Radio War Nerd

Originally recorded July 24, 2018By popular demand from our subscribers, we're reposting free for the public our episode on Iran War scenarios, and the disasters that each scenario brings. War with Iran is reckless, insane, stupid, immoral and doomed to failure — which is exactly why the sleazy imbeciles in Washington want this war so badly.This open free repost of RWN Episode 142 comes to you courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more... 

Guest: Max Blumenthal, author, journalist, podcaster Recorded: April 26, 2019For non-subscribers, here is a 30+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode #179 with guest Max Blumenthal talking about his controversial new book "The Management of Savagery: How America's National Security State Fueled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS and Donald Trump" — about the US empire's cynical instrumentalization of jihadi extremists beginning in Afghanistan through Syria, and the political blowback from allying with and empowering jihadi extremists: rising Islamophobia, rising Nativism, and the destabilization of both targeted countries around the globe and destabilized democracies in the West. The full interview with Max runs over 2 hours of jaw-dropping revelations & analysis . . .Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 179 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Max Blumenthal's new book "The Management of Savagery". Read his investigative reporting at The Grayzone. Follow Max on Twitter. And check out Max & Ben Norton's podcast, Moderate Rebels. 

Guest: Thomas Whigham, author & professor Recorded: March 22, 2019For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode #174 on the War of the Triple Alliance — the bloodiest war in South America, a war that resulted in the near total-extermination of Paraguay's adult male population — with historian/author Thomas Wigham, who wrote a fantastic two-volume history of this unjustly obscure war . . .Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 174 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Thomas Whigham's books — "The Paraguayan War: Causes and Early Conduct" and "The Road to Armageddon: Paraguay Versus the Triple Alliance, 1866-70" . 

Guest: Joel Whitney, author Recorded: February 27, 2019For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode #171 ... The War Nerd talks to author Joel Whitney about his book "Finks: How The CIA Tricked The World's Best Writers" on the hidden relationships between America's spies and postwar highbrow literary culture — with a particular focus on the Paris Review, the famous literary journal founded by CIA officer Peter Matthiessen, and helped every step of the way with its many CIA editorial liaisons. . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 171 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Joel Whitney's book "Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World's Best Writers". Check out Joel's personal website including links to his articles. Follow Joel on Twitter.

Guest: Philip Matyszak, author & historian Recorded: December 17, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode #162 about ancient Sparta—the ultimate warrior tribe, romanticized by everyone from Plato to Bush-era neocons, and waffendweebs in between. We talk to historian Philip Mayszak, who appeared on the popular RWN EP #151 about Athens' disastrous Sicily campaign, discusses with us his two recent and highly recommended (by us) books on Sparta: "Sparta: Rise of a Warrior Nation" and "Sparta: Fall of a Warrior Nation". Lot of surprises and myths debunked. Sparta was essentially a proto-fascist slave state that ruled through terror and cult indoctrination, and eventually decayed into collapse due to the oldest reason of all: Inequality, the concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 162 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Philip Matyszak's books on Sparta: "Sparta: Rise of a Warrior Nation" and "Sparta: Fall of a Warrior Nation". Read Matyszak's blog.

Guest: Dr. Christopher Phelps, associate professor U. Nottingham & author Recorded: December 11, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode #161 on the original Populism of the late-19th c. America, the myths about the original populists, and the hollowing out of the meaning of populism in current mainstream usage. The word "populism" gets thrown around a lot today in the mainstream press, usually meant as a pejorative to describe far-right reactionary, anti-democratic politics that threaten the so-called "liberal order." But "populism" at its root—"of the people"—is just a synonym for "democracy." Populism has a concrete historical origin & meaning that's completely at odds with the current abused usage of the same word. This episode, the War Nerd and Ames talk to intellectual historian Christopher Phelps to sort out myths from facts, and what the word means today in Europe and in the official US media. Throughout the discussion, we reference Lawrence Goodwyn's classic book: "The Populist Moment".  Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 161 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Read Christopher Phelps' books Radicals In America: The U.S. Left since the Second World War and Young Sidney Hook: Marxist and Pragmatist. Check out his articles in The Nationand Jacobin.

Guests: Harun Maruf & Dan Joseph, authors & journalists Recorded: November 27, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 30+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 158 on Somalia and the Al-Shabaab jihadist insurgency, with Harun Maruf and Dan Joseph, co-authors of a new book "Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al Qaeda's Most Powerful Ally" . . . Maruf and Joseph take us back through Somali history, explaining how clan structure works in an otherwise homogenous society; how Somalia had traditionally been one of the most stable regions in Africa; who the Islamic Courts were; and how the key figures who founded the radical Al Qaeda offshoot, Al-Shabaab, played a very long game with roots in the Soviet-Afghanistan War mujahideen . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 158 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy their book "Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al Qaeda's Most Powerful Ally." Harun Maruf is senior editor of VOA's Somalia service; Dan Joseph is editor of VOA's Africa desk. Follow Harun Maruf on Twitter. Follow Dan Joseph on Twitter. 

Guest: Brian Mier, editor Brasil WireRecorded: October 23, 2018 For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 154 on Brazil's military dictatorship & its recent elections, with Brian Mier of Brasil Wire . . . Mier walks us through Brazil's political history of the past 70 years, the military dictatorship that ruled from 1964-85, and Brazil's most important political figures from Getúlio Vargas and João Goulart, to urban guerrilla leader Carlos Marighella and Brazilian dictator Humberto Castelo Branco, to contemporary figures like Lulu and Dilma Rousseff . . . Later in our interview, Brian explains how the "impeachment" removal of Brazil's center-left president Dilma Rousseff was actually a coup not dissimilar from previous Brazil military coups, and how the key weapon in this coup, Brazil's "Operation Car Wash" corruption investigation, got a lot of help from the usual suspects in Washington DC . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 154 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Read Brian Mier's work at BrasilWire. Follow BrasilWire on Twitter 

Guest: Max Abrahms, author & Assistant Professor at Northeastern U Recorded: October 14, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 153 with Max Abrahms. In this episode, the War Nerd talks to terrorism expert Max Abrahms about his new book, "Rules For Rebels: The Science of Victory in Militant History" - a study of various rebel groups in different contexts that boils down strategies that work, versus strategies that are proven failures. Abrahms also talks to us about his early career in the Washington DC think-tank world during the leadup to the Iraq War. We also discuss some of Max's controversial articles on the Syrian war, Syrian refugees, and all the comfortably-employed pundits who got ISIS disastrously wrong. Great, wide-ranging interview. . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 153 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Max Abrahms' new book "Rules For Rebels: The Science of Victory in Militant History"by Oxford University Press. And follow @MaxAbrams on Twitter.

Guest: Carl Zha, podcaster Recorded September 14, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 149 with Carl Zha on recent stories about China forcing millions of Uyghurs into reeducation camps — and the recovered history of Xinjiang's demographic and political history over the past two decades . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 149 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

Guest: Stephen Kinzer, author & Senior Fellow Recorded September 7, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 148 with Stephen Kinzer on the Spanish-American War. Kinzer is the author of perhaps the only good book on that crummy war: "The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain and the Birth of American Empire". In this RWN episode, Kinzer helps the War Nerd recover the incredible  lost history of the Spanish-American War. Teddy Roosevelt's gang would be considered fascist psychopaths today, and Twain said as much at the time. But the real lost story is the brutal Philippines Insurgency that followed the war, and the incredible debates in the US between imperialists and anti-imperialists that went on at the time, before it was a sure thing that the US was going full neocon imperialist. Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 148 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Stephen Kinzer's book "True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain & the Birth of American Empire" & read his articles on his blog. Follow Kinzer on Twitter. Stephen Kinzer is Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

Guest: Isa Blumi, author and professor Recorded August 28, 2018By popular demand from our subscribers, we're reposting free for the public our important interview with Isa Blumi on the Yemen war's little-reported deep causes — political, financial, imperialist — and the high-stakes Gulf Clan politics driving the Yemen slaughter. Blumi explains the murky political and strategic rivalries between the major Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE — and how they've bankrolled American political clans and media figures to their advantage. Great deep dive analysis you won't hear anywhere else. This open free repost of RWN Episode 147 comes to you courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more... Buy Isa Blumi's book "Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About The World".Follow Isa Blumi on Twitter 

Guest: Isa Blumi, author and professor Recorded August 28, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 147 with Isa Blumi, author of "Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About the World" about the Yemen war's little-reported deep causes: political, financial, imperialist. Blumi explains the murky political and strategic differences between Qatar, Saudis and UAE, their own bought-off political and media figures in the US and UK, and their various influences on the Yemen wars and on how the West is reporting (and not reporting) on the Yemen war. Great deep dive analysis you won't hear anywhere else . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 147 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Isa Blumi's book "Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About The World". Follow Isa Blumi on Twitter 

Recorded April 5, 2018Guest: Nasser Arrabyee, Yemeni journalist & documentary producerRWN subscribers asked us to repost our interview with Nasser Arrabyee free and open to the public, because his story—the story of the US-backed Saudi war on his country Yemen, needs to be heard. Nasser spoke to us from his bomb-damaged home in the capital Sanaa, about the world's worst humanitarian crisis — a man-made artificial famine causing  over 1 million cholera victims, in a war fully backed and armed by the US and the western powers. A war that the western press corps and human rights community seems remarkably uninterested in reporting. Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels, based largely in the north and west of the country, have made mincemeat of the Saudis. Nassar explains what the war looks and feels like from inside the killing zone, and why the Houthis have broad-based support...This open free repost of episode 128's featured interview comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more... Follow Nassar Arrabyee on Twitter, read his blog and articles.

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 123 with Patrick Kasprik, a combat medic volunteer who served with the Syrian Kurdish YPG in 2016. Our interview with Kasprik was too good for one episode, so we recorded a second part about his experiences after the Battle of Manbij through his imprisonment in Iraq . . . You can Patrick and his combat medic team with the YPG in the excellent 2-part documentary film "The Volunteers" on DirectTV...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 121 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

Recorded February 4, 2018Guest: Yasha Levine, author & journalist We're reposting a free unlocked version of our interview with Yasha Levine on his new book "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet" . . . Levine dives deep into the origins of the Internet, designed by Pentagon researchers to create an all-seeing counterinsurgency weapon in wars abroad, and against protest movements home in the USA. Fifty years ago, student radicals protested the early Internet as a Big Brother weapon of oppression; today, young "radicals" in the Internet Freedom movement promote this Pentagon weapon as a force for liberation and revolution against the same Big Brother state. Levine explains how these paradoxes came to be—and why Snowden's revelations about government spying on the Internet revealed not a bug in the system that can be "fixed", but rather the whole purpose of the Internet system from the start. Grim, hopeless & fascinating. This open free repost of episode 120 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...Buy Yasha Levine's book "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet"

Guest: Yasha Levine, author & journalist Recorded February 4, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 120 with Yasha Levine talking about his new book, "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet", in which we dive deep into the Internet's origins in Pentagon counterinsurgency programs.  Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 120 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy Yasha Levine's book "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet"and check out his book tour! 

Guest: Joshua Landis, Director of Center for Middle East Studies & editor of Syria Comment blogRecorded January 23, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 118 with Joshua Landis trying to make sense of Turkey's invasion of Syria's Afrin province, US strategy in the region, and the nature of sectarian warfare . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 118 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Check out Joshua Landis' excellent blog Syria Comment and follow him on Twitter @joshua_landis for the latest on Syria & the region.

