The Intercept’s Trevor Aaronson joins the show to talk about the travesty of justice in the trial of Hamid Hayat, who has finally been released after nearly 15 years in prison. Hayat was an alleged terrorist, convicted based on a coerced confession he gave to FBI agents under duress, as well as recordings from his conversations with an FBI informant who had pretended to befriend Hayat’s family. Hayat is just one of many such cases of U.S. government entrapment, which make up the majority of...

Gareth Porter explains why the claim that the Russian government “hacked all 50 U.S. states” is false—namely, the states themselves know that their systems were intact! The narrative has nonetheless been pushed continuously, as democrats try to justify Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss by any means necessary. Discussed on the show: “U.S. States: We Weren’t Hacked by Russians in 2016” (The American Conservative)“Russia Targeted Election Systems in All 50 States, Report Finds” (The New York Times)...

Scott interviews Cato’s John Mueller about why it’s time to leave Afghanistan. Fundamentally, the Taliban cannot be defeated at any remotely acceptable cost of American lives and U.S. dollars, says Mueller, and at the same time military interventions has only made the Al-Qaeda problem—America’s original enemies—even worse. Fortunately, it seems like President Trump might see ending the war in Afghanistan as a possible path to reelection. Discussed on the show: “Overcoming Inertia: Why It’s...

Alan Kuperman explains the true story of the 2011 civil war in Libya, which the United States famously and disastrously supported. Contrary to the narrative that this uprising was started by regular, educated citizens like doctors and lawyers, Kuperman and his research assistants discovered that the key actors fomenting revolution were actually Al-Qaeda veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Kuperman reflects on the dangers of reckless use of American military force throughout the years. Discussed...

Max Blumenthal explains how the policies of the Obama administration, pushed by Joe Biden in particular, have fueled the migration crisis in Latin America we see today. Notably, America gave material support to the Colombian regime that massacred thousands of innocent civilians and dressed them as guerrilla revolutionaries in order to claim they were winning the war, and thereby get more aid from the U.S. Biden also supported brutal regimes in Honduras, El Salvador, and other countries, whose...

Scott talks to Jim Bovard about Bill Clinton’s bombing campaign in Serbia twenty years ago, which at the time was widely heralded as a triumph of the “forces of good.” It was also, apparently, something that Bill Clinton did as a way to appease Hillary after the fallout from the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The entire narrative of “ethnic cleansing” that was put forth as justification for American intervention turned out later to have been overblown, with, in actual fact, casualties (and some...

Nasser Arrabyee discusses the latest Saudi war crime against Yemeni civilians, the bombing of a family on the first day of Eid al-Adha. He also gives a summary of the last few months of the horrific war there, replete with complex political nuances that will not be resolved by a simple and total military victory. The war goes on only because the United States government continues to lend material support to the Saudis and will not openly condemn the conflict. Discussed on the show: Nasser...

Jason Ditz discusses a recent Taliban suicide attack in Kabul and a report finding that about 40,000 soldiers on the books of the Afghan army don’t really exist. These so-called “ghost soldiers” often abandon their posts, but army officials don’t report it, since it’s in their interest to appear to have as many soldiers as possible. Ditz sees this report as a good sign that the government is trying to clean house before a peace deal with the Taliban. He and Scott lament the fact that so few...

Pete Quinones, formerly Mance Rayder, discusses some of his recent articles for the Libertarian Institute, covering gun control, Trump’s election in 2016, and Bernie Sanders’ proposed health care laws. After the shootings last week in El Paso and Dayton, many Americans have been calling for stricter gun control laws. Quinones reminds us that anything approaching the full confiscation of guns across the entire country that would be required to actually stop those who are desperate to get a gun...

Scott interviews Eric Margolis about the recent legal change that will now allow non-Kashmiris to buy land in Kashmir. Kashmir is majority Muslim, and has been the subject of territorial disputes between India and Pakistan for years. The fear is that the legal change will allow the Indian government to slowly annex pieces of Kashmir away from (at least nominally) independent control by sending settlers there. Scott stresses the added danger that since both sides of the conflict have nuclear...

Scott interviews Hunter DeRensis about the National Conservatism Conference, part of a movement that DeRensis describes as trying to come up with intellectual rationalizations for Trumpism after the fact. Crucially, this new national conservatism movement did not exist to support Trump as a candidate, nor did it foresee or advocate something like Trump’s policies. It has instead emerged as a means to make them seem wise and acceptable by coming up with justifications that may or may not be...

Ben Freeman talks about President Trump’s friendship with Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and what it means for the military-industrial complex. Trump likes to boast about keeping businesses—particularly those related to military industries—open and hiring in the United States, but Freeman explains the reality that these companies do not create any net jobs at all. Scott references David Stockman’s “Great Deformation”, a concept describing the unseen effects on the economy when politicians...

The great Ray McGovern talks about the real dangers behind the phony Russia collusion probe, namely the near-impossibility of detente with Russia thanks to the democrats’ insistence that any of President Trump’s inclinations in that direction must be based on his being a traitor to America. Scott and McGovern both think the premise is ridiculous, of course, but more importantly it increases the risks of a global nuclear war. McGovern says he would be perfectly fine impeaching Trump, but not...

Scott interviews Muhammad Sahimi about President Trump’s new sanctions on Iran, which are even stricter than those imposed by President Obama, since they eliminate some of the previous waivers and cover even necessary goods like food and medicine because, even though not technically sanctioned, the financial institutions necessary to broker any kind of deal are not willing to operate in Iran for fear of legal action by the U.S. government. Sahimi likens these sanctions to those placed on Iraq...

Mike Swanson discusses the recent announcement that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates again. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said this is a precautionary measure against a possible recession, of which there have been early signs over the last few months. The dangerous thing, says Swanson, is what happens if there is a recession even after this move—with rates already so close to zero percent, what more can the Fed do? Unfortunately it would probably mean huge inflationary...