Just World Books Podcasts

In this April 1 conversation with JWE president Helena Cobban, Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr., discussed the impact and relevance of the 5-point peace initiative for the Iran conflict that China and Pakistan jointly announced on March 31.You can find more background about Amb. Freeman and about this new peace initiative at this post on JWE's Substack.Support the show

In this March 24 convo with Helena Cobban, Vijay Prashad, the director Tricontinental, drew on his extensive experience of the affairs of the Global South to assess the extent and roots of Iran's achievements in resisting the attack that the U.S.-Israeli alliance started on February 28. Prashad and Cobban also discussed the ties between Iran's achievements in their war against the alliance and the prospects for the movements in Gaza, the rest of Palestine, and Lebanon that are also facing fierce onslaughts from the alliance, and the impacts of this war on the global balance more generally. This conversation is the ninth in JWE's ongoing "Iran Crisis" series, which is a follow-on to the "Gaza, and the World" project that we launched in Fall 2025. The multimedia records of all the conversations in this series can be found at this portal page on our website.Check back at our website www.justworldeducational.org, or with our Substack justworlded.substack.org for other news of th

In this March 20 talk, Just World Ed president Helena Cobban assessed the current state of the Israeli-US War on Iran at  Day 21, and lessons that antiwar activists-- particularly those in the United States-- should take from what has happened until now. She focused on: the depravity of the rampages Israel has been committing in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon in addition, to those in Iranthe intense degree to which the U.S. military and government are actively complicit in all of Israel's rampages, including those regarding which Pres. Trump has expressed some mild (or even joking) reservationsthe impotence of the United Nations regarding Palestine, Lebanon, and the globe-wide economic crisis sparked by the warthe responsibility of U.S. citizens to take concrete actions to end the war and to build a sustainable peace-- including by pulling all U.S. military bases out of the Gulf.This conversation is the eighth in JWE's ongoing "Iran Crisis" series, which is a follow-on to the "Gaza,

In this March 5 convo with Helena Cobban, longtime Iran specialist Barbara Slavin noted the survival of Iran's central governance structures even after the early assassination by the Israeli and U.S. war machine of the Supreme Leader and numerous other figures in the country's military and political leadership, and surmised that its government is not likely soon either to crumble or to "capitulate."Slavin, who is a Distinguished Fellow at Washington DC's Stimson Institute, mocked many of the assertions by Pres. Trump and cabinet members like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that Tehran was about to cave. She and Cobban also surveyed the still-spreading consequences of the war for the West Asia region, the global economy, and also  the U.S. political system.This conversation is the seventh in JWE's ongoing "Iran Crisis" series, which is a follow-on to the "Gaza, and the World" project that we launched in Fall 2025. The multimedia records of all the conversations i

In this March 4 convo with Helena Cobban, the veteran U.S. diplomatist Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr.  assessed Iran's objectives in the defensive war it is now waging in response to the massive Israeli-U.S. aggression of February 28, and its likelihood of achieving them.He also assessed a range of other topics including the impact that Iran's actions is having on economies around the world; the policies adopted by various European government; the possible and likely impact of the war on U.S. domestic politics; and the effects the Israeli-U.S. aggression is having on global institutions.This conversation is the sixth in JWE's ongoing "Iran Crisis" series, which is a follow-on to the "Gaza, and the World" project that we launched in Fall 2025. Tomorrow (March 5) we will round out this week's offerings with a convo with the Iranian-affairs expert Barbara Slavin.Check back at our website www.justworldeducational.org for updates  on other upcoming episodes.Support the show

In this March 3 convo with Helena Cobban, JWE's board member the veteran analyst and thinker Rami G. Khouri discussed the sizeable impact that Iran's response to the U.S.-Israeli war of aggression is already having on Arab Gulf states, the broader region of West Asia-- and the world. The two agreed that Iran's resilience and its ability to inflict real pain on the aggressors and  other actors worldwide are both notable, and started to place these factors in their deep historical contextThis conversation is the fifth in JWE's ongoing "Iran Crisis" series, which is follow-on to the "Gaza, and the World" project that we launched in Fall 2025. New episodes are being released at Noon ET on each week-day in both video and audio format. Here is the schedule of guests who are already confirmed for the rest of this week:March 4 ~ Amb. Chas FreemanMarch 5 ~ Barbara SlavinCheck back at our website www.justworldeducational.org for updates  on other upcoming episodes.Support the sho

In this March 2 convo with Helena Cobban, strategic analyst Elijah Magnier assessed the impact that the U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran has been having within the Gulf region, in the rest of West Asia, and worldwide. His main conclusions were that the survival and the demonstrated, continuing competence of Iran's military and other governing structures already constitute a significant achievement and that the U.S.-Israeli aggressors can expect no quick or clean victory.Magnier explored the significant differences between the goals that Pres. Trump and PM Netanyahu hope to achieve in the war. While both men are using this war for their own electoral purposes, Trump doesn't necessarily seek the destruction. of Iran's central governance capabilities, while for Netanyahu that is a much more central goal.This conversation is the fourth in JWE's ongoing "Iran Crisis" series, which is follow-on to the "Gaza, and the World" project that we launched in Fall 2025. This new s

In this convo conducted late on February 26, Helena's guest was Ray McGovern, a long-time peace activist, and before that a high-level Soviet-affairs analyst for the CIA. McGovern shared the reasons why, for some time now, he has thought Pres. Trump is very unlikely to launch the much-touted (and much-feared) aggression against Iran.  He also shared his analysis of the role Russian Pres. Putin plays in the background of the Iran crisis, the declining strength of Israeli leverage over Trump, and more.This conversation was the third in Part 2 of Just World Ed's ongoing "Gaza & the World" project, which is tracking the still-simmering crisis between the United States and Iran. You can learn about the contents of the first two eps, and get the links to their respective video and audio files, here: Elijah Magnier, Bill Quandt.New eps in this series are being released at 1 pm ET on each of the following days in both video and audio format. Here are the guests who're already confirmed fo

In this February 26 convo, JWE President Helena Cobban and the veteran Middle East (West Asia) specialist Bill Quandt dissected the perils of Pres. Trump's decisionmaking chaos. They surveyed the possibly catastrophic costs of any eruption of war; explored some possible non-military exits from the crisis; and looked at both the in-region dynamics of the crisis and the possible divergence of U.S. and Israeli preferences regarding it.This conversation was the second in Part 2 of Just World Ed's ongoing "Gaza & the World" project, which is tracking the still-simmering crisis between the United States and Iran. The first ep was a conversation with Elijah Magnier. Find details and multimedia links to that, here.New eps in this series are being released at 1 pm ET on each of the following days in both video and audio format. Here are the guests who're already confirmed for the coming week:Feb. 27 ~ Ray McGovernMarch 2 ~ Trita ParsiMarch 4 ~ Amb. Chas FreemanMarch 5 ~ Barbara SlavinCheck

In this February 25 convo, JWE President Helena Cobban and the  strategic analyst Elijah Magnier explored issues raised in Magnier's crucial recent article "The Countdown Between Tehran and Washington: Ultimatum, Escalation, and the Brink of War".This conversation inaugurated Part 2 of Just World Ed's ongoing "Gaza & the World" project, which is tracking developments in the still-simmering crisis between the United States and Iran-- a crisis that is a direct part of (and extension of) the still continuing U.S.-Israeli assault against Gaza.This very timely Part 2 of the "Gaza & the World" project will be quite fast-paced, with new episodes being released at 1 pm ET each day in both video and audio format. Here is the schedule of guests who are already confirmed for the coming week:Feb. 26 ~ Bill QuandtFeb. 27 ~ Ray McGovernMarch 2 ~ Trita ParsiMarch 4 ~ Amb. Chas FreemanCheck back at our website www.justworldeducational.org for information on other upcoming episo

On February 2, 2026 (U.S. Pacific Time), JWE President Helena Cobban conducted this wide-ranging conversation with the European strategic analyst Elijah J. Magnier. They discussed principally the points he'd raised in his Feb. 1 blog post "Why Washington Flaunts Naval Power When the Real War Architecture Lies Elsewhere". Other relevant recent writings of Elijah's are this, from Jan. 30, and this, from Jan. 28.Support the show

Helena Cobban, President of Just World Educational, reads her January 24,  2026 newsletter that examined major political developments affecting Gaza, Iran, and the United Nations. She described Donald Trump’s launch of a new body called the Board of Peace and said it appeared designed to sideline the UN. She detailed Jared Kushner’s proposed plan for Gaza, which envisioned population concentration zones, a coastal tourism strip, and an industrial zone along the armistice line. However, she questioned who could impose a settlement where Israel had failed. She also addressed Trump’s renewed pressure on Iran, warnings of a possible US Israeli assault, and the impact of decades of US sanctions. She called those sanctions a form of terrorism. She reflected on European resistance to Trump’s Board of Peace and urged a stronger defense of the UN, especially UNRWA. She closed with updates from Just World Educational and calls to engage with its work. List of links mentioned in the talk: The Globalities writing platfor

This episode was the third in our timely 3-part series "Venezuela in Washington’s Crosshairs: Breaking the Information Blockade," which is co-hosted by Just World Ed's Helena Cobban and Roger Harris of Task Force on the Americas. The series is presented by these two organizations and co-sponsored by the U.S. Peace Council, Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition.This episode featured: Michelle Ellner, of CodePinkDan Kovalik, international human-rights lawyer and authorAjamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace.Ms. Ellner, a Venezuelan American, gave us some vivid descriptions of the effects the U.S. military attack of January 3 and Washington's many other hostile actions have had on her family members and colleagues back home in Venezuela. She spoke of the extreme importance of breaking the "information blockade" regarding Venezuela that nearly all the Western corporate media have engaged in.Mr. Kovalik described the many ways in which U.S. action

This episode was the second in our timely 3-part series "Venezuela in Washington’s Crosshairs: Breaking the Information Blockade," which is co-hosted by Just World Ed's Helena Cobban and Roger Harris of Task Force on the Americas. The series is presented by these two organizations and co-sponsored by the U.S. Peace Council, Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition.This episode featured: Jesús Rodríguez-Espinosa, the Editor of the Orinoco Tribune and a former Venezuelan diplomat; Richard Falk, professor of international law and former UN special rapporteur for Palestine (also, a board member of Just World Ed); andCorinna Mullin, a leaders in the US Peace Council and the Anti-imperialist Scholars Collective.Mr. Rodríguez Espinoza spoke with us from Venezuela and described the widespread networks of Bolivárian solidarity that provide resilience for Venezuelan society under the onslaught from U.S. imperialism. He stressed that internal cohesion and international partner

This episode inaugurated our timely series "Venezuela in Washington’s Crosshairs: Breaking the Information Blockade," which is co-hosted by Just World Ed's Helena Cobban and Roger Harris of Task Force on the Americas. The series is presented by these two organizations and co-sponsored by the U.S. Peace Council, Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition.This episode featured: Venezuelan-Canadian sociologist María Paéz Victor, Leonardo Flores of the Venezuela Solidarity Committee, and Prof. Marjorie Cohn, the former president of the National Lawyers' Guild.The speakers examined how U.S. policy has targeted Venezuela's sovereignty and national independence and has worked to shape public narratives about the country. Their discussion focused on the illegality of Pres. Trump's violent kidnapping of Pres. Nicolás Maduro and other U.S. policies like the debilitating sanctions, attacks on shipping, etc; and on the ongoing regime change efforts, and the role of

