The Intercept Briefing

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.

Donald Trump is spectacularly bad at being president. This week on Intercepted, investigative journalist Marcy Wheeler and The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald analyze the latest insanity emanating from the White House. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tim Weiner and Intercept writer Trevor Aaronson discuss the firing of James Comey and debate his FBI legacy. And Palestinian author and journalist Rula Jebreal explains why President Trump is going to Saudi Arabia and Israel on his first international trip. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with FBI Director James Comey came to a shocking conclusion in Tuesday night’s episode of American shitshow. Glenn Greenwald analyzes Comey’s firing. Next week, Chelsea Manning will be freed from prison. We hear exclusive audio from her trial and talk to journalist Alexa O’Brien. And French civil liberties activist Yasser Louati says despite her defeat in the presidential election, many of Marine Le Pen’s ideas are already embedded in mainstream French politics. And a premiere track from hip-hop artists MC Sole and DJ Pain 1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.