The Katie Halper Show

Patreon only: Max Blumenthal on experiencing more antisemitism in Israel from Israeli Jews than anywhere else & the idiocy of Debra Messing. https://www.patreon.com/posts/51641714 Katie & Leslie talk pop culture, the death of Kentaro Miura, trolls, and Leslie's past cold weather naivety. Then, Arab-American Institute (https://twitter.com/AAIUSA) founder Jim Zogby (https://twitter.com/jjz1600) reflects on the state of affairs in Israel Palestine, the shift in the US political status quo, Netanyahu’s corruption trial, his wife's dirty laundry, how we got here & what’s next. Max Blumenthal also drops by to provide his take, as well as agree to be made aware of the dumpster fire that keeps on giving that is Debra Messing, which you can check out in full at Patreon.

Yumna Patel (https://mondoweiss.net/author/yumnapatel/) joins the show live from Bethlehem where she reports on the Occupation and talks about the facts on the ground, debunks some talking points and shares what it's like to be a journalist in a state that bombs AP buildings. Then Palestinian human rights attorney, author and writer Noura Erakat (http://www.nouraerakat.com/) talks about Palestinian resistance, solidarity, the death of her cousin and reads the names of her friend's family members who were killed by the IDF this weekend.

Political scientist, prolific author, son of Holocaust survivors and fearless critic of Israel Norman Finkelstein joins Katie Halper for a livestreamed discussion about Israel's attacks on Palestinians, the significance of the reports on its apartheid state by Human Rights Watch and Israel's own human rights organization B'Tselem, why he thinks Israel may be at a turning point and overplayed its hand, and why it's a lunatic state. Finkelstein is the author of 11 books, including Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom, The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Human Suffering and Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End. http://normanfinkelstein.com/

Extended Reed interview here (https://www.patreon.com/posts/51203261) Seattle City Council woman Kshama Sawant (https://www.kshamasolidarity.org/​) talks about her resolution calling on the Biden administration to support patent waivers for U.S.-produced vaccines that would allow facilities in other countries to begin manufacturing generic vaccines based on Pfizer and Moderna's formulas. Sawant also discusses the Right Wing recall campaign being launched against her. Dr. Adolph Reed, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, political scientist, and editor of Nonsite (https://nonsite.org/​​), talks about identity politics, the NGO-ization of Black Lives Matter, and the state of The Left. Reed is the author of "Class Notes: Posing As Politics and Other Thoughts on the American Scene," "W. E. B. Du Bois and American Political Thought: Fabianism and the Color Line," "The Jesse Jackson Phenomenon: The Crisis of Purpose in Afro-American Politics," "Stirrings in the Jug: Black Politics in the Post-Segregation Era." Sawant has served on the Seattle City Council since 2014. She is a member of the political party Socialist Alternative. Her most recent re-election campaign was in 2019 in which Amazon spent an unprecedented $1.5m to defeat her. She has been a consistent advocate of raising taxes on the wealthy, expanding city services for the city’s workers and for environmental rights and Palestinian human rights. She is facing a right wing recall in retaliation for spearheading victories like $15 minimum wage and the Amazon Tax and supporting Black Lives Matter.

SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI explains that Joe Biden didn't end the war in Yemen. He's merely rebranded it. Shireen Al-Adeimi (https://twitter.com/shireen818) is an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University. Since 2015, she has played an active role in raising awareness about the Saudi-led war on her country of birth, Yemen, and works to encourage political action to end U.S. support.

