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Geopolitical Economy Report

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Donald Trump wants to use tariffs to force countries to buy more US oil and natural gas. Instead, China and Russia signed a deal to build the massive Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which could transform the global energy market. Russia is integrating with Asia, while Europe faces a crisis that is devastating its manufacturing sector. Political economist Ben Norton explains.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6wtK8Hrpl4
Topics
0:00 Close China-Russia relations
1:28 Power of Siberia 2 pipeline
3:23 Dedollarization
4:04 Europe boycotts Russian energy
5:28 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
6:28 (CLIP) Trump on Nord Stream & US energy
7:06 Crisis in Europe
9:14 Russia integrates with Asia
10:13 Russia tried to join the West
11:03 NATO expansion
11:47 Ukraine coup & war
13:26 Russia's trade with China
14:16 De-dollarization
14:43 Trump's tariffs
17:01 Why Trump hit India with tariffs
18:22 (CLIP) Trump on US oil & gas
18:34 USA: #1 producer of oil & gas
19:17 Weaponizing energy
19:46 China's natural gas imports
22:11 China & Russia: long-term partnership
23:22 Colonial Monroe Doctrine & oil
25:02 China's oil imports
25:41 Trade chokepoints
27:04 Europe becomes US vassal
28:17 (CLIP) Trump boasts of imposing EU deal
28:55 EU imports of oil & gas
30:38 Deindustrialization of Europe
31:16 EU prosperity depended on China & Russia
31:50 (CLIP) Ex EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell
32:35 Germany's "existential" industrial crisis
34:15 China's car manufacturers & electric vehicles (EVs)
36:44 Europe loses out as Asian Century advances
37:40 Outro
The US government has, six times now, unilaterally vetoed resolutions in the UN Security Council that called for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, a United Nations commission stated conclusively that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, with the full support of the United States, under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Ben Norton reports.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thjVQp9wafs
Topics
0:00 US vetoes 6 UN Gaza resolutions
1:24 China calls for peace
2:04 Israel creates famine in Gaza
3:29 UN commission report on Israeli genocide
4:15 Legal definition of genocide
6:06 UN inquiry on genocide in Gaza
7:37 USA sells weapons to Israel
9:06 Genocide experts' opinion
9:50 ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu
10:43 ICJ case against Israel
11:36 Trump's plan to take over Gaza
13:26 US & Israel want "real estate bonanza"
14:11 Colonialism
15:28 Trump withdraws US from UN bodies
18:46 US imperialism vs the world
21:12 Outro
Why has Donald Trump consistently attacked the Federal Reserve and its chair Jerome Powell? And was the US central bank ever truly "independent"? Geopolitical economist Radhika Desai discusses with economist Michael Hudson.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fcwg6eFGu4
This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP
Radhika's website: https://RadhikaDesai.com
Michael's website: https://Michael-Hudson.com
Donald Trump is imposing tariffs and unequal treaties on longtime allies in Europe, Japan, and South Korea, forcing them to pay and move their factories to the US. Meanwhile, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are building a new multipolar world order based on mutually beneficial trade and investment. Ben Norton is joined by economist Michael Hudson to discuss.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpYgXMkzWc8
Read Michael's article on Trump's attacks on Europe, Korea, and Japan: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/michael-hudson-trump-europe-korea-japan
You can support Michael on Patreon at https://Patreon.com/MichaelHudson
Topics
0:00 Trump attacks US allies
0:35 Exploitative US deal imposed on Japan
3:04 ICE detains South Korean workers
5:46 Trump to abolish Education Department
6:29 Angering US allies
7:19 US trade deal imposed on Europe
8:37 BRICS & SCO build multipolar order
10:20 Intro to Michael Hudson
10:46 Highlights of Michael Hudson
13:58 Interview starts
15:03 The BRICS alternative
18:54 US strategy of economic colonialism
26:01 Europe
33:06 India and Eurasia
35:15 Trump's tariff trap
37:28 Energy
41:03 Backlash in Europe
