Aesthetic Resistance Podcast

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Albania’s Sazan Island, Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry at Tribeca, the drones and missiles stalemate of contemporary war, the science fiction notion of runaway A.I., computer wargaming in 1951, death of legacy news media, the coming societal reckoning with technology, female sex tourists in Africa, Music track: “Ninety-Nine” by Sonny Boy Williamson (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Brecht Jonkers, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Albania and Bolivia fight back against the Trump family takeover, the death of CBS News, Zionism boasts of going global, the evolution of political consciousness since the end of the USSR, ecological footprint of the military, acting secrets—what draws an audience to a performer? Music track: “Minglewood Blues” by Kitchen Sink (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Ray Hosseini, Brecht Jonkers, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: The mysterious data center construction boom, the history of antisemitism, Trump links the Abraham Accords to a deal with Iran, late-stage capitalism and the looting of what’s left, witness testimony of the Gaza atrocities. Music track: “All Going Out and Nothing Coming In” by Bert Williams (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: The mysterious data center construction boom, the US thinks it can indict Raul Castro for terrorism, unanswered questions about the true intent of the attack on Iran, the fascist cults of billionaires, the writing of Benjamin Labutut, panpsychism, why have no aliens landed? Music track: “Minglewood Blues” by Cannon’s Jug Stompers (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Ray Hosseini, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: Strait of Hormuz supply shock kind of looks like the sanctions suffered by Iran for decades, UN charter’s “enemy state” clause and the 2+4 treaty concerning German reunification in 1990, what’s behind the big push for data centers? windmills tilting the ecological balance, low morale in the US military, the Trump administration’s fight with the Pope, the return to religiosity and magical thinking among the political leadership, the “band of brothers” meme in war stories, Robert Kagan and the neocons admit defeat. Music track: “Broken Yo-Yo” by Texas Alexander (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: opposition to data centers, data centers claimed to be national security assets, Japan’s militarization and growing protests against it, Bill Gates “ticks” all the boxes as a loathsome plague on the health of humanity, MAGA diehards think Trump is playing 5-D chess, social pressure to stay in the polarized left-right/blue-red mindscape, working class musicians no longer get into the music business, officers refuse to carry out the orders of the Secretary of War, the Charlie Kirk assassination in the Spectacle, Anthony Blinken tells the real reason for shutting down the war in Afghanistan. Music track: “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Leon Russell (Live 1972).

Fourth installment of a discussion between Guy Zimmerman and John Steppling.

Participants: John Steppling, Cory Morningstar, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: The US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, USS Gerald Ford sails home, Marxism and environmentalism, data centers and electricity supply, A.I. proven mathematically to lead to rapid economic collapse, weird scenes inside the White House Correspondents Dinner, Japan ramps up military exercises in nearby seas, Iran lets a Japanese oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, the rehabilitation of Michael Jackson? the cultural legacy of the Marquis de Sade. Music track: “Stack O’Lee Blues” by Mississippi John Hurt (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, Ray Hosseini, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: The US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, food shortages on US Navy ships, Western Marxism, the forgotten US-Iran Algiers Accord of 1981, oil refineries exploding everywhere, the mysterious deaths of nuclear scientists everywhere all at once, pejorative terminology: who defines what is “hardline,” “regime,” “strongman”? weather modification warfare in the Gulf States, Trump’s spiritual advisor speaks in tongues; his enemies worry about inter-dimensional demons. Music track: “Travellin’ Blues” by Blind Willie McTell (public domain).

Participants: John Steppling, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Dennis Riches. Topics covered: The US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, responsibility of the Western NGO complex for supporting excuses for the war, the failure of the bad faith ceasefire, blockade upon blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, witting and unwitting limited hangouts, the lack of anti-imperialist critics of the war, the Artemis moon mission and its detractors, the toxic American food supply, the reactionary tendencies of the American working class. Music track: “Statesboro Blues” by Blind Willie McTell (public domain).