JOHNSTONE
1,117 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 99 ratingsReadings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.
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Episodes
Tone Policing Opposition To Genocide
November 14, 2023 02:54 - 7 minutes - 6.87 MBUS senator Chris Coons sat across from journalist Aaron Maté on the train on Monday, which is about the worst place you could possibly choose to sit if you're a powerful official in a government that's in the middle of backing an active genocide. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israelis Keep Hurting Their Own PR Interests By Talking
November 13, 2023 13:57 - 9 minutes - 9.16 MBOne problem Israel keeps running into is how the institutionalized dehumanization of Palestinians which keeps the apartheid state operational also causes Israelis to say things that non-Israelis will find extremely shocking, which hurts Israel's PR interests. Reading by Tim Foley.
What Would It Look Like If You Were Standing On The Wrong Side Of History?
November 12, 2023 02:21 - 4 minutes - 3.74 MBWhat would it look like to be on the wrong side of history? If there were a mass atrocity taking place presently which history will end up judging harshly in the future, and you were supporting the wrong side of it, what signs might you expect to see that that's the case? Well, I imagine you'd probably be seeing terrible news about what's happening coming out every day that under normal circumstances would cause you to cry out in horror, but then you'd be getting a bunch of words and stories...
Biden Could End All This With One Phone Call
November 11, 2023 01:34 - 4 minutes - 4.22 MBBiden could end this with one phone call. With. One. Phone call. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or ignorant. This mass slaughter is happening because Washington wants it to happen. When Israel completely cut off Gaza's communications last month, Washington called and ordered them to restore it, and connections were immediately restored. It's always been this way; in 1982 Israel's assault on Lebanon was halted with a phone call from President Reagan. They can end this assault...
Both-Sidesing The Gaza Issue Is A Sign Of Psychological Immaturity
November 10, 2023 12:28 - 4 minutes - 3.78 MBYou can't both-sides everything. You can't live your life that way. Yes it's possible to see both sides of every contentious issue. You're supposed to be able to do that; it's a sign of intellectual maturity. If you can't see both sides of an issue your relationship with abstract concepts is too rigid, and you're probably lacking in empathy. It's just a basic part of growing up to learn how to stand in other people's shoes and see where they're coming from. But just because you can see both...
Dismantle Israel And The Entire US Empire
November 09, 2023 02:51 - 4 minutes - 4.25 MBIt's not just the Israeli state that has proven it needs to be dismantled, it's the entire US-centralized western empire. The whole giant power structure has got to go. Reading by Tim Foley.
Getting Called A Nazi For Opposing A Genocide
November 08, 2023 01:38 - 6 minutes - 6.15 MBIt's the most 2020s thing in the world that there's an active genocide currently underway and it's the people who oppose it who are being called Nazis. Reading by Tim Foley.
We Keep Our Gaze On Gaza
November 07, 2023 13:35 - 4 minutes - 3.98 MBSo we keep our gaze fixed on Gaza. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how horrifying it gets. No matter how much we cry. No matter how often we slump over and feel like we can't do it anymore. We keep our gaze fixed on Gaza. Because what else can we do? Nothing else feels right. Nothing else feels responsible. Reading by Caitlin Johnstone.
The Ten Dumbest Things We're Being Asked To Believe About Israel's War On Gaza
November 07, 2023 02:09 - 2 minutes - 2.34 MB1. That Israel had no idea what Hamas was up to prior to October 7, but ever since October 7 has known about every hospital, mosque, school, refugee camp and water tower that Hamas is hiding in. 2. That the blame for all of the deaths caused by Israeli weapons launched by Israel rests solely on Hamas. 3. That Hamas is using "human shields" - meaning Hamas bases are hidden amidst civilian populations - yet Israel is managing to kill thousands of civilians without doing any meaningful damage ...
US Says It's Powerless To Stop The Genocide That It Is Directly Funding And Supplying
November 06, 2023 02:19 - 8 minutes - 8.06 MBIn a bizarre new article titled "White House frustrated by Israel's onslaught but sees few options," The Washington Post reports that the Biden administration believes Israel has gone too far and is killing too many civilians in its assault on Gaza, but are powerless to do anything about it. Reading by Tim Foley.
