
Advertise on podcast: Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté
Rating
4.5from
This podcast has
440 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Useful Idiots, LLCExplicit
Yes
Date created
2019/08/09
Latest episode
2026/10/16
Average duration
62 min.
Release period
4 days
Description
Useful Idiots is an informative and irreverent politics podcast with journalist Aaron Maté and podcaster/writer Katie Halper. Episodes feature analysis of the political news of the week and exclusive interviews, with humor, commentary and dissection of why both Republicans and Democrats suck. Join Aaron and Katie as they examine important stories that have slipped through the cracks and what the media got wrong – and laugh about whatever is left to laugh about.
Unlock Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté podcast Email contact info,
Listeners & Audience details
Email contact information
Direct podcast contact details

Listeners
Audience numbers & engagement insights

Audience details
Podcast Insights

Social media
Check Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté social media presence
Podcast episodes
Check latest episodes from Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté podcast
Netanyahu PANICS As Opposition Parties Rally Against Him Before Israeli Elections
2026/10/16
Support our work and get the ad-free, extended interview with Miko Peled and Trita Parsi: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-interview-netanyahu-panics?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Kamala and Pete Are Trapped in a Cult https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join Miko Peled in supporting Palestine House of Freedom, which creates a high-profile presence for Palestine in Washington, DC: https://www.daralhurriya.org/
Follow Trita Parsi on Substack: https://tritaparsi.substack.com/
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out HomeServe at https://homeserve.com/useful
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week, two special guests return to Useful Idiots.
First up is Trita Parsi, the geopolitical analyst who has kept us updated with on-the-ground information on Trump’s war on Iran that breaks through the walls of corporate propaganda.
We asked Trita what are the most important stories coming out of the Middle East that corporate media is hiding.
Trita Parsi: Look, this could change in three days because things are changing so fast. But right now, I would point to two things, one that the media is not necessarily ignoring, but the other one they’re largely hiding.The open one is the fact that we are now seeing increasing movement towards what I think can end up becoming uncontrollable escalation. As bad as the war has been so far, it’s been calibrated escalations by both sides.What is happening now between the Houthis and the Saudis risks transforming into something much bigger, and the calibration can be lost, control can be lost, and that would be very dangerous for everyone.The second thing is the manner in which the Israelis are openly discussing how their security doctrine has changed and turned into something that you certainly wouldn’t associate with what claims to be a democratic country.What I’m referring to is the article by the head of the INSS, the big Israeli think tank, in which he described several points of the new doctrine that should really give you chills.There’s some stuff in it that from an American perspective, I’m sure many people in Washington would not like to hear, such as treating the United States as a declining power, believing that the US is going to abandon Israel anyway, and as a result Israel itself should sever ties with the US.But the other parts of what they’re saying as principles of this new doctrine should really make decision makers and others in America think twice about what does it mean to be a strategic ally of a country that pursues this doctrine…Watch the episode for Trita’s full take.
Share
Second, we speak with Israeli peace activist and founder of Palestine House of Freedom Miko Peled about the upcoming Israeli elections. Will the elections, which have the potential to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, lead to any major shift in Israel?
Spoiler alert: No.
Useful Idiots: A lot of people present Netanyahu as the unique cause of the genocide. Once they get rid of Netanyahu, it’ll be OK. What are your thoughts on that claim?Miko Peled: It’s the most unfounded claim anybody can make. I have no idea why anybody would say something so ridiculous.Everyone in the Knesset agrees with the genocide. Everyone rejects the idea of Palestinian self-determination. Everyone supports the nation-state law. Everyone supports settling all over Palestine. Everyone supports Israel as an apartheid state.There’s a video where they questioned the heads of every single political party about the Palestinian state. And the worst thing a candidate can say about their opponent is that they support a Palestinian state. And that the other side is a lefty. I mean, they’re calling Netanyahu a lefty! It’s ridiculous.So why is there any expectation that somebody else sitting in Netanyahu’s chair may do anything different? Where do they come up with this nonsense? How much more clearly do Israeli politicians and Israeli society need to be for people to believe that Netanyahu is not the issue?
