Podcast Summary: Redacted News – "War is Coming!"

Hosts: Natali & Clayton Morris
Date: January 9, 2026
Guest Contributors: Lionel (Constitutional Attorney), Ben Freeman (Author, "The Trillion Dollar War Machine"), Prof. Richard Werner (Economist)

Episode Overview

This highly charged episode of Redacted News explores a series of urgent and controversial global events with the hosts' trademark skeptical and "black pilled" lens. Key topics include the fallout from a police shooting in Minneapolis and its legal dimensions, President Trump’s announcement of a massive $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget, escalating global tensions hinting at imminent war, and widespread protests by farmers across France and the UK in response to new trade treaties and climate measures. The show closes with a unique, critical look at the history and religious origins of the U.S. food pyramid.

Table of Contents

1. ICE Shooting in Minneapolis: Legal Analysis & Public Reaction
2. “War is Coming”: Trump’s Defense Budget & Future Conflict
   • Military Industrial Complex & Perpetual War
   • Global Tensions in the Arctic & Middle East
3. Farmers’ Protests in France, UK & European Economic Crisis
4. The Food Pyramid: Religious Roots and Policy Critique
5. Notable Quotes & Timestamps

1. ICE Shooting in Minneapolis: Legal Analysis & Public Reaction <a name="ice-shooting"></a>

Segment Start: [05:58]

• Context:
  A woman, Renee Good, was shot and killed during an ICE raid protest in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide outrage and polarized narratives: Right claims she was resisting and endangered officers; Left sees her as a harmless legal observer.

• Legal Guest: Lionel (Constitutional Attorney) [07:56] – [25:42]

  • Law’s Stance:
    Lionel asserts the ICE agent acted legally under two statutes:
    • Title 18, Section 111 (interfering with a federal officer)
    • Tennessee v. Garner (1985), allowing deadly force against a fleeing suspect posing significant danger.
  • Key Insight:
    “If you go up to anybody, a federal officer in particular... and you obstruct, oppose, threaten, you don’t even have to touch them... She is a criminal. She broke the law.” — Lionel [09:50]
  • Use of Deadly Force:
    Lionel contends questions of “excessive force” miss the legal standards—officers must act decisively to stop a perceived threat, even if public opinion recoils.

    “It better be excessive. You have to use deadly force. Empty. I’m surprised he only did that.” — Lionel [12:13]

  • Prosecutorial Reality:
    Absent clear signs of malice from the officer, prosecution is virtually impossible. Federal supremacy (supremacy clause) means state/local authorities have little recourse.

    “They are not going to be charged by the federal government. They are not going to be charged by the DOJ, and Minnesota is not going to do it either.” — Lionel [13:12]

• Hosts’ Reflection:

  • Caution against jumping to judgment before full evidence is public—referencing mistakes in media-driven narratives during the George Floyd case.
  • Natali: “If you want to protest ICE, go ahead… Don’t use a car.”

2. “War is Coming”: Trump’s Defense Budget & Future Conflict <a name="war-is-coming"></a>

Segment Start: [30:34]

• Trump’s Announcement:
  • Calls for a $1.5 trillion military budget (up from $1 trillion), citing “dangerous times.”
  • Mixed messaging: caps for military CEO compensation, but largest defense build-up in memory.
  • Triggered surges in military contractor stocks (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc.).

Military Industrial Complex & Perpetual War <a name="military-industrial-complex"></a>

Guest: Ben Freeman, author "The Trillion Dollar War Machine"
Segment: [34:23]–[45:27]

• Ben’s Critique:

  • The extra $500B alone exceeds any other nation’s entire military budget—including China, Russia, and Iran combined.

    “That’s more than China, Russia, and Iran spend on their militaries combined.” — Ben Freeman [34:56]

  • The money isn’t going to troops—it’s going to contractors (54%+ of Pentagon budget).

    “Most of the money... isn’t going to military members... More than half goes to Pentagon contractors.” [37:09]

  • Military families face food insecurity while CEOs make $10m–$80m/year.
  • US creates a self-fulfilling logic: perpetual war to justify perpetual spending.

    “When you have a military industrial complex... you have to have wars to justify it. If the world doesn’t look scary, people start to ask questions.” [40:12]

• Trump’s Turnabout:

  • Ran in 2016 as a peace candidate, now embracing war and using executive power to override War Powers Act on Venezuela.
  • Ben: “Every president campaigns on peace... [then] they go to war.” [43:37]

Global Tensions in the Arctic & Middle East <a name="global-tensions"></a>

Discussion: [32:27]–[34:23]

• Anxieties over control of the Arctic trade routes, US playing catch-up to Russia & China.
• Prediction of imminent major conflict—possibly with Iran, and European collective war preparations.
• Paraphrasing Tucker Carlson:
  “That’s not a peacekeeping budget, that’s a war budget, a big war budget... all the signs suggest we’re going to have a big war soon.” — [32:38]

3. Farmers’ Protests in France, UK & European Economic Crisis <a name="farmers-protests"></a>

Segment Start: [48:12]

