Full Program

Part 1

We be begin with the remarks by President Obama at the G-7 summit where he criticized the Supreme Court saying they should not have taken up the second challenge to the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, in a legal challenge Obama described as “bizarre” because the law is working, pointing out the ambiguous phrasing that is the basis of the King v. Burwell case brought by conservative activists could be fixed “with a one-sentence provision”. A legal scholar who frequently argues before the Supreme Court, Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding dean and distinguished professor of law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law joins us to discuss whether Obama is preparing the country for the possibility the Supreme Court will make a politically-charged ruling to destroy his signature achievement resulting in the denial of healthcare for 6.4 million Americans.

Part 2

Then we examine the surprising upset in the Turkish parliamentary elections that thwarted President Erdogan’s plans to become the country’s all-powerful leader as president of a republic with a weakened parliament and a ceremonial Prime Minister. Edmund Ghareeb, an internationally recognized expert on the Kurds and the first Mustafa Barzani Scholar of Global Kurdish Studies at the Center for Global Peace at American University joins us to discuss the key role that Turkey’s Kurdish party, the People’s Democratic Party played in stopping Erdogan’s power grab.

Part 3

Then finally we look into the results of the G-7 summit at a castle in the Bavarian alps where German Chancellor Angela Merkel managed to get a recalcitrant Japan and Canada to sign onto a commitment to “decarbonize the global economy” by phasing out the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century. Daniel Keleman, the Jean Monnet Chair, Director of the Center for European Studies and a Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University joins us to discuss the embarrassing comparison that the small German state of Bavaria produces more solar power than the entire United States.

Full Program

Part 1

We be begin with the entry of former Texas Governor Rick Perry into the crowded Republican presidential race. He managed to crash and burn in the 2012 campaign when he famously could not remember which government programs he wanted to cut. National radio commentator, writer and public speaker Jim Hightower, who was twice elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner and is the author of “Thieves in High Places: They’ve Stolen Our Country and It’s Time to Take it Back”, joins us to discuss whether there will be another “oops” moment for Rick Perry this next time around.

Part 2

Then we go to Caracas, Venezuela and speak with Antonio Gonzales, the President of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and host of “Strategy Session” on KPFK in Los Angeles. He joins us for an update on the economic conditions in the oil-rich country where the local currency, the bolivar just one month ago was worth 279 bolivars to the dollar, but today is 408 bolivars to the dollar. We discuss the upcoming elections and whether life in a country where gasoline in free, along with healthcare and education, is as bad as most American news coverage would suggest.

Part 3

Then finally we examine the volatile situation in Burundi where there has been unrest, violence and a coup attempt since the president decided to ignore the constitution and extend his tenure for a third term. Elizabeth McClintock, who was recently part of a 6-month conflict resolution training program for the Burundian National Commission on Demobilization and Reintegration, joins us to discuss protests that are largely driven by political outrage and are not a revival of ethnic tensions.