Support Ted’s Work

DMZ America Podcast #133: New Hampshire 2024, The Truth About Migrants, Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism?

•
Ted Rall

In the latest DMZ America Podcast, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) analyze the latest news and trends affecting the nation and the world.

First, the guys break down the 2024 New Hampshire primary, in which Trump handily defeated Nikki Haley in his apparently inevitable track to the GOP nomination, though the South Carolina senator has vowed to remain in the race. Although Democrats snubbed the Granite State in favor of South Carolina, Biden’s write-in campaign prevailed over challenger Dean Phillips, avoiding embarrassment while pointing to fractures in the Democratic coalition. Now Trump is ahead of Biden by 4 points.

Second, Scott explains the real reasons for the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border and advises the White House to come clean with the American people. Ted, it turns out, had reached an identical conclusion.

Finally, Ted and Scott once again explore the differences between anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and anti-Israelism, and speculate on the future of the Gaza Strip and the Middle East crisis.

 

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

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

•
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.

DMZ America Podcast #131: Debating the Gaza War

•
Ted Rall
 

In the latest DMZ America Podcast, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) explore the threat of the Israel-Hamas War spreading from Gaza, where 1% of the total population has been killed, to Iran, the Red Sea and Lebanon and beyond. Ted, who sympathizes with the cause of Palestinian emancipation, presses Scott, who supports Israel’s response to Hamas’ October 7th attack, on what line Israel would need to cross before he would consider them to have gone too far. It’s a tough debate, and a passionate one, but the guys manage to keep things civilized and productive enough to agree on what policy the U.S. should adopt toward the Netanyahu government in light of the flattening of Gaza and the humanitarian crisis.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast: Here.

 

DMZ America Podcast #130: Another Ivy League President Fired, Israel Gone Wild and America’s 250th Birthday

•
Ted Rall

In the first DMZ America Podcast of 2024, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the world in politics and current events.

First, Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard University after drawing criticism for failing to clearly condemn antisemitism at a Congressional hearing, and then being exposed as allegedly having plagiarized dozens of times in her academic career. Right-wing conservatives are celebrating having claimed a scalp and dealt a blow against DEI, but should liberals mourn her departure?

Second, Israel claims responsibility for the drone assassination of a leader of Hamas in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. On the same day, two bombs killed over 100 people attending a memorial service for an Iranian general assassinated by an American drone in 2020. Are the two events linked? Will there be repercussions in the form of a larger regional conflict?

Finally, we are coming up to the 250th anniversary of America. It’s anybody’s guess what it will be called.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast here.

DMZ America Podcast #129: Trump Dumped from Colorado Ballot, Biden’s Record-Low Polls, Will Anyone Care When Gaza is Gone? (with guest Rob Rogers)

•
Ted Rall

In the latest DMZ America Podcast, editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) are joined by their colleague Rob Rogers, editorial cartoonist formerly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First up: The political world reeled after the Colorado state Supreme Court issued a stunning ruling declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, thus making him ineligible to appear on the ballot in the upcoming state Republican primary. 13 other states are facing similar lawsuits so the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on whether Trump can appear on the ballot. Will judges decide our next president?

Second: President Biden is suffering from the lowest poll numbers of his presidency, bottoming out at 34% in one survey. He is even losing voters aged 18 to 29, an important part of his coalition back in 2020. Now he’s between a rock and a hard place on issues like Gaza. Is there any way that he can possibly turn this dismal situation around, given the fact that no one who his position has gone on to successfully be re-elected?

Finally: Most of the world now agrees that Israel overreacted to the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. Gaza has been flattened. Will the attention of the world move on after the bombing stops? Or will images of shattered millions of Palestinian refugees living in the Egyptian desert prove to be a political game changer during the election next year?

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 129 Sec 1: Trump Dumped from Colorado Ballot

DMZ America Podcast Ep 129 Sec 2: Biden’s Record-Low Polls

DMZ America Podcast Ep 129 Sec 3: Will Anyone Care When Gaza is Gone?

 

DMZ America Podcast #127: Beginning of the End for Ukraine, Dumbest College Presidents Ever, Abortion Could Hit Republicans Hard

•
Ted Rall

Political cartoonists and best friends Ted Rall (on the Left) and Scott Stantis (on the Right) discuss and debate the week in politics on the DMZ America Podcast, where disagreement never has to end up in pointless yelling and talking over one another.

In the first segment of the DMZ America Podcast for December 12, 2023, Scott and Ted note the radical reversal of fortune in the war between Ukraine in Russia. The second fighting season has ended with the undeniable conclusion that it is highly unlikely that Ukraine will be able to prevail. Should the U.S. nevertheless continue to finance this lost cause?

In the second segment of the DMZ America Podcast, Scott and Ted debate the debacle following the incompetent congressional testimony by the presidents of UPenn, Harvard and MIT. What should be the penalty for failing to deliver a dull-throated denouncement of anti-Semitism? Should students be expelled for opposing Israel?

In the third segment of the DMZ America Podcast, Scott and Ted consider the political repercussions of a Texas woman who was denied the right to an abortion despite the fact that both her fetus and her life were severely threatened unless she received the procedure. Can abortion move the needle in next year’s election for Democrats, and if so can Democrats pull it off?

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 1: Beginning of the End for Ukraine

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 2: Dumbest College Presidents Ever

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 3: Abortion Could Hit Republicans Hard

DMZ America Podcast #127: GOP Debate, No Money for Ukraine or Israel, Pearl Harbor Day

•
Ted Rall

Editorial cartoonist Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics, culture and current events. 

Four top contenders for the Republican nomination for president — Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis — met for the fourth GOP debate of the current cycle. What, if anything, was the point of this exercise when Donald Trump clearly has the nomination wrapped up, as Ted and Scott pointed out many months ago?

For the first time in memory, Congress voted no to a major military spending package, this one for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. What does the failure of Congress to rubberstamp proxy warfare say about the current state of partisanship in Congress and militarism in general?

Today was the anniversary of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack as well as the beginning of the third month after the October 7th Hamas attack against Israel. Ted and Scott discuss the nature of surprise attacks and their ability to traumatize a society and debate the importance of such benchmarks.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 1: GOP Debate

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 2: No Money for Ukraine or Israel

DMZ America Podcast Ep 127 Sec 3: Pearl Harbor Day

DMZ America Podcast #126: Gaza Left vs. Right, Alabama’s Universal Basic Income

•
Ted Rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the week in politics and current events and culture. This week, the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Birmingham, Alabama’s experiment with a universal basic income.

In the first segment of this week’s DMZ America podcast, Ted and Scott dig deeper than ever before into the domestic and international implications of the war in Gaza. The two cartoonists delve into Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in administrative detention, hostage exchanges, and whether there is a future two-state solution or whether a future single Republic of Palestine could reasonably accommodate members of all ethnic groups.

In the second part of the DMZ America podcast this week, Scott explains an experiment in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama in which single women are paid a universal basic income of $385 per month. The mayor says he wants to renew it because it’s doing well. Should a universal basic income be adopted by the United States? Ted and Scott talk about the economic and cultural risks and rewards of giving people a paycheck without having to work, with an emphasis on the fact that automation and artificial intelligence may make it so that society has no choice.

Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 126 Sec 1: Gaza — Left vs. Right

DMZ America Podcast Ep 126 Sec 2: Alabama’s Basic Universal Income

DMZ America Podcast #125: Is “From the River to the Sea” Genocidal? Mike Johnson Flirts with Adulting

•
Ted Rall

Political Cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) discuss the hot news and current events of the week on the DMZ America podcast. On DMZ, you’ll hear two best friends who happen to come from opposite sides of American politics. Ted and Scott disagree, passionately, but they’re always calm, civilized and respectful. DMZ is a no-yelling zone!

First up this week: Ted and Scott debate the phrase “From the River to Sea” in the context of the heated debate over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Is it genocidal or a kumbaya dream? Does Israel have a “right to exist”? Is Hamas exaggerating or underplaying the death count? Who will govern post-Hamas Gaza? Is Israel planning to annex some or all of Gaza? You won’t want to miss this smart take on the Middle East crisis.

Second up this week: Ted and Scott reflect on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to avoid a government shutdown by—gasp!—working with Democrats. Will acting like adults get Republicans credit? Is it even possible? Can a shutdown be avoided? Will Johnson go the way of Kevin McCarthy and have his gavel taken away too?


Watch the Video Version of the DMZ America Podcast:

DMZ America Podcast Ep 125 Sec 1: Is “From the River to the Sea” Genocidal?

DMZPodcast Ep 125 Sec 2: Mike Johnson Flirts with Adulting

css.php