Episode Details

In this episode, we get on a soapbox about "greenlanternism." Van and Pete debate what to make of Twitter's Jack Dorsey throwing shade at Facebook. We shine light on a new conservative-progressive consensus: Trump is a cartoon imperialist. We also discuss Extinction Rebellion and why the climate crisis does not warrant white privilege or targeted assassinations. Also this episode: the rules-based order is falling apart, but it may be recoverable. How many kills is Iran responsible for? Why does Obama hate wokeness? And the Van Jackson philosophy on why national security needs more progressive voices.

Van’s Predictions

1) Will John Bolton testify in the impeachment inquiry? | Yes

2) Will Benny Gantz be form a government in Israel? | Yes

3) Will Iraq’s Prime Minister be ousted before the end of 2019? | Yes

Van’s Podcast Recommendations:

- Dissent’s ‘Know Your Enemy’ | https://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/know-your-enemy-a-new-podcast-about-the-right

- Crooked Media’s ‘Pod Save The World’ | https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-world/

- The Diplomat’s ‘Asia Geopolitics’ | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-diplomat-asia-geopolitics/id852773346

- Insert generic dry but informative think tank podcasts

- War on the Rocks’ ‘Bombshell’ | https://warontherocks.com/category/podcasts/bombshell/

Notes and Sources

- NY Times on Sea Level Rise | https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/climate/coastal-cities-underwater.html

- Extinction Rebellion’s White Privilege | https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/19/extinction-rebellion-white-faces-diversity

- Rebecca Davis Gibbons on the World International Order | https://twitter.com/RDavisGibbons/status/1188891448126652419

- Jack Dorsey on Twitter Banning Political Ads: | https://twitter.com/jack/status/1189634360472829952?s=21

- The American Conservative on Cartoon Imperialism | https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-cartoon-imperialist-president/?wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1

- Obama on Woke Culture | https://www.victoria.ac.nz/hppi/about/staff/jon-fraenkel

Music: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester