The Business of War: How Think Tanks and Defense Cartels Manufacture Conflict with Connor Echols

What if the wars we fight aren't about safety, but about an incentive structure designed to keep the defense budget growing? Connor Echols, managing editor at Responsible Statecraft and the Quincy Institute, joins Kevin and John to pull back the curtain on the military industrial complex. We discuss how foreign governments and defense contractors fund the think tanks that shape Washington policy, the true cost of the current conflict with Iran, and why the system is rigged to prefer forever wars over diplomatic solutions.Connect with Connor Echols and the Quincy Institute:Official Site: https://quincyinst.org/Responsible Statecraft: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/Follow Connor on X: https://x.com/connor_echolsChapter Timestamps00:00 – Howard Zinn and the problem of obedience00:26 – Welcome to the Revolution: Meet Kevin and John03:01 – The $80 billion price tag: Breaking down the Iran conflict04:46 – Gas prices and the $8 per gallon reality in California06:20 – Introducing Connor Echols: Tracking the defense cartels07:16 – Defining the military industrial complex: The war lobby explained08:52 – Primacy and the ideology of dominant American power10:14 – From Jordan to DC: Connor’s journey into foreign policy13:12 – View from the Middle East: How the world actually sees the US14:50 – The Quincy Institute: Uniting progressives and libertarians against war17:39 – Trans-partizan politics: Working with everyone from Gaetz to Omar19:52 – Dismantling the Blob: How to change the foreign policy bench24:40 – The Think Tank Funding Tracker: Following the weapons contractor money31:44 – Track two diplomacy: How think tanks shape the media narrative35:48 – Strange bedfellows: Why Soros and Koch both fund the Quincy Institute41:45 – The road to Iran: Miscalculations and the balance of power45:55 – The Strait of Hormuz and the threat to the global economy52:41 – Is a deal possible? The reality of nuclear enrichment and sanctions58:26 – The myth of the pro-American revolution in Iran01:03:30 – Who caves first? Authoritarian resilience vs. democratic pressure01:06:25 – Coming up next week: Extremism and QAnon with Matthew HannahIf you like what we do and want to support the show, feel free to leave us a tip...we appreciate you! https://ko-fi.com/weneedarevolutionJoin the Revolution:We record LIVE every Wednesday at 9pm ET. Subscribe and hit the bell to get notified when we go live!#revolution #militaryindustrialcomplex #foreignpolicy #nonpartisan #iranwar #politics2026 #news