Donald Trump lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that he is "playing with fire", because the US has been unable to end the Ukraine war on its own terms. Political economist Radhika Desai analyzes the geopolitical situation with Russia expert Richard Sakwa.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL1ObLixT8M

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

US Vice President JD Vance revealed the Trump administration's "generational shift in [foreign] policy", emphasizing "great power competition" and preparation for war with China. They're abandoning soft power and focusing on "hard power" and "overwhelming force", in a return to blatant, 19th century-style imperialism. Ben Norton reports.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2Yqc-8uVHc

The US military is seriously preparing for war on China: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/28/us-military-war-china-silicon-valley/

Topic

0:00 (CLIP) JD Vance speech highlights

0:23 US VP declares "new era" of foreign policy

1:59 (CLIP) End of US unipolar dominance

2:24 Preparing for war

2:51 (CLIP) A "new and very dangerous era"

3:01 Emphasizing hard power

3:17 (CLIP) Hard power vs soft power

3:22 Containing China

3:31 (CLIP) Targeting China

3:43 Shifting priorities

4:17 (CLIP) Great power competition

4:37 Redirection of foreign policy

4:48 (CLIP) A "generational shift in policy"

4:59 Rise of China

5:46 (CLIP) Era of US hegemony

6:37 USA wants China regime change

7:07 This is not isolationism

7:35 (CLIP) "When we send you to war"

7:58 Taking the mask off US empire

8:49 (CLIP) "We throw a punch hard"

9:07 Trump boosts US military spending

9:28 (CLIP) Trump: $1 trillion military budget

9:49 US foreign military bases

10:19 19th century-style imperialism

10:39 William McKinley, imperialist

11:30 (CLIP) Trump vows "enlarged country"

11:54 Expanding US territory

12:18 (CLIP) Trump: expand US empire

12:56 Monroe Doctrine

13:51 Training "war fighters"

14:07 (CLIP) JD Vance on "war fighters"

14:10 Pete Hegseth

14:25 (CLIP) Hegseth on "war fighters"

14:39 A "peacemaker" for war

14:58 US war on Yemen

15:18 (CLIP) Vance boasts of bombing Yemen

15:33 Future war threats

15:51 (CLIP) US "red lines" for war

16:12 US "ideological crusades"

16:33 (CLIP) Vance on "ideological crusades"

16:46 Pete Hegseth, self-declared "crusader"

17:34 US empire rebrands

18:37 The main target is China

19:34 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"

20:17 Preparing for war on China

20:36 Outro

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to colonize Gaza, saying, "We will take control of all the territory of the Strip". US President Donald Trump is trying to expel Palestinians to Libya or other countries. Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), and, like Joe Biden, he is selling Israel billions of dollars of weapons. Ben Norton reports.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzG98YklawA

Why the US supports Israel, explained: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/11/12/why-us-support-israel-geopolitics-michael-hudson/

Topics

0:00 USA backs Israel's crimes

0:56 Netanyahu: Israel will control all of Gaza

1:34 Trump gave Israel green light

2:17 Trump wants to expel Palestinians to Libya

3:47 Israel's goal: total colonization

4:38 Mass hunger in Gaza

5:41 Israeli minister: "We're destroying Gaza"

6:50 Netanyahu's "aid" PR

8:10 Israel's strategy: Use hunger as a weapon

10:27 Bezalel Smotrich

11:19 "Voluntary" migration

11:59 "Total annihilation" of Gaza

12:52 Starvation

13:39 Israel vows to annex West Bank

15:02 Trump sanctions ICC

15:56 Biden admin threatened ICC

16:22 USA attacks ICC

17:51 Microsoft aids Israel

18:23 Impact of sanctions

18:52 Is Trump really "frustrated"?

19:52 (CLIP) Trump is Israel's "best friend"

20:07 Trump wants to colonize Gaza

20:44 (CLIP) Trump: US will take over Gaza

20:59 Trump gives Israel weapons

22:49 Netanyahu thanks "greatest friend" Trump

23:05 (CLIP) Netanyahu praises Trump

23:12 Biden's support for Israel

23:46 Obama's support for Israel

24:26 Israel can't wage war without USA

25:02 Israel is US unsinkable aircraft carrier

25:36 Netanyahu is American

26:15 Israel is an outpost of US empire

26:39 (CLIP) Biden: US would create Israel

27:05 Geopolitics of Israel

27:22 Outro

What caused the deindustrialization of the US economy? Can Donald Trump really reindustrialize the USA with tariffs? Economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss.

