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February 16 - Peace Talks as Aleppo is Encircled; Will the Republicans Cave on a Replacement for Scalia?; The Pope Takes on the Mexican Drug Cartels
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We begin with the deepening crisis in Syria following the bombings of hospitals by the Russians and the arrival of Saudi troops and warplanes in Turkey that could turn a regional proxy war into Cold War confrontation given the recent remarks by Russia’s Prime Minister that “we are rolling into a new Cold War”. David Lesch, the Distinguished Professor of Middle East History at Trinity University and author of “Syria: The Fall of Assad”, joins us to discuss how serious peace talks are as the Russians, Iran and Hezbollah encircle Aleppo and whether an agreement to get food into besieged pockets of starving Syrians will be implemented. |
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Then we speak with Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding dean and professor of law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and author of “The Case Against the Supreme Court”. He joins us to comment on the unseemly partisan battle that has erupted before Justice Scalia is to be laid to rest on Saturday, and the Republican obstruction that is expected to dominate this year’s presidential race. We discuss whether or not the Republican senate will cave under growing pressure to have a hearing and a vote on Scalia’s replacement or whether the toxic, crude and vitriolic nature of much of the discourse amongst Republican presidential candidates will continue to drown out moderate voices and become the new normal. |
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Then finally we go to Mexico City for an update on the pope’s visit where today he spoke at a stadium in Morales in the heart of the Knights Templar drug gang’s territory where they control most of the methamphetamine trade that feeds the U.S. market. Ioan Grillo, who has reported on Latin America since 2001 for international media and is the author of “Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields and the New Politics of Latin America” joins us to discuss the brave stance the Pope is taking and his criticism of Mexico’s clergy who have grown too cozy with the rich and powerful. |
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February 15 - How Republican Obstruction Will Damage the Supreme Court; The Bush Brothers Whitewash History; Obama Meets With the ASEAN Crooks and Despots
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We begin with the declaration by the leader of the Republican Senate Mitch McConnell almost immediately after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, that he would block President Obama from appointing Scalia’s successor for the remaining 11 months of Obama ’s term in office. Eric Segall, a Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law and author of “Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court and its Justices are not Judges” joins us to discuss the difficulty the short-handed court will have going forward and the likelihood that Republican obstruction in the senate will help Hillary Clinton, who is supported by 39 Democratic senators, make the case that along with electing her, the country should elect a Democratic majority to the senate. |
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Then, with George W. Bush campaigning for his brother Jeb in South Carolina, we look into truth-telling by Donald Trump in the last debate that Jeb’s brother did not “keep us safe” but rather ignored CIA warnings of an impending 9/11-type attack then got us into a disastrous war in Iraq that has only benefited Iran. Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who, before 9/11, pushed to investigate the so-called 13th 9/11 hijacker Zacharias Moussoui, joins us to discuss how rare it is to hear the truth about who failed to keep us safe and who was responsible for the disastrous Iraq war that has led to the endless chaos and bloodshed in the Middle East today. |
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Then finally we assess the summit underway in Palm Springs between President Obama and the ASEAN leaders that appears to be about ganging up on China. Michael Buehler, a lecturer in Comparative Politics in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies joins us to discuss the gang of despots gathered at the Sunnylands estate that includes a coup leader who writes songs about returning happiness to the people, a ruthless PM who has ruled for 31 years, a Communist politburo veteran, a former furniture salesman, a playboy Sultan and a crooked PM who stole $700 million with the help of Goldman Sachs. |
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February 14 - The Raucous Republican Debate; Possible White House Strategies to Get a Replacement on the Supreme Court; The Consequences of a Tied Supreme Court; The Clinton / Sanders Healthcare Reform Debate
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We begin with an appraisal of last night’s raucous Republican presidential debate in South Carolina ahead of next Saturday’s primary and speak with Andy Brack, a veteran political analyst of South Carolina’s politics who is founder and editor of Statehouse Report. He joins us to assess the likely winners and losers in this key primary state that could propel Donald Trump towards the nomination or slow his momentum as the other contenders fight for second place. |
