issue #: 00032
And this week is a podcast. We decided to try something new and
& recorded this as a conversation as we walked along the river banks. The clicking in the background is the poetic staccato of heels that one of us added to the mix, we’re taking bets on which of the two of us that you think it is.Business as Usual: Protest From Fallujah to Gaza, The Blueprint of Debt and War delves into the enduring and destructive patterns of American domestic and foreign policies. The podcast examines how the same dystopian logic governs both the National and Foreign Policy, revealing the historical and contemporary impacts of student debt and American imperialism as a sharp political barometer.
This podcast unpacks how debt has become a powerful tool of population control, tracing its application in student debt to the policies of Ronald Reagan in the 1960s and leading to the current $1.6 trillion student debt crisis. It also critically analyses the ineffectiveness of American sanctions on nations like Russia, China, and Iran—countries that have not only withstood these pressures but have thrived outside U.S. influence.
Further, the podcast draws parallels between the genocidal doctrine of war developed by the U.S. in Fallujah in 2004 and the current conflicts, such as those in Gaza. Through in-depth discussions, the podcast calls for radical reimagining and collective action to challenge systemic oppression as we rethink the future.
Check out the documentary Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, by Sigfrido Ranucci & Maurizzio Torrealta, below.
Sources:
Iraq: twenty years on, still no justice for war crimes by US-led coalition (no date). Available at: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/iraq-twenty-years-still-no-justice-war-crimes-us-led-coalition (Accessed: 25 August 2024).
Army to be sued for war crimes over its role in Fallujah attacks (2010) The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/army-to-be-sued-for-war-crimes-over-its-role-in-fallujah-attacks-1961475.html (Accessed: 25 August 2024).
‘Worst war crime’ committed by US in Iraq (2006) The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1519608/Worst-war-crime-committed-by-US-in-Iraq.html (Accessed: 25 August 2024).
What Caused the $1.6 Trillion Student Debt Crisis? | BestColleges (no date). Available at: https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/what-caused-the-student-debt-crisis/ (Accessed: 25 August 2024).
Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre (2016). Available at:
(Accessed: 25 August 2024).
Business as Usual