January 20 - The Feds Look into the Christie Scandal; The Surveillance of Martin Luther King; The Political Legacy of Dr. King

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the widening political scandal in New Jersey, following accusations by the Mayor of Hoboken that the Christie Administration tied FEMA disaster money from Hurricane Sandy to a development project they favored. Ryan Hutchins, who covers state government and politics in New Jersey for the Star Ledger joins us to discuss his interview with Mayor Dawn Zimmer following her meeting with federal prosecutors who interviewed her on Sunday.

Part 2

Then, on the Martin Luther King holiday, we  speak with Jared Ball, an associate professor of communication studies at Morgan State University about the intense surveillance Dr. King was under from the FBI, Military Intelligence and the CIA, with at least 25 illegal attempts by the FBI to discredit him. We discuss the surveillance state then, that has since been reformed, and the surveillance state today, that has much greater capabilities and is able to gather private information on all Americans.

Part 3

Then finally, we speak with Chris Parker, a Professor of Social Justice and Political Science at the University of Washington and author of “Change They Can’t Believe In: the Tea Party and Reactionary Politics in America.”  We discuss the political legacy of Martin Luther King at a time when America has its first black president and also a Supreme Court who recently gutted the Voting Rights Act that Dr. King had fought and died for.