American Exception

Episode 87: A Stroke of the State: Dallas at 59 w/James DiEugenio [TRAILER]

 
A special double episode on the 59th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination: Aaron speaks with the venerable James DiEugenio. After the discussion, Aaron looks at JFK’s “Peace Speech” at American University in which JFK called for “not just peace in our time, but peace for all time.” Calling for an end to the Cold War and for moves toward full disarmament, the speech was repeatedly broadcast in the Soviet Union afterward. JFK would not have long to pursue his vision for world peace. The speech was delivered in the Summer of 1963; he would be assassinated in the Fall.DiEugenio is the screenwriter and co-creator of Oliver Stone’s JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass as well as JFK: Destiny Betrayed—the four-hour cut of the film which is now available for digital purchase. Jim also runs the fantastic Kennedys and King website and is the author of Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba, and the Garrison Case as well as The JFK Assassination: The Evidence Today.
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Captain Love" by Mock Orange
A special double episode on the 59th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination: Aaron speaks with the venerable James DiEugenio. After the discussion, Aaron looks at JFK’s “Peace Speech” at American University in which JFK called for “not just peace in our time, but peace for all time.” Calling for an end to the Cold War and for moves toward full disarmament, the speech was repeatedly broadcast in the Soviet Union afterward. JFK would not have long to pursue his vision for world peace. The speech was delivered in the Summer of 1963; he would be assassinated in the Fall.DiEugenio is the screenwriter and co-creator of Oliver Stone’s JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass as well as JFK: Destiny Betrayed—the four-hour cut of the film which is now available for digital purchase. Jim also runs the fantastic Kennedys and King website and is the author of Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba, and the Garrison Case as well as The JFK Assassination: The Evidence Today.
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Captain Love" by Mock Orange

Episode 86: Biodefense and the Question of Origins w/Sam Husseini and Gumby [TRAILER]

 
Aaron discusses the latest in the world of “biodefense” with journalist Sam Husseini and the illustrious independent researcher who posts as Gumby on Twitter.
Please check out Sam Husseini’s Substack page and his recent article “Did West Africa’s Ebola Outbreak of 2014 Have a Lab Origin?” which he cowrote with virologist Jonathan Latham.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Til the Mornin" by Mock Orange
Aaron discusses the latest in the world of “biodefense” with journalist Sam Husseini and the illustrious independent researcher who posts as Gumby on Twitter.
Please check out Sam Husseini’s Substack page and his recent article “Did West Africa’s Ebola Outbreak of 2014 Have a Lab Origin?” which he cowrote with virologist Jonathan Latham.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Til the Mornin" by Mock Orange

Episode 85: Ike’s Legacy of Ashes (EDS 17)

In this video version of the episode, we close out the Eisenhower years. Specifically, we look at Eisenhower’s policies in Cuba and Congo—as well as how he made weak, half-hearted attempts to respond to the threats posed by the dangerously unaccountable CIA and the murderously greedy military industrial complex. As you will see, Ike’s was indeed a legacy of Ashes!
This is the 17th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange
In this episode, we close out the Eisenhower years. Specifically, we look at Eisenhower’s policies in Cuba and Congo—as well as how he made weak, half-hearted attempts to respond to the threats posed by the dangerously unaccountable CIA and the murderously greedy military industrial complex. As you will see, Ike’s was indeed a legacy of Ashes!
This is the 17th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange

Episode 84: Denouement: Allen Dulles, Sukarno, JFK, and G30S w/Greg Poulgrain [TRAILER]

 
Aaron talks to the tireless and iconoclastic historian of post-colonial Indonesia, Greg Poulgrain. In this final part, they discuss how JFK, Dag Hammarskjold, and Sukarno were unable to stop Allen Dulles’ murderous grand strategy to turn Indonesia into world history’s most valuable neocolony—under imperial US auspices.
Greg Poulgrain teaches history at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is the author of The Genesis of Konfrontasi: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, 1945-65, The Incubus of Intervention: Conflicting Indonesia Strategies of John F. Kennedy and Allen Dulles, as well as the more recent JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Old Man" by Mock Orange
Aaron talks to the tireless and iconoclastic historian of post-colonial Indonesia, Greg Poulgrain. In this final part, they discuss how JFK, Dag Hammarskjold, and Sukarno were unable to stop Allen Dulles’ murderous grand strategy to turn Indonesia into world history’s most valuable neocolony—under imperial US auspices.
Greg Poulgrain teaches history at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is the author of The Genesis of Konfrontasi: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, 1945-65, The Incubus of Intervention: Conflicting Indonesia Strategies of John F. Kennedy and Allen Dulles, as well as the more recent JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Old Man" by Mock Orange

