Always at War

On this episode of Always at War, Courtney and Alex talk with Jim Lobe, contributing editor at Responsible Statecraft, about the life and legacy of Dick Cheney after his death this week at the age of 84. Together, they unpack Cheney's long and gruesome record, from working with Donald Rumsfeld to derail Kissinger's strategy of detente with the Soviet Union, to helping the perpetrators of Iran-Contra get pardoned, to selling the American people on a catastrophic invasion of Iraq. Jim also helps situate Cheney within the broader conservative foreign policy movement, arguing that he is not a neoconservative himself,  though he worked directly with the neocons to reshape U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War.Finally, they survey Cheney's legacy today —  how his efforts to concentrate power in a "unitary executive" empowered every 21st century president to engage in reckless military actions, and how his belief that United States has the right and responsibility to unilaterally intervene militarily anywhere and anytime has become gospel in Washington, D.C. ###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan are joined by Lara Friedman — President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) — to examine the recent Gaza ceasefire deal.Together, they discuss what makes ceasefire deals work, America's sordid history as a "peacemaker" in the Middle East, why the current deal is unlikely to restrain Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza, the shifting politics on Israel in Washington, and much more. Learn more about Lara's work at fmep.org and make sure to check out the Occupied Thoughts podcast. ###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

Courtney and Alex discuss why the leaders of both of America’s major political parties still support America’s disastrous pursuit of global military primacy, and take a look at some of the individuals and interests that help uphold our crappy foreign policy consensus.###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan are joined by Greg Grandin — Professor of History at Yale University and author of America, América: A New History of the New World — to discuss the USA's relationship with the other America: Latin America.Together, they explore the missed opportunities for true fraternity between the two Americas, the long history of Washington using Latin America as a testing ground for its foreign policy adventurism, and how the myths and attitudes that informed various disastrous U.S. interventions in the region last century still persist today.###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

Does having 750 military base sites all around the world make America safer—or does it just make war more convenient? In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan reveal the costs and consequences of America's massive worldwide military footprint and examine how it enables Washington's disastrous quest to maintain global military primacy, no matter the costs. ###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan are joined by the Quincy Institute's Ben Freeman & Nick Cleveland-Stout to discuss how America's top think tanks profoundly shape our country's approach to the world — and the golden opportunity these institutions represent for arms companies and foreign governments trying to buy influence over Washington's foreign policy.###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan discuss how the headlines about Gaza in most mainstream U.S. media outlets have consistently obfuscated the reality of Israel's genocidal campaign, and downplayed America's role in enabling and defending Israeli war crimes.###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan are joined by American Prestige's Daniel Bessner to discuss how Americans have come to understand — and however begrudgingly, accept — the costs and consequences of our nation’s military empire. ###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

Courtney and Alex discuss America's long and sordid history of pursuing regime change around the world in light of the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran, which triggered bipartisan calls from Washington for the Trump administration to try and topple the government in Tehran.###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org

Courtney and Alex speak with national security legal scholar Elizabeth Beavers about how the U.S. government defines terrorism and discuss whether America's terrorist designations and counterterrorism wars prolong conflict and advance political agendas, rather than make Americans safer. ###Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions. They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.orgContact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.orgShow art by Justin Hantz###Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank. Help fund our research: https://quincyinst.org/donations/Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org   Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInstTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/quincyinst   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincyinst  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//quincyinst  Website: https://quincyinst.org