Give Them An Argument

Alexander Herbert, a historian of the Soviet Union, joins us to chat about his Substack essay "Do We Really Need Lenin Today?" Before that, Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew listen to some of Ben's recent appearance on the WABC show "The Other Side of Midnight" where he answers some questions from host Frank Marano about objections to his views on Gaza. In the postgame for patrons, we watch Tucker Carlson's deeply strange appearance on the Joe Rogan ExperienceRead Alex's essay:https://alexherbert.substack.com/p/do-we-really-need-lenin-todayFollow Alex on Twitter: @alextherbertFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.com

Jay Ponti, the author of "Be The Revolution: How Occupy Wall Street and the Bernie Sanders Movement Reshaped American Politics" joins Ben Burgis to talk about the chapter on QAnon, Trump, and "neo-fascism"--including some surprising personal connections. Before that, Ben and the crew will be joined joined by the great RM Brown to watch, among other things, Charlie Kirk lose his mind on the subject of Haitian voodo.Order Jay's book:https://www.amazon.com/Be-Revolution-Movement-Reshaped-American/dp/B0CLJXZ5Q5Follow him on Twitter: @jaypontiFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.com

David Griscom joins us at the top of the show, then Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson chats with Ben about his Israel/Palestine debate with liberal politics streamer Steven Bonnell aka "Destiny." Jason Myles hangs out in the postgame for patrons.Follow Nathan on Twitter: @NathanJRobinsonFollow Jason on Twitter: @J_Myles_TiRFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Matt McManus joins us to discuss his Jacobin article "Thomas Sowell Is a Cynical Man":https://jacobin.com/2024/03/sowell-cynical-social-domination-conservatismSupport the Smith College library union:https://www.sclwu.org/Support the Long Beach post union:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/urge-long-beach-post-management-to-recognize-the-long-beach-media-guildFollow Matt on Twitter: @MattPolProfFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit bebenburgis.com

Rebellion PAC Executive Director Brianna Wu joins Ben Burgis for a conversation to explore their disagreements on Israel/Palestine as well as on the Biden administration's response to the horrors happening there. Before that, we're joined for the opening segment by the one and only RM Brown. (We'll start with Jordan Peterson-on-Elmo for that.) Last but definitely not least, Rayyvana joins us for the postgame for patrons.Read Ben's most recent Jacobin articles on Israel Palestine:https://jacobin.com/2024/03/rights-ancestors-land-israel-palestine&https://jacobin.com/2024/02/new-york-times-anti-palestinian-biasFollow Brianna on Twitter: @BriannaWuFollow RM on Twitter: @xrmbrownx2Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

On a recent episode of his show, professional advocate for the 1% Ben Shapiro lays out his "foreign policy worldview" so we're bringing on one of our favorite foreign policy analysts, Mean Djene Bajalan, onto the show to break it down. Before that, Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew watch Ben's recent appearance on News Nation in which Ben and host Dan Abrams argue about whether the Supreme Court is "legitimate." Last but not least, in the postgame for patrons, we get through a few more credits of our education at Prager U.Follow Djene on Twitter: @djenebajalanFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Zero Hour host RJ Eskow joins Ben Burgis to talk about RJ's Current Affairs essay "The Dystopias of Yesterday":https://www.currentaffairs.org/2024/02/the-dystopias-of-yesterdayBefore that, Ben and the GTAA crew watch some of a bizarre-even-by-the-standards-of-Alex-Jones conversation about hive minds and "the AI agenda" between evil clown Alex Jones, enemy-of-lizard-people David Icke, and a voice that may or may not be Elon Musk. Last but not least, Ethan from the Confronting Capital channel and Victor Bruzzone join us in the postgame for patrons to watch some Ben Shapiro inanity. This is a fun one.Follow RJ on Twitter: @rjeskowFollow Ethan on Twitter: @anontwtuser11Follow Victor on Twitter: @victorbruzzoneFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Tucker Carlson interviewed Vladimir Putin. Pro-war libs think Carlson should be locked up as a "traitor." Actual Putin apologists--few and far between in the general population, but if you look in the right corners of the internet you can find plenty of them!--ignored a lot of what Russia's ultra-right-wing, militaristic president had to say. Our resident expert on Eastern European People, Deep State Kuba, comes by to provide a little clarity. Later, Conan Neutron joins us in the postgame for patrons to watch Ben Shapiro rank film franchises--it turns out his reasoning skills don't get any better when the subject turns from politics to movies. This should be a fun one.Follow Kuba on Twitter: @DrKuba2Follow Conan on Twitter: @conanneutronFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

