The Intercept Briefing
Cut through the noise with The Intercept’s reporters as they tackle the most urgent issues of the moment. The Briefing is a new weekly podcast delivering incisive political analysis and deep investigative reporting, hosted by The Intercept’s journalists and contributors including Jessica Washington, Akela Lacy, and Jordan Uhl. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E16 · Wed, April 09, 2025
Unchecked: Rep. Ayanna Pressley on the President’s Power Grab
Donald Trump’s presidency continues to challenge all conventional understanding of executive authority. His administration's extensive use of executive orders has reshaped the political landscape, testing established laws , ethical boundaries, and institutional norms. Among those raising alarms is Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who has consistently questioned what happens when governmental powers are directed against the very citizens they were designed to protect. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, she discusses these concerns, including the administration's immigration enforcement tactics targeting international students — among them, one of her own constituents. Rümeysa Öztürk, a Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University who has a valid student visa, was abducted off the streets by ICE agents . “ She was kidnapped in broad daylight. There is no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. The only — the only — thing that she did was co-author an op-ed centering the humanity and the dignity of the Palestinian people and because that is a dissenting opinion of the hostile Trump administration, she finds herself a political prisoner,” says Pressley. “So I need people to understand that this could be anyone when constitutional rights are being violated, when due process is being violated. It could be you tomorrow for reading a banned book. It could be you tomorrow for suffering a miscarriage. It could be you tomorrow for practicing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” she warns. In a broad ranging conversation with host Jessica Washington , she also raises fundamental questions about executive authority and democratic safeguards. “It was all laid out in Project 2025, which was not a blueprint — it was a playbook. And they're making good on that playbook. And I think people didn't take it seriously,” Pressley points out. “They recognized that a lot of what he was laying out in that playbook was unlawful — was unconstitutional. So they said, how could it ever happen? And yet, you know, here we find ourselves.” And despite widespread criticism and anger about the Democratic Party’s response — or lack thereof — she believes her party is stepping up. “Even though I believe that we are — as a party — being exhaustive, being strategic, [we] have found our footing. I believe
S2 E15 · Fri, April 04, 2025
Unplugged: The Backlash Against Trump–Musk
Tesla’s stock plummeted more than 30 percent in the first quarter of 2025, losing its post-election gains, as the electric vehicle pioneer grapples with an unexpected challenge: a consumer revolt against CEO Elon Musk's leadership of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and his political alliances. Once celebrated across the political spectrum, Tesla has transformed from an environmental icon into a political flashpoint. Tesla dealerships have become symbols, explains Lara Starr, who organized a 200-person demonstration in Marin County, California. "You can't disentangle Tesla from Musk, and you can't disentangle Musk from Trump. And the one thing I can say about Musk positively is he has handed us a place in almost every community around the country that is symbolic of everything wrong that is going on in Washington." The impact of this grassroots rebellion is beginning to show in Tesla's financial reports. Global sales have hit historic lows for the company, with particularly sharp declines in traditionally strong markets. Despite Tesla's business challenges, the billionaire poured considerable resources on reshaping America's political landscape. His political spending — including with his super PAC spending $25 million in a single Wisconsin Supreme Court race — has yielded disappointing returns. His preferred candidate was defeated. In this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, reporters Matt Sledge and Sunjeev Bery examine this grassroots rebellion and what it reveals about Musk's power and the future of political activism. "There's been a lot of talk about how the Democrats are in disarray and not sure how to recover from the election last year. But the Wisconsin election — and the way that Elon Musk got involved and personalized it and made it about him himself — gave Democrats an easy yes-no vote on Elon Musk, and I think that was really significant here," says Sledge. He points out how that election is also a rebuke of the Trump–Musk alliance: " It is fascinating that it is happening through this electoral mechanism, and that people are being allowed to give a referendum on this relationship, and that the democratic process is potentially having a direct input on this relationship." Intercept contributor Sunjeev Bery says the Tesla protests are much bigger than just Tesla or Musk. "The Tesla takedown movement has become this astonishing wave of opposition to Trump, the fascist directions of the Trump regime, everything Elon Musk is pushing with DOGE. It's a place where lots of people who are angry about all of the different things that the Trump regime is
S2 E14 · Fri, March 28, 2025
Journalists Under Fire in Gaza, Israel’s Deadly War on Reporters
