Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the military advances by the anti-Assad opposition in Syria where, following the recent capture of Syria’s fourth largest city Idlib by the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusra front, the self-proclaimed Islamic State is now inside a Palestinian refugee camp in the suburbs of Damascus. Nicholas Heras, an expert on the military aspects of the Syrian battlefield at the Center for a New American Security, joins us to discuss the key role of Iran in staving off Assad’s defeat so far.

Part 2

Then with the deadline for the P5+1 - Iran nuclear talks extended for a second time, we examine the possibility of failure as well as the more likely possibility that the Iranian delegation has to keep checking on every compromise with the uncompromising Supreme Leader in Tehran. Nader Hashemi, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver and the author of “The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future” joins us.    

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Joe Wenke, a writer, social critic and LGBT rights activist and author of the new book “The Human Agenda: Conversations About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”. We discuss the powerful role of corporate America in pressuring the governors of Indiana and Arkansas to rethink their state’s so-called “religious freedom” laws that are targeted against the LGBT community.

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with critical phase that the P5+1 talks with Iran are in, hours before the deadline elapses, and speak with Joseph Cirincione, the President of the Ploughshares Fund and author of “Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons”. We discuss his article at The Huffington Post “How to Know the Iran Deal is a Good Deal” and Senator McCain’s recent Senate speech calling on Israel to “go rogue” and start a war with Iran to prevent Obama’s deal with Iran from happening.

Part 2

Then we discuss the HBO documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” that just aired with a shocking expose of this pseudo religion that is revealed as a ruthless money-making operation which fleeces its followers while enslaving them, and makes billions in tax-exempt profits that are at the disposal of the cult’s secretive and sadistic leader David Miscavige. John Sweeney, an investigative journalist with the BBC’s flagship TV program Panorama, and author of “The Church of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology”, joins us.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Professor Marjorie Hershey, who teaches Political Science at Indiana State University and is the author of “Party Politics in America”. We discuss how Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s so-called “Religious Freedom” law has backfired, with his efforts to curry favor with the religious right for a possible White House run blowing up in his face.