Scott interviews Ted Carpenter about America’s dangerous Ukraine policy. Carpenter explains how ever since the Obama administration helped right-wing extremists in Western Ukraine overthrow the elected Russian-aligned government in 2014, the U.S. has been behaving as though it had the right to dictate policy all over Eastern Europe. Thus when Russia moves troops around at its bases on the Western border, the story becomes about Russia threatening our allies in Ukraine, and how the U.S. must be...

Jacob Sullum discusses the Biden administration's possible moves on gun control. Thanks to recent mass shootings, says Sullum, gun control is back in the public eye, resulting in some proposed new laws like background checks, increased "red flag" rules, an "assault weapons" ban and the reclassification of certain firearm accessories. Most of these laws, Sullum says, would do very little to reduce gun violence: most mass shooters, for instance, use common handguns—many also obtained them...

Danny Sjursen talks about the absurdity of the recent announcement that America is sending special forces troops to Mozambique, a country that he says has basically no strategic relevance to the United States whatsoever. Those who argue that this is only a dozen operatives who will stay less than two months, he says, don’t understand the way the U.S. military works. These operations always entail a vast number of support personnel and infrastructure, and they always find a way of exceeding...

Scott interviews Hassan El-Tayyab from the Friends Committee on National Legislation about the effort to end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Although the Biden administration announced an end to support for “offensive operations” in Yemen, thanks to the Saudi blockade of the Hodedah port, the country is still experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The UN has estimated that 400,000 children could starve to death in 2021—it’s entirely in the power of the U.S. government to...

Scott talks to Jay Schweikert about the promising developments in New Mexico, where a new state-wide law has been enacted that repeals qualified immunity as a legal defense for any public official. This is a similar move, says Schweikert, to legislation adopted recently in Colorado and New York City, but whereas in those places the new measures apply only to police officers, the New Mexico law covers all government employees. Scott and Schweikert consider this a great first step in eliminating...

Scott interviews national security attorney Jesselyn Radack about her work in the protection of whistleblowers. Daniel Hale, the man who leaked the so-called “drone papers” to the Intercept in 2014, has just pleaded guilty to violations of the Espionage Act in what Radack calls yet another travesty of justice. Because the Espionage Act, of course, has nothing to do with espionage. It’s never used to go after spies—or any real threat to the well-being of the American people—but only to...

Trita Parsi talks about the state of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump, of course, made a point of withdrawing from the JCPOA and increasing hostilities with Iran, deliberately parting ways with one of President Obama’s signature issues. But the Biden administration, says Parsi, seems serious about reestablishing diplomatic relationships with Iran, especially as they continue to demonstrate advanced nuclear capabilities. Contrary to the common narrative, Parsi explains,...

Scott talks to Peter Lee about the ongoing Uyghur controversy in China. The Chinese government, he says, is trying to integrate their minority Uyghur Muslim population, as part of their larger project to urbanize and centralize China. There is growing concern, especially on the American right, that these efforts represent an outright genocide, with claims of mass forced birth control and up to a million people in detention centers. These fears, Lee says, tend to be exaggerated—though what the...

Lyle J. Goldstein discusses the terrifying possibility of war between the U.S. and China. There are plenty of hawks in the U.S. government, he says, who might try to fight China were they to attack Taiwan or exert their influence elsewhere in the region. But even leaving aside the potential catastrophe of a nuclear war, Goldstein says American strategists don’t give enough credence to the possibility that China could now defeat the U.S. even in a conventional war. The entire doctrine of trying...

Scott interviews rapper Immortal Technique in a wide-ranging conversation covering the legacy of slavery in America, the false narrative about Palestine fed to most Americans and the ways that politics has become entwined in daily life like never before. He and Scott agree that the powerful have always deliberately played up the petty differences that divide us, hoping to separate and embitter people who should be natural allies. Social change is possible when regular citizens unite against...

Scott talks to Larry Wilkerson, former army Colonel and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, about America’s involvement in Asia, both during his time in the federal government and today. Wilkerson calls America’s exploits over the last few decades a part of “The Great Game,” a reference to the conflict between global powers like the British and Russian Empires over territory in the Middle East and the rest of Asia. This competition for hegemony never really ended, he says,...

Grant Smith discusses the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine and its treatment of the Palestinians. There seems to be growing recognition that Israel is presiding over a form of apartheid, including a 2017 UN report attesting to that fact, and a small plurality of Americans, according to a recent survey, who believe America should cut aid to Israel over human rights abuses. But Smith also recognizes that government policies here and abroad often follow a “ratchet” effect—that is,...

Scott interviews Jacob Sullum about the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. Sullum highlights two important features of the prosecution’s case so far: the first is that paramedics testified to Floyd’s already being dead when they showed up, and the second is an argument about Floyd’s possible drug overdose. Sullum explains that while the level of fentanyl found in Floyd’s system during the autopsy might be high for a normal person, it was actually on the extreme low end of...

Daniel Davis talks to Scott about the possibility of war with China. Davis fears that despite what would seem to be common sense arguments against ever fighting such a war, that’s the direction that the American military establishment is heading in. The war planners in Washington seem to think that even though the U.S. and China both have large nuclear arsenals, we could fight a conventional war without either side resorting to nukes. This is the height of foolishness, says Davis, but even if...

Matthew Hoh comes back on the show to talk about Afghanistan. President Biden said in a recent press conference that due to logistical difficulties, America is unlikely to meet the May 1 withdrawal deadline laid out in the Doha agreement signed under President Trump. Hoh points out that there shouldn’t really be logistical difficulties in getting about 3,000 American troops out of Afghanistan in a month (not to mention the many months both presidents have had already)—really, this is political...