Philip Weiss, founder of Mondoweiss.net, discusses his January 2016 tour of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories; why they will never be torn down; and why the two-state solution is nothing but rhetoric.

David Mizner, a novelist and freelance journalist who writes about US foreign policy, discusses his article "The Effort To Exonerate Team USA for the Rise of ISIS."

David Krajicek, a contributing editor of The Crime Report and co-editor of Crime & Justice News, discusses his article "America's Guilt Mill" about the thousands of innocent Americans wrongfully convicted of "lesser" crimes, and why groups like the Innocence Project don't help them get exonerated.

Daniel McAdams, director of the The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity, discusses the upcoming Syria peace talks in Geneva, and why the opposition to the Assad government will be represented by Jaysh al-Islam - an ally of Al Qaeda.

David Vine, associate professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, D.C., discusses how the US's "empire of bases," spread across at least 147 countries, are being used by special operations forces to enforce and maintain hegemony across the Middle East and Africa.

Kelley Vlahos, a Washington, D.C.-based freelance reporter and contributing editor for The American Conservative, discusses the wasted billions of dollars the US has spent training Afghanistan's security forces, and why they still aren't capable of fighting the Taliban on their own.

Barry Lando, author of Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush, discusses the stupid decisions made before, during and after the first Gulf War (1991) and how they started the US on the path toward the current Global War on Terror.

Gareth Porter, author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, discusses Iran's fulfillment of its obligations under the nuclear agreement (JCPOA), and why it won't blunt the US's belligerent Middle East foreign policy.

Jason Leopold, author of News Junkie, discusses Italy's prosecution (in absentia) of CIA officers involved in the 2003 rendition of Abu Omar to Egypt where he was tortured; and why former CIA counter-terrorism officer Sabrina De Sousa is the only one to face imprisonment thus far.

Sarah Helm, a former Middle East Correspondent for The Independent, discusses her article "ISIS in Gaza," about the allure of radical Islam to disillusioned young Palestinians who are weary of Hamas's failure to achieve peace and an independent state.

Jacqui Shine, a Chicago-based writer and historian, discusses her article "Inside the Police-Industrial Complex," inspired by her visit to the 2015 convention of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses his lobbying effort to finally get Guantanamo closed, release the prisoners who are wrongly-held, and try the remaining few for terrorism in proper federal courts on US soil.

Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, discusses Iran's progress at fulfilling its obligations of the nuclear deal, which should get the crippling economic sanctions lifted; and how Saudi Arabia is trying to prevent US-Iranian relations from improving.

Patrick Cockburn, a Middle East correspondent for The Independent, discusses the Arab Spring's hopeful beginning and disastrous outcome in every country (except Tunisia) where a democratic uprising threatened the established autocracy.

Mike Swanson, author of The War State and founder of Wall Street Window, discusses how the Fed helped blow a huge bubble in corporate bonds, and why debt-financed stock buybacks can't possibly continue at the rate they've been going.