Scott interviews Reese Erlich about his latest antiwar.com column, which describes the dangerous game being played by the war hawks in Washington as they ratchet up tensions with Iran. The Trump administration has retaliated several times against Katib Hezbollah targets in Iraq for alleged attacks on U.S. military bases there, and of course ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in January. These acts of force could easily blossom into full-scale war, but even if they don’t, they still...

Patrick Jaicomo of the Institute for Justice discusses the (brief) history of the “qualified immunity” doctrine, which makes it very difficult for civilians to sue government agents for constitutional rights violations. Jaicomo breaks down the different types of legal immunity, and the ways in which it’s still possible, sometimes, to seek redress for unjust killings, thefts, and other abuses by government officials. Usually, however, the state protects its own, at the expense of ordinary...

Scott talks to David Stockman about the fate of the economy after the coronavirus-induced shutdown and the multi-trillion dollar bailouts being undertaken by the U.S. government. Stockman is much more concerned about the economic ramifications than about the virus itself, and not because businesses are being forced to close for a few weeks, but primarily because we’ve been living under a crony capitalist regime of corporate welfare and unsound money for decades on end. The only solution any of...

Scott Paul discusses the looming cholera outbreak in Yemen as the country prepares for yet another rainy season. Thanks to U.S.-backed Saudi bombing of critical infrastructure, the people of Yemen lack the tools to fight cholera: basic nutrition and clean water. Paul describes the state of the overrun, under-equipped Yemeni hospitals, warning of their inability to deal with the current crisis, let alone what could happen if the coronavirus spreads there. Scott reminds the audience that...

Mike Swanson offers his take on the current virus-induced stock market downturn. What has surprised him most so far is the fact that assets are down across the board, unlike previous recessions, which might see a decline in stocks offset by a jump in precious metals. This suggests that the real panic hasn’t actually hit yet, and that we are likely to see a lull before another big downturn. He and Scott are worried for the economy, but knew even before the coronavirus that something like this...

Scott talks to Philip Weiss about the latest in Israeli politics, where Benjamin Netanyahu still has neither been removed from power in a decisive election, nor tried for his corruption charges. His main opponent, Benny Gantz, may now be offered the chance to form a minority government, but if he cannot, there could be yet another round of elections. But with the global coronavirus outbreak, Weiss explains that Netanyahu’s approval ratings are now as high as ever—he and Scott think there’s...

Tim Shorrock shares what might be a positive side to the global coronavirus outbreak: a chance for the U.S. government to relax sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Shorrock thinks it would be easy for President Trump to announce that these sanctions will no longer be enforced, if he wanted to, and that Congress is unlikely to prevent such a move. A crisis like the coronavirus helps demonstrate how awful it is to victimize the civilians of a foreign country with economic sanctions, which can...

Scott talks to Gareth Porter about the New York Times’ continued efforts to bolster the story that Russia both interfered in the 2016 presidential election and continues to do so in the lead up to the 2020 election. This time around, they allege, Russian actors are working on behalf of both President Trump, and also Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary race. Porter reviews some of the reasons why these claims are spurious, and he and Scott rehash a few of the Times’ other great blunders....

Scott interviews William Arkin about his recent Newsweek article discussing the the government’s various contingency plans—both public and secret—to keep a functioning, constitutional government alive during a national crisis. He is not so concerned about the introduction of martial law as usually conceived, which he considers unlikely, but worries about something called devolving succession, a process by which a group outside the usual, public line of succession could declare themselves a...

Jim Bovard shares the story of the death of Duncan Lemp, a 21-year-old Maryland man recently killed by police in his home in the middle of the night. The police aren’t releasing their side of the story yet, but it looks as though Lemp hadn’t even been charged with any crimes—police were simply executing a search warrant on what they deemed a “high-risk” target. The SWAT team threw stun grenades into his room, where he and his pregnant girlfriend were sleeping, then shot Lemp to death. Scott...

Scott interviews Ryan McMaken about the current coronavirus-induced financial slowdown and what it might mean in terms of the next big crash. McMaken explains that with America’s incredibly over-financialized economy, practically the only tool that the government knows how to use is huge injections of liquidity directly into the financial sector. This of course only eases the pain temporarily, delaying (and worsening) the eventual popping of the bubble. One danger Scott and McMaken foresee is...

Joe Lauria discusses the latest with Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange. Manning has finally been released after a year in jail for contempt of court after refusing to testify against Assange in his extradition trial. Assange is still being held while his trial in Britain is underway. The trial will determine whether he will be extradited to the United States to face charges under the espionage act, which Lauria says are totally outrageous. As far as he can tell, what Assange did with the...

Scott is joined by Kelley Vlahos, executive editor at The American Conservative, to talk about the release, at long last, of Chelsea Manning, who was being held in federal jail for refusing to testify in the Julian Assange case. After a year in jail and a suicide attempt, a judge finally said that Manning’s testimony isn’t really necessary anymore and ordered her release. She will still be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for her refusal to testify. Vlahos also...

Pat McGeehan recounts his experience in the most recent West Virginia state legislative session trying to pass his “Defend the Guard” legistlation. He describes the many battles involved in introducing a bill like this, waged both behind the scenes in the form of threats and bullying, and publicly in the form of media coverage. McGeehan’s opponents claim that the bill could cause West Virginia to lose federal funding, which he says is untrue, or at least greatly exaggerated. More brazenly,...

Scott interviews Dave DeCamp about the latest news in the OPCW whistleblower saga, in which yet another whistleblower has now come forward, bringing the total to four. The employees, mostly anonymous, have claimed that their assessments of the alleged chemical attack in Douma in 2018 pointed to a false flag designed to incur U.S. intervention, rather than to a real attack by Assad on his own people—but these findings were ultimately disregarded. The mainstream media continues to devote almost...