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has emerged as the deadliest war for journalists in modern history. Two Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks just this week, underscoring the extreme risks faced by reporters in the region. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 165 journalists have been killed since October 2023 — a staggering number that surpasses the total journalist fatalities during the entire span of World War II. The conflict has escalated to a critical point, with Israel resuming strikes on Gaza after breaking a ceasefire with Hamas. Amid this humanitarian catastrophe, journalists persist in their crucial role, risking their lives to document the unfolding events and bring critical information to the world. In response to attacks on Palestinian journalists, Forbidden Stories launched the Gaza Project — a collaboration bringing together over 40 journalists from 12 organizations, including the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism and The Intercept. Their mission: investigate and expose the unprecedented threats facing journalists in Gaza and the West Bank. On this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing, Hoda Osman , the executive editor of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, says the killings have become hauntingly familiar : “A repeated scene seeing a journalist is being killed, and you get the news, and then you see their bodies with a bloodied press vest. And then you see the mourning of their colleagues and their families.” In addition to this extreme risk, Osman says the daily realities confronting Palestinian reporters are difficult to imagine. “I was speaking to a journalist there and she's telling me how hard it is because it's Ramadan and they fast, and at the end of the day at sunset, they're supposed to break fast, but there is no food. And how they're all starting to become extremely weak because of the lack of food. And that was before even the strikes began again,” she says. “Most of them are living in tents,” Osman adds. “A few weeks ago when the weather was really cold, one of the journalists was texting me how they
S2 E13 · Mon, March 24, 2025
Risking it All: Momodou Taal's Fight for Free Speech
“Anything that shows solidarity of Palestine is being mischaracterized quite erroneously as antisemitism. That’s the way in which they are trying to get us to stop speaking about Palestine,” says Momodou Taal , a Cornell University graduate student and activist now facing deportation after challenging the Trump administration in court. The risks of political speech have escalated dramatically for international students like Taal. He spoke to The Intercept Briefing yesterday, underscoring the chilling reality he and his peers now face. “It’s not just that you might get kicked out of school or suspended,” says Taal, “but you are threatened with deportation and ICE custody now. That’s what’s at stake here.” Late last week, federal officials sent Taal’s attorney a midnight email demanding he appear before Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday. The email provided no grounds for the request. This typically marks the beginnings of removal proceedings against an individual in the U.S. Only afterward, over the weekend, did the Department of Justice claim Taal’s student visa had been revoked on March 14 by the State Department due to “disruptive protests” and “creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.” The timing is telling — just days after Taal, a dual Gambian and British citizen, joined other Cornell plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of targeting international students for supporting Palestinian rights. In their complaint, the plaintiffs state, “The First Amendment protects people and not citizens alone. This includes non-citizens living in the U.S.” Taal had participated in pro-Palestine protests at Cornell. His legal team argues the order to appear before ICE demonstrates their central claim that deportation is being weaponized “in retribution” for lawful political speech. Despite the pressure, Taal sees the government’s actions as evidence of weakness, not strength. “You don’t repress to this level when you’re in a position of strength. When you have to quell speech, it means that you are realizing that the outside world or public opinion is swaying in one direction. So I think now would not be the time to be afraid. I know it’s a very frightening moment, but for me, this is the time to double down.” As Tuesday approaches, Taal remains resolute about the potential consequences. “If I have to leave the country, it would be back to the U.K. I know the weather’s terrible and your listeners probably don’t like beans and toast either, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world going back to the U.K. I think about what the Palestinians have endured for 76 years and more — what I’m going through
S2 E12 · Sat, March 22, 2025
Israel’s “Culture of Cruelty” Inspires the Far Right Worldwide, Says Pankaj Mishra
After breaking a two-month ceasefire, Israel launched an assault on Gaza on Tuesday, killing more than 400 people in pre-dawn strikes. The death toll continues to climb as airstrikes persist, and Israel pushes forward with a ground invasion. At least 200 children have been killed in recent attacks, according to UNICEF . The assault — the deadliest in over a year — came after Donald Trump gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the green light to break the ceasefire. Netanyahu has warned , “This is only the beginning.” Author Pankaj Mishra argues Israel operates within a “culture of impunity,” emboldened by global far-right movements that admire Israel’s “brazen cruelty.” This week on The Intercept Briefing, reporter Jonah Valdez speaks to Mishra about his latest book, "The World After Gaza,” which examines how the war on Gaza isn’t just another conflict — it’s a turning point reshaping global politics, exposing institutional failures, and forcing a reckoning over who sets the rules on the world stage. “Some of the worst people in the world today are drawn to Israel," Mishra says. “Not because they believe in Zionism, not because they are protective of Jewish population of Israel, but because Israel again represents to them — embodies this opportunity to take whatever you can and hold on to it using extreme violence if necessary.” Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E11 · Thu, March 13, 2025
The Disappearance of Mahmoud Khalil