We Don't Think Hard Enough About What Bombs Are And What They Do
November 05, 2023 02:02 - 6 minutes - 5.65 MBBecause the western empire has been raining military explosives upon the middle east continuously for many years now, westerners have become desensitized to news reports about bombings happening there. If you tell a westerner "There's been a bombing!" with anguish in your voice, they'll immediately assume you're talking about a terrorist attack in New York or London or Paris, not in the middle east. Westerners tend to regard bombings in the middle east as simply the normal state of affairs, a...
The Moral Complexities Of Bombing A Concentration Camp Full Of Children
November 04, 2023 01:19 - 6 minutes - 6.06 MBThey're dropping bombs on a concentration camp full of children. THEY'RE DROPPING BOMBS ON A CONCENTRATION CAMP FULL OF CHILDREN. Not in the past. Right now. They're still doing it. They show no signs of stopping. No part of opposing this should be remotely controversial. Reading by Tim Foley.
Biden 'Countering Islamophobia' While Incinerating Gaza Is The Most Democrat Thing Ever
November 03, 2023 02:05 - 4 minutes - 4.56 MBIn what is arguably the most liberal thing ever to have happened in all of human history, the Biden administration has announced its plans to develop a US National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia even as it helps Israel massacre Muslims by the thousands in Gaza. Reading by Tim Foley.
As The Lights Go Out In Gaza
November 02, 2023 00:04 - 1 minute - 1.49 MBIn America they killed all the buffalo just to take away food from the natives, made mountains of their skulls and posed proudly in photos like they posed proudly in front of burnt bodies after lynchings in the south. In Australia they stole the brown children and gave them to pale families and watched their ancient civilization disappear into the toxic fumes of industry like a sailboat into the mist. In Israel teenagers play with buttons that cause explosions on screens and look forward to...
We Are Ruled By Sociopaths And Morons
October 31, 2023 11:51 - 6 minutes - 5.53 MBThe response to the Gaza crisis from western leaders and media outlets and celebrities shows very clearly that we really are led by the least among us. The least wise. The least intelligent. The least compassionate. The least insightful. We are ruled by sociopaths and morons. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israel Apologists Relentlessly Gaslight And Attack Our Sense Of Reality
October 31, 2023 02:23 - 6 minutes - 5.55 MBYou see this kind of thing over and over again from Israel apologists. They tell you things you absolutely know to be false in your own direct perception, over and over and over again, in the hope that they can overwhelm your mind. That's what's happening when they tell you Israel is "defending itself" and "targeting Hamas" when they're mostly killing women and children and bombing entire city blocks into powder, and that's what's happening when they tell you over and over again that you hate...
Before They Launch Missiles, They Launch Propaganda Campaigns
October 30, 2023 01:37 - 5 minutes - 4.69 MBBefore they launch missiles, they launch propaganda campaigns. Before they roll out tanks, they roll out narratives. Everyone who helps manufacture consent for the killing in Gaza is just as culpable for the murder of those thousands of children as the people dropping the bombs. Reading by Tim Foley.
There's Only So Much Propaganda Spin You Can Put On The Murder Of Thousands Of Children
October 29, 2023 13:28 - 5 minutes - 5.24 MBThe thing is there's only so much propaganda spin you can put on the murder of thousands of children. With other imperial military actions the propagandists had an easier time spinning things. Oh no those evil communists are taking over Vietnam, we need to stop them! Oh no Saddam's got WMDs, we need to get him! Oh no Gaddafi's gonna kill and rape all those Libyans, we have a responsibility to protect them! In Gaza, Israel and its western backers are massacring children by the thousands with...
It's Okay To Admit You Were Wrong About Gaza
October 28, 2023 22:00 - 3 minutes - 3.27 MBIt’s okay to admit you were wrong about this. It’s okay to change your mind. It’s okay to admit you reacted inappropriately to the news of what happened on October 7 and advocated some Israeli responses that you should not have advocated. It’s okay to admit that you were wrong to cheer when the bombs started landing on Gaza. It’s okay to admit you were wrong about the longstanding debate over Palestinian rights. It’s okay to admit that you shared some things online that you now regret sha...
