Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the announcement by Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs that the military option to strike Iran and kill the recent P5+1 deal is still on the table and is going to remain on the table. Dr. Stephen Walt, a Professor of International Relations at Harvard University who has a recent article at Foreign Policy “Just Say No: Why the United States can’t kick the habit of repeating failed campaigns in its war against terror” joins us to discuss whether the prospect that Iran will grow more moderate, responsible and democratic in the future is a better bet than continuing to ally with Saudi Arabia.

Part 2

Then we speak with James Jennings, Founder and President of Conscience International, a humanitarian aid organization who has worked in the giant Daadab Camp for Somali refugees in Kenya. We discuss the tensions between the majority Christian community and the growing Somali refugee population in the north of the country which Al-Shabab terrorists from Somalia, who recently massacred 148 Christian university students in the northern city Garissa, were able to infiltrate.

Part 3

Then finally, we assess the utility of bombing raids by the Kenyan Air Force on Al-Shabab camps in Somalia and speak with Kefa Otiso, a Professor of Geography at Bowling Green State University and the founding president of the U.S.-based Kenya Scholars and Studies Association. We also discuss the Kenyan government’s denials that its security forces were slow to respond to Thursday’s massacre at the university

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the historic deal announced today by President Obama between the P5+1 and Iran and speak with an Israeli diplomat about how the deal will impact Israel’s military option. Dan Arbell, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at The Brooking Institution, joins us to discuss the upside of this agreement versus the downside for Israel were it to attack Iran, and his article at CNN “Does Israel Have a Military Option vs. Iran Nuclear Program?”

Part 2

Then we look into the latest political scandal in the so-called Soprano State with New Jersey’s Senator Robert Menendez facing a 68 page indictment charging conspiracy, violation of the travel act, eight counts of bribery, three counts of honest service fraud, and one count of making false statements. David Graham, a staff writer for The Atlantic joins us to discuss his article at The Atlantic “The Case Against Robert Menendez”. Then Matt Freidman who covers politics for the New Jersey Star Ledger, joins us to discuss the senator’s career in New Jersey politics.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Michael Wara, a Professor of Law at Stanford University and an expert on energy and environmental law whose research focuses on climate, water and electricity policy. We discuss Governor Brown’s mandatory water restrictions in the face of a devastating drought and how the agriculture sector, which uses 80% of the state’s dwindling supply of water, gets a free pass.