Mike Swanson discusses all the money the U.S. government has pumped into the economy in order to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus, and what effects these stimulus measures are likely to have. Even though an huge increase in the money supply would normally lead to price inflation, Swanson says that the simultaneous deflationary pressures from all the shutdown of the economy could offset any inflation, at least until things reopen and we’re on our way out of the recession. This...

Scott talks to William Van Wagenen about his recent Libertarian Institute article exploring the extremist roots of Syria’s civil war. Contrary to the popular narrative, according to which peaceful, secular, democratic protestors were met with violence by the Syrian government, Van Wagenen explains that Muslim Brotherhood activists were really inciting the protests and attacking Syrian security forces from the very beginning. Though the government has undoubtedly killed its own citizens, this...

Mitchell Plitnick talks to Scott about the dizzying state of the Israeli elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally formed a government after three rounds of elections that looked to be tilting toward his main rival, Benny Gantz. Plitnick theorizes that Gantz simply is not as savvy a career politician as Netanyahu is, and in part he just got tired of the endless fight. He may even have used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to call off his campaign. Now his coalition has...

Scott talks to Grant Smith about his organization’s Freedom of Information lawsuit against the IRS, an attempt to get the agency to reveal its policies on tax-exempt organizations overseas. Of particular interest is the shocking fact that billions of dollars of tax-deductible money has been donated by American taxpayers in recent years to fund organizations that build settlements on Palestinian land. This makes no sense, says Smith, since the point of such tax policies is to offset “public...

Jim Bovard is back with an update in the Duncan Lemp case. Lemp was killed in a pre-dawn no-knock SWAT raid on his home last month, during which police allegedly fired directly into his bedroom window, where he slept beside his pregnant girlfriend. The police have changed their official story three times already, apparently trying to cover up what is almost certainly a wrongful killing. They claim that they received an anonymous tip regarding firearms offenses, which in their eyes evidently...

William Arkin comes back on the show to discuss continuity planning in the U.S. government. He notes that the measures being taken in Washington D.C. to ensure the integrity of a constitutional government during an emergency are somewhat at odds with the steps that the highest ranking politicians are themselves taking. For example, even as helicopter teams stand at the ready to evacuate the chain of command at a moment’s notice, President Trump and Vice President Pence have not separated...

Scott talks to Richard Booth about his investigative journalism into the real story behind the Oklahoma City bombing and its subsequent investigation. Booth goes over some of the main holes in the official narrative, which was largely constructed in order depict Timothy McVeigh as a lone actor because his likely co-conspirators—members of a well-known neo-Nazi group—are suspected to have had ties as government informants. This is at best embarrassing, and at worst criminal. All of Booth’s...

Reason Magazine senior editor Jacob Sullum talks to Scott about some of the latest coronavirus news. He comments on President Trump’s headline-making claim that he has the sole authority to decide if and when the economy would reopen, which Sullum asserts really belongs to the governors. Trump has backed away from his claim, but he still appears to support making progress toward reopening businesses sooner rather than later. Doing so would probably be a good thing, says Sullum, since the...

Scott talks with Ramzy Baroud about the ongoing crisis for Palestinians in the West Bank, and in particular in the Gaza Strip, who face forced confinement and military occupation as parts of their daily lives. Baroud is reminded of the partial quarantine most Americans are facing today because of the coronavirus pandemic, and has been taking the opportunity to tell his story—and the stories of many like him—who spent their childhoods under a kind of quarantine as refugees. While sympathizing...

Nasser Arrabyee brings us the latest on the war in Yemen, where he says that a supposed recent Saudi ceasefire has actually meant very little on the ground. Arrabyee thinks the announcement was nothing more than a public relations stunt. Despite the looming threat of coronavirus, as well as another outbreak of cholera with the rainy season around the corner, both of which threaten to make what is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis even more of a disaster, the western media seem to...

Scott talks to Colleen Moore about America’s withdrawal from global nuclear arms agreements under the Trump administration. Part of the reason for Trump’s keenness on pulling out of these agreements is his reputation as a tough negotiator who prioritizes America’s interest and won’t tolerate “bad deals,” but he’s also received nonstop allegations from the left for four years that he’s a Russian puppet, which makes it very difficult to try to make peace with them. Luckily, nuclear arms...

Gareth Porter discusses the parallels between the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the 1918 Spanish Flu. Though it’s commonly called “Spanish Flu” Porter reminds us that it really originated in Kansas, where it was first spread to American troops at a training base, and then to Europe via the U.S. Army, before finally coming back to the United States in a much deadlier form. If the U.S. hadn’t entered the war and sent thousands of men overseas in cramped ships and trenches, the flu never would...

Tom Woods gives his thoughts on the government response to the coronavirus and the economic fallout that is likely to come afterward. Scott and Woods discuss the bizarre division along political lines of opinions about the severity of the virus, the proper response, and even the effectiveness of possible treatments. Both agree that Americans need to know the metrics by which they will be allowed to leave their homes and go back to work. Making a new, vague announcement about the shutdown every...

Scott talks to Ray McGovern about the heroic Julian Assange, who is still languishing in solitary confinement during his extradition trial to the U.S. on charges that he coordinated with Chelsea Manning to steal classified documents from the U.S. government. McGovern reminds us of how many important truths have been exposed to the American people thanks to WikiLeaks, and wonders what calamities could have been avoided had WikiLeaks been around sooner, such as 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. In...

Scott talks to Chip Gibbons about his research into FBI spying on nonviolent pro-Palestinian activist groups. Although these activists are made out to be dangerous terrorist sympathizers, Gibbons says that the actual evidence against them amounts to criminalization of political speech and some very questionable guilt by association. Unfortunately, these abuses of surveillance power are far from rare, as the FBI has almost no oversight from other branches of government. Political will to reform...