Israel Cut Off Gaza's Communications Because Murderers Don't Like Witnesses
October 28, 2023 02:03 - 4 minutes - 4.14 MBIsraeli ground forces have ramped up activities in Gaza in what anonymous US officials are reportedly telling the press is a "rolling start" to the long-anticipated ground invasion. Israel has also crippled Gaza's largest telecommunications service, which had been the enclave's last remaining contact with the outside world after Israel knocked out all the others. Humanitarian organizations and mainstream press outlets now say they have lost communication with their contacts in Gaza in a leve...
Israel Has Permanently Lost The Argument
October 27, 2023 02:29 - 4 minutes - 3.86 MBIsrael has lost the argument. Permanently. There's no coming back from this. Reading by Tim Foley.
On Gaza And Human Consciousness
October 26, 2023 11:52 - 4 minutes - 4.18 MBIt gets harder and harder for the imperial propagandists to frame empire-targeted powers like Hamas as evil villains who are simply evil because they are evil. As our society gains a better and better collective understanding of psychology and trauma and why individuals do what they do, fewer and fewer people are swallowing such infantile propagandistic frameworks. When something scary and traumatizing happens, more and more people are beginning to ask, "Why? Why did that happen? What were th...
All Israel Apologists Have Is Ad Hominem Attacks
October 26, 2023 02:31 - 5 minutes - 4.82 MBThey don't have truth on their side, and they don't have morality on their side, so all they can ever do is attack the sources of the ideas and information that are opening people's eyes to the criminality of Israel and its western allies. Reading by Tim Foley.
White House Says Continued Civilian Slaughter "Is Going To Happen" In Gaza
October 25, 2023 14:00 - 3 minutes - 3.61 MBWhite House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the press on Tuesday that the continued killing of civilians in Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza "is going to happen". Reading by Tim Foley.
How Much Killing Is Enough Killing?
October 25, 2023 02:03 - 3 minutes - 3.63 MBHow high does the pile of mutilated and dismembered children need to be before it's high enough? Give me a specific height please, in meters or in yards. Reading by Tim Foley.
If Israel Stops Murdering Thousands Of Children, The Bad Guys Might Win
October 24, 2023 02:57 - 6 minutes - 6.14 MBYou see kids, Israel needs to keep dropping bombs on buildings full of children and targeting civilians with siege warfare and murdering Palestinians in the West Bank and censoring the media and arresting dissidents and killing journalists, because if it doesn't, the bad guys will win. No no you don't understand: if Israel stops killing children by the thousands in its relentless bombing campaign, the nation could be taken over by murderous terrorists. Reading by Tim Foley.
It's A Little Bit Bomby In Gaza Today
October 23, 2023 12:13 - 49 seconds - 767 KBIt's a little bit bomby in Gaza today, at least that's what the news men say. Israel's victims were "murdered" and "killed" and all mourn the innocent blood that was spilled, but in Gaza explosives just fall from the air and nobody mentions who launched them, from where. They talk about "blasts" and how buildings were "hit". Who blasted and hit them? Eh, who gives a shit. It's a little bit bomby outside, that's the weather. Put up your umbrellas, dudes. Get it together. Reading by Tim Fo...
The Wise And Brilliant Israel Apologist
October 23, 2023 01:51 - 3 minutes - 2.84 MBI used to be pro-Palestinian, you know. I thought Israel was wrong for carpet bombing Gaza and using siege warfare on civilians. But then I ran into a very wise Israel apologist who changed my way of looking at things forever. Reading by Tim Foley.
The US Empire's PR Crisis In Gaza
October 22, 2023 02:11 - 7 minutes - 7.05 MBThe US-centralized empire is a giant network of allies, partners and assets spanning the entire globe. Many of the nations in this network, such as Israel, have strong ideologies and values systems that the empire must cooperate with to obtain their loyalty. But the empire itself has no ideology or values - it values nothing but planetary domination. The empire's motives are no more ideological than the motives of a mugger are ideological. So the empire has no ideology, but it is held togeth...
