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2016 Programs
2016 Program Archive
September 26 - Musical Chairs in the Kremlin; California Democrats Fleeced; The Untold History of Gun Control
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We begin with the musical chairs in the Kremlin where the power behind the throne Vladimir Putin, is stepping out of the shadow of his puppet Medvedev, the current President, to re-assume the role as the next President of Russia, a role he never really relinquished. Nina Khruscheva, a relative of a former Soviet leader and professor of International Relations at the New School joins us for a reading of the latest Kremlin tea leaves. |
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Then Bob Stern, the president of the Center for Governmental Studies joins us to look into how a crooked local accountant looted the campaign funds of a lot of the prominent Democratic politicians in California, including Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, leaving many Democratic office holders vulnerable for re-election in 2012. |
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Then, finally, we speak with Adam Winkler, professor of Constitutional Law at UCLA and author of the new book, “Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America”. We discuss an untold history Adam Winkler’s book reveals that explodes the myth of the Wild West and finds that the Ku Klux Klan began as a gun control organization and that the modern gun rights movement was inspired by fear of the Black Panthers. |
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September 25 - An Insider Fills in the Gaps About 9/11; IMF Warns The Global Economy Has Entered a Dangerous Phase
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We are joined by Ali Soufan the author of a new book “The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War against Al Qaeda”. Ali Soufan is a former FBI Special Agent who served on the front lines against Al Qaeda and gained an international reputation as a top counterterrorism operative and interrogator. We explore in depth the issues of torture, strategy and political cover-up with this important insider who fills in some holes in the insufficient public knowledge available in regard to these momentous events that have shaped the last decade and continue to dominate our lives. |
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Then we are joined by Robert Johnson, the Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. He has just met with top officials of the IMF who are concerned that the global economy is in dangerous territory as the European debt crisis threatens to drag us into a deeper recession or even a depression. We will find out what measures might be taken to reverse the drift and calm the markets. |
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September 21 - The UN Takes Up Palestinian Statehood; Winning Back Dissaffected Progressives; Life in an American Theocracy
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We begin with the United Nations where world heads of state are gathering for what is expected to be a session dominated by the question of Palestinian statehood. Veteran U.N. correspondent Ian Williams joins us. He covers the UN for Foreign Policy in Focus. |
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Then we look into the state of disillusionment among progressives when it comes to supporting President Obama’s reelection in 2012. Mike Lux, the co-founder and CEO of Progressive Strategies, who was formerly a special assistant to President Clinton for Public Liaison in the White House, joins us discuss the possibility of primary challenges and how the president can win back his disaffected base. |
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Then finally, with two theocratic candidates running for President, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachman, we analyze the results of American theocracy in terms of life in the Red States dominated by the religious right. Stephan Schwartz, Senior Fellow at the Samueli Institute joins us. He has an article in the Science Journal Explore, “The Rise Of American Theocracy; Implications for Science and Healthcare.” |
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September 20 - Greece Will Default and Soon; The Battle Inside Yemen's Elite; Mike Farrell on the Death Penalty
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We begin and go to Greece to talk with Dimitri Papadimitriou who is the President of the Levy Economics Institute and professor of Economics at Bard College. With Greece on the precipice of a default that could unravel the Eurozone, we get an update on how soon the crunch will come and how the chips will fall. |
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Then we speak with an expert on Yemen, Charles Schmitz, who is president of the American Institute of Yemeni Studies. Following recent mass shootings of street protesters, we examine the possibility of a civil war as the sons of the ailing dictator cling to power fighting the regime's former enforcer turned leader of the revolution. |
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Then finally on the eve of the execution of a man who many consider innocent, we examine the case of Troy Davis, whose execution tomorrow at 4 PM local time seems all but inevitable following the denial of clemency by the Georgia Pardons Board. Actor and activist Mike Farrell joins us. He is the president of Death Penalty Focus. |
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September 19 - Making Millionaires Pay; Making Voting Harder For Democrats; New Rules in the Keystone State
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We begin with the President’s announcement of plans to tax millionaires and his threat to veto any Republican deficit reduction proposal that does not include raising revenues. One of the country’s leading experts on tax policy, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist David Cay Johnston, joins us. |
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Then we look into Republican plans to restrict Democratic voter’s access to the polls in key states in next year’s election. Daniel Tokaji, professor of Law at Ohio State University, joins us to discuss what Ohio’s governor and legislature are implementing in terms or restrictions and impediments to either discourage Democratic turnout or make it more difficult for the poor and elderly to vote. |
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Then we look further into plans in Pennsylvania by the Republican governor and legislature to change the state’s Electoral College votes to favor the Republican presidential candidate. Pennsylvania pollster Dr. G Terry Madonna, who directs the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College, joins us to explain where this proposed change stands and how it is playing out in Pennsylvania politics. |
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