Whitney Webb | How the Epstein Network is Privatizing Govt & Building the Surveillance State | Aug. 6, 2026

Source: Chris Hedges YouTube



Description:
Whitney Webb explains how Leslie Wexner privatized Ohio’s state government, and is using his position between the markets and the state to build out the ‘Silicon Heartland’. 

Read Whitney's article here: Technate, Ohio: How Leslie Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein Built The Silicon Heartland

Timeline:
(00:00) Intro
(03:10) Who is Leslie Wexner?
(07:09) What is the agenda behind the data centers?
(14:46) What is the vision of Big Tech?
(17:18) Privatizing state funds
(20:02) Mike DeWine’s connections to Leslie Wexner
(21:08) What are public-private-partnerships?
(25:08) Israeli ties to the tech companies
(28:49) Anduril and the Thiel network
(32:11) Smart Columbus
(34:59) Totalitarian capitalism
(41:03) Outro

Chris Hedges on the U.S.–Israel War on Iran: “Iranians Will Decide the Outcome” | Mar. 12, 2026

Source: India & Global Left youtube



Description:
In this conversation, Hedges analyses the war launched under the presidency of Donald Trump and what it means for the future of U.S. power in the region.

He discusses:
• Whether Trump’s war on Iran fits into his presidential campaign promises
• The political risks Trump faces as the war becomes unpopular among Americans
• Why Iran sees the conflict as an existential threat and may fight for the long term
• Whether the war signals the decline of U.S. empire in the Middle East
• The role of Israel and the Gulf monarchies in the conflict
• The impact of the war on Palestine and the Axis of Resistance
• Why anti-war protests in the United States have not yet reached the scale seen during the Gaza genocide
• How dissent has been criminalised and what Americans can do to mobilise against the war

Hedges argues that the trajectory of the war will ultimately be decided by Iran’s response, and that the conflict could reshape power relations across the Middle East, with implications for powers such as Russia and China.

Topics Covered:
US-Iran war analysis | Trump foreign policy | Israel Iran conflict | Middle East geopolitics | US empire decline | Palestine | Iraq instability | Anti-war movement