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2012 Program Archive
March 19 - JOBS Bill "a Colossal Mistake of Historic Proportions"; Jeffrey Sach to Head the World Bank?; Could Campaign Spending Become Tax-deductable?
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We begin with the JOBS bill that the Senate will vote on tomorrow and examine this much hailed bi-partisan legislation that our guest Simon Johnson considers a colossal mistake of historic proportions. The former Chief Economist at the IMF, Simon Johnson is the co-author of a new book “White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters to You.” |
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Then we assess whether Jeffrey Sachs, who has nominated himself to become the next president of the World Bank, has a chance of getting the job. The Director of International Programs at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Deborah James, joins us to discuss this unusual candidate who is openly campaigning for a job that usually has been filled by political appointees or bankers, not development experts. |
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Then finally we are joined by Justin Elliot, a reporter for ProPublica where he just wrote the article “Could Corporations Take Tax Breaks on Political 'Dark Money?' " With superPACs already dominating our elections, more and more billionaire backers of candidates are pouring their money into non-profit 501C-4’s where they don’t have to disclose who they are. And thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, these 501c-4’s like Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS can then pass the money on to superPACS like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads. |
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| MUSIC: The Beatles - You Never Give Me Your Money; Caberet - Money Money; Radiohead - Dollars and Cents; Shabazz Palaces - An Echo From The Hosts That Profess Infinitum |
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March 18 - The Author of "Power, Inc."; The Empire Retreats; Iran and Russia are Winning in Syria
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As this year’s elections become more of a merger between a casino and a circus, with billionaire ringmasters offering competing clown shows, we begin with a discussion about who really runs our country and the world. The CEO and Editor-at-Large of Foreign Policy Magazine, David Rothkopf joins us to talk about his new book “Power, Inc. The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government – and the Reckoning That Lies Ahead”. |
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Then we visit the graveyard of empires, Afghanistan, and discuss the accelerated withdrawal of the U.S. out of one war, as pressure builds to get us embroiled in another. Former National Security Staffer Roger Morris, who has written “Between the Graves”, a history of U.S./ Afghan relations and American policy in South Asia based on thousands of previously secret documents, joins us to look into the latest chapter of America’s recent foreign policy misadventures. |
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| MUSIC: John Williams - Emperial March; Cinematic Orchestra - Ode To The Big Sea; The Kingston Trio - Where Have All The Flowers Gone; Syrian Protesters - Bashar Must Go |
March 15 - Changing The Focus To Public Morality; Are We Hurting The Regime Or The Iranian People?; Killing The Planet For Oil
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We begin with the fallout from the resignation letter by a Goldman Sachs executive and explore the broader issue of public morality at a time when Republican presidential candidates are campaigning on enforcing a holier-than-thou private morality, mostly about sex. Mike Lux, the CEO of Progressive Strategies joins us to discuss how the focus in this election can be turned to address the morally bankrupt behavior and toxic and destructive environment of Wall Street |
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Then as the screws turn on Iran with today’s closure of its access to international bank transfers, we look into Iran’s aggressive and defensive foreign policy and the extent to which sanctions are hurting the Iranian people but not the regime. Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver joins us. |
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Then finally as the rising price of gas becomes the central issue in this year’s election campaigns, we talk with Michael Klare about his new book, “The Race For What’s Left: The Global Scramble For the World’s Last Resources” and discuss how costly and increasing risks will be taken to extract the last drops of oil, exposing the environment to greater danger. |
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| MUSIC: Nina Simone - Funkier Than A Mosquittos Tweeter; LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations; Dirty Projectors - Cannibal Resource; Xavier Rudd - Messages |
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March 14 - The Morally Bankrupt Bank; Billionaires Decide the Nation's Leaders; A Wry Look at British Politics
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We begin with the bombshell dropped on Wall Street today in the form of an op-ed in the New York Times by a former Goldman Sachs executive who wrote “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs”, accusing the company of being morally bankrupt, with a working “environment now as toxic and destructive as ever”. William Cohan, a contributing editor to “Fortune” and author of “Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World” joins us. |
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Then we examine how SuperPACs are determining who will run for the presidency in this election, and likely who will be the next president. Ari Berman, a contributing writer to “The Nation” and an Investigative Journalism Fellow at the Nation Institute joins us to discuss the overwhelming influence of SuperPACs on our already money-driven electoral system and how a handful of billionaires will determine the political fate of the nation. |
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Then finally British humorist Martin Lewis joins us to take a wry look at the current visit of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to the White House at a convenient time for Cameron when back home his friend and neighbor Rebeckah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch’s British Media empire, is being arrested along with five others for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. |
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| Music: LCD Soundsystem - Time To Get Away; Dirty Projectors - No More; Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance; The Beatles - Baby You're A Rich Man |
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March 13 - Gas Gouging With Impunity; A Soldiers Perspective On The Afghan War; Why We Should Put Bush And Cheney On Trial
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We begin with the sudden drop in President Obama’s approval rating to an all-time low that is apparently due to the high price of gas. The nation’s leading expert of oil and gas markets, Fadel Gheit, joins us to explain how Wall Street speculation accounts for 30% of the price at the pump. He is Senior Vice President for Oil and Gas at Oppenheimer and Company and has testified many times to the Senate and the House of Representatives about oil price speculation. |
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Then joining us in the studio is Sean Parnell, the author of “Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan." He served with the 10th Mountain Division for six years and retired as a captain, having served on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border where his platoon suffered the highest casualty rate since Gettysburg with over 80 % casualties. We get a soldier’s perspective of the war in Afghanistan which, following the recent massacre of civilians, may end sooner with an accelerated U.S. withdrawal. |
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Then finally we speak with Elizabeth Holtzman, the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. She is the co-author of “Cheating Justice: How Bush and Cheney Attacked the Rule of Law, Plotted to Avoid Prosecution – And What We Can Do About It”. We discuss why we can’t move on and how the failure to take action against a former president who has committed crimes stands as an indictment of the society that permits the impunity. |
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| MUSIC: The Roots - Guns Are Drawn; Bright Eyes - When The President Talks To God; Beastie Boys - In A World Gone Mad |
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