Guest: Prof. Richard Werner, economist ("Princes of the Yen")

• French Farmers Uprising [49:38]:

  • Thousands have blockaded Paris in opposition to a new EU-Mercosur trade deal, which farmers fear will ruin domestic agriculture by flooding the market with cheap imports.
  • Macron government’s response: temporary concessions, but EU structure limits national veto power.
  • Prof. Werner:
    “Farmers don’t have huge profit margins... High energy costs... and government burdens have squeezed them. If they can’t survive, countries lose food security and are open to blackmail or starvation.” [53:50]

• Structural Economic Crisis in Europe:

  • Germany: three years of economic contraction—the worst since 1933.
  • Blackouts, energy instability, reliance on imports, climate/tax regulations crushing small producers.
  • “These are policy-imposed, self-imposed disasters.” — Prof. Werner [55:18]
  • EU bureaucracy adding crippling complexity (CO2 tariffs, 3,000-page regulations).
  • “The economic statistics are dire. Germany is in the third year of economic contraction… Number of bankruptcies at multi-decade highs.” — Werner [60:51]
  • Governments seem more focused on war or global strategy than on public welfare or economic recovery.

• Wider Grassroots Unrest:

  • Solidarity and copycat protests emerging in the UK and Canada.
  • UK farmers threatened by inheritance taxes designed to make it economically impossible to pass down land to the next generation.

4. The Food Pyramid: Religious Roots and Policy Critique <a name="food-pyramid"></a>

Segment Start: [66:03]

• The Central Reveal:

  • Much of the original US government food pyramid was heavily influenced by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, a small Christian sect emphasizing vegetarian, low-protein, grain-dominated diets based on the visions of Ellen G. White in the 19th century.
    • Key figures:
      • John Harvey Kellogg (inventor of Corn Flakes) was raised in this ethos.
      • Lena Cooper, Kellogg protégé, laid the groundwork for the American Dietetic Association and embedded Adventists in US nutrition policy for decades.
    • Notable:
      • By 1988, 5 of 9 Dietary Association reviewers were Seventh Day Adventists.
  • Adventist Church still owns significant food brands (Sanitarium in Australia, Vegemite, Worthington, etc.) and hospital systems.

• Policy Consequences:

  • The old food pyramid’s grain-heavy, low-fat, low-meat design led to widespread metabolic disorders, high diabetes rates, and a cultural aversion to red meat, fat, and salt.

    “Whoever thought it was preferable to eat breads and pasta as the main course of your meal... that’s a way to get diabetes.” — Natali [68:36]

  • Explicit critique of government dietary guidelines as shaped by profit and ideology, not always by independent science.
    • “How do we know that the current food pyramid now is not shaped by profit or ideological pressures? Well, we don’t...” — Natali [77:19]

• Recent Shift:

  • New government guidelines (2026) invert the old pyramid, emphasizing whole foods, healthy fats, proteins, and warning against excessive processed grains.

• Broader Insight:

  • “This is a story worth telling because the Adventist church population is small... but they have disproportional influence in dietary decisions and health care.” — Natali [77:19]

5. Notable Quotes & Timestamps <a name="notable-quotes"></a>

• Lionel on the ICE Shooting:

  • “You are interfering with a federal officer... Basically, [she] took on a federal agent in violation of the federal statute. Period. End of discussion.” ([08:16])
  • “It better be excessive. You have to use deadly force. ...I’m surprised he only did that.” ([12:13])

• Ben Freeman on the Pentagon Budget:

  • “It hasn’t worked historically and it’s not going to work now... The $500 billion increase is more than any country’s entire military budget.” ([34:56])
  • “One in four military families is facing food insecurity. ...At the same time, CEOs are making $10, $20, even $80 million a year.” ([38:35])
  • “You have to have wars to justify [this system]. If the world doesn’t look scary, people... start to ask tough questions.” ([40:12])

• Prof. Werner on EU Policy:

  • “A lot of the policies taken in Europe have been so self-destructive on every count, so obviously self-destructive that it’s very hard to say, ‘Oh, we didn’t expect this to be this bad’. ...Farming really goes to the basics. If you can’t feed your people...” ([55:18])

• Natali on Food Policy:

  • “This is a story worth telling because [the Seventh Day Adventist] population is so small... but they have disproportionate influence in dietary decisions.” ([77:19])

• Tucker Carlson (as paraphrased):

  • “That’s not a peacekeeping budget, that’s a war budget, a big war budget... all the signs suggest we’re going to have a big war soon.” ([32:38])

Episode Tone & Takeaways

Redacted continues its commitment to delivering alternative, skepticism-driven narratives on mainstream topics, blending legal expertise with aggressive questioning on government policy and corporate profit motives. The episode warns of coming instability—both in war and in domestic economic terms—while connecting past ideological influences to present-day crises.

For listeners seeking critical, deep-dive analysis on breaking global crises—and a willingness to challenge the accepted narrative—this episode is packed with provocative insights, memorable quotes, and pointed questions about the future.

End of Summary