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Around The Empire

Around the Empire podcast explores the massive apparatus of the American Empire. In-depth interviews, discussions. Hosted by Joanne Leon.
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Now displaying: February, 2019

Around the Empire podcast explores the massive apparatus of the American Empire. In-depth interviews, discussions. Hosted by Joanne Leon.

Feb 26, 2019

Today we welcome author and editor Teodrose Fikre for a discussion about his profound article about Malcolm X’s warnings on American political parties and their “bourgeois hustlers”. We talk about colonization, the weaponization of identity, the deliberate division of the people and the need for unity and collaboration for inclusive justice.

Ep93 Weaponization of Identity and Malcolm X Warnings feat Teodrose Fikre

Teodrose Fikre, is the co-founder and editor of the Ghion Journal and host of video shows on the Ghion Journal channel. Originally from Ethiopia, he is a published author, a prolific writer, a former consultant in the defense industry and a former community organizer and political activist. He told me about his two year journey, going from a life of upper-middle class privilege to a time of hardship and struggle, and how this taught him a valuable lesson in the essence of togetherness and the need to speak against injustice.  He believes we should focus not just on the symptoms but need to get over the divides and actually speak truth to power instead of speaking half truth to power, and that’s what the Ghion Journal is all about. His writing defies conventional wisdom and challenges readers to look outside the constraints of labels and ideologies that serve to splinter the people.

FOLLOW Teodrose Fikre at @TeodroseFikre. Find his work at GhionJournal.com and at the Ghion Journal channel on YouTube.

Around the Empire is listener supported, independent media. Pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod. Find all links at aroundtheempire.com.

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, Facebook or on your preferred podcast app.

Recorded on February 23, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. The Wisdom of Malcolm X: He was Warning Us about These Bourgeois Hustlers, Teodrose Fikre
  2. Malcolm X interview with Mike Wallace, CBS, aired on June 9, 1964
Feb 13, 2019

Gordon Dimmack joins us from the West Midlands, UK with updates and analysis on Brexit and to offer some insights on the similarities between the War Party attacks on Jeremy Corbyn and Tulsi Gabbard. We also have a wide ranging discussion on war, the Anglo-American empire, Russiagate, the Skripal Affair, and UK politics.

Ep92 Brexit and War Party Attacks on Corbyn & TulsiGordon hosts a popular YouTube channel where he covers news, politics, war and the horrific state of our corporate media. He works to fill their void by striving to analyze and report truthfully and consistently. In his own words:

“The corporate and mainstream media have sunk to such depths of distrust, that the public are tuning in to the rantings of a middle aged man on his YouTube channel instead. That’s a damning indictment on the state of Western media today, in my opinion. Which is really something considering I’m the middle aged man in question.

The Fourth Estate has become the Fifth Column, in the UK and many other Western countries, which is extremely dangerous. Democracy can only thrive if it has an independent media holding power and government to task, unearthing lies and corruption rather than being complicit in them, as our media now sadly is.”

 

FOLLOW Gordon on Twitter @gordondimmack. SUBSCRIBE to his YouTube channel and support him via Patreon.com/GordonDimmack or StreamLabs. Find his work at his website gordondimmack.com.

Around the Empire is listener supported, independent media. Pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod. Find all links at aroundtheempire.com.

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, Facebook or on your preferred podcast app.

Recorded on February 10, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Tulsi gets the Corbyn treatment - Smeared relentlessly by NBC, Gordon Dimmack
  2. Theresa May: A Prime Minister in Denial, Gordon Dimmack

 

Feb 11, 2019

Psychologist and author Dr. Roy Eidelson joins us today to talk about political mind games and manipulative ploys used by the power elite to mislead Americans, divide us and thwart efforts to advance the common good.

Ep91 Political Mind Games feat Dr Roy Eidelson

Dr. Eidelson has been a practicing clinical, research, and political psychologist for over thirty years and his work focuses on applying psychological knowledge to issues of social justice and social change. He is the former executive director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania, and a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility and he is also a member of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, which advocates against complicity in torture and in favor of restoring psychology’s commitment to do-no-harm ethics.

Eidelson has been published in many academic journals and more recently has written for a broader audience in his Psychology Today blog, and in various media outlets like the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Alternet, and Truthout. Last year he published a new book, Political Mind Games: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What's Happening, What's Right, and What's Possible.

