Hawk Podcasts

Hawk

He's raw, unfiltered, unedited, authentic, vulnerable and sometimes annoying. His laugh is infectious, and he often engages in long periods of awkward silence. He will tell it like it is, and whether you’re on the left or the right he’s bound to make you uncomfortable at some point. But he will definitely make you think. A licensed, practicing trial attorney for the last 25 years, he brings his legal experience and knowledge to the news of the day and current events here at home to offer different perspectives and additional things to consider.

  1. The Historical Arc of US - Iran Relations

    23M AGO

    The Historical Arc of US - Iran Relations

    Hawk breaks down the full arc of US-Iran relations, from the cordial diplomatic ties of the 1720s all the way to the current war that Secretary of State Marco Rubio openly admitted was triggered by Israel. Starting with Persia's constitutional revolution, American economic advisors in the 1920s, and the cordial relations that held through World War II, the story takes a sharp turn in 1953 when the CIA and British intelligence MI6 orchestrated a coup overthrowing Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh, who had nationalized the country's oil industry. The US then reinstalled the Shah of Iran and helped build his brutal secret police force SAVAK, and in a stunning irony, it was President Dwight D. Eisenhower who launched Iran's nuclear program and provided the country's first nuclear reactor and enriched uranium in 1967. The 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, the 444-day hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq War, Reagan's support for Saddam Hussein, Hezbollah, the Iran-Contra affair, the JCPOA under Obama, Trump pulling out of the nuclear deal, and the killing of General Qassem Soleimani all connect in a straight line to the current US-Iran war. Marco Rubio told congressional leaders that the US entered the war preemptively because Israel was going to attack Iran, and Iran would have retaliated against American forces. Rubio's admission drew reaction from Congressman Joaquin Castro and even conservative commentator Matt Walsh, who called it the worst possible thing Rubio could have said. Six US service members are dead. Hawk also shares a personal story about Sean Penn, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and a surreal afternoon in San Francisco tied directly to Iran's 2005 presidential election. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    41 min
  2. Iran's Power Structure is Complex

    1D AGO

    Iran's Power Structure is Complex

    Hawk breaks down the structure of Iran's government following the United States and Israeli military strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who held power since 1989. With American service members already killed and more strikes expected over the coming days and weeks, Hawk walks through how Iran's theocratic government actually works and why the death of the Supreme Leader is so significant. Iran's Supreme Leader holds authority that goes far beyond any elected official. He is commander-in-chief of all armed forces, controls intelligence and national security, can declare war or peace without any vote, and appoints key members of the judiciary and the Council of Guardians. The Council of Guardians, none of whom are elected, determines who is even allowed to run for office in Iran's so-called democratic elections. In the 1997 presidential election, only 4 of 230 declared candidates made it onto the ballot. The Iranian president, while second in power, has authority trimmed by a constitution that subordinates the entire executive branch to the Supreme Leader. Iran is the only country in the world where the executive branch does not control its own military. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, with 125,000 troops, was built to protect the Islamic Revolution itself and operates with significant autonomy, drawing weapons from China, North Korea, and Russia. Both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have voiced support for Iran and condemned the US attack. Only two Supreme Leaders have existed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The United States just killed the second. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    24 min
  3. Trump's Authoritarian Propaganda Machine

    1D AGO

    Trump's Authoritarian Propaganda Machine

    Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison have won the bid to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery in a $110 billion deal, edging out Netflix. The Ellisons, close allies of Donald Trump, are financing the purchase with $70 billion in debt, including roughly $25 billion from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. The final price of $31 per share was more than four times the recent low of Warner Brothers Discovery stock. What this means for American media is staggering. The Ellisons already control CBS and CBS News through their earlier $8 billion Paramount merger. This new deal adds CNN, HBO, HBO Max, DC Comics, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Comedy Central, Showtime, TNT, TBS, the Food Network, HGTV, Discovery, Adult Swim, OWN, The Learning Channel, Avatar Studios, and the Lord of the Rings and Mission Impossible franchises. Larry Ellison also holds a significant stake in TikTok through Oracle. Hawk outlines how Bari Weiss, placed in charge of CBS News and 60 Minutes, has already driven away viewers and credibility, including Anderson Cooper, who walked away from 60 Minutes after 19 years. The same playbook is expected to be applied to CNN. The deeper concern is the Ellisons' intent to gut creative talent and replace programming with AI-generated content to service the enormous debt load this deal carries. With Trump signaling regulatory approval, antitrust challenges are effectively neutralized. Scott Jennings and CNN's panel-yelling format come up as symbols of a media landscape already in decline. The consolidation of this much media power in the hands of Trump-aligned billionaires represents a fundamental threat to independent journalism and creative expression in America. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    17 min
  4. Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, and the Plot to Release the Epstein Files