Guest: Nima Shirazi, journalist and podcaster Recorded January 14, 2018For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 117 with Nima Shirazi to make sense of recent Iran protests, Iranian politics, western media hacks & the weird, sick MeK cult that's become the darling of corrupt Washington DC interventionists.Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 117 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Check out Nima Shirazi's podcast Citations Needed at Patreon. Nima is editor at Mufta.org.

For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 110 on Washington's "Russian disinformation" panics, both today and during the Cold War . . . We discuss the meaning and history of "disinformation warfare" and go over some examples of how disinformation has been used, both by the Soviets and by the US, and how Reagan's "disinformation warriors" decimated their hapless Soviet disinformation rivals with the shooting down of KAL 007 . . . We also talk about some of the, ahem, colorful Cold War disinformation commanders, such as Reagan's  "supreme commander of disinformation" Charles Z. Wick — previously known as the producer/writer of the film "Snow White and the Three Stooges"...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 110 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

Guest: Ahsan Butt, author & professor For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 109 with professor and author Ashan Butt to help make sense of Kashmir separatism in all its complexities—ethnicity, local separatism vs regional geopolitics, the struggle between India and Pakistan, the wars in Afghanistan & the Pakistan Taleban insurgencies...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 109 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Ahsan Butt is the author of "Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy against Separatists" published by Cornell University Press.

*Originally posted October 31, 2017To celebrate the book release of The War Nerd Iliad, we're reposting a free unlocked version of our special episode on Dr. Dolan's modern translation of Homer's Ur-war nerd classic. The War Nerd discusses why he chose that book, how he approached the translation, and what makes Rage (or "The Iliad") such a wild, funny and frightening book for the ages, reading favorite passages and selections... This open free repost of episode 107 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...

Guest: Wladimir van Wilgenburg, Kurdish affairs analyst For non-subscribers, here is a 30+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 104 with guest Wladimir van Wilgenburg reporting live from Kobane on Rojava and the Kurdish Referendum. Wladmir's been on the ground there through the roughest times, and clears up a lot of murky issues like Sinjar and the murky deals Erdogan cut that led to east Aleppo's final collapse to Syrian government forces... Afterwards, the War Nerd & Ames do a short survey of the week in wars, and answer some subscriber phone-in questions. Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 104 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

Guest: Aditya VelivelliFor non-subscribers, here is a 30+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 103 on the 1857 Indian uprising against British colonial rule. Known in the Anglo world as "The Sepoy Mutiny" and in India as "The First War for Independence", for a century it was framed as a British tragedy at the hands of crazed Indian barbarians. But like so many crimes of the British Empire, the long-suppressed truth is starting to come out. A recent book by an Indian historian estimates up to 10 million Indians died in the savage British reprisals from 1857-59. The War Nerd discusses the 1857 rebellion with Hyderabad-born fellow war nerd Aditya Velivelli—the British East India Company's cruel extractive rule, the tens of millions of Indians killed in artificial famines caused by British reshaping of India's political economy, and the course of battles in 1857-9, that ended with the British state officially taking over direct rule from the private East India Company. Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 103 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

Guest: Kayleigh Long, journalist For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 101 with Myanmar-based journalist Kayleigh Long on the the Rohingya crisis and the grim history and politics of the region. The story we're being told is that Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi isn't the peaceful Buddhist that the West made her out to be, and the Rohingya mass expulsions suddenly just happened without context. We look into the brutal British legacy in Burma (Myanmar), the history of ethnic tensions in the part of the Empire where today Rakhine death squads are expelling Rohingya, the mirror Chittagong Hills Tract conflict story ignored by our media, and the CIA-backed Chinese Nationalist KMT army that spent years in northeast Burma running a heroin narco-state...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 101 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 100 on reporting in East Africa and its shifting war zones, with longtime New York Times Africa correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman, who has a new book out now: "Love, Africa: A Memoir of War, Romance and Survival"... Our 100th episode also includes call-in questions from RWN subscribers, and believe you us it weren't no picnic answering them... Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 100 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

