World Discord Podcast

Profs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless look at the media scene that is now dominated by a few companies, and how they are profiting from our current political environment.

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless look at how taxes work in the United States, and how the ultra rich use their political power to pay as little as possible, while getting as much as possible from the government in return.

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless discuss events as of Mid-June in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless explore the ways in which the financial industry benefits from and controls much of our economy, including connections to the Trump administration

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless provide an early June, 2026 update on the situation in Ukraine.

Profs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless focus on ICE facilities as a part of the giant profit making machine that is the prison industrial complex.

This week Profs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless continue the "Who Benefits" series talking about big oil and the fossil fuel industry. How they dominate our economy and massively benefit off of the rest of us.

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless continue the series on "Who Benefits" from politics in the US and the world. This week's focus is on the Military Industrial Complex

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless continue to look at the question of "who benefits" that underlays much of American politics. Everyone seems to "know" that the Trump family is gaining immense personal wealth from the presidency. This episode goes into just some of the details (v2)

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless open a new segment of the World Discord Podcast focused on the question of "Who Benefits?" Any time you see a problem in the world, it is likely there is someone behind the scenes who is benefiting from it. This and upcoming episodes will look at who is benefiting from our current political, social and economic problems.

Profs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless continue to explore fascism in the US and the world, this time focusing on how fascist regimes destroy and transform institutions.

Profs Brian Endless and Joel Ostrow continue their discussion of fascism. This episode focuses on how fascist regimes utilize disinformation to take and keep control of the people and country.

Professors Brian Endless and Joel Ostrow continue their analysis of the United States' trend towards fascism, with a discussion of the role of militarized violence in fascism, the ICE actions in Minneapolis, and the murders of Robin Goode and Alex Pretti.

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless define fascism and discuss what it really means in comparison to democratic and other authoritarian forms of government. 

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless give an update on the current situation in Gaza, where more countries are now pressuring the Israeli government on famine and human rights issues.

UPDATED: this episode had some sound quality issues and is reloaded here. Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined by Joan Esposito, award-winning Chicago media personality and host of "Live, Local and Progressive" on WCPT-AM820 radio. We discuss ways in which the impact of the media in our current political climate.

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined by Joan Esposito, award-winning Chicago media personality and host of "Live, Local and Progressive" on WCPT-AM820 radio. We discuss ways in which the impact of the media in our current political climate.

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined by local mayor Rory Hoskins of Forest Park, IL to discuss immigration enforcement and ICE issues as they apply to local areas.

Brian and Joel discuss Israel's military strike against Iran, Iran's response, and the likely regional and global repurcussions.

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined today by Rima Ziuraitus, a US citizen who moved to Ukraine when the war broke out in 2022 to help people, and has since enlisted in the Ukrainian military as a combat medic working on the front lines.  This is certainly the most intense World Discord Podcast so far, and it may be the most important. Please watch/listen and pass it along to as many peop...

Dr. Katie Suleta, an expert on global public health, joins Brian and Joel to discuss the global impact of the US withdrawal from international obligations, the dissolving of USAID, withdrawal from the WHO and other attacks on science and health.

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined by Alex Jacquez, the Chief of Policy and Advocacy for the Groundwork Collective to go into depth about the many potential issues arising from new tariffs and the potential tariff wars.

Drs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined today by Ukrainian student and youth activist Khrystyna Dmytryshyn to talk about the war in Ukraine, what life is like for average citizens, and what chaos in US politics does to the people of that war-torn country.

Profs. Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless are joined by Alexandra Chinchilla, Assistant Professor of International Affairs, Texas A&M University to discuss the problematic nature and future of US alliances in the new administration.

Profs Joel Ostrow and Brian Endless get together in this episode to talk about the extreme discord in the US since the election of President Trump.