Ralph Nader Radio Hour – August 24, 2025

Main Theme Overview

This episode of the Ralph Nader Radio Hour delves deeply into two of the most significant humanitarian and political crises facing the U.S. and the globe today: the unchecked expansion and wastefulness of the U.S. military budget, and the severe underreporting and framing of Palestinian casualties in Gaza.
The program features two prominent guests:

• Ben Cohen (co-founder of Ben & Jerry's and anti-war activist), discussing his new advocacy group Up in Arms and broad efforts to rein in military spending.
• Arwa Mahdawi (Guardian columnist), challenging Western media coverage of Gaza and arguing the actual death toll is vastly undercounted.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. U.S. Military Budget and Up in Arms Campaign

Guest: Ben Cohen

Segment starts [03:40]

• Background and Motivation

  • Ben Cohen describes the U.S. government’s replacement of values like "heart and soul" with a "bloated, wasteful, and very damaging military budget."
  • He criticizes the bipartisan political consensus to expand the Pentagon budget, equating it to prioritizing killing over the American dream.
  • Notable quote:

    "They've turned us all into mass murderers... they’re spending all the money on preparing to kill literally millions of people around the world. And that’s why we are up in Arms." – Ben Cohen [04:39]

• The Up in Arms Organization

  • Up in Arms is a 501(c)(3), open for tax-deductible contributions, and is running a 4-year campaign to raise awareness and pressure Congress.
  • Cohen describes innovative protest actions, including inserting a “Remember Hiroshima” dollar bill into Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” ride—a viral moment garnering social media traction.
  • The campaign is framed as fighting a “moral malaise” rooted in misplaced societal priorities.

• Concrete Reforms & Congressional Resistance

  • Ralph Nader and Cohen discuss decades of declining congressional oversight and abetting of military industrial contractors.
  • The military budget now eclipses even what generals request, with rampant bipartisan support.
  • Nader suggests "shadow hearings," collaboration with veterans groups, and direct action for media coverage.
  • Cohen agrees, referencing partnerships with Veterans for Peace and the need to amplify whistleblowers and credible retired military voices.

• Benefits of Reallocating Military Funds

  • Cohen details what even a fraction of Pentagon funds could accomplish:
    • Fully fund public schools for $20B/year
    • Eliminate homelessness for $10B/year
    • Significantly reduce world hunger for $40B/year
    • Universal access to solar-powered homes for $20–$40B/year
  • Notable quote:

    "For $20 billion a year, we could fully fund all of our public schools. For $10 billion a year, we could eliminate homelessness." – Ben Cohen [12:52]

• Oversight and Corruption in the Pentagon

  • Nader highlights that the Pentagon is in violation of federal law by failing to provide an auditable budget since 1992.
  • Cohen emphasizes universal public support for accountability:

    "If there’s a poll of the American people and said you think the Pentagon budget should be auditable, you probably break 95%." – Ralph Nader [19:23]

• The “Priorities Pen” Awareness Tool

  • Cohen has developed and updated a pen with a pull-out bar graph comparing U.S. military spending to other countries—a simple but impactful educational device.
  • Nader endorses it as a powerful visual for public events.
  • Notable quote:

    "It’s a pen that has a banner that pulls out of the barrel... shows how much the Pentagon spends versus how much other countries spend." – Ben Cohen [21:09]

• Call to Action:

  • Cohen appeals for listeners to visit UpInArms.Life, sign up, write letters to editors, and contact legislators to challenge military spending priorities.
  • Direct quote:

    "Legislators are affected by letters to the editor in your hometown paper. They're affected by phone calls... Let them know what you think." – Ben Cohen [22:39]

• Additional Angles & Conclusions

  • Discussion of how budget bloat actually weakens military readiness, delays weapons delivery, and breeds corruption ([24:03]).
  • Nader emphasizes the importance of investigating and exposing corruption, reduced oversight, and lobbying influence.
  • Cohen critiques the ongoing marginalization of oversight bodies and testing agencies within the Pentagon.
  • On the consequence of left/progressive political leadership, Cohen is optimistic:

    "I think I end up living in a much kinder, compassionate world... The idea that we’re not able to provide for our people, as well as a bunch of other countries that are a lot poorer than us, is illogical." – Ben Cohen [29:01]

  • Concludes with an urgent call to hold politicians accountable, especially regarding U.S. weapons to Israel:

    "We need to make our politicians pay the price for continuing to arm Israel. Vote him out." – Ben Cohen [34:30]

2. Gaza Death Toll and Media Misrepresentation

Guest: Arwa Mahdawi

Segment starts [37:16]

• Undercounting Palestinian Deaths

  • Mahdawi underscores a severe undercount of deaths in Gaza—likely in the hundreds of thousands, not the official “about 60,000.”
  • She argues that to underreport the death toll is journalistic malpractice, pointing to peer-reviewed studies and on-the-ground evidence.
  • Direct quote:

    "As journalists, you’re always supposed to report facts... We have absolutely no idea how many people are dead in the Gaza Strip." – Arwa Mahdawi [39:35]

