Robert Stark talks to Keith Preston about the geopolitics of the war in Ukraine. Keith Preston is a historian, social scientist, political analyst, author, lecturer, trends researcher, and the editor of Attack the System. Follow Keith on Twitter.
Topics:
The Geopolitical background of the conflict, the unprovoked narrative, and NATO expansion
How sanctions often fail at their intention of brining about regime change
How the conflict is accelerating geopolitical realignments and the bifurcation between the West and a Eurasian block
The motives and military strategy of the Ukrainian government
Whether the Russian invasion of Ukraine would have been less likely to have happened under Trump
Neo-McCarthyism, Russo-phobia, and the crackdown on civil liberties
The rise in a convoluted hybrid of American nationalism and woke culture
Worst case scenarios of the war escalating into direct conflict between Russia and the US and NATO
The fragmentation and polarization of American society, enclavism and Bill Bishop’s Big Sort
Supply chain issues and the potential for a global economic crisis
This is a continuation of the discussion on True Stories
Topics include:
The demographic transformation of Southern California
Robert Lindsay’s experience as a substitute teacher
Beverly Hills
The Film Fast Times at Ridgemont High set in the San Fernando Valley in the early 80’s
The depiction of adolescent sexuality in the film
How in the 70’s and early 80’s hedonism existed with less materialism and higher social trust than today
How the rise in hyper materialism coincided with the popularity of Reagan
How Robert Lindsay was involved with the Punk scene in the 80’s
The Film Earth Girls Must be Easy
The Porn Industry in the San Fernando Valley
Southern California Mall Culture
How the decline of traditional Mall Culture symbolizes how all of society is becoming one giant mall
How strip malls in LA are being replaced by higher density development
The debate about density and Urbanism
Mexican Culture vs. Mexican American Culture in California
The Film Blade Runner which is set in LA in 2019
Whether Blade Runner is an accurate depiction of the future
The genre of Dystopian Future Films(ex.Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, Mad Max) NEON SIGNS OF BLADE RUNNER The Film “Her” which depicts the future of LA as an eco friendly SWPL utopia
The decline in the quality of products
Robert Stark interviews Charles Lincoln about True Stories which is a 1986 American film that spans the genres of musical, art, and comedy, directed by and starring David Byrne of the band Talking Heads. It co-stars John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Byrne has described the film as, “A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid newspapers. It’s like 60 Minutes on acid.” Robert Lindsay also joins in on the conversation
Topics include:
The setting of the film, a small fictional town on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas that is undergoing change
How the town in the film is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Texan independence
Charles Lincoln’s personal connection to Dallas
How the film shows both the old America and the New and how that is symbolic of America in the 1980’s
The depiction of diversity in the film
The Conspiracy Theorist Preacher in the film
The depiction of crass materialism and how the culture of the 80’s was more upfront than today’s hybrid of materialism and social justice
The marginalization of highbrow culture(ex. scene in the film depicting a janitor singing opera
Emile Durkheim’s theory on anomie, which is the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community
The music in the film by the Talking Heads
Ronald Reagan and how Charles Lincoln opposes Reagan from a traditionalist standpoint and Robert Lindsay from an Alternative Left standpoint
How Reagan’s credit policy encouraged suburban sprawl, which is depicted in the film