43:43 EU did not negotiate
46:48 European capital flows into US
49:40 BRICS sells US Treasuries
53:24 South Korea
56:59 Attacks on immigrants
1:05:37 Class politics
1:11:13 Japan
1:20:08 Latin America
1:21:48 Middle East (West Asia)
1:22:41 Dedollarization
1:24:18 Outro
The US government has waged economic war on Venezuela for years. The Donald Trump administration is escalating this with threats of military intervention. Ben Norton discusses the history of sanctions and US-backed coup attempts against President Nicolás Maduro, explaining why Washington wants to topple this ally of China, Russia, and Iran, so US oil corporations can exploit the South American nation's natural resources.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU17g3DXwiY
Check out our related video on how the US government supports drug traffickers in Latin America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw
Topics
0:00 US-backed coups in Latin America
1:32 US economic war on Cuba
2:15 Venezuela's alliance with China & Russia
3:12 Dedollarization
4:17 Petrodollar system
5:45 US military threatens Venezuela
7:53 Drug production
8:37 US-backed drug trafficker in Colombia
9:24 US-backed drug trafficker in Ecuador
11:35 Fentanyl
12:52 UN data on drugs
13:39 Marco Rubio opposes international law
14:58 (CLIP) Marco Rubio attacks UN
15:42 "Cartel de los Soles" doesn't exist
16:32 Colombia's President Gustavo Petro
17:27 US-backed coup in Venezuela in 2002
18:53 Guarimbas: coup attempts in 2014 & 2017
19:28 Obama dubs Venezuela "threat"
19:54 US economic war & sanctions
21:16 Oil exports
22:16 US collapses Venezuela's oil industry
23:24 Coup attempt with Juan Guaidó in 2019
24:09 (CLIP) John Bolton boasts of coup
24:59 Trump admin discussed military attacks
26:02 Failed invasion in 2020: Operation Gideon
28:41 Bolivarian Revolution
30:25 Marco Rubio's drug lies
31:46 US bounty on Maduro's head
33:27 Scholar: "Cartel of the Suns" doesn't exist
35:10 US invasion of Panama in 1989
36:19 US turned against Saddam Hussein
36:52 Coup strategy
37:34 US intel debunks Trump admin's drug lies
39:49 Tattoos as "proof" of cartel membership
41:17 Juan Guaidó worked with drug cartels
43:06 Guaidó gang's corruption
43:52 US empire's puppets in Latin America
44:51 Colonialist Monroe Doctrine
45:46 (CLIP) John Bolton on Venezuela's oil
46:53 Trump wants Venezuela's oil
47:52 Goals of US empire
49:16 Outro
US President Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the divide-and-conquer strategy failed. Instead, Moscow and Beijing are closer than ever, and they are at the heart of a Global South-led movement to build a new multipolar world order, challenging Western hegemony and imperialism. Ben Norton explains.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-bq4347Z18
US attacks blow back, uniting China, India, Russia, Iran; encouraging dedollarization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFGCUtzzQ8
Topics
0:00 China and Russia: close partners
0:59 USA fears "near-peer" competitors
1:51 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia and China
2:06 US divide-and-conquer strategy
2:31 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: "partner with the Russians"
3:04 Marco Rubio, top US war hawk
3:33 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: China is top "threat"
4:16 China and Russia's political ties
5:33 China's trade with Russia
6:28 US and Russia: economic competitors
7:37 Trump doesn't have anything to offer
8:23 Global South leaders meet in China
9:41 USA failed to divide India and China
10:28 China's 80th anniversary WWII victory parade
12:09 Trump laments China-Russia-India ties
13:02 Xi-Putin meeting in Beijing
14:19 USSR and China in WWII
18:21 Dedollarization of China-Russia trade
19:44 Power of Siberia 2 pipeline
21:44 Russia integrates with Eurasia
22:19 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
22:44 BRICS
23:33 Neocolonial financial system
25:30 Russia deepens ties with Global South
27:34 New multipolar world order
28:37 Outro
The US government has long tried to divide China, India, and Russia, but Washington's aggressive actions have only brought them together. Donald Trump's tariffs, in particular, angered Indian PM Modi, who visited the Chinese city Tianjin for the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where the Eurasian countries deepened their relations. Ben Norton analyzes the important results of this historic meeting, and how the US empire's aggression has blown back.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFGCUtzzQ8
