The HBO documentary THE SWAMP (2020) follows three "maverick" Republican congressmen who seek to fulfil Donald Trump's promise to "drain the swamp," even if that means alienating their party leaders. But what you really need to know about this documentary is that the main one is Matt Gaetz, and he is a huge doofus. PLUS: thoughts on Canada Day, Alex Gibney's Agents of Chaos, and a look back at the media coverage of the War in Iraq.

Michael and Us

#248 - Enemy at the Gaetz

This  week on the Global Research News Hour, on the 20th anniversary of the launching of the war on Afghanistan, we will probe the dynamics of the relationship between the US and Afghanistan, and the look ahead to what it will mean in the larger cold war with Russia and China..
Our first guest Retired Professor of Geography John Ryan will speak about his visit there in 1978, how the Islamic extremist threat  was actually manufactured by the US and how the recent withdrawal of US forces was a result of their 20 year occupation. Next we’ll hear from international economist Professor Rodrique Tremblay about the failure of the US mission and the consequences for the recent Democratic president who ended it. Finally, Professor Michel Chossudovsky comes on to the show explaining that the withdrawal of US soldiers is not the fundamental defeat it appears to be.

Defeat or Victory? The War on Afghanistan (2001-2021)

IATSE one of the largest unions in the country has authorized a strike if talks with management fall through. What does that mean for you and your little shows?

MERCH
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YAHTZEE w/ Neda Davarpanah & Kate Zasowski

(Patreon-only Rose McGowan interview here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/rose-mcgowan-57953217)
Labor journalists Alex Press (https://twitter.com/alexnpress) & Jonah Furman (https://twitter.com/JonahFurman) discuss the labor movement, strikes, John Deere and what it has to do with Alec Baldwin's deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Alex Press is a writer and editor at Jacobin Magazine, whose latest article is "Halyna Hutchins’s Death on the Set of Rust Was 'Not a Freak Accident'."Jonah Furman is a labor movement organizer and writer for Labor Notes (https://twitter.com/labornotes), the media and organizing project that since 1979 has amplified the voice of workers and labor militants. He is also a frequent contributor to The Intercept.

Alec Baldwin Shooting 'NOT a Freak Accident' With Alex Press & Jonah Furman

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the Glasgow climate summit and  Biden's capitulation to the right wing on his social program budget. The Glasgow summit is underway, and yet again the U.S. government has failed to meet the challenge -- coming up with only the woefully inadequate measures contained in Biden’s social spending “framework” agreement.

The following articles are referenced in this episode:

The Laughing Stock of the World: Why the world pities us and fears us
https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/the-laughing-stock-of-the-world

Warnings of violence before Jan. 6 precipitated the Capitol riot
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/warnings-jan-6-insurrection/

The Demand for Money Behind Many Police Traffic Stops
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-ticket-quotas-money-funding.html

Why Many Police Traffic Stops Turn Deadly
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-traffic-stops-killings.html

Before the Final Frame: When Police Missteps Create Danger
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/10/30/video/police-traffic-stops-danger-video.html

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Capitalism Fiddles While the Planet Burns

On today's episode Brian and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the steepest rise in prices in the last 30 years, which has set off alarm bells and handed politicians like Joe Manchin a convenient excuse to deepen their opposition to pro-worker social programs. Where does inflation come from in a capitalist economy? What effect does it have on the working class and on the capitalist class?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Inflation is Class Warfare

Neil Vallelly on his book "Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the Production of Uselessness" from MIT Press.

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/futilitarianism

The futilitarian condition / Neil Vallelly

This week: Andrew has forged his own chains with a new segment theme, a delivery man buys himself some time in the Hole Report, a man crawls his way to $8,000, an exploration of Dutch exhibitionism, and another British Cheese Child.
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EPISODE 227: Sainsbury's Wrapped

Bonus Episodes

Director of the Tricontinental Institute For Social Research, author of Washington Bullets, and trained mime Vijay Prashad joins the boys to talk mass movements in India and how to find hope in your politics. We also listen to that Madison Cawthorn abortion speech everyone was so mad about.

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COME TO PAID PROTEST ON 12/10: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paid-protest-comedy-show-dsa-fundraiser-tickets-214770322817

Clown Politics w/ Vijay Prashad

This week: A woman who hired a Grinch but was not prepared to be Grinched, swarms of praying mantises ruining Christmas, a truly insufferable restaurant concept, a mysterious river of beer in Hawaii, and an unexpected and altogether strange Lead Pipe.
***
Support our show and get exclusive bonus episodes by subscribing on Patreon: www.patreon.com/BoontaVista
***
Email the show at mailbag@boontavista.com! Call in and leave us a question or a message on 1800-317-515 to be answered on the show!
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Website: boontavista.com
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EPISODE 229: I'd Like To Speak To The Hamager

The US Navy has poisoned the largest water supply in O'ahu, Hawaii. Nobody knows how long residents have been drinking toxic water, how big the chemical leak is, or how many it will impact. But instead of urgent action to save lives, the Navy is engaging in a cover up. 

For more details on this case listen to our hour-long podcast on this #RedHill disaster here or any streaming platform: https://soundcloud.com/empire-files/redhill

Support our work covering US military pollution at https://earthsgreatestenemy.com

#SHUTDOWNREDHILL

Hawaii Emergency: Navy Poisons Drinking Water

Get bonus content here! https://www.patreon.com/TheKatieHalperShow Please subscribe, rate and review us on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-katie-halper-show/id1020563127?mt=2 & support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheKatieHalperShow !! 

The Katie Halper Show takes a humorous look at the news, politics, pop culture, and the arts through news segments and conversations with writers, journalists, activists, artists and political comedians.