00:00 Intro
00:53 Zelensky accidentally reveals military secret on Piers Morgan
04:30 Aaron's latest debate with Piers Morgan on Ukraine
05:16 Trita Parsi on what the media won't tell you about Iran
25:49 Miko Peled breaks down the upcoming Israeli elections
37:30 What being Jewish REALLY means
44:48 Israeli police beat religious Jews in Israel
50:48 Fmr Israeli PM vs 90-year-old Rabbi
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
MAGA Splits in Two After Trump Makes Diesel Deal with Putin: “You’re Tarnishing Lindsey Graham’s Memory!”
2026/10/12
Support our work and watch the Friday Free-For-All: It Doesn’t Go Well When JD Vance Tries to Define Socialism https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Please watch and share this full interview with Muhammad Shehada.
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out HomeServe at https://homeserve.com/useful
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Israeli App EXPOSED: "It activates your camera and can view every piece of data on your phone"
2026/10/09
Support our work and watch the Friday Free-For-All: It Doesn’t Go Well When JD Vance Tries to Define Socialism https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Please watch and share this full interview with Muhammad Shehada.
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out HomeServe at https://homeserve.com/useful
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week, we’re joined by Useful Idiots fan-favorite Muhammad Shehada, the political analyst and writer from Gaza who has guided us through the mirk of corporate media propaganda since the first week of Israel’s genocide three years ago.
On the week of the third anniversary of October 7, and as Gazans prepare for their fourth winter in these unimaginable conditions, Muhammad shares what he’s heard about the conditions on the ground from his friends and family, many of whom have been killed by the Israeli military.
My late friend, Ali, my closest friend, was in a refugee camp in the center of Gaza. I asked him how it was going. And he said, ‘Well, you know what? If there’s a God, if there is a judgment day, I would ask him for one thing, one thing only.‘I would ask him to force those Israeli soldiers to go on the same adventure that I have to take every single day to find water and food. Nothing more. That is enough punishment for them. The idea of going every day, out in the open under airstrikes, under constant gunfire, and walking around desperately from one place to another, ten hours just to find water, that is enough punishment.Share
Recently, Israeli filmmakers premiered a new film called Naza in which they interview Israeli soldiers confessing to war crimes. The Israeli government has threatened the filmmakers and there have been protests at the homes of one of the filmmakers’ parents. We asked Muhammad about the film and what he makes of the backlash.
The most striking thing in that movie was how casually soldiers describe the atrocities they unleashed in Gaza, as matter-of-fact with zero remorse or contortion, nothing.And the thing that strikes you the most is that those soldiers were not providing these confessions out of guilt or shame. They were providing it out of excitement. They were very eager to brag about the formidable force that was at their disposal.I’ll give you an example. I read an article in an Israeli newspaper describing soldiers who were coming back from Gaza and falling into severe depression. They interviewed a psychiatrist in that article to provide analysis about why soldiers feel depressed when they come back.The psychiatrist didn’t say it’s because the soldiers feel guilt or shame. He said it’s because the soldiers in Gaza felt like gods. They were superhumans. They decided who lives and who dies, like they are in charge of life and death of two million people.And then that psychiatrist says that when those soldiers come back home, they feel like nothing. Nobody knows them. Nobody recognizes them. Nobody opens the door for them. There’s no prestige. And that’s what tears them down the most.That’s why a lot of people go back to serve in Gaza, because of the adrenaline, because of the excitement, because of the euphoria of feeling like a god, feeling like a superhuman. And it seems to me that those soldiers in Naza were basically craving that sensation again. They were bragging.Watch our full, extended interview with Muhammad, and please share this episode. Corporate media has ignored Gaza for most of the genocide, so we rely on voices like Muhammad’s to break the information siege.
00:00 Intro
00:37 Marco Rubio claims US "would never violate another country's sovereignty"
03:43 Mike Johnson won't take any blame for GOP disaster in midterms
05:49 Muhammad Shehada gives an update on 3 years of genocide
34:39 Debunking Israel's "journalists are Hamas" list
38:26 Israeli app allows spyware to take over phone
53:46 Why former IDF soldiers WILLINGLY CONFESS to crimes in Naza film
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
It takes Katie and Aaron 30 minutes to debunk every lie in this former Biden official’s 4 minute interview on Israel
2026/10/05
