The Intercept Briefing

News from the White House this week has been like a twisted mash up of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Macbeth, Project Runway and a Mr. Bean movie. Dime-store Sopranos reject Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just 10 days as White House communications director. Reince Priebus is out as chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly is in. And with spiking tensions between the United States and North Korea, we reflect on the history of the region. Plus, The Intercept’s Naomi Klein talks to U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn about the lessons the Democratic Party could learn from Corbyn’s unexpected electoral success. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With all the constant hype about Russia, you’d think we were living in a new Cold War. This week on Intercepted: Glenn Greenwald fills in for Jeremy Scahill, and we take a deep dive into the origins and evolution of the Trump-Russia story. Fox News' Tucker Carlson and Glenn find something they can actually agree on (the Democratic establishment’s Russia hysteria), but diverge on Tucker’s coverage of immigration and crime. Russian-American writer Masha Gessen explains how conspiracy thinking is a mirror of the leaders we put in power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump enjoyed playing fireman and asking where the fire is. Hint: all around you, Mr. President. This week on Intercepted: the famed rebel academic, Alfred McCoy, whose book on narcotrafficking the CIA tried to stop from being published, lays out his meticulously argued theory that the U.S. empire will fall by the year 2030. The Washington Post’s media columnist, Margaret Sullivan, talks about Trump ratcheting up the war on whistleblowers and the existence of a free press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Intercepted: Don Jr. is in the shit throne over a secret meeting he had with a Russian lawyer. Could this be, as many in the media are claiming, the smoking gun of Russia collusion? Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald weighs in and debunks a forged NSA document sent to Rachel Maddow. Intercept reporters Alice Speri and Alleen Brown talk about the shadowy mercenary company TigerSwan. We also hear music from Victoria Ruiz of the punk band Downtown Boys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump said when it comes to health insurance, he would cover everyone. He lied. Meanwhile the Crown Prince of America, Jared Kushner, and Mohammed Bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, play house with foreign policy. This week: Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan fills in for Jeremy Scahill. Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain and journalist Rula Jebreal discuss the global consequences of the House of Trump’s meddling in the Middle East. Historian Tom Holland joins Mehdi for a debate on the role of Islam within the Islamic State. Plus, actor Bill Camp reprises his role as the “SIGINT Philosopher.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While all eyes in Washington remain focused on the Russia investigation, a Republican firm forgot to secure its invasive personal data on 198 million American voters. This week on Intercepted: We speak to radical librarian Alison Macrina of the Library Freedom Project about the fight against digital surveillance. Sam Biddle gives an update on attacks on U.S. voting systems. And, we speak with one of the rising stars of the “dirtbag left,” Felix Biederman of Chapo Trap House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has a great affinity for strongmen and for unquestioned loyalty of those who work for him. This week on Intercepted: Trump’s besties in Saudi Arabia convinced him that Qatar is the premiere Arab nation sponsoring terrorism. Amnesty International’s Sherine Tadros and al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan analyze the hypocrisy-laden, bizarre crisis. Jeremy discusses the prosecution of an alleged NSA leaker. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes talks Russia, Trump, the media and his new book A Colony in a Nation. DJ Spooky imagines a Trump-inspired mash-up of Dante’s Inferno and Disco Inferno. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Green Party’s Jill Stein has been widely attacked by Democrats simply for running for president. Some blame her for Hillary Clinton’s loss. This week, Stein strikes back at her critics and reveals the story behind the infamous Moscow dinner where she was seated with Vladimir Putin and Gen. Michael Flynn. The Intercept’s DC bureau chief Ryan Grim digs into the contents of a newly published top secret NSA document outlining alleged Russian cyberattacks against software companies that service U.S. elections. And singer-songwriter Damien Jurado performs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the scandal spotlight shines on Trump’s influential (and strangely quiet) son-in-law. We talk to national security correspondent Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast about Jared Kushner’s alleged meetings with Russian officials to establish back channel communications. Organizer and scholar Mariame Kaba offers a people’s history of prisons in the US and the politicians—both Democrats and Republicans—who have made them what they are today. And we hear an incredible rendition 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.

This week, Donald Trump stood in a sea of tyrants and joined in a bizarre group petting of a glowing white orb. Professor As’ad AbuKhalil dissects Trump’s summit in Saudi Arabia and the role Trump’s friends in the Middle East play in fueling such horrors as the attack on Manchester. The Intercept’s new DC bureau chief, Ryan Grim, and national security reporter Matthew Cole discuss Gen. Michael Flynn and whether anyone in the Trump administration realizes how insane their boss is. And Steve Earle performs live. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.