Topics
0:00 US imperial overstretch
1:25 China, Russia, India unite
3:38 Shanghai Cooperation Org (SCO) summit
4:48 Global Governance Initiative
6:50 New multipolar order
8:08 Members of SCO
9:29 Population of SCO
10:07 Economy of SCO
11:01 US empire seeks to divide Eurasia
12:49 Trump attacks India
13:37 Donald Trump's tariffs
14:52 India moves closer to China
16:23 Views India and China share
18:59 Modi meets with Xi Jinping
21:33 US war hawks are furious
22:02 (CLIP) John Bolton on India-China ties
23:20 US war hawks are furious
24:05 (CLIP) Jake Sullivan on India-China ties
25:17 USA alienates its "allies"
25:53 Trump makes China great again (川建国 Chuan Jianguo)
26:50 Trump accelerates US imperial decline
29:09 Dedollarization
30:48 CBDCs
32:42 Dedollarization
33:30 China proposes SCO development bank
33:48 SCO Tianjin Declaration
35:51 Need for UN reform
40:20 Multipolarity
41:07 International financial system
42:53 Xi Jinping's speech
46:43 Open-source artificial intelligence (AI) tech
47:38 Oppose the new cold war
48:15 Global South vision of multipolar world
50:45 Outro
The US government has a long history of supporting corrupt, drug-dealing, right-wing oligarchs in Latin America. The Donald Trump administration is threatening to attack Venezuela, accusing leftist President Nicolás Maduro, without any evidence, of leading a cartel, while Marco Rubio defends Colombia's drug-trafficking former leader Álvaro Uribe. Ben Norton documents Washington's imperial hypocrisy.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw
Topics
0:00 Hypocritical US meddling in Latin America
1:41 Colombia's ex President Álvaro Uribe
4:52 (CLIP) CIA director: "We lie, cheat, steal"
5:09 Drug cartels linked to Colombian leader
6:49 Paramilitaries linked to Colombian leader
9:16 False positives scandal
11:36 Plan Colombia
12:37 Left-wing President Gustavo Petro
14:55 US interventions in Latin America
15:39 Honduran dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH)
16:48 US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009
18:27 US support for dictators
19:41 Drug trafficking in Honduras
22:36 US foreign policy in Latin America
22:59 CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras
24:09 Trump admin attacks Venezuela (again)
25:50 Outro
The dominance of the US dollar as the global reserve currency has been gradually declining for years, but Donald Trump's policies could rapidly accelerate de-dollarization and the transition to a more multipolar international financial order, warn even mainstream American economists like Barry Eichengreen and Kenneth Rogoff. Political economist Ben Norton reviews the evidence.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utvD1JiIgCM
Our related article - "Trump advisor reveals tariff strategy: Force countries to pay tribute to maintain US empire": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/10/trump-advisor-miran-tariff-pay-us-empire/
Topics
0:00 Dedollarization
0:43 Trump's policies accelerate dedollarization
3:50 Economist Barry Eichengreen
5:25 (CLIP) Barry Eichengreen on dedollarization
6:54 Gradually, and then suddenly
7:49 Erosion of dollar dominance
9:18 Decline of US economy
11:36 Rise of China
12:50 Gold: why central banks keep buying it
15:42 Western sanctions
17:57 List of reasons driving dedollarization
18:42 Trump's tariffs & US trade deficit
20:10 Trump pressures Federal Reserve
22:58 Why Trump wants low interest rates
24:56 US Treasury market volatility
26:03 Fewer foreigners want US government debt
29:32 US economy: a financial house of cards
30:34 High corporate bond yields
32:26 Reasons driving dedollarization
32:56 Inflation
36:31 Trump fires BLS chief
37:40 Mar-a-Lago Accord plans
38:54 (CLIP) Trump economic advisor Stephen Miran
38:59 Plaza Accord redux
40:30 Century bonds: de facto US debt default
44:46 Private investors de-dollarize too
45:25 Post-US dollar world
47:14 Economist Kenneth Rogoff
48:09 Trump's own Nixon shock
48:51 Multipolar financial world
50:46 Outro
How do China's government, political system, and socialist market economy actually work? How does China see democracy, the USA, and Donald Trump's trade war? Renowned Chinese scholar Zhang Weiwei explains the China model in this interview with Ben Norton.
