JOHNSTONE
1,116 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 21 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 99 ratingsReadings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.
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Episodes
The Mainstream Worldview Is A Mass - Produced Artificial Psychosis
July 12, 2024 14:25 - 5 minutes - 5.32 MBPeople who still believe that the news media tell them the truth and that their nation and their world work pretty much the way they were taught in school are just as brainwashed and deluded as any QAnon cultist. The only difference is that their delusions are much more widely shared, and that the mechanisms used to brainwash them are much more high-budget and sophisticated. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Truth Lover's Prayer
July 11, 2024 13:00 - 3 minutes - 3.13 MBMay I see the truth, especially the truth I don't want to see. Reading by Tim Foley.
Nonstop News Stories Proving Palestine Supporters Right About Everything
July 11, 2024 02:23 - 5 minutes - 4.62 MBHaaretz has a new report out showing that the IDF has seized more than a quarter of Gaza's territory, and is supporting moves by Israeli settlers to build on the areas that have been carved off from the Palestinian enclave. These areas are not just controlled by Israeli forces but have been completely demolished, with IDF military encampments constructed where Palestinian living spaces used to exist. Lately Haaretz has just been a stream of reports confirming that Palestine supporters have b...
Real Quotes From Hypothetical Gurus
July 10, 2024 12:53 - 6 minutes - 6.4 MB"The most worthwhile spiritual teachings don't actually teach you any new knowledge. Rather, they direct your attention to aspects of your own experience that you'd previously overlooked or hadn't paid much attention to. They get you questioning your unquestioned assumptions about very fundamental components of your experience like your sense of self, your means of perception, and the workings of your own mind. The most skillful teachers therefore don't require you to trust them or take anyth...
Oh, Looks Like Bombing Hospitals Is Bad Again
July 09, 2024 13:07 - 4 minutes - 4.49 MBWestern empire managers do not actually believe that there is anything "abhorrent" or "horrific" about attacking a hospital - at least not one which provides services to Palestinians or other populations who are not favored by the western empire. Reading by Tim Foley.
I Want A Free Palestine And A Free Mind, A Free Heart And A Free World
July 08, 2024 13:14 - 2 minutes - 2.16 MBI want a free Palestine and a free mind, a free heart and a free world. I want the oceans teeming with life and the air full of plant sex and dragonflies. I want a society where nobody needs to work but most people want to, except for the occasional eccentric dude (and there will always be the occasional eccentric dude), but he will have a flute and a story to tell. I want to write essays that open eyes and poems that open hearts and fan the flames of a revolution that will open the iron fist...
OMG Haaretz Is Hamas Propaganda Now!
July 08, 2024 02:33 - 5 minutes - 5.32 MBA new report from the Israeli outlet Haaretz titled "IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers Captive" confirms what independent outlets like The Grayzone and Electronic Intifada have been getting smeared as antisemitic conspiracy theorists for saying this entire time: that many of the Israeli deaths on October 7 were the result of an IDF policy of deliberately firing on their own people to prevent them from being taken hostage by Hamas. Reading by Tim Foley.
Saying Democracy Is In Jeopardy In America Is Like Saying Beaches Are In Jeopardy In Wyoming
July 06, 2024 12:33 - 5 minutes - 5.19 MBSaying democracy is in jeopardy in America is like saying beach front properties are in jeopardy in Wyoming. Your country is run by a few billionaires and government agencies. You don't get a real vote, and even if you did you're all propagandized anyway. It's not a real thing. Reading by Tim Foley.
Letting The Cruelty Of The World Break Our Hearts Together
July 05, 2024 12:12 - 2 minutes - 2.31 MBLet's allow the cruelty of the world to break our hearts, kind friend. Let's weep together at the shredded and emaciated bodies in Gaza, and at their mocking, cackling tormenters. Reading by Tim Foley.
This Civilization Is Deeply Unnatural
July 04, 2024 12:27 - 6 minutes - 5.74 MBThere is nothing natural about this. The way things are. The way we are living. If this was the natural and healthy way for human society to exist, it wouldn't require mountains of propaganda spin to keep it going. Reading by Tim Foley.
