Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern discusses how president-elect Trump's political appointments could derail what is shaping up to be an improvement in Russia relations and in Middle East policy - particularly in Syria; and Trump's negatives, including his approval of torture as an interrogation practice, which is now generally accepted by Americans brainwashed by Jack Bauer.

Ramzy Baroud, editor of The Palestine Chronicle, discusses Israel's attempt to ban the Islamic call to prayer in Palestinian communities, on the grounds that the 1400-year old tradition creates "noise pollution."

Mark Thornton, Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute, discusses what president-elect Donald Trump's economic and monetary policies are likely to be, considering his Reagan-like promises to increase government spending on the military and infrastructure, cut taxes, and raise interest rates.

Patrick Cockburn, an award-winning writer with The Independent, discusses the imminent battles for Tal Afar and Mosul in Iraq - as senior Isis leaders leave for Syria, Turkey threatens to intervene on behalf of Sunni Turkmen, and Donald Trump is confronted with his first foreign policy crisis before he even takes office.

Andrew Cockburn, author of Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins, discusses his article "The New Red Scare: Reviving the art of threat inflation;" and how the military-industrial-congressional complex is likely to derail Trump's efforts to deescalate tensions with Russia.

Gareth Porter, author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, discusses the similarities between the Russian/Syrian bombing of Aleppo, the 2003 US bombing of Iraq, and Israel's 2014 bombing of Gaza; and Obama's apparent change in Syria policy as he targets Jabhat al-Nusra - a formidable opponent of Assad.

Historian and author Jim Powell commemorates Armistice Day by discussing how Woodrow Wilson's intervention in WWI gave rise to Hitler, Stalin, and WWII; then summarizes the 2,000 year history of the triumph of liberty - led by 65 revolutionary men and women who greatly advanced the cause of freedom.

Ted Snider, a writer on US foreign policy and history, discusses his article "The End of Obama's Term: A Report Card on Latin America;" and why the lone bright spot, despite Obama's promise to change the way America does business with Latin America, is Cuba relations.

David Swanson, author of War is a Lie, discusses his article "How Drone Pilots Talk;" and the RootsAction.org initiative to tell the next president "No more war!"

Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses how Turkey has become a destabilizing force in the Near East under increasingly-authoritarian president Erdogan, creating a risk of military entanglement for the US and NATO.

Sandy Tolan, author of Children of the Stone, discusses why Native Americans and activists across the country are demonstrating against the Dakota Access oil pipeline, and the crackdown against them by militarized police.

James Carden, a contributing writer for The Nation and former advisor on Russia at the US State Department, discusses how the Washington DC foreign policy consensus, locked down by neoconservatives and Wilsonian liberal interventionists, stopped Obama from following through on his campaign pledges to end the Iraq War, broker peace in Israel-Palestine, and improve relations with Russia.

Liza Goitein, Co-Director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Program, discusses her report on "The New Era of Secret Law" in the US, including the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel's secret interpretations of existing laws against torture and the FISA Court's secret authorization of NSA bulk collection of phone records.

Jeffrey Kaye, a psychologist and writer on torture, discusses the latest developments in the ACLU's lawsuit (on behalf of former Guantanamo detainees) against James Elmer Mitchell and John "Bruce" Jessen, the psychologists who designed the CIA's post-9/11 torture program.

Max Blumenthal, author of Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel, discusses his two-part investigative series on the organizations running a sophisticated PR campaign to win Western public support for Syrian regime-change, and why most of the Left has fallen for it.