Scott interviews Eric Margolis about the recent legal change that will now allow non-Kashmiris to buy land in Kashmir. Kashmir is majority Muslim, and has been the subject of territorial disputes between India and Pakistan for years. The fear is that the legal change will allow the Indian government to slowly annex pieces of Kashmir away from (at least nominally) independent control by sending settlers there. Scott stresses the added danger that since both sides of the conflict have nuclear...

Scott interviews Hunter DeRensis about the National Conservatism Conference, part of a movement that DeRensis describes as trying to come up with intellectual rationalizations for Trumpism after the fact. Crucially, this new national conservatism movement did not exist to support Trump as a candidate, nor did it foresee or advocate something like Trump’s policies. It has instead emerged as a means to make them seem wise and acceptable by coming up with justifications that may or may not be...

Ben Freeman talks about President Trump’s friendship with Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and what it means for the military-industrial complex. Trump likes to boast about keeping businesses—particularly those related to military industries—open and hiring in the United States, but Freeman explains the reality that these companies do not create any net jobs at all. Scott references David Stockman’s “Great Deformation”, a concept describing the unseen effects on the economy when politicians...

The great Ray McGovern talks about the real dangers behind the phony Russia collusion probe, namely the near-impossibility of detente with Russia thanks to the democrats’ insistence that any of President Trump’s inclinations in that direction must be based on his being a traitor to America. Scott and McGovern both think the premise is ridiculous, of course, but more importantly it increases the risks of a global nuclear war. McGovern says he would be perfectly fine impeaching Trump, but not...

Scott interviews Muhammad Sahimi about President Trump’s new sanctions on Iran, which are even stricter than those imposed by President Obama, since they eliminate some of the previous waivers and cover even necessary goods like food and medicine because, even though not technically sanctioned, the financial institutions necessary to broker any kind of deal are not willing to operate in Iran for fear of legal action by the U.S. government. Sahimi likens these sanctions to those placed on Iraq...

Mike Swanson discusses the recent announcement that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates again. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said this is a precautionary measure against a possible recession, of which there have been early signs over the last few months. The dangerous thing, says Swanson, is what happens if there is a recession even after this move—with rates already so close to zero percent, what more can the Fed do? Unfortunately it would probably mean huge inflationary...

David Stockman reminds us how flimsy the “Russiagate” case has been from the very beginning, and that we should really be focusing on how the investigation even got started in the first place. Stockman claims that President Trump’s idea that it would be better to cooperate with Russia rather than continue a new Cold War with them was intolerable to the ruling class, who want America to remain undisputed atop the world geopolitical hierarchy, which means policing the globe and flexing our...

Danny Sjursen explains why President Trump could end the war in Afghanistan if he wanted to. When it comes to foreign policy, the president is basically a dictator, and Trump in particular is pugnacious enough to cover his right flank at all times, just like Nixon was able to meet with Mao in the 1970s. Negotiations with the Taliban have also continued without falling apart, which is a good sign for the possibility of ending the war on agreeable terms. By the same token, Hillary Clinton felt...

Tim Shorrock joins the show to discuss U.S. negotiations with Korea and the status of the relations between North and South. Lately soldiers from the North and South have begun patrolling together, one of several important symbolic gestures in the process of reconciliation between the two nations. Recently Donald Trump became the first president to visit the North, and Shorrock thinks his willingness to participate in negotiations, which previous presidents have not, has been hugely important....

Scott interviews Gareth Porter about John Bolton’s most recent efforts to raise tensions with Iran. He and Scott speculate about Iran’s ability to disrupt international trade in the region by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, and the likelihood that they would do so given the risks of inciting more serious conflict as a result. Discussed on the show: “Did John Bolton Light the Fuse of the UK-Iranian Tanker Crisis?” (The American Conservative) “Britain Rejects Iran’s Offer to Swap Seized...

Dave DeCamp discusses the latest in the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy, which at this point has all but completely fallen apart. Democrats continue to cling to anything that will keep the narrative alive, and the mainstream media has fallen in line by putting out extremely misleading headlines. DeCamp explains one by one why the stories are incorrect. Discussed on the show: “MSM Coverage of Senate Intelligence Report Is Misleading” (Antiwar.com Original)”Senate Intelligence report:...

Hassan El-Tayyab summarizes the efforts in congress to end America’s various wars in the Middle East, led mostly by democrats, but also with the support of some liberty-oriented republicans. Democrats have been accused of slashing the military because their proposed NDAA budget is smaller than the republicans’. But the critics leave out the fact that it too would mean an increase from last year, and is almost as large as the republican proposal. Scott theorizes that this multi-pronged campaign...

Scott interviews Pat Buchanan about his life in politics and the lessons we can apply to today. Buchanan was a committed cold warrior during the 1980s, but then advocated withdrawal of the U.S. from Europe after the Soviet Union collapsed, and urged that NATO not expand up to Russia’s border. Much of his advice has been ignored, and the consequences have been America’s catastrophic and endless wars. Today, he is optimistic that we will not have a war with Iran, since he believes that President...

Scott interviews Lyle J. Goldstein about what the "Russiagate" narrative means for America's relationship with Russia. Scott and Goldstein remind us that a hot war would probably mean the destruction of both American and Russian cities with tactical nukes, and possibly the devastation of human civilization all over the world. For that reason it's incredibly irresponsible of the media to push the narrative that the Russian government attacked our country during the 2016 election, and that any...

Jason Ditz updates Scott on the news from the Middle East. Recently, a missing Emirati tanker that some claimed had been seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz was revealed to have simply been towed there voluntarily for repairs. In other news, the UAE has announced the withdrawal of its troops from Yemen, probably realizing it can't win a ground war there, at least not without stretching itself too thinly and becoming exposed at home. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, seems content to keep...