Episode 609 - In Antitrust We Trust (w/ Alvaro Bedoya)

Philosopher & intellectual historian Émile Torres returns to Bad Faith to weigh in on the intellectual and cultural movement that motivates the big tech billionaires who are threatening to end the world with artificial intelligence. What is transhumanism, what do these CEOs really mean by "human extinction," what does the future look like once the brains are uploaded to the cloud, and if and when that happens, what will it mean to be alive? Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). .Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

On the heels of the Paramount/Warner Brothers takeover which while result a media behemoth owned by the Zionist Ellison family, former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya returns to Bad Faith to explain the role Gavin Newsom, Rob Bonta, and other west coast Democrats played in undermining a lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general to block the merger. He also weighs in on the AI doomerist scuttlebutt of the last few weeks, and explains why he believes the big tech handwringing was about a desire for favorable regulatory conditions -- not stopping the robot take over of humanity. Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Subscribe at patreon.com/badfaithpodcast for an additional Monday episode every week. Watch all episodes at Bad Faith YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).  

This is a premium episode UNLOCKED. If you enjoy it, consider subscribing so you don't miss any of these Monday episodes. One of Briahna's favorite sparring partners, Princeton professor, primetime pundit, and author of several books including, most recently, America, U.S.A. How Race Shadows The Nation's Anniversaries, returns to Bad Faith to offer a broader historical context for the ongoing debate around "woke 1" and defund the police. Is "defund" the left's "Sister Souljah moment" through which it proves its 'seriousness' to the liberal establishment? If so, what is there to be gained by doing so? Also, was Briahna wrong to provide racial cover for the DSA left for the first half of her public career? Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). .Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

Yemini-American Michigan State professor Shireen Al-Adeimi joins Bad Faith to explain how the July attack on Yemen's Sanaa international airport prompted a response from Ansar Allah that has resulted in Houthi control of Yemen's coastline including the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. How have Yeminis managed to be so successful despite the extreme poverty brought on by the years long blockade and constant bombing supported by four consecutive American administrations? Shireen provides broader historical context for the conflict, and opines on the inadequate support for Yeminis from the American elected left. Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Subscribe at patreon.com/badfaithpodcast for an additional Monday episode every week. Watch all episodes at Bad Faith YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

Author of Obsolete: The AI Industry's Trillion-Dollar Race to Replace Us joins Bad Faith to weigh in on Anthropic whistleblower Jacob Coxon's viral tweet warning that AI could lead to the end of humanity within the next decade. Is this false alarmism or a real threat? Is the threat real but exaggerated for the purpose of securing favorable anti-trust policies for AI leaders? What about tech writers like Cory Doctorow who have warned that tales of artificial intelligence advancement have been grossly overstated? And how would AI actually cause the "end of humanity" anyway? Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Subscribe at patreon.com/badfaithpodcast for an additional Monday episode every week. Watch all episodes at Bad Faith YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

The Grayzone founder Max Blumenthal returns to Bad Faith to discuss the Laura Loomer-backed attack on his freedom of speech following his return from an Iran reporting trip, liberal Democrats weaponizing the specter of anti-Black racism to fracture Black & Palestinian solidarity (e.g. Hakeem Jeffries & AIPAC monkey-gate), & the new bombshell reporting out of Haaretz that Netanyahu was warned about October 7th and chose not to tell anyone. Does the new reporting indicate that Netanyahu wanted 10/7 to happen so that he had a pretext to genocide Gaza? Or is that an overly simplistic reading? Does the reporting provide opportunities for the US left to make the case for ending aid to Israel? Will they do it? https://thegrayzone.com/subscribe/ Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Subscribe at patreon.com/badfaithpodcast for an additional Monday episode every week. Watch all episodes at Bad Faith YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

Unlocked for your Labor Day listeneing pleasure! Palestinian-American journalist Sam Husseini is known for his press conference confrontations and willingness to hold power to account. He recently went viral for confronting Chuck Schumer at an anti-corruption event over Israel's genocide in Gaza, and during the Biden administration, suffered injuries after being hauled out of a State Department briefing where he confronted Antony Blinken. Now, as DSA candidates win elections and quickly distance themselves from the DSA platform, the independent journalist has announced his campaign to run as a Green Party candidate in Maryland's 4th Congressional District. He breaks down the limits of DSA Democratic Party entryism, and how he plans to win. Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). .Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

Historian & journalist Esha Krishnaswamy returns to Bad Faith to apply a historical lens to the Jacobin-left's argument that the left needs to moderate in order to become more palatable to normie audiences. Applying lessons from the Bolsheviks and other actually-existing-socialist states, Esha argues that the role of leftists in the imperial core is heighten the contradictions of capital and support imperialist struggles -- not to sacrifice that support in the hope of gaining acceptance by zionist corporate elites. What do we make of elected leftists who can't clearly answer a question about whether Netanyahu should be arrested, or say 'the IMF is bad"? While the right is forcing the vote on condemning socialism, will elected leftists ever use their leverage for...anything at all? With Zohran & AOC-endorsed Hakeem Jeffries meeting with the informal lord-regent of Gaza, & the DSA electeds disclaiming, not defending, socialism, does history provide some guide posts to help the left reorient itself at a time when world events are exposing the vulnerabilities of capitalism & imperialism? Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Subscribe at patreon.com/badfaithpodcast for an additional Monday episode every week. Watch all episodes at Bad Faith YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)

Organizer, writer, political commentator and Philly DSA member James Ray joins Bad Faith to help us understand camps and factions within the DSA as they fight to determine the direction the organization takes following it's successful primary season. As the Atlanta DSA launches a "Run AOC" campaign & Jacobin Magazine publishes reformist manifestos, James Ray represents the left flank of the DSA and one of it's more left-leaning chapters. On using leverage, leaving the Democratic Party, the incongruity of being pro-Palestine and supporting Hakeem Jeffries, & the mystifying reformism of much of the American left.   Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Subscribe at patreon.com/badfaithpodcast for an additional Monday episode every week. Watch all episodes at Bad Faith YouTube, and don't forget to like and subscribe. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)    

Marxist historian, journalist, and political commentator weighs in on the recent controversy surrounding a letter, published in The Guardian and signed by a number of respected leftists including Angela Davis & Mumia Abu-Jamal. The letter drew criticism for drawing false equivalence between US empire and Iran as Iran resists the US war of aggression. Now, several signatories have disclaimed the letter, saying they misled about it's final contents before they signed, but others, including Davis, have not. To what extent is this letter evidence of an effort to create a permission structure to break solidarity with Iran? Does existence of a campaign to do so reflect the vulnerability of US empire amid growing bipartisan distaste for the Iran war? Prashad talks us through his response piece, Against the False Symmetry of the Scissors: An Open Letter While Iran Resists an Illegal War of Aggression, & weighs in on the US left's insufficient commitment to anti-imperialism. Find Bad Faith on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. Or subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). .Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands). Produced by (@armandaviram)