Journalist, filmmaker (https://gazafightsforfreedom.com/​) and Empire Files (https://twitter.com/EmpireFiles​) host Abby Martin (https://twitter.com/AbbyMartin​) refused to sign a pro-Israel pledge which promised to not participate or advocate the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. She was asked to sign the oath in January, 2020 when she was set to deliver a keynote speech at Georgia Southern University. When she refused, her talk was canceled. In February, 2020 Martin, together with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF), filed a federal free-speech lawsuit against the University System of Georgia, for the “unconstitutionality” of its decision. The law suit reads that, "The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia... conditioned an invitation to speak at an academic conference on the Plaintiff agreeing in writing to abandon her First Amendment-protected journalism about and political advocacy for the rights of Palestinians. The Complaint alleges violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution under 42 U.S.C. § 1983." Abby talks about the status of her lawsuit, the media landscape, censorship, free speech and covering taboo subjects including, but not limited to, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Bolivia-based Journalists Ollie Vargas and Camila Escalante push back against the lies spread by Western media and The State Department. Then labor organizer and TwinkRev contributing editor Esperanza Fonseca talks about capitalism, feminism and imperialism. Camila Escalante is the co-founder of Kawsachun News (https://twitter.com/KawsachunNews) in Bolivia and known for her reporting on TeleSUR. Ollie Vargas (https://twitter.com/OVargas52) is a Bolivian journalist and writer. He has contributed to teleSUR, Morning Star, and other media outlets and is part of Kawsachun News. Esperanza Fonseca (https://twitter.com/endclasssociety) is a member of the anti-imperialist feminist organization AF3IRM, contributing editor to the LGBTQ Marxist magazine TwinkRev, and a labor organizer.

Chris Smalls, who was fired by Amazon for protesting their abusive practices, & labor reporter Alex Press talk about the historic vote to unionize the amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. Chris Small was fired by Amazon for organizing a walkout to protest the way they were subjecting their worker to COVID-19. He is the founder of The Congress Of Essential Workers (https://twitter.com/TCOEW. Alex Press (https://twitter.com/alexnpress)Alex Press is a staff writer at Jacobin (https://twitter.com@jacobinmag), whose writing has appeared in the Washington Post , The New Republic, The Nation and more.

Celebrate International Women's Day with The Katie Halper Show and more importantly, Kristen R. Ghodsee, author "Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence." (https://kristenghodsee.com/) Ghodsee is a professor of Russian and East European studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and is the author of nine books on European Communism and its aftermath, including, “Red Hangover: Legacies of 20th-Century Communism." She is also the host of the podcast A.K. 47 - 47 Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai. (https://kristenghodsee.com/podcast)

Journalist Rania Khalek (https://twitter.com/RaniaKhalek) breaks down why Biden bombed Syria, what any of this has to do with Iran, and Iraq, what life is like in Lebanon, where she lives, and how and why her views on Syria and the Middle East in general have changed.

Today we welcome back to the program Matt Bruenig. Matt is an American lawyer, blogger, policy analyst, commentator, and founder of the left-wing think tank people's Policy Project. He was a blogger for the American think tank Demos covering politics and public policy — and has written on issues including income distribution, taxation, welfare, elections, and Scandinavian economic models.

Ali Abunimah (https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah) explains why SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's now infamous joke delivered by Michael Che about Israel's vaccination program is actually funny: because it's basically true. Medical Apartheid is always a knee slapper. Ali Abunimah is the founder of Electronic Intifada (https://electronicintifada.net/) and the author of "The Battle for Justice in Palestine" and "One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse." (https://twitter.com/intifada) ***Please support The Katie Halper Show *** On Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow Follow Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kthalps

Assemblyman Ron Kim talks (https://twitter.com/rontkim​) about being threatened by Governor Andrew Cuomo for telling the truth about his administration's coverup of nursing home deaths. (https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Ron-Kim) David Sirota (https://twitter.com/davidsirota) talks about his own journalism on Cuomo.

Reporter Ryan Girdusky (https://twitter.com/RyanGirdusky) explains how and why he broke the story about The Lincoln Project's Sexual Abuse Scandal and coverup and the roles played by John Weaver, George Conway, Rick Wilson, and Steve Schmidt.

The Guardian fired its own columnist Nathan Robinson (https://twitter.com/NathanJRobinson​) over his totally inoffensive tweets about the special relationship between the governments of Israel and the United States, which both governments acknowledge and praise. Nathan (http://nathanjrobinson.com​), Editor of @CurAffairs (https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/0...​) talks about his experience and if he feels the same way about "cancel culture" as he did before. He will then be judged by Katie and her council of two Bens, Ben Burgis (https://twitter.com/BenBurgis​) & Ben Spielberg (https://twitter.com/BenSpielberg​). Thursday-night co-host Leslie Lee (https://twitter.com/leslieleeiii​) renders his own verdict as well. Ben Spielberg will also talk about Neera Tanden and Jared Bernstein, his colleague, as well as other wonky things. And Ben Burgis will talk about some nerdy theory things.