FOLLOW Roy on Twitter @royeidelson. Find his work at royeidelson.com and his blog.

Around the Empire is independent media supported by our listeners. You can pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or at aroundtheempire.com.

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire. Follow Joanne Leon at @joanneleon. SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, Facebook.  SUBSCRIBE on YouTube

Recorded on February 7, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Book: Political Mind Games: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What's Happening, What's Right, and What's Possible, Roy Eidelson
  2. In a World of Corporate-Backed Politicians, Beware the Sounds of Sirens, Roy Eidelson
  3. Resisting the Drums of War, Roy Eidelson
  4. Get Ready for These Political Mind Games in 2019, Roy Eidelson

 

Feb 10, 2019

Columnist and analyst Ted Snider joins us to talk about patterns in US foreign policy and history as it relates to coup attempts in Venezuela. We discuss the well established history of American-backed coups in Venezuela and how democratic nationalist leaders like Maduro are not tolerated because they’re too difficult to subjugate. Ted provides some detail about Juan Guaidó and his extreme opposition party and the role that resources and oil play in these regime change operations. We also explain our objections to the way that many people frame their opposition to the coup in that they ultimately help the advance the regime change narrative by structuring their argument as follows: “Maduro is a bad dictator but coups are bad too”.

Ep90 American Coup Playbook in Venezuela feat Ted Snider

Ted Snider writes on analyzing patterns in US foreign policy and history. His writing can be found in several places, including Mondoweiss and Truthout. You can follow his work at AntiWar.com where he is a columnist.

Around the Empire podcast is listener supported independent media. Your support is needed and appreciated. Please pitch in at patreon.com/aroundtheempire or paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod. You can also find these links on our website aroundtheempire.com. And please help me build up the Around the Empire YouTube channel as I prepare to expand into the world of video content. Do that by subscribing to the channel. Youtube.com/aroundtheempire.

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire. Follow Joanne Leon at @joanneleon. SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, Facebook.

Recorded on February 6, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. What the Media Won’t Tell You About the Venezuelan Coup, Ted Snider

 

Feb 6, 2019

Dan Kovalik joins us today to talk about the situation in Venezuela. US officials and almost all media outlets have made claims about the illegitimacy of the Venezuelan presidential election last May, using that claim to recognize a little known opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the new interim president, replacing President Nicolás Maduro. Dan begs to differ with that characterization, having witnessed that election process, up close, while he was on the ground in Venezuela as an election monitor. He shares that experience with us today and many other insights on the country, the region, and the media coverage and politics around it here in the United States.

Ep89 Real Story of Venezuelan Elections feat Dan KovalikDaniel Kovalik is a labor and human rights lawyer, a peace activist, an author and a college professor. He teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

The Christian Science Monitor described him as “one of the most prominent defenders of Colombian workers in the United States” in reference to his work defending Colombian unionists under threat of assassination. He is the recipient of the Project Censored Award for his work exposing the killing of trade unionists in Colombia. He has done interviews and written articles for many different media sites including Counterpunch and the Huffington Post. He has recently written three books, including The Plot to Control the World: How the US Spent Billions to Change the Outcome of Elections Around the World, which was published last November.

Find Dan’s work at Counterpunch and the Huffington Post and look for his informative interviews on various alternative media channels.  FOLLOW him on Twitter @danielmkovalik.

Around the Empire is independent media supported by our listeners. You can pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or at aroundtheempire.com.

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire. Follow Joanne Leon at @joanneleon. SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, YouTube, Facebook.

Recorded on February 5, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. The Real Venezuela Is Not What You Think: Human Rights lawyer Daniel Kovalik tells of his recent trip to Venezuela as part of the international electoral accompaniment mission, Venezuela Analysis
  2. Book: The Plot to Control the World: How the US Spent Billions to Change the Outcome of Elections Around the World (2018), Dan Kovalik
  3. Book: The Plot to Attack Iran: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Iran (2018), Dan Kovalik
  4. Book: The Plot to Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin (2017)
  5. Book: Humanitarian Imperialism: Using Human Rights to Sell War, Jean Bricmont
  6. Film: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (2003)
  7. Goodbye Middle East, Hello Latin America: The Coming Destruction of the Caribbean Basin, Thierry Meyssan, MintPress News

 

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