Chris Hellman, Senior Research Analyst at the National Priorities Project, discusses his article "The Shadowy Boondoggle That Is 'Homeland Security;'" the totalitarian and un-American nature of the word "homeland;" the bureaucratic nightmare of our national security apparatus; and the difficulty of auditing the government's vast expenditures.

Jacob Hornberger, founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his weekly The Libertarian Angle webcast with co-host Sheldon Richman; the palty "sequestration" mandatory spending cuts; how Americans are kept in constant fear about one existential threat after another, forever deferring authority to the government; dismantling the Cold War military machine; and plans to contain China from US military bases in Vietnam.

Tim Johnson, Mexico City bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, discusses the huge numbers of "disappeared" and dead Mexicans during former President Felipe Calderon's six years in office; Calderon's use of the army to fight domestic crime and drug cartels; and the Latin American leaders having second thoughts about the war on drugs - especially after marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado.

Lawyer and activist Kevin Zeese discusses Bradley Manning's statement to the military court at Fort Meade, in which he accepted responsibility for his actions and defended his whistleblowing motives; Manning's guilty plea to a limited number of the charges against him; and why the government's case against WikiLeaks looks weaker than ever.

Barbara Slavin, Washington correspondent for Al-Monitor, discusses the minor progress made during Iran-P5+1 talks in Kazakhstan; contradictions between UN Security Council resolutions and Iran's NPT rights and obligations; why Iran - if it has nothing to hide - should comply with all IAEA demands; and why Iran needs to prove a negative (that it doesn't have a nuclear weapons program), while trustworthy countries like Japan have no such burden.

Philip Giraldi, Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, discusses his article "Who's Turning Syria's Civil War Into a Jihad;" Saudi Arabia and Qatar's defensive response to the Arab spring; how John Kerry and Chuck Hagel will impact the Obama administration's foreign policy; and the stupid and selfish decisions of officers and policy makers that get ordinary soldiers killed - as cataloged in Jake Tapper's new book.

Jeffrey Carr, founder and CEO of Taia Global Inc., discusses why information security (InfoSec) companies are quick to blame China - often with little evidence - for hacking/espionage operations; Mandiant's weak case against Chinese hacker group "A.P.T. Number 12" for infiltrating the New York Times; and why critical thinking leads to the truth more often than the "gut feelings" of experts.

Trevor Timm of the Electronic Frontier Foundation discusses how the Freedom of the Press Foundation provides a fundraising medium for investigative journalism projects and controversial media organizations like WikiLeaks; the opposition to police surveillance drones in the US; the ominous Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) bill; and Google's record on information sharing and privacy.

Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, authors of Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran, discuss the obstacles to successful P5+1 talks; why the US still refuses to accept the Iranian government's legitimacy - even after 33+ years; why the Obama administration's Iran "containment" policy isn't sustainable; how Iran's "participatory Islamist" style of government and defiant foreign policy are inspiring people across the Middle East - and scaring...

Yousaf Butt, Research Professor and Scientist-in-residence at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation, discusses his article "Iran centrifuge magnet story technically questionable;" why the mainstream media continues to publish David Albright's false and misleading anti-Iran stories; the IAEA's duty to help - not obstruct - Iran with technical challenges in the production of civilian nuclear energy; and why countries that refuse to give up their nuclear programs (N. Korea) fare better...