Scheer Intelligence

Scheerpost

4.4 (392)
News Commentary
Updated Weekly

Scheer Intelligence features thoughtful and provocative conversations with "American Originals" -- people who, through a lifetime of engagement with political issues, offer unique and often surprising perspectives on the day's most important issues.

6h ago

Dennis Kucinich Warns Congress Is Quietly Merging the U.S. and Israeli War Machines

The former congressman tells Robert Scheer that a provision buried in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act could integrate the United States and Israel at the highest levels of military technology—without meaningful public debate or congressional scrutiny. Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich has spent decades warning about the machinery of permanent war. But in a new conversation with Robert Scheer, he argues that Congress is now on the verge of crossing a line without precedent in American military history. At the center of Kucinich's warning is Section 219 of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, a provision he says would formally integrate key areas of U.S. and Israeli military development, including artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons, quantum sensing, cyber and electronic warfare, biotechnology, missile defense, drones and directed-energy systems. “They call it integration, but I call it a merger,” Kucinich tells Scheer. The implications, he argues, go far beyond traditional military aid or weapons sales. Kucinich warns that the provision could create new counterintelligence risks, deepen U.S. dependence on Israel's military infrastructure and technology, blur questions of war powers and further entangle Washington in Israel's expanding regional conflicts. Even more alarming, Kucinich says, is how little debate the proposal has received. Rather than being considered through a separate treaty or subjected to extensive congressional hearings, the provision has been folded into a massive defense authorization bill that lawmakers will face enormous political pressure to support. “This provision has been smuggled into the bill,” Kucinich argues. “There's never been any debate.” For Scheer, the contradiction is impossible to ignore. At the moment the United States marks 250 years since declaring its independence, Washington may be moving toward an unprecedented military dependence on another state—one whose conduct in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon has placed it at the center of international accusations of genocide and grave violations of international law. In this urgent edition of Scheer Intelligence, Scheer and Kucinich examine what Section 219 could mean for American sovereignty, constitutional government and the future of war—and why a provision of such consequence has received so little attention from Congress, the Democratic opposition and the mainstream press.

42 min
Jun 21

Centered, Silenced, Controlled: How Patriarchy Still Shapes Women's Lives

Women are more visible in public life than ever before. They lead corporations, run for president, dominate popular culture and shape public debate. Yet according to media scholar Allison Butler, visibility is not the same as power—and it is certainly not the same as being heard. In this wide-ranging conversation with Joshua Scheer, Butler discusses the themes of her book Judgment of Gender: Analyzing the Silencing of Women, examining how patriarchy, capitalism, media narratives and political power continue to shape whose voices matter and whose stories are ignored. From Roe v. Wade and reproductive rights to Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, transgender inclusion, critical media literacy and the enduring legacy of misogyny, Butler argues that many of the structures limiting women's autonomy have not disappeared—they have simply adapted to new cultural realities. At the center of the discussion is a challenging question: How can women be increasingly visible in politics, media and popular culture while simultaneously remaining marginalized, controlled and silenced? Butler contends that answering that question requires looking beyond individual personalities and toward the systems that determine which stories are told, who gets to tell them and who benefits from the status quo. The conversation is ultimately a call for critical inquiry—not only into media narratives, but into the economic, political and cultural structures that shape modern life. As Butler argues, meaningful change begins when people become willing to question what has been normalized and confront the power behind it.

1 hr
May 29

The Mamdani Moment: Why America Is Listening to Democratic Socialism Again

As millions of Americans struggle with soaring rents, crushing childcare costs, stagnant wages and a political system increasingly captured by wealth, a new political force has emerged from New York City. In this episode of Scheer Intelligence, Robert Scheer speaks with journalist and author Ted Hamm about the remarkable rise of Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a self-described democratic socialist whose message of affordability, economic justice and political independence has transformed him from insurgent candidate to one of the most closely watched political figures in America. Drawing on his new book Meet Mayor Mamdani, Hamm traces how Mamdani built a coalition around issues that cut across traditional political divides: housing, transit, childcare, inequality and the growing sense that the American economic model no longer works for ordinary people. The conversation explores whether Mamdani represents a revival of New Deal-style politics, why his success has rattled Democratic Party leaders, and how his outspoken support for Palestinian rights has reshaped political debate far beyond New York. At a moment when both major parties face deep public distrust, Scheer and Hamm examine whether Mamdani's rise is an isolated phenomenon—or the leading edge of a broader political realignment. Can a movement built around affordability and economic democracy challenge the power of billionaires, corporate interests and party insiders? Or will the forces that have long dominated American politics ultimately absorb or defeat it? The answers may help determine not only the future of New York City, but the future direction of American politics itself.

