Radio War Nerd EP #591 — Iran War/Ukraine War, feat. Ben Aris
Guest: Ben Aris, bneintellinews
Recorded: March 20, 2026
Ben Aris joins us from Berlin to talk about the brewing global economic crisis resulting from the US-Israel war on Iran, the many links to the Ukraine war, the many lessons never learned.
Total time: 1:15:31
Direct link to this episode's mp3 here
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Comments (69)
One thing I have been trying to sort out is whether any of this was part of the plan, and what that would mean if it was. There is a cold logic to the billionaire class (further) immiserating the poor for various reasons, not least of which to speed up declines already happening and bolster their elite position sitting on to of their hoards of resources. The idea that this could lead to various deep crises could also promote nationalistic movements to increase military spending, social discipline structures, etc which entrench the position of those putting them in place. I much more lean towards this situation being the result of some of the biggest morons in history bumbling their way into power.
Crisis capitalism, baby. A lot of these people are not ideological, they're basically Littlefinger from Song of Ice & Fire (with varying levels of competency and self-awareness). Chaos is a ladder and all that. To put it another way, they are enmeshed in patronage networks that compel constant favor trading and back scratching, and these networks have a vested interest in maintaining their own power and status, but they have no incentive to, say, avoid war or stabilize the economy. On the contrary, they gain a lot from war and market disruption. This is in contrast to, say, Chinese elites, who are aware that their power is contingent on them delivering stability and national prestige for their people. It's not a question of corruption or stupidity - those things are constants, to some extent; they're nothing new. It's just a question of structural incentives.
This wasn't terrible but I feel like this guy is a liberal racist western chauvinist.
I see Ben Aris I click
Damn what a DEPRESSING episode
Important though
I love how delusional the market is, it looks like they believed Trump's tweet that he is in negotiations with the Iranian leadership, despite Iran saying that no negotiations are ongoing. If I didn't already know that financial markets are capable of EXTREME stupidity in the short term, I would have been enlightened by this war.
The market isn’t real here in the U.S. for regular people. It’s just a pump and dump for rich people in the know. The U.S. economy is a Ponzi scheme and they are trying to get the most out of it before it collapses when actual material reality sets in. We don’t actually produce much of anything here outside of oil/gas, weapons and Hollywood. Everything is hollowed out and fake. The billionaire class is going to ride this until it’s the end of it which could happen very fucking soon.
I'm ready to go full prepper at this point. What a horrifying and depressing episode.
Do it! Nothing wrong with stockpiling several months of food (in practice, it enables future generosity, you can always share it with those in need!) and in a worst case scenario a bit of extra ammo won't do you any harm either. The wife and I aren't full prepper, but we keep a few thousand rounds, ~80 cans of food, and 50 pounds of rice and lentils ready to go. As well as some fuel to cook these things if the power is out. Though we live in a forest, so in a pinch there are all sorts of trees we could grab for fuel
A really interesting episode. Especially since I live in the EU and our future is getting cooked by Rutte, von der Leyen and Kalas. We do have some high tech industry, education and potential for agriculture, But our governments can't change to the new situation. Our IT is tied up with the US, LNG comes from the US, parts comes from China and the fascists are on the rise. Also fascinating that Ukraine and Iran are on the one hand so tied to each other and also opposed. Both are invaded by a large hegemon. But Iran supplies to Russia and Ukraine now has backing from the EU and blames Iran while helping the Gulf states.
I garentee the avg Ukrainian at this point has basically a 3rd maoist perspective and views Iran as being in the same position as them lol
Bens screed about how the “radical fanatics [Iranians]” who “don’t give a shit about anything, they don’t give a shit about the global economy” and that they are simply out to “punish” comes from a place of racism, irgnorance and Europeon supremacy. There should be no doubt that Iran has tried really hard to avoid war, operate within international law and even bow to unreasonable US demands. The radical fanatics that don’t care are in the White House and its not even a competition. It was heartening to hear Mark push back on Ben.
Iran seems practically reasonable through this entire process
Millwall mentioned! COYL
28:53 Mark, one movie comes to mind for imagining Persian projectiles blotting out the sun at least... https://youtu.be/pv51gMcV1Mw?si=U8T28X388ArLLJKj
Please make this an open post.