In this episode of "Gaza & the World" JWE President Helena Cobban's guest was  Prof. John Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and the co-author with Stephen Walt of the groundbreaking 2007 book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. This conversation took place less than 24 hours after the November 17 passage by the UN Security Council of Resolution 2803, by which the Security Council threw its full support behind the whole of the (very controversial) 20-point "Peace Plan" for Gaza that Pres. Trump had unveiled September 29.In this wide-ranging conversation, Ms. Cobban and Prof. Mearsheimer explored the impact that Seceurity Council might have, both on developments in Gaza and the rest of West Asia and on the standing of the UN itself going forward.The two  discussed the details of how the "Israel Lobby" has functioned over the years and the serious impact it currently has on essential

In this episode of our "Gaza & the World" series, Helena Cobban talked with Dr. Ghada Karmi about the intersection of the genocide in Gaza and the shifting global balance of power. Dr. Karmi is a British-Palestinian who had a strong career in London as a physician and a medical historian; then between 2002 and 2023 she published four  thoughtful books that explored not only her own personal experiences as a member of the Nakba generation and a justice activist, but also the broader realities faced by Palestinians inside and outside the homeland. Her most recent work of non-fiction was One State:  The Only Democratic Future for Palestine-Israel. Dr. Karmi described the unprecedented groundswell of popular support for Palestinian rights the British public has displayed since October 2023, which she contrasted with the continued pro-Israel stance of the British government and many of the country's elite institutions. She detailed her role as a juror of conscience at the Gaza People’s Tribunal

In this episode of our "Gaza & the World" series, Helena Cobban talked with Vijay Prashad about the intersection of the genocide in Gaza and the shifting global balance of power. Vijay Prashad is a visionary global justice activist, the executive director of the Tri Continental Institute for Social Research, the editor of Left Word Books, the chief correspondent for Globetrotter, and a senior non-resident fellow at the Chong Yang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China. He was speaking with Cobban from Beijing.In this episode, Prashad argued that while the world's economic center of gravity had shifted away from the United States, the US maintained overwhelming dominance through its military and information power.  He discussed the role of China in providing an alternative economic pole, which allowed Global South nations to speak more freely against Western policies, arguing that the genocide in Gaza had exposed the moral bankruptcy of the West to the global majority

This is the second episode of "Gaza & the World," a weekly podcast from Just World Educational, hosted by our president, Helena Cobban. This project explores the many interactions between the ongoing, genocidal crisis in Gaza and the world-changing shifts that the global balance of power is currently undergoing.In this episode, Helena's guest is JWE's valued board member Prof. Richard Falk, a veteran scholar of international law who has also served a crucial term as the UN's Special Rapporteur on Palestinian rights. Shortly before joining this conversation Falk had presided over  the final, four-day-long session of the globe-girdling Gaza People's Tribunal, which was held in Istanbul Türkiye. The two discussed the tribunal's conclusion that Israel had committed genocide, and explored the tribunal's findings on the multiple forms that genocide has taken, including domicide and ecocide. They discussed the complicity of Western governments. Falk also analyzed the failu

This is the first episode of "Gaza & the World," a new weekly podcast from Just World Educational, hosted by our president, Helena Cobban. This series explores the crucial role that the two-year genocide & the horrendous ongoing crisis in Gaza-- and also the resilience and resistance of the Palestinian people of Gaza-- are playing in the deep, world-changing shifts that the global balance of power is seeing in our current era. In this opening episode, Helena and JWE's valued board member Rami G. Khouri discuss the historical and present realities of Palestine, the impact of colonial legacies, the role of global powers, and the growing international movement for justice. Their conversation sheds light on shifting political attitudes, the rise of civil society activism, and the broader fight for Palestinian rights as part of global anti-colonial struggles.We're planning to release new episodes weekly, each Wednesday. Be sure to catch them!Support the show