Deconstructed

Julian Assange's impending extradition to the United States could set a dangerous new precedent in international law by allowing powerful governments to demand the handing-over of foreign journalists who publish information they deem damaging to their interests. Ryan Grim discusses the Assange case with Kevin Gosztola of Shadowproof. Then, Dana Gottesfeld describes the plight of her husband Martin, a hacker and human rights activist currently serving time at a prison in Indiana, similar to the one Assange could end up in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fears are growing, stoked by the president’s own comments, that he will refuse to peacefully leave office should he lose the election in November. How concerned should we be, and what can we do to make sure we’re prepared? Joshua Geltzer, Georgetown law professor and a former member of President Obama’s National Security Council, joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the US economy was spiralling out of control in 2008 and 2009, economist James Galbraith predicted that an insufficiently large stimulus would lead to a prolonged recession. He was right, and today he has a different set of economic prescriptions to address the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19. If Biden wins, will he listen? Senior politics editor Nausicaa Renner talks to Galbraith about his recent piece for The Intercept. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Progressive candidates won big in this week’s Rhode Island primaries, thanks in large part to an array of left-wing organising groups that have sprung up there in the last few years to promote candidates for state and local office. One of the week’s winners was Cynthia Mendes, who defeated the State Senate Finance Chair. Ryan Grim talks to Mendes about her victory. Then, Daniel Denvir of Reclaim Rhode Island explains the organising strategies that made it happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week all eyes were on a pair of hard-fought Democratic primaries in Massachusetts. Senator Ed Markey staved off a primary challenge from Joe Kennedy III, while the progressive mayor of Holyoke, Alex Morse, lost his bid to replace Congressman Richard Neal. Morse was dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct levelled at him by the Massachusetts College Democrats, which he was unable to shake off even after they were shown by The Intercept to be an unfounded smear campaign. Markey and Morse were both backed by the youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement. Sunrise leaders Evan Weber and Alex O’Keefe join Ryan Grim to discuss the lessons of this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

QAnon is a far-ranging conspiracy theory that alleges, among other things, that a patriotic Trump supporter (or supporters) embedded in the highest levels of the U.S. government has been using internet forums to send coded messages to the American public about a secret plan to arrest and/or execute a global cabal of child-torturing, blood-drinking, satan-worshipping pedophiles. Despite its self-evident implausibility, the mantle of QAnon has been taken up by a huge number of mostly right-wing Americans, including a shocking number of Republican politicians. Guest host Ryan Grim talks to Aída Chávez and the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer about the future of Q. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, The Democrats broadcast their nominating convention from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it was a largely virtual affair, with generally well-reviewed speeches from leading party figures like Barack and Michelle Obama, the Clintons, and Elizabeth Warren. Other than a speech by Bernie Sanders and a 1-minute cameo by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, though, the party’s left wing was largely shut out. Missouri congressional candidate Cori Bush and Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor join Mehdi Hasan to discuss the convention and the prospects for Democrats in the Fall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been two years since the peak of public outcry over the Trump administration’s decision to begin separating the children of unauthorized migrant families from their parents. Yet the massive crisis that policy spawned remains arguably the darkest chapter in Donald Trump’s very dark presidency. MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff has been back and forth from the border and central America covering the family separation saga since it began, a story he chronicles in his new book Separated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deep down, are humans really selfish, brutal, and cruel? For much of the last century the most famous experiments in social science, from the Stanford prison experiment to the Stanley Milgram electric shock study have purported to prove that we all have a monster lurking just behind a carefully crafted social veneer.In his new book Humankind: A Hopeful History, Dutch historian and author Rutger Bregman aims to shed new light on this idea by examining the latest social science research, knocking over some of the discipline’s sacred cows in the process. The book offers hopeful answers to anyone looking for a way forward in this era of political turmoil and confusion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s Democratic primaries in Kentucky, New York, and Virginia saw a number of progressive challengers defeating moderate or establishment rivals. Of particular note were the victories of two insurgent candidates in New York: Jamaal Bowman, who defeated 16-term incumbent Eliot Engel, and Mondaire Jones, who triumphed over a crowded field in the 17th district to become one of the first openly gay black men ever elected to congress. Jones joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss his victory. Then, Intercept DC Bureau Chief Ryan Grim joins Mehdi to place this week’s elections in historical context. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.