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2015 Program Archive
2015 Program Archive
January 11 - The French Terrorist's Connections to ISIL and AQAP; Inside the Yemen Connection; A Parisian on Today's Massive Demonstrations in Paris
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We begin with the massive demonstrations in Paris in support of national unity and first get an analysis from a French expert on the Middle East who served as a foreign affairs counselor in the embassies of France in Syria, Tunisia and Jordan. Jean-Pierre Filiu, a professor of Middle East History and Contemporary Studies at the Paris School of International Affairs joins us to discuss the connections that the terrorists who killed the journalists and the hostages at a Kosher market in Paris had to the so-called Islamic State “daesh”, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and why with such extensive records of jihadist activities, the terrorists where able to strike with such coordination and devastation.
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Then we examine the connections to AQAP in Yemen that the terrorists who massacred the journalists at Charlie Hebdo had, and how they were able to travel freely and often to Yemen to receive terrorist training, money and guidance from the American-born cleric Anwar al- Awlaki who was killed in a CIA drone strike in 2011. J. M. Berger a fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World and author of “Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam”, join us to discuss the underground railroad of jihadists coming from the European and American Muslim Diaspora to train in Yemen and Syria to return home with deadly skills and wreak havoc. |
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Then finally, we get a flavor of the huge demonstrations today in Paris as citizens across the ideological, racial and religious spectrum joined together to express their support for the slain journalists, policemen and hostages killed in the Kosher market, and stand in support of liberty, egality and fraternity. Philippe Green, the author of the Ecofrugal Guide which allows consumers to make choices that are both economical and ecological, who was recognized by the city of Paris in 2013 as an “Actor of the Sustainable Paris”, joins us to describe today’s emotional tribute to solidarity and pluralism and discuss the possible political fallout from the past days of mayhem in the streets and suburbs of Paris. |
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January 8 - Political Fallout in France From the Charlie Hebdoe Massacre; The Latest Brazen Attempt by Republicans to Reward Wall Street; How Congress Determines the Fate of the Presidency
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We begin with the political fallout in France from the massacre of journalists and policemen that has French President Hollande calling for a national “unity rally” on Sunday from which the leader of far-right National Front has been excluded much to Marine Le Pen’s annoyance although in the pages of Charlie Hebdo she and her party were regularly described as “a clique of racist and fascist thugs”. Philippe Marliere, a Professor of French and European Politics at University College, London, whose main publications are about the French Socialist Party, French politics and European social democracy, joins us to discuss how French political leaders will resist taking the bait as the Bush/Cheney Administration did when extremists try to drive a wedge between Muslims and the West.
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Then we speak with Dennis Kelleher, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Wall Street watchdog Better Markets Inc., which has been described as a constant thorn in the side of Wall Street. He joins us to discuss the latest brazen attempt by the new Republican House to pay back their Wall Street donors by gutting what is left of the Dodd/Frank financial reform act so that bankers can reward themselves bonuses based on having a two-year reprieve from unloading their riskiest holdings know as collateralized loan obligations. We look into the unusual defeat of this gift to Wall Street and how and when the Republicans and some Democrats will try again to do Wall Street’s bidding. |
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Then finally we examine comparisons between the “Great Society” presidency of Lyndon Johnson and the Obama presidency where in both cases in appears that at the end of the day, Congress determines the fate of the presidency. Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and author of the new book, just out, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society”, joins us to discuss why when Clinton and Obama enjoyed Democratic control of the House and Senate, they were unable to get through a fraction of the legislation that LBJ got passed. |
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January 7 - A French Journalist on the Massacre of French Journalists; A Cartoonist on the Threats and Outrage That Comes With the Job of Mocking the Mighty and Powerful; A Pulitzer-Prize Winning Cartoonist on the Role of Satire
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We begin with the massacre of ten journalists and two policemen in Paris by radical Islamists claiming to represent al Qaeda. Alexandre del Valle, a French writer, journalist, political commentator, and the author of “The Syrian Chaos: Minorities and the Arab Spring Face Islamism”, joins us from Paris to discuss prior threats that he and the cartoonists who were killed had received from radical supporters of ISIS and al Qaeda living in France and the ideological roots of murderous fanaticism in the name of Islam which Alexandre del Valle traces to Saudi Arabia and other so-called allies of the United States. |
