It’s Hump Day! Sam and Emma speak with Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute, to discuss the state of play in Israel/Gaza nearly 3 months after October 7th. Then, they’re joined by Paul Ortiz, professor of history at the University of Florida, to discuss how unions in Florida have been pushing back against Gov. Ron DeSantis’s draconian anti-labor policy in the state.

First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the recent attack on Iran’s memorial for General Soleimani that killed 100, Israel’s drone strike in Beirut, Bernie’s call to block additional funding for Israel, the Fed’s case against Menendez, the House GOP’s consolidation around Trump as their majority thins, Texan fascism, and the Ivy president debacle, before parsing through Israel’s absurd escalation of their ongoing conflict to the wider region of the Middle East. After briefly tackling the growing indictments against Senator Bob Menendez, Trita Parsi joins to discuss Israel expanding its offensive to Beirut and Damascus alongside the unclaimed terror attack, all serving to reinforce Israel’s desire to bring this conflict onto the regional stage. Expanding on this, Parsi discusses Israel’s apparent tact of provoking a military response from Iran, or a greater escalation from Hezbollah, and why that hinges on the US’ unconditional support for Israel’s disproportionate responses. Next, Trita, Sam, and Emma parse through what this potential escalation means for direct US military action, including the clear alignment of Houthi attacks on US troops with Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of Gaza, and what it means for Israel’s multi-decade attempt to inspire war between the US and Iran. Wrapping up, Parsi looks at the Biden Administration’s unwavering support for this conflict, and whether there’s any hope for his electoral coalition moving forward. Paul Ortiz then joins, as he walks through the history of the United Faculty of Florida, formed in the 1970s in response to decades of attacks against Floridian educators over criticizing the American right or supporting progressive causes, and contextualizes their current work within the Florida Education Association. After expanding on the ongoing bout of attacks against educational freedom by Ron DeSantis’ administration, with help from Chris Rufo, Ortiz dives into the union’s emphasis on the social justice model of organizing, using community ties and interaction to bolster their intersectional approach to supporting their teachers amid ongoing attacks, before wrapping up with an assessment of UFF’s incredible success in fighting back against fascism, and the hope that lies in the students they support.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Israel’s telling response to South Africa initiating a suit against them over crimes of genocide in the International Criminal Court, Michael Knowles pleads with his followers to make Nazi propaganda out of beloved animated children’s characters, and Tim Pool reflects on the pre-Mohammad era of humanity. Aaron Rodgers puts his bad foot in his mouth over the Epstein list, Nick from Michigan discusses pressuring Biden from the left (and the importance of the Democratic primaries in doing so), Aaron from Texas dissects the hypocrisy of Bill Maher, and Nick from Winnepeig on talking with conservatives, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out the Quincy Institute here: https://quincyinst.org/

Check out an interview Paul did with Bill Fletcher Jr. here: https://inthesetimes.com/article/united-faculty-of-florida-paul-ortiz-bill-fletcher-ron-desantis

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