th, how Ronald Reagan defied the Israel lobby, the ongoing protests in France and Western Europe, the prospect of the Democrats sweeping the midterm elections, and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Founder of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. He discusses the rise of violent populism in the United States and Americans increasingly turning on each other, the legacy media’s deliberate omission of facts that he has found about the new middle and upper class of violent populists in the United States, why Trump’s political survival is at risk because of the war on Iran, the Iran war escalation trap that has resulted in the war expand to Saudi Arabia & Yemen, Trump’s plan for escalation against Iran, why the odds of the use of a nuclear weapon against Iran have doubled, the normalisation of political violence in the United States and the impacts it will have both at home and abroad, what could cause a mutiny in the US Armed Forces, how skyrocketing economic inequality is causing the normalisation of political violence, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction and Gaddafi Anniversary Context
(00:00:53) - Introducing Professor Robert Pape and His Book
(00:01:57) - Violent Populism in America Explained
(00:03:18) - Class Profile of Jan 6 Perpetrators
(00:04:41) - Media Distortion of Political Violence Data
(00:06:27) - Wealth Inequality Driving Violent Populism
(00:07:27) - Media Responsibility and Social Media's Role
(00:08:29) - The Escalation Trap and Trump's Iran War
(00:10:28) - Spread of War to Saudi Arabia and Yemen
(00:12:36) - Nuclear Weapon Risk Assessment
(00:14:18) - Break
(00:14:33) - Domestic Unpopularity of the Iran War
(00:16:03) - Normalization of Political Violence
(00:18:44) - Military Mutiny Risk and Insurrection Act
(00:19:48) - Trump's Address to Flag Officers
(00:21:45) - Legitimacy Shock Cycles and Normalization
(00:23:14) - Multiple Fronts: War, Economy, and Elections
(00:25:09) - The 70% Solution and No Kings Protests
(00:27:49) - Closing Remarks and Show Sign-off

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to John Perkins, former economic hitman and Author of The Art of the Steal: Trump & The Economic Hit Man Presidency. He discusses the US’ move to oligarchy and Trump’s acceleration of the shift, why he feels ashamed to be an American, the IMF & World Bank’s GDP predictions and why GDP is only a measure of how the wealthy are doing, why unity is very important for African and Latin American countries, why the US made the enormous strategic mistake of attacking Iran, why the war on Iran could be Donald Trump’s downfall, the nature of Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin, why leaders of countries continue to take hated IMF & World Bank loans, China’s strategy of sitting on the sidelines while the US makes catastrophic mistakes, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction: IMF/World Bank Meetings in Bangkok
(00:01:16) - Introducing John Perkins and The Art of the Steal
(00:01:42) - Trump, Oligarchy, and the Open Economic Hitman Strategy
(00:04:04) - Critique of GDP as a Measure of Prosperity
(00:06:27) - Trump's Debt Strategy as Inverted Economic Hitman Tactic
(00:08:42) - The Iran War and Strategic Miscalculations
(00:10:56) - Oil Profits, Cynicism, and Trump's Motives
(00:14:12) - Russia, Ukraine, and the China Factor
(00:16:32) - Corruption and Loans: Leaders vs. Their Countries
(00:19:27) - US Bases, Iran's Rising Power, and Eroding US Trust
(00:21:59) - OPEC's Decline and the Future of Oil Power
(00:24:51) - Unity as Power: Historical Lessons and Divide and Conquer
(00:26:09) - Call to Action: Individual Roles in Shaping the Future
(00:27:42) - Closing Remarks and Show Sign-off

Chapters

(00:00:11) - Introduction: Warsaw Security Forum and UN Anniversary
(00:01:34) - Roots of the Ukraine War and NATO Enlargement
(00:04:29) - Exit Ramps for Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran Conflicts
(00:08:06) - UN Paralysis and US Disregard for International Law
(00:09:04) - Trump, Putin and the Anchorage Meeting
(00:11:56) - European Incompetence and Fear of Nuclear War
(00:14:18) - Break
(00:14:36) - Jake Sullivan Conversation and NATO's 'Open Door' Myth
(00:18:29) - Western Officials' Rhetoric and Incompetence
(00:20:47) - Current US-NATO Envoys and Risks of Escalation
(00:23:41) - Media Complicity and Propaganda on the War
(00:25:26) - Iran's Existential War and Closing Remarks

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Kristinn Hrafnsson, Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary recently. He discusses how Julian Assange is doing 2 years after he was freed, the state of press freedom globally with the assassinations of journalists in Gaza and why Julian chose to speak about Gaza after his release, the impact and legacy of WikiLeaks publishing the collateral murder video, how the Iraq War Logs helped end the Iraq War and how the Afghan War Diaries exposed the lies of NATO governments and the media, the CableGate revelations of 250,000 diplomatic diplomatic cables from around the world which showed how the US empire work, the revelations of the US spying on European officials and the UN Secretary General, the Vault 7 revelations which was the largest CIA leak in history, the significance of the DNC & Podesta email leaks, the censorship of RT in the European Union, the future of WikiLeaks, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction: Reykjavik Summit Anniversary and Nuclear Threats
(00:01:52) - Julian Assange's Current Status and Wellbeing
(00:03:07) - Press Freedom, Journalists Under Attack, Gaza Focus
(00:05:21) - WikiLeaks' 20-Year Legacy and Impact on Journalism
(00:08:21) - Collateral Murder Video: Origins and Investigation
(00:10:39) - Collateral Murder: Apache Crew Conduct and Civilian Deaths
(00:13:53) - Chelsea Manning, Reuters, and Media Complicity
(00:14:44) - Afghan War Diary and Iraq War Logs Revelations
(00:16:42) - Diplomatic Cables: Ukraine, Gaza, Syria Backstories
(00:19:10) - Cablegate's Impact on US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
(00:20:29) - Snowden Revelations and European Surveillance
(00:21:55) - Vault 7 Leak and CIA Retaliation Against Assange
(00:23:56) - Trump, Podesta Emails, and DNC Leaks
(00:25:24) - WikiLeaks Neutrality and RT Media Persecution
(00:27:51) - Closing Remarks and Upcoming Show