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2013 Program Archive
May 30 - Assad Claims He is Winning the Civil War; Right-Wing Conspiracy That So-Called Leftists Believe; The New Economic Movement
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We begin with a report from Beirut-based journalist Habib Battah about the claims just made on Hezbollah’s Lebanese television network by the Syrian dictator Basher al-Assad that the Syrian army has won “major victories” and now holds “the balance of power” in the civil war. We discuss the possibility of a peace settlement in Syria similar to what brought about an end to Lebanon’s bitter civil war. |
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Then the author of a new book “The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right”, Arthur Goldwag, joins to talk about the migration of increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories into the mainstream media as anti-government hate speech propagated by right wing Senators like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul often surprisingly finds a sympathetic audience amongst people who consider themselves leftists. Arthur Goldwag has an article in the Washington Spectator, “Alex Jones’ Weather Weapons”. |
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Then finally we hear about a new economic movement going on under the radar in America that is empowering local communities who are prospering, independent from Wall Street. Historian, political economist, activist and writer Gar Alperovitz joins us to discuss his article at the Washington Spectator “Something is Happening: The New Economic Movement” and his latest book “What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution”. |
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May 29 - In Almost Half of America's Households, Women are the Breadwinners; North Carolina's War on the Poor, the Unemployed, Children, and Voting Rights; Russia's Arms for Sale
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We begin with a new study from the Pew Research Center that finds woman are now the primary breadwinners in almost half of all American households. June Carbone, Chair of Law, the Constitution and Society at the University of Missouri Kansas City and co-author of “Red Families v. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture” joins us to discuss this tectonic shift in our economy and family life. |
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Then we speak with pioneering AIDS researcher Dr. Charles van der Horst, Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Infectious Diseases. He was recently arrested inside the North Carolina state house protesting against laws that hurt children and the poor that have been passed since the Republicans captured all three branches of government and began a legislative assault on the poor, the unemployed, public education and voting rights in a flurry of bills that are transforming North Carolina into a model of right wing governance. |
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Then finally, Stephen Braun, an investigative reporter with the Associated Press who was previously the National Security Editor of the AP and author of a book about the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. “Merchants of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible”, joins us to discuss Russian arm sales to Syria at the same time that the U.S. and Russia are trying to broker a peace conference in Geneva between the Syrian sides fighting to the death in bloody civil war. |
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May 28 - Here Come the Judges; California Shows the Way with Obamacare; The Filmmaker of "Wings of Life" and a Scientist on the Disappearing Bees
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We begin with the president’s plans to nominate three federal judges to the critical DC Court of Appeals which many see as a challenge to the Republicans to filibuster the nominees they have routinely blocked. But this time the Democratic majority in the Senate might bite back and employ the so-called “nuclear option”. Former Counsel to President Nixon and best-selling author John Dean joins us to discuss the looming showdown on Obama’s judicial nominees, and the high-stakes rulings coming soon from the Supreme Court. |
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Then we examine the good news from California indicating that as the states implement Obamacare through their new insurance exchanges, the price of premiums will drop dramatically due to transparency and free-market competition. Ethan Rome, the Executive Director of Healthcare for America Now, a national coalition of more than 1,000 groups in 50 states representing 30 million people, joins us to discuss why the Republicans are fighting the Affordable Care Act tooth and nail, which now appears to be because it will work and be good for the American people. |
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Then finally, award-winning film maker Louie Schwartzberg, joins us in the studio to discuss his latest feature documentary from Disneynature “Wings of Life”, narrated by Meryl Streep. We discuss the film’s message that life depends on little things that we take for granted, like the bees. Also joining us is Dr. Charles Benbrook, a professor at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University who explains the mysterious collapse of these vital populations of bees that pollinate the fruits, vegetables and much of the food we eat. |
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May 27 - Global Demonstrations Against Monsanto; Rigged on the Right: Iran's Elections; America and its Military on Memorial Day
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We begin with a report on the global demonstrations against Monsanto that took place on Saturday and assess the dependence on chemical herbicides and pesticides in American agriculture that is dominated by agribusiness. Jaydee Hanson, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety joins us to discuss what is happening to our food and who is to blame, and also look into the alarming issue of Colony Collapse Disorder, which has resulted in half of the bees dying off in America last year. |
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Then we examine the upcoming elections in Iran which the Supreme Leader and his son, the heir apparent Mojtaba Khamanie, appear to have rigged to the point where only the extreme among the extremists are allowed to run. Dr Trita Parsi, the co-founder and president of the Iranian American Council and author of “A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran” joins us to discuss his recent article at the Huffington Post “Iran’s March to Naked Dictatorship”. |
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Then finally, on Memorial Day, we speak with Colonel Douglas Macgregor, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran who has testified as an expert witness on national security issues before the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Relations Committee. We discuss President Obama’s declaration of an end to the “global war on terror” and the lack of accountability for those who led America into its recent disastrous military misadventures. |
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May 26 - An Analysis of Obama's Policy Shift Away From Endless War; An Historical Perspective on Obama's New Policy; How to Make us Safe From Tornados and Collapsing Bridges
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We begin with an analysis of the president’s recent speeches on ending the war on terror and giving more transparency to the targeted-killing program while reducing the use of drones. Steve Clemons, the Washington Editor-at-Large for The Atlantic and Editor-in-Chief of Atlantic LIVE joins us to discuss the significance of Obama’s speech to the military and defense community, and reactions to it from the reflexively hostile Republicans. |
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Then we get another opinion on the Obama Administration’s shift away from policies inherited from the Bush Administration and get an historical perspective on the changes from a former Senior Staffer on the National Security Council who served in both Republican and Democratic Administrations. Joining us is Roger Morris, whose latest book “Between the Graves”, is about the history of U.S./Afghan relations and American policy in South Asia based on thousands of previously secret documents. |
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Then finally, with the president visiting Oklahoma today to offer aid to the victims of the recent tornados, we speak with Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston, the president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, about both steps that can be taken to make children safe in their classrooms as well as addressing America’s crumbling infrastructure since one in three American bridges are way past their design life and should be fixed immediately with money now at the lowest interest rate in 700 years. He has new articles at The Daily Beast and Newsweek, “Pay to Fix America’s Crumbling Infrastructure Now, or Pay More Later” and “More Tornado Shelters? Not Necessarily”. |
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