Middle Easterners Have Words For The Western Press Who've Been Lying About Them
October 21, 2023 13:28 - 4 minutes - 4.21 MBThe western press have been finding themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to do reporting alongside the middle easterners they've been lying about for generations, and discovering that a lot of those middle easterners speak English and have a few things to say. Reading by Tim Foley.
From Applauding Nazis To Backing An Actual Genocide In Under A Month
October 20, 2023 01:06 - 5 minutes - 5.16 MBCan't stop tripping on how fast the west moved from arming and applauding Nazis to backing an actual genocide. Reading by Tim Foley.
US Warmongers Keep Pushing The Narrative That Hamas Is To Blame For All Deaths In Gaza
October 19, 2023 13:23 - 5 minutes - 4.88 MBOne thing I've been meaning to highlight for the last few days is the way US warmongers have been forcefully pushing the propaganda narrative that Hamas bears 100 percent responsibility for all deaths in Gaza, and Israel bears zero percent, as Israel ramps up its mass slaughter of Palestinians. Reading by Tim Foley.
The Mainstream Press Keep Slamming Israel's Hospital Bombing Story
October 19, 2023 02:09 - 4 minutes - 4.25 MBA new report from the UK's Channel 4 News adds to the surprising amount of opposition we're seeing in the mainstream press to Israel's narrative about the deadly explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza this past Tuesday. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israeli Intelligence Suddenly Able To Intercept Hamas Communications
October 18, 2023 13:42 - 4 minutes - 4.32 MBAnother strange thing about Israel's claim that its intelligence services didn't detect preparations for the Hamas attack on October 7 is the fact that it is now releasing what it claims are intercepted conversations of Hamas fighters talking to each other about matters of high importance. Reading by Tim Foley.
Mass Media Reporters Aren't Buying Israel's Hospital Bombing Story
October 18, 2023 04:04 - 5 minutes - 5.48 MB"But what I'd like to quickly document as things unfold is the highly unusual number of mass media reporters I've been seeing who haven't hesitated to point to Israel as the probable culprit." Reading by Tim Foley.
Israel Is Just A Nonstop Bombing Campaign With A Flag
October 17, 2023 02:14 - 5 minutes - 4.62 MBNormalize the phrase "the nonstop bombing campaign known as the nation of Israel". Reading by Tim Foley.
The Insane Idea That Nations Get To Do War Crimes Whenever Something Bad Happens To Them
October 16, 2023 11:55 - 6 minutes - 5.81 MBOne of the most destructive ideas in modern times is this notion that it's fine and appropriate for governments to act like monsters whenever anything bad happens to their country. We saw it happen with the United States after 9/11, and we're seeing it now with Israel. Reading by Tim Foley.
Bombing Kids And Blaming It On Hamas
October 16, 2023 01:43 - 5 minutes - 4.83 MBThe "human shields" argument is just bombing civilians and blaming it on someone else. That's all it's ever been. The "human shields" argument is like if London had responded to an IRA attack by dropping thousands of bombs on Belfast, killing thousands of Irish civilians and hundreds of children, and justifying its bombing campaign by calling it an unfortunate but necessary measure to take out the IRA's Belfast Brigade because they're located in the same places as civilians. It's like if th...
It's Not The 'Israel-Hamas War', It's The Israel-Gaza Massacre
October 15, 2023 01:59 - 7 minutes - 6.71 MBStop calling it the "Israel-Hamas war". It's the Israel-Gaza massacre. Calling it the Israel-Hamas war creates the false impression that this is a war that is directed exclusively at Hamas when it's really an ethnic purge that's directed at all Palestinians in Gaza. The child body count alone makes it clear that this isn't a war against Hamas; I saw an anonymous account point out on Twitter that the number of children killed in this onslaught after one week already exceeds the total number ...