VIDEO with subtitles here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkVyYvWezI0
Topics
0:00 Highlights
1:30 Introduction to Zhang Weiwei
1:51 The China model
3:23 Civilization-state
4:13 Meritocracy
5:01 Socialist market economy
7:52 US capitalism vs Chinese socialism
9:36 Foreign investment in China
11:15 How China sees democracy
13:46 How laws are made in China
15:59 Economic planning
16:59 Debate with Francis Fukuyama
20:11 US trade war on China
23:36 Dedollarization of financial system
28:17 The multipolar future
29:36 Outro
One of the main goals of the US political and economic system is to protect corporate monopolies. Silicon Valley Big Tech corporations fear Chinese competitors, so the US government is trying to ban them. Political economist Ben Norton explains how imperialism works, and what drives Washington's Cold War Two against China.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EVwFJ7sM6c
Topics
0:00 US government seeks political monopoly
0:51 Billionaire Peter Thiel defends monopolies
2:53 (CLIP) Peter Thiel: "competition is for losers"
3:18 Cold War Two against China
4:49 Uber's monopolistic business model
9:18 Corporate lobbyists & donors
10:02 Trump admin opposes antitrust cases
12:12 Money buys US politics
13:42 Trump backs billionaire Big Tech oligarchs
15:45 Trump green-lights white collar crime
17:35 Trump promotes bribery & corruption
19:30 USA wants to control global infrastructure
20:03 (CLIP) Trump threatens Panama Canal
20:14 BlackRock buys Panama Canal ports
20:36 (CLIP) Trump boasts of BlackRock deal
21:00 Trump helps BlackRock buy up ports
21:58 Second Cold War on China
22:23 US Big Tech targets TikTok
24:14 DeepSeek & Chinese AI competitors
25:00 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
26:14 US states ban DeepSeek
26:57 Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei
27:29 US AI companies lobby to ban competitors
28:37 Silicon Valley seeks "unipolar world"
30:23 Biden's chip export restrictions on China
31:09 USA seeks to stop China's innovation
31:57 Biden's tariffs on China
33:55 How imperialism works
34:45 Global value chain (division of labor)
36:20 USA wanted China to stay subordinate
37:50 VP JD Vance wants Global South on bottom
38:45 (CLIP) JD Vance on China & value chain
39:30 Industrial policy: Made in China 2025 plan
41:32 China enters commercial aircraft industry
42:14 US politicians lobby to ban China's Comac
43:58 How Boeing was destroyed by finance bros
45:47 How Jack Welch ran GE into the ground
46:39 Boeing attacked unions & skilled labor
47:56 Boeing CEO was Blackstone exec
48:51 Boeing prioritizes stock buybacks, not R&D
50:17 Private equity is "looting America"
51:22 Goal of Washington's new cold war
52:11 Outro
The US government has tried for years to recruit India for its new cold war on China, but Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs have backfired, encouraging New Delhi to improve its relations with Beijing, strengthening unity in BRICS. Political economist Ben Norton explains the complex history of the foreign relations of the US, India, China, and Russia.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BstijDvJT8Y
Topics
0:00 Donald Trump's contradictory policies
0:39 (CLIP) Trump threatens BRICS
1:05 Brazil pushes back
1:40 USA tries to use India against China
3:58 Goal of Trump's tariffs on India
5:34 (CLIP) EU chief on US trade deal
5:52 India buys Russian oil
7:46 Europe buys Russian oil - from India
9:10 India's trade surplus with USA
9:48 (CLIP) Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro
9:57 US trade with China