• Western Media Framing and Systemic Bias

  • Mahdawi critiques U.S. legacy media (New York Times, Washington Post, etc.) for defaulting to official Israeli or U.S. government lines and implicitly distrusting Palestinian sources.
  • She observes a pattern of dehumanization, referencing U.S. government statements and a willingness to trust unsubstantiated Israeli government claims while dismissing Palestinian accounts.
  • Notable quote:

    "Palestinians have been dehumanized in the media for decades... there’s this instinct to believe that Palestinians are lying and Israelis are telling the truth." – Arwa Mahdawi [39:35]

• Media & Political Pressures

  • Both Mahdawi and Nader identify a climate of fear among reporters and editors, who are wary of pro-Israel lobbying and political backlash—a key reason for editorial timidity.
  • Mahdawi recounts personal experiences with coordinated pressure campaigns over Gaza coverage.
  • She notes a growing divide as younger generations rely more on social media, where alternative narratives and uncensored images circulate more freely.

• Magnitude of Gaza Destruction

  • Nader compares the scale of bombing and casualties to WWII:

    "Twice as many Palestinians have been killed than the number of fatalities from Hiroshima, Nagasaki in Dresden during World War II." – Ralph Nader [44:10]

• Citizen Action

  • Mahdawi urges listeners to push for more diverse coverage, write to media outlets, and request reporting on the true scale of casualties, media access, and the inclusion of Palestinian voices.
  • She spotlights how even terminology (“Hamas-run ministry”) is used to delegitimize casualty figures.
  • Notable quote:

    "Write to the media outlets and say you want to see more Palestinian narratives... Reader pressure. It does work." – Arwa Mahdawi [55:23]

• The Legal Definition of Genocide and Its Ramifications

  • Mahdawi references the destruction of Gaza’s IVF center, withheld medical supplies, and lasting consequences of malnutrition, aligning Israeli actions with the UN’s definition of genocide.
  • Importance of accurate tolls for historical record, moral clarity, and legal accountability.
  • Direct quote:

    "For the legal definition of genocide, numbers don’t matter... But so many people use that 60,000 figure to say, 'only 60,000 in two years, it’s not genocide.'" – Arwa Mahdawi [53:49]

• Role of Citizen and Data Journalism

  • Mahdawi highlights the importance and challenges facing new-media and independent outlets in surfacing untold stories—suggests that much of the best reporting now comes from social media and smaller organizations, given mainstream barriers.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "A nuclear arsenal capable of blowing up the entire world several times over, that's not deterrence, that's delusion. I'm a Jew, but even I know this is not something that Jesus would do."
  – Ben Cohen [04:39]

• "When you have more money than is needed, you tend to invite corruption... throwing money at a government program, especially at that scale, and corruption."
  – Ralph Nader [25:14]

• "Every major defense contractor has been prosecuted for fraud. Mostly they settle out of court."
  – Ben Cohen [26:40]

• "For $40 billion a year you can eliminate world hunger in a way that helps people to become food self sufficient."
  – Ben Cohen [12:52]

• "If the true casualty figure of deaths in Gaza is publicized... more have been killed than all U.S. soldiers killed in World War II... twice as many Palestinians as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden."
  – Ralph Nader [44:10]

• "There is this gap between these great features and the sort of supposedly objective reporting, which has this sort of insidious slant to it."
  – Arwa Mahdawi [47:37]

Key Timestamps

• 03:40 – Ben Cohen introduced; Up in Arms campaign mission
• 04:39 – Cohen critiques moral loss fueling military expansion
• 08:56 – Up in Arms' structure and direct actions
• 12:52 – Cohen details what shifting Pentagon funds could accomplish
• 21:09 – The “Priorities Pen” explained
• 22:39 – Listener action steps against military budget creep
• 24:03 – Military budget bloat weakens U.S. actual defense
• 29:01 – Cohen on the potential for a more compassionate U.S.
• 34:30 – Cohen’s call to action: accountability for continued U.S. arming of Israel
• 37:16 – Arwa Mahdawi segment begins: Gaza undercount and media bias
• 39:35 – Mahdawi: Journalistic malpractice, media bias against Palestinians
• 44:10–46:24 – Nader’s comparison of Gaza to WWII, public/media responsibility
• 47:37 – On insidious media framing and marginalization of Palestinian accounts
• 51:51 – Destruction of Gaza’s IVF center and targeting reproductive health
• 54:09 – Independent media and data journalism’s role
• 55:23 – Mahdawi urges listener activism targeting news outlets

Action Steps for Listeners

• Visit UpInArms.Life to join the Pentagon budget reform movement.
• Write to local and national media, urging deeper investigation into the Gaza death toll and broader Palestinian representation.
• Call your elected officials to demand transparency and a reevaluation of U.S. military spending priorities.
• Speak up in your community, at town halls, in the press, and on social media to counter apathy and expose corruption.
• Leverage simple educational tools (like the Priorities Pen) to visualize and communicate budget realities.

Concluding Thoughts

This episode is an urgent call for American citizens to question official narratives—on military spending and foreign policy alike; to demand transparency, compassion, and a realignment of national priorities to better reflect human welfare both at home and abroad.