Going Underground Hosted by Afshin Rattansi

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Gabor Maté, Holocaust Survivor and renowned Trauma Specialist. He discusses why the last few years have been particularly tough to watch with the Gaza genocide, Israeli war on Lebanon, and war on Iran, how the era of social media has changed people’s responses to the horrors happening in the world, the increasing opposition of young Jews to Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership being the culmination of Zionism’s dehumanisation of Palestinians, the segment of the Iranian diaspora that opposes the US-Israeli war on Iran and why diaspora populations from Cuba and Iran support the US’ wars against their home countries, the dehumanisation of the victims of American and Israeli wars and selective empathy, his advice for the survivors of the US’ and Israel’s wars, and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Robert Barnes, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and host of the Viva and Barnes podcast. He discusses Anthony Fauci’s testimony in Congress and the allegations against him, the lack of prosecution against Biden Administration officials as was promised in Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign over Russiagate, how the deep state is intertwined with the Israel lobby as the US war on Iran rages on, how Donald Trump is trapped in an escalation cycle against Iran, Russia, and China, Trump’s irritation at J.D. Vance since everything Vance had predicted about the Iran war was proven right, why Trump has ‘lost his mind across the board’, the Trump Administration’s delusions about Russia in the Ukraine proxy war and Iran, how Ukrainians have become the US deep state’s grey army, the Trump family’s ‘oligarch island’ plans from Albania and Gaza, and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former Director of Shin Bet Admiral Ami Ayalon. He discusses why Israel’s wars against Palestinians and the Arabs are wars that Israel wants, why the perpetual war will hasten the end of the Zionist project, why he supposed the JCPOA nuclear deal in opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli government, the failures and shameful actions of Benjamin Netanyahu from Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, Israel’s financial support for Hamas prior to 2023, why he feels Israel does not understand its enemy: the Palestinian people, why the US-Israeli war on Iran has brought Iran closer to making the decision to build a nuclear weapon, Israel’s treatment of whistleblower of Mordechai Vanunu who exposed Israel’s nuclear weapons programme, why Israel has never been attacked by Al Qaeda or ISIS, and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy. He discusses the state of the Trump-Netanyahu relationship as the Iran quagmire deepens and why the frustrations haven’t made a difference to US foreign policy, the Israel-Lebanon deal and how it overwhelmingly favours of Israel, the reasons for the failures of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, why Israel has not gotten involved in the resumed war on the Iran so far, J.D. Vance’s political calculations behind his recent comments against Israel, how Israel is trying to strengthening its regional ambitions using up American power as the unipolar world ends, the unpopularity of the war on Iran in the United States, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Going Underground
(00:01:37) - The state of the US-Israel relationship
(00:04:24) - Israel's role in the Lebanon deal
(00:07:08) - Afshin: On the MoU
(00:13:24) - Daniel Levy on JD Vance's Comment on Israel's Plans for Iran
(00:23:23) - Daniel Levy: Can Iran Continue Without America?

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Doug Bandow. Former Special Assistant to Ronald Reagan and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He discusses the risk of a global Great Depression following the resumption of the war on Iran and the looming prospect of a catastrophic energy shock in the US, why Donald Trump knows he must end the war on Iran quickly, whether the echo chamber of neocons around Trump can tell Trump he made a mistake by starting the war, the Gulf States’ view of the war on Iran and their defence against Iranian capabilities, whether Iran could already have a nuclear weapon, Trump’s potential pivot to Ukraine as the NATO-Russia proxy war continues to escalate, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Going Underground: Trump's Threats to Iran, and More
(00:01:11) - Do Trump Realize He Lost the Iran War?
(00:08:24) - Trump on Iran's Military Tactic
(00:13:10) - Iran Has a Nuclear Weapon
(00:15:04) - Sen. Ron Johnson: Congress should veto spending for war in Iran
(00:17:02) - Putin Has Been Waiting for an America-Russia Deal
(00:22:03) - Trump's Approach to China
(00:24:22) - Going Underground