Abby Martin: The US military is ‘Earth’s greatest enemy’
Earth’s Greatest Enemy, the new blockbuster documentary by independent journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, is an expansive and terrifying investigation into the existential threat that US empire in general—and the US military specifically—poses to humanity and to our planet. In this panel discussion, recorded after a live screening of Earth’s Greatest Enemy on Jan. 29 at the TRNN studio in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez and Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter for The Guardian, speak with Abby Martin about how US militarism and imperialism are destroying the planet—and what can be done to stop them.
Guests:
Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy.
Dharna Noor is a fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian.
Credits:
Studio Production: David Hebden, Cameron Granadino
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Welcome everyone to the Real News Network podcast. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. I’m the editor-in-chief here at The Real News, and it’s so great to have you all with us. Earth’s greatest enemy is the title of a new blockbuster documentary by legendary independent journalist and filmmaker, Abby Martin. It is an expansive, engrossing, and frankly, terrifying investigation into the existential threat that US Empire in general and the US military specifically poses to humanity and to our planet. Recently, right here in the real news studio in downtown Baltimore, we had the honor of hosting the Baltimore premiere of this vital documentary, and
More war in Latin America feared as farmers describe torture from US-Ecuadorian ‘Operation Total Extermination’
Immigrant workers launch largest US meatpacking strike in 40 years
3,800 workers and Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 members at the massive JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, walked off the job on an unfair labor practice strike on March 16. This is the first strike ever at the Greeley plant—one of the largest in the country—and it’s the biggest meatpacking strike in the US since the 1985-86 strike at the Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota. As Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu report in Labor Notes, “Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from 40 a week to 35, squeezing out more work for less money… Workers are also demanding that the company stop charging them out-of-pocket costs for personal protective equipment like mesh vests and arm guards—essential because they work with knives, saws, and other sharp, dangerous equipment.” In this episode, we speak with Clark and Xu, who report from the JBS picket line and break down why this strike is so significant and what it will take for workers to win this fight against the largest beef processor in the US.
Guest:
Caitlyn Clark is a national organizer at Essential Workers for Democracy, an organization dedicated to rank-and-file member education and empowerment for UFCW members in grocery, meatpacking, and retail.
Lisa Xu is a staff writer and organizer at Labor Notes.
Additional links/info:
Caitlyn Clark & Lisa Xu, Labor Notes, “In 57 languages, meatpackers strike for the first time in 40 Years”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian
‘Mind-blowing corruption’: traders placed massive bets minutes before Trump post on Iran
Steve Bannon calls ICE at airports a good ‘test run’ for deployment to 2026 midterm polls
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Right-wing podcaster and former Trump White House political strategist Steve Bannon on Monday said that President Donald Trump’s deployment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports was a preview of what could be expected later this year at polling places across the country.During a Monday episode of his “War Room” podcast, Bannon said that the Trump administration “can use what’s happening with these ICE [agents] at the airports, we can use this as a test run, as a test case, to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterm elections.”
BANNON (Epstein’s PR Guy): “We can use ICE helping out at airports as a test run to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterms.”P.S. — Non-citizens don’t vote and they know it pic.twitter.com/hPFaI9Ue9z— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 24, 2026
Bannon’s guest, MAGA influencer Mike Davis, agreed that ICE should be sent to polling places during this year’s midterms to ensure no undocumented immigrants are casting ballots.
“If you’re an American citizen, you should be happy ICE is there,” Davis said. “So you don’t have illegal aliens canceling out your vote.”
There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants vote in any significant numbers in US elections.
As The New York Times reported in January, the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s second term has been conducting a wide-ranging review of voter registration data and so far has found almost no evidence of non-citizens voting in past elections.
“Out of 49.5 million voter registrations that have been checked, the department referred around 10,000 cases to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation of noncitizenship, or roughly .02% of