When government agents surrounded Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and his pregnant wife outside their New York City apartment over the weekend, it marked a chilling escalation in the battle over free speech in America . Those agents weren't enforcing immigration policy; they were sending a message about the consequences of political expression. After serving as a negotiator during campus protests against Israel's war on Gaza, Khalil became the target of what his attorney called "a profound doxing campaign for two months related to his First Amendment protected activities" — harassment so severe he had desperately sought help from university leadership. Despite being a lawful permanent resident entitled to constitutional protections, Khalil was transported to a detention facility thousands of miles away, effectively "disappeared" for over 24 hours. The political motivation became explicit when President Donald Trump celebrated the arrest on social media, calling it "the first arrest of many to come." On this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing, we discuss the profound implications Khalil’s case raises for free speech and due process with Edward Ahmed Mitchell, civil rights attorney and national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Columbia Journalism Review reporter Meghnad Bose. "It's very clear the administration is waging a war on free speech — free speech for Palestine. They said they were going to do it when they took office. And that is what they are doing. Their issue with him is that he is a Muslim who is a lawful, permanent resident of America and he exercised his right to speak up for Palestinian human rights," says Mitchell. Bose adds, “ It's this sort of thinking that if you are somehow critical of a certain position of the United States government, except this isn't even a position of the United States government. You're basically saying, if you're critical of the position of a foreign government — in this case, the Israeli government — that you can be penalized in the United States, even if you've not broken any law.” Mitchell warns even U.S. citizens face risk: "American citizens should be safe in all this, but Stephen Miller and others have said they want to review the naturalization of citizens to see whether or not there are grounds to remove their citizenship. So in the worst-case scenario, you can imagine them trying to find or manufacture some way to target even the citizenship status of people who were lawful permanent residents and then at
S2 E10 · Fri, March 07, 2025
Trump’s Vision for America: I Am God
In an address to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump once again cast himself as a divine savior of the American people.“I was saved by God to make America great again,” he claimed as he recounted the failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. During his 100-minute speech, Trump made direct appeals to the Christian right, a major segment of his base: “This will be our greatest era. With God's help over the next four years, we are going to lead this nation even higher.” He framed a series of policy proposals — many attacking civil rights for minorities and trans people — as part of God’s plan for the nation. He called on Congress “to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children,” proclaiming “our message to every child in America is that you are perfect, exactly the way God made you.” In some ways, Trump is the kind of political leader the Christian right has been seeking for decades. He has fully championed the movement’s long-held policy priorities: overturning Roe v. Wade , pushing prayer in schools , and curbing LGBTQ+ rights. Now he is taking their movement even further, embedding right-wing Christian ideology into every facet of federal policy. It’s a “broad coalition across Christian denominations,” says journalist Talia Lavin, “whose goal is an extremely socially restrictive agenda.” Lavin, author of "Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America," argues that today’s Christian right is more receptive to authoritarianism than previous generations. “They've reached a kind of acme or apotheosis of their power and influence, where that sort of attitude towards democracy has attained real relevance in the way we're governed.” On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, Lavin and Intercept reporter Jessica Washington examine the Christian right’s growing influence, its long-term strategy, and what, if anything, can be done to curb their vision for the country. Washington warns that many liberals dismiss Trump’s alliance to the Christian right as fringe, missing its deep political impact. “While it's this convenient political organizing tool, it is also a deeply held belief,” she says — one that rejects the idea that Black people and queer people have a rightful place in American leadership. Trump, she adds, validates the belief that only white Christian males are the tr
S2 E9 · Fri, February 28, 2025
How to Really Resist
Safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP are in peril after the House Republicans passed a budget resolution this week that proposes massive $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, alongside $2 trillion in spending reductions. The math doesn’t add up: There is no realistic way to achieve the necessary savings without slashing entitlement programs that the most vulnerable Americans depend on. While the Republicans claim they won’t cut these programs, they are simultaneously setting up eventual changes. House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized Medicaid as "hugely problematic" with "a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse." This rhetoric echoes that of Elon Musk, who labeled those affected by federal program cuts as the "parasite class." On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, Anat Shenker-Osorio , a political messaging expert , and Sunjeev Bery , a foreign policy analyst and Intercept contributor, discuss how Republican messaging is previewing what’s to come and why Trump and his allies have been successful in the court of public opinion. “One of the most persuasive tools that we have in our arsenal is repetition. Messages that people hear over and over, irrespective of their actual content, are rated to be more credible,” says Shenker-Osorio. “Familiarity gives our brains what we call cognitive ease, they give us what's called the illusory truth effect that if you've heard something over and over, like if you've heard government is wasteful, government is wasteful, government is wasteful … then the next time that you hear it, you're like, oh, yeah, that sort of seems true.” Bery believes the way to fight back is by first changing our language. “Republicans are very good at trapping our country and our society with their language. You take something like the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, simply to repeat that phrase is to be trapped by its false logic and by the fraudulent claims of its master, the billionaire Elon Musk,” he says. “We need to use different language entirely. This is an attempt to steal from the American people and hand a fat check to Elon Musk and all the billionaires who stood on stage with Donald Trump during his inauguration. That's what this is.” And while the speed of change a
S2 E8 · Wed, February 19, 2025
One Month Under Trump: Are You Keeping Up?