At this point i only listen in to hear how Mark will describe which part of New York he is tuning in from
Radio War Nerd, brought to you by John’s Ailment Diary and Mark’s Wildlife Report.
it's genuinely so frustrating that the 3 most important people on earth are batshit 70-year olds who think the world will stop existing when they go
Trump; Putin. Who am I missing for three, Biden? Schumer ?
Contrary to Ben Aris comments, there is really no evidence China supported Iran with intel after the war started or that all the THAADS were destroyed by Iran
The sum total of evidence for what he described were private Chinese satellites you can pay to access and some images from which were posted on Twitter.
Soon, Trump will have a choice: commit to a full-on invasion and mobilization, exit in disgrace, or find some cheat code – some way to skip all steps in the escalation ladder: nuke Isfahan Province, then if capitulation is not forthcoming, nuke Tehran. Who honestly thinks Trump wouldn't do it (or let Israel do it)? It seems wholly logical and in character.
Would Russia and China commit full-on MAD suicide over a couple bombs dropped on Iran? I doubt it.
Maybe the navy could power the lasers with nuclear fusion, since they’re so excited about tech that’s been “around the corner” for decades
Love any Aris episode, at least partially because BNEIntellinews sounds like a media organisation from Captain Scarlet. Fascinating and grim listening. Psyched to live through my third epochal, once-in-a-generation economic crisis since the 1990 end of history. At least, I assume I'll live!
Hey, ya never know!
Great show with Ben Aris - greatly enjoyed his last visits as well!
Hearing how unprepared the US military is for this war vindicates the war nerds 25 years of writing. The main theme: The US military is a money laundering operation, first and foremost. Like Ben is saying, the US could spend peanuts of its budget to make a truly competent drone (and anti drone) force. But, no one wants to do that. The only thing that matters is the trillion dollar budget. Whatever company or lobbyist takes on the cheap drone production is gonna be left out of the boondoggle lol
John literally said the same thing not long after I commented this. But like I said, I feel like Gary was saying this shit in 2002 haha.
Excellent. Made me smarter after hearing this haha.
I wonder if you guys could get the guy who runs the world of shipping YouTube channel on he’s been covering the effects of the war on shipping itself daily since the war started and I think he has a very interesting nuts and bolts perspective on the war
Is that the guy who called irans strait of Hormuz strategy to a tee a year plus+ ago?
Please unlock this one so I can send it to my dad 😂
Had the exact same thought
I think it is interesting if Ukraine doesn’t have this drone potential. I also tend to believe that the Ukrainian drone team probably did take out a battalion of nato forces. Warfare has certainly changed and I think that’s the only important tidbit in this whole interview. It feels like drones have made vast swaths of military equipment obsolete
It’s so strange to hear this need to insist that Iran acts irrationally and destructive for destructions sake just to terrorize humanity. Their main adversaries, who attacked first, are making it very clear, more than ever, that this is *their* intent towards Iran and the rest of the world. Is it just bigotry and dehumanization? Just being disingenuous because?
Western chauvinism essentially but it’s also the realization of a dying empire that includes all vassal states mixed with Iran being a theocracy. To be clear they are a capitalist country but they are strictly anti imperialist within the global structure and that has a lot to do with Shia religious identity. No mind that 70% of their STEM graduates are women. They put the global U.S. empire in peril under all of this including barbaric sanctions. Any changes to their government will never, ever come from US empire imperialism. The rich in the west want to take the hijabs off. Traffick these women and set them up so the only economic income they can have is through onlyfans. I am not religious but these are 100% demonic forces. Ending the U.S. empire opens up the possibility of a better world. If this continues and Iran falls it’s over. Most progressive military campaign since ww2.
I dont get where the "they are crazy, they dont care about Iran" even comes from. If anything, every move they make is perfectly rational to a fault. Negotiations have been used as a weapon against them multiple times, the mad thing would be to try and talk again.
Trump seems to be stuck in an Incredible Hulk state. With no off-ramp.
"One hour ago the US Air Force dropped Precision Nuclear Bombs on the facility at Fordow, OBLITERATING it completely. In the next 12 hours, if the Iranians do not IMMEDIATELY open the Strait of Hormuz and CEASE AND DESIST from all Terror Attacks against the USA and our Allies, the City of Isfahan will turn into glass! And then, in another 12 hours if they persist, we are coming for Tehran. The Ayatollahs must know that NO ONE can stand up to the Greatest Military in the History of the World. Thank you for your attention to this matter. - DJT"
The recent death of Chuck Norris makes me think that you could have more than a show's worth of material on a "Hollywood rewrites of American military defeats" theme
Still remember when they wanted to put a lazer on a 747
Iran still showing restraint with new leadership flies in face of the regime doesn’t care if Iran survives thing
He did sound a bit hysterical when he was talking about "the regime." I think it's hard for anyone from a westernized country to understand that, in the face of imperial violence, a certain degree of radicalism is completely rational.
If Russia had killed off Zelensky and much of the Ukrainian political military leadership on the first day of the SMO I doubt that Ukraine would have been able to keep fighting as it did
I get that the Rus will have to live with each other until the sun turns into a red giant and consumes Earth, but in that same vein would it be so bad if they just glassed Kiev?
Ben Aris is always a great guest.
Waiting for the haters who say he’s wrong about everything but never bring evidence
lol "Ukrainian drones are state of the art" yeah they have the best Chinese drones you can rewire with Ukraine flag colored wires. What insights this guy has. Imagine if the US military could have a portion of Ukraine's mighty drone army for the low cost of pouring billions into corrupt Ukrainian industry. Clearly if the US had something almost as good as the Flamingo missile they would be winning.
lol the idea this is anything like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Boy was this a decline after the last two interviews. Especially Cyrus I could listen to every week.
I thought they made it pretty clear it’s not.
Saw a fisher out the kitchen window this morning. Also, this is the third time (as far as I know) you had the chance to reference The Delta Force (1986) with Chuck Norris in the lead role, backstopped by Lee Marvin and Robert Vaughn. The plot is basically Entebbe but with a TWA plane in Beirut. 14 year old me was less than impressed but I think it was generally well received.
The opening of the movie even portrays him as heroically rescuing another operator during the catastrophe at Desert One. Bringing it back to Iran. The first sequel was drug war porn, although it did predict that Delta would kill Escobar.
41:54 “Mainly through the lack of ammo.” Ben didn’t you hear the Secretary of War say “our stocks are full up.”
After the Venezuela incursion, a big problem was that the oil companies didn't want to invest in Venezuela because oil was too cheap. A prolonged conflict with Iran could change this, and also is already increasing US market share for oil and NatGas. Trump just made a big threat to Iran having 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but I think there a lot of petro people close to him who would be very happy if the strait was closed for a little while longer.
Apart from Chevron it would seem. Who never left.
"The russians cannot move"? Uhhh they have been steadily advancing for the past 2 years, slowly, but steadily? Pokrovsk? Hualiypole?
Both things can be true tho. The lines haven’t had significant movement since the Kursk counteroffensive
The Russians going into Ukraine isn't even remotely similar to the Iran war. The Russians had a specific objective, and went in to force the terms quickly. As in no NATO, adherence to minsk accords. Which came extremely close to working. The US has absolutely no plan of any kind.
Fuck! Iran keeps working with other countries to improve the LETHALITY of their weapons!!!!
There is also the matter that Ukraine seems to be lashing out blindly. Iran knows exactly where to hit to kill the refineries and oil infrastructure.
~54:00 damn dude, almost like neoliberalism is just riddled with contradictions. Who would have thought
Ben was behaving himself until he claimed the IRGC was suicidal
He's good an the economic stuff, but goddamn his political and military takes are just embarrassing.
what the fuck does calling the iranians radical fanatics help? they didn’t start this shit so they are less fanatic and just because they are basing their ideology on religion instead of warhammer we must denounce the bad brown people
in addition if i was paralyzed and my wife and child were martyred by a retarded pedophile thousands of miles away i would be far more aggressive than he has been but i am a catholic in new england
Wow didn’t realize the economic situation was so catastrophic for Ukraine… could be bankrupt by April?? No wonder Putin has been so patient