March 13, 2026 Robinson Erhardt You've been on the show and joined me a number of times now, but we've rarely spoken about the contemporary situation in the United States in our foreign policy. We tend to talk more about history, I'd say. So, I wanted to ask — just to begin — why it is that you're more interested in talking about the present today. Michael Hudson Well, I'd originally planned when you suggested talking about US foreign policy. I was going to go through my usual approach, which we've discussed, starting in the Bronze Age for, debt and debt financial policy and say, well, here's how American foreign policy has evolved. And here is why we don't have the world that we helped create in nineteen forty five. But I ...

Iran’s strategy in the escalating Middle East conflict goes far beyond battlefield tactics. The deeper objective is to dismantle the foundations of U.S. power in the region: expel American military bases, sever economic ties with Washington, and end the petrodollar system underpinning global oil trade.

A sweeping analysis of the U.S.–Israel strike on Iran and the economic chain reaction now in motion. The discussion tracks oil chokepoints, insurance and shipping risk, global balance-of-payments stress, and the pressure this creates for de-dollarisation and alternative institutions. It frames the conflict as a turning point for the U.S.-led order, testing whether the Global South, Europe, and major powers accept continued sanctions leverage over energy, or move towards a new settlement architecture.