Swift and sweeping changes have marked the first month of Donald Trump's return to the White House. Having promised to "fix every single crisis facing our country," Trump wasted no time in making his mark — signing an extraordinary 36 executive orders within his first week in office. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, politics reporters Jessica Washington and Akela Lacy assess the full scope of changes. Lacy is surprised at how ill-prepared people, especially Democrats , were for these changes. “So much of this stuff was on the wall with Project 2025 and Trump's own words, and yet what I'm struggling to understand is how we knew so much and why everyone is still struggling to play catch up in so many ways,” she says. “ I think broadly what we're seeing is a wholesale test of how to overturn the Constitution. So many of the orders are clearly outside of the law and an example of the administration pushing the limits of our system to see how far they can go and what it can really withstand,” she observes. Washington says one thing the headlines don’t fully capture is the human toll. “There are a lot of human stories in this chaos that get missed, and those are the stories I really want to tell more,” she says. “This is necessarily going to lead us to the darkest of dark places, but when they mass-fired the people who watch our nuclear systems and then had to try and rehire them back — whether or not you're going to be able to take your kid to daycare and get to your job that you need in order to keep a roof over your head, not knowing what's going on with the nuclear system. All of this chaos has very real effects on people,” Washington says. To hear more of the conversation, check out this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E7 · Fri, February 14, 2025
Constitutional Crisis Looms
Less than a month into Donald Trump's second term, his administration's aggressive restructuring of the government and flirtation with defying court rulings threaten to spark a constitutional crisis. "He could have done all of that lawfully, and instead what he's done is testing the limits of his power in a way we have never seen in this country," says retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner . During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump dismissed concerns about executive overreach and claimed he would respect court decisions. But legal experts warn his broad view of presidential power crosses long held boundaries and is propelling the country into a constitutional crisis. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, Gertner, who is consulting on several cases challenging the administration's actions and is a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School, and The Intercept's senior counsel and correspondent Shawn Musgrave discuss the federal courts’ response so far and what it demonstrates about our system of checks and balances. “I hope that they will realize that one of the two checks on an aggressive president doing unlawful things is that the courts are functioning as a check on his power. I fear that the other takeaway is that Congress is not. The concern about Trump wiping out programs that Congress has approved is a concern that should bother every legislator — Republican or Democrat, it shouldn't matter. That is a core, foundational checks-and-balances issue. And the fact that there is not an outcry from Congress is troubling,” says Gertner. Musgrave adds that it is a real test of governmental structure. “We're in a moment that illustrates the fragility of the system of checks and balances that's held for a couple hundred years. The system that was set up in the Constitution isn't guaranteed; it has to be protected. And so far, it looks like it's going to be up to the courts to do that,” he says. Gertner says there is another check that isn’t explicitly laid out in the Constitution, but is just as important. “The public will speak in two years in the midterm elections,” she says. “So the public, although it doesn't have a specific role in the next two years before we can vote again on national issues, the public is important here. I think that people should stand up if they think that what's going on is illegal and unconstitutional.” To hear more of the conversation, check out this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E6 · Fri, February 07, 2025
Why Are Dems Surprised?
