Ben Swann, an award winning broadcast journalist, discusses the tough questions he asked President Obama about aiding Syria's terrorist-associated rebels; why YouTube provides better Syria news coverage than mainstream American media; wising up to government lying us into war; the terrible consequences of the US drug war in Mexico; the national security case for legalizing pot; and the Kickstarter fundraiser for Swann's "Liberty is Rising: Truth in Media" project.

The Other Scott Horton, human rights lawyer and blogger for Harper's Magazine, discusses how Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz wrested control of one of Africa's biggest prizes; the corruption in Western financial centers that facilitates the looting of third world nations; why George Soros recommended Horton to investigate Steinmetz for Guinea's new government; and the test for whether corruption and bribery laws apply to billionaires.

Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, a sociologist and editor of Pulsemedia.org, discusses his article "Obama won't end the drone war, but Pakistan might;" why Pakistan's newly elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif is empowered to say no to Washington's demands; and the daily bombings in Pakistan that are blowback from US drone killings.

McClatchy journalist Greg Gordon discusses the NSA's massive, pervasive surveillance capability; NSA Director Keith Alexander's "least untruthful" testimony to Congress; and the end of privacy.

Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow in Political Economy at The Independent Institute, discusses his classic The Transformation of the American Economy 1865-1914; the July 4th celebration of statism and American mythology; the real motivations of our founding fathers; and the heroic individuals who aren't included in mainstream history books.

The Other Scott Horton, "No Comment" blogger for Harper's Magazine, discusses how the NSA's surveillance program could threaten the Atlantic Alliance; the illegal US-led hijacking of the Bolivian president's airplane in Europe on suspicion whistleblower Edward Snowden was aboard; and the US media's coverage of Snowden himself, rather than the damning information he leaked about massive government spying.

IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses the Egyptian military coup against Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi; undoing Egypt's democratic elections that resulted in Islamist parties dominating government; and doubts about the military's promise of new elections in six months, with Egyptians more polarized than ever before.

Will Grigg, author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses the FOX propaganda line on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Russia's extradition refusal; why the US more closely resembles an evil Leninist empire than does Russia; our above-the-law, "soft totalitarian" government; and the European sky-piracy carried out against Bolivian President Evo Morales.

Al Jazeera journalist Jason Leopold discusses the widespread breakdown of safeguards at Gitmo that contributed to prisoner Adnan Latif's death in 2012; the Guantanamo policy changes that brought on the prisoner hunger strike; and the bipartisan political opportunism that kept Latif imprisoned despite being cleared for release by the Bush and Obama administrations.

IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses the huge protests against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi; the Egyptian military's demand that a political settlement be reached within 48 hours, or else; and why the secular Egyptian opposition looks ready to vote for another military dictatorship only two years after deposing Hosni Mubarak.

Philip Weiss, founder and co-editor of Mondoweiss, discusses Secretary of State John Kerry's persistent yet futile push for peace talks in Israel; the never-ending colonization of the West Bank; why most Americans have never heard of the Nakba; and mainstream recognition that a Jewish state isn't really necessary.

Fred Branfman, author of Voices from the Plain of Jars: Life under an Air War, discusses why the US executive branch is the world's most evil and lawless institution; the incredible explanation for escalated bombing in Laos during the Vietnam War; Robert McNamara's admission that wars have very little to do with trying to help people; and why the next major terrorist attack in the US will bring on a full-fledged police state.

Conn Hallinan, columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus, discusses US involvement in Syria since the beginning of the nearly three-year civil war; how the Syria conflict progressed from peaceful protests to full-on proxy war between the most powerful countries on earth; and Israel's goal of creating either compliant Middle East dictators or fractured, failed Arab states.

New York civil rights attorney Chase Madar discusses the first four weeks of Bradley Manning's military trial; legal arguments about whether Manning's leaked information was "closely held" or not; the government's attempt to show Manning as a pawn of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, not a whistleblower responding to a crisis of conscience; and why - despite the prosecution's weak evidence so far - we should expect a harsh sentence from the military judge.  

Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses The Guardian's NSA files and Glenn Greenwald's thousands of still-unreleased documents from NSA whistleblower Eric Snowden; government surveillance at the packet, metadata and content levels; how Section 215 of the Patriot Act skirts existing privacy laws; and why this unprecedented information gathering will have very little impact on preventing terrorism.