Podcasts Archives - Ted Rall's Rallblog

Midterm Election Mania | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

September 8, 2026•

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

Editorial cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM Eastern time.

Today we discuss:

• There are major anxieties about interference in the 2026 midterm elections. Will the Trump administration use executive orders or declare a national emergency to sow confusion? Will there be federal agents at polls, ballot seizures, and restricted mail-in voting? Gerrymandering and eroded trust compound fears that results could be delegitimized or overridden. Investigative journalist Greg Palast joins Ted and Jamarl to tell us what fears are real.

Greg Palast is an investigative journalist and author whose reporting for the BBC, Guardian, and Rolling Stone has exposed voter-roll purges, Crosscheck programs, and suppression tactics since Florida’s 2000 election. His bestsellers The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, plus films like Vigilantes Inc., document how officials and contractors have disenfranchised millions, especially voters of color.

• Middle East Escalation: A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia wounds more than 70 people and ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom’s southern region, raising oil prices and threatening to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Iran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. The United Kingdom is expected to announce trade restrictions on illegal Israeli settlements, the latest sign that UK-Israeli relations have taken another downturn. And Israel orders settler outposts removed in the West Bank.

• The centrist-conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) was defeated by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in a Saxony-Anhalt state election. Friedrich Merz’s party lost more than half of its seats in the state parliament, while the AfD increased its count from 23 to 39.

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JD Vance Laughs Off Civilian Deaths | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

September 4, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• US Vice President JD Vance blurts “sometimes things happen” when asked whether an American bombing attack was responsible for killing four people, including a child, at a wedding celebration in southern Iran. The strike has been independently confirmed.

• Tensions rise between Germany and Russia. Russia will close German cultural centers, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says, in a retaliatory measure after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport. In Munich, several incendiary devices were thrown at a construction site near a building where several companies, including from the defense sector, are located. Two Bulgarian nationals were arrested.

• First the Ballroom, now the Arch. Trump is breaking ground on his 250-foot-tall triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, even before a federal review panel has approved the project.

• Argentine President Javier Milei escalates his country’s dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands, vowing new measures to halt an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and praising Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty.

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Trump “Out of Options” Against Iran | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

September 3, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• For 24 hours after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Trump the US has lost to Iran and a US bomb attack killed at least 5 guests at a wedding party and wounded at least 67, Trump’s familiar playbook for his war for/with Israel was on full display. The president went from boasting that Iran was defeated militarily, a “failed nation,” to threatening an apocalyptic attack that would leave “very little left” of the country. Then he was back to trolling, asking his followers whether the United States should name the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait.” Foreign policy experts say he has run out of options.

• Citing an “unprecedented lowering of standards,” a career ICE official who stepped forward as a whistleblower said that “systemic breakdowns” had allowed applicants to receive job offers before they had passed basic fingerprint, identity or credit checks in a preliminary vetting process. Political appointees had unjustly skirted background investigations and received national security eligibility.

• Global heating will reach at least 1.8C under even the most optimistic future, well beyond the Paris agreement goal of 1.5C, according to a UN report that warns every fraction of temperature rise intensifies destructive extreme weather, glacier melt, ecosystem loss, and island and coastal city submersion. The report by the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme confirmed overshooting the 1.5C goal inscribed in the landmark Paris agreement of 2015 was now “unavoidable” and, despite some progress in addressing the human-caused climate crisis driven by burning fossil fuels, likely in the next few years. It said: “There are no good outcomes above 1.5C”.

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Milo Y Is Very Sorry and Ashamed for Supporting Trump | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

September 2, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos said he is “very ashamed” for supporting Trump after ICE thugs deported him back to the UK. Yiannopoulos called his experience “humiliating and disorienting.” He said he experienced “brutality.” “It was physically degrading, it was frightening,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been frightened like that before … And I was weeping like an old woman for an hour. He reflected on being “a little bit blasé” and “cavalier” about when people shared their traumas. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Yiannopoulos added.

• German officials blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig/Halle Airport, close a Russian consulate and take other measures in response. A drone stacked with military-grade explosives was found Aug. 4 next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at the airport. Security camera footage appeared to show the weapon striking the plane’s wing before falling to the ground without exploding. Later that day, a second drone collided with a cargo plane in flight. Ten days later, a third drone was found with traces of military-grade explosives in a field near the airport. Germany has concluded the attack was plotted by professionals working for the Russian state, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.

• Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian student at Wright State University, struggling mentally and emotionally with the shame of being forced to wear an ankle monitor by ICE, said he had been bullied at school and felt “humiliated” by the device. Bel committed suicide by walking into Interstate 70. His family blamed the humiliation brought on by the ankle monitor.

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Israeli Settler-Terrorists Maul NBC News Journalists | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

September 1, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• NBC correspondent Matt Bradley says his team is “recovering well” after they “all took hits” from Israeli settler-terrorists during an interview the day before with elderly Palestinian woman Aida Ahmed Abdullah, who was knocked unconscious in Saturday’s attack. While interviewing Abdullah, whose home has been occupied by Israeli thugs, a group of masked men in a car with Israeli license plates descended on them with sticks and stones, beating them. One of the attackers could be seen swinging a stick at the cameraman before the camera fell to the ground.

• Laura Berlin built an interactive Google Map titled, “Who is Profiting from ICE?” The U.S. government found her website, too – and has labeled it a tool for domestic terrorism.

• The Supreme Court lets Trump proceed with plans to build the White House ballroom. The 5-4 ruling is likely the final word on the project. The majority decision noted that the justices did “not pass upon the legality of the government’s East Wing project.” The real issue: Constitutional separation of powers.

• The U.S. Postal Service could “derail” the midterm election if it continues rushing out “untested” technology as part of President Trump’s push to restrict mail-in voting, a newly released whistleblower report warns.

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Hegseth Warned by US Experts to Stop Iran War | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

August 31, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• “Too Much, Too Long”: Top generals warn in the the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB) to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonged large-scale operations against Iran are unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland.

At the same time, the U.S. attacks Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian forces were allegedly preparing to disperse sea mines into the waterway. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warn that the U.S. strikes would “result in the punishment of the aggressor” and fired ballistic missiles at a Jordanian air base housing U.S. troops.

• The U.S. government says it is entering into a joint venture with a private Venezuelan energy company to loot oil and gas. The Trump administration says the U.S. would get 55% of the oil from the joint venture. That’s equivalent to about 65 billion barrels of oil that’s under the ground. Trump called it the “biggest oil deal in the world.” But energy experts say there are many reasons to be skeptical.

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CIA: Putin Thinks USA Is Now Weak | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

August 28, 2026•

Ted Rall

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s mysterious trip to Moscow this week was preceded by fresh U.S. intelligence indicating that the Kremlin sees the US as weakened by the Iran war, offering Russia an opportunity to escalate action against American interests and allies in Europe. The CIA chief warned Russia against ramping up its war against Ukraine, arguing that such a move would backfire.

• Parents say that because of the $17 billion Meta settlement, they have been robbed of seeing evidence of Meta’s awareness of harm due to its products.

• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is blaming the location of a temporary Ellipse site for an incident in early August when President Trump’s Marine One helicopter came within a mile of a passenger jet. The agency flagged twice that the helicopter attempted to contact controllers to give the typical three-minute liftoff warning to clear the airspace at 2:31 p.m. Aug. 4. The first attempt was not received by National Airport’s air traffic control tower while the second was “broken and completely unreadable.” When this failed, the helicopter attempted to relay the three-minute warning “through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, which was also unsuccessful.”

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Canada Retaliates Against U.S. with 50% Tariffs | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

August 27, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• Canadian trade officials acknowledge that their retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on $20 billion in American goods are intended to exert pressure on key U.S. states. The tariffs could hit states in the Midwest and Northeast particularly hard.

• Meta reaches a landmark settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, agreeing to pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties and make major changes to its products over claims it endangered children with addictive social media platforms. The settlement effectively ends a bellwether federal trial in the U.S. Northern District of California in Oakland, where California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were seeking roughly $200 billion over accusations that Meta harmed children. Meta’s stock rose on the news, closing up just over 1 percent. The company is valued at $1.47 trillion and most recently generated $60.8 billion in quarterly revenue. The full value of Meta’s payout depends on whether other social media companies also settle with the states and agree to financial penalties and product changes. Meta will initially pay about $12 billion. It will pay an additional $5 billion if Snap, TikTok and YouTube also settle with the states and agree to financial penalties and product changes.

• The massive expenditure of U.S. munitions in the Middle East is worrying Asian allies and frustrating Pentagon officials overseeing the Indo-Pacific, who fear that the prolonged war with Iran could undermine U.S. readiness for a conflict with China. One Taiwanese official said they expect “significant delays” of Pac-3 Patriot missiles due to the drain on supplies as the Pentagon has depleted most of its interceptor stockpile in the Middle East. Japan has been warned by the Pentagon of possible delays in defense shipments, including Tomahawk cruise missiles.

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Should Football Be Banned? | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

August 26, 2026•

Ted Rall

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

Editorial cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM Eastern time.

Today we discuss:

• At least one in four NFL players will probably get chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Should football be banned? At least 215 of 878 players who died from 2016 to 2021 — 24.5% — had CTE. The actual prevalence could be far higher. This does not consider the 643 brains that were not examined. Studies have shown that the rate of CTE in people who have not sustained repeated impacts to the head is nearly zero. Professional football’s rate of brain disease is an occupational safety hazard with little comparison in the American workplace: asbestos workers and coal miners. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion and uncharacteristic mood swings, decreases in executive function and increases in erratic and impulsive behavior, including addiction.

Should we ban other sports with high rates of CTE, like boxing, ice hockey, rugby, soccer and wrestling?

• Huge mudslides sweep through villages in Nepal and Tibet, and China’s Gyirong port. Hundreds are missing and feared dead. Nepal’s foreign minister said an earthquake triggered a large landslide, which in turn blocked a river, sending a torrent of water downstream. Could Central Asia’s “Sword of Damocles”—Lake Sarez—be next?

• CIA Director John Ratcliffe quietly flew to Russia, where he met with his FSB intelligence counterparts. The topic of discussion, however, was probably not the Russo-Ukrainian War.

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Netanyahu: “Iran Tried to Kill My Son” | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

August 25, 2026•

Ted Rall

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:

Conflict reporter/writer/cartoonist Ted Rall and political analyst Jamarl Thomas deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM ET.

Today we discuss:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Iran tried to kill one of his sons, but gave no details about when the alleged plot took place, which son was targeted or how ‌close it came to being carried out. Netanyahu’s oldest son, Yair, lives in Miami.

• The Supreme Court cleared a roadblock for Trump’s push to restrict mail-in ballots via the U.S. Postal Service, but a separate nationwide injunction keeps the rule blocked for now. The administration’s proposed rule for mail-in ballots could scramble the 2026 midterms by forcing local and state officials to adopt an untested federal system on short notice and potentially undermine confidence in U.S. elections.

• British Prime Minister Andy Burnham says the U.K. will help Ukraine make its own long-range missiles by sharing classified technical information for British components. Burnham, who was in Kyiv for Ukraine’s Independence Day, said defense firm MBDA will release details on U.K.-made parts for the SCALP missile to Ukraine to help the country assemble the weapons.

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Midterm Election Mania | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

JD Vance Laughs Off Civilian Deaths | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Trump “Out of Options” Against Iran | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Milo Y Is Very Sorry and Ashamed for Supporting Trump | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Israeli Settler-Terrorists Maul NBC News Journalists | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Hegseth Warned by US Experts to Stop Iran War | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

CIA: Putin Thinks USA Is Now Weak | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Should Football Be Banned? | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Netanyahu: “Iran Tried to Kill My Son” | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

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