"Gaza Is Complicated!" No It Isn't. Grow Up
July 03, 2024 12:30 - 4 minutes - 3.68 MBSo much abusive bullshit hides behind the false modesty of "This issue is too complicated for me to understand." Reading by Tim Foley.
Oh No, Now The US Has To Stop Imprisoning Ex - Presidents For Their Crimes!
July 02, 2024 12:16 - 4 minutes - 4.31 MBEveryone's acting shocked and outraged at the Supreme Court ruling that Donald Trump and other former presidents are largely immune from criminal prosecution, as though presidents getting prosecuted for their crimes is something that's been happening this entire time. Reading by Tim Foley.
Former Israeli PM Admits Israel's War Crimes Can't Happen Without US Support
July 02, 2024 01:45 - 4 minutes - 3.96 MBEhud Olmert: "The entire Israel Air Force relies completely on American aircraft: fighter planes, transport planes, refueler planes and helicopters. All of Israel's air power is based on the American commitment to defend Israel. We have no other reliable source for essential supplies of equipment, munitions and advanced weapons that Israel cannot manufacture on its own." Reading by Tim Foley.
This Obvious Genocide Is Not What It Looks Like
July 01, 2024 12:15 - 2 minutes - 2.1 MBThis obvious genocide is not what it looks like, smirks the man behind the podium. Reading by Tim Foley.
How Does Anyone Still Care About This Bullshit?
June 29, 2024 14:41 - 6 minutes - 6.07 MBI truly do not see how anyone can still give a fuck about this bullshit. It's so obvious at this point that the US is being run by unelected empire managers who throw up half-dead, half-brained presidential candidates to trick Americans into thinking they live in a democracy. Those empire managers are going to do whatever they want to you regardless of how you and your compatriots vote. Your electoral system is a fake plastic toy they give you to play with so you won't interfere with the gear...
Really Think About What It Means That The US President Has Dementia
June 28, 2024 12:41 - 4 minutes - 4.19 MBIf people really believed the president runs the country, they'd be freaking out that Biden in his demented haze might order an attack on the Soviet Union or nuke Libya to kill Muammar Gaddafi or something. They're not worried that this will happen because they know their government is actually being run by unelected empire managers from behind the scenes, and that Biden is just the official face on the operation. Reading by Tim Foley.
There Is No Possibility Of Sovereignty As Long As The US Empire Exists
June 28, 2024 01:09 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MBIf you desire the sovereignty and self-determination of any group of people, your first and foremost task is to seek the dismantling of the US-centralized empire, because that's the power structure that is doing the most around the world to undermine this possibility. As long as a population is in any way intertwined with the agendas of a globe-dominating empire that's doing everything it can to bring everyone under its control, then there is no possibility of that population gaining any real...
Hell, Maybe ANYTHING Is Possible
June 26, 2024 12:37 - 4 minutes - 4.09 MBThe thing that stands out for me the most when watching the deeply moving footage of Julian Assange arriving home to Australia is how impossible this all felt until it happened. Reading by Tim Foley.
Assange Is Free, But Justice Has Not Been Done
June 25, 2024 11:41 - 4 minutes - 4.33 MBJustice would look like Assange being granted a full and unconditional pardon and receiving millions of dollars in compensation from the US government for the torment they put him through by his imprisonment in Belmarsh beginning in 2019, his de facto imprisonment in the Ecuadorian embassy beginning in 2012, and his jailing and house arrest beginning in 2010. Justice would look like the US making concrete legal and policy changes guaranteeing that Washington could never again use its globe-s...
Listen Deeply
June 24, 2024 23:21 - 2 minutes - 2.37 MBListen deeply to the screaming mothers and the whirring of the drones. Listen deeply to the news man's lies and the crashing of the bulldozers. Listen deeply to the tanks and missiles as they are rolled into position. Listen deeply to the dying fish and the fruit bats dropping out of trees from the heat. Listen deeply to the gasping biosphere and the reverberating cries of the long-dead indigenous. Listen deeply to the vibrations all around you and to the vibrations deep within yourself....
