JOHNSTONE
1,116 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 23 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 99 ratingsReadings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.
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Episodes
A Profound Act Of Sincerity
February 28, 2024 02:39 - 5 minutes - 5.41 MBOne of the main reasons the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell is having such an earthshaking impact on our society is because it's the single most profound act of sincerity that any of us have ever witnessed. Reading by Tim Foley.
When The Slaughter Stops In Gaza
February 27, 2024 09:56 - 2 minutes - 2.53 MBWhen the slaughter stops in Gaza I will get to those cobwebs, promise, and water that monstera, and clean out that goo in the fridge. When the slaughter stops in Gaza I will youtube how to grow strawberries, and whether dinosaurs ever had feathers, and what's the deal with hibachis - is it something to do with fondue? When the slaughter stops in Gaza I will brush my hair out finally, and call my Mum god bless her and make her a perfect lasagna - no, two; I'll make one for freezing, and I'll...
Aaron Bushnell Burned Himself Alive To Make You Turn Your Eyes To Gaza
February 26, 2024 13:08 - 5 minutes - 4.63 MBShortly before his final act in this world, Bushnell posted the following message on Facebook: "Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' "The answer is, you're doing it. Right now." Aaron Bushnell has provided his own answer to this challenge. We're all providing our own right now. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Most American Thing That Has Ever Happened
February 26, 2024 02:00 - 4 minutes - 4.17 MBYou simply cannot fit more America into a single incident than a man dying a horrifying death in protest of war crimes while a first responder screams at cops to stop pointing their guns at him and go get fire extinguishers. Reading by Tim Foley.
You Can't Be A "Lesser Evil" When You're Sponsoring A Genocide
February 25, 2024 12:39 - 5 minutes - 5.4 MBYou don't get to apply the label "lesser evil" to a president who is backing a literal genocide. That's not a thing. Past a certain point you're just plain evil. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israel Supporters Are Some Of The Worst People In The World
February 24, 2024 03:13 - 5 minutes - 4.9 MBEvery single day these last four and a half months I've been inundated with comments from Israel supporters excusing the most monstrous acts imaginable in the most monstrous ways imaginable. People calling for the total destruction of Gaza. People saying the Gazans deserve what is happening to them. Saying the sickest shit you can possibly think of in response to news of terrible things happening to innocent children. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats
February 23, 2024 13:58 - 4 minutes - 3.71 MBThe difference between Republicans and Democrats is that if a Republican president were to back a genocide it would be an evil and unforgivable atrocity, whereas when a Democrat president backs a genocide it's a minor foible that you'd better shut up about unless you want Trump to win. Reading by Tim Foley.
Just Keep Bringing Awareness To The Depravity Of The Empire In As Many Ways As Possible
February 23, 2024 03:32 - 4 minutes - 3.93 MBLook for fresh opportunities to show westerners that the mass media are deceiving and propagandizing them to get them questioning their assumptions about what they've been told about the world. Look for fresh opportunities to show them evidence that the US war machine is the most murderous and destructive force on this planet. Look for fresh opportunities to show them how status quo systems create a far less beneficial society and a far less healthy world than what we could have under differe...
Israel-Palestine Isn't 'Complicated', You Just Support Killing Palestinians
February 22, 2024 02:27 - 9 minutes - 8.62 MBIsraeli media are now reporting that ten hostages were killed as a result of Israeli attacks on buildings where the IDF knew hostages were located. Israel supporters can go ahead and stop babbling about hostages when trying to justify the attack on Gaza. It's never been about saving hostages. Reading by Tim Foley.
You Only Need To Cage A Bird If It Knows That It Can Fly
February 20, 2024 02:08 - 5 minutes - 4.91 MBOne point I keep trying to drive home here in as many ways as I can is that this is the dystopia we were warned about. The main difference between this mind-controlled dystopia and the fictional dystopias in novels like 1984 is that in 1984 people knew they weren't living in a free society, whereas in this dystopia the people believe they are free. Reading by Tim Foley.
