Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Norman Finkelstein, the prolific (and widely canceled) political scientist, and author of 11 books, joins the show to give us a sneak preview of his new book on cancel culture and identity politics. He explains what makes today's cancel culture new, what makes it not so new, and why it’s worse, in some ways, when the Left does it: “Obviously there’s cancel culture on the right. But the cancel culture on the right, or the mainstream, the establishment, whate...
Jun 25, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Ross Barkan on the New York Mayoral Race and Cuomosexuals, Plus Whale Mouthwash, Republicans Hit the Pipe, and Jeff Bezos Should Eat the Mona Lisa “This is kind of the Holy Grail for the left that can never quite get pulled off,” says Ross Barkan, author of The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, Coronavirus, and the Fall of New York. “It usually gets pulled off by moderates, or Barack Obama.” We talked to Ross about one of our favorite people — the demented neoliberal m...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Season 2Ep. 15
“Protest with a guitar? Not this candidate.” This written about a 21-year-old city council candidate with hippy sensibilities and a drive to help the underdog: Dennis Kucinich. Since that article in 1967, Kucinich served 16 years as the US house rep from Ohio, gained national fame in his two presidential bids, and was vindicated by the Washington Post as the future of American politics. Now, Kucinich is out with a new book The Division of Light and Power, which shares stories of his early days i...
Jun 11, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 14
After a groundbreaking and enormously successful run at The Hill, Krystal and Saagar have followed the iconic path of a certain former rock music podcast, going solo by launching a subscriber-supported show called Breaking Point that debuts next week. The longtime friends-of-show are true pioneers in the modern media age. At a time when virtually every other political discussion show is aimed exclusively at one political demographic or another, their Rising program represented literally the only...
Jun 04, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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
May 28, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger has been trapped in his apartment for two years without a fair trial. Hear his story. Plus: Biden and Republicans kill journalists while the Queen kills her dog Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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://redcirc...
May 21, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Longtime friend-of-show Abby Martin, maker of the remarkable documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom, drops in for a Zoom chat to discuss the outbreak of hostilities in Israel. Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
May 14, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Also, we semi mis-predict a patent waiver outcome, discuss a sex work ruling, and relive a beaver attack Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
May 08, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Friend-of-show Dr. Cornel West has been in the news a lot of late, and not always in a happy way. At the end of February, the brilliant professor of Philosophy, Divinity, and African-American studies announced he was leaving his longtime employers at Harvard University, and moving back to Union Theological Seminary, where he began his teaching career back in 1977. Harvard denied his request to be considered for tenure, apparently for political reasons. On Useful Idiots, West talked about the lik...
May 01, 2021•1 hr 10 min
David Sirota of The Daily Poster weighs in on SALT deductions, Biden's presidency, and the future of journalism. Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
Apr 26, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 8
A nation is gripped by a police-abuse trial, and Republicans and Democrats both find a way to suck about it Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
Apr 23, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Talking with the former presidential candidate about the progressive candidate summit, smears, and "liberal bullshit." Subscribe at usefulidiots.substack.com to hear the extended interview with Marianne Williamso Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
Apr 17, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 6
We interview some guy named Noam Chomsky (extended interview coming next week), get to the bottom of why we broke up with Rolling Stone, and scrutinize the thrilling PBS interview of former al-Nusra/al-Qaeda leader-turned-very-handsome-man Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Katie taps her beard-crit background, while we both investigate the two most important questions of our time: which four goateed male celebrities combined look like one PBS interviewer Martin Smith, and why do I keep thinking Smith is B...
Apr 09, 2021•49 min•Season 2Ep. 5
[This interview was recorded before the Governor of Arkansas Vetoed the anti-transgender health care bill].] The Arkansas Senate just passed a bill with a title straight out of dystopian fiction: the Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act, or SAFE. Roundly denounced as the most extreme law of its type ever passed, the bill is one of about two dozen laws aimed at trans care currently being considered at the state level. To find out what’s actually in these bills, we spoke with Dr. Eri...