Guest: Jason Wilson, Guardian columnist & journalist*Originally posted August 21, 2017By popular demand from our generous Radio War Nerd subscribers, we're reposting a free unlocked version of our interview with Jason Wilson of the Guardian on what he personally witnessed and reported at the Nazi march in Charlottesville; why it's a real problem; and how it compares to the Oregon Standoff in January 2016, when armed mostly-Mormon anti-government radicals seized federal land and became a cause-celebre for right-wing militias. Wilson has been tracking the growth of the US far-right ever since, and he talks with us about the surprising numbers, organizational strength and strategies of American Nazis and far-right militias today...Afterwards, the Nerd and Ames discuss the recent spate of Islamic State-inspired terror attacks in Spain, Finland and Surgut in western Siberia.This open free repost of episode 98 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 98 on American Nazis & right-wing militias from the Oregon standoff to Charlottesville — with the Guardian's Jason Wilson, our very first RWN guest and an eyewitness to this growing American Nazi shitshow...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 98 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 95 on the Tajikistan civil war 1992-7, with longtime Central Asia reporter Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL. We discuss the origins of the civil war, the roles played by Uzbekistan and Russia, and how the wars in Afghanistan affected Tajikistan and visa-versa . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 95 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...   

Guest: Amal Saad, author & professor * Originally posted July 12, 2017Reposting the War Nerd's  interview with Hezbollah scholar Amal Saad, author of "Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion" and professor of political science at the Lebanese University in Beirut — recorded on the 11th anniversary of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah is perhaps the most powerful  resistance movement in the world, and it remains a mystery to outsiders in the West. Hezbollah's victory in the 2006 war shocked Israel, the US and the world. We discuss the war, its effect on Lebanon politics, Hezbollah's role in the Syria and how it's helped or hurt them, and the history and politics of Hezbollah...This open free repost of episode 92 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 92 on the Hezbollah-Israel War in 2006, with guest Amal Saad, expert on Hezbollah and professor of political science at the Lebanese University in Beirut...Amal Saad is author of "Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion" and numerous articles, including this article on Hezbollah strategy published in Open Democracy: "The Hizbollah Project: last war, next war". Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 92 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  

For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 91 on the hidden history of the American Declaration of Independence, with our guest William Hogeland, author of Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent. . . . We learn about the armed, populist working-class  coup in Pennsylvania that made the Declaration of Independence possible, and their unusual alliance with the elitist Adams brothers, and the ways that the War for Independence was a typical (and atypical) insurgency war.Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 91 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...  Buy William Hogeland's fantastic new book "Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened The West" along with his history of July 4, "Declaration".Hogeland was a Radio War Nerd guest on RWN 85 on the creation of the US Army and the forgotten US-Indian wars of the early 1790s. Hogeland was also our guest on RWN 63 on the Whiskey Rebellion & the things they don't teach you about America's Founding Fathers...

Guest: David Forbes, journalist  and author The War Nerd and David Forbes have an intense inside-sci-fi-nerd discussion about how sci-fi became dominated by far-right politics and narratives, Heinlein, Philip K Dick, and the newer wave of sci-fi writers breaking out of the traditional molds . . .This open free repost of episode 64 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...David Forbes is a journalist based in Asheville, North Carolina, who writes for the Asheville Blade ; and they're the author of The Old Iron Dream, a secret history of sci-fi's far right politics . . . 

