Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern discusses the scores of Guantanamo prisoners being denied the right to "escape" by starving themselves to death; how Obama could close Guantanamo - if he really wanted to; using civil disobedience to effect political change; why Americans remain almost completely ignorant of Israel's attack on the USS Liberty in 1967; and Mearsheimer and Walt's incomplete analysis of the Israel lobby.

Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses the DOJ's surreptitious collection of Associated Press phone records after two reporters scooped the White House on the foiled "UndieBomb 2.0" plot; the Saudi undercover infiltrator (on the payroll of the British and Saudis) at the center of the alleged AQAP terrorism plot; the Obama administration's war on (unflattering) leaks and confidential media sources; and the biometric ID proposal in the new immigration bill. (Transcript below) Scott Horton interviews...

Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, discusses the three nuclear weapons protestors facing long prison sentences for symbolically defacing a building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge; the incredibly poor security at nuclear weapons facilities; why the US still has thousands of weapons on hair-trigger alert decades after the Cold War; and the judge's refusal to accept the protestors' "Nuremberg defense," that citizens must prevent their...

Christopher J. Coyne, F.A. Harper Professor of Economics at George Mason University, discusses his paper on "The Origins of the Permanent War Economy;" and how the military, labor unions and industry have enabled "perpetual war for perpetual peace" since WWII.

Tom Devine, Legal Director of the Government Accountability Project (GAP), discusses the US government's attempts to silence whistleblower Robert MacLean, a former air marshal; Maclean's exposure of critical DHS security lapses and generally stupid policies in 2003-2006; the "civil war" within the Obama administration on free speech/whistleblower protection measures; and MacLean's significant - and surprising - victory in court.

Charles Goyette, author of Red and Blue and Broke All Over: Restoring America's Free Economy, discusses Ron Paul's radio spots appearing on 125 stations nationwide that are giving AM radio listeners a much needed dose of sanity from the usual blowhards spouting mindless Karl Rove talking points; the Austrian school of economics on booms, busts and central banking; and how the Federal Reserve is shooting stocks to the moon and making bankers richer than ever.

Sheldon Richman, vice president of The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his satirical article "A Modest Gun-Safety Proposal;" why guns are a great equalizing force favoring the physically weak; why government prohibition doesn't work on drugs, guns, or anything else; how gun control disarms the law-abiding and leaves criminals more dangerous than ever; and the states rebelling against federal criminalization of marijuana.

Journalist Patrick Cockburn discusses why Iraq may be sliding into a civil war worse than in Syria; Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "government of thieves;" the violent crackdown on Iraqi Sunni protestors who tried staging their own Egypt-style peaceful revolution; the Al-Qaeda associated fighters traversing the porous Iraq-Syria border; and the hastening fragmentation of Iraq into sectarian enclaves.

Novelist Bill Kauffman discusses the new film Copperhead, about the Civil War opposition in upstate New York; the small "r" front-porch brand of republicanism; our lost tradition of Christian pacifism; and how you can help get Copperhead playing in a theater near you.

Jonas Siegel, project manager and outreach director at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM), discusses his study on "Media Coverage of Iran's Nuclear Program;" the "he said, she said" media treatment of Iran that leaves Americans clueless about complex issues on international treaties and nuclear science; and how the small pool of reporters covering Iran's nuclear program can skew the debate, whether by mistake or bad intentions.

Thomas C. Mountain, a reporter based in Eritrea, discusses why the UN is largely responsible for the 250,000 Somalis who starved to death since 2010; and Anthony Lake's terrible record in Africa from his failure to halt the Rwandan genocide as National Security Advisor in 1994, to Somalia's mass starvation under his watch as UNICEF chief.

Christian Stork, assistant editor and staff writer with WhoWhatWhy.com, discusses the federal criminal charges against journalist (and unofficial spokesman for Anonymous) Barrett Brown; how the government is exploiting the "gray area" in cybersecurity laws to crack down on activists; Brown's capable new defense attorney team of Ahmed Ghappour and Charles Swift; and the few bright spots in our increasingly unfair criminal justice system.

Eric Margolis, journalist and author of American Raj, discusses Israel's bombing of Syria; the impotence of Arab armies against the mighty Israeli military; the US's treaty-bound obligation to defend Japan against attack - which could mean war with China over the diminutive Senkaku Islands; incentives to develop nuclear weapons in Japan, South Korea and Iran; and the aftermath of Libya's civil war.

Robert Greenwald, producer and director of Rethink Afghanistan, discusses his new film War on Whistleblowers; the secretive US national security state; getting the word out about mistreatment of conscientious whistleblowers inside government and the military; and the free DVD available for screenings.

Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, discusses the false accusations that he and his organization are anti-Christian and anti-military; the rules for proselytizing in the military - and what constitutes consent in a top-down chain of command structure; and the strong Dominionist Christian beliefs within mercenary/paramilitary groups like (ex) Blackwater.