Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and author (Don't Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles), and Mark Blyth, political economist and author (Angrynomics), join Paul Jay for a wide-ranging conversation about the deepening depression, inequality, and China. On theAnalysis.news podcast.

Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and author (Don't Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles), and Mark Blyth, political economist and author (Angrynomics), join Paul Jay for a wide-ranging conversation about the deepening depression, inequality, and China. On theAnalysis.news podcast.

Transcript

TRANSCRIPT HAS BEEN MODIFIED FOR A MORE COHESIVE READ

Paul JayHi, I'm Paul Jay and welcome to theAnalysis.news podcast. Don't forget; we need you toclick the donate button if you haven't already because, without your support, we can't do this.

So after the shit show debate and the ongoing warnings of a second or even third wave ofthe pandemic, I'm left with some questions.

First of all, does the shit show debate reflect an even more profound problem with the U. S.economy and political structures? Two, the financial and tech elites, how are theyresponding to the campaign, the debate? Have they bailed on the maniac or just doublingdown on the Senate? How deep and how long will the recession, depression go? It looks likethere could be more lockdowns. Four, if there is another full lockdown, which many scientistsare saying will be necessary to contain the second, third wave, what, if any, are the limits ofhow much money the Fed can pump into the economy? What are the economic limits? Whatare the political limits? Six, how serious is the split over the new Fed money? Does WallStreet want a big new stimulus package? Are there really serious concerns about the U.S.dollar? And finally, seven, if we have time to get to it, is Wall Street getting the danger of theclimate crisis? Will they do anything about it? Will they accept the government intervening ina serious way with regulations and massive investments in green infrastructure, includingphasing out fossil fuel, not just relying on carbon capture, which is mostly what the Bidenplan is about.

Now, joining me to break this down, our two guests that are not only brilliant analysts of allthis, but they also have unique access to the minds of the lords of Wall Street.

First of all, Rana Foroohar, who is a business columnist and an associate editor at theFinancial Times. She's also CNN's global economic analyst. And her books include 'Makersand Takers: The Rise of Finance in the Fall of American Business' and 'Don't Be Evil: HowBig Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles,' and returning Mark Blyth is a political economistat Brown University. He researches the causes of stability and change in the economy. Andas he told me, why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets ofevidence to the contrary.

So first, Rana, let me ask you. So first of all, your reaction to the debate and the biggerquestion, what does this tell us about the disarray in American politics, and why is there? Isthere something going on in the U.S. economy and basic political structures that kind of giverise to this craziness?

Rana FarooharWell, thank you, Paul, for having me, and first, let me tune my earpiece so I can hear theLords of Finance speaking to me. I was stunned by the debate. I mean, on one level, at the

most surface level, the debate was just kind of this toxic mud-slinging wrestling match.You've likened it to Trump's debating style in general to pro wrestling. I think that's true. But Iguess I would take a step back and say, all right, how did we get to a place where, frankly,anybody watching would be as embarrassed as I was to be an American,

Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and author (Don't Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles), and Mark Blyth, political economist and author (Angrynomics), join Paul Jay for a wide-ranging conversation about the deepening depression, inequality, and China. On theAnalysis.news podcast.

Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and author (Don't Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles), and Mark Blyth, political economist and author (Angrynomics), join Paul Jay for a wide-ranging conversation about the deepening depression, inequality, and China. On theAnalysis.news podcast.

[A full video interview] The leaker of the Pentagon Papers says that if Assange is extradited to the U.S., no journalist in the world is safe from being kidnapped to the United States to face life imprisonment for reporting on information like Chelsea Manning released. Daniel Ellsberg joins Paul Jay on theanalysis.news podcast.

[A full video interview] The leaker of the Pentagon Papers says that if Assange is extradited to the U.S., no journalist in the world is safe from being kidnapped to the United States to face life imprisonment for reporting on information like Chelsea Manning released. Daniel Ellsberg joins Paul Jay on theanalysis.news podcast.

Transcription

Paul Jay

Hi, I'm Paul Jay. Welcome to theAnalysis.news podcast. Don't forget there's a donate button at the top of the Web page, and if you haven't donated, perhaps now would be a good time.

Early Friday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted that he was infected with COVID-19. Of course, this has become almost the only story covered by major American news media, and understandably so is it may change the outcome of the November elections and perhaps even who is president in the coming weeks. And, of course, there's a crazy irony to it all.

Some say poetic justice, but prior to Trump's news, the U.S. media almost completely ignored a story that is not only newsworthy in its own right but is of crucial importance to the American media itself.

And that is the extradition hearing for Julian Assange. If Assange is found guilty of the charges the U.S. government has laid against him. It means that whistleblowing and the publishing of whistleblowers revelations is dead. In fact, much of investigative journalism would be dead. A British judge said on Thursday, October 1st, she would give her decision on January 4th on whether Assange should be extradited to the United States to face charges, including espionage. The U.S. authorities accuse Australian-born Assange of conspiring to hack government computers and the violating espionage law in connection with the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010 and 2011.

The week of hearings has heard evidence that exposes the charges against Assange as trumped-up and even ridiculous.