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 90 on the forgotten but pivotal First Sino-Japanese War (1894-5), with guest Carl Zha. We talk about the background to the war, the battles, and why this war reshaped east Asia in ways still being felt today...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 90 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 88 with war reporter Elijah Magnier in Damascus, just out of Baghdad. Magnier helps us make sense of the US military moves in SE Syria, the rise of Islamic State, and the cold cynical logic of the sponsors of these wars...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 88 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Read Elijah Magnier's articles in English at his blog here 

Guest: William Hogeland, author of "Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened the West" Reposting the War Nerd's  interview with historian William Hogeland (guest on RWN EP #63 ) about his new book  on America's first war in the early 1790s against a confederation of Indian nations — and how the USA's disastrous early defeats led to the creation of the US Army . . . Hogeland recovers the lost history of this first undeclared war, starting with America's worst military defeat in its history, and he introduces us to some incredible forgotten figures in this war — including Indian commanders Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, and American commander Anthony Wayne, "The Black Snake". . .This open free repost of episode 85 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...Buy William Hogeland's fantastic new book "Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened The West" Hogeland was our guest on RWN 63  to talk about the Whiskey Rebellion  & the  things they don't teach you about America's Founding Fathers...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 85 with author William Hogeland on his new book "Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the US Army and the Invasion that Opened the West" about America's first and most forgotten war.Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 85 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Buy William Hogeland's fantastic new book "Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened The West" Hogeland was also a War Nerd guest on RWN 63  talking about the Whiskey Rebellion & the non-hagiographic history of America's Founding Fathers...

Guest: Carl ZhaFor non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd's first deep dive into Uighur history with the incomparable Carl Zha . . . The history of the Uighurs is a history packed full of wars, migrations, intrigues & mass extinctions, all taking place over huge swathes of territory — so much to unpack that the War Nerd & Carl Zha are turning the Uighur war history into a multi-part RWN series, starting with this episode . . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the episode 81  and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...

Guest: Robert Parry, journalist & author*Originally posted March 20, 2017Reposting the War Nerd's  interview with Robert Parry [starts at 33:30], one of the original crusading investigative journalists who broke the Iran-Contra and Contra-cocaine stories in the 80s, the October Surprise— and experienced first-hand the crushing of independent investigative journalism from Reagan through today . . .  We talk about the stories Parry broke, the destruction of targeted journalists including his late friend Gary Webb who was driven to suicide, and Nixon's plot to sabotage Vietnam War peace talks in 1968 to make sure Humphrey didn't win the election . . . This open free repost of episode 76 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...Read Robert Parry's reporting at ConsortiumNews.com . Buy Parry's books: "America's Stolen Narrative" , "Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'"  & "Trick or Treason: The 1980 October Surprise Mystery" Watch Parry's 1991 PBS Frontline episode on the October Surprise, "The Election Held Hostage" 

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd   with the world's best film critic Eileen Jones, on movies & war, and why so many war movies are so damn awful...Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the episode 78 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Read Eileen Jones movie reviews at Jacobin, In These Times, and Exiled Online. And buy Eileen Jones' brilliant and funny book "FilmSuck USA"  on decline & fall of Hollywood movies . . . 

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 76  with journalist Robert Parry on the rise and fall of American investigative journalism. Parry broke the Iran-Contra and Contra-cocaine stories in the 80s, as well as the October Surprise stories and Nixon's secret 1968 deal with South Vietnam to destroy peace talks and help Nixon win the elections, and prolong the Vietnam War. We talk about the stories he broke, the destruction of targeted journalists from the early 1980s under Reagan, to his late friend Gary Webb,  who was driven to suicide. . . .Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 76  and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Read Robert Parry's reporting at ConsortiumNews.comBuy Parry's books: "America's Stolen Narrative"  , "Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'"   & "Trick or Treason: The 1980 October Surprise Mystery"  Watch Parry's 1991 PBS Frontline episode on the October Surprise, "The Election Held Hostage"  

Guest: Rania Khalek, journalist   & podcast co-host  *Originally posted January 29, 2017Reposting the War Nerd's  interview with journalist Rania Khalek, who talks to us to talk about her trip to war-torn Syria and Lebanon, what Syrians inside Syria told her about the war, how she was smeared and set up for something worse by neocon bagmen Michael Weiss & Charles Lister . . . The propaganda around Syria war and how it affected her and affects  others particularly on the Left . . . Rania's experiences as a Druze . . . Afterwards, War Nerd & Ames discuss wars around the world: Trump's first week . . . Indonesia IS suspect educated in Australia . . . British Navy trolls Russian aircraft carrier . . . Gambia resolves itself peacefully . . .This open free repost of episode 69 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...Music: "No Escape (From Balkan)" by Dubioza Kolektiv   [courtesy of Koolarrow Records]