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Then we speak with Scott Stantis, a cartoonist at the Chicago Tribune whose work is syndicated to over 125 newspapers by Tribune Media Services. We look into what kind of threats and outrage come with the job description of mocking the mighty and powerful, and whether the murder of colleagues in France by fanatics spraying bullets while shouting “God in great” is likely to deter cartoonists from lampooning religious extremism, examples of which are prevalent worldwide among those who claim to represent Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist faiths. |
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Then finally we speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and satirist Mark Fiore about the role of satirists and political cartoonists in society and how much self-censorship has already been adopted following the backlash from the Danish cartoonist’s depiction of the prophet Mohammed that caused an international furor resulting in a number of deaths. We examine the apparently insecure nature of religious beliefs that would cause a believer to kill in the name of a perceived insult to a deity whose teachings they claim to follow. |
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January 6 - The Republican Clown Car Fails to Derail Boehner; Why Oil Prices are Dropping; The Syrian Refugee Crisis
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We begin with the first day of the 114th Congress and look into the election results for the speaker of the House with John Boehner surviving a rebellion from radicals, Tea Party candidates and Libertarians to win reelection to preside over a restive caucus. Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Daily Beast who covers the Congress, joins us to discuss his article at The Daily Beast “Kamikaze Congress Prepares to Strike Boehner” and profile the colorful array of dissident candidates unhappy with the GOP leadership who offered themselves up as alternatives to the incumbent.
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Then we analyze the factors contributing to the continuing drop in oil prices with West Texas Intermediate Crude falling to $48 a barrel on Tuesday. Andrew Scott Cooper, a contributing columnist to The Guardian’s Tehran Bureau and to Foreign Policy and the author of “The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran and Saudi Arabia Changed to Balance of Power in the Middle East”, joins us to discuss the role of Saudi Arabia in flooding the global oil market to lower the price which negatively impacts Iran with whom the Saudis are engaged in a proxy war and, coincidentally countries the U.S. is pressuring; Russia and Venezuela as well as Iran. |
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Then finally we examine the Syrian refugee crisis that had led Lebanon to issue visa restrictions since the tiny country of 4 million has already taken in more than 1.6 million refugees from neighboring Syria. Daryl Grisgraber, who leads Refugee International’s research and advocacy related to the Middle East and North Africa, focusing mainly on the Syrian displacement crisis, joins us to discuss the impact the outflow from Syria is having on Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, as well as the recent phenomenon of “ghost ships” full of Syrian refugees heading for Italian shores without crews or anyone manning the bridge. |
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January 5 - Markets Tank with Greece Poised to Leave the Euro; The Weaponization of Finance; The GOP 114th Congress; 80% White, 80% Male and 92% Christian
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We begin with today’s 331 point plunge of the Dow Jones together with the Euro falling to a nine-year low against the dollar as investors react to falling oil prices and the prospect of Greece leaving the Eurozone. Dimitri Papadimitriou, the President of the Levy Economics Institute and a Professor of Economics at Bard College joins us to discuss the upcoming January 25th election in Greece that is likely to bring the anti-austerity left-wing Syriza Party to power sparking fears that Greece will reject terms of the EU, ECB and IMF bailouts and exit from the euro. |
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Then we look into the interesting addition to the Eurasia Group’s just-published top ten geopolitical risks of 2015; that is the “weaponization of finance”. Daniel Drezner, a professor of International Politics at Tufts University and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution joins us to discuss his article in The Washington Post “The Most Interesting Geopolitical Risk of 2015” and the use of finance as a weapon that is arguably more potent than the Pentagon’s nuclear arsenal and carrier battle groups; the power of the U.S. Treasury to use the carrot of access to capital markets and the stick of economic sanctions.
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Then finally as the 114th Congress which is 80% white, 80% male and 92% Christian, prepares to open for business on Tuesday, we examine the likely impact of full GOP control of Congress and whether there will be more stalemate in Washington with a president trying to defend his policies and legacy and a new Republican majority who have spent the last six years trying to destroy Obama’s presidency. Ira Shapiro , who spent 12 years in the U.S. Senate as Counsel to the Majority Leader and is the author of “The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis” joins us to discuss whether Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell can move from a policy of obstruction to the practice of governing. |
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