Donald Trump has unleashed a "flood the zone" strategy: a cascade of executive actions aimed at rapidly reshaping the federal government and the country. The scope of changes is staggering: massive reductions in the federal workforce, the dismantling of USAID , signaling departments of labor and education are next, and the firing of Justice Department prosecutors. Trump granted Elon Musk's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" team unprecedented access to the Treasury Department payment systems. Trump's executive orders aren't just changing policy — many appear to openly challenge existing laws and constitutional boundaries. The sheer volume of changes has left government watchdogs struggling to respond. Amid this whirlwind, a critical question emerges: Where is the opposition? What concrete steps are Democrats taking to counter this aggressive agenda? Currently, the answer is obvious: not enough. On this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing, foreign policy analyst and Voices contributor Sunjeev Bery says it has a lot to do with who makes up the party leadership . “I'll say that from my perch, what I'm seeing is a window into the broader culture of the elected officials of the Democratic Party. They are not organizers, by and large. They are not people who build and channel power to extract concessions from the powers that be. They are ladder climbers and aggregators of pre-existing power. And that's why the Democratic Party is losing. You have folks like Chuck Schumer, he's not a critic of concentrated wealth. He's a product of concentrated wealth.” Senior politics reporter Akela Lacy says there are some very obvious things the Democrats could be doing. “Movement people are asking the obvious question right now, which is: Why are there any Democrats — at all — voting to confirm a single Trump nominee? That's one of the lowest hanging pieces of fruit,” she says. The Democrats had no plan, Lacy says, despite there being “no confusion about the fact that these nominees were going to be coming up for a vote. And still there were Democrats who voted for several of Trump’s nominees.” Bery, Lacy, and Jordan Uhl also discuss the messaging issues the Democratic Party continues to face, even post-election. “There still seems to be a fundamental failure to recognize that one party is telling a story as to why people are hurting and they are punching down in the naming of who's responsible,” says Bery. “It's undocumen
S2 E5 · Fri, January 31, 2025
Trump’s Nightmare Plan for Gaza
After 15 months of Israeli bombardment, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza as part of the first phase of the long-awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. During his inaugural speech, President Donald Trump pledged to be a peacemaker and claimed credit for securing the deal. But mere hours after promising peace and unity, Trump’s actions and rhetoric pivoted. After his inauguration, he signed an executive order lifting Biden-era sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank meant to curb violence against Palestinians. “In the West Bank , Israeli settlers were regularly attacking Palestinian civilians, forcing them off their land, doing things like burning farms, olive groves, oftentimes injuring or killing Palestinians,” says Intercept reporter Jonah Valdez. “With Trump lifting those sanctions, Israel is getting pretty much another pass to continue its violent land grabs from Palestinians.” In the days since, Trump has suggested moving Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt and said, “We just clean out that whole thing.” Before the election, Trump also floated the idea that Gaza could be rebuilt to rival Monaco as a tourist destination. “Close to 70 percent of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged. Experts say that just clearing the rubble from the 15 months of the siege could take more than 20 years. So we're talking about decades here,” says Intercept reporter Akela Lacy. “Another big issue with the reconstruction is that one of the largest aid providers in Gaza is banned starting on Thursday. Under this new Israeli law, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, will be expelled from the territory.” Meanwhile, Trump issued an executive order halting foreign aid , raising concerns about U.S. future involvement in U.N. support. “This started under Biden . Trump comes in and issues this freeze of all humanitarian foreign aid, and people start blaming Trump for cutting funding,” says Lacy. Valdez continues, “There's really no indica
S2 E4 · Fri, January 24, 2025
The Broligarchy: The Who’s Who of the Silicon Gilded Age
Silicon Valley’s biggest power players traded in their hoodies for suits and ties this week as they sat front and center to watch Donald Trump take the oath of office again. Seated in front of the incoming cabinet were Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Trump confidant and leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Sam Altman from OpenAI, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew also looked on. For an industry once skeptical of Trump, this dramatic transformation in political allegiance portends changes for the country — and the world. From the relaxing of hate speech rules on Meta platforms to the mere hourslong ban of TikTok to the billions of government dollars being pledged to build data centers to power AI, it is still only the beginning of this realignment. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, Justin Hendrix, the CEO and editor of Tech Policy Press , and Intercept political reporter Jessica Washington dissect this shift. “Three of the individuals seated in front of the Cabinet are estimated by Oxfam in its latest report on wealth inequality are on track to potentially become trillionaires in the next just handful of years: Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk,” says Hendrix. “Musk is estimated to be the first trillionaire on the planet, possibly as early as 2027.” Washington says there’s more at stake than just personal wealth. “These are people who view themselves as world-shapers, as people who create reality in a lot of ways. Aligning themselves with Trump and with power in this way is not just about their financial interests, it's about pushing their vision of the world.” To hear more of this conversation, check out this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E3 · Fri, January 17, 2025
