Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

Useful Idiots, LLC

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. 1D AGO

    Marco Rubio ABANDONS American Journalist after Israeli Mob Attack

    Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan. To help free Mohammed Ibrahim: https://linktr.ee/freeMohammedIbrahim 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: JD Vance Can't Stop Laughing at Trump's al-Qaeda Joke at https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jd-vance-cant-stop-laughing-at-trumps?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 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’re wondering about how the so-called ceasefire in Gaza is going, look no further than this BBC News headline: Some ceasefire. And if you want to know about the even-less-reported-on West Bank, where settlers are committing unwatchable atrocities as you read this, listen to this week’s interview with Jasper Nathaniel, a Jewish-American journalist who is just back from the olive harvest, where IDF soldiers set him up for a violent mob attack from Israeli settlers. The videos he took are horrifying. We asked Jasper about the situation in the West Bank, to describe the settler attack in which he caught on video the moment where a settler beat an elderly woman in the head with a stick, and the US State Department’s response to his plea for rescue. Useful Idiots: Tell us about your own government’s response to the settler attack. You contacted the US Embassy, what have your elected representatives told you?Jasper Nathaniel: They immediately sent out Marines to rescue me from the oil fields and put me on a private plane back to...No, they did nothing. I actually did speak to two people at the US embassy who saw the video and they expressed horror and sympathy and fear. And when I told them we needed protection, one guy says to me, ‘Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do to protect you. It is the responsibility of the host government, meaning Israel, to protect you.’And then I point out that it was the host military that led us into this ambush. And he says, ‘Well in the instances where the host government can’t protect you we pull our embassy, like Venezuela and Syria.’ So I say ‘Okay, so you’re pulling the embassy from Israel?’ And that was the last I heard from them.Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, all completely ignored me.Useful Idiots: It’s not surprising, it’s kind of predictable, and yet it’s still shocking. Can you talk about the outcome of your reporting on this and what effect it had on the people living there?Jasper Nathaniel: People started to tell me that this might be one of those rare instances where something so heinous is caught or documented that Israel can’t spin it and might have to issue some sort of a response.And sure enough, the next morning, there was a story in the Times of Israel where the chief of police in the West Bank, who is a far-right Ben Gavir acolyte, said ‘We must arrest him and demand justice.’ The next day I was back in the oil fields and there were Israeli soldiers there patrolling, protecting the Palestinians. And it was clear to me and to all the Palestinians that they didn’t suddenly grow a conscience and decide they wanted to protect these people. They understood that they had a PR disaster on their hands and they had to save face by preventing another attack.Thanks for supporting independent media. It’s moments like Jasper’s video that couldn’t happen without your support. To join the community and get our analysis on Bari Weiss, John Fetterman, JD Vance, and Trump’s al-Qaeda Oval Office visit, please subscribe for $6 a month. 00:00 Intro 01:12 Laura Loomer and Jeffrey Epstein 04:35 Trump's terrible healthcare idea 09:34 Jasper Nathaniel interview Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    53 min
  2. NOV 7