The great RM Brown stops by at the beginning of the show to join Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew for some Valentine's Day content with Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro. (They're very concerned about sexual boredom!) After that, we're joined by immigration lawyer Matt Cameron to break down a debate between Breaking Points hosts Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on immigration. (Think of it as a rare "Monday Night Debate Breakdown.") Ben wrote about this debate (and other right-populists taking a similar like to Saagar's) here:https://jacobin.com/2024/02/us-border-immigration-right-wing-populism-workersFinally, in the postgame for patrons, we subject you for some reason to  more Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro content. Apologies in advance.Matt has written extensively about immigration-related issues. You can find some that here:https://thebaffler.com/authors/matt-cameronFollow Matt on Twitter: @matt_camFollow RM on Twitter: @xrmbrownx2Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Matt McManus and Daniel Tutt join Ben Burgis to talk about Daniel's new book "How to Read Like a Parasite: How the Left Got High on Nietzsche." Before that, This is Revolution host Jason Myles joins Ben and the GTAA crew to talk about Jason's new article "Same As It Ever Was: The Ilusion of Political Discourse in American Media" and talk about the get-together Ben and Jason will be hosting for viewers of both shows at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles at 6 PM on February 14th--because obviously, the thing your significant other most wants to do on Valentine's Day is for you to take them to hang out with divorced middle-aged Marxist podcasters. Hell, that can be their present!Last but definitely not least, in the postgame for patrons we're joined by Mean Djene Bajalan to watch the lobster man himself, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, doing Q&A at Oxford.Buy Daniel's book:https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740015/how-to-read-like-a-parasite-by-daniel-tutt/Follow Jason on Twitter: @J_Myles_TiRFollow Matt on Twitter: @MattPolProfFollow Daniel on Twitter: @DanielTuttFollow Djene on Twitter: @djenebajalanFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson joins us to break down New York Times columnist Bret "Bedbug" Stephens's article "The Genocide Charge Against Israel Is a Moral Obscenity":https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/opinion/israel-hamas-war-genocide.htmlBefore that, Ben and the GTAA crew watch Ben's appearance on Novara Media to talk about the New Hampshire results and the Trump vs. Biden rematch nobody asked for.[NOTE: The planned debate with Christopher Rufo IS still happening--just not tonight. Should be an update on that very soon.]Follow Nathan on Twitter: @ \NathanJRobinsonFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Jacobin columnist Luke Savage joins us to talk about Luke's article "Modern Liberalism Has Become a Defense of Hierarchy and Deference to Elites" and the incoherent 34-point lib manifesto in the New York Times Luke was responding to--Cass Sunstein's "Why I Am a Liberal."  Before that, host Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew talk Trump, immigration, Biden sleepwalking us into yet another war in the Middle East, and Ben's recent appearance on Woke Bros. Last but definitely not least, Ben subjects the crew to more of Bill Maher's Club Random podcast than anyone should be expected to endure in the postgame for patrons. We do it for you, dear viewers. We do it for you.Check out Luke's book The Dead Center:https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/Read his Jacobin article:https://jacobin.com/2023/12/cass-sunstein-liberalism-thesesRead the Cass Sunsetin article:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/opinion/cass-sunstein-why-liberal.htmlFollow Luke on Twitter: @LukewSavageFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

We're baaaaack!In the first GTAA episode of 2024, host Ben Burgis debates op-ed columnist Will Cooper, a liberal Democrat who nevertheless thinks that Ron DeSantis is more "competent" than Biden or Trump. Ben wrote a Jacobin article a while back responding to Will and arguing that this zany take is an extreme symptom of a much larger problem with mainstream technocratic liberalism. Caucus night in Iowa seemed like an excellent time to revisit the argument!Before that, we talk about Ben's run-in with Red Scare host Dasha Nekrasova and a few other interesting developments that happened while we've been off the air. At the end of the main show, Damage magazine editor Benjamin Fong talks about his fascinating new limited-series podcast on the history of the CIO. And in the postgame for patrons, we have some fun with Alex Jones's appearance on the Jimmy Dore show.Read Will's original op-ed ("A Democrat's Case for DeSantis"):https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/06/18/democrats-case-for-desantis/Read Ben's response ("Why Are Liberals' Constantly Fixated on 'Competence' Instead of Politics?"):https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/06/18/democrats-case-for-desantis/https://jacobin.com/2023/06/liberals-competence-democrats-ron-desantis-biden-trump-presidential-election-2024Check out Ben (Fong)'s new show ("Organize the Unorganized"):https://shows.acast.com/619be5c0705138001b9c8479/episodes/659337cd906c7e0016284aaa?Follow Ben (Burgis) on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis and Slavoj Zizek talk about everything from Israel/Palestine to quantum physics to the triumph of a libertarian nutjob in Argentina and what kinds of social freedom are worth wanting. It's a *really* good conversation.  It had to be prerecorced because of the extreme time difference between Los Angeles and Ljubljana and it went long enough that the last portion couldn't be played on the show. It'll be released next Friday for patrons and we'll probably run it in full for everyone on the YouTube channel a couple weeks after that.Before playing (most of) the interview, Ben and the GTAA crew watch Ben and break down appearance on News Nation last Thursday, where host Dan Abrams moderated a debate between Ben and a writer from the American Conservative on the legacy of Henry Kissinger. To end Season 5 on a high note, we even got a special postgame appearance from Big Wos.(Note that there's still going to be one last regularly scheduled debate breakdown this coming Thursday and one last regularly scheduled philosophy stream this coming Sunday. After that, regularly scheduled episodes and streams are on hiatus until January but we'll for sure have clips to get you by plus probably a couple of bits of prerecorded fresh content and maybe even a debate. We'll see.)Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

The directors of the documentary "Israelism," Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, come byto talk about the film itself and the recent rash of attempts to censor screenings of it with GTAA host Ben Burgis. Ben reviewed the movie for Jacobin earlier this year:https://jacobin.com/2023/06/israelism-documentary-pro-apartheid-indoctrination-israeli-occupation-palestineIn the postgame for patrons, This is Revolution host Jason Myles comes by to hang out and chat about rock music, authenticity, left politics, and his new pamphlet "I Was a Teenage Anarchist":https://everyday-analysis.sellfy.store/p/i-was-a-teenage-anarchist-by-jason-myles-print-and-digital-issue-pre-order/In between Ben and the GTAA crew will be talking about Norman Finkelstein's recent run-ins with Piers Morgan and throw in a comic relief breakdown of Dave Rubin warning of the dangers of Fruit Loops being excessively woke.Find an IRL or virtual screening of Israelism:https://www.israelismfilm.com/screeningsFollow Sam and Erin on Twitter: @IsraelismFilmFollow Jason on Twitter: @J_Myles_TiRFollow RM on Twitter: @xrmbrownx2Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Samuel Moyn joins us to talk about his fascinating new book "Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times." In it he argues that liberalism today is shaped by the shift made by many liberal intellectuals who turned their backs on the radical aspirations of earlier liberalisms during the Cold War.One of our favorite recurrent guests, Matt McManus, just reviewed Moyn's book for Liberal Currents. Both of them have a lot to say about liberalism, socialism, and how we think about rights and human liberationBefore that, Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew talk about Ben's Jacobin article today about the "human shields" defense of Israel bombing civilians in Gaza, and Ben and the GTAA crew watch a debate between Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti about whether what Israel is doing rises to the level of "ethnic cleansing." (She says yes, he says no.) In the postgame for patrons, we relax with some Ben Shapiro nonsense.Order Samuel's book:https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300266214/liberalism-against-itself/Read Matt's review:https://www.liberalcurrents.com/samuel-moyn-on-the-abandonment-of-revolutionary-liberalism/Follow Samuel on Twitter: @samuelmoynFollow Matt on Twitter: @MattPolProfFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

One of our favorite guests, Ana Kasparian, returns for a conversation about the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza and a variety of related issues. She and Ben Burgis watch some of a recent debate she did on the subject with the hosts of the PBD podcast. Before that, Ben and the GTAA crew break down a right-wing video about Rashida Tlaib's censure and talk about "from the river to the sea," and Ben's recent articles in Jacobin. In the postgame for patrons, they watch a video on why "anti-capitalism is anti-vegan" (??) and get into Ben's recent sparring on social media with theoretical physicist and capitalism-loving YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder.Watch Ana's full PBD appearance:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKxElFQHYzsFollow Ana on Twitter: @AnaKasparianFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

Jacobin staff writer Luke Savage joins Ben Burgis for a look at (among other things) the sad pointless writing of NYT columnist David Brooks & physicist and science educator Sabine Hossenfelder's late-career pivot toward apologetics for capitalism. Before that, This is Revolution host Jason Myles joins Ben and the GTAA crew to talk about Jason's upcoming show in the San Francisco Bay Area on November 18th (a book launch for Jason's "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" + meet and greet featuring Jason, Ben, and several bands you've heard of!) and take a look at the rapid progression of Jordan Peterson's symptoms. Last but definitely not least the one and only Conan Neutron hangs out with the gang in the postgame for GTAA patrons.Read Luke at Jacobin:https://jacobin.com/author/luke-savageTickets to Jason's show:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-was-a-teenage-anarchist-book-launch-partymeet-and-greet-tickets-739577424987?aff=oddtdtcreatorFollow Jason on Twitter: @J_Myles_TIRFollow Luke on Twitter: @LukewSavageFollow Conan on Twitter: @conanneutronFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

While Ben is away, Jake and Andy take over the show to watch some of the videos Andy found that we never shared with you. Andy brings on Rayyvana,  the Young Turks contributor and co-host of Taking The L, and Kristina, host of Cosmepolitics and co-host of Movie Night Extravaganza to join him in watching some of the strangest videos Andy has found on Rumble.Follow Rayyvana on Twitter: @RayyvanaTTVFollow Kristina on Twitter: @cosmepoliticsFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com

On the main show, GTAA host Ben Burgis debates Los Angeles GOP Vice Chair + Prager U and Babylon Bee contributor Siaka Massaquoi. (Note: This was originally scheduled elsewhere but we ended up having to move it to just do it tonight int he studio, which is bad news for LA listeners who wanted to see it in person--sorry about that!--but good news for listeners everywhere else who now get access to it sooner?) Before that, Ben and the GTAA crew talk a bit about Ben's article reporting Joe Biden's "kill all the Canadians if there's terrorism from Canada" hypothetical (from his 1982 conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin) for the first time in the English-language press. Left Reckoning host Matt Lech hangs out in the postgame for GTAA patrons.Follow Siaka on Twitter: @_SiakaMassaquoiFollow Matt on Twitter: @MattLechFollow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgisFollow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_ShowBecome a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:patreon.com/benburgisRead the weekly philosophy Substack:benburgis.substack.comVisit benburgis.com