We've Got Issues

Conservative media's latest big lie is a sinister myth of American cities burning

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at the bizarre alternative universe right-wing politicians and their alternative media has created where peaceful demonstrations are always reported as violent riots. This kind of propaganda has a far-reaching impact given that most cops believe it. 

 

Then we're joined by economist Dean Baker from the Center for Economic Policy and Research to talk about the newly robust economy that is set to really flourish when we get enough people vaccinated to return to some semblance of normal. 

 

And finally we welcome Lila Corwin Berman, a professor of American Jewish history at Temple University, to discuss how the very definition of anti-semitism has become polarized because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--and why some scholars are trying to push back on a controversial but widely-cited definition.

Playlist
Gorillaz: "Fire Coming out of the Monkey's Head"
Stevie Wonder: "Faith ft. Ariana Grande"
Maddie Medley: "Buzz"

Civil rights attorney: Daunte Wright's killing is the 'inevitable consequence' of bad policing

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how Biden continues to enjoy bipartisan support as long as you count Republican voters and not elected officials. 

 

Then we're joined by civil rights attorney Tahir Duckett to help us process the Derek Chauvin murder trial and the purportedly "accidental" killing of Daunte Wright just miles away. 

 

And finally, we speak with journalist Katelyn Burns about what's behind a spate of nasty, gratuitous anti-trans bills being pushed through red state legislatures across the country. 

 

Playlist
Bahamas: "Trick To Happy"
Junior Murvin: "Police and Thieves"
Ice T: "Big Gun"

Glenn Kirschner: Convicting Trump of negligent homicide is 'entirely doable'

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how the right has completely dropped the mask and is openly saying that we would be better off if fewer people voted. 

 

Then we're joined by Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor and legal analyst for NBC, to talk about how corporate America is pushing back on Republican efforts to make it harder to vote--and how Trump may well be held accountable for his ham-fisted but nonetheless dangerous attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

 

And then we speak with Dr. Brandy Schillace, author of Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey’s Head, the Pope’s Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul, about the macabre Cold War race to perform a human head transplant and the fascinating surgeon who almost pulled it off.

 

Playlist
Morgan James: "Cecilia" (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
The Valentines: "Guns Fever"
Karen O and Willie Nelson: "Under Pressure" (Queen &  David Bowie cover)

The tawdry, bizarre Matt Gaetz scandal has unleashed so much schadenfreude

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how conservative dark money groups are running scared at the thought of Democratic electoral reforms. 

 

Then we're joined by The Washington Post's Paul Waldman to talk about Joe Biden's big infrastructure and jobs bill, and the rapidly changing politics in Congress. 

 

Finally, we welcome Kaili Joy Gray, executive editor of The American Independent, to run through the bizarre scandal that has engulfed performative wingnut Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida and indulge in a little gloating.

 

Playlist
Rev. Gary Davis: "Death Don't Have No Mercy"
Southern Culture on the Skids: "Camel Walk"
Manu Chao: "Desaparecido"