Why has the price of gold been increasing so fast, breaking records? Economist Michael Hudson explains the politics of the precious metal, and the dynamics of the US dollar system. He is interviewed by Ben Norton.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bvr2SZm-NMTranscript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/1... more
Donald Trump's tariffs will likely backfire and hurt the United States, accelerating the decline of US dominance. To discuss, host Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson and China-based scholar Mick Dunford. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wpJZh-gDA8This is part of the program Geopolitical Econ... more
Donald Trump plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, saying, "The US will take over the Gaza Strip... We'll own it". His son-in-law Jared Kushner has invested in Israeli companies that profit from expanding illegal settlements. Trump and Kushner floated building luxury real estate in Gaza. Ben Norton reports.VIDEO:... more
Donald Trump’s tariffs could destabilize the global economy, warns economist Michael Hudson. US protectionist policies could cause financial crises, as many currencies depreciate and countries can't earn the dollars needed to pay their foreign debts. Ben Norton hosts the interview.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch... more
Big Tech oligarchs in Silicon Valley fear competition from Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek, so they're working with the US government to cut off competitors. Billionaire Donald Trump backer Peter Thiel admits they want monopolies, arguing "competition is for losers". Ben Norton explains.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.... more
The Chinese company DeepSeek shocked the West with a groundbreaking open-source artificial intelligence model that beats huge Silicon Valley Big Tech monopolies. The US government is already trying to ban it, using "national security" as an excuse. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hRmK84_K... more
Donald Trump threatened Colombia with sanctions and tariffs after it rejected his abuse of immigrants. Colombian President Gustavo Petro hit back against the US attacks, declaring, "We are not a colony!" Ben Norton analyzes Latin America's resistance to meddling by Trump and his neoconservative Secretary of State Marco... more
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he is resigning. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is talking about annexing Canada and making it the 51st state. To discuss the disaster, political economist Radhika Desai is joined by Dimitri Lascaris, host of the independent media outlet Reason2Resist.VIDEO:... more
At his inauguration, US President Donald Trump promised to "expand our territory", invoked the colonialist "Manifest Destiny", and vowed to forcibly take over the Panama Canal (falsely claiming China runs it). He later threatened BRICS with 100% tariffs. Trump has hinted at use of military force to colonize Greenland a... more
BRICS added as a new partner Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, with the 6th-biggest population on Earth. BRICS+ now has 10 members and 9 partners, which make up 54.6% of the world population and 42.2% of global GDP (PPP). Ben Norton explains the importance of this expansion.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch... more
India has the world's largest population, but can it be the next global economic superpower? Or will extreme poverty, inequality, unemployment, and lack of industrialization and manufacturing capacities hold it back? Why is the Western media so eager to portray India as a pro-Western alternative to China? Ben Norton is... more
What will Donald Trump's second term as US president mean for the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine and Israel's war on Gaza? How will his tariffs affect the economy? To discuss, political economist Radhika Desai is joined by Anatol Lieven, director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecra... more
BRICS keeps expanding. As a new full member, it added Indonesia, the 4th most populous country with the 7th largest economy on Earth. BRICS now has 10 members and 8 partners. Together they make up 41.4% of global GDP (PPP) and roughly half the world population. Ben Norton explains.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch... more
The US stock market is in "the mother of all bubbles", with the market capitalization of publicly traded companies at 206% of GDP. This is higher than the dot-com bubble of 2000, and even the peak of the crash of 1929. Meanwhile, just 25 companies make up over half of the weight of the S&P 500, and the Magnificent 7 Bi... more
The United States spent decades trying to overthrow the Syrian government, before succeeding in 2024. A declassified CIA document from 1986 outlined US plans for regime change. The blueprint was almost exactly what happened in the proxy war that started in 2011. Ben Norton explains.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watc... more
While Donald Trump's supporters falsely claim he is an "isolationist", he is threatening to colonize the Panama Canal, annex Canada, and seize Greenland (and its rare earth elements). The Trump team also plans to invade Mexico, bomb Iran, and wage proxy war on China. Ben Norton explains.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com... more
The Global South-led organization BRICS continues to expand, adding 9 partner countries in January 2025, after admitting 4 new members in 2024. The group now makes up roughly half of the global population and more than 41% of world GDP (PPP). It's an economic powerhouse, with top producers of key commodities like oil, ... more
Syrian rebel commanders have admitted that the US military helped them overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. NATO member Turkey and Israel played a key role as well. Ben Norton reviews the evidence.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qicLi6kqt7MTopics0:00 Intro0:41 US troops occupy Syria's oil & wheat f... more
Did Israel and the United States win the Syria war? What about NATO member Turkey? Were Iran and the Axis of Resistance defeated? Political economist Radhika Desai discusses with Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran.VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za2HfCFbHt8This is part of the show Geop... more
After helping to overthrow leader Bashar al-Assad, Israel destroyed Syria's military capabilities and is seizing territory, annexing the Golan Heights and occupying more land. The Al-Qaeda-linked Salafi-jihadist rebels who now rule Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have allowed Israel to do this. HTS leader (an... more
South Korea's US-backed President Yoon Suk Yeol launched a coup attempt, but failed. He tried to provoke war with North Korea by attacking with drones, hoping to justify imposing martial law, but the DPRK showed restraint. Ben Norton analyzes the geopolitics of the crisis, addressing NATO, China, Japan, and more.VIDE... more
The Syrian government was overthrown, and Salafi-jihadist rebels led by a rebranded version of Al-Qaeda called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power in Damascus. US President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu boasted of helping topple Bashar al-Assad. NATO member Turkey played a key role as well. Ben Norton e... more
While the United States provokes conflicts across the world, China has promoted economic development, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, building infrastructure, and encouraging win-win cooperation. Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunfor... more
The United States spent billions over years arming and training militants in Syria, many linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. The extremist "rebels" who took over Aleppo (and rule Idlib) said they "love Israel". Ben Norton documents the Western dirty war on Syria, and how Washington is trying to divide and conquer the anti-col... more
As the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine escalates, the US Army is funding research on "the impacts of nuclear weapons on farm systems" in Eastern Europe. Numerous scientific studies warn that this would cause a nuclear winter that would starve billions and kill off the majority of the human population. Ben Norton discu... more