Trump Wages the “Dumbest Trade War In History” Against Canada
We begin with Trump’s trade war with Canada which has even the business-friendly Wall Street Journal saying it is the “dumbest trade war in history. Joining us from Canada is Stephen Marche, a novelist and culture writer whose recent books include, The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future, and, The Last Election co-authored with Andrew Yang. The host of the podcast Gloves Off, he has an article at The New York Times we discuss, “America Came for Canada. We Said No.”
Treasury Secretary Bessent Declares Economic Warfare on Iran, Likening it to D Day Promising the IRGC Will Not Kill Their Own People Like When East Germans Rose Up and the Berlin Wall Fell
Then we get an assessment of the declaration of economic warfare against Iran announced by Treasury Secretary Bessent today which he likened to D Day, predicting that, as economic conditions deteriorate in Iran and the people rise up in protest, the Iranian military will stop shooting their own people as the East Germans soldiers did, allowing the Berlin Wall to fall. Joining us is Hossein Askari, who served as chairman of the International Business Department and as director of the Institute of Global Management and Research at George Washington University and is now the Iran Professor Emeritus of International Business and International Affairs. He served for two and a half years on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund and was special advisor to the Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia. During 1990-1991 he was asked by the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia to act as an intermediary to restore diplomatic relations; and in 1992 he was asked by the Emir of Kuwait to mediate with Iran.
Gil Duran on His New Book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy
Then finally we speak with Gil Duran, a San Francisco journalist who previously served as editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee and The San Francisco Examiner. Now an independent journalist, he currently writes the FrameLab as well as the Nerd Reich Newsletters and regularly contributes to the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications. He served as Press Secretary and advisor for Governor Jerry Brown, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, and we discuss his new book, just out, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy.