The Real News Podcast

Over the last two decades, Vladimir Putin has transformed his government in Russia from a managed democracy into an authoritarian regime. Many now view it as neofascist. Abroad, it has launched war after war to rebuild Russia’s former empire, while, at home, it has crushed the democracy movement, repressed all protests against Putin’s imperialist war in Ukraine, and jailed thousands of political prisoners. Two Russian dissidents, Ksenia Kagarlitskaya and Ilya Budraitskis join Ashley Smith in this episode of Solidarity Without Exception.Resource links:Freedom Zone: https://www.futurerussia.ch/en/freedom-zonePosle Media: https://www.posle.media/?page_id=136&lang=enIlya Budraitskis, Dissidents Among Dissidents, https://www.versobooks.com/products/913-dissidents-among-dissidentsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

It’s been three years since a Norfolk Southern “bomb train” carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, on the night of Feb. 3, 2023. Three days later, Norfolk Southern pressured local authorities to make the disastrous and completely unnecessary decision to vent five giant carloads of vinyl chloride into a ditch and set the contents on fire, releasing a massive chemical plume into the air, exposing residents in East Palestine and the surrounding areas to deadly toxins in one of the worst industrial disasters in US history. Three years later, residents are still getting sick, many have been financially ruined, they have been abandoned by their government and Norfolk Southern, and forgotten by the public. And, as Katya Schwenk details in a blockbuster new report for The Lever, residents are still waiting for the restitution they were promised from the $600 million settlement that Norfolk Southern agreed to pay to resolve residents’ class-action lawsuit over the derailment.Guest:Katya Schwenk is a journalist based in Phoenix, AZ, and a reporter for The Lever. Her reporting and essays have appeared in The Intercept, the Baffler, the American Prospect, and elsewhere.Additional links/info: Katya Schwenk, The Lever / The Real News Network, “Three years later, life in East Palestine, Ohio, is still derailed”Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today”Credits:Audio Post-Production: Alina NehlichBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Judge Brian Jackson of the U.S. District Court has certified a class action lawsuit against Angola Prison on behalf of men forced to perform punitive farm labor under unconstitutional conditions and in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under this ruling, the court certified two specific groups: a primary class encompassing all persons currently or potentially assigned to the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) Farm Line, and a specialized subclass for those with disabilities assigned to the same labor. In his findings, Judge Jackson noted that nearly every individual arriving at the facility is assigned to the Farm Line upon entry, with the majority remaining at risk of reassignment as a disciplinary measure.Guest:Samantha Pourciau is a Senior Staff Attorney at The Promise of Justice Initiative based out of New Orleans, Louisiana.Credits:Host: Mansa MusaProducer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Resource links:https://promiseofjustice.org/news/incarcerated-farm-line-workers-win-class-certificationhttps://therealnews.com/prisoners-sue-over-inhumane-conditions-on-angolas-brutal-farm-linehttps://therealnews.com/prison-farms-and-agricarceral-slave-laborhttps://therealnews.com/louisiana-still-imprisons-people-convicted-by-jim-crow-juries Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

