What Palantir's manifesto says about its the politics of militarism. The Substack controversy about Andrew Tate, and why we stand with Talib Kweli and W. Kamau Bell. Ben Rhodes co-signs Graham Platner in the New York Times. Why the Democratic Party must become anti-war if it wants to win. The contradictory information about blockading the Strait of Hormuz. Ben McKenzie's new anti-crypto documentary. And inside the firing of the Secretary of the Navy. 

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Why did the US invade Iran? What does it have to do with American imperial decline? Why do oligarchs need the permanent war economy? Why is left populism impossible without an anti-war movement? What should a leftist or progressive foreign policy actually look like? Is AOC an organic intellectual, and what do we need from her foreign policy? Why did Bernie Sanders shift from talking about kleptocracy to talking about oligarchy? What are the prospects for left populism at home and anti-imperialism abroad? And why is political reform still possible in a revolutionary conjuncture? Critically acclaimed actor Morgan Spector joins Dr. Van Jackson in this ambitious, wide-ranging episode of The Un-Diplomatic Podcast. 

Follow Morgan Spector on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epluribusyourmom/

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The fragile US ceasefire with Iran has collapsed. Why? What is "goliath's curse" and how does it help us understand America's maximalist demands? Is Trump's new threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz possible? Does the US have any leverage against Iran? And what makes the US an anti-hegemon? Many questions, many answers in this emergency episode of the pod. 

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Emergency episode covering the terms of the US-Iran ceasefire; why it signals the end of US hegemony; the risks of nuclear war, which remain in place; Israel’s role as a spoiler; indicators of Chinese hegemony (or not); the limits of US power; and what it means to think of Iran as a great power controlling the Strait of Hormuz.

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AOC announces that she opposes arming Israel in any way--a welcome shift. What makes the Iran war a class war that takes money from every worker in the world. NATO has many problems, but its biggest is the United States. What makes the world post-hegemonic; new signs that the United States repudiates its own form status as global hegemon. Why slaughter is not a strategy--the Trump administration admits that bombing targets (not opening the Strait of Hormuz) is its only aim. Ed Luce of the Financial Times has a chat with Trump about Iran and what comes next. 

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While America's war in Iran slides into higher casualties and greater costs, most of the world remains distracted from America's illegal blockade of Cuba--an act of war. Why the oil crisis is going to fuel a food crisis, which is going to sow revolutionary conditions around the world. How imperialism does and doesn't help explain the US bombing a dairy farm in Ecuador. Pete Hegseth's pastor praying for the death of Texas senate candidate James Talarico signals a wave of far right violence that will confront the victories of left populist democrats in 2026 and 2028. Tracking the latest in the Iran war reveals just how much we're experiencing epistemic collapse--did Iran even fire missiles at Diego Garcia? And who pays for war? 

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Free episode crossover with The Bang-Bang Podcast! You might know Morgan Spector as the critically acclaimed leading man in The Gilded Age and The Plot Against America. Or for his appearances in Boardwalk Empire, Suits, Homeland, How to Make It In America (one of Van’s favorites), or even as a producer on The Big Scary “S” Word. What you might not know is that Morgan is both an impressive critic of policy and an advocate for democratic socialism.

We invited Morgan on to talk about Independence Day (1996), a delicious conversation that’s next in our queue. But we also recorded an in-depth installment of “Politics Behind the Scenes,” our occasional side-convos with guests about the urgent real-world issues of the day.

In this special episode, Morgan chops it up with Van Jackson  and Lyle Rubin about: Meaningful anti-imperialist positions on Russia’s war with Ukraine; The illegal war in Iran is also evil; Nationalizing the defense industry and taking the profits out of war; How we might envision a peace economy; Why we all love Graham Platner; The Israel problem in US foreign policy; Why we’re bullish on electoral leftism; and How the Democratic Party has shit the bed so bad that left populists have a real opportunity to takeover the party from within. A lot going on here. You don’t want to miss this episode with one of Hollywood’s best political minds.

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Why the Iran war is creating a global financial crisis. Why China doesn't want global hegemony, but if it did, now is the best time imaginable. Signs of American hegemonic decline. And Joe Kent's resignation from the Trump administration and how to read it in light of anti-semitism. Van Jackson and Matt Duss chopping up all that and more in this episode.

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What is the US shortage of standoff weapons? What's Iran's strategy? Why are missile defense systems moving from South Korea to the Middle East? And why is it wrong to believe that war with Iran comes at the expense of war with China? Can the US even defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion? In this episode live from the Kapiti Coast, Dr. Van Jackson analyzes the latest in the US and Israeli war with Iran and what it means for the balance of power in Asia.

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What is techno-industrialism, who benefits from it, and what does it mean for the working class? Maddy Crowell joins Julia Gledhill on the podcast to discuss her new article in Harper’s Magazine, in which she explores the effort to reindustrialize the United States through rearmament. 

Read “The Plot to Save America,” here: https://harpers.org/archive/2026/03/the-plot-to-save-america-maddy-crowell-reindustrialization-weapons-manufacturing/ 

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