Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Useful Idiots, LLC
Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Useful Idiots is an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalist Aaron Maté and podcaster/writer Katie Halper. Episodes feature analysis of the political news of the week and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of why both Republicans and Democrats suck. Join Aaron and Katie as they examine important stories that have slipped through the cracks and what the media got wrong – and laugh about whatever is left to laugh about.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    How the West “Provoked” Russia into War – with Scott Horton

    Click here for the full interview with Scott Horton: http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Aaron Maté Silences Piers Morgan Panel with Facts on Syria & Palestine https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/aaron-mate-silences-piers-morgan?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee! Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! He’s the author of the new book Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine and host of the Scott Horton Show – it’s Scott Horton! And he’s joining Useful Idiots this week in a Santa hat to bring us the much-needed gift of finding out WTF is really going on in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East. A theme of this interview – and much of our reporting these days – is that so much of what was previously dismissed and smeared as Russian propaganda is now admitted openly as fact. Two glaring examples: the US and UK prevented a peace deal that had been negotiated between Ukraine and Russia right after Russia invaded in February 2022. And the idea that this whole conflict is a US proxy war. When we reported these on our show, we were called Putinists, Russian propagandists, and, by some really clever haters, useful idiots. But today, either everyone has fallen for these Russian talking points, or the West has finally realized it can’t hide the truth much longer as mountains of evidence prove these to be true. Just listen to Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister who famously warned Zelensky not to finalize the peace deal, describing the war now: “We are, let's face it, we're waging a proxy war. But we're not giving our proxies the ability to do the job. For years and years now we've been allowing them to fight with one hand tied behind their backs, and it has been cruel and we need now to give them what they need.” He admits that this is a proxy war, but using Ukraine as fodder against Russia isn’t the cruel part. The cruel part, according to neocons, is that we’re not giving them all the weapons possible to fight and die on our behalf. That’s the perspective that Scott Horton takes apart in this week’s episode, giving a very detailed account of the US role in provoking the proxy war in Ukraine and the methods to prolong it ever since. Subscribe to hear the full interview with Scott Horton where we discuss how so-called anti-war President Trump has stood as firmly by NATO as anyone else, whether actual Ukrainians want western support, and a complex look at the Middle East where Scott reveals the country that spies on the US more than anyone else. Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    52 min
  2. DEC 13

    Who Will Rule Syria? With Professor Bassam Haddad

    Click here for the full interview with Bassam Haddad: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/who-will-rule-syria-with-professor?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Rachel Maddow Finds a Way to Connect Alleged CEO Shooter to Trump https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/rachel-maddow-finds-a-way-to-connect?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee! Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! To the applause of the United States, Mohammad al-Julani and HTS (formerly known as al-Qaeda in Syria) overthrew the Assad government in Syria, a shocking victory for Western regime-changers that has been years in the making. But now the question remains: who will rule Syria? Founding director of the Middle East Studies program at George Mason University Bassam Haddad shares his analysis: it won’t be al-Julani. He gives an in-depth history of the conflict from the perspectives of the Syrian government, HTS, the US, and Syrian citizens to explain why. The situation in Syria is trickier to analyze than other global conflicts: with so much destruction on all sides and the overflowing propaganda surrounding it all, it has become exceedingly difficult to find the truth of what’s happening on the ground in Syria, let alone analyze it from afar. Which is why (and we try never to use the word), the situation needs *nuance.* Bassam Haddad’s analysis is extremely well-rounded and unbiased, which makes his take very crucial to anyone looking to cut through the noise. Subscribe to watch the full interview with Bassam on the type of rule he predicts for the future of Syria, if the corruption-plagued Syrian government would’ve collapsed even without US interference, and why Israel is benefitting from the fall of Assad. 00:00 Intro 01:18 Democrats give the NLRB to Trump 05:15 Republicans want to cut everything except the military 07:28 Fox's terrible takes on Luigi Mangione 13:53 CNN's (faked?) Syrian prisoner rescue 17:17 Bassam Haddad interview 18:06 Relationship to Syria 28:15 Dueling narratives from Assad and the West 35:52 Imprisoning leftists 50:53 Do Syrians want regime change? 57:04 Why al-Julani won't rule Syria Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    59 min
  3. DEC 6

    Syrian Analyst and Former al-Qaeda Captive Reveal the Reality in Syria

    Click here for the full interview with Lindsey Snell: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/syrian-analyst-and-former-al-qaeda?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN’s Hunter Biden Pardon Therapy Session https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnns-hunter-biden-pardon-therapy?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee! Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! This week on Useful Idiots, we’re doing a deep dive on Syria, a foreign policy issue constantly shrouded in propaganda and misinformation. We hear reporting from two sources: Kevork Almassian, whose family lives in Syria, is a geopolitical analyst and host of Syriana Analysis, and Lindsey Snell, an independent journalist who was taken captive by Al-Qaeda in 2016. Syria is back in the news because a long-dormant war there has reignited with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the group formerly known as Al-Qaeda, which has launched a major offensive taking Syrian territory, including the major city of Aleppo. This is a huge setback for the Syrian government, sparking widespread fears that we're going to see a repeat of the awful years after 2011 when there was a massive war inside Syria fueled by foreign powers, including the U.S. The group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, is led by Mohammed al-Julani, the founding leader of al-Qaeda in Syria and the former deputy to the founding leader of ISIS, al-Baghdadi. But after multiple name changes and rebrands, HTS is portrayed as “reformed” in western media. There’s a lot of propaganda to cut through. Kevork and Lindsey are guiding us through it all. 00:00 Intro 00:48 Blinken wants younger Ukrainian boys 03:53 GOP rep wants to cut Medicare (but not defense) 08:39 The View covers for Hunter Biden 14:40 Jesse Watters hates orgies 17:06 Kevork Almassian interview 19:17 What's happening in Syria? 25:01 Why Israel benefits from Syrian rebels 30:11 Is the US backing Al-Qaeda? 39:05 The toll on the people of Syria 44:24 Why is the war so bad? 49:12 Lindsey Snell interview 39:28 Kidnapped by Al-Qaeda 53:43 Who's on whose side? 55:18 What is Turkey's agenda? 56:29 The Israel-Turkey relationship 59:05 Why does the US prefer Al-Qaeda to Assad? Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 2m
  4. NOV 29

    Ukraine vs. Russia: Nuclear War, Frozen Conflict, or Peace? Debate w/ Simon Shuster

    Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Katie DEBATES Alan Dershowitz on Piers Morgan https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/katie-debates-alan-dershowitz-on?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! After President Biden gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use long-range US missiles in Russia, the Russians responded by shooting an intercontinental ballistic missile back into Ukraine. Now, as we wait for the next move that could ignite nuclear war, we’re talking to TIME correspondent Simon Shuster to analyze the conflict. At TIME, Shuster covers international affairs, with a focus on Russia and Ukraine. For his first book, The Showman, he reported inside the Ukrainian President’s compound in Kyiv as the Russian invasion unfolded. Our interview includes insights into President Zelensky’s inner circle, a fascinating story of the Ukrainian president during the early days of the war, and first-hand accounts of the back and forths of generals. Plus, Simon and Aaron have an extended debate over the cause of the conflict as well as the motives of Putin, Zelensky, and NATO.  And don’t miss this week’s Thursday Throwdown, where Katie breaks down her debate with Alan Dershowitz during her recent appearance of Piers Morgan. Thanks for supporting independent media. Enjoy this week’s full episode, unpaywalled, and have a happy Thanksgiving. Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 11m
  5. NOV 22

    Jeffrey Sachs Warns ‘We Are Close To Nuclear Armageddon’