Apr 05, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this Useful Idiots interview, Matt Stoller walks us through some of the myths about big tech. Many members of Congress seem to believe the firms don’t intervene enough; Stoller explains that their massive existing levels of intervention are the problem, that the financial incentives of what he calls “surveillance advertising” move firms like Facebook to push users in the direction of ever more enraging, divisive, and conspiratorial content. Plus Matt (Taibbi) and Katie talk about Ted Cruz, Wo...
Mar 26, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog, co-hosts of the podcast Blocked And Reported, join Useful Idiots to talk about the failed campaign to get Singal driven off of Substack and what, according to Herzog, some of Singal's most vocal critics have in common with QAnon. They also talk about how they met and why they started their podcast and how they're not exactly canceled. Singal discusses his new book "Quick Fix," about the dangers of fad psychology. And Matt and Katie discuss the indefensible hoarding...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We spoke to legendary Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about the nuclear threat nobody is talking about, the end of the world and how he, despite all that, stays hopeful. But before diving in with Ellsberg, Matt and Katie talk about, of course, Dems sucking, Republicans sucking, things being weird and terrible and even bring you a stoned moment. Stand by for the youtube episode. And, dear paying subscribers, stand by for the paywalled video and audio sections dropping soon where we ...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Useful Idiots, the podcast Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper started in the summer of 2019 at Rolling Stone, is moving. After eighty episodes that included interviews with the likes of Tulsi Gabbard (our first guest), Roger Waters, Andrew Yang, Erin Brockovich, Michael K. Williams, Noam Chomsky, Marianne Williamson, Adam McKay, Bernie Sanders, Nadya Tolkonnikova of Pussy Riot, Tim Robbins, Adolph Reed, Chris Hedges, and many others, the show that was created with the idea of being a home for voices s...
Mar 23, 2021•2 min
Stella Moris, lawyer and life partner of Julian Assange, joins the show to discuss the current status of Assange's case and it’s implications for global journalism. Hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper discuss arguments for and against independent journalism outlet Substack. Merch link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donatio...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 33 min
Shahid Buttar joins the show to discuss Democrats, Fox News, and free speech. Hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper discuss Tennessee GOP efforts to prohibit kneeling during college sports national anthems. Merch link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & O...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 56 min
Journalist Aaron Maté joins the show to talk about the start of Biden's foreign policy, and his reporting on Syria and the OPCW Merch Link: https://bit.ly/3uiFz4D Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
Feb 19, 2021•1 hr 36 min
Glenn Greenwald rejoins the show to discuss recent journalism news, content moderation, and more on GameStop/Wall Street. Hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi trade off takes related to the contentious confirmation hearing of Neera Tanden. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://re...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Congressman Ro Khanna makes another appearance to discuss the state of Covid relief, his experience during the January 6 riot and more. Hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi discuss other recent news, including an inspired metaphor from Thomas Friedman on the Gamestop story. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donation...
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr 6 min
David Dayen joins hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper to break down the GameStop/Wall Street Story. They also discuss the early days of Biden's presidency, and the moves that are available to him with his new authority. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands ...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Thomas Frank joins hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper in this special post-inauguration episode, looking ahead to the Biden era, and how the media can transition from Trump. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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/...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Matt and Katie talk about the fallout from the storming of the capitol. Andre Damon of the World Socialist Web Site discusses how censorship has affected political opposition from the left. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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:...
Jan 15, 2021•1 hr 47 min
Disclaimer: this episode was taped early Wednesday, before the events at the Capitol. Investigative reporter Stefania Maurizi joins the show to give an update on the Julian Assange case. Hosts Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi discuss the reconfirmation of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aa...
Jan 08, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Matt and Katie discuss the latest on the debate over Covid stimulus negotiations, NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller talks academic freedom. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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...
Dec 31, 2020•1 hr 39 min
Vice writer Edward Ongweso Jr joins the show to discuss surveillance by tech companies, Biden's 'Biracial Commercial' thoughts, the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit against Google, and more. Matt breaks down a recent piece from his substack, 'TK Media,' about the flailing efforts by democrats to pass the Covid relief package. Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-id...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 30 min
Matt Christman joins the show to talk modern political identity in America and 'Chapo Trap House.' Katie and Matt watch a clip from MSNBC ridiculing him for his record of passing legislation that he's written Merch Link: https://teespring.com/stores/useful-idiots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/useful-idiots-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy &a...
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 35 min
