$11 Billion a Week | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

Live at 9 AM Eastern & Streaming 24-7 Thereafter:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Pentagon officials told Congress that they estimated the cost of the war against Iran had exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days alone.

• Trump tells the G7 Iran is about to “surrender.” But Arab diplomats say Iran, emboldened by its ability to rattle the global economy by choking oil shipments, has laid out steep preconditions for any return to talks. Iran is demanding that the airstrikes stop before a cease-fire, and firm guarantees that it won’t be attacked again, reparations for damages and the removal U.S. forces from the region.

• Four of six crew members died after a U.S. military KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed into another plane in Iraq. A Michigan synagogue and Old Dominion University came under terrorist attack. Dubai’s financial center is under drone attack.

• Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of targeting civilian homes, killing four people in the capital and two in the east, as fighting between the two nations entered its third week.

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A Super Dumb Mass Murder | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

Live at 9 AM Eastern & Streaming 24-7 Thereafter:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Outdated DIA targeting data—dating back at least 10 to 13 years—probably resulted in the Feb. 28 U.S. bombing of the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school mistaken missile strike that killed at least 175 people in Iran, mostly children. Is recklessness the norm for America’s “high tech” warriors?

  400 million barrels to be released from International Energy Agency oil reserves as Iran effectively blocks the Strait of Hormuz.

• As John Thune battles conservatives for refusing to alter Senate rules and mandate a traditional “talking” filibuster that would force Democrats to hold the floor to block the Save America Act, Trump trolls the Senate majority leader: “He’s got to be a leader.” Does Trump know Save would hurt him and the Republicans?

TO ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GO LIVE AT 9 AM ET: https://ahaslides.com/4UJWT

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Death Valley | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• In the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration is trapped between the specter of a global economic recession and a naval catastrophe. Energy arteries are constricting to a point of “nonlinearity,” where every day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed multiplies the economic pain exponentially. Iran will bomb Liquefied Natural Gas tankers first—vessels that could “explode like the Beirut bomb”—followed by oil tankers to maximize environmental and economic chaos. But there’s also a huge risk in sending US naval assets as escorts into a war zone. White House analysts call the Strait their “Death Valley.”

Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to CNN. Despite US claims of having destroyed 14 Iranian minelayers, Iran still retains upward of 80% to 90% of its small boats and mine layers, so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway.

Iran attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest. Iran’s joint military command announced it would start targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East.

San Francisco’s iconic mass transit system, BART, has entered a death spiral. Ridership cratered during the pandemic and remains less than half of what it was. The very future of the familiar white and blue trains, which have zipped around the Bay Area since 1972, is in doubt. BART says that only Bay Area residents can rescue the system by passing a new sales tax in November to cover its $400 million annual loss. Absent that, the board recently warned that it would take eye-popping actions out of desperation in 2027: Fewer trains. Higher fares and parking fees. Ending service at 9 p.m. instead of midnight. Laying off a quarter of its work force. And shrinking the system almost back to its original footprint by shuttering 15 stations. All of which will further reduce ridership. Meanwhile, the Iraq War costs $2 billion a day.

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A Small Price to Pay | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Trump dismisses the economic costs of his war against Iran as a “very small price to pay” for—what, exactly, nobody knows. Fuel prices are soaring, and may stay high for months. That could make groceries and other goods more expensive. Consumers and businesses could spend less, triggering a recession.

• Wary of low approval ratings, Trump calls his Iran War a “short-term excursion.” Will this be a walk in the park? Or will Iran become another Mideast quagmire?

America For Sale: 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion—19% of all contributions — in federal elections in 2024, directly or through PACs. Before Citizens United, the share of billionaire spending was almost 0.3%. Billionaire families gave an average total of $10 million each, an amount roughly equal to what 100,000 typical political donors gave, combined. And that does not count dark-money contributions.

• Republicans want the SAVE Act “show your papers” law so badly they’re willing to consider a “talking filibuster.” Ted’s done the math—and the GOP should be careful what it asks for.