11:18 China restricts rare earth exports
12:03 US trade with India
13:35 India improves relations with China
15:41 Vietnam moves closer to China
16:35 BRICS expands to global majority
17:28 History of US-China relations
19:40 Kissinger's triangular diplomacy
20:47 Kissinger: divide Russia & China
21:21 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China
21:37 Closest Russia-China relations ever
22:30 India-US-China relations
24:07 India: 3rd-largest economy on Earth
25:41 India & Non-Aligned Movement
27:03 India-USSR/Russia relations
28:39 India moves toward USA
29:50 Rise of Narendra Modi, BJP, RSS
31:22 US-India relations grow closer
32:59 Modi allies India with Israel
33:40 Modi: from banned to loved in USA
34:49 Trump's India policy
35:50 India's role in BRICS
37:59 India's foreign policy
38:52 India opposes dedollarization
42:21 BRICS' internal contradictions
45:05 Outro
Private equity funds and other Wall Street investors are buying up homes across the US and the West, driving up rent and the cost of living. Economist Michael Hudson explains how these corporate landlords are a result of the system of financialized capitalism, dominated by an unproductive rentier class. He is interviewed by host Ben Norton.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJd0d7Uda2M
Transcript: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/corporate-landlords-rent-michael-hudson
Part 1 of this interview: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/world-us-financial-colonialism-economist-michael-hudson
Read Michael's article "How the Global Majority can free itself from US financial colonialism": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/17/michael-hudson-global-majority-us-financial-colonialism/
Michael's website: https://michael-hudson.com/
Topics
0:00 Cost of living crisis in West
0:30 Blackstone: largest US landlord
1:07 Blackstone CEO is Trump donor
1:49 Investors buy up US homes
2:36 Wall Street buys single-family homes
3:54 Wall Street buys up neighborhoods
5:31 Homelessness rises in USA
6:06 Blackstone buys up homes in Spain
7:34 Introduction to Michael Hudson
9:12 Highlights
10:43 Interview starts
11:58 Feudalism, capitalism, & rentier class
16:58 Adam Smith, David Ricardo, & Karl Marx
19:10 Difference between value, price, & rent
21:33 Bankers, industrialists, & landlords
27:34 Theory of comparative advantage
28:20 Problems with economics education
30:57 Profits vs rent
32:48 Financialization and GDP
37:21 Adam Smith in Beijing
38:47 Peter Thiel defends monopolies
40:20 China's reform and opening up
43:06 China's public ownership of finance
44:25 Need to tax land rent
50:45 China's industrialization
53:54 Passive income (ie, rent seeking)
56:01 Mainstream "junk economics"
59:07 Outro
Economist Michael Hudson describes how the Western powers designed the international financial, legal, and political system in a way that benefits North American corporations at the expense of the countries of the Global South. He also proposes ways for the Global Majority to resist US neocolonialism, in this interview with host Ben Norton.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgBUbbTF5Sg
Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/08/06/world-us-financial-colonialism-economist-michael-hudson/
Read Michael's article "How the Global Majority can free itself from US financial colonialism": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/17/michael-hudson-global-majority-us-financial-colonialism/
Michael's website: https://michael-hudson.com/