VIDEO with charts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpNql8U6WvE

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the US divide-and-conquer strategy is failing. In a meeting in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of their nations' victory in World War Two, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that "China-Russia relations have reached the highest level in history" and will "jointly resist any attempts to interfere with and disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between China and Russia". Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLJ6K_95uWk

Topics

0:00 USA tries to contain China

0:49 (CLIP) Trump vows to divide Russia & China

1:05 Marco Rubio targets China

1:34 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"

2:17 Trump admin's Russia strategy

2:33 (CLIP) Rubio wants to "partner" with Russia

2:41 China & Russia are "friends of steel"

3:43 80th anniversary of Victory Day

4:05 Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany

5:23 China's sacrifice in World War II

6:21 Vietnam resisted Japanese empire

6:50 Putin reaffirms "highest level" China ties

10:23 China-Russia trade

11:52 USA can't offer Russia much

12:36 NATO expansion

13:34 Xi compares US imperialism to fascism

14:38 China-Russia relations

15:16 Xi Jinping on Russia ties

16:46 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

17:42 Reverse Nixon?

19:08 China's economy

20:31 Kissinger plan to divide Russia & China

23:05 Obama-Clinton "Russian reset" attempt

26:00 China-Russia joint statement

27:29 World Anti-Fascist War

29:09 Closest China-Russia relations in history

31:17 Multipolarity

34:07 BRICS

35:08 Russia joins the Global Majority

36:17 Brazil

36:49 Venezuela

37:27 Cuba

38:18 Burkina Faso leader Ibrahim Traoré

39:08 Palestine

40:14 Vietnam

41:40 US hegemony is declining

42:55 Outro

Donald Trump's tariff threats, trade war, and other aggressive policies are uniting the world against the United States. Meanwhile, China is deepening its cooperation with Europe, Southeast Asia, Russia, and even South Korea and Japan. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4soTzm9uMQ

Trump's tariffs turbocharge de-dollarization: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/05/05/trump-tariffs-dedollarization-sell-us-dollar/

Topics

0:00 Trump's contradictory policies

0:15 (CLIP) Trump vows to be "peacemaker"

0:45 (CLIP) Trump promises imperial expansion

1:23 Massive US war budget

1:44 (CLIP) Trump's $1 trillion military budget

2:04 Ukraine peace talks failed

2:18 Trump bombs Yemen, threatens Iran

2:36 Trump backs Israel's crimes

3:13 Neocon hawk Marco Rubio

4:09 Crusader Pete Hegseth

4:53 Trade war

5:31 China talks

6:20 Dedollarization

7:00 Trump isolates USA

7:29 (CLIP) Trump: USA will be "strongest"

7:50 Blowback

8:25 Poll: Trump is very unpopular

10:01 Fox News poll: Trump is unpopular

10:56 Global anger at US aggression

11:58 US "encirclement" plan for China

13:49 China, Japan, S Korea, ASEAN cooperate

14:53 China, Japan South Korea coordinate

16:15 Japan pushes back against Trump

17:40 China & Vietnam deepen relations

18:28 ASEAN prefers China

19:38 ASEAN's trade with China

20:04 China diversifies its trade

21:50 China-Russia partnership

22:21 (CLIP) Trump: Divide Russia & China

22:37 Xi Jinping's trip to Russia

23:53 China & Russia commemorate WWII

25:13 Europe & China improve relations

27:11 Trump unites the rest of the world

27:43 Poll: China more popular than USA

29:48 US imperial decline

30:09 China: world's no 1 trading partner

30:28 China: world's no 1 economy

30:51 China: world's no 1 manufacturer

31:36 USA: world's no 1 oil producer

32:24 Canada's election

34:12 Australia's election

35:25 The Trump effect

36:14 Outro

Donald Trump said he wanted to save the dominance of the US dollar as the global reserve currency, but his aggressive tariff threats and trade war are accelerating dedollarization. Countries and foreign investors are selling US stocks and bonds (Treasury securities, ie, US government debt), seeking alternative reserve assets. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWnyL3WGjg

