Reason Magazine senior editor Jacob Sullum talks to Scott about some of the latest coronavirus news. He comments on President Trump’s headline-making claim that he has the sole authority to decide if and when the economy would reopen, which Sullum asserts really belongs to the governors. Trump has backed away from his claim, but he still appears to support making progress toward reopening businesses sooner rather than later. Doing so would probably be a good thing, says Sullum, since the...

Scott talks with Ramzy Baroud about the ongoing crisis for Palestinians in the West Bank, and in particular in the Gaza Strip, who face forced confinement and military occupation as parts of their daily lives. Baroud is reminded of the partial quarantine most Americans are facing today because of the coronavirus pandemic, and has been taking the opportunity to tell his story—and the stories of many like him—who spent their childhoods under a kind of quarantine as refugees. While sympathizing...

Nasser Arrabyee brings us the latest on the war in Yemen, where he says that a supposed recent Saudi ceasefire has actually meant very little on the ground. Arrabyee thinks the announcement was nothing more than a public relations stunt. Despite the looming threat of coronavirus, as well as another outbreak of cholera with the rainy season around the corner, both of which threaten to make what is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis even more of a disaster, the western media seem to...

Scott talks to Colleen Moore about America’s withdrawal from global nuclear arms agreements under the Trump administration. Part of the reason for Trump’s keenness on pulling out of these agreements is his reputation as a tough negotiator who prioritizes America’s interest and won’t tolerate “bad deals,” but he’s also received nonstop allegations from the left for four years that he’s a Russian puppet, which makes it very difficult to try to make peace with them. Luckily, nuclear arms...

Gareth Porter discusses the parallels between the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the 1918 Spanish Flu. Though it’s commonly called “Spanish Flu” Porter reminds us that it really originated in Kansas, where it was first spread to American troops at a training base, and then to Europe via the U.S. Army, before finally coming back to the United States in a much deadlier form. If the U.S. hadn’t entered the war and sent thousands of men overseas in cramped ships and trenches, the flu never would...

Tom Woods gives his thoughts on the government response to the coronavirus and the economic fallout that is likely to come afterward. Scott and Woods discuss the bizarre division along political lines of opinions about the severity of the virus, the proper response, and even the effectiveness of possible treatments. Both agree that Americans need to know the metrics by which they will be allowed to leave their homes and go back to work. Making a new, vague announcement about the shutdown every...

Scott talks to Ray McGovern about the heroic Julian Assange, who is still languishing in solitary confinement during his extradition trial to the U.S. on charges that he coordinated with Chelsea Manning to steal classified documents from the U.S. government. McGovern reminds us of how many important truths have been exposed to the American people thanks to WikiLeaks, and wonders what calamities could have been avoided had WikiLeaks been around sooner, such as 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. In...

Scott talks to Chip Gibbons about his research into FBI spying on nonviolent pro-Palestinian activist groups. Although these activists are made out to be dangerous terrorist sympathizers, Gibbons says that the actual evidence against them amounts to criminalization of political speech and some very questionable guilt by association. Unfortunately, these abuses of surveillance power are far from rare, as the FBI has almost no oversight from other branches of government. Political will to reform...

Jeff Deist discusses the political responses to the coronavirus, varying on a state-by-state level from complete lockdown to nearly complete normalcy. Deist says this is an example of federalism actually working, since beyond issuing recommendations and printing money, there isn’t all that much the federal government can do to enforce policies across the entire country. Deist fears the negative economic ramifications of both the way the virus has shut down major parts of the economy and the...

Daniel Lazare talks about the grave danger facing the U.S. military of coronavirus sweeping through environments like infantry barracks, submarines, and aircraft carries with almost no possibility for social distancing and quarantine. Already the spread of the virus has clustered around military bases in the U.S. The same could happen at our bases in the Middle East, which is already one of the hardest hit regions in the world. Scott hopes that a silver lining of the virus will be a widespread...

Scott interviews Tommy Salmons about what life is like for truck drivers these days. Salmons describes dealing with longer hours, different routes and products, deserted truck stops and empty roads. Scott reminds everyone just how important it is that people like Salmons are still out there doing their jobs so that most of us can stay home in relative safety. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike...

Christine Ahn talks about U.S. relations with North Korea in light of the global coronavirus outbreak. President Trump made what in Ahn’s mind was a very good move when he offered to help North Korea in any way he can a few weeks ago. Some members of his administration, however, have continued to support a maximum pressure sanctions policy, which already hurts North Korean civilians and is bound to make things even worse during a serious public health crisis. The good news is that both North...

David Stockman pulls back the curtain on congress’ recent multi-trillion dollar bailout package, which, although billed as emergency aid for individuals actually allocates most of the money to various special interests on both sides of the aisle, including millions for the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center, Public Broadcasting and the Department of Education. Beyond the bailout, Stockman says this shutdown of almost the entire economy is a disastrous overreaction, given what he thinks is a...

Jason Ditz talks about escalating tensions in Iraq, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and the murmurings of another attempt by the U.S. to put Juan Guaido in power in Venezuela. Scott and Ditz are stunned that America keeps making the same foreign policy mistakes over and over again. Scott sees a real opportunity for a politician like Bernie Sanders to make these topics a leading issue, given that nobody else talks about them and that the American people, when asked, are mostly on the...