Download Episode.

Scott speaks with Ara Sanjian, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is an excellent interview for listeners unfamiliar with the situation. Scott and Sanjian go over the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict more broadly before focusing on the flare-up over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and the state of things today. The conflict also has notable international implications with the Russian government backing Armenia and the Turkish government backing Azerbaijan. Scott and Sanjian explore the international ramifications of this dispute on an already messy world stage.  

Ara Sanjian is an Associate Professor of History and the Director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He received his master’s degree in history from Yerevan State University (1991) and PhD in Modern History of the Middle East from the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London in 1996.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Get Scott’s interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY

Jeffrey Carr, founder and CEO of Taia Global Inc., discusses why information security (InfoSec) companies are quick to blame China – often with little evidence – for hacking/espionage operations; Mandiant’s weak case against Chinese hacker group “A.P.T. Number 12” for infiltrating the New York Times; and why critical thinking leads to the truth more often than the “gut feelings” of experts.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Trevor Timm of the Electronic Frontier Foundation discusses how the Freedom of the Press Foundation provides a fundraising medium for investigative journalism projects and controversial media organizations like WikiLeaks; the opposition to police surveillance drones in the US; the ominous Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) bill; and Google’s record on information sharing and privacy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, authors of Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran, discuss the obstacles to successful P5+1 talks; why the US still refuses to accept the Iranian government’s legitimacy – even after 33+ years; why the Obama administration’s Iran “containment” policy isn’t sustainable; how Iran’s “participatory Islamist” style of government and defiant foreign policy are inspiring people across the Middle East – and scaring the US and Israel; the US’s support for radical Sunni Salafists in Libya and Syria, in an effort to counter Iran’s influence; and how the neoconservatives staved off an MEK-al-Qaeda prisoner swap (and closer Iran relations) after 9/11.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Yousaf Butt, Research Professor and Scientist-in-residence at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation, discusses his article “Iran centrifuge magnet story technically questionable;” why the mainstream media continues to publish David Albright’s false and misleading anti-Iran stories; the IAEA’s duty to help – not obstruct – Iran with technical challenges in the production of civilian nuclear energy; and why countries that refuse to give up their nuclear programs (N. Korea) fare better than those that acquiesce (Libya).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Patrick Cockburn, journalist with The Independent, discusses how the civil war in Syria is inspiring Iraq’s restive Sunni population; why Baghdad still has nonfunctional sewers and electricity even though billions of dollars have been spent; the Sunni protestors who are denied government representation and jobs; and the scant media coverage on Iraq after the US withdrawal.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses the US’s very low standards for kidnapping and torturing suspects in the War on Terror; the continuing “colossal miscarriages of justice” for innocent victims; the Spanish courts taking action after the US failed to hold anyone accountable; the political cowardice preventing the release of Guantanamo prisoners cleared by Obama’s task force; and why indefinite detention without trial is the hallmark of dictatorships, not democracies.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Christian Stork, a journalist with WhoWhatWhy, discusses his article “The Saga of Barrett Brown: Inside Anonymous And The War On Secrecy;” the federal criminal charges against Brown (who has been jailed since September 2012) that could amount to a life sentence; Brown’s research effort (ProjectPM) to crowdsource the 75,000+ Anonymous-procured emails from private security/intelligence contractor HBGary; and the law firms and front groups paid to damage the reputations of activists and journalists.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Mondoweiss blogger Philip Weiss discusses the outcome of Israel’s election; Netanyahu’s strange coalition of centrists and right-wingers; the liberal American Zionists who have faith that Obama and/or the EU can make Israel’s government more moderate; why apartheid means the end of the Jewish Israeli state; the mainstream media’s newfound ability to question and criticize Israel; and how Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings have drawn needed attention to the Israel lobby.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download