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Support Two Pro-Palestinian Activists Targeted by ICE: https://chuffed.org/project/200834-support-deported-activists?utm_campaign=campaign_share&utm_id=01a09598-a023-794c-aa44-bfe0371f4d89&pdm=twitter
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out HomeServe at https://homeserve.com/useful
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free, extended interview with Momodou Taal and Chris Godshall: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/bombshell-cornell-suspends-pro-palestine?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: MAGA Congressman Warns that Belligerent, Religious Army is Planning to Destroy the Middle East https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/maga-congressman-warns-that-belligerent?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Cornell Bombshell: Israel's Secret Power Over University EXPOSED
2026/10/02
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Support Two Pro-Palestinian Activists Targeted by ICE: https://chuffed.org/project/200834-support-deported-activists?utm_campaign=campaign_share&utm_id=01a09598-a023-794c-aa44-bfe0371f4d89&pdm=twitter
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out HomeServe at https://homeserve.com/useful
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free, extended interview with Momodou Taal and Chris Godshall: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/bombshell-cornell-suspends-pro-palestine?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: MAGA Congressman Warns that Belligerent, Religious Army is Planning to Destroy the Middle East https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/maga-congressman-warns-that-belligerent?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
A New York prosecutor has reopened a sexual assault investigation at Cornell University after a woman alleged she’d been drugged, assaulted and gang raped by seven former and current members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024. The allegations came in a lawsuit filed this month by a woman identified only as “Jane Doe,” who says campus officials and law enforcement failed to take her accusations seriously.
None of the alleged attackers have been arrested.
To discuss this case, we’re speaking with someone whose case Cornell DID take seriously:
Momodou Taal is a Ph.D. student at Cornell University who was suspended twice for joining a demonstration calling on Cornell to divest from Israel and faced deportation from the US. As a result, he left the US but was arrested and detained by the UK government under a law that allows police to question anyone they suspect to be involved in “current, emerging and future terrorist activity.”
We speak with Momodou and his lawyer, Chris Godshall, about why Cornell prosecuted the crime of peaceful protest against Israel with such intensity while covering for the seven students accused of rape.
Subscribe to watch the extended interview with Momodou and Chris where we discuss Israel’s power over Cornell, the weaponization of antisemitism, and the current state of conversation between Zionist and anti-Zionist students on campus.
You’ll also get our Friday Free-for-All: MAGA Congressman Warns that Belligerent, Religious Army is Planning to Destroy the Middle East
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Iran Officially REJECTS Trump Negotiators: “There is no reason we should go back to diplomacy.”
2026/09/28
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Join Katie in NYC on Monday 9.28 at the SAY PALESTINE: Book Launch with Assal Rad https://www.eventbrite.com/e/say-palestine-book-launch-with-assal-rad-tickets-2001430016055?aff=oddtdtcreator
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the extended interview with Leonid Ragozin: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-interview-anti-putin-russian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Beware Iran! The Colony of Reptile Quarterback Hookers! https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Putin Critic Exposes MAJOR Ukraine Weakness
2026/09/25
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Join Katie in NYC on Monday 9.28 at the SAY PALESTINE: Book Launch with Assal Rad https://www.eventbrite.com/e/say-palestine-book-launch-with-assal-rad-tickets-2001430016055?aff=oddtdtcreator
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the extended interview with Leonid Ragozin: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-interview-anti-putin-russian?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Beware Iran! The Colony of Reptile Quarterback Hookers! https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
An important update on the Ukraine Proxy War came this week with the Russian parliamentary elections.
Contrary to widespread predictions that Vladimir Putin’s days are numbered as a result of prolonged war, his party, United Russia, once again won a supermajority. It’s unclear how much rigging occurred to alter the vote, along with banning of opposition parties, but a sizable turnout gave Putin and the war an endorsement for now, much to the disappointment of neocons globally.
To discuss these pivotal elections, we spoke with veteran Russian journalist Leonid Ragozin. Ragozin is very critical of Putin and the Russian government, but also critical of all the western chauvinism directed toward his country and opposes NATO and the US’s murderous proxy war and sanctions on Russia.
