Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the entry of former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee into the 2016 Republican primary race adding a combination of Christian fundamentalism and rural populism to the increasingly crowded field of presidential hopefuls. James Morone, a Professor of Political Science and Urban Studies at Brown University and author of “Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History” joins us to discuss the extent to which the latest dead-on-arrival candidates are either running to revive their flagging careers in the media and lecture circuit, put their friends and family on the campaign payroll, audition for cabinet posts or are running for Vice President.

Part 2

Then with a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warning the earth has passed an unprecedented milestone with global levels of CO2 above 400 parts per million through all of March 2015, we speak with Dr. Brenda Ekwursel a climate scientist who leads the Union of Concerned Scientist’s climate science education work.  She joins us to discuss why in spite of last year being the hottest in 135 years of record keeping that public opinion about the dangers of climate change lag behind the science.

Part 3

Then finally, as the various rebel groups close in on the embattled Assad regime, we look into the portent of a second war in Syria after Assad falls between most of the opposition forces and the self-declared Islamic State. David Lesch, a professor of Middle East History at Trinity University and the author of “Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad” joins us to discuss the escalation of brutality and barbarity as the regime crumbles and the even greater bloodletting that will likely ensue.

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with a cynical and self-serving provocation that achieved its goal with two wannabe Jihadis dead from a shootout with police at an event in Texas in which Islamophobes and bigots gathered for a competition to see who could present the most sacrilegious and insulting cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in order to win a $10,000 prize offered by the organizer of the hate-fest, Pamela Geller. Mark Potok, the Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project and author of the SPLC’s Hatewatch blog, joins us to discuss the role of professional Islamophobes who have so far managed to get 8 American states to institute anti-Sharia laws despite any evidence that anyone is seriously proposing such a ludicrous legal impossibility.

Part 2

Then we hear from Mike Ghouse, President of the America Together Foundation and the Foundation for Pluralism in Dallas, Texas, near the scene to the shootout. He joins us to discuss this so-called expression of free speech in the form of a competition to draw the most insulting cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in order to provoke Muslims, and the extent to which this is a case of one group of fanatics managing to bait another group of fanatics into threatening public safety.

Part 3

Then finally we examine new evidence and lines of inquiry into the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico, an incident that infuriated and mobilized the Mexican public to demand justice and accountability. Ryan Devereaux, who covers national security and criminal justice for The Intercept, joins us to discuss his new article at The Intercept “Ghosts of Iguala, Mexico: How 43 Students Disappeared in the Night”, and the possibility that justice in this case, that has been long-delayed, is still denied.