Building the Deportation Machine for Trump 2.0
What can we expect when President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term on Monday? This week on The Intercept Briefing, we ask Intercept reporters what’s on their radar as a new president and a Republican-controlled Congress take office. They’ll be watching the tentative ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the brazenness of oligarchs seeking to profit from the new administration, and threats to reproductive healthcare. Trump’s biggest policy promise has been immigration, with a campaign built around his pledge to conduct “the largest mass deportation operation” in U.S. history. Now Congress is advancing measures that could help the administration achieve its deportation vision by expanding immigration authority to the states. Provisions in the Laken Riley Act , which passed the House of Representatives last week with support from dozens of Democrats, would mandate detention for unauthorized immigrants accused of shoplifting and theft. It would also grant state attorneys generals the power to sue the federal government over who is detained or released by U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement and block people from specific countries from obtaining visas. Historically immigration has been the exclusive domain of the federal government — not states. “We've been trying to raise the alarm,” says Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of Federal Advocacy for United We Dream, a nonprofit immigration advocacy organization. “This would just totally change the way detention and deportation decisions operate,” says Shawn Musgrave, The Intercept’s Senior Counsel and Correspondent. “The Laken Riley Act doesn't have any provisions that change the powers of local law enforcement,” says Musgrave. But it implicitly “allow[s] an arresting officer to trigger an immediate detention for something like petty shoplifting.” To hear more of this conversation and understand what’s at stake, check out this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. If you want to support our work, you can go to theintercept.com/join . Your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 E2 · Thu, January 09, 2025
TikTok SCOTUS Battle
The Supreme Court is poised to decide a landmark case on Friday that could reshape social media in America. At stake: TikTok must either break from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or cease U.S. operations entirely. While the government frames this as a critical national security measure, the short-form video app and its creators and users see a direct challenge to First Amendment freedoms. This tension sits at the heart of a broader debate about digital communication and national interests. On this week's Intercept Briefing, Alex Pearlman, aka Pearlmania500 , whose videos reach nearly 3 million followers, says the issue is not the app but the way tech platforms operate. He says, “We want regulations of algorithms. We at least need to know what the rules are." And when it comes to the government’s crackdown on TikTok, he says, “Everything that they've accused TikTok of, Facebook has done, either domestically or internationally. Everything that they have screamed could happen with TikTok, when it came to the elections, Elon Musk did openly. And most people know that. Most people see that. And I think it's going to lend to further cynicism when it comes to our institutions and when it comes to how government can actually operate." Intercept senior counsel and correspondent Shawn Musgrave adds, “Tech competitors to TikTok have generally avoided saying very much about the ban. … But these companies obviously stand to benefit incredibly from knocking out their top competitor in the short-video space. It is not really a consideration before the court in the case itself, but I do think it's important to look at some of the background issues. That it's not just about national security and First Amendment. There are also really considerable economic interests here too." Intercept politics reporter Jessica Washington says TikTok isn't just another social network — it's fostering political conversations that wouldn't exist anywhere else. “We've seen Twitter, which is now X, move really far to the right. I think anyone who's been on there in recent times can attest to that. We know YouTube also has a pretty right-leaning audience as well and an algorithm. And Facebook and Instagram are very different platforms than TikTok. So I think we lose a lot of those conversations that are happening, important political conversations in different regions, different areas of the world. Important conversations that young people are having with each other.” To hear more of this conversation and understand what’s at stake, check out this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. If you want to support our work, you can go to theintercept.com/join . Your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. <p style='color:grey; font-size:
