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PODCAST

The John Batchelor Show

The John Batchelor Show

The John Batchelor Show is a hard news-analysis radio program on current events, world history, global politics and natural sciences. Based in New York City for two decades, the show has travelled widely to report, from the Middle East to the South Caucasus to the Arabian Peninsula and East Asia.

news & politics history

All Episodes

10:42

S8 Ep122: Geopolitics of the Gulf and Eurasia:...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/24

Geopolitics of the Gulf and Eurasia: US-Saudi Relations and China's Global Strategy — Victoria Coates, Vice President, Heritage Foundation — Victoria Coates addresses U.S.-Saudi relations, noting that technology transfer risks from China exist but remain manageable through export-controlled F-35 versions. She argues that Russia is dependent on Beijing in the Ukraine war, which serves China's strategic objective of distracting the West from Indo-Pacific developments. A perceived Russian victory

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7:35

S8 Ep122: CONTINUED Ukraine Peace Plans, Concessions,...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/24

CONTINUED Ukraine Peace Plans, Concessions, and the Impact on US Alliances — Bill Roggio, Husain Haqqani 1855 CRIMEAN WAR GRENADIER GUARDS

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10:14

S8 Ep122: Ukraine Peace Plans, Concessions, and the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/24

Ukraine Peace Plans, Concessions, and the Impact on US Alliances — Bill Roggio, Husain Haqqani — Bill Roggiosuggests Ukraine is losing militarily and must accept difficult territorial and military concessions to ensure state survival, predicting that proposed peace deals will ultimately collapse. Ambassador Haqqani emphasizes that U.S. abandonment of allies, exemplified in Afghanistan and Iraq, creates an international perception that America cannot be relied upon. Russia's prevailing would

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8:18

S8 Ep115: Dallas, Magpies, and Cockatoo Villains...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Dallas, Magpies, and Cockatoo VillainsJeremy Zakis Jeremy Zakis reports that his 11-year-old spoodle, Dallas, continues to be a friend to magpies and other birds, whose non-threatening demeanor makes them comfortable. Meanwhile, the "villain" cockatoos remain nearby, having recently ripped nails out of a neighbor's roof. The neighbor repaired and reinforced the roof, but the cockatoos watched, seemingly sizing up the new protection as a challenge.

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7:35

S8 Ep115: The Ashes Cricket Debate Jeremy Zakis...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The Ashes Cricket Debate Jeremy Zakis Australia decisively won the first Ashes test by eight wickets against England in Perth. England's aggressive "Baz" batting strategy, aimed at hitting long balls, spectacularly backfired on the quick, hot pitch, resulting in the quickest English team exit in Ashes history. Australia secured the win by shifting to a conservative, defensive style of play. 1928

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8:02

S8 Ep115: DIY Snake Catching Classes Emerge Jeremy...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

DIY Snake Catching Classes Emerge Jeremy Zakis Due to a massive snake population boom and a forthcoming shortage of retiring professionals, a new industry offering DIY snake wrangling training has emerged in Australia. Courses, like one run by Dr. Christina Zenck in Queensland, teach people to safely handle dangerous species, such as brown snakes, using specialized snare poles. This training is crucial because killing protected snakes is illegal.

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9:05

S8 Ep115: Cyclone Fenina Headed for Darwin Jeremy...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Cyclone Fenina Headed for Darwin Jeremy Zakis Cyclone Fenina, described as a one-in-twenty-year monster with 160 mph winds and a 200-mile width, is tracking toward Darwin, Northern Territory. Evacuation advice has been issued but not a mandatory order. After hitting the coast, it is expected to dissipate rapidly over the sparse interior. This weather system is pushing hot, humid, stormy air down Australia's east coast, including New South Wales. 1915 DARWIN

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7:57

S8 Ep114: The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse and the Legacy of Violence in Modern Russia Professor Sean McMeekin The final segment discusses the collapse of communist regimes in 1989, contending that these regimes generally did not fall because of a rising from the bottom. Instead, the collapse was largely top-down, driven by the disappearance of Soviet coercion or inside palace coups, such as the one that overthrew the Ceaușescus in Romania or the mutiny that lined the armed forces up behind Yeltsin

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11:37

S8 Ep114: The conversation moves back to the USSR...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The conversation moves back to the USSR with Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 Secret Speech, which led to disruption in Eastern Europe. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) is analyzed as an act of traditional great power politics driven by the desire to prove Soviet superiority and overturn the strategic balance in intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 1979 invasion of Afghanistan is highlighted as a remarkable mistake that undermined détente and gave the United States an opportunity to pressure the USSR

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6:19

S8 Ep114: The Nihilism of the Red Guards and Mao's...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The Nihilism of the Red Guards and Mao's International Maneuvers Professor Sean McMeekin This segment explores the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966) and the Red Guards, characterized by a "radical cult of youth" and a nihilistic side of communism involving the destruction of urbane, literate civilization and turning against education, books, professors, the elderly, and foreigners. During this time, there was severe tension between Moscow and Beijing in the Sino-Soviet split. Mao

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11:10

S8 Ep114: The focus shifts to Mao Zedong and Chinese...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The focus shifts to Mao Zedong and Chinese communism, which was highly influenced by sharp anti-imperialism and xenophobia, blending the Marxist binary struggle with resentment of foreign exploitation. After Stalin's death, Mao began to "experiment," resulting in the Great Leap Forward, which aimed to rapidly "catch up and surpass the West" by radically overturning agriculture and simultaneously industrializing. This chaotic effort, including the collectivization of agriculture and communal

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9:03

S8 Ep114: The discussion turns to Joseph Stalin and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The discussion turns to Joseph Stalin and his relationship with the legacy of Leninism. Stalin was a more "ideologically flexible" and savvy political operator than Trotsky, who was relentlessly focused on immediate and continuous revolution. While both Lenin and Trotsky employed political violence, the terror under Stalin was a different phenomenon because much of it was directed at high-ranking members of the Communist Party and the secret police in the Great Purge. The purges were motivated by

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10:25

S8 Ep114: This segment addresses Vladimir Lenin's...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

This segment addresses Vladimir Lenin's adoption of Marx's ideas, particularly the aspect of Marxism requiring political violence. Lenin's major innovation, often called "vanguardism," involved a top-down party of professional revolutionaries leading the workers. Inspired by Marx's reaction to the Franco-Prussian War, Lenin developed "revolutionary defeatism," which held that imperial wars between capitalist powers would create opportunities for revolution in the losing nation. This civil war would

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7:23

S8 Ep114: Professor McMeekin states clearly that...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Professor McMeekin states clearly that communism, specifically Marxist-Leninism, prospers only in conjunction with extreme violence and the disintegration of governance norms. The discussion covers the French revolutionary Babeuf, who advocated for the overturning of private property, centralized rationing, and "cleansing political violence" against "class enemies." Babeuf set a precedent for the centrality of political violence to the communist project. Marx later embraced the Paris Commune of

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10:16

S8 Ep114: Tiananmen Square, the Unmasking of...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Tiananmen Square, the Unmasking of Communism, and Karl Marx's Hegelian Roots Professor Sean McMeekin Professor Sean McMeekin's book, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism, begins with the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 as the "tearing off of the mask" of communism, revealing raw force and brutality. The discussion traces communism back to Karl Marx, noting that he was a Hegelian who drew from Hegel the idea of history as a product of "incessant struggle," which Marx

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6:43

S8 Ep114: Legacies in Modern Asia: China's Judge and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Legacies in Modern Asia: China's Judge and Japan's Shrine Controversy Professor Gary Bass Chinese Judge May Ruo centered the suffering of Asian peoples but chose to return to Mainland China, making him vulnerable as a "bourgeois" intellectual. Modern tensions persist regarding the Yasukuni Shrine, which has enshrined 14 Class A war criminals. Former PM Shinzo Abe's visits were fueled by resentment inherited from his grandfather, who was held as a suspected Class A criminal but was never

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12:57

S8 Ep114: Indian Judge Rabhabinod Pal wrote a massive...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Indian Judge Rabhabinod Pal wrote a massive dissent, arguing the court lacked legitimacy due to the dominance of imperial powers. Pal, who focused heavily on racism and colonialism, questioned the evidence of Japanese atrocities at Nanjing. During the 1948 executions, army defendants chanted "Banzai" (Long live the Emperor). The US Supreme Court upheld the military commissions by narrowly refusing jurisdiction.

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7:58

S8 Ep114: The conspiracy charge, borrowed from...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

The conspiracy charge, borrowed from Nuremberg, was awkward given the rivalries within the splintered Japanese government. The legal foundation for Class A (aggressive war) relied on treaties like the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This 1928 pact made aggressive war illegal but failed to establish individual criminal responsibility or penalties. All surviving defendants were convicted of at least one charge, receiving mixed verdicts.

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9:52

S8 Ep114: As the Cold War set in (1948), George...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

As the Cold War set in (1948), George Kennan urged MacArthur to halt progressive liberalization policies. Kennan argued that extensive democratization risked communist subversion, emphasizing the need for a strong, stable, anti-communist Japan. This marked a major shift, recognizing Japan, rather than China, as the crucial strategic anchor for American foreign policy in Asia.

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6:20

S8 Ep114: Truman's "crony-like" approach led to the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/23

Truman's "crony-like" approach led to the appointment of Chief Prosecutor Joseph Keenan, who was incompetent and struggled with alcoholism. Keenan was far inferior to Nuremberg's Robert Jackson. The trial transcript reached 50,000 pages over two and a half years. Chief Judge Sir William Webb was overly cranky and seemed to favor the prosecution, alienating the defense and other judges.

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5,186 results

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