51 min
May 25

Manufacturing Silence: The Media War Behind Gaza

On this episode of Scheer Intelligence, host Robert Scheer speaks with media scholar Robin Andersen about her explosive new book The Complicit Lens: U.S. Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. Andersen argues that corporate and legacy media did not merely fail to report the destruction of Gaza honestly — they actively distorted it through censorship, euphemism, and the suppression of historical context. From banned words like “occupation” and “genocide” to newsroom pressure campaigns and attacks on academic freedom, the conversation exposes how media institutions helped manufacture public consent while silencing dissent. What emerges is not simply a critique of journalism, but a warning about the collapse of democratic discourse itself.

52 min
Mar 30

The Palestine Exception: Why Academic Freedom Stops Here

A tenured professor can spend decades building a career, win awards, earn lifetime recognition, and still be discarded the moment political speech crosses an invisible line. That is what happened to Dr. Sang-hae Kil after she supported Palestinian protest on campus. Her teaching record was untouched, her scholarship praised, and a faculty panel ruled unanimously against punishment — yet San José State University fired her anyway. The message is unmistakable: on many campuses, academic freedom survives only until it collides with Palestine.

43 min
Mar 8

The Real State of the Union: Epstein’s Shadow Network and the Illusion of American Democracy

The newly released Epstein files don’t just implicate a handful of powerful men—they expose an entire architecture of American power built on impunity, secrecy, and the quiet expectation that the rules apply only to everyone else. As Robert Scheer and Nolan Higdon dig into this week’s revelations, the picture that emerges is not simply one of individual crimes but of a political and financial aristocracy that treats the law as a suggestion, democracy as theater, and vulnerable people as expendable. From Harvard boardrooms to Clinton‑era fundraisers to Trump’s Justice Department slow‑walking disclosures, the documents reveal a culture where fixing, hiding, and protecting the powerful is the real bipartisan consensus. What’s breaking open now is not just a scandal—it’s a portrait of a system that was never meant to be fair in the first place.

1h 1m
Mar 4

Kucinich: “Iran Could Be the Graveyard of the American Empire”

Former congressman and longtime peace advocate Dennis Kucinich joins Robert Scheer for a stark assessment of what he calls the most perilous moment in modern U.S. foreign policy. With Washington openly coordinating military action with Israel and escalating toward direct confrontation with Iran, Kucinich argues the United States has reached the terminus of its imperial project — a point where decades of overreach, militarism, and economic decline collide. Drawing on his years in Congress fighting unauthorized wars, he warns that the killing of Iran’s leadership, the collapse of diplomatic credibility, and the fantasy of American omnipotence have created a crisis with no clear exit. Scheer and Kucinich trace the roots of the disaster from the 1953 coup against Mossadegh to Trump’s current campaign of regime change, asking whether Iran may become the graveyard of American empire — and what it means for a world no longer willing to accept U.S. dominance.

1 hr
Mar 2

Techno‑Authoritarianism and the Death of Counterculture: Jonathan Taplin on Power, Art, and the New American Reality

As the U.S. drifts deeper into an era shaped by concentrated wealth, surveillance technology, and political strongmen, Robert Scheer sits down with Jonathan Taplin to examine what he calls the rise of “techno‑authoritarianism.” Drawing on decades at the intersection of culture, media, and technology—from producing Bob Dylan and The Band to directing USC’s Annenberg Innovation Lab—Taplin traces how corporate monopolies, AI, and political intimidation have hollowed out the counterculture that once challenged American power. In this wide‑ranging conversation, Scheer and Taplin explore the collapse of artistic independence, the fusion of Big Tech and state authority, and the dangers facing a generation coming of age under unprecedented surveillance and economic inequality.

1h 16m

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4.4

out of 5

392 Ratings

Good show, but host talks too much

Mar 8

Listen2Enlighten

I appreciate his vast perspective but by going on and on in his questions and commentary, he misses the opportunity for him and us learn more from his guests. His long windedness also makes me lose interest which is a shame because I want to hear the dialogue and learn.
Audio

08/04/2024

TX Tim

Y’all, im trying hard to listen because i love the show, but the audio levels are horrible. It’s like this all the time. Doesn’t anyone listen before they release these episodes? It would be nice to be able to hear the show.
Valuable

Feb 12

Jman/bird/rock100

Really appreciate Mr Scheer’s perspective and knowledge
Audio level(s)?

02/17/2025

ArmchairNihilist

Guests and Mr. Scheer’s voices are consistently at a really low volume and semi-muddy fidelity (at least the podcast version). Can something be done at the recording/mixing/post-production stage(s)? The show is excellent; it’s a pity the audio isn’t louder and clearer.

Scheer Intelligence features thoughtful and provocative conversations with "American Originals" -- people who, through a lifetime of engagement with political issues, offer unique and often surprising perspectives on the day's most important issues.