Background Briefing has a new home at BackgroundBriefing.org.
Please visit and bookmark the new site. You can search show archives here.
Background Briefing has a new home at BackgroundBriefing.org.
Please visit and bookmark the new site. You can search show archives here.
| LISTEN TO FULL PROGRAM | ||
| We begin with the showdown on the streets of Egypt between the Islamist supporters of President Morsi and opposition protesters, many of whom fought to topple the military dictator two years ago, only to be shut out of the revolution they brought about. Sheila Carapico, who was recently a visiting professor in political science at American University in Cairo joins us to discuss Egypt’s polarization and paralysis that might lead to the military stepping back into power. |
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Then we examine the reasons behind the doubling of interest rates from 3.4 to 6.8% on federal student loans set to go into effect on Monday, following the failure of the Congress to agree. House Republicans insist on tying the rates to U.S. Treasuries with a cap of 8.5%, while Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to set rates at 0.75%, which is what big banks pay for money from the Federal Reserve, didn’t even make it to the Senate floor. David Halperin, a senior fellow at Republic Report and the founding director of Campus Progress joins us to discuss a dysfunctional government making money off the backs of indentured students. |
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Then finally we get an analysis of the much-heralded Senate Immigration bill passed Thursday with congratulations heaped on the so-called “Gang of 8” whose exercise in bi-partisanship drove an 8 billion dollar bill up to 40 billion for additional border security that one of the bill’s sponsor’s Senator Corker called “overkill”. Antonio Gonzalez, President of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project joins us to examine a punitive and pork-laden bill House Republicans deem dead on arrival. |
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Taking listeners deep into the underlying issues and forces that shape our world.
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