The White House imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil and declared it a threat to US "national security". Donald Trump is blatantly meddling in internal Brazilian affairs, trying to undermine left-wing President Lula da Silva and help far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro. The USA's attacks also aim to divide BRICS and discourage more countries from joining. Political economist Ben Norton explains how the US empire is attacking the Global South's multipolar project.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niPNwB-0nQI
Topics
0:00 (CLIP) Lula condemns US meddling
1:06 Trump sanctions & tariffs Brazil
2:04 BRICS & Brazil
3:20 Lula resists US hegemony
4:39 (CLIP) Lula on US interference
8:41 Trump fears BRICS & dedollarization
9:56 (CLIP) Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS
10:24 Poll: Brazilians prefer BRICS over USA
11:42 Lula is leading 2026 election polls
12:33 Jair Bolsonaro, close US ally
13:25 Bolsonaro's failed coup attempt
14:35 Role of China
16:19 Bolsonaro fled to USA
18:02 Latin American right: US proxies
19:35 Trump declares Brazil a "threat"
20:50 Elon Musk & US Big Tech corporations
22:41 Trump imposes 50% tariff on Brazil
23:08 Lula defends Brazil's sovereignty
24:29 US coups in Latin America
26:33 Coups against Brazil's Lula & Dilma
29:06 USA has trade surplus with Brazil
29:55 Lula: Trade in other currencies, not dollar
31:00 China: Brazil's top trading partner
32:04 China: Latin America's top trading partner
33:07 China builds infrastructure in Latin America
33:50 China & Brazil plan transcontinental railroad
34:50 Brazil embraces multipolarity
36:46 Brazil boosts ties with Russia
37:14 Brazil & China peace proposal in Ukraine
37:50 Multipolarity & Latin America
39:40 Outro
The one-sided trade agreement that Donald Trump imposed on the EU illustrates how the US empire exploits its "allies" in Europe as vassals to benefit the American oil/gas industry, Big Tech corporations, and the military-industrial complex. This did not start with Trump, but he has accelerated the vassalization of the European Union. Political economist Ben Norton explains.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpf6ZeABP1I
Topics
0:00 Intro
1:04 US empire doesn't have allies, only vassals
2:14 US-EU trade deal & tariffs
5:19 China defended itself in trade war
6:19 Ursula von der Leyen on US energy
7:28 (CLIP) Trump on US-EU trade deal
7:54 USA benefits
8:15 (CLIP) Trump: "the biggest of all the deals"
8:28 Europe gets nothing
9:11 (CLIP) US makes no concessions to EU
9:57 (CLIP) Trump on US fossil fuel exports
10:20 US gets everything, EU gets nothing
11:02 Vassalization of Europe
12:27 BRICS expansion
13:22 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
14:03 (CLIP) NATO chief calls Trump "daddy"
14:17 Trump addresses "daddy" comment
14:42 (CLIP) Trump: I'm NATO's "daddy"
15:03 Trump leaks humiliating text messages
16:26 Failure of EU "strategic autonomy"
17:18 NATO demands military spending at 5% of GDP
18:42 US military-industrial complex benefits
20:14 Paying imperial tribute
20:48 Replacing welfare state with warfare state
21:44 EU spending on education
22:08 EU spending on healthcare
22:33 Trump & MAGA take off the mask
23:26 VP JD Vance attacks Europe
23:40 Kissinger: "to be America's friend is fatal"
24:20 Trump boasts of ending Nord Stream
25:39 (CLIP) Trump: "I ended Nord Stream 2"
25:59 US targets European infrastructure
26:26 (CLIP) Trump: US wants to sell oil/gas
26:53 US attacks European "allies"
27:27 Sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines
28:05 Who blew up Nord Stream?
