September 12 - Analyzing the Syrian Ceasefire; If Trump is Elected, Blame the Press; Gloria Steinem in an In-Studio Conversation

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the ceasefire that went into effect today in Syria that was brokered by the U.S. and Russia and assess the chances of it lasting for the week as planned, given the patchwork of over one thousand militias on both sides of a civil war that has killed about a half a million Syrians, destroyed much of the country and displaced over a third of the population. David Lesch, the Distinguished Professor of Middle East History at Trinity University and author of “The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Assad and Modern Syria”, joins us to discuss why the Obama Administration reluctantly decided to join the Russian initiative and whether giving up the demand that the Assads leave power is any great loss since power on the Syrian government side has devolved to various warlords and factions that are unlikely to want a return of the status quo ante, even if that were possible.

Part 2

Then, with Hillary Clinton recovering from walking pneumonia and a very bad weekend, we look into the role of the press which is more focused on nit-picking and reexamining the appearance of scandal associated with Clinton’s emails than holding Trump to account for his daily gaffes, lies, displays of frightening ignorance and outbursts of hatred, demagoguery and racism. Thomas Edsall, a professor of journalism at Columbia University whose column on demographic and strategic trends in American politics appears every Wednesday in The New York Times, joins us to discuss how, with Trump even with Clinton in some polls, if the reality TV star ends up becoming the next president of the United States, it will be in large part because the press gave him a free ride. First as Trump came to prominence with free media, then as the Republican presidential nominee where he was afforded a false equivalence as an equal on the world stage with his opponent, all the while failing to check him or challenge him as they instead piled on constant criticism of Hillary Clinton.

Part 3

Then finally Gloria Steinem joins us in studio to discuss the presidential race, the sexist assaults on Hillary Clinton from the likes of Rudy Giuliani peddling conspiracy theories that question her stamina and fitness for the presidency, as well as talking about Gloria Steinem’s life on the road, the political battles she has engaged in over the decades and the deep influence that Native American culture and political life has had on her. Which, with the current on-going confrontation in North Dakota between the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes and a Wall Street-backed oil pipeline, has particular resonance as old wounds are opened and an American president for a change, does the right thing. All this, along with insights from Gloria Steinem’s latest book just out in paperback, “My Life on the Road."