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SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu

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Ecocide in Iran | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• As oil prices rose 50% to $110/barrel and U.S. gas rose more than $1/gallon in a week, U.S. and Israel blew up four oil depots and a petroleum logistics site in and around Tehran, deliberately triggering an ecological disaster in a capital city of 9 million people. Thick black smoke rose, soot covered streets and cars, balconies filled with black gunk, and toxic air filled lungs. Toxic chemicals lead to acid rain and hurt the skin and lungs, contaminate food and water reservoirs. Next: a spike in asthma, pulmonary and heart disease, and cancers.

• A report by the National Intelligence Council completed before the Iran War assessed that even a large-scale U.S. military assault on the country would be unlikely to topple the Iranian government. Mojtaba Khamenei, has been named to ‌replace his assassinated father as supreme ⁠leader.

• Trump is trying to negotiate a deal that would turn Cuba into an U.S. vassal state, as it was before the communist revolution. Americans could travel to Havana, President Miguel Díaz-Canel would resign, the Castro family would remain on the island and ports, energy and tourism would be exploited by the U.S.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

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ICEd! | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• ICE Queen Kristi Noem is out at Homeland Security. Not because she unleashed thugs on Americans or covered up their murders. Because she blamed Trump for her own self-aggrandizing ad campaign and got caught in her on-the-job affair. Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will replace her. And what’s this Shield of the Americas thing she’s going to do next?

1,300 Iranians have been killed by the U.S. and Israel. The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rose to at least 123, as a new wave of strikes pounded the Lebanon and Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 3 miles of their northern border. Yesterday, Israel threatened residents that they should leave Beirut’s southern suburbs, prompting a huge exodus from a swath of the capital’s densely populated area known as Dahiyeh, home to half a million Lebanese.

• Trump tells Axios he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader—just as he was in Venezuela. Khameini Jr. is pre-nixed. Freedom, it seems, isn’t very free.

• No money for high-speed rail, new schools, the homeless, or healthcare subsidies—but the U.S. government has $2 billion a day for the Iran War.

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School’s Out | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss the US/Israeli War Against Iran:

• The U.S. bombing of the Iranian elementary school that killed 165 people, many of them schoolgirls, included more targets near the school than has been initially reported. Satellite images suggest that the school was hit as part of an airstrike on a neighboring military complex — and that it may have been struck as a result of outdated targeting information. Satellite images show that the school and clinic buildings were both once part of the base. The school was separated from the base by a wall between 2013 and 2016. The clinic was walled off between 2022 and 2024. Did the U.S. ignore signs of scores of girls going to class?

• Did the U.S. commit a war crime by torpedoing an uninvolved Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, returning from a diplomatic visit to India, in the Indian Ocean, and failing to rescue its crew—something Nazi U-boat commanders did during World War II until the Laconia incident?

• Europe is transferring assets from Ukraine to the Mideast as rising oil prices benefit Russia’s economy. Are the U.S. and Israel indirectly defeating Ukraine?

• Likely 2028 presidential contender Gavin Newsom, criticized Israel, suggesting that the U.S. should reconsider its military support for the country, which he compared to an apartheid state.

Also:

  The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed attorney general Pam Bondi, to testify about the Epstein files. The 24 to 19 vote was a rebuke to the Trump administration.

Iran’s Plan: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss the US/Israeli War Against Iran:

Iran’s overriding goal is regime survival amid overwhelming military superiority from the United States and Israel. Rather than seeking outright victory, Tehran aims to impose high costs on President Trump—through American casualties, surging global energy prices, inflation, and economic disruption—to pressure him into declaring victory and withdrawing. Iran pursues asymmetric endurance by expanding the battlefield regionally: targeting oil/gas infrastructure in Gulf neighbors, attempting to close the Strait of Hormuz (disrupting ~20% of world oil/gas flows), limiting air traffic, and depleting expensive missile interceptors with cheap drones.

• If war is good for business, what’s going on? The New York Times reported that Iranian operatives have sued for peace to the CIA. U.S. stock index futures edged higher after a major sell-off, but $75/barrel oil fuels worries about global inflation. Financial expert Aquiles Larrea joins us to discuss the economic impact of the war.

  The son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, is the front-runner to rule Iran.

Also:

Texas Two-Time? Aggressive Democrat Jasmine Crockett is claiming election cheating—credibly—as her huge 56-44 polling lead evaporated overnight into a 53-46 loss to moderate James Talarico. Why? The Supreme Court against her campaign’s request to give voters from Dallas County an extension to sort out confusion about Republican-led changes to polling locations. The GOP side heads to a runoff.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

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LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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Regime Derange | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss the US/Israeli War Against Iran:

• Once again, the U.S. has decapitated the leadership of a country without a reasonable plan to fill the power vacuum it created. Trump tells Iranians to “take over your government,” but there’s no organized opposition. “The plan,” a German official worries aloud, “is to have no plan.”

• Escalation: Israel, the U.S. and Iran are poised to hit more targets with more powerful weapons. At least 787 Iranians and 6 Americans have died.

• Iran threatens to blow up ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, a major oil-exporting nation, watches oil prices soar. Gas prices are already rising. Today will be a rough day on Wall Street. Financial expert Aquiles Larrea joins us to discuss the economic impact of the war.

Marco Rubio explains the “imminent threat” behind the war: Israel, he says, was going to attack. Iran would have retaliated against US bases. Why didn’t he tell Israel not to attack, or notify Iran of the danger from Israel?

Also:

• In Texas John Cornyn, a four-term incumbent, is facing off against the state’s attorney general, scandal-plagued MAGA darling Ken Paxton.

Democrats are facing a choice between Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who plays to the party’s base, and state representative James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian preaching a blend of Christianity and liberal values.

TO ASK A QUESTION FOR TED AND/OR JOHN BEFORE TODAY’S SHOW AIRS LIVE: https://ahaslides.com/4UJWT

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

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The Republic Strikes Back | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss the US/Israeli War Against Iran:

Iran was more prepared for war than the Trump administration anticipated, U.S. officials admit. Three American service members were killed and five seriously wounded by Iran at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. Flights across the Middle East came to a standstill after Iran struck at least four airports, including Dubai. Bahrain sustained minimal damage from a drone. Airports in both Kuwait and the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Irbil, were also hit. Iran hit Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi, where the French navy has a base. Two drones struck a port in Duqm, a port town in Oman. An Iranian bomb struck a shelter in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, killing at least nine people. Residential towers in Bahrain were also hit. Kuwait accidentally shot down three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets—$100 million each—down late last night. Six crew members ejected.

• The war expanded into Lebanon after Hezbollah claimed a rocket and drone attack on Israel. Israel struck the group’s HQ in Beirut and targeted weapons storage facilities. PM Keir Starmer is reversing his decision to bar the U.S. from using U.K. bases. The war has only sped up the deterioration of the trans-Atlantic relationship.

• Trump is publicly warning Americans to gird for a sustained, costly war.“Sadly, there will likely be more [U.S. deaths] before it ends,” the president said. “America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against, basically, civilization.”

Oil futures surged. Brent crude, the international benchmark, spiked 6.2% to trade at $77 a barrel, having briefly surpassed $82 earlier in the trading session. Meanwhile, stock futures fell. Futures for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow were all down more than 1%. But Exxon and Chevron shares rose pre-market. Defense stocks, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, were also up strongly.

Also:

Pakistan bombed Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The Taliban is firing at Pakistani fighter jets over Kabul.

• A man who fatally shot two people and wounded 14 others at a popular bar on Austin’s Sixth Street, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, wore a hoodie that read “Property of Allah” over a T-shirt bearing an Iranian flag.

TO ASK A QUESTION FOR TED AND/OR JOHN BEFORE TODAY’S SHOW AIRS LIVE: https://ahaslides.com/3XL8G

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu

APPLE MUSIC: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall/id1825379504

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