    2D AGO

    Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, and the Plot to Release the Epstein Files

    The Atlantic's Sarah Fitzpatrick, who has spent over a decade reporting on Jeffrey Epstein, published a detailed timeline of how the Epstein Files Transparency Act came to exist. Hawk walks through that article, adding context and commentary throughout. At the center of the story is an unlikely political partnership between Representative Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from Silicon Valley, and Representative Thomas Massie, a conservative Republican from Kentucky. Together, with support from Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert, they pushed through legislation forcing the release of the Epstein files after the DOJ and FBI sent an unsigned letter in July 2025 declaring the files closed and Epstein's death a suicide. Pam Bondi handed out binders of previously released and heavily redacted documents to right-wing media figures at the White House a year ago, then told Fox News she had truckloads of evidence and the Epstein client list on her desk. Meanwhile, the FBI assigned 1,000 personnel to catalog every mention of Donald Trump's name in the files. Trump's name appears tens of thousands of times. He is the first person listed on a DOJ slide titled "Prominent Names" and is linked to an accusation involving a minor, documents that were withheld or deleted from the DOJ website. The fallout outside the U.S. has included arrests of prominent figures in Norway, scrutiny of Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson in Britain, and resignations across Europe. Thirteen Trump administration officials, including six cabinet members, are implicated. Back in Congress, only one member, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, voted against the bill. Thomas Massie told the author he believes he may have shortened his own life by pursuing this. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Epstein's most prominent accuser and Prince Andrew's accuser, died by suicide last year. At a recent congressional hearing, eight Epstein survivors stood directly behind Pam Bondi. Every one raised their hand confirming their offers to testify had been ignored. Bondi never turned around. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    28 min
  5. Trump Goes toWar With Iran From Mar-a-Lago Without Congressional Approval

    2D AGO

    Trump Goes toWar With Iran From Mar-a-Lago Without Congressional Approval

    Hawk breaks down the overnight U.S. and Israeli joint military strikes on Iran, launched without Congressional approval while Trump was at Mar-a-Lago. The attack hit five or six locations across Iran, including the capital, with reports that a missile struck a girls' elementary school, killing 53 children between the ages of 7 and 12. Trump sent real estate developers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to negotiate with Iran before the strikes, a move Hawk puts in sharp context given Kushner's reported interest in Gaza beachfront development. Iran retaliated against U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE. The stated justifications for the Iran war shift depending on the day. Trump had previously claimed Iran's nuclear program was already eliminated. Now it's the reason for bombing. Regime change through air power alone has never succeeded historically, and with Iran's population of 92 million, the prospect of prolonged occupation and a refugee crisis of potentially 10 million people is very real. Financial ties between Trump, his family, and Gulf monarchies like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar raise serious questions about whose interests this war actually serves. Jared Kushner's financial backers and Trump Organization investments in the region are all part of that picture. Even inside MAGA, the backlash was immediate. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the administration "sick liars." Conservative commentators declared it the end of MAGA. Trump supporters who were promised America First and no forever wars are now watching another Middle East war unfold with no defined objective, no exit strategy, and no honest accounting of the cost. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    27 min
  6. The Pentagon and the Use of Artificial Intelligence Against US Citizens

    3D AGO

    The Pentagon and the Use of Artificial Intelligence Against US Citizens

    Hawk breaks down the rapidly escalating conflict between the Pentagon and Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude model, after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanded that Anthropic remove two core safety restrictions from its terms of service. Those restrictions prohibit using Claude for mass surveillance of American citizens and for programming weapons to fire without human intervention. Hegseth labeled these protections "woke" and threatened to terminate Anthropic's $200 million Defense Department contract and blacklist the company as a danger to all defense supply chains unless Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei agreed to his demands. Amodei said no. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's Grok chatbot, which previously generated child sexual imagery and declared itself "Mecca Hitler," has been cleared for use in classified Pentagon settings. Sam Altman of OpenAI is now positioning his company to step into the gap, exploring whether ChatGPT models can meet Pentagon requirements while maintaining safety guardrails. Hawk also covers the broader AI reality check happening in corporate America. Mark Benioff of Salesforce laid off 4,000 employees to replace them with AI and now says he regrets it. Jack Dorsey just cut 50% of Square's workforce for the same reason. Studies suggest 95% of deployed AI agents in corporate settings are ineffective. And Sam Altman reportedly believes there is a 1 in 5 chance that artificial intelligence destroys humanity entirely. The people designing these systems do not fully understand what they will do. The only thing standing between Pete Hegseth and AI-powered mass surveillance of Americans is one CEO with a conscience. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    24 min
  7. Candace Owens Targets Erika Kirk

    3D AGO

    Candace Owens Targets Erika Kirk

    Candace Owens has released a multi-part "investigative" series called "The Bride of Charlie," targeting Erica Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk who now runs Turning Point USA. The first two episodes racked up nearly 6 million views within 36 hours on YouTube alone, where Owens has 5.8 million subscribers. The reach goes far beyond her subscriber base, with YouTube and other platform algorithms actively pushing her content to audiences who would never seek it out on their own. Owens previously produced a similar series making accusations about Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, alleging she is transgender. Those claims have been widely debunked, and the Macrons have filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens that is currently pending. Given the scope of her audience and the demonstrably false nature of the claims, the financial damages in that case could reach tens of millions of dollars. The "Bride of Charlie" series opens with Owens questioning Erica Kirk's qualifications to lead Turning Point USA and draws comparisons between accepting Kirk as a grieving widow and pandemic-era messaging, while invoking "Zionist media" conspiracy language. Owens has also previously alleged that Israel arranged Charlie Kirk's assassination. Charlie Kirk built Turning Point USA into an organization reportedly raising over $250 million in 2024, with a mission centered on reaching young people on college campuses. The broader pattern of right-wing media, from Owens to Tucker Carlson, consistently circles back to antisemitism, transphobia, racism, and bigotry, now amplified at scale by algorithms pushing that content directly to young audiences. The state of Kansas recently passed legislation effectively erasing the legal identity of transgender residents by invalidating their driver's licenses, a development Hawk connects directly to the years of anti-trans content being produced and distributed by creators like Owens. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    25 min
  8. The Clinton-Epstein Connection Nobody Wants To Talk About

    4D AGO

    The Clinton-Epstein Connection Nobody Wants To Talk About

    Hillary Clinton recently testified behind closed doors before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, chaired by James Comer, about her knowledge of and connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Her testimony took place at her home in Chappaqua, New York. Clinton stated under oath that she had never met, encountered, or interacted with Jeffrey Epstein — a claim Hawk examines against the documented record showing Epstein visited the Clinton White House 17 times over eight years, and that Epstein provided the first $500,000 in seed money that launched the Clinton Global Initiative. The House Republicans who subpoenaed the Clintons did so even as Donald Trump's name appears in the Epstein files more than one million times — a fact Hawk points out with some emphasis. The conversation shifts to 1998 and the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal — a scandal still named after the 21-year-old unpaid intern rather than the sitting president who used the power of his office. Hawk highlights that the most prominent white feminists of that era, including Gloria Steinem, chose to defend Bill Clinton rather than stand with Monica Lewinsky — drawing a direct parallel to figures like Pam Bondi and Ghislaine Maxwell as enablers who protect powerful men at the expense of women. The testimony also reportedly included Republican questions about Pizzagate, raising questions about the seriousness and intent of the committee's line of inquiry. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk  - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct  - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole  - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social  - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com  - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts  - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk  - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk   ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here:  https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

    16 min
4.8
out of 5
240 Ratings

About

He's raw, unfiltered, unedited, authentic, vulnerable and sometimes annoying. His laugh is infectious, and he often engages in long periods of awkward silence. He will tell it like it is, and whether you’re on the left or the right he’s bound to make you uncomfortable at some point. But he will definitely make you think. A licensed, practicing trial attorney for the last 25 years, he brings his legal experience and knowledge to the news of the day and current events here at home to offer different perspectives and additional things to consider.

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