S2 E1 · Fri, January 03, 2025
Media’s Biggest Failures
Few journalists have ventured as deep into the shadows of American power as The Intercept's James Risen. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Risen waged a remarkable seven-year battle against the federal government to protect his sources , risking imprisonment to defend press freedom. As he prepares to retire from journalism, he joins this week's Intercept Briefing to reflect on his extraordinary career with longtime friend and colleague David Bralow, The Intercept’s general counsel. Recently, Risen has written extensively on Donald Trump and the dangers he poses to American democracy and is working on a new book about Christian nationalism and extremism. He warns about what lays ahead: “Trump has appointed a bunch of lunatics and conspiracy theorists to positions of power and he's turned the government over to oligarchs, so I think it's gonna get bad really, really fast.” And Risen foresees that reporters and news organizations are at even more peril than in the past because of changing public attitudes and the legal approach embraced by those in power . “The wealthy can now use libel law against the press endlessly, not to try to win cases, but just to financially exhaust news organizations,” he says. “In most libel cases brought against news organizations, the other side almost never really cares about winning. What they want to do is impose large costs on news organizations to defend against frivolous libel suits.” To hear more of the conversation, check out this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. If you want to support our work, you can go to theintercept.com/join. Your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Enull · Fri, December 27, 2024
REBROADCAST Radical Action Under Trump
Originally aired November 15, 2024 In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, Democrats and those on the left are grappling with what comes next. On The Intercept Briefing podcast this week, columnist Natasha Lennard critiques the Democratic Party. “You can’t be both at once: You can’t be the party of Wall Street, and you can’t be the party of the working class,” Lennard says. By acquiescing to Silicon Valley and Wall Street, the Democrats failed again “to offer a robust politics that serves the working class." Facing a second Trump term, Lennard says the way forward is a politics of everyday life and radical action that focuses on empowering grassroots movements and labor organizations. “When we look at what people can [do] — involving people at a local level, building community so that it is truly kind of a form of life to be in this politics, rather than just a donation, rather than just a vote, rather than just canvassing even.” In conversation with Jessica Washington and Jordan Uhl, Lennard emphasizes the importance and resilience of the working class. "Nurses unions, food workers unions. Most of the working class in this country are women. And it is a profoundly multi-racial working class. And we have a working class of care workers. And a service economy. And an increasingly growing care economy," she says. "That needs investing in. That needs support. That needs building." To hear more about the future of progressive politics, listen to this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing. If you want to support our work, you can go to theintercept.com/join . Your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to The Intercept, wherever you listen to podcasts. And definitely leave us a rating or a review, it helps other listeners to find us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E8 · Fri, December 20, 2024
Power of the Pardon
Among a president’s most profound responsibilities is the power to grant clemency. Now, as President Joe Biden's first term winds down, he faces mounting calls to use that authority to commute the sentences of the 40 men on federal death row. Donald Trump's final months in office marked a stark shift in federal execution policy. After a 17-year hiatus, his administration executed 13 people — the most under any president in over a century. While Biden halted this practice, advocates warn that a second Trump term could restart executions. It's why they're urging Biden to take decisive action now to reduce death penalty sentences to life without parole. On this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing, reporter Liliana Segura examines the gap between candidate Biden's promises and his actions as president. “By far the most significant thing that Biden could do and should do in my opinion is to make good on his stated opposition to the death penalty, which is something he ran on in 2020. Joe Biden said that he wanted to try to bring legislation to end the federal death penalty and, in fact, incentivize states to do the same. He had language in his campaign platform talking about how life without parole sentences were appropriate alternatives,” she says. According to Segura, the federal death penalty reaches far beyond the most notorious cases and its deterrent effect is questionable — challenging many Americans' assumptions. “This idea that the death penalty is a deterrent is like the myth that will not die. You know, I was in Indiana recently covering this midnight execution, and I'm looking at some of the rhetoric that is out there from the state attorney general, and he is banging that drum about, 'Oh, you know, this is a deterrent to crime.’ There's absolutely no evidence that that is true and there really never has been.” To learn more about what Biden could do, listen to this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E7 · Fri, December 13, 2024
Syria: What Comes Next?
