How the U.S. Uses ‘Aid’ as Soft Power to Dominate the World w/ Matt Kennard

For decades, U.S. imperialism has operated not just through military force but through a vast system of economic coercion, media manipulation, and covert operations. The World Bank, IMF, and USAID present themselves as tools of development, but in reality, they enforce American dominance under the guise of aid.

Now, with Trump and Musk cutting USAID, many see this as a shift, but in reality, it’s just a restructuring of the empire. What does this tell us about the evolving strategies of imperialism? How does economic warfare, soft power, and media complicity allow the U.S. and its allies to maintain control with minimal backlash?

Investigative journalist Matt Kennard, co-founder of Declassified UK and author of The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs. The American Empire, joins Rania Khalek to expose how U.S. and British intelligence operations, including spy flights over Gaza, are deeply entangled with global imperial control.

The truth about USAID & soft power
How the UK secretly enables Israel’s war on Gaza
U.S. special operations & the role of Keir Starmer
The media’s complicity in empire’s lies
What Gaza has exposed about the West

@RaniaKhalek speaks w/ @KennardMatt about how U.S. empire exerts control through “aid,” economic coercion, and intelligence operations.