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Then with the death of the leading conservative on the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia, we explore what options and strategies the White House and the Senate’s Democratic minority might employ in the next 11 months to get a replacement for Justice Scalia nominated then confirmed on the court in this increasingly contentious election year. Jim Manley, a 21 year veteran of the U.S. Senate who served as senior advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the past six years and, before that, served 12 years as an aide to the late Senator Ted Kennedy, joins us to discuss how the Democrats can get around a determined Republican majority in the Senate who have vowed to block any nominee, even a nominee who has been unanimously approved by them to a lower court. |
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Then we look into the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia with a former law clerk for Scalia’s close friend on the court Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Aziz Huq, a Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School joins us to discuss how this leading conservative voice on the court changed the way arguments are presented and argued before court as well as Scalia’s impact on the political, economic and social life of the country that has been moved in a conservative direction since Antonin Scalia was appointed by Ronald Reagan. |
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Then finally we examine the issue that has become the main policy argument between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in their campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination, healthcare and whether to improve the Affordable Care Act or go to a single-payer system that most of the other advanced economies have.Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive whose latest book is “Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do About It”, joins us to discuss what is driving the rising costs of healthcare that have not been curbed by the ACA. |
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February 11 - Looking Ahead to Nevada and South Carolina; A Further Look at the Bernie Sanders Revolution; The Filmmaker of the Academy Award-Nominated "The Look of Silence"
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We begin with a look ahead to the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary which is expected to be a nasty mud-slinging competition on the Republican side and speak with Margie Omero, a managing director at Purple Strategies and the former President of Momentum Analysis where her clients were the DNC, the DCCC, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Emily’s List, Members of Congress and campaigns across the country. We will discuss the momentum Bernie Sanders has and Hillary Clinton’s problem in this year of the outsider as a status quo candidate who wants to improve the system, not change it. |
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Then we take a further look at the Bernie Sanders revolution with Will Bunch, an award-winning senior writer for the Philadelphia Daily News whose latest E-book in “The Bern Identity”. He joins us to discuss his article at Philly.com “Bernie Sanders and the revolution of rising expectations” and how the festering anger in the land over income inequality, diminishing opportunity and a general disgust with politics and politicians is now finding its voice at the ballot box. |
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Then finally we speak with Joshua Oppenheimer, a two-time Oscar nominated film director of a new feature documentary up for this year’s Academy Awards best feature documentary. He joins us to discuss his sequel to “The Act of Killing” which profiles perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide as they reenact their war crimes without remorse, his new film “The Look of Silence” which is just out in theaters nationwide. |
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February 10 - A Political Insurgency on the Left and Right; An EPA Whistleblower on the Flint Cover-Up; SCOTUS Sides With the Polluters
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We begin with an analysis of the Democratic presidential race going forward following Senator Bernie Sanders’ blowout victory over Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary. Robert Kuttner, the co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, joins us to discuss his article at The Huffington Post “Generation Sanders” and the growing divide between the Democratic and Republican political establishments and political insurgents like Donald Trump on the right and Bernie Sanders on the left, who continue to defy conventional wisdom in this year of the outsider. |
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Then we hear from a whistleblower at the EPA, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, who served as the executive secretary of the EPA’s Environmental Working Group and is the author of “No Fear: A Whistleblowers Triumph over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA”. We discuss her article at The Guardian “Water crises like Flint will continue until the EPA is held accountable” and the culture at the EPA of regulatory capture that explains why a top EPA official covered up the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan which turns out to be the tip of the iceberg as we learn that many more cities across the country are poisoning their residents with lead-tainted water. |
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Then finally we examine the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision to halt the implementation of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan until legal challenges from a number of states are resolved. David Arkush, the managing director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program joins us to discuss this blow to the Obama Administration’s efforts to phase out coal burning power plants which will delay progress in dealing with climate change at a time when more assertive action is needed.
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