This time Eric welcomes to the show Bolivia-based researcher Thomas Becker to discuss the recent election which saw the Movement for Socialism (MAS) returned to power after the right wing coup which deposed Evo Morales in 2019. Thomas provides a summary of the events of the last year leading up to last week's elections, including the racism, violence, and ethnic cleansing carried out by the right wing coup government. From there, Eric and Thomas discuss the election results, the role of indigenous social movements, the failures of the international left, and much more. This important conversation touches on all the critical issues you need to know to understand where Bolivia has been and where it's going. Don't miss CounterPunch Radio this week! More

Thomas Becker – Episode 169

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Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt, sitting in for Eric Draitser on CounterPunch Radio, talks with Hanin Siam, a Palestinian organizer based in Tokyo, Japan. They discuss the challenges of organizing the Palestine solidarity movement in Japan, including the nuances of their communities in Tokyo and Hiroshima. From the history of Japanese support for Palestine, to BDS, to the social and legal limitations of protest, Rebecca and Hanin cover the diverse strategies and public response to the fight for Palestinian Liberation in Japan. Follow @palestinejapan for more. Edited by Kryzia Villada. More

Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt & Hanin Siam

This time on CounterPunch Radio we sit down with Sahar Aziz and Mitchell Plitnick, co-authors of "Presumptively Antisemitic: Islamophobic Tropes in the Palestine-Israel Discourse," a critical new report published by Rutgers University Law School's Center for Security, Race, and Rights. The conversation explores the political and social context for this report, as well as the timing of its release, published as it was against the backdrop of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. The discussion broadens beyond the report to explore various aspects of the Palestine issue and its continued central importance for the US and western countries, as well as for the "Middle East," world politics and global affairs.  More

Sahar Aziz and Mitchell Plitnick

Eric Draitser sits down with CounterPunch Editor Joshua Frank to discuss the reasons why CounterPunch Radio has been mostly quiet in recent months. Eric details some of his physical and mental health issues in recent months, and the prospects for his return to regular podcasting.  More

Eric Draitser

This time Eric welcomes investigative journalist Arun Gupta back to CounterPunch to discuss Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and the media narratives that have emerged. Arun discusses how the war is genocidal and how it fits into the broader trajectory of Israel over the last few decades. Arun also casts his critical eye on the reporting around alleged rapes and sexual violence on October 7, instead suggesting that much liberal reporting on the issue has fallen for carefully orchestrated Israeli propaganda. Arun closes out the conversation discussing why Henry Kissinger's death should remind the Left not to be so bleak, that powerful organizing can change history.  More

Arun Gupta

This time Eric welcomes activist, author, and neuroscientist Yoav Litvin back to CounterPunch to discuss Palestine, Zionism, and the Israeli war. Yoav discusses his upbringing in both US and Israel, his time in the IDF in Lebanon, and the ways in which he first confronted his Zionism and began to decolonize his mind. From there, the conversation explores the nature of Zionism and the Zionist project in Palestine, the importance of non-Israeli Jewish opinion internationally, the necessity of being in solidarity with Palestinians, the centrality of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement, Israeli politics and the future of Netanyahu, the role of the US and Israel's place within US imperialism, the specter of Trump's return, and so much more. Don't miss this important conversation only on CounterPunch! More

Thomas Becker – Episode 169

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