After this week’s runoff elections in Colombia, former Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro is set to become the South American country’s first leftist president. Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, director for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America, joins Ryan Grim to discuss what Petro’s election means and how it happened. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the Biden era, progressive groups in Washington have increasingly found themselves paralyzed by internal tumult at the very moment when their efforts are needed to push the more ambitious elements of the president’s agenda through Congress. Behind the scenes, the leaders of these groups express frustration with the organizational culture wrought by their younger employees and fear of becoming embroiled in a “callout” scandal. Ryan Grim talks with The Intercept’s Nausicaa Renner about his new story on the subject.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the select Committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the capitol began hearings. We thought this would be a good time to revisit the interviews we did after January 6th, 2021. First, Ryan spoke with photographer Jon Farina and reporter Matt Fuller, who were reporting from inside the Capitol that day. Then he spoke to Rep. Pramila Jayapal about her experiences during the attack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her new book, “Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It,” Maine state Sen. Chloe Maxmin tackles one of the most pressing problems confronting the modern Democratic Party: how to reverse its decadeslong backslide in rural support. Maxmin and her co-author and campaign manager Canyon Woodward join Ryan Grim to discuss.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In March, the Commerce Department announced that it would be investigating Chinese solar firms suspected of illegally dumping low-cost panels onto the international market. Some of the same companies are also suspected of employing Uyghur forced labor in making their products. That announcement has gotten <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/11/1097644931/solar-panels-solar-power-u-s-investigates-china-trade-rules">pushback</a> from even President Joe Biden’s close allies, who worry that new tariffs on Chinese solar imports will harm the U.S. solar industry. Ryan gets Senator Elizabeth Warren's thoughts on the trade war, then talks with Lori Wallach, director of Rethink Trade at the American Economic Liberties Project.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Progressive Democrats scored a number of high-profile wins in the Pennsylvania primaries this week. State Rep. Summer Lee seems poised to win her race in the blue-leaning 12th District and become the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress; meanwhile, Izzy Smith-Wade-El, associated with the grassroots group Lancaster Stands Up in southern Pennsylvania, won his Democratic primary for a seat in the state legislature. Smith-Wade-El joins Ryan Grim to talk about what Pennsylvania’s apparent left-wing surge means for the midterms.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As their country’s economic crisis continues to spiral out of control, Afghans are finding themselves forced to resort to increasingly desperate measures just to get enough food for their families. The crisis is driven by the US refusal to release frozen Afghan central bank reserves, a measure that might restore some semblance of normalcy to the economy. Afghan journalist Masood Shnizai rejoins the podcast to discuss the situation in his country.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early days of the pandemic, the theory that Covid-19 may have originated in a virology lab was often dismissed as a xenophobic right-wing conspiracy theory. Over the intervening months and years, new information has cast a different light on the idea. Reporters Katherine Eban, Mara Hvistendahl, and Sharon Lerner join Ryan Grim to discuss the lab-leak theory.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this evening, Politico reported on what appears to be a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court striking down Roe V. Wade. In light of the news, we're re-running our interview with Ilyse Hogue of NARAL Pro-Choice from October 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, after nearly 1,000 days of arbitrary detention, the environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger was released from house arrest. On this week’s podcast, Donziger talks to Intercept investigative reporter Sharon Lerner and Ryan Grim about his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/01/29/chevron-ecuador-lawsuit-steven-donziger/">decadelong legal battle</a> with Chevron over land contamination in Ecuador. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.