Episode 83: Allen Dulles’ Long Game in Indonesia w/Greg Poulgrain

 
Aaron talks to the tireless and iconoclastic historian of post-colonial Indonesia, Greg Polugrain. In this first of two episodes, they discuss Allen Dulles' dark influence over US policy in Indonesia up through the Eisenhower administration.
Greg Poulgrain teaches history at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is the author of The Genesis of Konfrontasi: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, 1945-65, The Incubus of Intervention: Conflicting Indonesia Strategies of John F. Kennedy and Allen Dulles, as well as the more recent JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Old Man" by Mock OrangeArtwork: From the cover of TIME, Dec. 23, 1946
Aaron talks to the tireless and iconoclastic historian of post-colonial Indonesia, Greg Polugrain. In this first of two episodes, they discuss Allen Dulles' dark influence over US policy in Indonesia up through the Eisenhower administration.
Greg Poulgrain teaches history at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He is the author of The Genesis of Konfrontasi: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, 1945-65, The Incubus of Intervention: Conflicting Indonesia Strategies of John F. Kennedy and Allen Dulles, as well as the more recent JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Old Man" by Mock OrangeArtwork: From the cover of TIME, Dec. 23, 1946

Episode 82: Ike’s Imperial Crisis Management (EDS 16) [TRAILER]

 
We look at how Eisenhower and the Dulles Brothers handled two geopolitical hot spots of the Cold War: Indonesia and Egypt.
This is the 16th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange
We look at how Eisenhower and the Dulles Brothers handled two geopolitical hot spots of the Cold War: Indonesia and Egypt.
This is the 16th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange

Episode 81: The Politics of Sexual Blackmail

 
Nick Bryant discusses his prolific efforts to expose sexual blackmail as, in effect, a deep state institution.
Nick is the author of The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal and co-author of Confessions of a DC Madam The Politics of Sex, Lies, and Blackmail. He also has a new book coming out in a few months entitled The Truth About Watergate: A Tale of Extraordinary Lies & Liars.
Nick’s website is here.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: “Payroll” by Mock Orange
Nick Bryant discusses his prolific efforts to expose sexual blackmail as, in effect, a deep state institution.
Nick is the author of The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal and co-author of Confessions of a DC Madam The Politics of Sex, Lies, and Blackmail. He also has a new book coming out in a few months entitled The Truth About Watergate: A Tale of Extraordinary Lies & Liars.
Nick’s website is here.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: “Payroll” by Mock Orange

Episode 80: Imperial SUCCESS (EDS 15) [TRAILER]

In this episode we briefly discuss what the deep state is and is not before looking at the Eisenhower administration’s imperial chicanery in Guatemala and Vietnam.
This is the 15th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange
In this episode we briefly discuss what the deep state is and is not before looking at the Eisenhower administration’s imperial chicanery in Guatemala and Vietnam.
This is the 15th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange

Episode 79: Who Likes Ike? (EDS 14) American Exception - Episode 79.mp3 [TRAILER]

 
In this episode we look at Eisenhower’s ties to Big Oil and how they influenced Operation AJAX--the CIA conspiracy which overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Mohammed Mossedegh in order to install a US puppet, the Shah of Iran.
This is the 14th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Check out the attached PDF to see the slides we refer to.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange
In this episode we look at Eisenhower’s ties to Big Oil and how they influenced Operation AJAX--the CIA conspiracy which overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Mohammed Mossedegh in order to install a US puppet, the Shah of Iran.
This is the 14th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
Check out the attached PDF to see the slides we refer to.
Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange

Episode 78: NSC-68 and the Permanent War Panacea (EDS 13)

 
[Update: We fixed and replaced the original audio file which had a problem around the introduction]In this episode we look at the history behind NSC-68, the seminal document of the US military industrial complex.
This is the 13th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
The latter portion of this episode was already posted on YouTube because we thought it was so timely after the Nord Stream attack. I hope the larger, book-related portion of the episode also provides good context for this. Strangely enough, I added that extra material to the episode plan because I thought that all of the historical exegesis from the book was really relevant to our current moment. With the Nord Stream bombing, it turned out that I was more correct than I knew.
Check out the attached PDF to see the slides we refer to.
Special thanks to Seamus for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange
[Update: We fixed and replaced the original audio file which had a problem around the introduction]In this episode we look at the history behind NSC-68, the seminal document of the US military industrial complex.
This is the 13th installment of our Empire and the Deep State series--an in-depth exploration of my new book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. I am again joined by series co-host Ben Norton of Multipolarista as well our own Seamus McGuinness who is producing the series.
The latter portion of this episode was already posted on YouTube because we thought it was so timely after the Nord Stream attack. I hope the larger, book-related portion of the episode also provides good context for this. Strangely enough, I added that extra material to the episode plan because I thought that all of the historical exegesis from the book was really relevant to our current moment. With the Nord Stream bombing, it turned out that I was more correct than I knew.
Check out the attached PDF to see the slides we refer to.
Special thanks to Seamus for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "Too Good Your Dreams Don't Come True" by Mock Orange