    Click here for the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jeffrey-sachs-warns-we-are-close?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: The Morning Joe-Hitler Pact https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/the-morning-joe-hitler-pact?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee! Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! “I've just never seen anything like this.” Jeffrey Sachs, the renowned economist, University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University returns to Useful Idiots at a time of global peril to warn that we are close to World War Three. “The president himself,” Sachs says, “and his extraordinarily weak team understand nothing about diplomacy. They have gotten us closer and closer to complete global disaster, World War III, nuclear Armageddon, whatever you want to call it.” Just this week, the administration gave Ukraine the go-ahead to launch long-range missiles into Russia, which Russia responded to with an intercontinental ballistic missile strike into Ukraine, and the US for the fourth time, vetoed a UN ceasefire resolution. “Absolutely shocking, awful, and lawless,” Sachs says. Given that Biden himself seems utterly incapacitated, who is really running the military industrial complex? “I would say the deep state is true, which is that The U.S. has strategies that persist certainly between administrations, but really for decades. And I think that's essentially what we are witnessing right now. War has been the policy of the U.S. deep state or the permanent security state.” Jeffrey also explains how the New York Times has been the propaganda arm of the security state, analyzing two insane passages from the paper: And no, we didn’t make that up and put it in NYT font. Subscribe to watch the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs on what to expect economically from the incoming Trump administration, if BRICS has enough power to survive outside of the US dollar, and how Democrats should have responded to Trump’s ‘illegal aliens’ rhetoric. 00:00 Intro 00:47 Dems try to start WWIII 12:02 GOP suddenly hates the ICC 18:47 The bald-cap question 21:58 IDF gender reveal party 23:10 Jeffrey Sachs interview 23:55 ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant 25:38 Record number of senators votes to block arms to Israel 27:35 Biden is the worst foreign policy president ever 32:07 The New York Times WANTS WAR 37:56 What motivates these people? 45:59 Will Trump be better? 48:42 Crazy NYT story 51:06 What to expect from Trump economically? Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    54 min
  6. NOV 15

    Former Biden Officials: He ‘Doesn’t Think Palestinians Deserve Life’

    Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Trump’s New Cabinet Will Make Israel Great Again https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/trumps-new-cabinet-will-make-israel?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee! Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! Follow and share Josh and Tariq's organization A New Policy Twitter: @anewpolicyorg Instagram: anewpolicy Threads: anewpolicy LinkedIn: A New Policy TikTok: anewpolicy In response to the Biden administration’s unfettered support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, several US officials resigned from their posts in protest, refusing to take part in the mass slaughter of civilians. Josh Paul, a State Department official who worked on arms transfers, dropped Biden in October 2023, weeks after the assault on Gaza began, and Tariq Habash, a Palestinian-American appointed as a senior official at the Department of Education, left in January 2024. Now, in the wake of a disastrous election for the Biden-Harris administration, they’re joining the show to explain how the Democrats failed them, and what the party should have done differently to earn back their support. “Americans feel disconnected from their government,” Tariq said. “They don't feel represented. We've seen poll after poll after poll where Americans say: ‘We want a ceasefire. We want to stop sending weapons to kill children. We don't want to see dead kids and doctors and journalists on our social media every single morning when we wake up.’ “And you see elected officials repeatedly vote the opposite, continue to do the bidding of external interests instead of their own constituents' interests. It creates this disconnect in a way that is really, really damaging to American democracy.” He goes on, explaining how Biden himself is at the root of this divide. “Joe Biden has been willing to make exceptions for the destruction of Palestinian life in a way that we've never seen a United States president be willing to do. And I can't think of another way of rationalizing it other than you just don't believe that Palestinians deserve life. And that is, frankly, just rooted in hate.” But it isn’t just the Dems, they explain. In the interview we also go through Trump’s new cabinet picks, who, in line with mega-donor Miriam Adelson, are all deeply in the pocket of the Israel lobby. It’s like Biden promised in his 2020 campaign: “Nothing will fundamentally change.” 00:00 Intro 01:16 Blinken abandons 30-day ultimatum 14:39 Trump's pro-Israel cabinet 28:44 Biden wants to hit a reporter in the head 30:29 Elizabeth Warren calls Tulsi Gabbard a Russian agent 36:13 Josh Paul and Tariq Habash interview 37:20 Why did you resign? 41:26 A Palestinian-American working for Biden 43:16 Could Blinken be held liable? 46:29 What was the point of the fake ultimatum? 53:08 Biden vs Trump: What will be the difference? 59:02 Does the admin have any credibility? 1:04:14 A New Policy 1:07:40 What's happening in the state dept now? 1:10:30 Why back a losing policy? 1:16:21 Biden's true thoughts on Palestinians 1:21:00 The mass rape hoax 1:26:43 Tariq's family in Palestine 1:31:55 How to help Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 36m
  7. NOV 8

    A Palestinian Scholar Explains Why Kamala Harris Lost

    Click here for the full interview with Yousef Munayyer: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/a-palestinian-scholar-explains-why?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Dems Shoot Themselves in the Face (with the help of Dick Cheney) https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/dems-shoot-themselves-in-the-face?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at http://usefulidiotspodcast.com Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to. If you want to experience smoother digestion, a boost of energy, and an overall healthier body go to http://roundhouseprovisions.com/USEFUL for up to 44% off your regular-priced order plus a 90-day, money-back guarantee! Support local jobs and get variety of high-quality clothing and activewear at https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code USEFUL. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show! BET ON POLITICS! Check out MyBookie and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: http://www.mybookie.ag “Trump did not convince a lot of Biden voters to become Trump voters,” says Palestinian-American scholar Yousef Munayyer in his postmortem of the Democrats’ disastrous performance in the 2024 election. “Harris failed to convince Biden voters to become Harris voters. And that ended up deciding this election.” The Democrats, Munayyer explains, led four years of economic hardship for the working class and continued to double down on their support for a genocide in Gaza. “This was a change election. People wanted something different.” And when Democrats showed up with nothing, voters stayed home. “For some people,” he tells us, “it was just a moral question. There was just no way that they could cast their ballot for someone who could not say that what was happening [in Gaza] was wrong, let alone do something about it.” The Biden-Harris administration’s enabling of Israel’s genocide even disillusioned voters who don’t care about the Middle East. “And whether you care about Palestinians or don't care about Palestinians,” Munayyer explains, “the fact that your government seems to be more concerned with issues thousands of miles away than the issues that impact you at home reinforces the message that these people don't get me. They don't care about me.” So why, if it’s such a losing message, did Harris stick so tightly to her support for Israel? “The only sort of rational explanation for doing this is that parties don't just think about one election. They think about their ability to be competitive over many elections over time. And for that, money is more important than votes. If they were facing the choice between risking several hundred thousand votes in some of the key states or potentially losing major contributions from pro-Israel donors for the next generation, maybe they calculated that they'll take the loss here.” Subscribe for the full interview with Yousef Munayyer on how Democrats allowed Trump to claim the mantle of being the anti-war, working class champion, Israel’s recent confirmation of its plan for ethnic cleansing in Northern Gaza, and a terrible victory-lap video in which AIPAC brags about how much it influenced US elections. 00:00 Intro 00:59 Harris' FLAWLESS campaign 08:11 Trump's neocon state department 11:03 Bernie is way too late 14:04 Kamala's fake phone call 16:35 Yousef Munayyer interview 17:28 How did Trump win? 23:47 The Dems refused to change 29:13 Silent on Gaza 36:13 Liberals turn on minorities 37:46 Dems' gift to Trump 40:10 Would Harris have won if she changed her Gaza stance? Our Sponsors: * Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.american-giant.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    46 min
4.5
out of 5
4,346 Ratings

About

Useful Idiots is an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalist Aaron Maté and podcaster/writer Katie Halper. Episodes feature analysis of the political news of the week and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of why both Republicans and Democrats suck. Join Aaron and Katie as they examine important stories that have slipped through the cracks and what the media got wrong – and laugh about whatever is left to laugh about.

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada