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Radio War Nerd EP #483 — Georgia Elections & Precarious Neutrality, feat. Sopo Japaridze (Patreon)

Published:
2024-11-20 18:22:58
Imported:
2024-11
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Content

Guest: Sopo Japaridze

Recorded: November 19, 2024

We're joined by Sopo Japaridze in Tbilisi to discuss Georgia's latest elections results and protests, and the precarity of neutrality amid American imperial decline.

Check out Sopo's podcast Reimagining Soviet Georgia and her substack here. Read Sopo's latest in Jacobin, "In Georgia, Vote-Rigging Claims Leave Nation Deeply Split"

See also: RWN #369 — Georgia Protests & NGO Colonialism, feat. Sopo Japaridze

Music interlude by Brendon Anderegg. Check out music from his group Mountains here

Total time: 1:50:35

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here

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Subscribe to Radio War Nerd at patreon.com/radiowarnerd

Sound production by Telescope Audio

Check out the Radio War Nerd Merch store here!

Order your print or ebook of John Dolan's new book Erdogan Pizza: Dispatches from a Violent & Grotesque World

Files

Comments

LPO Crane Jefferson

Yes! I was just thinking about the first RWN interview with Sopo. Excited to listen. Also Erdogan Pizza is great, having a hard time putting it down and always trying to eek in a few minutes when I can.

Isaac Suárez

Love the cat name- Camo features in two very good biographies of Stalin (he was one of Stalin’s early associates.) I highly recommend Suny and Montefiore’s biographies on this count (since most anglophone Stalin biographies tend to either ignore or pathologize Stalin’s early life.)

William

At first I thought this was referencing the recent US elections and I thought, “ah shit, what happened now”

William

“We flew into Vancouver a few days ago” John, are you and everyone else alright?!?

Lord-Admiral of the Pyrenees

Wasn’t the whole point of John buying the apartment in Italy to “settle down” and now have to move from place to place? He’s off zipping around the world again.

GoyBulletStopper

Sorcerer is a phenomenal film, they do not make them like that anymore.

Ander Pierce

Non event out here (almost), with regards to the hurricane

Ander Pierce

I find it very sweet and relatable how attached Mark is with his cats. I've got a cute tuxedo boy named Jotaro Jostar who is a rescue (originally found trapped in a trash can) and my fiance has a calico a bit over a decade old (originally found in a barn, and sadly declawed by the fiance's parents). Very attached to them, they're great companions.

Brian Brain

I highly recommend listening to Sopo and Bryan's podcast, Reimagining Soviet Georgia. I visited Georgia this summer and listened to it to catch up on the history, a century ago and what has been happening since the fall of the USSR. RWN episode #46 is also good for this as Mark was on assignment in 2008 following the Russian incursion to Gori, Georgia (and more). Reimagining Soviet George episode part 1 with academic Timothy Blauvelt goes into some of the Georgian population transfer (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) policies that took place during the Soviet era. These policies (language bans, and so on) played a role in the Georgian war of the 90s, claims for autonomy and Russian occupation that continues today. Prior war nerd appearing guests include, Volodymyr Ishchenko (Ukrainian Sociologist) on episode 28, Vincent Bevens (If We Burn) guests on episode 34, Anatol Lieven is a guest in episode 39, and Peter Korotaev (Events in Ukraine substack) in episode 44 of Reimagining Soviet Georgia. As is made clear by Sopo and Bryan, their podcast has a Marxist perspective/analysis, but I think it pairs well given the overwhelmingly pro-Western bias that absolutely dominates any and all news that comes out of Georgia. Episode 39 with Anatol Lieven and Almut Rochonawski specifically goes into this embeddedness and role of Western funded NGOs and academics.

MoldyTolge

Loved to hear from Camo. Those first few minutes I was thinking there’s a secret second guest trying to get on the mic.

T

Ivanishvilli Is my favorite oligarch on account of his massive financing of rugby union in Georgia. The Georgian national rugby team has become a force to be reckoned with, much to the surprise of the sclerotic old boys club that is the English speaking rugby world. Hell I’d wager that Georgias chief export is now Georgian men who are between 5’9” & 6’3” and who weight anywhere from 250lbs +. IIRC there are 130 professional Georgian rugby players playing prop in France alone.

Terry Dunk

Is Montefiore's really any good? He's always struck me as a real cold warrior and a hack

cstenzy

More RWN episodes with kitty background effects

William

The US has a weird fetish for trying to make other countries have their own “Vietnam”

.

Imagine if the US balkanized and an empire across the world was fucking around with like South Dakota or Wisconsin or basically any other state in “the union” to destroy say California or whatever state had the strongest economy that had the most influence on the other balkanized states That’s what the US has done to the former Soviet states after working for decades to destroy their union. I realize this isn’t a 1:1 but it’s similar comparison imo. The fall of the Soviet Union was catastrophic for all of its faults. I don’t know another way to explain this to regular people in America when talking about this.

a clash of purple

I don't think Americans are incapable of understanding the situation, they just think that it's good when America does it and bad if anyone else does it.

.

It’s true. We’re some sort of “liberal democracy” Continuation of the 3rd Reich. I mean this is what the 4th genocide committed by the US government post ww2? Indonesia, Korea, the Soviet Union and now Gaza. And you could make arguments for more. It’s fucking sickening.

etienne

shout out to the Cat he has a bright future at the Opera or maybe the heavy metal band

RedJon

God, listening to Mark go ,"Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Mmm" is almost enough to make me withdraw my support.

RedJon

Seriously bro, you making an affirmative grunt when people are in the middle of a narrative just makes you seem like you're not listening

Patrick Taffe

False, it's entirely why joining this patreon was worth it

Ian H

They've also got one of the greatest weightlifters of all time in Lasha Talakadzhe.

CR

Leave it to JD to pull the most heartbreaking tale imaginable out of his ass even when discussing getting a new kitten.

William

He would, if not for Visas and family tragedies, I think

Podconsoomer

My dog passed around the same time as your cat mark & i completely sympathize I miss him every day 💔

etienne

imagine if France was meddling into Canadian Politics to get Quebec to spin off and as a result Alberta was eying joining the US lol

Welfare state

Montefiore is so bad that reading the court of the red tsar as a teenager put me on the road to becoming a tankie.

a clash of purple

All these stupid games that humans love playing against each other are ultimately going to result in our annihilation unless, as a species, we grow up. It took several miracles for us to survive the 20th century. Looking at the current state of the world, I can't see how we're going to make it through the 21st century. And while the ruling classes bear the most responsibility, for their deranged narcissism, greed, and sadism, I think the rest of us aren't blameless.

Hans Anders

There’s a great scene in ‘au service de la France’ where Quebecois separatists come to Frances secret service for help, but are relentlessly mocked for their accent instead

Pepipopa

As a Bulgarian it's very funny to me the Georgian liberals singing the EU anthem I dont even know the EU anthem

dmitry myaskovsky

Can't wait to hear this episode as usual! Quick question: I hear what I think is passing familiarity with Michael Hudson's ideas, why don't you have him on? He is alone out of anyone (ever) in insisting marx is not only taboo in us discourse, but so is an accurate reading of classical economists- if you de-emphasize the role of productive vs unproductive debt, and economic rent, you end up with utter propaganda... Although his ideas seem to be catching on recently.... I hope, I really hope. Id love to hear you guys talk! His childhood in a trotskyite home is fascinating too, as is his life in general...

Maciek

You spent time making this comment, and than you replied to yourself because you thought your fire was so hot. “Seriously bro”’you should think about giving the podcast more fucking money for being such a whiny asshole with such stupid takes.

RedJon

Lmao stay mad, goof

Schaeffer Mallory

This is such a bizarre and disingenuous criticism

RedJon

Yeah, why would you ever want a podcast to sound good. Like 75% of this episode has Mark making moaning sounds every 10 seconds.

Henrik Harkonnen

Hi, this episode is not on the RSS feed yet. Or is it just me?

CR

I was just about to say the same. No RSS joy.

Hans Anders

Sopo episode, let’s go!

JoR

"I don't like that kind of tawlk!" - love your AVI.

.

“You know I don’t drive when they’re predicting rain!” - said my New Jersey grandparents before I ever saw that sopranos episode.

.

Ames is a great host thanks for your comment tho.

Justin Chen

Does anyone else have issues where the rss feed freaks out and gets false new episodes?

William

Imagine having real problems

CR

First time?

CR

Annnnnnnnnndddddd it’s gone

Justin Chen

It happens enough times that I deleted the feed from my podcast app and listen on patreon so I don’t download like 10s of false episodes

Jeff Normal

Great episode, loved the part where NGO wages were mentioned. It seems the same here in the US…pro worker in theory, but mention a union, watch your neighborhood nonprofit turn into a Walmart They may even hire the same union bustin lawyers!

Jake Palmer

I was so sure that meowing was my cat in another room. Was meowing back at him and everything! So dopey, lol.

Jacob Williams

I also had a cat named Whiskers growing up

Mark Ames

Sorry for your loss. It's surprising me how the missing pain doesn't fade. Even getting two great kittens last week only kind of made it worse.

Podconsoomer

Thank you 🙏🏽 sorry for your loss as well. Yes it’s tough. I think I’ll always shed tears for him here & there. I hate that he’s gone but grateful for all the years of companionship he gave me. I hope w time it’ll hurt a little less for both of us.