The Orchardcast

Journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed has a new book out today, Crossing the Red Line, which takes an inside look at the internal machinations behind President Joe Biden’s support for Israel as it destroyed Gaza. Related Links* Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War in Gaza (W.W. Norton, 2026)* How Former Biden Officials Defend Their Gaza Policy, New Yorker * ‘Unprecedented In Modern History’: U.S. Aid Experts Warn Gaza Likely Already Experiencing Famine, Huffpost* Exclusive: ‘Mutiny Brewing’ Inside State Department Over Israel-Palestine Policy, Huffpost* Stunning State Department Memo Warns Diplomats: No Gaza ‘De-Escalation’ Talk, Huffpost* Preorder Dark Phoenix: The Rise, Fall, and Re-emergence of Danielle Smith from your local bookstore, Amazon or Indigo. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Scholar of right-wing populism Carmen Celestini recently released a book, God’s Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society, which details how the John Birch Society’s paranoid conspiracism influenced the trajectory of right-wing politics in the U.S.Reaching the zenith of its political power during Barry Goldwater’s ill-fated 1964 presidential campaign, there’s a clear parallel with how Alberta Premier Danielle Smith navigates the far-right populists in her midst. Related Links* God’s Angry Men (Bloomsbury Press, 2026) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe