The Intercept Briefing

We're off this week, but we'll be back with a new episode of Intercepted on July 25th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, 33, is running for governor of Michigan on a campaign of creating a single-payer health care system, raising the minimum wage to $15, legalizing marijuana, and a sweeping overhaul of the state’s criminal justice system. He discusses his campaign, his views on the Democratic Party, the Flint water catastrophe, and why he believes he can accomplish his agenda despite the powerful right-wing forces in Michigan politics. As the internment of immigrant families continues, we revisit Scahill's 2017 conversation with educator and organizer Mariame Kaba. She retraces the evolution of the U.S. prison system, from convict leasing to three-strikes law, and the devastating generational impact these policies have disproportionately had on black and brown communities.Filmmaker Michelle Latimer discusses her new documentary "Nuuca," a nuanced exploration of the brutal transformation that oil extraction brought to one North Dakotan community. The film follows three young indigenous women who struggle with an influx of men and rising rates of sexual abuse, rape, and kidnappings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legendary reporter Seymour Hersh on what he thinks of Donald Trump, his analysis of the Trump/Russia story, and some wild stories from his new memoir, “Reporter.” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt recounts the latest on the immigrant families that are being ripped apart and separated indefinitely, and shares personal stories of the victims he represents in a nationwide class action suit against the Trump administration. Activist Mariame Kaba explains the historical foundations of the American carceral state and calls for the abolition of ICE and the prison industrial complex. Multimedia artist and rapper Yassin Alsalman, better known by Narcy, performs an original spoken word and premieres his new song, “Yemenade.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Intercept’s Ryan Devereaux talks about his recent reporting in the border state of Arizona and paints a harrowing picture of the human toll of family separations by ICE. Alice Speri lays out her investigation of sexual abuse by ICE officers and contractors in immigration detention centers. Sohail Daulatzai discusses his new book," With Stones in Our Hands: Writings on Muslims, Racism and Empire," and explains why the film "The Battle of Algiers" is still relevant more than 50 years since its release. The legendary resistance singer Barbara Dane shares stories from her 91 years on earth fighting militarism, racism, and economic injustice. Plus, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen competes on Jeopardy! and we hear a cover of “The Partisan” from composers and musicians Leo Heiblum of Mexico and Tenzin Choegyal of Tibet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As TV pundits gasped at the sight of the North Korean and U.S. flags side by side and Trump treating Kim Jong-un as an “equal,” most Koreans supported the summit. UC Santa Cruz professor Christine Hong talks about the significance of this moment, how the U.S. has sabotaged peace in the past and what an end to the war might look like. Tom Engelhardt, editor of TomDispatch, shares an essay on American militarism from his new book "A Nation Unmade by War." Journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal explains why the U.S. healthcare system is so bad and how Trump and the Republicans are trying to make it even worse. Musical artist Yasmine Hamdan shares her thoughts on war, the Middle East, Trump, and her groundbreaking music. Plus, Trump stops by Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 While Paul Manafort enjoyed the comforts of his Hamptons mansion on house arrest, Winner was denied bond, kept in a jail and has been subjected to a public smear campaign by Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department. She was the first whistleblower charged under President Trump and her treatment is unprecedented. Former drone technician-turned-whistleblower Lisa Ling talks about the campaign to free Winner. Trevor Timm of Freedom of the Press Foundation breaks down how the government is stripping Winner of her right to a fair trial. The Intercept’s Peter Maass highlights the injustice and hypocrisy of her treatment. Intercept editor in chief Betsy Reed and reporter Sam Biddle talk about the top secret NSA document she allegedly leaked, the irony of the media silence about Winner’s treatment, and why First Look Media is funding her defense. To support Reality Winner's legal defense fund, click here.Come see Intercepted live in Brooklyn, NY on June 21 with featured guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh. Tickets are now available. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have become authoritarian shock forces, operating with impunity, ripping children from their parents’ arms, and enforcing the anti-immigrant edicts of Trump and Sessions. But the horrors did not start with Trump. This week on Intercepted: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is challenging one of the most powerful Democrats in the country for his Congressional seat. She is running on a platform of social and economic justice and she has called for ICE to be abolished. Professor Eddie Glaude Jr. of Princeton on white supremacy and law enforcement, the “rot” in the establishment Democratic Party, and Trump’s obsession with Black athletes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Allan Nairn analyzes Trump's rise to power, the agenda of the extremist Republican Party, and dissects the latest on the Trump/Russia investigation. Author and retired psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Kaye discusses the U.S. Army Field Manual and its Appendix M. This document is the current U.S. policy on the treatment of foreign detainees. Kaye explains why some of its currently “approved” tactics are torture. Syrian journalist Marwan Hisham and artist Molly Crabapple discuss their new book, "Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War." Plus, the bizarre and frightening story of how the CIA created a shellfish toxin dart gun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Blacklisted academic Norman Finkelstein discusses his meticulous, scholarly documentation of the collective punishment of Gaza, “the largest concentration camp in the world.” The son of two Nazi concentration camp survivors, Finkelstein is an incendiary academic whose work has infuriated the Israeli government for decades. His latest book, "Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom," has not been reviewed in a single U.S. newspaper. He talks about the latest massacre in Gaza, the history of US support for Israel’s war crimes and why he believes Iran is out-maneuvering Netanyahu. Sen. Ron Wyden, a longtime member of the Intelligence Committee, blasts the CIA propaganda campaign in support of Haspel and accuses the Republicans of engaging in a secret confirmation process. Jeremy also asks Wyden if he believes CIA personnel involved with torture should be criminally prosecuted, what he thinks of Edward Snowden and why James Clapper, Obama’s director of national intelligence, was never charged with perjury. Plus, Jared Kushner speaks a little too much truth at the Jerusalem embassy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a bipartisan gaggle of spies and politicians lobby for Gina Haspel to become CIA director, we look at how after World War II, the U.S. and its allies prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American POWs. Journalist Matt Taibbi talks about Trump, Russia, Putin, Stormy Daniels and the liberal embrace of authoritarianism. Sarah Jaffe reports on the teachers’ strikes across the U.S., the fight for unions and the rebellion of low wage workers. Former Goldman Sachs and Bear Sterns executive Nomi Prins talks about central banks, the Federal Reserve and economic neoliberalism. Plus, Melania Trump launches a campaign to educate her husband. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.