If Gaza Opened Your Eyes To The Empire's Depravity, Make Sure They Stay Open Forever
June 24, 2024 12:03 - 6 minutes - 5.65 MBPlease please please don't let Gaza be a one-off in terms of your opposition to the imperial machine. Keep your eyes fiercely trained on its actions after this is over, and help bring as much attention to its crimes as possible. Reading by Tim Foley.
Our Rulers Are Literally Driving Us Crazy
June 23, 2024 00:39 - 6 minutes - 5.86 MBIt's probably worth noting that the empire doesn't actually lose anything from our society's increasing mental health problems, and in fact actually benefits from them. Which is probably why everything in this dystopia is pointed at making everyone crazier and crazier. Reading by Tim Foley.
Zionism Is The Exact Opposite Of Spirituality
June 21, 2024 13:34 - 6 minutes - 5.5 MBZionism is like the exact opposite of people who identify as "spiritual but not religious"; it's religion stripped bare of all spirituality until it's nothing but a shitty political ideology that's ultimately really about land, western imperialism, and geostrategic control. Reading by Tim Foley.
Our Propagandized Society Is Like A Sick Man Who Doesn't Know He's Sick
June 20, 2024 11:37 - 6 minutes - 5.71 MBWe're in a burning house, and the people inside don't believe it's on fire and think you're a crazy crackpot for saying it is. There are a whole lot of necessary solutions to that problem that are going to have to follow from that point like getting everyone outside, getting the fire extinguished, finding a place to stay, getting the house rebuilt, replacing all the stuff that you lost, and getting everyone's life back to normal. But the very first order of business is pointing to the flames ...
Everything In Our Civilization Is Stacked To Keep Us Believing The Propaganda
June 19, 2024 12:41 - 6 minutes - 5.77 MBIt's not so much that people buy into the mainstream propaganda worldview because humans are dumb, or because humans are selfish. Primarily, people buy into the mainstream propaganda worldview because humans are lazy. Reading by Tim Foley.
The US Is Preparing For WWIII While Expanding Draft Registration
June 18, 2024 13:23 - 5 minutes - 5.31 MBSo I guess we should probably talk about the way NATO powers are rapidly escalating toward hot war with Russia at the same time the US is expanding its draft policies to make it easier to force more Americans go and fight in a giant war. Reading by Tim Foley.
We've Seen This "Antisemitism Crisis On The Left" Script Before
June 18, 2024 02:42 - 5 minutes - 4.87 MBIt sure is a crazy coincidence how western politicians and media always start urgently telling us about an invisible epidemic of left wing antisemitism every time western military ties to Israel are subjected to widespread public scrutiny. Reading by Tim Foley.
Making October 7 About Antisemitism To Hide Israel's Abuses
June 18, 2024 01:52 - 5 minutes - 4.81 MBThey keep telling you October 7 happened because Hamas hates Jews because they don't want you asking questions about Israel's actions which provoked the attack. Reading by Tim Foley.
"I Ain't Reading All That; Free Palestine"
June 15, 2024 12:29 - 4 minutes - 3.81 MBThe meme enrages Israel supporters because Israel apologia depends on mountains of verbiage to spin obvious atrocities as reasonable and appropriate. At some point the kids noticed this was happening, and started dismissing all the narratives. Reading by Tim Foley.
Behold The World Gently
June 14, 2024 11:58 - 3 minutes - 3.52 MBThe dead children don't affect me like they used to. The images. The videos. They still disturb and horrify, but not like they did in the beginning. Not anywhere close. And, honestly, I hate it. I hate that that part of me has been stolen. Reading by Tim Foley.
Spreading The Fiction Of An Antisemitism Epidemic On The Left
June 14, 2024 02:20 - 7 minutes - 6.8 MBIf you are helping to validate the completely fictional narrative that there is an epidemic of antisemitism on the political left, you are a facilitator of Israeli atrocities. You are helping the imperial war machine murder children. Reading by Tim Foley.