And he explains that the real country in trouble is Ukraine:
Subscribe to keep reading and get the full, hour-long interview with Leonid Ragozin.
00:00 Intro
01:32 Netanyahu jumps on the Hasan Piker craze
07:11 NYC hosts former Al-Qaeda chief
08:58 Leonid Ragozin interview
15:36 Were Russian elections legit?
21:09 Does Putin have support in Russia?
24:30 Zelensky threatens Russia
46:49 Former Zelensky official sounds the alarm
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Bad News for Israel and the US: The Houthis Just Joined the Fight.
2026/09/21
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free interview with FBI Whistleblower Coleen Rowley: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/subscribers-only-ad-free-fbi-whistleblower?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Antisemitism Czar Claims Macklemore is HIJACKING Concerts in Plot to Destroy Israel https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
FBI Whistleblower: The US KNEW about 9/11 Attackers in August 2001
2026/09/18
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free interview with FBI Whistleblower Coleen Rowley: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/subscribers-only-ad-free-fbi-whistleblower?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Antisemitism Czar Claims Macklemore is HIJACKING Concerts in Plot to Destroy Israel https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
This week we’re speaking with former Time Person of the Year Coleen Rowley, the FBI special agent who tried to sound the alarm about 9/11 based on FBI intel about the attackers received BEFORE the attacks.
Coleen Rowley: I found myself in a very weird position. The life and death type thing that people don’t expect they’ll ever be in. But after 9/11, we realized that in the Minnesota office, the agents had been working on the most suspicious flight student that had ever crossed their paths: Zacarias Moussaoui.They were called by flight instructors separately from a flight school. And this guy had said, ‘I just want to learn how to fly for a joy ride.’ There were pages detailing suspicion of him. The agents then sought emergency, not just the normal Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act request to search his belongings. They actually identified that he could fly into the World Trade Center from the start.Here’s where I come in.After 9/11, FBI Director Mueller went before the cameras and said, ‘We didn’t know any of this. We could have maybe prevented 9/11 if we’d had any intelligence.’ I actually got on the phone and said, ‘That’s not a good thing to say because there was a lot of intelligence.’Dick Cheney had fought tooth and nail against any accountability. But in the spring of 2002, I get this call: ‘Well, Colleen, you’re going to be one of the people called to talk to the investigators of the Joint Intelligence Committee.’And when I got the call, I went, ‘oh my gosh, there’s been a cover up.’ Now you can’t say that. Cover up is a verboten word. You can’t say cover up. But you know what? That’s what it was. After 9/11, no one would admit that they had all this information.Watch our full interview with Coleen to hear how she risked her job, and possibly even her life, to break the information out of the FBI.
00:00 Intro
00:44 Palantir's Alex Karp goes insane trying to sell AI
03:16 Corey Booker can't say no to bombs for Israel
05:31 JD Vance is losing control in Iran
06:48 Coleen Rowley interview: What really happened before 9/11?
21:44 Did you ever fear you'd be imprisoned?
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
“Lying is part of their religion”
2026/09/14
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the extended interview with former OSCE Monitor Benoit Paré: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-interview-zelenskys-days?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Hillary Clinton Claims Netanyahu KNEW About October 7 Before Attack https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Zelensky’s Days in Power Are “Numbered,” Ukraine Suffers “Unwinnable” Defeat
2026/09/11
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
See the film American Doctor, with a Director Q&A moderated by Katie, TONIGHT in NYC: https://americandoctorfilm.com/buy-tickets
Read our guests' books:
Guerres contre l'Iran by Jacques Baud: https://www.strandbooks.com/guerres-contre-l-iran-9782315028641.html
What I Saw in Ukraine by Benoît Paré: https://booksrun.com/9782959860119-what-i-saw-in-ukraine-2015-2022-diary-of-an-international-observer
Ukraine: The Great Manipulation by Benoît Paré: https://olivea.savnora.shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=237305594
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the extended interview with former OSCE Monitor Benoit Paré: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/extended-interview-zelenskys-days?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: Hillary Clinton Claims Netanyahu KNEW About October 7 Before Attack https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
