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Why did the US invade Iran? What does it have to do with American imperial decline? Why do oligarchs need the permanent war economy? Why is left populism impossible without an anti-war movement? What should a leftist or progressive foreign policy actually look like? Is AOC an organic intellectual, and what do we need from her foreign policy? Why did Bernie Sanders shift from talking about kleptocracy to talking about oligarchy? What are the prospects for left populism at home and anti-imperialism abroad? And why is political reform still possible in a revolutionary conjuncture? Critically acclaimed actor Morgan Spector joins Dr. Van Jackson in this ambitious, wide-ranging episode of The Un-Diplomatic Podcast.  Follow Morgan Spector on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epluribusyourmom/ Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions

The fragile US ceasefire with Iran has collapsed. Why? What is "goliath's curse" and how does it help us understand America's maximalist demands? Is Trump's new threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz possible? Does the US have any leverage against Iran? And what makes the US an anti-hegemon? Many questions, many answers in this emergency episode of the pod.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions

Emergency episode covering the terms of the US-Iran ceasefire; why it signals the end of US hegemony; the risks of nuclear war, which remain in place; Israel’s role as a spoiler; indicators of Chinese hegemony (or not); the limits of US power; and what it means to think of Iran as a great power controlling the Strait of Hormuz. Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast   

AOC announces that she opposes arming Israel in any way--a welcome shift. What makes the Iran war a class war that takes money from every worker in the world. NATO has many problems, but its biggest is the United States. What makes the world post-hegemonic; new signs that the United States repudiates its own form status as global hegemon. Why slaughter is not a strategy--the Trump administration admits that bombing targets (not opening the Strait of Hormuz) is its only aim. Ed Luce of the Financial Times has a chat with Trump about Iran and what comes next.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions

While America's war in Iran slides into higher casualties and greater costs, most of the world remains distracted from America's illegal blockade of Cuba--an act of war. Why the oil crisis is going to fuel a food crisis, which is going to sow revolutionary conditions around the world. How imperialism does and doesn't help explain the US bombing a dairy farm in Ecuador. Pete Hegseth's pastor praying for the death of Texas senate candidate James Talarico signals a wave of far right violence that will confront the victories of left populist democrats in 2026 and 2028. Tracking the latest in the Iran war reveals just how much we're experiencing epistemic collapse--did Iran even fire missiles at Diego Garcia? And who pays for war?  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Free episode crossover with The Bang-Bang Podcast! You might know Morgan Spector as the critically acclaimed leading man in The Gilded Age and The Plot Against America. Or for his appearances in Boardwalk Empire, Suits, Homeland, How to Make It In America (one of Van’s favorites), or even as a producer on The Big Scary “S” Word. What you might not know is that Morgan is both an impressive critic of policy and an advocate for democratic socialism. We invited Morgan on to talk about Independence Day (1996), a delicious conversation that’s next in our queue. But we also recorded an in-depth installment of “Politics Behind the Scenes,” our occasional side-convos with guests about the urgent real-world issues of the day. In this special episode, Morgan chops it up with Van Jackson  and Lyle Rubin about: Meaningful anti-imperialist positions on Russia’s war with Ukraine; The illegal war in Iran is also evil; Nationalizing the defense industry and taking the profits out of war; How we might envision a peace economy; Why we all love Graham Platner; The Israel problem in US foreign policy; Why we’re bullish on electoral leftism; and How the Democratic Party has shit the bed so bad that left populists have a real opportunity to takeover the party from within. A lot going on here. You don’t want to miss this episode with one of Hollywood’s best political minds. Subscribe to The Bang-Bang Podcast: https://www.bangbangpod.com/ Subscribe to The Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com Catch The Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast

Why the Iran war is creating a global financial crisis. Why China doesn't want global hegemony, but if it did, now is the best time imaginable. Signs of American hegemonic decline. And Joe Kent's resignation from the Trump administration and how to read it in light of anti-semitism. Van Jackson and Matt Duss chopping up all that and more in this episode. Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

What is the US shortage of standoff weapons? What's Iran's strategy? Why are missile defense systems moving from South Korea to the Middle East? And why is it wrong to believe that war with Iran comes at the expense of war with China? Can the US even defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion? In this episode live from the Kapiti Coast, Dr. Van Jackson analyzes the latest in the US and Israeli war with Iran and what it means for the balance of power in Asia. Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

What is techno-industrialism, who benefits from it, and what does it mean for the working class? Maddy Crowell joins Julia Gledhill on the podcast to discuss her new article in Harper’s Magazine, in which she explores the effort to reindustrialize the United States through rearmament.  Read “The Plot to Save America,” here: https://harpers.org/archive/2026/03/the-plot-to-save-america-maddy-crowell-reindustrialization-weapons-manufacturing/  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

In this episode live on location in the Kapiti Coast (the background noise is the ocean), Dr. Van Jackson explains five truths about war with Iran that account for why the war happened, who benefits from it, and what comes next.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

As the Trump administration prepares for war with Iran, why does it suddenly care about manufacturing consent? Inside the US military's munitions shortfall and what it says about capitalism, oligarchy, and the US relationship with war. War games with artificial intelligence say chatbots choose escalation to nuclear war 95% of the time. What's at stake in Anthropic's fight with the Pentagon, and why it's not as it seems. The Democratic Party--and American democracy--has a Palantir problem. Also this episode: why two senior officers have been purged from the Joint Staff. Dr. Van Jackson breaks all that down and more.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

What did AOC reveal about her foreign policy vision during her trip to Germany and the Munich Security Conference? Why is the US about to illegally attack Iran, again? Proof from the New York Times that the Democratic Party as we know it is in crisis. And what we can learn about tech-worker backlash against AI and Anthropic's fight with the Pentagon.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0q9ZVYoIQY Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

How did opposition to the Iraq War become the largest peace movement in recorded history? Why is the world ripe for a new generation of peace activism? And why is it so important to diagnose militarism as a primary cause of global insecurity today? Dr. David Cortright--a legendary peace activist and peace scholar--joins the pod to offer an oral history of the global peace movement in the context of his career, from protesting the Vietnam War to running SANE (The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy) and co-founding Win Without War.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  David Cortright in International Policy Journal: https://cippolicy.substack.com/p/no-to-wars-of-conquest-in-venezuela  David Cortright's latest book: https://www.amazon.com/Peaceful-Superpower-Lessons-Largest-Movement/dp/1613322046  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Recorded on location in the wilds of New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast. Why is America declining? Grand strategists, pundits, and scholars have been debating the best label for US foreign policy during the Trump presidency: illiberal hegemony; neo-royalism; reactionary nationalism; predatory hegemony. But none of these labels offer an account of themselves. Why is the US engaged in predatory behavior abroad? Why has American hegemony ended? The answer can be found in imperialism and its causes. A crisis of capitalism is accelerating imperial decline, which is birthing what you might call the Age of Primitive Accumulation. Geopolitics has fundamentally changed, and if we don't recognize the shift as a turn to imperialist foreign policy--which facilitates primitive accumulation--we will fail to understand and respond to the darkness washing over the world.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

How the Pentagon is facilitating the rapid expansion "ghost network" concentration camps in America. Why arms control is dying and what to make of the New START Treaty's expiration. Jeff Bezos has effectively killed The Washington Post--what's next? Why neoconsevative foreign policy hawks still run Washington. And the importance of Gary Stevenson's story in The Trading Game for understanding the decline of empire. Van Jackson, Julia Gledhill, and Matt Duss cover all that and more in the latest episode.  Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/  Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast  Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.