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DMZ America Podcast Ep 175: Interview with Animated Political Cartoonist Mark Fiore

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Ted Rall

DMZ America co-hosts Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) turn to their colleague, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore, known for his hard-hitting animated shorts about U.S. politics, to discuss the fallout of the 2024 election results and to prepare for another four years of satirizing Donald Trump. In what ways can we expect Trump’s second term to differ from his first, and does that mean approaching and criticizing him using a new or different approach? Should we expect the unexpected, and if so what?

The Wall Street Journal has called Mark Fiore “the undisputed guru of the [animated political cartoon] form.” His work has appeared on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website, Newsweek.com, Slate.com, CBSNews.com, MotherJones.com, NPR’s web site and is currently being featured by KQED.  Fiore’s political animation has appeared on CNN, Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, Salon.com and cable and broadcast outlets across the globe.  Mark Fiore was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 2010 and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 2004.

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DMZ America Podcast Ep 169: Kamala Flagging as Trump Gains

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Ted Rall

Less than two weeks before Election Day, polls and a general sense of zeitgeist has many political commentators feeling that the tide is running away from Kamala Harris and toward Donald Trump in a razor-tight election campaign. Is it too late for Harris to solve her big problems: voters who don’t feel that they know her well enough to trust her with the launch codes, and her failure to articulate an enticing policy agenda they can easily understand? Political cartoonists and best friends Ted Rall (recovering Democrat, now Left) and Scott Stantis (recovering Republican, now Libertarian) walk you through the lay of this strange new land.

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast, DMZ America, Ted Rall, Scott Stantis, politics, political podcast, politics podcast, editorial cartoons, political cartoons, cartoons, 2024 election campaign, polls, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris

DMZ America Podcast Ep 158: Trump’s Racist on Kamala Harris & Israel Attacks Iran

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Ted Rall

Political cartoonists and analysts Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (on the Right) take on the week in politics.

Kamala Harris has secured the nomination of the Democratic Party officially, via virtual roll call, less than two weeks after Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Scott and Ted discuss how she quickly consolidated control of the party in one of the most startling reversals of political fortune ever, taking her from pariah to Internet darling with a $1 billion war chest in a matter of a month. Donald Trump is attacking her race and gender; will these punches land?

Meanwhile, the Middle East conflict is heating up with the prospect of a wider regional conflict so pronounced that Ted thinks the unthinkable, considering scenarios for nuclear confrontation. At the same time, Scott declares the Russo-Ukrainian War all over but the shouting, with the outcome increasingly obvious.

Watch the Video Version: here.

(Will be live 8/2/24 6:15 pm EDT)

DMZ America Podcast Ep 156: Trump’s Triumph & Biden’s Final Days

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Ted Rall

Political cartoonists and analysts Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (on the Right) take on a dramatic week in politics. Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt and emerged looking great from the Republican National Convention. Meanwhile, Democrats continued to call for President Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race, Kamala Harris began to fend off attacks from the Right and the Left and the beleaguered Biden was forced to quarantine himself after he came down with Covid-19.

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #151: Canada Fears US Civil War, Many Elderly Will Die Homeless, Cartoonist Jailed in Iran

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Ted Rall

The DMZ America podcast is where you’ll hear civilized, spirited debate and discussion about the politics and issues of the day. Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (Left) and Scott Stantis (Right) deliver a fast-paced look at some stories others are missing this week.

First up, a Canadian government assessment of threats to Canadian national security worries aloud about instability on their southern border: us. The worry: “U.S. ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest escalate, plunging the country into civil war.”

Second: People over 50 face a radically increased danger of becoming homeless and dying on the streets. What does the fact that younger generations don’t seem to care about the elderly say about American society?

Third: Cartoonist Atena Farghadani, who is on trial at Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, was charged with “insulting sacred values” and “propagating against the state” for attempting to post her cartoon on the wall outside the home of the Supreme Leader. The court sentenced the cartoonist to six years in prison. 

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #150: Lawfare v. Hunter Biden, Age v. Joe Biden, EU Elections

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Ted Rall

Political artists Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (on the Right) aren’t just smart prescient analysts of news and current events. They are also best friends. So they’re not going to yell each other and try to talk over each other. They discuss and debate with courage and respect, making for easy-to-listen-to political discussion.

This week, the Wall Street Journal reports that Democratic and Republican White House insiders are all worried about the mental and physical fitness of the President of the United States. Biden nods off during meetings, doesn’t seem to know how to read the room, doesn’t seem to understand much about what’s going on. What can and should be done about this terrifying situation?

Also, Hunter Biden becomes the latest political figure targeted by a “gotcha lawsuit,” in which a relatively trivial offense is blown up into a major legal problem not because society must be protected from a villain but because it might score a few political points. Scott and Ted compare and contrast this trial over gun charges in Delaware with the conviction of former President Donald Trump in his hush money trial in New York.

Finally, elections in the European Union seem to indicate that the right wing parties are more likely to pick up seats than their rivals. Ted is authorized to vote in French elections and has received a bunch of propaganda from a myriad of political parties running candidates. Why can’t the United States have as much choice as France? Part of the answer lies in our stupid constitution.

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #148: Israel the Pariah, Alito’s False Flags, Artificial Journalism

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Ted Rall

It’s the DMZ America podcast, where political cartoonists bring their smart takes on the news to spirited, intelligent, civilized dialogue from both sides of the political aisle. Ted Rall (WhoWhatWhy, Creators Syndicate) comes from the Left, Scott Stantis (Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News) comes from the Right and sparks fly.

First up: the guys react to the increasing diplomatic isolation of Israel, marked by the decision of the International Court of Justice to order Israel to stand down in the Gaza Strip, following on the heels of the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Scott, a supporter of Israel, debates Israel’s intentions and war aims with Ted, a supporter of Palestinian emancipation.

Second: Scott’s expertise as a vexologist comes into play in light of Supreme Court Samuel Alito’s decision to fly flags associated with the extreme Right at his homes. How much should we make of Alito’s flag choices? Scott argues: a lot. Should he recuse himself from Trump’s Jan. 6th case?

Third: The Washington Post tries to solve its budgetary difficulties by putting A.I. “everywhere in the newsroom,” whatever that means. Considering that Google AI is a total disaster, this might need to be rethunk. Too bad a rich guy like Jeff Bezos can’t afford to save the paper.

Watch the Video Version: here.

(Video will be live approximately 6:30 Eastern Daylight time May 24th)

DMZ America Podcast #145: Mass Graves in Gaza, Imperial Presidency, Menthol Madness

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Ted Rall

Political cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) debate the week in news and culture as friendly adversaries to bring you spirited debate and smart insight.

First up: The Israel-Hamas War seems to be entering some sort of tipping point in terms of international public opinion. As the International Criminal Court weighs issuing an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his government’s policy of blockade and mass starvation in Gaza and student protests over America’s support of Israel spread from Columbia University to college and university campuses around the nation, the disturbing discovery of a pair of mass graves containing the bodies of hospital patients and personnel apparently summarily executed in areas under IDF control prompt Scott to say that, if this is confirmed to be an Israeli war crime, he would be done with Israel after supporting the Jewish state for many years.

Second: The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case with ramifications both for Donald Trump’s January 6th insurrection case and the separation of powers under the US Constitution. The court is asked to answer the question of whether a president enjoys absolute immunity for acts committed while in office, whether immunity might be partial, and whether it’s possible to separate those acts committed as an individual from those performed as an officeholder. At stake: the nature of the nation’s top political job.

Finally: In an act that appears to reek of cynicism, the Biden Administration has paused a long-planned ban on menthol-flavored tobacco products, which are popular among Black Americans, because of concerns that Black voters might be annoyed at the President when they go to the polls this November. Vote for us before you die, please.


Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast #142: RFK Jr. R.I.P., The Trouble with Bidenomics, Endangered Sperm

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Ted Rall

The DMZ America Podcast is where civilized but spirited and intelligent political talk thrives. Hosted by editorial cartoonists Scott Stantis (from the Right) and Ted Rall (from the Left), the colleagues and best friends debate the issues of the day.

Robert F. Kennedy’s choice of tech sis and fellow Californian Nicole Stranahan as his vice presidential running mate marks a decidedly unserious turn for a campaign that has already shrunk from 19% to 12% in the polls. Nothing is decided yet, of course, but Ted and Scott doubt that RFK will be able to rescue his presidential bid now.

President Biden keeps arguing that the economy is basically sound and that, sooner rather than later, Americans will start to feel better following that spike in inflation a few years back. The problem is, even if he’s right, how can this president possibly communicate that message, or any message, effectively?

Americans’ national fertility rate is 1.66 children per woman. Now it turns out that sperm counts are plummeting due to environmental causes as well as a nasty disease. Scott and Ted discuss the demographic and cultural implications.

Watch the Video Version: here.

DMZ America Podcast Ep 132: Middle East War, Could Biden Lose New Hampshire?, Dead Tree Publications Even Deader

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Ted Rall

Editorial cartoonists and political analysts from the Left (Ted Rall) and the Right (Scott Stantis) discuss and explain the latest news and events in a unique format where disagreement and debate occurs without yelling or stupid insults.

First up this week: War across the Middle East assumes a “Guns of August” vibe as Iran and Pakistan become the latest countries to launch crossborder missile attacks, with the victims being ethnic Balochis. Ted lays out how Iran is emerging as the big winner from the Israel-Hamas War. Scott pushes back from the American perspective, questioning whether the Islamic Republic is committing diplomatic suicide.

Second: The 2024 Presidential Campaign moves from Iowa to the bizarre New Hampshire primary, which is being skipped both by President Biden and Governor Ron DeSantis. All GOP eyes will soon turn to South Carolina—will the Palmetto State be the last stand for Haley, or DeSantis, or both? Meanwhile, New Hampshire threatens to torpedo Biden for his Big Snub.

Third topic: More depressing news from the world of dead trees, where the Washington Post is losing $100 million a year and the Los Angeles Times is down $50 million despite their deep-pocketed and supposedly brilliant owners. Ted asks Scott, who has worked at numerous papers, why can’t these supposed genius billionaires turn these sinking watchdogs of democracy around?

Watch the Video version of the DMZ America Podcast: here.

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