The most important whistleblower in American history, Daniel Ellsberg, submitted an eight-page written statement to the court in London opposing the extradition. And Daniel now joins us from Berkeley, California, to discuss the Assange case and what he considers growing fascism in the United States. Thanks for joining us, Daniel.

Daniel Ellsberg Thank you. Glad to be here.

Paul Jay

So you've been quoted as saying that there hasn't been such a significant attack on the freedom of the press since your case in 1971. Why do you think it holds such important?

Daniel Ellsberg

I wasn't the first whistleblower in America or the first leaker of classified information? Of course, that goes on almost every day, every hour. Some part of the government putting out classified information that serves some agency or serves the president's policy that's authorized disclosure in effect of classified information. But there have been major leaks, of course, before me and after me. I was the first American to be prosecuted for giving information on unauthorized classified information to the American public. And I was prosecuted under the Espionage Act, which had never been intended or shaped for such a prosecution.

It was intended for spies. And people give information secretly to a foreign government to advantage them, especially in wartime. An enemy in wartime often being used for that, never used before me for a non-espionage case of a leaker or wh...

[A full video interview] The leaker of the Pentagon Papers says that if Assange is extradited to the U.S., no journalist in the world is safe from being kidnapped to the United States to face life imprisonment for reporting on information like Chelsea Manning released. Daniel Ellsberg joins Paul Jay on theanalysis.news podcast.

[A full video interview] The leaker of the Pentagon Papers says that if Assange is extradited to the U.S., no journalist in the world is safe from being kidnapped to the United States to face life imprisonment for reporting on information like Chelsea Manning released. Daniel Ellsberg joins Paul Jay on theanalysis.news podcast.

Prof. Leo Panitch, Jacobin writer Meagan Day, and Historian Gerald Horne join Paul Jay to analyze the Presidential debate and the underlying reasons why the U.S. political system is in disarray. They discuss how the people's movement will respond to a possible Trump coup if he loses the election.

Prof. Leo Panitch, Jacobin writer Meagan Day, and Historian Gerald Horne join Paul Jay to analyze the Presidential debate and the underlying reasons why the U.S. political system is in disarray. They discuss how the people's movement will respond to a possible Trump coup if he loses the election.

Transcript

Paul JayHi, I'm Paul Jay. Welcome to theAnalysis.news podcast.

Michael BufferLet's get ready to rumbleeeeee!

Paul JayThat was how ring announcer Michael Buffer would start WWF wrestling matches. He should have beenon hand to start things off for Chris Wallace at the presidential debate. Donald Trump actually playedhimself as a character in WWF, fighting Vince McMahon, the owner of the massive pro-wrestlingempire. McMahon's wife now sits in Trump's cabinet after the couple donated millions of dollars toTrump's campaign.In 1954, writing about professional wrestling in Paris, philosopher Roland Barthes wrote that prowrestling is light without shadow, emotion without reserve, and the master of that storytelling wasVince McMahon. He understood that millions of people want to scream in anger, cheer bad guys, andthe more flawed the character, the more people cheered. He understood the era of the good guy wasover, and invented characters that were the embodiment of every value people had been taught not tohold. It was a wonderful release for people to express hatred without reserve.Trump, in front of 85,000 people, got to beat up McMahon and shave his hair off, because that's what itwas, a winner gets to shave the other guy's hair off. He stood at the center of the ring, soaking in thewild cheers of the adoring crowd, and that's where he learned his politics.His unmitigated rage was on full display in the presidential debate on Tuesday night.He really thought he could win the debate with the kind of trash talk that works in front of a wrestlingcrowd. And perhaps it would have worked if he was just up against Biden. But at crucial moments, intothe ring would run Chris Wallace, the Fox News journalist, who would take Trump on in a way Bidennever could. Wallace blunted Trump's attack, and even asked a couple of real questions that Trumpcouldn't handle, especially when asked to denounce white supremacy. Only the manic megalomania ofTrump could make the poverty of policy of Joe Biden look good.And what does this "shit show," to quote a CNN pundit who actually said that on-air, say about the stateof the American state? Why is the political system in such disarray? And what about the real issues thatwere supposed to be debated and were mostly ignored? Now, joining us to try to make sense out of allof this is Meagan Day. She's a staff writer at Jacobin and co-author of the book "Bigger Than Bernie:How we Go from the Sanders Campaign to Democratic Socialism."Gerald Horne holds the John Jay and Rebecca Moore chair of history and African-American Studies atthe University of Houston, and is the author of many books, including "The Counter-Revolution of 1776,"and Leo Panitch is the emeritus distinguished research professor of political science at York University inToronto, and co-author of "The Socialist Register." Thanks so much for joining me, all of you.

Leo PanitchGlad to be here Paul.

Gerald HorneThank you.

Meagan DayHi. Thanks for having us.

Paul JaySo, Gerald, kick us off. What was your overall impression of what you heard and saw?

Gerald HorneWell, first of all, Mr. Trump's run-up to this debate was inconsistent with the requisites of the debateitself....