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Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté: Daily Summaries Delivered
by 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 on-the-road coverage of the 2020 campaign and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of the politics news of the week. Join Katie and Aaron 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.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 6 days ago1h 6m
The US Weapons Stockpile is NOT Depleted and Anyone Who Says it is Should Go to Prison for Leaking Classified Information
Don’t miss our weekly recap of the craziest moments in corporate media:Watch this week’s Monday Mourning here:Useful Idiots relies on support from viewers to keep the show going. Thanks for being part of our community! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe
- 1 weeks ago1h 6m
Jake Tapper's Israel Gotcha BACKFIRES After Perfect Response from Abdul El-Sayed
Don’t miss our weekly recap of the craziest moments in corporate media:Watch this week’s Monday Mourning here:In a desperate attempt to pit progressive stars Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed against each other, Israel-activist Jake Tapper thought he had the perfect gotcha when interviewing El-Sayed on CNN:“Zohran Mamdani was asked if he thinks there’s room in the party for Democrats who work with AIPAC, and Mayor Mamdani said ‘if they are Democrats and they win as Democrats then they should be part of the Democratic Party.’When you were asked by CNN if support for Israel could be about anything other than money, you told CNN ‘not if you’re a Democrat and you believe in human rights.’So it sounds as though you and Mayor Mamdani disagree about how big this tent should be and whether there’s room in the tent for Israel supporters.”What Smug Jake Tapper is basically asking is this: Can you be in the same tent with someone who gets off on bombing tents in Gaza?El-Sayed’s response shuts him up quickly:“Well Jake there’s always room in the tent for folks. Whatever you think about the right of Israel to exist, I wonder if they have a right to our tax dollars. Every time I come on CNN, you guys ask me the same questions about these theoretical rights of existence or whether or not I agree with the mayor of New York.I’m running for Senate in Michigan. In Michigan people can’t afford their basic needs, they don’t get the healthcare they need and deserve. The question seems to be less about the interest of Michiganders than something happening 6,000 miles away. I want our tax dollars spent in Michigan.”Jake throws in one meek ‘I didn’t…’ then puts his tail between his legs, mopes for a minute, and then feels a little better when he gets to use Trump talking points to ask El-Sayed a racist question about the murder of Iran’s Ayatollah.This is just one part of a crazy Monday Mourning, from elections to Iran to Israel to Lindsey Graham’s terrible legacy. Thanks for supporting our work, the Useful Idiots audience keeps us going! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe
- 2 weeks ago1h 1m
The guy who wanted to nuke Gaza and fight Russia to the last Ukrainian is no longer alive
Don’t miss our weekly recap of the craziest moments in corporate media:Watch this week’s Monday Mourning here:Senator Lindsey Graham, who was scheduled to appear on Meet the Press Sunday, died suddenly this weekend. The corporate Sunday shows paused everything to heap praise on one of the most depraved people to ever sit in government.Just listen to Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan giving an emotional tribute:“A note on Senator Lindsey Graham, a fierce Ukraine supporter who had just returned from his tenth trip to that war zone at what was a key moment for one of his proudest accomplishments. On the phone Friday, he told me it was a big day: he was excited to share the news that the Trump White House had finally given him the green light for…”(Is she gonna say a peace deal to save innocent Ukrainians?? Is she??)“…for Congress to move his long-sought bill to put significant financial” sanctions on Russia.She says it with such heartfelt passion that it’s almost hard to tell that his final act was to ruthlessly starve more Russians in a ploy to extend the war and, in doing so, kill more Ukrainians.Even President Trump called in to the Sunday shows to pay tribute. Here’s what he told CNN’s Jake Tapper:“I wanted to see the war with Ukraine end very quickly. I think he was more into, you know, keeping it going, frankly.”Every now and then Trump does tell the truth.From Lindsey Graham propaganda to Ro Khanna’s detainment by Israeli settlers to Jake Tapper bending the knee to President Trump, this Monday Mourning is jam-packed with BSing pundits and politicians. To support our work and get bonus content, please consider subscribing to our show:Thanks for tuning in! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe
- 3 weeks ago1h 23m
Iran Strikes US Bases & Israel’s Secret Nuclear Plot w/ Jeremy Scahill & Sami al-Arian
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.comPre-order Aaron’s new book on the Ukraine war “Their Blood, Our Bullets.”To support our work and go ad-free, click here. Watch the free version here:Subscribers get our recap of the craziest in corporate media, the Friday Free-for-All:This week we have a powerhouse panel on Useful Idiots: Professor Sami al-Arian and investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill of DropSite News, who join us to analyze Trump’s wars in West Asia.The breaking news is that Trump is renewing the bombing of Iran, insulting its leaders, and threatening to take out more civilian infrastructure, all while Israel is allowed to continue its genocide in Gaza as well as steal and destroy land in Lebanon.Useful Idiots: Trump has said the deal is likely over. So where are we with the state of war against Iran?Sami al-Arian: The deal was basically an admission by the United States that it’s been defeated. It is surrender in all points. And I think the Zionists have upped the pressure against this administration, which has been beholden to it for whatever reason. They were trying to find justification to renege on this deal.But regardless, there is nothing that the US could do to defeat Iran. There is nothing that it could do to achieve its objectives, which is basically regime change, regime collapse, breakup of the country, and to reverse its advanced scientific achievements in nuclear power or in missiles or even to stop its support of its allies in the region. None of these objectives were reached in the first thirty-nine days of the war and they are very unlikely to be reached again.Jeremy Scahill: What we’ve seen since Trump took this deal is that he has not been able to effectively spin his victory-narrative on this thing. This is the latest iteration of the Trump pattern, which is that he’s flailing around like a child throwing a tantrum and threatening. And the more he escalates it, the more it becomes clear that he is in the quagmire of all quagmires in this situation. One thing that we have to be always concerned about is that Trump is a very erratic character. I wouldn’t put it past him to authorize a much more significant escalation of the bombing against Iran. My understanding from Iranian officials is that if that happens, if a Rubicon is crossed and it becomes a full-blown war again, that Iran’s response to this in the Persian Gulf and aimed at Israel is going to exceed what it did in the initial weeks when it fought the United States and Israel to a point where Trump was the one essentially begging for some kind of a deal.Watch our full, unpaywalled interview with Professor Sami al-Arian and Jeremy Scahill. Please consider subscribing to support our work and watch the ad-free version of the show.Subscribers also get the Friday Free-for-All: Analysis: Establishment Dems are seizing the Graham Platner scandal to slander progressives across primary electionsThanks for tuning in, catch the ad-free version here:
- Jun 29, 20261h 12m
Let's bomb Iran to make sure the ceasefire holds
Don’t miss our weekly recap of the craziest moments in corporate media:Watch this week’s Monday Mourning here:After finally doing one thing to back up his campaign promise of being an anti-war president, has President Trump folded to pressure from Israel and its corporate media stooges to go back on his peace deal with Iran?Because now the message seems to be that we’ll bomb their civilians and terrorize their economy so that the ceasefire holds. Which doesn’t quite make sense at all, if you think about it…From warmongering politicians to even more warmongering corporate media hosts, Katie and Aaron watch as Israel’s highest paid activists force war back onto the table.But this Monday Mourning does have one corporate antidote: the freakout over the Mamdani Sweep. In the NYC elections last week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed progressive candidates overtook establishment Dems, signaling a sea change for the left movement. It’s fun to watch the meltdown.Thanks for supporting our work, subscribe to get Friday Free-for-Alls and extended interviews here! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe
- Jun 27, 202617 min
"The chance of an AI World War is now 50% in the next 30 years"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.comSubscribe for the full interview at the bottom of the page. Watch a free preview here:Subscribe to watch our full chat with Robert Wright, author of The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning
- Jun 26, 202631 min
AIPAC Panics After Zohran Mamdani’s Election Sweep
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.comSubscribe for the full, hour-long interview at the bottom of the page. Watch a free preview here:Subscribers also get our Friday Free-for-All:On this week’s show we look at the Mamdani Sweep in New York City where progressive, populist, pro-Palestine candidates, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, won important elections across the board in a huge rebuke to AIPAC and Israel.As AIPAC and the entire Democratic establishment freak out about this successful insurgency, we speak with journalists Ross Barkan and Liza Featherstone about what went right for the left and how progressives can use this momentum to take back more power.Useful Idiots: What’s your one-sentence takeaway from the elections?Ross Barkan: It was a great night for Zohran Mamdani and he is emerging as the new political boss of New York politics.Liza Featherstone: I wondered whether the left should have gone even bigger. Zohran won every single race that he endorsed and DSA won almost all of them. None of their incumbents were taken out and almost all their challengers won. If you’re not losing more, are you really trying hard enough?Useful Idiots: Establishment Democrats are freaking out about these progressive winners, including Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier who sparked controversy with a now-deleted tweet saying “Fuck Kamala Harris.” What’s your response to this?Liza Featherstone: I would just like [these establishment Democrats] to actually spend a day gathering petition signatures for a candidate. When I did that for Zohran Mamdani in Bed-Stuy, a Democratic stronghold, the biggest obstacle was people saying, ‘fuck the democrats.’I would lead with ‘are you a registered democrat?’ and even normie, middle-aged ladies, white ladies, black ladies, you know, who are normally the base of the Democratic Party, would be like, ‘no, fuck them.’ Everyone’s fed up. Everyone’s fed up.To see the full interview with Ross and Liza on why Trump has more respect for Zohran’s game than Dems do; how fearmongering around antisemitism is no longer working; whether Brad Lander is actually a progressive or just establishment-in-disguise; and where AOC was while Mamdani was endorsing candidates, please subscribe to our show.You’ll also get the Friday Free-for-All: CNN IS MELTING DOWN AS PROGRESSIVES TAKE OVERThanks for supporting independent media, watch the full hour-long interview here:
- Jun 22, 20261h 2m
The US-Israeli relationship continues to break as the Trump Admin moves forward with Iran deal
Don’t miss our weekly recap of the craziest moments in corporate media:Watch this week’s Monday Mourning here: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/subscribe
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About 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 on-the-road coverage of the 2020 campaign and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of the politics news of the week. Join Katie and Aaron 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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