Scott talks to Ken Bensinger of Buzzfeed News about the role of FBI informants in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Bensinger explains that informants played a heavy role in the militia group involved and helped motivate members to take violent action. Although none of the fifteen arrested was assisting the government, informants helped provide the group with training, were present for surveillance of Whitmer’s property and were present during the storming of the Michigan...

Scott is joined by Adam Kokesh, who gives his perspective on how much blame cops and soldiers bear for the immorality of their actions. Scott describes the way we seem to cut soldiers some slack, largely because they tend to be younger when they join up, the propaganda is so much fiercer and it can be difficult to quit the military. But Kokesh, a combat veteran himself, is adamant that people can absolutely leave the military once they realize they no longer believe in what's being done. He...

Scott talks to Daniel Davis about his recent Fox News article praising President Biden for standing firm (so far) in his intent to end the war in Afghanistan. Davis explains that although the Taliban takeover and the increase in violence in the wake of the American military's withdrawal is regrettable, it was also predictable. And no matter whether we left ten years ago or if we were to leave in another 20 years, a stable peace in Afghanistan is simply not going to be achieved in the...

Scott interviews Ray McGovern about his decades as a CIA analyst, with a particular focus on U.S.–Russia policy from Kennedy to George H. W. Bush. They also discuss America's growing antagonism toward Russia and China in recent years, and the attempt to expand NATO eastward. McGovern describes not only the many follies of incompetent and hubristic government officials, but also the ways that special interests—like those of the military-industrial complex—are often deliberately advanced at the...

Scott talks to Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi man who famously threw his shoes at George W. Bush in 2008. At the time, Al-Zaidi hoped to bring awareness to the suffering inflicted on the Iraqi people by Bush's war. He has continued his activism in the years since, especially his efforts to help the roughly five million orphans of America's Iraq War. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom;...

Independent journalist Ford Fischer tells the story of Johnny Hurley, a Colorado man who was killed by police after he stopped a mass shooting. Hurley came out of a store after seeing the shooter kill a police officer with a shotgun and then go back to his car to retrieve an AR-15. Hurley killed the shooter, preventing any further deaths, but was then shot by police officers, who claimed he had picked up the original shooter's rifle. Fischer has made a short documentary about these events, and...

Scott and Daniel Larison discuss the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and what it means for America's stance toward Eastern Europe. The main issue with the German pipeline, Larison explains, is that it will allow Western Europe to buy Russian natural gas without having to deal with Ukrainian transit fees. Ukraine has portrayed the pipeline—and the fact that the U.S. is allowing it to happen—as a betrayal by the West, and has lobbied for sanctions on Germany. Larison is relieved that the U.S. government...

Scott talks to Nasser Arrabyee about Yemen, where despite the Biden administration's assurances almost six months ago that the U.S. would be ending its support for "offensive operations," the Saudi coalition continues to terrorize the Yemeni civilian population, with crucial American support. The biggest problem facing Yemenis right now, of course, is the Saudi blockade on the Hodedah port, which prevents food and other basic supplies from making it into the country. Until the blockade is...

Scott and Patrick Cockburn speculate about the future of Afghanistan as the United States ends its military involvement there. Cockburn reminds us that although the Taliban are making gains in parts of the country, they are far from universally popular, and the likelihood of an entirely Taliban-controlled Afghanistan seems somewhat low. This, he stresses, means that "the war in Afghanistan" is not going to be over anytime soon, just because the U.S. is leaving—and fighting between the various...

Scott interviews Justin Cornett and Josh Eakle about their organization, For All Tennessee, which they describe as a lobbying group for the people. Cornett and Eakle target specific reforms that just about everyone in their state can agree on, bringing together moderate liberals, Trump supporters and democratic socialists on issues like ballot access, civil asset forfeiture, police chokeholds, no-knock SWAT raids and excessive emergency gubernatorial powers. For All Tennessee met with great...

Scott talks to Kevin Gosztola and John Kiriakou about the trial of drone whistleblower Daniel Hale, who was just sentenced to 45 months in prison for crimes under the espionage act. Hale's case is unlike some other recent whistleblowers, in that he freely pled guilty to an espionage charge but maintained that his actions were morally justified. Kiriakou stresses that with good behavior, time served and substance abuse recovery programs, 45 months really means more like a year and a half. And...

Scott interviews Gareth Porter about the tenuous and secretive relationship between the U.S., China and Taiwan. Since the Nixon administration, Porter explains, America has had an official, but mostly tacit, policy of supporting the "one China" principle—but U.S. officials rarely say so publicly. This has left an ambiguity surrounding Taiwan's status, and during the Obama administration one top Taiwan official in particular suddenly broke with America's longstanding policy of urging the...

David Swanson discusses the new congressional and presidential war powers legislation that's been proposed by Senators Murphy, Lee and Sanders. Swanson describes his initial fears about the bill, given how bad previous attempts to modify congressional war powers and AUMFs have been in recent years. And yet this bill is surprisingly good: it addresses issues like cutting off funding for unauthorized wars, shortening the time that a president can wage such a war before seeking congressional...

Scott talks to Dave DeCamp about what's going on in the various corners of America's would-be empire. In Afghanistan, as predicted, the Taliban have been making gains against the Afghan government as the U.S. military withdraws—but the Biden administration's withdrawal is still tepid, as they plan to keep a small number of troops to protect the embassy and to keep funding the Afghan military until at least 2022. In Iraq, things might be even worse, since DeCamp thinks the recent announcement...

Scott interviews journalist Mark Curtis about his investigations into the UK role in the wars in Syria and Yemen. Regarding Yemen, Britain has long denied any involvement in that war, says Curtis, but it's now been revealed that they, like the U.S., have been helping the Saudi coalition for years. The precise nature of the help the British government is giving isn't exactly clear, but it likely involves the same things the Americans have been doing all along: training Saudi troops, assisting...