Show Notes
In 1823, US President James Monroe declared an end to European colonial ambitions in the Americas. By the end of that century, his declaration had morphed into a license for the United States to pursue unilateral political, economic and military actions across the Western Hemisphere. This week, we examine the history of the Monroe Doctrine and the wider geospatial order of the Americas, and see how, even two centuries later, Latin America continues to tremble in the shadow of that fateful doctrine. If you enjoyed this episode: – Support Blood Work via Patreon – Leave a rating or review on your podcast app – Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter Blood Work is a Scam Goldin ProductionThis episode was produced by Thomas O’MahonyOur theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis TronOur artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE – The ‘Whatever’ Doctrine This week, I share an excellent 2022 essay by Nathan DuFord which builds on the closing themes of last week’s episode on the fascist imaginary; my thoughts on a rancid essay about Venezuela by ice-chewing ghoul Elliot Abrams; and some thoughts on the ongoing criminality of US murder strikes in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea courtesy of Demented Donny and Pete ‘Drinks His Coffee on the Rocks’ Hegseth. It’s all so lazy and stupid – but after twenty years of the GWoT, it’s not like we should expect anything better. Available now for Patreon supporters. Sources: Manuel de Campo (2019) ‘Splitting the world in two: the 525th anniversary of the Treaty of Tordesillas’, available at Languages across Borders: Language Collections at the University of Cambridge Citations Needed Podcast (2021), ‘Episode 139 — Of Meat and Men: How Beef Became Synonymous with Settler-Colonial Domination’, available at Citations Needed (Transcript available at Medium) John Gast (1872), ‘American Progress’ [Painting], available at The Library of Congress Greg Grandin (2006), Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, The United States, and the Making of an Imperial Republic Greg Grandin (2019), The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America George C. Herring (2008), From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 CLR James (1938), The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution Stephen Kinzer (2013), The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and their Secret World War Lester D. Langley (2002), The Banana Wars: United States Intervention in the Caribbean, 1898–1934 Randall Lesaffer (2015), ‘The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815)’, available at Oxford Public International Law James Martell (2017), The Misinterpellated Subject James Monroe (1823), ‘December 2, 1823: Seventh Annual Message (Monroe Doctrine)’, available at The Miller Center, University of Virginia ‘National Security of the United States of America’ (November 2025), available at The White House James Polk (1845), ‘December 2, 1845: First Annual Message’, available at The Miller Center, University of Virginia Theodore Roosevelt (1904), ‘Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905)’, available at The US National Archives Treaty of Ghent (1814), available at The US National Archives Giles Tremlett (2020), ‘Operation Condor: the cold war conspiracy that terrorised South America’, available at The Guardian Sylvia Wynter (2003), ‘Unsettling the Coloniality of Being/Power/Truth/Freedom: Towards the Human, After Man, Its Overrepresentation--An Argument’, CR: The New Centennial Review (Vol. 3:3) Image: An official from the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) inspects bunches of bananas in preparation for export from Honduras. (AP Photo)
More from Blood Work
This episode was produced in collaboration with Ten Thousand Posts This week, Hussein is joined by Tom and Greg from Blood Work, to talk about the 2010 film Four Lions, written and directed by Chris Morris. The boys talk about their impressions watching the film in their youth, and revisiting it as an adult, in the aftermath of the failed War on Terror. They talk about the film as a reflection on ageing and mid-life crises, a satire on the concept of the “good Muslim”, and how the film foreshadowed what vigilante extremism would look like in the future. Listen and subscribe to BLOOD WORK: https://www.patreon.com/cw/BloodWorkShow Follow Greg on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gregk.co.uk Follow Tom on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/scamgoldin.bsky.social ------- LEBANON AID LINKSHere are some fundraisers to support collective rebuilding and survival efforts on the ground in Lebanon. -Beit El-Baraka started out as a food bank, but has grown to help people afford rent, cover their essentials, and live with dignity. https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-directly/ or donate in general https://beitelbaraka.org/donate-now/ -LiveLove was a charity for a number of other matters, but since 2024 has been solely comitted to helping people displaced by Israeli attacks.https://livelove.org/donate -Lebanese Food Bank supports displaced and impoverished peoplehttps://lebanesefoodbank.org/take-action/donate/ Solar Powered Lebanon is an initiative to restore people's power using solar panels, since larger infrastructure is at constant risk of attack.https://fundahope.com/en/campaigns/solar-powered-lebanon ----- PALESTINE AID LINKS These are some general links you can support collective efforts with! -The Palestinian Communist Youth Union is doing a food and water effort, and is part of the official communist party of Palestinehttps://www.gofundme.com/f/to-preserve-whats-left-of-humanity-global-solidarity -Water is Life, a water distribution project in North Gaza affiliated with an Indigenous American organization and the Freedom Flotillahttps://www.waterislifegaza.org/ -Vegetable Distribution Fund, which secured and delivers fresh veg, affiliated with Freedom Flotilla alsohttps://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1102739514947848 ----- PHOEBE ALERT Okay, now that we have your attention; check out her Substack Here!Check out Masters of our Domain with Milo and Patrick, here! -------- Ten Thousand Posts is a show about how everything is posting. It's hosted by Hussein (@HKesvani), Phoebe (@PRHRoy) and produced by Devon (@Devon_onEarth).
If you enjoyed this episode:– Support Blood Work via Patreon– Leave a rating or review on your podcast app– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter Blood Work is a Scam Goldin ProductionThis episode was produced by Thomas O’MahonyOur theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis TronOur artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel Article 1: Ethiopia says it must defend itself against Eritrea's 'all-out invasion'Reuters – Oct 09, 2026Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw Article 2: Eritrea asks UN to intervene in standoff with EthiopiaReuters – Oct 10, 2026Reporting by Reuters
This is a preview. To hear the entire episode and help Blood Work to survive and thrive, become a supporter on Patreon. Gregk and Thomas mark Blood Work’s first birthday with a casual discussion about what we learned in the year 1 AS (Anno Sangui). Image: A cupcake with a single candle being lit on fire with a handgun. I mean, I don’t know, I feel like this one’s pretty self-explanatory. Blood Work is a Scam Goldin ProductionThis episode was produced by Thomas O’MahonyOur theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis TronOur artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel If you enjoyed this episode:– Support Blood Work via Patreon– Leave a rating or review on your podcast app– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: Look at MeALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIOFor this week’s newsletter, we’ve got some thoughts about US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s expressed desire to publicly broadcast an execution, the long history of violence, justice and spectacle in American politics, and how this latest development sits in that tableau.
We close out our series discussing how drone warfare advanced a new military ethics in which the lives of combatants are sacrosanct, while civilian lives are expendable. Image: A photograph on an Israeli UAV dropping grenades from the sky. Blood Work is a Scam Goldin ProductionThis episode was produced by Thomas O’MahonyOur theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis TronOur artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel If you enjoyed this episode:– Support Blood Work via Patreon– Leave a rating or review on your podcast app– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: Van LifeALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIOThis week, we attempted to provide a neat summary of events which unfolded at RAF Fairford (Difficulty: Expert), and provided some general commentary on how politicians, police and the press have handled themselves.
This is a preview. To hear the entire episode and help Blood Work to survive and thrive, become a supporter on Patreon. On January 20, 1942, a group of SS officers and mid-level bureaucrats from the ministries of the Third Reich convened at a lakeside villa. The agenda: Genocide. Image: A photograph of one of the interior corridors of 56-58 Am Wannsee (Credit: Werner Zellien) Blood Work is a Scam Goldin ProductionThis episode was produced by Thomas O’MahonyOur theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis TronOur artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel If you enjoyed this episode:– Support Blood Work via Patreon– Leave a rating or review on your podcast app– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: Bozo TimeALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIOIt was a bad week for anyone with a moral compass or semblance of a commitment to having consistent and coherent principles. In that spirit, we came through with two stories about two different groups of pigs, bozos and slobs, presented in the spirit of admiration about what a wonderful and cool world we have built, here, on this planet, together.