EP:16 [GUEST] Robert Scheer on Gaza, Free Speech, and the Fate of the Left

Peace rarely arrives with a parade. We invited Robert Scheer—journalist, editor, and stubbornly independent voice for six decades—to help us make sense of the Gaza ceasefire and the forces that could make it stick or snap. He doesn’t sugarcoat the damage: an occupation born in 1967 hardened into a moral cul‑de‑sac, and Netanyahu’s bid to silence Palestinian agency shattered global patience. Yet Scheer sees real constraints: international pressure, a disenchanted Jewish diaspora, and a world economy allergic to endless war. War doesn’t work when everyone can watch the rubble live.

We then turn to the home front. Campuses became ground zero for a fight over speech, with administrators and politicians trying to police language in the name of safety. Scheer calls that a dangerous twist: equating dissent with bigotry erodes academic freedom and breeds the very prejudice it claims to stop. He argues that the student movement’s curiosity and clarity are signs of democratic health, not disorder. And when tech billionaires buy legacy media and lobby to tame platforms, the bigger threat isn’t ideology—it’s concentrated power deciding which facts are allowed to breathe.

Scheer threads his career through these themes: anti-war consistency, skepticism toward labels, and a defense of independent journalism. From Vietnam to Gaza, he insists war is a racket; from Assange to campus blacklists, he sees censorship as the shortcut of the powerful. Along the way, he credits unlikely figures—Eisenhower, Reagan’s summitry—for moments of restraint, while challenging corporate Democrats and right-wing authoritarians alike. If you care about free speech, Gaza, media trust, and how real change survives donor pressure, this conversation offers a compass, not a slogan.

If this resonates, tap follow, share with a friend who debates in good faith, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway—or the point you disagree with most.

Our theme music, Adventures In Jazz, was used with permission. Composed and performed by Bob Mamet.