    Israel PANICS After Zohran’s NYC Win w/ Ross Barkan

    Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan. Click here for the full interview with Ross Barkan: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-israel-panics-after?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Watch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Elon Musk Short Circuits on Joe Rogan Over Zohran Mamdani https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/elon-musk-short-circuits-on-joe-rogan?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false 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. *Don’t miss our new segment, the Friday Free-For-All: Elon Musk Short Circuits on Joe Rogan Over Zohran Mamdani* In 2018, Ross Barkan ran for New York State Senate. His campaign manager was Zohran Mamdani. This week, after an unprecedented surprise campaign, which began polling at 0% on announcement day, Zohran Mamdani pulled off an upset to become New York City’s next mayor. Ross Barkan explains how this happened, the forces and money working against Mamdani, and why this signals a tailspin for Israeli influence campaigns over US candidates. Useful Idiots: The ADL has announced that they’re launching a comprehensive, citywide initiative to track and monitor policies and personnel appointments of the incoming Mamdani administration. And earlier, Jonathan Greenblatt said that Zohran wasn’t meeting with “the right Jews.” What is your response to the ADL’s effort against Zohran Mamdani?Ross Barkan: It really backfired on them. They made this a referendum on Israel. And that helped Zohran.Zohran himself did not make this election a referendum in Israel-Palestine. He did not talk about it in his campaign ads. He was not talking about it on the stump. It really was a locally-focused affordability campaign. And again and again, because he is pro-Palestine and has a long history in activism, he was attacked on it. And they lost the referendum bad.They lost the primary by 13 points, they lost the general election by 9 points. Put into context the amount of money spent against him by the super PACs from the primary and general and you’re talking almost $60 million dollars, plus Cuomo’s own money. So they poured in $70 million dollars against him collectively and they were beaten.Useful Idiots: Let’s look at what happens when Zohran takes office January 1st. Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed him, but yet she’s opposed a centerpiece of his campaign, which is a bit of a higher tax on the ultra wealthy to help fund some of his social programs: free buses, universal child care, and other measures. What kind of challenges is he facing on that front to actually push his agenda through?00:00 Stories from Zohran's victory party in Brooklyn 05:30 Friday Free-For-All preview 07:38 Trump is parroting Zohran 09:21 CNN sounds strangely Republican when talking about Zohran 11:55 Ross Barkan interview 30:27 Will Zohran be able to pass any of his campaign promises? Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    32 min
  3. OCT 31

    “1,000 Hiroshimas”: Chemical Engineer Explains Trump’s Nuclear Testing

    Click here for the full interview with Ivana Nikolić Hughes: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/full-episode-1000-hiroshimas-chemical?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan. 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. This week, Trump made a dangerous announcement on Truth Social: “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.” Chemical engineer Ivana Nikolić Hughes joins Useful Idiots to debunk Trump’s claim that other countries have conducted tests, and more importantly why doing our own tests could lead to catastrophic disaster. Or, in her words: “Nuclear winter.” Useful Idiots: What if someone were to say, ‘What’s wrong with a nuclear test? It’s just a test. And shouldn’t we know whether these systems are working? What’s the problem?’Ivana Nikolić Hughes: The word test, actually, is just the wrong word for what took place in these more-than-2,000 full-blown nuclear explosions. The largest test that the United States ever conducted was called the Bravo Test. And it had the energy yield equivalent to a thousand Hiroshima bombs. So Hiroshima flattened the city, this thing was a thousand times more powerful and had a mushroom cloud twenty five miles high and sixty miles wide. There was nothing “testy” about this. This was a full blown monster .And the fallout was tremendous. There was destruction of cities, but the radiation has been absolutely devastating. Generations have been impacted by it in the US. We think of the Cold War as having had no victims. But in fact, the victims were created by their own governments. It wasn’t Soviet people being killed by US nuclear weapons. It was American citizens being killed.Useful Idiots: According to people like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Tom Cotton, having a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons ‘keeps the peace’ and preserves global stability.Ivana Nikolić Hughes: My response is that nuclear deterrence might work until the day it doesn’t. I always want to tell people we’re not exaggerating this thing. It’s going to be the end of the world as we know it. People write comments when I speak about this, they go ‘Oh but Hiroshima and Nagasaki are just fine today.’Which they are. In 1945, one country had three nuclear weapons. Today, nine countries have twelve and a half thousand of them.Useful Idiots: So going back to Trump’s statement, he seems to confuse testing a nuclear-capable missile versus testing a nuclear weapon itself. But he also seems confused on what the powers of the Pentagon are. Because he says, I’ve directed Secretary Hegseth to carry out testing, but is it as simple as that? Can he just direct the Pentagon to test a nuclear weapon? 00:00 Intro 03:22 Mike Johnson wants to starve people 08:16 Ted Cruz turns on MTG 16:02 Will the ADL call THIS anti-Zohran antisemite out? 19:03 Katie Miller gets the WWE treatment 23:56 Ivana Nikolić Hughes interview 31:58 What's wrong with nuclear tests? 52:08 Would we win a nuclear war? Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    57 min
4.5
out of 5
4,404 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.

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