August 6 - Will Putin Invade Ukraine?; The State of Journalism and the Future of Truth; Going After Corporate Tax Cheats with $2.5 Trillion Stashed Abroad

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the very real possibility, expressed by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, that Russian forces might soon cross the border into Ukraine and enter a war with Ukraine’s military which is poised to defeat the pro-Russian rebel insurgency in its eastern provinces. Andrew Kuchins, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Strategic and International Relations’ Russia and Eurasia Program, joins us to discuss what NATO’s response might be, and the dire need for a face-saving diplomatic intervention to find a way out for Putin who has whipped up nationalistic fervor in Russia to a fever pitch and may not be able to ride the tiger of his own propaganda.

Part 2

Then we speak with one of the nation’s leading investigative journalists, Charles Lewis, who is the founder of the Center for Public Integrity and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. We look into the growing corporatization of the press and the rising influence of public relations, at the same time while investigative reporting and beat coverage of the activities of the federal, state and local governments is in decline. We also discuss his new book, just out, “935 Lies: The Future of Truth and the Decline of America’s Moral Integrity”.

Part 3

Then finally, with the White House planning to circumvent Congress to stop tax benefits for U.S. companies that relocate overseas to lower their taxes, we speak with James Henry, an economist, lawyer and investigative journalist, and former chief economist at McKinsey and Co. We will discuss the issue of economic patriotism with $2.5 trillion in cash stashed abroad by American corporations, and what can be done to stop the flood of these corporate inversions as giant American companies move their headquarters abroad to avoid paying taxes to the U.S. Treasury.