Jacobin Radio

We were terrifyingly close to an open war on Iran recently. The near-miss was a reminder of<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> how brazenly American imperial power is wielded around the world and how easy dragging us back into another major war would be for Trump or anyone else in his position. </font>It also was a reminder that we don't have a real antiwar movement in this country that can fight back against these kinds of escalations. <font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font> <font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">I talked about all these issues with Daniel Bessner, a historian and p</font>rofessor of international studies at the University of Washington, as well as the author of Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual and a forthcoming history of the RAND Corporation. He's also a regular contributor to Jacobin. Daniel's cowritten essay on democratizing US foreign policy: https://www.&lt;wbr /&gt;foreignaffairs.com/articles/&lt;wbr /&gt;united-states/2017-04-05/&lt;wbr /&gt;democratizing-us-foreign-&lt;wbr /&gt;policy Daniel's essay on the continued supremacy of the American military: https://www.&lt;wbr /&gt;prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/&lt;wbr /&gt;american-us-empire-not-in-&lt;wbr /&gt;decline-superpower-trump-&lt;wbr /&gt;proves-it-is-stronger-than-&lt;wbr /&gt;ever-militarism-daniel-bessner Daniel's review of George Soros's most recent book: https://jacobinmag.com/&lt;wbr /&gt;2020/01/george-soros-defense-&lt;wbr /&gt;of-open-society-philanthropy David Klion's profile of the Quincy Institute: https://www.&lt;wbr /&gt;thenation.com/article/quincy-&lt;wbr /&gt;institute-responsible-&lt;wbr /&gt;statecraft-think-tank/

The wars at home and abroad have always been connected. Dan interviews Nikhil Pal Singh on US attacks on Iran and the politics, history, and culture of American warmaking.Upcoming events:1/24 All-American Nativism Brooklyn book launch with Aziz Rana facebook.com/events/606979320053356/1/27 Race for Profit: A Conversation with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor [Live Dig interview in Providence] facebook.com/events/1416403061860397/1/28 Rhode Island Students for Bernie Kickoff Rally with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Linda Sarsour facebook.com/events/618607768707911/Book tour (more to be announced soon!):1/31 Providence facebook.com/events/2432419893664520/2/24 Philly facebook.com/events/462775997752533/2/26 DC at solidstatebooksdc.com2/28 Baltimore facebook.com/events/509390186368309/3/4 Boston at tridentbookscafe.com3/11 New Orleans: All-American Nativism and A Planet to Win double book event with Thea Riofrancos at octaviabooks.com3/17 Austin at monkeywrenchbooks.org3/18 Dallas at deepvellum.org

Writer Jeff Sparrow on the Australian fires. Then, Stuart Schrader, author of Badges Without Borders, on counterinsurgency and policing.

Confronting the intertwined ecological, social, economic, and political crises. Dan interviews Thea Riofrancos and Daniel Aldana Cohen, co-authors with Kate Aronoff and Alyssa Battistoni of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal.Thanks to Verso. Check out their huge selection of left-wing titles at versobooks.comPlease support this podcast with money at Patreon.com/TheDig

Sisters Angie Irving and Linda Wade bring the Black Panthers to Columbia Point.This is episode four of the first season of People's History Podcast! "The Point: Rebellion and Resistance in Boston Public Housing" traces a social history of Boston from the urban rebellions of the 1960s, through busing in the 70s, into the Clinton era.We investigate these events from the lens of one community: Columbia Point, the largest public housing project in New England. Built on an isolated landfill site next to the Boston city dump, it was the site of major organizing, from welfare rights to a Free Breakfast for Children program. It was also the first public housing project to be sold off and redeveloped as private "mixed-income" development (and was a model for the federal policy "HOPE VI").Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/peopleshistorypod

Suzi looks at the likely impact of Qassem Soleimani's assassination for both Iran and Iraq. Juan Cole of "Informed Comment" examines the decision by Donald Trump to launch the strike that killed Iranian general Soleimani, escalating the stand-off with Iran to a new level of violence that could trigger a much broader and more lethal direct conflict. We get Cole's views on the ramifications for US-Iranian relations, the domestic considerations for each regime, and the wider implications at home and in the Middle East. Suzi then talks to Yousef Baker of CSU Long Beach, who writes about the Iraqi protest movement. He says the American attacks and assassination of Soleimani has not just fanned the escalating regional conflict — it deals a death blow to the Iraqi protests. Iraqis have been pushed into the eye of the storm and every Iraqi political force now has to pick a side, with deadly consequences. The United States has made Iraq into its battlefield once again, making this escalation the most consequential action in Iraq since 2003. We get Baker's analysis and perspective.

Adam Kotsko, author of “The Evangelical Mind,” on the life and thought of that tendency. Then, Shailja Sharma on India’s new citizenship law and protests against the country’s drift into fascism.

Suzi continues to look at the spectacular global movements that have rocked the world in 2019. The mass protests are not dying out and as the year comes to an end, they are gathering force, as we see in India — with huge demonstrations challenging Narendra Modi’s rule. The government’s repressive response has only added fuel to the protests and strikes. Achin Vanaik, scholar-activist in Delhi, gives us the big picture of Modi’s far-right government and Hindutva policies that have sparked massive protest, especially the new Citizen Amendment Act which denies citizenship based on religion, excluding and further marginalizing the country’s 200 million Muslims.

Aditya Chakraborty on the British election, BoJo, Brexit, and the state of the Labour Party. Then, Nathan Robinson, author of Why You Should Be a Socialist, on that very topic.

We need Bernie but a lot more too. Dan does three interviews with down-ballot left insurgent candidates: Jessica Cisneros, a Justice Democrat running against incumbent conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas’s 28th congressional district; Stephen Smith, who is running a populist campaign for West Virginia governor; and Heidi Sloan, a DSA candidate in the Democratic primary for Texas’s 25th Republican-held 25th congressional district.Thanks to University of California Press. Check out their huge selection of titles at ucpress.eduPlease support this podcast with your money at Patreon.com/TheDig