29:20 West opposed UN investigation
30:06 Polish official said US blew up Nord Stream
30:47 Historical amnesia
31:17 Why Germany wanted Nord Stream
32:34 (CLIP) Trump: Europe must buy US oil/gas
32:48 Trump pressured Angela Merkel on Russia
33:15 (CLIP) Trump: Europe must cut Russia ties
34:12 Trump sanctioned Nord Stream
34:55 USA seeks to divide Europe & Russia
35:39 Biden threatened Nord Stream
36:02 (CLIP) Biden: We will end Nord Stream
36:36 Bipartisan vassalage
37:30 US energy exports to Europe
38:08 EU imports of oil
39:25 EU imports of natural gas
39:56 EU imports of LNG
40:45 Climate change catastrophe
41:20 Germany re-opens coal plants
42:00 Germany's pro-war "Greens"
43:19 US imperial strategy: divide Europe
44:56 Imperialist Mackinder's heartland theory
45:28 US fears of Europe-Russia alliance
46:23 NATO's goal: keep US on top
47:24 Deindustrialization of Europe
47:59 EU attacks top trading partner China
48:40 Why are EU leaders Atlanticists?
49:01 EU leaders are literally crying
49:26 EU elites invest in US financial assets
51:57 US Big Tech corporations
52:35 Comprador bourgeoisie
53:48 Western oligarchies
55:00 US empire fears Eurasian integration
56:15 Trump tries to divide Russia & China
56:33 Europe is at a geopolitical crossroads
58:36 Outro
As US president, Donald Trump's policies have served the interests of wealthy elites, while hurting average working people and splitting his own MAGA base. Geopolitical economist Radhika Desai discusses with economist Michael Hudson.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cUksS_aN_8
This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP
Radhika's website: https://RadhikaDesai.com
Michael's website: https://Michael-Hudson.com
China and Russia help formerly colonized countries in the Global South defend their sovereignty amid constant US meddling and aggression, argues Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, a Latin American country that has been invaded and militarily occupied by the USA multiple times. Ben Norton reports on the history of the Sandinista Revolution, and the struggle against Western imperialism.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xjUmwZxQY
Topics
0:00 Global South is Global Majority
0:54 US interventions in Latin America
1:59 US imperialism in Nicaragua
3:12 CIA-backed Contras
5:18 Coup attempts in Nicaragua
6:03 China builds infrastructure
7:58 Nicaragua praises China & Russia
9:22 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on China & Russia
10:11 46th anniversary of Sandinista Revolution
11:04 (CLIP) Ortega on European colonialism
11:33 US colonialist William Walker
13:19 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on US imperialism
13:47 US military occupation & Sandino
14:32 Somoza dictatorship
15:22 US Contra war
16:29 (CLIP) Ortega on the Contras
17:54 ICJ case Nicaragua v USA
19:20 Inspirations for Sandinistas
20:17 (CLIP) Ortega on Haitian Revolution
21:43 Simón Bolívar on US imperialism
22:34 Algerian Revolution
23:00 Russian & Chinese Revolutions
23:13 (CLIP) Revolutions in Russia & China
23:46 USSR & China defeated fascism in WWII
25:13 Remilitarization of Europe
25:54 (CLIP) Ortega: West prepares for war
26:34 Fascism has roots in European colonialism
27:36 (CLIP) Ortega on fascism & colonialism
29:57 Palestine
31:07 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on Palestine
32:01 Iran
32:23 UN is dominated by Western powers
32:59 United Nations & Miguel d'Escoto
34:19 UN can't stop illegal US wars
34:56 (CLIP) Ortega: We need a new UN
36:03 Global South perspectives
37:21 Outro
Western governments claim to be models of democracy, and demonize their geopolitical adversaries as "authoritarian", but empirical evidence shows that the USA and European countries are oligarchies dominated by economic elites and large corporations. Billionaire Donald Trump is the perfect symbol of this, but he's by no means the only one. Ben Norton explains.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BONnmHRmp_M
Topics
0:00 Narrative of Western "democracies"
0:26 (CLIP) Joe Biden on "democracy vs autocracy"
