American Exception

Episode 17: Propaganda: Could It Happen Here?

In this episode, Aaron is joined by Daniel Bessner to discuss propaganda in the USA. Bessner is co-host of the American Prestige podcast and a professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and a Contributing Editor at Jacobin. In 2019-2020, he served as a foreign policy advisor to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Daniel is an intellectual historian of U.S. foreign relations and  the author of Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual.
After the interview, this episode also features a discussion on materialism, ideology, and propaganda with Our Man in Boston, Ben Howard!
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!  Music: "This Nation" by Mock Orange

Episode 16: US Foreign Policy and the JFK Assassination w/James DiEugenio [TRAILER]

In Part 8 our Destiny Betrayed series on the JFK assassination, Aaron continues his discussion with James DiEugenio. They cover Vietnam and other key aspects of President Kennedy's foreign policy.  Collectively, JFK's plans to end the Cold War and his support for Third World nationalism represented a radical break from the imperialist Acheson-Dulles consensus which had prevailed since the end of World War II. Unfortunately, Kennedy's visionary plans placed him in the cross hairs of the US Empire's beneficiaries. These amoral members of the American power elite commanded the world's leading corporate, military, and political organizations.James DiEugenio is the screenwriter and co-creator of Oliver Stone's new documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass as well as JFK: Destiny Betrayed, the four-hour cut of the film coming to the US in late February. Jim is also the author of Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba, and the Garrison Case and The JFK Assassination: The Evidence Today. Additionally, he runs the fantastic website Kennedys and King and makes regular appearances on Len Osanic's BlackOp Radio. 
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Please check out:Aaron's book: American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
Project Censored Homepage
The American Truth and Reconciliation Committee
Music by Mock Orange

Episode 14: JFK and the Diem Coup w/James DiEugenio

In this seventh episode of our Destiny Betrayed series on the JFK assassination, Aaron talks with James DiEugenio, the screenwriter and co-creator of Oliver Stone's new documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass as well as JFK: Destiny Betrayed, the four-hour cut of the film coming to the US in late February. Jim is also the author of Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba, and the Garrison Case and The JFK Assassination: The Evidence Today. Additionally, he runs the fantastic website Kennedys and King and makes regular appearances on Len Osanic's BlackOp Radio. In this conversation, Aaron and Jim discuss JFK's Vietnam policies, including a deeper look at the November 1963 coup that resulted in the assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.This episode also features Hailey Rounsaville (@roun_sa_ville) of TheKultureDotTV 
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
 
Please check out:Aaron's book: American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
Project Censored Homepage
The American Truth and Reconciliation Committee
Music by Mock Orange

Episode 13: Oliver Stone’s America [TRAILER]

Hailey and Aaron are joined by Peter Kuznick, Professor of History and Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University. Kuznick is the author numerous books and articles. Perhaps most notably, he is the co-creator (with Oliver Stone) of The Untold History of the United States--a 12-part documentary series that first played on Showtime. There’s also an excellent book version of The Untold History of the United States, now in its second edition.Hailey and Aaron discuss Kuznick's American University history course, Oliver Stone's America, with the professor. 
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!  Music: "Old Movies" by Mock Orange

Episode 12: JFK’s Vietnam Withdrawal Plan [TRAILER]

In this sixth episode of our Destiny Betrayed series on the JFK assassination, Aaron continues his discussion with Professors John Newman and James Galbraith. John Newman is the author of JFK and Vietnam: Deception, Intrigue, and the Struggle for Power. James Galbraith is the author of a number of books, including The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too. His longest article on JFK and Vietnam is Exit Strategy: In 1963, JFK ordered a complete withdrawal from Vietnam. 
 
Please check out:
Abby Martin's The Empire Files and Media Roots Radio.
James DiEugenio's fantastic website: Kennedys and King
Aaron's book: American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
Project Censored Homepage
The American Truth and Reconciliation Committee
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music by Mock Orange

Episode 11: The CIA and the Deep State w/Ray McGovern

This episode features Aaron and his Peace Studies of the American Century students in conversation with retired CIA officer Ray McGovern. The discussion ranges across Ray’s experiences as a CIA officer from the Kennedy administration to first George Bush administration—as well as his post-CIA work as a peace activist weighing in on Iraq WMD, CIA torture, Julian Assange, and the Russiagate hoax.
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!  Music: "Grow Your Soul Away" by Mock Orange

Episode 10: JFK and Vietnam - John Newman and James Galbraith

In this fifth episode of our Destiny Betrayed series, Aaron discusses John Kennedy's Vietnam policies with two towering figures in the field--Professors John Newman and James Galbraith. John Newman is the author of the orthodoxy-shattering JFK and Vietnam: Deception, Intrigue, and the Struggle for Power. James Galbraith is the author of numerous articles and books including Exit Strategy: In 1963, JFK ordered a complete withdrawal from Vietnam and The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too. This episode also features the incomparable Abby Martin.
Please check out:
Abby Martin's The Empire Files and Media Roots Radio.James DiEugenio's fantastic website: Kennedys and King
Aaron's book: American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
Project Censored Homepage
The American Truth and Reconciliation Committee
Music by Mock OrangeBig thanks to to Anthony Fest for engineering, Dana Chavarria for remastering, and Casey Moore for the episode art!
In this fifth episode of our Destiny Betrayed series, Aaron discusses John Kennedy's Vietnam policies with two towering figures in the field--Professors John Newman and James Galbraith. John Newman is the author of the orthodoxy-shattering JFK and Vietnam: Deception, Intrigue, and the Struggle for Power. James Galbraith is the author of numerous articles and books including Exit Strategy: In 1963, JFK ordered a complete withdrawal from Vietnam and The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too. This episode also features the incomparable Abby Martin.
Please check out:
Abby Martin's The Empire Files and Media Roots Radio.James DiEugenio's fantastic website: Kennedys and King
Aaron's book: American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
Project Censored Homepage
The American Truth and Reconciliation Committee
Music by Mock OrangeBig thanks to to Anthony Fest for engineering, Dana Chavarria for remastering, and Casey Moore for the episode art!

Episode 9: Oliver Stone on History, Film, and Politics [TRAILER]

In this episode, Oliver Stone talks with Aaron and his Peace Studies of the American Century students about US history, the media, nuclear war, Platoon, JFK, Nixon, and other topics.
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!Music: "Payroll" by Mock Orange

Episode 8: Blowing the Whistle on the FBI’s 9/11 Failures [TRAILER]

Aaron and guest co-host Ben Howard are joined by Time magazine's 2002 co-person of the year, FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley. They discuss the inexplicable FBI failures that surrounding the 9/11 terror spectacle--in particular, Rowley's unsuccessful efforts to obtain a search warrant for the laptop of the extremely suspicious Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called "20th hijacker."  
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and J.G. Michael for the sound engineering!Music by Mock Orange

Episode 7: Deep Events and the Doomsday Network w/Peter Dale Scott [TRAILER]

Aaron continues his discussion with Professor Peter Dale Scott about 'deep politics' and  his 50+ years of historical research into the JFK assassination. In this installment, Professor Scott talks about COG or the "Doomsday Network," JFK's Vietnam withdrawal, The Dallas-Watergate connections, and the commonplace denial of deep events.  Part 4 of our Destiny Betrayed series on the JFK assassination, this episode also features a postscript segment with Ben Howard.Peter Dale Scott is  the author of Deep Politics and the Death of JFK and Dallas '63: The First Deep State Revolt Against the White House.
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Anthony Fest for the sound engineering!Music by Mock Orange