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 70 on the Iran-Iraq War from 1980-88, the longest conventional war of the 20thC and one of the bloodiest.Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 70 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 69 with journalist Rania Khalek on the Syria war, western propaganda, Druze and other minorities, and neocon sleaze. . . Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 69 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Rania Khalek is a journalist  and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure . 

Guest: William Hogeland, author   & historian  *Originally posted Dec 19, 2016Reposting the War Nerd's interview with historian William Hogeland: Setting the record straight on the "Whiskey Rebellion",  Alexander Hamilton & the Founding Fathers, and why it matters today . . . Afterwards in World Of Wars, we talk about the fall of East Aleppo & put the Putin Panic in perspective with a brief history of US interference in Russia's elections post-1989...Buy William Hogeland's books on early American history—they're smart, full of surprises, and fun as hell to read: The Whiskey Rebellion; Founding Finance; and Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent. Hogeland's got a new book out in May that looks great too: Autumn of the Black Snake: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened the West .  Also check out Hogeland's blog Hysteriography on populism, liberalism and conservatism in history, politics & poetics.This open free repost of episode 63 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 67 on the Crimean War.Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 67 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 20+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 66 on the Russia Hacker Panic with journalist Yasha Levine in St. Petersburg, Russia.Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 66 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Yasha Levine  is the author of the forthcoming book Surveillance Valley   (Public Affairs, Fall 2017). He has written articles  for The eXile , PandoDaily , NSFWCorp , Wired , The Nation and others. He lives in St. Petersburg, Russia.

*Originally posted September 20, 2016 Since the 2016 Russia Panic only grew weirder and worse in the months since we recorded this show—we're reposting this RWN episode from September on the Reagan-era panic over alleged Russian "disinformation war" subverting American democracy, a panic fed by a bestseller rightwing book "The Spike" . . . The history of The Spike and its author, Robert Moss, propagandist for CIA, Pinochet, Somoza—and what it tells us about today's Russian Disinformation Panic . . . Also, Michael Weiss writes clandestinity . . . [Note: This episode has the old lo-fi sound quality from before we upgraded our audio—thanks to our subscribers, and to sound master Brendan at Telescope Audio] This open free repost of episode 51 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...

Reposting The War Nerd's interview with writer/vet Jack Murphy about parachuting, Lindsay Lohan, transition from military to academia . . . Think-tank chickenhawks Charles Lister, Michael Weiss, Eli Lake . . . Farcical CIA "vetting" Syrian rebels, tensions between CIA and Special Forces, MENA stragegic clusterfuck . . . Propaganda as war weapon . . . Trump's defense picks & Iran policy . Jack Murphy is a journalist , author   & Special Forces veteranThis open free repost of episode 61 comes courtesy of our Radio War Nerd subscribers, who make our weekly podcast possible. Freedom isn't free, and neither is Radio War Nerd...Sign up here on the patreon page for the Radio War Nerd podcast, the newsletter, the RSS feed, and more...

For non-subscribers, here is a 25+ minute preview of Radio War Nerd episode 63 on the Whiskey Rebellion with William Hogeland, author  and historian .Would you like to know more? Subscribe to Radio War Nerd here on our patreon page, to listen to the entire episode 63 and all previous locked episodes. Depending on your pledge, you can also get our downloadable RSS feed for your podcast app, the Radio War Nerd Newsletter, Show Notes and more...Buy William Hogeland's books on early American history—they're smart, full of surprises, and fun as hell to read: The Whiskey Rebellion ; Founding Finance ; and Declaration: The Nine Tumultuous Weeks When America Became Independent . Also check out Hogeland's blog .