Podcast: Assange's Showdown With The Empire Of Lies
February 19, 2024 17:11 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBTim and Caitlin are back with another chat, this time about Assange, Gaza, the empire and propaganda. We also took a couple of questions, including "Where do you get your news and how best to parse fact from fiction?" and "Across the world are there any people you admire offering inspiration and hope?"
Nobody Who Gets Gaza Wrong Is Worth Listening To
February 19, 2024 00:30 - 7 minutes - 7.15 MBI've actually stopped following people for getting Gaza wrong. People I'd previously followed for years. I disagree with literally everyone I follow on some issues at some times, but Gaza quickly became my red line. If you can't get that one right, nothing else you have to say is worth a damn. Reading by Tim Foley.
Crocodile Tears Over Navalny While Ignoring Assange
February 17, 2024 01:58 - 4 minutes - 4.32 MBThe entire western political-media class are currently rending their garments about the prison death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and are being joined by the propaganda-addled citizenry of the western empire. Meanwhile Julian Assange's last-ditch effort to appeal against extradition to the United States is coming up in a few days with a tiny fraction of the attention. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Perfect Recipe For A Real Antisemitism Crisis
February 16, 2024 01:43 - 3 minutes - 2.92 MBIf I wanted to increase antisemitism, I imagine I'd do a lot of really evil stuff under a Star of David flag while adamantly insisting that my actions are inseparable from the Jewish people and the Jewish faith. I'd kill children by the thousands and commit genocidal atrocities. Reading by Tim Foley.
We Think This Dystopia Is Normal Like People In Abusive Relationships Think It's Normal
February 15, 2024 13:45 - 5 minutes - 4.74 MBWesterners who don't appreciate the extreme dysfunctionality of western civilization are like someone in an abusive marriage who hasn't yet recognized that there's a problem, or someone who had a violent and chaotic childhood who still thinks their home life was basically normal. Reading by Tim Foley.
Continuing To Support Israel At This Point Just Means You're A Garbage Human Being
February 14, 2024 02:25 - 5 minutes - 5.24 MBFour months. This has been happening for four months. If you're still supporting Israel after four months of atrocities, then you're just a shitty human being. After four months you've lost any possible claim to have overreacted to October 7 in the emotional heat of the moment, and this is just who you are as a person. Reading by Tim Foley.
Ignore What Western Officials Say About Israel; Watch Their Actions Instead
February 13, 2024 03:09 - 6 minutes - 5.74 MBThe Biden administration is feeding pleasing sound bites to the mass media about the president saying mean things about Netanyahu in order to placate their base, while having their foot firmly on the gas pedal of concrete actions toward continuing the genocide in Gaza. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israel Weaponizes Sympathy And Victimhood
February 12, 2024 01:50 - 5 minutes - 5.24 MBIn this dynamic, anything Israel does causes more people to hate Israel both in the middle east and around the world, to which Israel responds by tearfully proclaiming "See?? They hate us! We must defend ourselves against their hostilities!" Reading by Tim Foley.
"In The War Of Propaganda, It Is Very Difficult To Defeat The United States"
February 11, 2024 04:29 - 10 minutes - 9.61 MB"In the war of propaganda it is very difficult to defeat the United States because the United States controls all the world's media and many European media," Putin replied, adding, "The ultimate beneficiary of the biggest European media are American financial institutions." Reading by Tim Foley.
Pushing Gazans Into Rafah And Then Attacking Rafah, Killing UNRWA Funding Without Evidence
February 10, 2024 02:09 - 5 minutes - 4.8 MBSo to summarize, the IDF has been packing the population of Gaza into the southernmost part of the enclave like toothpaste toward the end of a tube, and now they're going to attack that southernmost part, but it's totally not genocide and you're an evil Nazi if you say it is. Reading by Tim Foley.
A Dementia Patient Is President Because It Doesn't Matter Who The President Is
February 09, 2024 03:39 - 6 minutes - 5.88 MBSo it turns out the dementia symptoms Biden's supporters have long dismissed as a "stutter" are actually exactly what they look like. Reading by Tim Foley.
