Monday, August 10, 2026, Paris

American defeat over Iran can lead to a smarter, less militaristic, and ultimately more succesful US.

Meanwhile, an Islamic Republic victory could lead to a more arrogant, belligerent, repressive Iran—a regime with a measure of historic legitimacy and a renewed lease on life.

On the latest edition of badlands, I step back from the headlines a bit to discuss what the emerging modus vivendi in the Persian Gulf conflict could mean in the long run, even as the war continues to unfold, with much of the latest fighting in the Red Sea and Yemen.

In interviews with India’s NewsX World, I also discuss the latest talks over the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman and the escalating conflict between Houthis and Saudi Arbia and its allies along the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

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Friday, August 7, 2026, Chicago

Two major developments in the Middle East this week. The US appears poised to hand over control of the Strait of Hormuz over to the Iranians, even as it whines that it doesn’t need it anyway.

Meanwhile, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan inked a major security partnership, dissing the US attempt to corral the countries of the region into the pro-Israel Abraham Accords. That promoped pro-Israel shills to downplay the Mecca agreement and predict its demise.

As a bonus for Arabic speakers, I was interviewed by Egypt’s Al Qahera TV about the latest developments in the Iran conflict.

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Thursday, August 6, 2026, Chicago

Israel continues to hammer away at Lebanon and occupy much of the country’s south, even as the US and Iran appear to be heading toward another deal on the Persian Gulf.

In the latest episode of badlands, scholar Nadim Shehadi joins me for a deep analysis and debate about which country—Iran, Israel, or the US—ultimately played the biggest role in turning Lebanon into a basketcase, and a site for regional conflict.

Also in the episode, I discuss the latest effort by corporate Democrats in the US to grapple with the rise of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed and the leftwing of the party. Instead of voting blue no matter who, they are launching a $15 million effort to sabotage Democrat Socialists of America by digging up dirt and publicly smearing them.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2026, Chicago

Progressives and sane people celebrated an imporant victory for Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed, who defeated Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Party primary.

The Israel lobby and other corrupt donors spent more than $60 million Stevens, but the very narrow margin of victory will likely convince them they could have won if they’d only lavished a few more million on the campaign.

Sayed will face an even tougher challenge as he takes on Republican Mike Rogers in the general elections coming up in November, I say in an interview with India’s NewsX World.

Meanwhile, it looks like missile depletions combined with market troubles are forcing the US to give in to Iranian demands on the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the obvious US losses and the seemingly impossible path to anything resembling a US victory, warmongering warmongers won’t let up, and appear unable to learn anything. Perhaps they need to take up a hobby.

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Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Chicago

It’s not just the Israel lobby. It also the defense lobby. And the insurance, gun, banking, law, pharamaceutical, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates lobbies. Washington has become a fetid cesspool of corruption that is increasingly failing ordinary Americans, whether they are trying to get through a summer storm or through a disastrous airport.

In the latest episode of badlands, I discuss the Michigan Democratic Party primary election today between Abdul el-Sayed and Congresswoman Haley Stevens. It is now considered the most expensive US Senate primary in history and a battle between the pro-Israel establishment and the insurgent wings of the party.

I discuss how the race has been especially sensitive for Michigan Jews, including those for or agaisnt Sayed, as chronicled in a New York Times video.

Featured in the episode is part two of my interview with College of Dupage professor David Goldberg and a discussion of what it was like for him to break away from the pro-Israel ideology of the Jewish community.

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Monday, August 3, 2026, Chicago

Donald Trump backed off again from his latest threat to launch a major campaign against Iran, citing a fresh breakthrough in talks between Iran and Oman over re-establishing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

In the latest episode of badlands, I discuss why Iran feels entitled to keep control of the Strait of Hormuz, which it sees as its spoils in a war that was unjustly launched against it.

I also address the neocon argument that Iran has been at war agaisnt the US have been at war for “47 years.”

In an interview with Fahd Hassan of Pakistan’s Express 24/7 News I discuss why the war seems to keep going through constant cycles of escalation and diplomacy.

I also the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the latest security and diplomatic developments with India’s NewsX World.

Finally, in an interview with NPR’s Here & Now, I discuss the prospects for a peace deal in Gaza.

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Friday, July 31, 2026, Boston

The war continues to escalate as neocons demand the US commit more war crimes.

In the latest episode of badlands, I discuss the latest atrocity in the war, the latest act of malpractice in mainstream journalism, and the intellectual crimes being committed by the neoconservatives in Washington.

Plus, in interviews with India’s NewsX World, I discuss the latest developments around the Gulf, and the latest declaration of a breakthrough in talks to establish a durable peace for the long-suffering Palestinians in Gaza.

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Thursday, July 30, 2026, Boston

Author and intellectual Robin Yassin-Kassab tells badlands the story behind the not-so-clandestine effort by the CIA and regional powers to arm the Syrian rebel groups which ultimately toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Robin is author of the new book “The Blood Betwen Us,” which chronicles the first months following the downfall of the regime and what has transpired in the country under the regime of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former guerilla leader.

Also in this episode, I discuss the latest dangerous escalations in the Iran war. Even as peace talks are underway and military aggressions seem to have paused, the the war continues in other forms, with recent Iranian missile attacks on Jordan and Saudi attacks on Iraq—as well as probably Houthi drone attacks— signaling preparations for an even bigger round of warfare.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Chicago

Iranians authorities publicly executed two young men early Tuesday in the city of Isfahan. Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari were protesters accused of taking part in the violent January 8 and 9 uprising that engulfed the country and that became used to trigger the ongoing war against the country by the US and Israel.

In this edition of badlands, I briefly review the case of the two men, whose hangings prompted street protests. Guilty of any crime or not, the two men should never have been executed, especially given the opaque nature of the Iranian criminal justice system and the politically charged atmosphere inside Iran.

Also, in an interview with India’s Southern Era Network television, I break down Donald Trump’s proposed nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia as well as the major diplomatic shifts taking place in the Middle East.

In an interview with India’s NewsX World, I also discuss Trump’s latest in a series of threats against Iran as well as the prospects of a return to diplomatic talks.

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Monday, July 27, 2026, Chicago

Newly released video excerpts from a documentary movie show the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham giddy about goading the US into a war against Iran, eagerly hoping for the country to collapse into warring segments, and supplicating himself before his true master—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the latest edition of badlands, I discuss Graham’s legacy and what the latest revelations say about the US.

Also, in a pair of in-depth interviews with NewsX World, I discuss the war’s expansion to include both the Red Sea—with the ongoing escalation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis—and the Caspian Sea, following an attack by Ukraine on an Iranian ship.

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