Van Jackson
@vanjackson.bsky.social
The class politics of geopolitics. Newsletter, http://Un-Diplomatic.com. Co-host, https://www.BangBangPod.com; https://www.undiplomaticpodcast.com. 🇺🇸🇵🇭🇳🇿. https://www.vanjackson.org
Was supposed to do the Christmas card photo today but got a black eye in training
November 15, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Was supposed to do the Christmas card photo today but got a black eye in training
It seems obvious now that Yanis Varoufakis’s conversation with Larry Summers in his memoir was really about whether Yanis could be trusted with an invite to Jeffrey Epstein’s pedo island
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
It seems obvious now that Yanis Varoufakis’s conversation with Larry Summers in his memoir was really about whether Yanis could be trusted with an invite to Jeffrey Epstein’s pedo island
“Jeffrey Epstein was one of the world’s preeminent geopoliticians (not a compliment)...He was about oppression-profiteering and consolidating state control of societies...American hegemony imposed a kind of imperialist peace that people like him cashed in on”
November 11, 2025 at 5:50 PM
“Jeffrey Epstein was one of the world’s preeminent geopoliticians (not a compliment)...He was about oppression-profiteering and consolidating state control of societies...American hegemony imposed a kind of imperialist peace that people like him cashed in on”
Old dog figuring out new leg-breaking tricks
November 8, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Old dog figuring out new leg-breaking tricks
“Everyone’s a communist now. Everyone’s an enemy of the state. Everyone’s deserving of no mercy from this Cobra-Kai regime...Their list of crimes is by now so long that they can’t afford to let go of power, even though their policies are about as popular as episiotomies.”👇
November 5, 2025 at 8:24 PM
“Everyone’s a communist now. Everyone’s an enemy of the state. Everyone’s deserving of no mercy from this Cobra-Kai regime...Their list of crimes is by now so long that they can’t afford to let go of power, even though their policies are about as popular as episiotomies.”👇
New Zealand Halloween!
October 31, 2025 at 6:07 AM
New Zealand Halloween!
Trump is stringing together a bunch of meaningless words--literal falsehoods--to justify the punchline that the US is resuming nuclear testing. Putting aside that I predicted this, we’re unbridling the most violent weapon known to man on the basis of lies
October 30, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Trump is stringing together a bunch of meaningless words--literal falsehoods--to justify the punchline that the US is resuming nuclear testing. Putting aside that I predicted this, we’re unbridling the most violent weapon known to man on the basis of lies
Live-streamed the latest episode of the pod!
--RAND Corporation just cut 11% of staff.
--CIA is (maybe) rethinking China.
--China decoupling.
--Graham Platner’s tattoo-Gate.
--Steve Bannon says Trump will be president in 2028, despite it being unconstitutional.
--RAND Corporation just cut 11% of staff.
--CIA is (maybe) rethinking China.
--China decoupling.
--Graham Platner’s tattoo-Gate.
--Steve Bannon says Trump will be president in 2028, despite it being unconstitutional.
October 24, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Live-streamed the latest episode of the pod!
--RAND Corporation just cut 11% of staff.
--CIA is (maybe) rethinking China.
--China decoupling.
--Graham Platner’s tattoo-Gate.
--Steve Bannon says Trump will be president in 2028, despite it being unconstitutional.
--RAND Corporation just cut 11% of staff.
--CIA is (maybe) rethinking China.
--China decoupling.
--Graham Platner’s tattoo-Gate.
--Steve Bannon says Trump will be president in 2028, despite it being unconstitutional.
"Foreign policy was once a career field where the only thing you really had to lose was your soul, by being a corrupt warmonger. But the perks were great. No personal consequences for the work that you did or the policies that you advocated. Everybody failed up. Nobody was held accountable..."
October 17, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"Foreign policy was once a career field where the only thing you really had to lose was your soul, by being a corrupt warmonger. But the perks were great. No personal consequences for the work that you did or the policies that you advocated. Everybody failed up. Nobody was held accountable..."
“Foreign policy was once a career field where it was all upside; the only thing you really had to lose was your soul, by being a corrupt warmonger. But the perks were great.”
October 16, 2025 at 10:43 PM
“Foreign policy was once a career field where it was all upside; the only thing you really had to lose was your soul, by being a corrupt warmonger. But the perks were great.”
There are many horrific, illegal, and white supremacist things about US foreign policy right now, but we should not ignore how impoverished are the White House’s wagers are on their own terms: Regime change by blowing up boats is the most nonsensical shit in the world
October 16, 2025 at 1:47 AM
There are many horrific, illegal, and white supremacist things about US foreign policy right now, but we should not ignore how impoverished are the White House’s wagers are on their own terms: Regime change by blowing up boats is the most nonsensical shit in the world
“what it looks like when a state’s foreign policy carries out a politics grounded in conspiracy theory...Short of making the US state feel a sense of panic or pain, you can’t negotiate with the current US brand of authoritarianism. And that seems pretty apocalyptic”
October 14, 2025 at 10:28 PM
“what it looks like when a state’s foreign policy carries out a politics grounded in conspiracy theory...Short of making the US state feel a sense of panic or pain, you can’t negotiate with the current US brand of authoritarianism. And that seems pretty apocalyptic”
China has other markets, superior leverage, and increasingly an economy of the future. The US is waging war against itself, swimming in propaganda, sitting on the world’s largest economic bubble in history, and is setup to lose an economic war of attrition. Who benefits from confrontation?
October 12, 2025 at 9:34 PM
China has other markets, superior leverage, and increasingly an economy of the future. The US is waging war against itself, swimming in propaganda, sitting on the world’s largest economic bubble in history, and is setup to lose an economic war of attrition. Who benefits from confrontation?
"The challenge for public intellectuals in this moment is to explain how crazy things are without sounding like a raving fucking lunatic”
October 10, 2025 at 9:10 PM
"The challenge for public intellectuals in this moment is to explain how crazy things are without sounding like a raving fucking lunatic”
You can’t do rational deterrence in a country whose politics are grounded in conspiracy theory. One of many insights we get from Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick’s ultimate classic. Don’t sleep on this episode of the pod! @bangbang1492.bsky.social
October 10, 2025 at 7:45 PM
You can’t do rational deterrence in a country whose politics are grounded in conspiracy theory. One of many insights we get from Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick’s ultimate classic. Don’t sleep on this episode of the pod! @bangbang1492.bsky.social
"Being a citizen or a veteran does not inoculate you from ICE detention. Being part of the property-owning class does not guarantee your right to free speech, or your ability to vote in the next election. If you are in a place the state decides should be occupied, there are no exemptions for you”
October 6, 2025 at 6:01 PM
"Being a citizen or a veteran does not inoculate you from ICE detention. Being part of the property-owning class does not guarantee your right to free speech, or your ability to vote in the next election. If you are in a place the state decides should be occupied, there are no exemptions for you”
“The state form is not looking after its citizens. It’s sucking up the resources of citizens and using them to repress citizens. It’s a violation of any social contract that justifies the way life is organized”
October 5, 2025 at 1:27 AM
“The state form is not looking after its citizens. It’s sucking up the resources of citizens and using them to repress citizens. It’s a violation of any social contract that justifies the way life is organized”
We're in not just another red scare, but the worst one we've ever experienced, because it's powered with AI. Laughing through the pain in the latest episode of the pod
October 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
We're in not just another red scare, but the worst one we've ever experienced, because it's powered with AI. Laughing through the pain in the latest episode of the pod
New episode 🚨!
--Hegseth’s fat-generals theory of war.
--NSPM-7 is a war on the left.
--Gaza Flotilla targeted by Israel, in violation of international law.
--Trump wants a soybean deal w/ China—the makings of a new detente, but with corrupt, elite-serving foundations.
--Hegseth’s fat-generals theory of war.
--NSPM-7 is a war on the left.
--Gaza Flotilla targeted by Israel, in violation of international law.
--Trump wants a soybean deal w/ China—the makings of a new detente, but with corrupt, elite-serving foundations.
October 3, 2025 at 6:34 PM
New episode 🚨!
--Hegseth’s fat-generals theory of war.
--NSPM-7 is a war on the left.
--Gaza Flotilla targeted by Israel, in violation of international law.
--Trump wants a soybean deal w/ China—the makings of a new detente, but with corrupt, elite-serving foundations.
--Hegseth’s fat-generals theory of war.
--NSPM-7 is a war on the left.
--Gaza Flotilla targeted by Israel, in violation of international law.
--Trump wants a soybean deal w/ China—the makings of a new detente, but with corrupt, elite-serving foundations.
Can’t believe I’ve been in this podcast game for 6 years and counting
September 28, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Can’t believe I’ve been in this podcast game for 6 years and counting
With the Democratic Party an obstacle to progress, a denier of grand historical trends, and a silencer of mass opinion, the MAGA movement has stepped in to exploit the void...
September 28, 2025 at 6:04 PM
With the Democratic Party an obstacle to progress, a denier of grand historical trends, and a silencer of mass opinion, the MAGA movement has stepped in to exploit the void...
“the aspiration of many East Asian elites is to avoid subjugation to the whims of a sick, spasmodically violent, rule-breaking former hegemon…The clash between the US and China arises from not just Chinese nationalism but also an increasingly insecure American nationalism. Both are chauvinists.”
September 25, 2025 at 11:09 PM
“the aspiration of many East Asian elites is to avoid subjugation to the whims of a sick, spasmodically violent, rule-breaking former hegemon…The clash between the US and China arises from not just Chinese nationalism but also an increasingly insecure American nationalism. Both are chauvinists.”
Hegseth is either wasting everyone’s time (what else is new?) or he’s about to declare a mass purge of military generals and admirals
September 25, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Hegseth is either wasting everyone’s time (what else is new?) or he’s about to declare a mass purge of military generals and admirals