This week we hear from two different guests with insider perspectives on the Ukraine Proxy War: first is Jacques Baud, a former Swiss intelligence officer and NATO analyst who published early reports that Ukraine was overmatched in this war and should make peace. For expressing this analysis, the European Union sanctioned him, accusing him of spreading conspiracy theories and pro-Russian propaganda.
Jacques is now barred from using his own bank account or even buying himself food. It seems Russiagate truly never ends.
Our second guest is Benoît Paré, who was a monitor on the ground for the OSCE after the Maidan Coup in Ukraine from 2014 to 2022 during the civil war which eventually led to the Russian invasion. For our full interview with Benoît, which gets into false flags, civil war, and whether Russia will be able to hold onto its advantage in the next year, please subscribe and support our work.
You’ll also get our Friday Free-for-All: here’s a screenshot from today’s episode that gives an idea of the insanity we went through watching an episode of Morning Joe, starring Hillary Clinton and Donny Deutsch.
00:00 Intro
02:20 Hillary Clinton Claims Netanyahu KNEW About October 7 Before Attack
07:40 Aaron's take: Did Netanyahu know?
08:04 Jacques Baud interview
24:00 Why the far-right party in Europe just won elections
36:59 EU Sanctions Jacques for his reporting
48:49 It's illegal to bring Jacques food
57:26 Benoît Paré interview
1:00:10 The greatest media manipulations over the Ukraine War
1:11:07 An argument for the Ukrainian side
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The State of the Strait: Trump officials panic as Iran tightens its grip over the Strait of Hormuz
2026/09/07
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free interview with Hana Masud: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-israel-loses-control-over?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: JD Vance just admitted Iran was NEVER a nuclear threat in desperate attempt to cover for Trump’s economic meltdown https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jd-vance-just-admitted-iran-was-never?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Israel LOSES CONTROL over Settler Terrorists, Forced to Confess to Teen Murders
2026/09/04
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free interview with Hana Masud: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/ad-free-israel-loses-control-over?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: JD Vance just admitted Iran was NEVER a nuclear threat in desperate attempt to cover for Trump’s economic meltdown https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jd-vance-just-admitted-iran-was-never?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Hana Masud is a Palestinian-American Chicago-based psychologist and professor whose family has been in the West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir for hundreds of years.
This week, in an attempt to ethnically cleanse Hana’s village, masked Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, stormed into the homes of two Palestinian shepherds and stole their sheep, which are these farmers’ livelihood. When young protesters came out to stop the theft, Israeli soldiers opened fire on them and killed Hana’s 17-year-old cousin and another teenager.
In a difficult but important discussion, we see videos of how Israeli settlers systematically create terror against Palestinians: school shootings, beating anyone who dares to report settler violence, stealing sheep, burning and uprooting trees, and one nauseating video of a young settler draining the water supply of a village as a woman begs him to stop.
At times the violence and evil can feel like it has no end, but Hana tells us how she still finds hope in the world and the lesson she learned from Gabor Maté on how to grow through the pain of trauma.
This episode is free to all, please share to spread Hana’s voice.
00:00 Intro
00:39 We made the news! Our feud with Brian Stelter and an NBC journalist
05:30 Scott Bessent has a crazy new scapegoat to blame for rising oil prices
09:03 Netanyahu advisor just gave Trump his new orders
11:44 Hana Masud interview
15:47 Settlers attack Hana's village and kill her cousins
27:22 Settlers are also school shooters
30:15 This is so sadistic
34:27 Hana responds to Netanyahu over the murder of her cousins
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Settler Terrorists Attacked Three NBC Journalists in the West Bank – Did Meet the Press Cover It?
2026/08/31
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free interview with Professor Richard Sakwa: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/subscriber-only-ad-free-cias-secret?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: “Your parents will die young like mine!” Lindsey Graham’s Sister Unveils New Senate Campaign Promise https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
CIA’s Secret Moscow Trip Causes PANIC in Ukraine
2026/08/28
Go to https://groundnews.com/useful to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world.
Pre-order Aaron's new book on the Ukraine war: Their Blood, Our Bullets https://orbooks.com/catalog/their-blood-our-bullets/
Check out Quince and use our code https://quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS
Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me/useful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support our work and get the ad-free interview with Professor Richard Sakwa: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/subscriber-only-ad-free-cias-secret?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Watch the Friday Free-For-All: “Your parents will die young like mine!” Lindsey Graham’s Sister Unveils New Senate Campaign Promise https://usefulidiotspodcast.com
Join us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.
This week, a big development for the proxy war in Ukraine: CIA Chief John Ratcliffe made a surprise visit to Moscow, and depending on which corporate outlet you read, the reason for the trip is confusing.
The Wall Street Journal says Ratcliffe went to issue a warning to the Russians, (‘Don’t you dare attack NATO.’) But the New York Times reported that Racliffe was merely sharing some friendly advice that the war isn’t going well for Russia and they should end it before it widens further. Either way, the CIA in Moscow, nearly five years into the war, surely means something is about to happen.
To help sort out the confusion, we are joined by Richard Sakwa, author and Professor Emeritus at the University of Kent, who specializes in Russian and European Politics. He explains that, while Russia has dominated the war so far, time is actually not on their side.
Useful Idiots: This war has been going on for a long time, and the longer it drags on, the bigger the risk that it widens beyond Russia and Ukraine.Richard Sakwa: That’s precisely the argument of the hardliners, the hawks in Russia, who basically say that time is not on Russia’s side in the sense that the West is in a vanguard of crossing all of Russia’s red lines.Putin himself also added to the warnings that Ukraine and the West are opening a Pandora’s box. It wasn’t quite clear yet what is in that box.In response, [UK Prime Minister] Burnham himself then said, ‘Well, you started the fire.’ Now that shows an extraordinary intellectual and conceptual myopia that the West has been locked into since the beginning of this conflict. They simply cannot understand the underlying logic of this conflict, as if Putin woke up one fine morning in February and attacked Ukraine in his mad zeal to re-establish the Soviet Empire if not the Russian EmpireSo it’s just an entrenched a position. And of course, this raises, as you suggest, that if Russia does not respond, then it is a sign of weakness.00:00 Intro
01:47 Dana Bash MELTS DOWN over Hasan Piker comments
06:24 Caught on tape: showing when Dana Bash said that EXACT THING to Netanyahu
07:41 Professor Richard Sakwa interview
08:22 Why is the CIA in Moscow?
15:31 Who really wants the war to expand?
25:31 The West is crossing Russia's Red Lines
30:43 Boris Johnson admits it again
39:10 Zelensky knew ALL ALONG
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Quince and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.quince.com
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Podcast reviews
Read Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté podcast reviews
80'sVillager 2026/09/12
Idiots’ War
Katie and Aaron gave us Trump and DOGE and ICE and Trump Meme coin scams and the Iran War. Then they blamed the democrats who they campaigned against.
johnmoore4 2026/06/27
Controlled Op
Maybe Katie and Aaron are the useful idiots here. Ever since this contrived Iran
war, they seem to ignore Israel’s continued slaughter of its neighbo...
m0risan54 2026/03/09
Like brietbart for the left
Too much rhetoric and spin, a lot of junk info. Poorly produced. Good guests though.
Usergdhdu$; 2025/11/15
Please remove Matt Taibi’s name and photo from the hosts?
This is an excellent podcast. I love Katie and i love Aaron (and all three Matés). I appreciate their takes on current events. But Please dont make me...
Someone with decency 2025/10/17
Shameless
It’s not enough that seemingly half of the content is ads, but reading ads for AI??!!?? I think I’ve listened to my last episode.
Raunchy Angel 2025/08/18
Catch and Release
Love the show !!!
Keep going . I love the dry humor .
Bail shark 2025/05/17
Too Many Ads
The ads and ad placement on this podcast have made me cancel the app. Sorry Aaron And Katie, you want us to subscribe and listen to annoying ads? I’ll...
bjohns383 2025/03/15
Good
It's pretty good
BlueCollarJew 2025/03/05
Far from idiots. Don’t miss out.
So good
RSE*T 2025/01/26
Arnaud Bertrand…
More than “a guy with a heavy French accent”. He’s 1 of the richest men in the world @ $200 billion & he was Trump’s guest at the inauguration. Please...
Podcast sponsorship advertising
Start advertising on Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté relevant audience podcasts
You may also like to advertise on these Podcasts

4.890611563
Fearless with Jason Whitlock
Blaze Podcast Network

4.827601703
Earn Your Happy
Lori Harder | YAP Media

4.8121051000
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge

4.8104512000
Steve Deace Show
Blaze Podcast Network

4.853532000
Men In Blazers
Men In Blazers

4.917101554
DarrenDaily On-Demand
Darren Hardy LLC

4.861411101
The David Pakman Show
David Pakman

4.732641948
The President's Daily Brief
The First TV

4.6652322197
The Charlie Kirk Show
Charlie Kirk

4.7292702000
The Michael Knowles Show
The Daily Wire