Topics

0:00 Donald Trump's plan

0:24 (CLIP) Trump on dedollarization

0:51 (CLIP) Trump on dollar dominance

1:23 Dedollarization

2:00 BRICS

2:48 Financial markets are de-dollarizing

4:11 Blowback

5:06 Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs

5:25 Trade war on China

5:49 US "grand encirclement" plan

6:35 China & Vietnam deepen ties

7:11 China, South Korea, Japan cooperate

7:56 Japan pushes back against USA

9:16 US bond market problems

10:43 Foreign holders of US Treasuries

11:13 China's US Treasury holdings

12:17 China is de-dollarizing

12:46 US asset seizures

14:03 China's dedollarization

15:17 Mar-a-Lago Accord means default

16:58 China de-dollarizes its reserves

19:00 Central banks buy gold

20:53 Gold price skyrockets

22:05 USD falls against yen & euro

23:21 Japanese & European bonds

24:35 Exchange rate risk

25:22 Japanese investors sell US assets

27:26 Dedollarization accelerates

28:37 Multipolar currency world

29:46 US current account deficit

30:40 Foreign holdings of US Treasuries

31:57 Scott Bessent fails to lower yields

32:30 Interest payments on US debt

33:20 Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell

33:58 Dedollarization will continue

34:52 Outro

Canada's new Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney is a center-right banker, not a real alternative to Donald Trump's right-wing agenda. They both serve the interests of rich elites and large corporations. Political economist Radhika Desai analyzes Canada's 2025 election results with journalist and lawyer Dimitri Lascaris.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH9PzE1Agt0

You can follow Dimitri Lascaris' independent media outlet Reason2Resist here: https://www.youtube.com/@reason2resist

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

The US military is preparing for war on China, and has missile systems in the Philippines aimed at major Chinese cities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the USA is making "Japan into a war-fighting headquarters". Ben Norton discusses the extremely aggressive policies of Trump, Biden, and beyond.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4f43dPOWgo

Trump's nuclear trade war targets China - but will blow back on USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9k7132Iyeo

US Defense Secretary Hegseth wants to overthrow China’s government, in ‘crusade’ against left (and Islam): https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/03/07/us-defense-secretary-hegseth-overthrow-china-crusade/

Topics

0:00 USA prepares for war on China

0:54 US missile systems in Philippines

2:01 Cuban missile crisis

2:59 Bipartisan warmongering

3:47 Economic war

4:51 Trump boosts military budget

5:05 (CLIP) Trump: $1 trillion military budget

5:36 Deficit, DOGE, & Elon Musk

6:24 Pete Hegseth: an imperial "crusader"

7:04 (CLIP) Hegseth promises "lethality"

7:18 Hegseth's "American crusade"

8:16 Pentagon memo on war with China

9:01 Heritage Foundation

9:46 Pentagon memo on war with China

11:57 Trump's goal with Ukraine

12:27 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China

12:42 Pentagon dubs China top "threat"

14:37 China's challenge to US hegemony

16:40 Taiwan as US imperial outpost

18:25 US troops & weapons in Taiwan

18:53 US-China three communiqués

20:47 USA backs Taiwan separatism

21:16 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on Taiwan

21:49 Taiwanese authoritarianism

22:56 Polls on Taiwan separatism

24:17 Taiwan's semiconductors

25:47 Hegseth's trip to Japan

27:16 USA promises peace through war

28:03 Trump admin's top 3 military goals

28:18 US aggression

30:31 Hegseth's trip to Philippines

31:26 (CLIP) USA has "real war plans"

32:12 Philippines as US imperial proxy

34:31 Silicon Valley prepares for war

35:11 Billionaire Palmer Luckey

38:54 Pentagon contractor Anduril

39:35 CIA-backed Palantir

40:02 Oligarch Peter Thiel

40:57 Venture capital & military-industrial complex

42:35 USA is an oligarchy

43:45 US war on China

45:02 Outro

Will US President Donald Trump be the tipping point for the dollar system? Even Western financial outlets now warn of the beginning of the end of dollar dominance. To discuss, host Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson and economic geographer Mick Dunford.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGZXDzmL10k

This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP