Good Thursday morning, joining Michael today is professor Daniel Bessner, author of Democracy in Exile, to discuss his latest piece in the Nation “Foreign Policy Beyond Good and Evil.”  Bessner argues that as the 2020 primaries come into view progressives should be cautious about how Warren and Sanders understand international relations. Bessner and Brooks begin their conversations in the 1930s when the Western allied forces and Northern Atlantic countries confronted Nazi forces. During the Cold War, the United States cemented its foreign policy world view as democratic goodness versus evil which constituted anything standing in the way of Americans international agenda. Comparing adversaries to Nazis gives American foreign policy leaders license to endless militarism abroad. Bessner argues that we need to judge international leaders bad policies beyond “good and evil,” comparing the Iranian regime to Nazism is neither accurate depiction nor productive to building a stable Middle East. So then, how can the Left advocate global humanitarian crises in American politics? Bessner believes that developing new domestic humanitarian aid policies would be a good first step, albeit an ambitious one, towards a more just global community. Bessner and Brooks conclude the interview sharing their thoughts on the foreign policy positives and negatives of the leading progressive candidates (Sanders and Warren) seeking the 2020 nomination. Bessner leaves the show asking listeners to consider all the ways in which the military is valorized in American life. If we want to reframe US militarism we must first disentangle all the ways the military pervades our culture and everyday lives.

And in the Fun Half: how leftist foreign policy would play in conservative America, Trump’s thoughts on Russian troops in Venezuela, Cory Booker turns his So. Carolina townhall stage into a church pulpit, Tucker Carlson says CNN and MSNBC get their marching orders from Nancy Pelosi, where Mayor Pete lies on the left ideological spectrum, Bernie’s new M4A ad, Boris Epshteyn calls in, the Alt-Right’s various connections to the Christchurch shooter, Ben Shapiro as conduit to all far right radicalism, the UN’s problematic stance on Mozambique’s recovery efforts, a long horizon of our politics, the problem with Beto in a national election, how Jimmy Dore poison’s the left political well, plus your calls and IMs!

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