Background Briefing with Ian Masters

Ian Masters
undefined
Oct 26, 2025 • 1h 4min

October 26, 2025 - Sean Wilentz | Sidney Blumenthal | Timothy Shenk

Dwarfing the White House, Trump's Monstrous Monument to His Ego Will be an Enduring Insult From the Worst President in Our History That Will Torment Us For the Ages | The Criminal Takeover of America as Trump Punishes His Enemies and Pardons His Friends While Rewarding Himself, His Family and His Cronies | Democrats Must Run With a Liberal/Populist Coalition to Improve the Lives of Americans Not Remind us How Bad Trump is  backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 23, 2025 • 1h 3min

October 23, 2025 - David Faris | Richard Briffault | Tamar Jacoby

How Blue States Can Defend Themselves Against the Divisive Partisan Warfare Trump is Waging Against Them | The White House is Being Trashed to Build a Massive Monument to the Worst President in Our History | A Report From Kyiv on Whether Europe's Tough Talk on Russia Will Translate Into Action backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 22, 2025 • 1h 2min

October 22, 2025 - Jared Abbott | Robert McElvaine | Priya Jain

Although the Oysterman in Maine is Imploding and Senator Fetterman is a Disappointment, Authentic Populist Democratic Candidates Are Emerging on the Left | Disturbing Similarities With Today's Wall Street Bubble and the 1929 Crash | A Wakeup Call as the People's House is Torn Down to Build a Gilded Palace backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 21, 2025 • 1h 3min

October 21, 2025 - David Cay Johnston | James Zirin | William LeoGrande

Trump Tears Down the East Wing For a Gilded Ballroom While Washington's Government Workers Aren't Getting Paid | Trump's Judges Overturn District Court Rulings For Troops to Intimidate Portland and Chicago | Will Trump Attack Venezuela to Please Little Marco? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 20, 2025 • 1h 6min

October 20, 2025 - Van Gosse | Dr. Annelle Sheline | Kim Lane Scheppele

Trump's Outlandish Vulgarity Has Support in the GOP and Deep Roots in American Politics | Witkoff and Kushner in Israel to Plug Holes in the israel/Hamas Peace Plan With VP Vance Arriving tomorrow For More Damage Control | The Contentious Trump/Zelensky Meeting at Which Trump Parroted Putin's Talking Points and Russian Propaganda backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 19, 2025 • 1h 13min

October 19, 2025 - John Nichols | Joe Feagin | Stephen Kinzer

Resistance to Trump is Growing With 2,600 No Kings Protests Across America | In Spite of JD Vance's Craven Lies, Group Chat Reveals Trump's Appeal to Young Republican Racists, Misogynists and Even Incels | Signs that Trump and Rubio's Plan To Use Military Force Against Venezuela Are Behind the Head of Southcom Stepping Down backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 16, 2025 • 1h 4min

October 16, 2025 - Michael Kimmage | David Smilde | Kenneth Vogel

Trump and Putin to Meet in Budapest Soon For Another Summit After the Alaska Fiasco | Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Action Against Venezuela Announcing "We Are Looking at Land Now" | Friends and Relatives of Our Political Leaders Cash in on Dirty Money From Disreputable Despots backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 15, 2025 • 1h 3min

October 15, 2025 - David Daley | Dustin Wahl | Richard P. Swanson

SCOTUS Appears Poised To Gut the Voting Rights Act Again to Give Republicans 10 to 12 New House Seats at the Expense of Black Voters Before Votes Are Cast in the Midterms | Younger Candidates Challenging the Gerontocracy Ruling Our Politics | The Weak and Vindictive Case Trump Has Ginned Up Against Leticia James backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 14, 2025 • 1h 2min

October 14, 2025 - Asher Kaufman | Harold Meyerson | Nina Burleigh

Hamas Moves to Assert Control Over Gaza Making the Prospect of an Arab/Muslim Police Force Taking Over Dubious While Trump, Miller and Vance's Demonization of the American Left is Ludicrous, We Look Into Rifts Between the Fundis and the Realos | How Far Will the Country Sink Into the Trump Abyss of Corruption, Venality, Malevolence and Vulgarity? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
undefined
Oct 13, 2025 • 1h 2min

October 13, 2025 - Aaron David Miller | Sarah Leah Whitson | Paul Pillar

A Veteran Middle East Negotiator on the Gaza Peace Deal and Trump's Middle East Peace Plan | The Absence of Palestinian Representatives in the Peace Deal and Reconstruction Plans Underway | So Far So Good But Can All the Benchmarks Be Met? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app