0:37 Western governments are oligarchies
1:54 Summary of oligarchic Western leaders
2:54 Scientific research shows USA is an oligarchy
4:29 US public opinion on healthcare
5:20 Money buys 80-90% of seats in US Congress
6:27 Citizens United ruling
7:21 Donald Trump: perfect symbol of US oligarchy
7:57 Robber barons
8:44 One Big Beautiful Bill: class war by the rich
9:49 Billionaires pay lower tax rate than most Americans
10:42 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
11:35 Ex US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin
12:16 Steve Bannon worked for Goldman Sachs
12:58 US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
13:07 Crypto was taken over by Wall Street
14:08 Trump is the symptom, not the cause
15:07 Biden promised nothing would change
16:07 Barack Obama: funded by Wall Street
17:53 Mitt Romney: servant of Wall Street
18:48 Super PACs
19:32 Bloomberg funded Biden's 2020 race
19:56 Billionaires funded Trump's 2024 race
20:35 Elon Musk donated $288 million for Trump
20:57 (CLIP) Elon Musk bought 2024 US election
21:11 World's richest man buys US politics
21:34 Wall Street wages war on Zohran Mamdani
22:46 Democratic Party sabotaged Bernie Sanders
24:34 UK Labour Party sabotaged Jeremy Corbyn
26:18 British spy agencies sabotaged Jeremy Corbyn
28:15 Symbol of UK oligarchy: Rishi Sunak
31:37 Neoliberal Keir Starmer: Tony Blair reincarnated
32:35 France's President of the rich: Emmanuel Macron
36:04 BlackRock's man in Germany: Friedrich Merz
37:40 Goldman Sachs' man in Italy: Mario Draghi
39:10 Goldman Sachs' man in Canada: Mark Carney
40:22 Summary of oligarchic Western leaders
41:35 Western governments are not democracies
42:45 Outro
The New York Times finally admitted Israel is carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, in an article by an Israeli scholar who studies the Holocaust. A United Nations report detailed how US corporations are profiting from these crimes, although the Trump administration responded by imposing sanctions on the UN expert who exposed it, Francesca Albanese. Ben Norton explains.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb082pTy-Nw
Topics
0:00 US media whitewashes Israel's crimes
0:43 NY Times admits: Israel is committing genocide
3:43 Evidence of genocidal intent
5:24 NYT's pro-Israel propaganda
6:26 NY Times spread Iraq "WMDs" lies
7:17 No longer possible to deny reality
8:01 Ex EU foreign policy chief admits truth
9:42 (CLIP) Josep Borrell "garden" & "jungle" rant
9:55 Fears of justice
10:39 Nakba: History of colonialism in Palestine
11:37 Ex Israeli PM warns of concentration camps
12:28 Israeli genocide impossible without US support
13:01 Trump & Biden give Israel billions in weapons
13:42 US military-industrial complex benefits
14:24 UN report: US corporations profit from Gaza genocide
15:06 Big Tech monopolies in "Magnificent 7"
15:33 Palantir profits
16:29 IBM profits from Holocaust
17:18 Trump admin sanctions UN expert
18:13 (CLIP) UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese
18:53 USA attacks UN human rights experts
20:22 Bush family & US corporations profited from Holocaust
21:09 Andrew Feinstein's powerful words
22:04 Fascism is colonialism turned inward
24:40 Imperialism: true face of Western "democracies"
25:43 Israel's genocidal intent was always clear
27:08 Don't erase history
28:01 Outro
I mean the title speaks for itself! lol
Another banger episode from my favorite podcast series. Thank you.
Modi being too out of control even for the US is hilarious
Ben is one of the finest independent journalists in the world. Thank you for your amazing work.
the critical point of the history of is coming... USA will be down listen to this episode for understanding i talk about what
any body think Putin is a f** dictator or in this particular subject Moscow beginning the war should listen this episode!
Terrible guest, should look up the dictionary to understand meaning of propaganda. Also, calling Dems the left is a scandal for a 'socialist' podcast... Couldn't finish the episode.
good luck Ben!you are honest,wise ,brave and real left icon.take care bro!from iran