When The Powerful Control Public Opinion, Elections Aren't Real
June 12, 2024 23:00 - 8 minutes - 7.83 MBIn a capitalist system, those who control the capital control what ideas and information will be ingested by most people. In a democratic system of government - even one with a rock solid voting system and no money allowed in politics - this will always give the wealthy the ability to rig elections by manipulating public opinion using propaganda. Reading by Tim Foley.
Give New York To The Mormons
June 12, 2024 12:44 - 2 minutes - 2.33 MBThe state of New York should be given to the Mormons, since that's where Joseph Smith founded Mormonism. All other faiths in the new nation that shall be known as Mormonland must either leave or accept the fact that their homes and property will be taken by Mormons, that they will be displaced to undesirable parts of Mormonland, and that they will be treated as second-class citizens at best and as vermin in need of extermination at worst. Reading by Tim Foley.
Ignoring Daily Massacres In Gaza While Still Babbling About October 7
June 11, 2024 12:38 - 5 minutes - 5.06 MBWe're seeing new massacres every goddamn fucking day, but western politicians and media can't stop babbling about one single massacre happening hundreds of days ago. Reading by Tim Foley.
Saving Gaza Is About More Than Saving Gaza. It's Also About Saving Ourselves
June 10, 2024 14:08 - 2 minutes - 2.07 MBSaving Gaza is about more than saving Gaza. It's also about saving ourselves. Saving ourselves as individuals. Saving ourselves as a society. Saving ourselves as a species. Saving ourselves from what we'll become if we just watch this happening right in front of our eyes without doing everything we can to stop it. Saving ourselves from what the sociopaths who rule over us are trying to turn us into. Saving ourselves from the way the propagandists are trying to twist and train our minds. Savin...
The Media Skew Public Perception By Manipulating People's Attention
June 09, 2024 13:48 - 9 minutes - 8.44 MBOur perception of the world is dominated by the movements of our attention, which means that our perception of the world can be changed by manipulating those movements. Propagandists understand this, so they spend their time doing things like telling us over and over again what a bad bad baddie Vladimir Putin is while just occasionally giving a single highly mitigated mention to an individual instance of Israeli criminality, or talking about October 7 over and over again while greatly deempha...
Everything About Israel Is Fake
June 08, 2024 10:10 - 8 minutes - 7.5 MBEverything about Israel is fake. It's a completely synthetic nation created without any regard for the organic sociopolitical movements of the land and its people, slapped rootless atop an ancient pre-existing civilization with deep roots. That's why it cannot exist without being artificially propped up by nonstop propaganda, lobbying, online influence operations, and mass military violence. Reading by Tim Foley.
When Opposing A Genocide Means You're A Nazi
June 07, 2024 11:58 - 5 minutes - 5.29 MBWhen opposing a genocide means you're a Nazi. When opposing nuclear brinkmanship means you love Vladimir Putin. When opposing the looming global conflict with China means you're a sinister propagandist for "the CCP". When opposing the latest imperial escalations against the latest Official Bad Guy always means you're an appeaser of the Bad Guy and would have opposed fighting Hitler. When your skepticism toward government and media institutions who have an extensive record of lying and pr...
The Washington Post Is Pure AIDS, And Other Notes
June 06, 2024 10:24 - 8 minutes - 8.08 MB"The Washington Post is one of the worst propaganda rags ever to exist in any country. If I'd published such an article for such a depraved empire propaganda outlet, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night." Reading by Tim Foley.
Landfill Empire
June 05, 2024 12:42 - 3 minutes - 3.07 MBThe moonlight caresses the missile silos in Russia and the blown out hospitals in Gaza. The garbage plays in the wind like children. The exhaust fumes and the sounds of traffic feel like sex in your senses. You can meet the divine here. Here in the city. Here in dystopia. Here amid the smell of piss and the sleeping bags on the sidewalk. Here in the heart of a dying empire, whose cancerous tendrils sprawl like ivy across the dying face of a dying world. You can let the LED lights dance wit...