On January 3, 2026, the United States invaded Venezuela and kidnapped president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. It was the first U.S. invasion of a Latin American country since the 1989 invasion of Panama. The United States fired missiles and bombs that blew out windows and hit residential apartment blocks. Helicopters. Explosions. Firebombs. They cut electricity. They destroyed a medical supplies warehouse. Testimonies say helicopters fired on innocent people. They traumatized thousands, if not, millions of Venezuelans.The aftermath for everyday Venezuelans has been completely ignored. The voices of those on the ground — the voices of the victims — have been largely silenced in the international press and then forgotten as the news cycle hurtles on and our attention shifts elsewhere — to Greenland, Minneapolis, Iran, Gaza, or whatever Trump happens to be blustering about on social media.So today, we’re heading to Caracas to speak to people who experienced the invasion first hand, whether sheltered in place in their homes or running for their lives in the streets of their city. We’ll hear their stories of Trump’s “impressive” attack, their messages for the U.S., and how they’ve promised to resist the ongoing attack on their sovereignty.Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Theme music by Michael Fox’s band, Monte Perdido. Monte Perdido's 2024 album Ofrenda is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions. All of the ambient sound of the invasion in this episode was taken from cell phone videos filmed and posted on social media or shared over WhatsApp on January 3rd, during the pre-dawn U.S. invasion.Script editing by Heather Gies.Hosted, written, produced, mixed and edited by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.Translator and freelance journalist Coromoto Jaraba Pineda helped with reporting for this episode. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.Many thanks to Ricardo Vaz and Jessica dos Santos.Resources: Today’s episode features filmmaker Angel Palacios. Below are some links to his documentary films:Puente Llaguno: Claves de Una Massacre (en Español)Llaguno Bridge: Keys to a Massacre (in English)Angel’s film series InjerenCIA: The Silent Invasion (en Español)Check out the previous Under the Shadow episodes on the U.S. invasion of Venezuela:Episode 2: The Americas will never be the sameEpisode 3: Hands Off Latin AmericaEpisode 4: Debunking the US narrative on VenezuelaUnder the ShadowYou can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking hereThe Beginning: Monroe And Migration | Under The Shadow, Episode 1Panama. Us Invasion. | Under The Shadow, Episode 13The Legacy Of Monroe | Under The Shadow, bonus Episode 4 Michael Fox’s recent reporting on the boat strikes and the ramp-up for war in Venezuela: With the Strike on a “Drug-Carrying Boat,” Trump Returns to a Dangerous US Policy for Latin AmericaCaribbean Leaders Call for Unified Latin American Resistance to US AttacksTrump’s Monroe Doctrine 2.0 Outlines Imperial Intentions for Latin AmericaNACLA’s Curated Guide to the US Attack on Venezuela Truthout’s ongoing reporting on War and Peace and the US invasion of VenezuelaVisit TRNN for all of The Real News’s coverage on this and so much moreSupport Under the ShadowPlease consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.You can check out Michael’s recent episode of Stories of Resistance about the protests against US intervention in Venezuela.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

John Carey, an ICU RN at Washington Hospital Center and National Nurses United member, reflects on grieving Alex Pretti and organizing nurses to oppose ICE. He recounts the vigil, explains the union's call to abolish ICE, and discusses how nurses are mobilizing in communities. Short, powerful on-the-ground voices highlight empathy, outrage, and collective action.

Erica Navalance, Associate Director of Strategic Criminal Litigation at the Promise of Justice Initiative, fights excessive sentences and non-unanimous convictions. She discusses the origins of Jim Crow jury rules, Louisiana’s refusal to apply the Ramos decision retroactively, and the case of Lloyd Gray — a 1980 conviction shaped by split juries, racial harm, and prosecutorial misconduct.

