{"podcast":{"title":"Macro N Cheese","slug":"macro-n-cheese-703488","podcast_index_feed_id":703488,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/macroncheese/","website_url":"https://realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/b7b2cda0-c8a3-426e-a72b-0ea3b2aecba5/13f729d0-e63e-11ea-b295-23a26c6e62ba.png","author":"Steven D Grumbine","episode_count":300,"summary":"A podcast that critically examines the working-class struggle through the lens of MMT or Modern Monetary Theory. Host Steve Grumbine, founder of Real Progressives, provides incisive political commentary and showcases grassroots activism. Join us for a robust, unfiltered exploration of economic issues that impact the working class, as we challenge the status quo and prioritize collective well-being over profit. This is comfort food for the mind, fueling our fight for justice and equity!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-19T00:18:34.311510+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488"},"episode":{"title":"Ep 372 - Crisis of Hegemony & the Vassalization of Europe with Thomas Fazi","slug":"ep-372-crisis-of-hegemony-the-vassalization-of-europe-with-thomas-fazi","published_at":"2026-03-21T11:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488/ep-372-crisis-of-hegemony-the-vassalization-of-europe-with-thomas-fazi","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488","url":"https://macroncheese.captivate.fm/episode/ep-372-thomas-fazi","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/07da63b1-63dc-40a3-a917-fab4591a601b.mp3","summary":"** Tuesday evening, March 24, we’ll be listening to and discussing this episode in our online gathering, Macro ‘n Chill. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DeGM2oAyRt2O-Xsj1nc4IQ Thomas Fazi joins Steve to dissect the geopolitical and ideological structures that have rendered Europe strategically subordinate to the United States. Thomas argues that NATO’s true purpose, from its inception, was not to defend Europe but to ensure its vassalization by keeping \"the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down.\" He contends that the war in Ukraine was a deliberately provoked conflict designed by US planners to sever Europe’s economic and energy ties with Russia, forcing the EU into deeper dependency on American energy and military infrastructure. The conversation goes into the weaponization of media narratives and the management of dissent through censorship and “acceptable” politics, connecting the cultural Cold War to today’s crisis of hegemony. Ukraine, Greenland, and Europe’s energy self-sabotage aren’t anomalies, they’re features of an imperial system that requires subordination abroad and confusion at home. Thomas Fazi is a “journalist/writer/translator/socialist.” who lives in Italy. He is the co-director of Standing Army (2010), an award-winning feature-length documentary on US military bases featuring Gore Vidal and Noam Chomsky; and the author of The Battle for Europe: How an Elite Hijacked a Continent – and How We Can Take It Back (2014) and Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World (co-authored with Bill Mitchell, 2017). His articles have appeared in numerous online and printed publications. Find his work on Substack: thomasfazi.com @battleforeurope on X","meta_description":"** Tuesday evening, March 24, we’ll be listening to and discussing this episode in our online gathering, Macro ‘n Chill. Register here: https://us06web.zo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3987,"processing_state":"processed","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/macro-n-cheese-703488/episodes/ep-372-crisis-of-hegemony-the-vassalization-of-europe-with-thomas-fazi/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/macro-n-cheese-703488/ep-372-crisis-of-hegemony-the-vassalization-of-europe-with-thomas-fazi.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}