The Intercept Briefing

Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik talks about the “ghoulish routine” in the media and among politicians that increasingly emerges in the aftermath of massacres of Muslims by white supremacists. The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain explains why, as a non-white Western Muslim, he felt compelled to analyze the “manifesto” of the shooter. University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew, author of “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America,” discusses the history of white power movements and why she draws a distinction between white power and white supremacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Famed civil rights lawyer Flint Taylor discusses his 13 year struggle for justice for Fred Hampton, his work in exposing the torture program in Chicago that was unleashed on black men, and his career fighting against violent corrupt cops, the city of Chicago, and J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. Taylor’s new memoir is called "The Torture Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago." Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union talks about the expansion of drone strikes under Trump, how Obama paved the way for his successor, and what we might expect from Attorney General William Barr. Meghan McCain is not Jewish, but she is accusing a Jewish comic artist of creating “one of the most anti-semitic things” she has ever seen: a cartoon about her hypocrisy in attacking Ilhan Omar and appropriating Jewish suffering. Artist Eli Valley talks about why he drew it and why he believes McCain’s attacks on his cartoon proves the very point he was making. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and Russiagate critic Aaron Maté presents his dissenting analysis, what he believes is behind the investigation, and how the scandal has distracted from other urgent issues. We hear a speech from professor Shoshana Zuboff, author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power.”As the Trump administration intensifies its air war in Somalia, journalist Harun Maruf, author of “Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al-Qaeda’s Most Powerful Ally," discusses the war in Somalia and the seldom mentioned history of how the George W. Bush administration helped overthrow the only force that had brought peace to Somalia since the early 1990s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

California Rep. Ro Khanna tells us he is ready to invoke the War Powers Act in an effort to stop military action in Venezuela. New York Times reporter Charlie Savage discusses the rise of the unitary executive theory and how Attorney General William Barr could impact the Trump scandals and U.S. national security policy.Carol Rosenberg, the only journalist covering the Guantanamo prison and trials full-time, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation. She discusses 17 years of reporting, controversies around prosecuting detainees, and the evidence that Haspel's covert career included a stint at GTMO.  Jordan Carver, the author of “Spaces of Disappearance: the Architecture of Extraordinary Rendition,” takes us on an audio journey mapping the covert CIA program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Venezuela scholar George Ciccariello-Maher and journalist Kim Ives discuss recent developments and examine the massive protests rocking Haiti’s U.S.-backed president. The Intercept’s Jon Schwarz details the bloody and murderous career of Elliott Abrams, the man now in charge of U.S.-Venezuela operations. And journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous explains the failed revolution in Egypt and outlines U.S.-backed dictator General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s plot to make himself president for life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially endorses the attempted coup in Venezuela, joining forces with Donald Trump and his posse of neoconservatives. Venezuela’s Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Ron responds to the threats of military action, the reports about covert U.S. activity in the country, and discusses the impact of the sanctions on Venezuela. Former United Nations rapporteur Alfred de Zayas is accusing the U.S. of attempting to “asphyxiate” Venezuela with economic warfare and says the U.S. should be investigated by the International Criminal Court. Zayas wrote a UN report on Venezuela in late 2018 that was scathing in its assessment of U.S. policy towards Venezuela under both Obama and Trump. He talks about what he found during his investigation. And we go inside the mind of journalist Sam Husseini who tried to ask convicted criminal Elliott Abrams about his past and the present U.S. lies about Venezuela. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump received big bipartisan applause at his State of the Union.Vijay Prashad discusses the state of imperialism in the world, the battle for Venezuela, India’s upcoming election, and the history of U.S. dirty operations across the globe. As right-wing media and politicians have gone berserk over the FBI raid on the home of Trump crony, Roger Stone, whistleblower Reality Winner remains behind bars. The Intercept’s Peter Maass discusses the hypocrisy surrounding the two cases and we hear excerpts from the recent play, “Is This A Room: Reality Winner Verbatim Transcription,” created by Tina Satter. The play is based entirely on the verbatim transcript of the FBI interrogation of Winner the day she was arrested. Plus, a sneak peak at the new film Donald Trump’s Day Off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Investigative journalist Allan Nairn talks about the history of U.S. crimes in Central America, the time he told Abrams, on national television, he should stand trial for war crimes and the threat of U.S. military action in Venezuela. Former adviser to Hugo Chavez, Eva Golinger, and journalist and educator Roberto Lovato discuss how Venezuela was thrust into economic crisis, who is responsible, and what Washington really wants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re presenting a podcast special from our Intercept colleagues in DC. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins Intercept reporters Ryan Grim and Briahna Joy Gray for an in-depth conversation about her fresh approach to politics, her thoughts on 2020, and her insurgent congressional campaign. As a new member of the House Financial Services Committee, she’s already shaping the conversation with her call to raise the top marginal tax rate to 70%. And former North Carolina congressman Brad Miller, a progressive Democrat who served for years on the committee, joins the conversation to talk about the challenges Ocasio-Cortez will face there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Longtime investigative journalist Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News analyzes the Buzzfeed News bombshell report that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to cover up a planned Trump Tower in Moscow. Robert Mueller is disputing the report and Isikoff offers his own critique of the story and what we know to be true thus far. Popular economist and adviser to Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign Stephanie Kelton talks about Modern Monetary Theory, the lies told by Republicans and Democrats about deficits, and whether young workers will ever get Social Security benefits. Los Angeles public school teachers appear to have won some major victories as a result of their historic strike. We speak to Noriko Nakada, an 8th grade English teacher at Emerson Middle School in LA, and labor journalist Sarah Jaffe, who covered the strike for The Nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.