On Friday, Jan. 23, around 50,000 people in Minneapolis, MN, engaged in a historic mass strike and day of protest to demand an end to ICE terror and President Trump’s federal siege of Minnesota. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 24, an ICE agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, volunteer ICE observer and a registered union nurse who worked for the Veterans Health Administration. In this episode, we speak with Mary C. Turner, a registered nurse inn Minnesota and a member of the Council of Presidents of National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the US, which is now forcefully calling for the abolition of ICE. Additional links/info: National Nurses United: “Week of action in honor of Alex Pretti, RN and all others killed by ICE”National Nurses United press release (1/24/26): “National Nurses United outraged by murder of VA registered nurse by immigration agents, demand abolition of ICE”National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United website, Facebook page, Twitter/X page, and InstagramDevon Lum & Haley Willis, The New York Times, “Videos show moments in which agents killed a man in Minneapolis”Thomas Birmingham & Ari Bloomekatz, In These Times, “A staggering number of Minnesotans took to the streets Friday to demand ICE leave. The next day, ICE responded by killing another resident”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “Trump plans massive military parade while cutting veteran jobs, benefits, & healthcare”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “Trump cuts leave VA hospital nurses and veteran patients in a crisis”Credits:Audio Post-Production: Jules TaylorBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals handed the Trump administration a victory this month in its ongoing attempt to deport Syrian-born Palestinian activist, husband, father, and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil remains in the country for now and the legal battle is far from over, but the future of free speech in the US hangs in the balance. This week on The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Amy Greer, an associate attorney at Dratel & Lewis and a member of Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team, about the status of Khalil’s case.Guest:Amy Greer is an associate attorney at Dratel & Lewis, and a member of Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team. Greer is a lawyer and archivist by training, and an advocate and storyteller by nature. As an attorney at Dratel & Lewis, she works on a variety of cases, including international extradition, RICO, terrorism, and drug trafficking. She previously served as an assistant public defender on a remote island in Alaska, defending people charged with misdemeanors, and as a research and writing attorney on capital habeas cases with clients who have been sentenced to death.Additional links/info:ACLU Press Release (1/15/26): “Appeals court in Mahmoud Khalil’s case decides federal court lacks jurisdiction until immigration court proceedings complete”Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “‘Call Amy!’: Lawyer for Mahmoud Khalil reveals how he won his freedom”Credits:Production: David HebdenPost-Production: Stephen FrankBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In the hours after the Jan. 3 US invasion of Venezuela, social media was inundated with fake videos and images. Some showed Venezuelans holding huge rallies in favor of the US invasion. Others showed US troops landing or firing from helicopters. Others showed Maduro being kidnapped. Not all were AI. Some were old, showing anti-government rallies from years past. Or from other places—other invasions or bombing raids, unrelated to the current US attack. But these videos racked up tons of views, misleading millions of people about what was happening on the ground. Many of those people still don’t know the truth. It was only the tip of the iceberg.Today, host Michael Fox looks at the misconceptions, myths, and misinformation that has been spread about Venezuela in the wake of the US invasion and, together with political scientist Steve Ellner, dives headfirst into the biased reporting and slanted truths that have underpinned the mainstream narrative on Venezuela in recent weeks, years, and decades. Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.Hosted, written, and produced by Michael Fox. Script editing by Heather Gies.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.  Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox. Monte Perdido's new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.Guests: Steve EllnerTal HaginResources X users and media outlets fact checking the wave of fake videos and images posted online following the January 3 US invasion of Venezuela:AI videoMisinformation … Venezuela / great stuff - January 5January 4January 3AP - Ouster of Venezuela's Maduro unleashes waves of misinformation onlineChavez Mausoleum A.I. Images of Maduro Spread Rapidly, Despite SafeguardsFact Check: Viral Video of Maduro Arrest Celebration Is AI-GeneratedUnder the ShadowYou can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking hereThe Beginning: Monroe And Migration | Under The Shadow, Episode 1Panama. Us Invasion. | Under The Shadow, Episode 13The Legacy Of Monroe | Under The Shadow, bonus Episode 4 Michael Fox’s recent reporting on the boat strikes and the ramp-up for war in Venezuela: With the Strike on a “Drug-Carrying Boat,” Trump Returns to a Dangerous US Policy for Latin AmericaCaribbean Leaders Call for Unified Latin American Resistance to US AttacksTrump’s Monroe Doctrine 2.0 Outlines Imperial Intentions for Latin AmericaNACLA’s Curated Guide to the US Attack on Venezuela Truthout’s ongoing reporting on War and Peace and the US invasion of VenezuelaVisit TRNN for all of The Real News’s coverage on this and so much more.Support Under the ShadowPlease consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.You can check out Michael’s recent episode of Stories of Resistance about the protests against US intervention in Venezuela.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The Trump administration’s federal invasion and occupation of the state of Minnesota continues to sow chaos in the Twin Cities, but grassroots resistance to ICE and Trump has also exploded. And on Friday, Jan. 23, unions, community organizations, small businesses, faith communities, and Minnesota residents of all kinds will participate in a mass strike, a day of “No work, no school, and no shopping.” From Minnesota, we get firsthand accounts from Aminah Sheikh, a union organizer and an active member and executive board member of Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America, and Nick Estes, an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and an Associate Professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Hosted and produced by Maximillian Alvarez. Post-production by Stephen Frank.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!