The Reckless Brinkmanship With Russia Just Keeps On Escalating
June 04, 2024 12:23 - 6 minutes - 5.87 MBIt's damn near impossible to keep up with all the warmongering of the western empire these days. Reading by Tim Foley.
Why I Don't Condemn Hamas For October 7
June 03, 2024 10:42 - 5 minutes - 5.03 MBCynthia Vigil was never charged with any crime because anyone could see that violent force was an entirely understandable and legitimate response to having been kidnapped and subjected to horrific treatment. It never at any time occurred to anyone to say that she should have acted differently, and it most certainly never occurred to anyone to make her single act of desperate violence the major story instead of the fact that there was a serial killer who'd been abducting women and torturing th...
They Can't Control The Gaza Narrative Because Too Much Has Been Seen
June 02, 2024 12:20 - 5 minutes - 4.78 MBThe light of awareness makes it very difficult for an empire which is fueled by human blood to operate, which is why so much effort has been going into shutting off the lights. Reading by Tim Foley.
The US Empire Isn't A Government That Runs Nonstop Wars, It's A Nonstop War That Runs A Government
June 01, 2024 13:16 - 6 minutes - 5.65 MBIt clears up a lot of confusion when you understand that the US empire is not a national government which happens to run nonstop military operations, it's a nonstop military operation that happens to run a national government. Reading by Tim Foley.
Biden Lets Ukraine Strike Russia With US Weapons While Ukraine Attacks Russian Nuclear Defenses
May 31, 2024 02:28 - 4 minutes - 4.28 MBWell it finally happened: Biden is now letting Ukraine strike Russian territory with US-supplied weapons. Escalations in nuclear brinkmanship which would have been unthinkable a few short years ago are becoming increasingly common as Ukraine loses more and more territory and runs out of soldiers to fight. Reading by Tim Foley.
Why Celebrities Aren't Speaking Up About Gaza
May 30, 2024 02:30 - 4 minutes - 4.43 MBFor the last eight months people have been expressing frustration and confusion about the reluctance of celebrities to use their immense platforms to speak out against the US-backed slaughter in Gaza. But it's not really a mystery why this happens: celebrities are reluctant to criticize the US-centralized empire because they benefit from it directly. Reading by Tim Foley.
Mass Slaughtering Civilians To Stop Terrorism
May 29, 2024 13:52 - 5 minutes - 5.15 MBRemember kids, Israel HAS to bomb hospitals and starve Gaza and incinerate children and shoot people waving white flags and assassinate doctors and journalists and commit daily massacres of civilians, because if it doesn't do this the region will be dominated by evil terrorists. Reading by Tim Foley.
The US Is Discrediting All Arguments For Why It Should Lead The World
May 28, 2024 11:59 - 6 minutes - 6.23 MBOne by one, the US empire is discrediting all of its own arguments for why it should lead the world. All the violence, tyranny and injustice it claims to be keeping at bay with its globe-dominating leadership is being inflicted by the empire itself, in more and more brazen and egregious ways each year. Reading by Tim Foley.
There Was A Time
May 27, 2024 12:00 - 2 minutes - 1.93 MBIt's hard to believe there was a time when I didn't know what a child's insides look like. That I didn't know how limp babies' limbs go when they are dead, when they are missing parts of their body, missing their head, limbs dangling lifeless as parents hold them in front of the camera, screaming, crying, pleading, desperate. There was a time when I didn't know how it feels to watch a man scream "Free Palestine" while burning alive, until there was nothing left to scream with and he lost his ...
Israel Massacres Children, Which The Western Press Says Is Fine
May 27, 2024 01:28 - 4 minutes - 4.5 MBAnyone who's been following the Gaza genocide on social media today will be seeing this phrase "legally killed child" alongside footage of children ripped apart by Israeli military explosives in a civilian displacement camp. Reading by Tim Foley.