Dilemma Podcast

In this conversation, Jay Shapiro sits down with Rory Fanning, a former U.S. Army Ranger who served alongside Pat Tillman before becoming a war resister, educator, and outspoken critic of U.S. empire. Rory recounts his journey from elite military training and the mythology of manhood sold through recruitment. What began as a rite of passage, a test of courage and loyalty, slowly revealed itself as...

In this episode I speak with Melani McAlister, professor of American Studies and International Affairs at George Washington University and author of the remarkable new book Promises Then the Storm — a journal she began on October 5th, 2023.This conversation moves through her life story: • growing up an evangelical Christian in North Carolina • discovering Amnesty International, human rights work,...

Imagine it’s Thanksgiving ten years ago. Your slightly unhinged Uncle Bob starts talking about a mysterious financier with a private island, underage trafficking, a bizarre “temple,” secret deals in Africa, ties to intelligence services, oligarch donors, and elite universities. You’d probably roll your eyes and wonder if he needed a psychiatric evaluation. Fast-forward a decade: victim testimony,...

Zohran Mamdani’s victory didn’t just shake New York politics — it cracked open a deeper fear that’s defined Western liberal discourse for decades. Figures like Sam Harris and Bill Maher built careers on the fantasy of the “Good Muslim” — the secular, assimilated, apolitical figure who makes the West feel safe. But Zohran’s unapologetic politics, rooted in solidarity with Palestine and working-clas...

The Rashomon Effect - Multiple people witnessing the same event remember it in contradictory ways, often colored by their own self-interest, trauma, or worldview. Applied to the killing of Rafaat Alareer and a Tweet by Bari Weiss00:00 The Rashomon Effect02:58 The Killing of Rafaat Alareer04:24 Perspective One - Bari Weiss, The Zionist Journalist12:42 Perspective Two - Rafaat, The Poet18:03 Perspec...

Malcolm X was more than an activist or organizer. In this conversation, Michael Sawyer, author of Black Minded and the forthcoming The Door of No Return, takes Malcolm seriously as a philosopher who linked Black freedom in the United States to anti-colonial struggle in Palestine. We talk Malcolm’s trip to Gaza, his push to move the fight to the global commons and the United Nations, and why he bel...

Iranian scholar Hamid Dabashi goes deep on empire, Iran’s revolutionary currents, and Palestine. We cover his “two nemeses” frame—global imperialism vs domestic tyranny—and why opposing one never excuses the other. He unpacks Islamism as a (once) liberation theology and its limits, the polyfocal currents inside Islam, the 1979 revolution’s three forces (nationalism, Marxism, Islamism), sanctions a...

In this conversation with sociologist Nandita Sharma, we dig into the deep contradictions of nationalism, sovereignty, and the postcolonial state. Sharma argues that the nation is not a pathway to liberation but a mechanism of ruling that reproduces inequality, exclusion, and capitalist domination. We explore her personal story of migration, the legacy of anti-colonial struggles, Palestine and Haw...

A former Israel Consulate staffer for the U.S. Southeast—Brandt Burleson—breaks silence. For eight years he built church networks, wrote Bible-laced talking points, and helped run a PR machine that, in his words, “wrapped a starvation campaign in a Judeo-Christian bow.” He explains how Christian Zionist theology was leveraged to pressure politicians, how pastors were courted and choreographed, wha...

In this conversation with political economist Adam Hanieh, we trace the deep connections between fossil fuels, finance, Palestine, and the climate crisis. From his formative years in Ramallah during the Second Intifada to his current research, Hanieh explains how oil became the invisible substrate of modern life, how Gulf petrodollars built today’s US-dominated financial order, and why Israel and...

In this conversation, I sit down with Mubarak Awad, often called the Gandhi of Palestine. Born in Jerusalem during the Nakba, Mubarak’s life has been defined by both tragedy and resilience — from burying his father as a boy, to dedicating his life to nonviolent resistance under occupation. We trace his extraordinary journey: his efforts to teach nonviolence in Palestine, his eventual deportation b...

A final word on my efforts to help (no matter what you think) people like Coleman Hughes and Sam Harris avoid falling into the Zionist trap. Thoughts on Israel’s “disengagement” from Gaza in 2005, and why we have so much trouble believing Israel’s stated intentions.00:00 Learned Skepticism of Israel and Coleman Repeating Lies09:02 Is Epstein a Mossad Agent? The Jonathan Pollard Pattern13:37 Diseng...

In Part 2 of this 2 part conversation, we dive deeper into Gaza after Israel’s 2005 “withdrawal”, examine the blockade, restrictions, and the motives of a “starvation policy.” We also explore Israel’s close relationship with apartheid South Africa, and disagree on what these alliances reveal about the motives behind Zionism and occupation. The conversation turns toward justice vs peace in practice...

In part 1 of a 2 part conversation I attempt to engage with former co-host Coleman Hughes in a deep, difficult, and (hopefully) helpful debate about Israel, Palestine, Zionism, and the meaning of justice. We dig into:The “good guys vs bad guys” framing of Hamas and IsraelVillain origin stories and why history mattersZionism, the Nakba, and displacement in 1948Justice vs peace — what Palestinians a...

In this wide-ranging conversation, political economist Patrick Bond joins me from Johannesburg to trace the lessons of South Africa’s struggles — from the fight against apartheid and Big Pharma to today’s battles over BRICS, Palestine, climate, and global capital. We dig into the meaning of “sub-imperialism,” the hypocrisies of governments that talk left but walk right, and the urgent question of...

Political economist Radhika Desai offers a Marxist reading of today’s global crises — from Gaza to the dollar’s fragility. We unpack why she believes capitalism has reached its monopoly stage, why it cannot function without imperialism, and how those contradictions shape everything from U.S. foreign policy to BRICS. Gaza becomes a stark example of how imperial systems maintain power, revealing the...

Some thoughts on authoritarianism and humanism with a passage from Erich Fromm's Psychoanalysis and Religion from 195000:00 Authoritarianism as forms of "worship"08:36 Fromm on Authoritarian and Humanistic Trends within Religion14:00 What Humanism asks of us16:39 The upcoming lineup

In this video, anti-war libertarian Scott Horton joins me for a wide-ranging conversation on the true mechanics of American empire. We talk about the strange new alliances forming as both left and right confront the costs of endless war, the covert operations that fueled U.S. intervention in the Middle East, and how Israel fits into the broader imperial strategy. We also dive into the terror wars,...

In this video, I explore the growing clash between “America First” and “Israel First”—a fracture exposing deeper contradictions in U.S. politics and global power. As figures like Tucker Carlson, Dave Smith, Candace Owens start asking tough questions, many find themselves at the edge of a worldview built on a myth of liberal ideals of a professed intention of moral clarity. But that worldview—detac...

I'm still waiting for a debate partner—so I've decided to start without one. In this video, I deliver my opening statement. Plus, I'm announcing a short break to focus on finishing my upcoming book about moral progress and technology. My essay "Be Careful In The Dark" is available here https://whatjaythinks.com/essays/2021... 00:00 Intro - My History with the IDW 06:37 Intro...

Capitalist Libertarianism sells itself as the champion of freedom and personal choice—but what happens when the very systems we’ve unleashed are shaping our desires, not responding to them? In this video, I dig into the fundamental blind spots that libertarians (especially the free-market capitalist kind) tend to ignore. From psychological manipulation in advertising to global coordination breakdo...

In this conversation, Sophie Scott-Brown, historian and political philosopher, joins me to explore how anarchism isn’t just a theory, but a way of seeing, organizing, and acting in the world. We unpack the illusion of democracy, the dangers of temporary power, and what freedom actually means through an anarchist lens. When disaster strikes or institutions crumble, does anarchy step in as chaos—or...

In Part 2, Ruth Kinna and I trace anarchism’s turbulent path through the 20th century—from early revolutionary violence to its erasure under Lenin, the Spanish Civil War, and the Red Scare in America. As anarchism was eclipsed by state communism and crushed by authoritarian forces, its ideas never disappeared. Instead, they resurfaced in free love movements, civil rights struggles, punk culture, a...

In this conversation, I sit down with Ruth Kinna, historian of anarchism and professor of political theory, to explore the roots of anarchist thought—from Proudhon’s challenge to property to Bakunin’s clash with Marx to Kropotkin’s vision of anarchist communism. But first, we confront the towering figure of Thomas Hobbes, whose vision of human nature still shapes how we justify power today. What i...

In this video, I talk with Peter Beinart about Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza and the cracks forming in Zionism. But first, I share a personal reflection: What if Judaism’s survival isn’t about being the Chosen People, but about Chosen Families? Could the very thing seen as a threat be what actually saves it? We dive into power, myth, and the future of Jewish identity in a post-Zionist...