Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the media blackout in China of the 50^th anniversary of Mao’s Cultural Revolution that is not being observed even though China’s leader Xi Xinping’s father was purged and Xi himself was sent down to the countryside for “re-education”. Scott Kennedy the Deputy Director of the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the author of “The Dragon’s Learning Curve: Global Governance and China” joins us to discuss the apparent paradox that in spite of what the Xi family suffered and the destruction of the Chinese economy, its culture and heritage wrought by Mao’s unleashing of the ideological madness of the Red Guards, China’s leader is bringing back Mao and whitewashing history.

Part 2

Then we take a further look at the apparent lack of interest in the press as evidence grows from declassified documents from the 9/11 Commission, of Saudi Arabia’s possible involvement in 9/11 that little to no attention has been paid to in spite of the trauma of 9/11 and the trillions spent on security since. Ali Al-Ahmed, the founder and director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs joins us to discuss the powerful influence of Saudi money in Washington that has succeeded in portraying Saudi Arabia as an indispensable ally even though much of the instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Nigeria can be traced to Saudi-financed sectarian hatred and extremist religious ideology.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, a Professor of Political Science at the University of New England and author of “The Making of Modern Libya”. He joins us to discuss the decision to arm the UN-backed Libyan government following talks in Vienna even though Prime Minister Sarraj’s government in Tripoli does not control the west of the country which is under the control of General Haftar who is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. We assess the chances that the new government has of defeating the Islamic State which has a strong foothold in this chaotic county with over 1,500 competing militias. 

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the meetings today on Capitol Hill between Donald Trump and Republican leaders including Speaker Paul Ryan and speak with a long-time senior congressional staffer Mike Lofgren, the author of “The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted”. We discuss the possibility that as former speaker John Boehner suggested, Mr. Ryan was looking to “help shape” Trump’s policies and examine the extent to which the struggle between Trump and the Republican establishment is not about unity but is more about Trump being brought into line to abandon his populist promises to raise taxes on the rich and preserve Social Security. We look into whether Trump could be handled to follow the game plan of hyping the deficit as a distraction to justify the sacrifices working and middle class Americans are expected to make while the GOP cuts taxes on the top 1%.

Part 2

Then, now that the President of Brazil is facing impeachment, we will try to get some clarity of what is behind this political upheaval in a country that in three months from now will be hosting the Olympic Games. Alexander Main, the Senior Associate for International Policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research joins us to discuss the extraordinary turn of events that have replaced an elected president half way through her term on specious grounds involving vague charges with a much more unpopular replacement from another party who is mired in legal troubles and corruption charges.

Part 3

Then finally we go to Italy to speak with the economist Randall Wray, professor of Economics at Bard College and a Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute about the economic repercussions of a so-called Brexit if the U.K. were to leave the E.U. following the June 23^rdreferendum. We look into whether the E.U. could unravel and how a Brexit could affect the American economy and the upcoming elections. We also discuss his latest book “Why Minsky Matters: An Introduction to a Maverick Economist”.