The US Keeps Bombing People While Saying It Doesn't Want To Fight
February 08, 2024 13:24 - 6 minutes - 6.2 MBOne of the weirdest things happening in the world today is the way US officials keep insisting that they are not at war with the groups they're dropping bombs on in the middle east, and that they do not seek conflict with the people they are attacking. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Empire Depends On Our Unwillingness To Look At Its Crimes
February 07, 2024 12:42 - 6 minutes - 6.2 MBThis entire sick dystopia is held together by psychological compartmentalization. By the fact that it's more comfortable to avoid looking directly at the horrors of the status quo we live under, even though on some level we all know those horrors are there. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Western Press Are Just Printing Straight Up Nazi Propaganda About Middle Easterners Now
February 06, 2024 21:31 - 6 minutes - 6.04 MBMass media editors at outlets like The Guardian, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have been allowing the publication of some amazingly racist pieces these last few days. All are directed at middle easterners and those of middle eastern descent, just as the western empire drops more and more bombs on more and more countries in the middle east. Reading by Tim Foley.
Podcast: Four Months Of Genocide
February 06, 2024 12:21 - 1 hour - 74.4 MBThat's right, we've got a podcast out. Caitlin and Tim discuss the harrowing experience of following Israel's mass atrocities in Gaza for four months, then answer some questions from readers and trolls. Questions we address here include: "Who is Tim?" "Do you guys ever disagree on the topics you cover?" "What are the ways that people deeply attached to the status quo - even whilst recognising it stinks - can be encouraged to let go their grip?" "Do you ever tweet anything that isn't either ...
CNN's CEO Is Making Staff Churn Out Israel Propaganda
February 05, 2024 14:19 - 6 minutes - 6.05 MBThis is the sort of person who gets hired to multiple executive positions in multiple highly influential western media platforms. If you've ever wondered why it looks like the western press function in pretty much the same way as the state propaganda services in the autocracies the west proudly sets itself apart from, this is why. The corporate media are owned and controlled by plutocrats who have a vested interest in preserving the status quo power structure upon which their kingdoms are bui...
However Bad You Think Israel Is, It's Worse
February 05, 2024 00:58 - 5 minutes - 4.9 MBSo it turns out the IDF has been running a Telegram channel featuring homemade snuff films in which Gazans are brutally murdered by Israeli forces, captioned with celebrations of the gore and pain therein like "Burning their mother… You won't believe the video we got! You can hear their bones crunch." The IDF had previously denied any association with the channel, but Haaretz now reports that it was directly run by an IDF psychological warfare unit. Reading by Tim Foley.
Never Before Has The Empire Been So Exposed
February 03, 2024 10:32 - 4 minutes - 4.46 MBI've been railing against the US war machine for around seven years now, and never during that time have I had more westerners on my side than right now. Never has the depravity of the western empire been more starkly exposed in the cold light of day. Reading by Tim Foley.
Biden Says The US "Does Not Seek Conflict In The Middle East" While Actively Dropping Bombs There
February 03, 2024 01:50 - 4 minutes - 3.7 MBSaying the US does not seek conflict in the middle east is like saying the Kardashians do not seek attention. It's like saying Jeff Bezos doesn't seek money. It's like saying the Hamburglar doesn't seek hamburgers. It's kind of their thing. To make such a ridiculous claim while actively raining military explosives upon the middle east, in "retaliation" for an attack which the people you're bombing didn't even commit, is just extra icing on the cake of ridiculousness. Reading by Tim Foley.
Five Things Liberals Say To Avoid Taking A Real Position On Gaza
February 02, 2024 01:54 - 5 minutes - 5.13 MBHere are five noises western liberals like to make to avoid having to take a real position on Gaza: 1. "It's heartbreaking!" 2. "It's complicated!" 3. "BUT TRUMP!" 4. "I really hope there can be peace there someday!" 5. "I support a two-state solution!" Reading by Tim Foley.
Democrats Are Demented Genocidal War Sluts
February 01, 2024 13:37 - 5 minutes - 4.84 MBA Democratic president engaging in genocide during a re-election year is highlighting the depravity of this warmongering capitalist party more starkly than anything else I can remember. Reading by Tim Foley.
Everything Israel Wants To Destroy Is Hamas
January 30, 2024 11:57 - 5 minutes - 5.35 MBUNRWA is Hamas. The hospitals are Hamas. The ambulances are Hamas. The journalists are Hamas. The schools are Hamas. South Africa is Hamas. People tweeting unfavorable things about Israel are Hamas. Basically everyone Israel and its supporters want killed is Hamas. Reading by Tim Foley.
Strange Groceries
January 29, 2024 23:55 - 1 minute - 1.29 MBWhat strange groceries that man is carrying Odd shapes in two plastic bags Dripping blood They look like they weigh more than the world Head bowed Eyes screwed shut Step after step, feet like lead Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah What are those strange groceries you carry, sir? These are my children, he says through a clenched jaw They have had a long and weary day And it is time to put them to bed His face is wet with tears And his arms are shaking He walks on Heavy feet with a heavy burden Allah,...
Yet More US-Driven Escalations Toward War In The Middle East
January 29, 2024 02:35 - 6 minutes - 5.6 MBWell, it finally happened. The scores of attacks on US troops in the middle east in response to Israel's US-backed atrocities in Gaza have resulted in American deaths, just as critics of US foreign policy have been saying would happen for months. Reading by Tim Foley.
Commemorating A Past Holocaust While Cheerleading The Current One
January 28, 2024 02:17 - 5 minutes - 4.76 MBIt's been so surreal watching empire managers issue solemn words in honor of Holocaust Memorial Day while enthusiastically facilitating a modern-day genocide in Gaza. Commemorating the Holocaust while cheerleading for the current holocaust is next-level dystopia. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israel Accuses The ICJ Of (You Guessed It) Antisemitism
January 27, 2024 03:40 - 3 minutes - 3.2 MBEveryone's arguing about whether or not the ICJ's ruling is helpful, and I don't know enough one way or the other to be sure either way, but from where things stand right now it does seem unlikely to me that managers of the Israeli war machine would be getting this freaked out and whipping out their tired old "antisemitism" song and dance if there wasn't something of substance to it. Reading by Tim Foley.
The War On Journalism In Belmarsh, The War On Journalism In Gaza
January 26, 2024 03:45 - 3 minutes - 3.6 MBI haven't written much about Julian Assange lately because I've been so fixated on what's been happening in Gaza, but we should all be acutely aware that the 20th and 21st of February may be the WikiLeaks founder's final chance to avoid extradition to the United States to face persecution for the crime of good journalism. Reading by Tim Foley.
Gaza Is Exposing Western Liberals For The Frauds They Are
January 25, 2024 00:47 - 3 minutes - 3.03 MBThe entire western liberal worldview is currently balanced on the ability to psychologically compartmentalize away from the mass atrocities in Gaza and what western governments are doing to perpetuate them. Reading by Tim Foley.
Many Say They Want Peace When What They Really Want Is Obedience
January 24, 2024 02:02 - 7 minutes - 6.95 MBEveryone says they want peace, but they mean different things by this. To an anti-imperialist, peace means the end of violence, oppression and exploitation. To a Zionist, peace means Palestinians lie down and accept their fate and neighboring nations cease disobeying Israel. To a supporter of the US empire, peace means all nations around the world submit to US unipolar hegemony. Many say they want peace when what they really want is tyranny. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Biden Administration's Absurd Justification For Its Yemen War
January 23, 2024 02:52 - 5 minutes - 4.6 MBEver since the Biden administration began bombing Yemen, its official spinmeisters have been babbling about commerce and global container shipping to justify it. The unspoken premise behind this justification is that an active genocide should be permitted to continue with zero economic repercussions of any kind, for Israel or anyone else. Reading by Tim Foley.
Biden Has Started Another US War
January 22, 2024 02:44 - 6 minutes - 5.51 MBThe Washington Post has an article out titled "As Houthis vow to fight on, U.S. prepares for sustained campaign," with "sustained campaign" being empire-speak for a new American war. Reading by Tim Foley.
Welcome To The Empire
January 20, 2024 02:07 - 2 minutes - 2.46 MBWelcome to the empire Where genocide is self-defense and peace rallies are genocide Where war criminals are the victims and the hospitals are terrorists Where calls for freedom are hateful and ceasefires are anti-semitic Where civilians get called terrorists and real terrorists get Nobel Peace Prizes Where the propaganda is journalism and the journalism is propaganda Where the democracy is real and the apartheid is imaginary Where the corporations are people and the people are corporate resou...
Bibi Rejects Palestinian Statehood, Biden Says Bombing Yemen Doesn't Work But Will Continue Anyway
January 19, 2024 02:05 - 5 minutes - 4.71 MBBenjamin Netanyahu said he opposes Palestinian statehood and that Israel must control everything from the river to the sea on the same day Joe Biden said the repeated bombing of Yemen isn't deterring Ansarallah but they're going to keep bombing anyway. Reading by Tim Foley.
When Yemen Does It It's Terrorism, When The US Does It It's "The Rules-Based Order"
January 18, 2024 02:16 - 4 minutes - 3.97 MBThat's right kids: when Yemen sets up a blockade to try and stop an active genocide, that's terrorism, but when the US empire imposes a blockade to secure its geostrategic interests in the middle east, why that's just the rules-based international order in action. Reading by Tim Foley.
The "Rules-Based International Order"
January 16, 2024 01:04 - 4 minutes - 4.17 MBThe "rules-based international order" has allowed the incineration of Gaza, and the bombing of Yemeni forces who are trying to stop it. The "rules-based international order" allowed hundreds of thousands of people to be killed by western-backed Saudi atrocities in Yemen. The "rules-based international order" allowed NATO powers to knowingly provoke a world-threatening proxy war in Ukraine. Reading by Tim Foley.
Turns Out "Israel Has A Right To Defend Itself" Meant "Israel Has A Right To Commit Genocide"
January 15, 2024 01:49 - 6 minutes - 6.06 MBTurns out "Israel has a right to defend itself" actually meant "Israel has a right to commit genocide, and no other countries have a right to stop it." Reading by Tim Foley.
If You've Just Started Paying Attention To US Foreign Policy
January 13, 2024 23:00 - 5 minutes - 4.98 MBIf you're among those who have only just begun paying attention to US foreign policy and western media bias in light of Israel's destruction of Gaza and Biden's act of war against Yemen, it's important to understand that none of the depravity you're seeing is new. The lies. The insane double standards. The murderousness. The western political/media class always does this. Reading by Tim Foley.
We Could Try Simply NOT Provoking A Wider War Via The Continued Destruction Of Gaza
January 13, 2024 03:35 - 4 minutes - 4.41 MBThe US has carried out another air raid on Yemen, with targets reportedly including the international airport in the capital city of Sanaa. This comes a day after US and UK airstrikes on Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Red Sea commercial vessels. Reading by Tim Foley.
Western Empire Bombs Yemen To Protect Israel's Genocide Operations In Gaza
January 12, 2024 02:52 - 2 minutes - 2.64 MBSo the US and the UK just bombed the poorest country in the middle east for trying to stop a genocide. Not only that, they bombed the very same country in which they just spent years backing Saudi Arabia's genocidal atrocities which killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2015 and 2022 in an unsuccessful bid to stop the Houthis from taking power. Reading by Tim Foley.
Biden Is Everything People Feared Trump Would Be
January 11, 2024 02:39 - 5 minutes - 4.76 MBBiden has turned out to be everything we were warned Trump would be: a genocidal monster fueling racist violence and crimes against humanity while imperiling the world with insanely reckless foreign policy decisions. Reading by Tim Foley.