The World Is Being Blinded To What's Happening In Gaza
October 14, 2023 13:16 - 5 minutes - 4.86 MBInternet blackouts, the war on journalism, propaganda, influence operations, bans on demonstrations and online censorship are all happening for the same reason: to keep the public from forming a truth-based understanding of what's happening in Gaza. Because if the public did form a truth-based understanding of what's happening in Gaza, they wouldn't consent to what's happening there. Reading by Tim Foley.
The US Is Just As Culpable As Israel For The Atrocities Committed In Gaza
October 14, 2023 02:46 - 5 minutes - 5.16 MBSo be perfectly clear, the US government is fully behind this massacre, and is just as culpable for everything that happens in Gaza as the Israeli government. These abuses are being perpetrated using US weapons, US funding and US consent. Washington could end this mass atrocity with a word, and instead they're fully aligning themselves behind it. Israel's crimes in Gaza are not meaningfully separate from the crimes of the US war machine. Reading by Tim Foley.
Israeli Intelligence Suddenly Knows Exactly Where Hamas Is
October 13, 2023 02:45 - 5 minutes - 4.93 MBIt's interesting how last week Israel had no idea what Hamas was up to, and yet this week they know every mosque, school and hospital that Hamas is hiding in. Reading by Tim Foley.
People Have A Serious Case Of 9/11 Brain, And It's Scary
October 12, 2023 12:07 - 8 minutes - 7.46 MBPeople are going insane, in the same way they went insane after 9/11. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks there was this shrieking emotional intensity which saw critical thinking go out the window and saw people's minds consumed with a rabid lust for Muslim blood. Reading by Tim Foley.
This Is Exactly What It Looks Like
October 11, 2023 02:36 - 6 minutes - 6.33 MBThe Israel-Palestine issue is not complicated; an apartheid regime abuses and oppresses an indigenous ethnic group who don't have the same rights as others. The only reason anyone thinks it's complicated is because they assume if it were simple, the news would've told them so. Really Israel-Palestine is one of the easier conflicts to understand on the world stage; conflicts like Ukraine or Syria are much more complicated. It's obvious at a glance that there's one group in power and another g...
The True Face Of Israel
October 10, 2023 01:56 - 5 minutes - 4.81 MBIsraeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has announced a "complete siege" of all of Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on Saturday, justifying the deliberate targeting of civilians with siege warfare by the claim that Israel is at war with "human animals". "I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed," Gallant said Monday, adding, "We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly." So there you have it, fo...
All This Death Is The Fault Of The Western Press
October 09, 2023 02:12 - 6 minutes - 5.83 MBThe western press are largely to blame for all this. If they'd just told the truth instead of running "Palestinian child walks into bullet" headlines this whole time and telling everyone that boycotting Israel is genocide, political pressure could've long ago been brought about to force a peaceful and just resolution to this mess. Reading by Tim Foley.
A Population With Nothing To Lose
October 08, 2023 11:16 - 4 minutes - 4.39 MBThe problem with oppressing a population with maximum force is that at some point they start figuring they've got nothing to lose by fighting back. Reading by Tim Foley.
They're Repeating The Word 'Unprovoked' Again, This Time In Defense Of Israel
October 08, 2023 02:13 - 6 minutes - 6.36 MBWe're seeing the western political/media class bleating the word "unprovoked" in unison again, this time in reference to the massive multi-pronged operation launched by Hamas against Israel on Saturday morning which reportedly killed hundreds of Israelis. Reading by Tim Foley.
Queen Warmonger Hillary Clinton Complains About "Men Starting Wars"
October 07, 2023 01:35 - 4 minutes - 3.78 MBSome days the Caitlin Johnstone articles just write themselves. During her self-titled annual awards ceremony at Georgetown University on Thursday, Hillary Clinton said that the biggest obstacle to peace and security around the world is "men starting wars." Reading by Tim Foley.
The Top Ten Dumbest Things Empire Propagandists Ask Us To Believe
October 06, 2023 11:55 - 2 minutes - 2.62 MBWhen you live under an empire that's held together by lies, you'll be asked to believe a lot of intensely stupid bullshit. Here are the top ten dumbest things the propagandists of the US-centralized empire try to get us to swallow. Reading by Tim Foley.