The unexpected toppling this weekend of the Assad regime by rebel forces brought a swift end to Syria's 13-year uprising-cum-civil war and over half a century of authoritarian rule. Syrians around the world have celebrated the development , with thousands walking free from the regime's hellish prisons. But in the aftermath, the situation remains volatile. Israel has struck targets inside Syria and moved troops deeper into the occupied Golan Heights , while international powers jockey for influence. Mohammed al-Bashir, who led the rebels’ de facto government in northwest Syria, has been named interim prime minister. Syrian journalist Rami Jarrah was among those celebrating Bashar al-Assad’s fall, but he’s worried about what happens in his country now. He reported from Syria during the early uprisings in 2011 and throughout the civil war, including Aleppo in 2016 during the intense bombardment. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, he says his own experience being detained and tortured by the Syrian government informs his concerns. “For a long time I had a serious grudge. I wanted revenge. Revenge that looked very ugly. And it’s why I understand how a situation like Syria, where there is this change of power, and how dangerous that can be because the things I was thinking about after what happened to me and what happened to loved ones of mine. I could not have been trusted to have authority in my hands if we’d gotten a hold of the perpetrators or even people that maybe just corresponded to the perpetrators. I don’t think I would have made sensible decisions. I think the last 4 or 5 years, I’ve been able to reflect,” he recounts. He says Assad and his family fleeing to Russia gives Syria a chance to move forward in a productive way. Had Assad stayed and fought, “we could have fallen into a civil war very quickly. … I think him fleeing sends a crippling message to those that supported him,” Jarrah says. “It made it much more likely that there could be a reconciliation process between those that supported Assad and those that were victims of Assad’s system.” To hear more of the conversation, listen to this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E6 · Fri, December 06, 2024
Silencing Dissent: Attacks on Free Speech and Nonprofits Are Already Ramping Up
For years, Donald Trump has vowed to go after his critics and journalists. As he prepares to reenter the White House, he’s nominating loyalists, like incoming FBI director Kash Patel, who have pledged to do the same. The Trump administration may soon have a new weapon to target perceived enemies. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, we discuss the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, or H.R. 9495. Last month, the House passed H.R. 9495, which would give the Treasury Department secretary the authority to label any nonprofit — like The Intercept — a terrorist-supporting organization and take away its tax-exempt status , likely forcing them to shut down. Noah Hurowitz, who has been covering the bill , says, “One thing that has come up a lot in my reporting on this, in talking to civil liberties experts and talking to nonprofits, is that the vagaries of the bill and the broad powers that it allows will likely have a chilling effect on free speech.” Shawn Musgrave, The Intercept’s senior counsel and correspondent, points out the legal implications: “One of the things that I think is important to think about for a bill like H.R. 9495, which is framed around terrorism, [it] really reduces the level of due process and takes a lot of the guardrails off of the current system.” Though it’s not likely that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will bring it up for a vote this session, the legislation could resurface in January when Republicans control both houses of Congress. To learn more about the implications, listen to this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E5 · Wed, November 27, 2024
The “Palestine Exception”
Continued campus protests against the Gaza war have sparked heated debates around free speech, academic freedom, and the role of universities in addressing global issues. This spring saw an outpouring of students demanding that their institutions divest from Israel. Since then, universities have taken sometimes draconian measures to stop protests before they even begin. On this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing, Intercept reporters Akela Lacy and Jonah Valdez, who have been following the protest movements for months, discuss the latest developments and how college administrators are responding. Lacy followed one such case at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where students were hit with severe charges for vandalism. “The school is trying to make an example of student leaders in the movement for Palestine to chill further speech,” Lacy says. “I want to emphasize the fact that these are felony charges for undergraduate students for a nonviolent offense that is putting paint on a building.” Students and organizers who spoke with Valdez anticipate even greater hostility for protesters of every kind once Donald Trump takes office again in January. “This is what a lot of organizers were telling me leading up to Election Day was that there’s going to be so many other attacks on the rights of many other people," he says, "whether it’s reproductive rights, rights of trans people, LGBTQ community at large, rights of immigrants, all on top of the ongoing genocide and occupation of Palestine.” To hear more about the chilling effects on free speech and protest, listen to this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. The Intercept: "Class Struggle" The Intercept: "No Room for Emergency" The Intercept: "100 Days in Appalachia" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E4 · Fri, November 22, 2024
Rep. Summer Lee on the Fight of Our Lives
As the clock winds down on the Biden presidency, Democrats have a limited window to act. Come January 20, Republicans will control the executive branch and both houses of Congress. On this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa. , acknowledges the need for swift action, particularly on the war in Gaza, prison pardons, and immigration. “I’ve been on calls with advocacy groups around immigration,” she says. President-elect Donald Trump's promises to conduct mass deportation are “an imminent threat.” One tactic she’s employing to drive home the urgency is bringing Dreamers and their stories to meetings. “The people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, closest to the policy solutions. That is not just a cute saying," Lee says. "It is, I would say, a very lifesaving way of thinking about the policies and the solutions that we have for the very real problems that we face. We can't keep icing out the people who live it.” But she is also planning beyond the next eight weeks and is determined to fight the Trump administration. “When you're playing, it's Friday night football, it's raining out, you should not leave that field and your jerseys white. You gotta get dirty,” she says. “Not a single voter wants to see us looking pristine when we're in the fight for our life right now.” To hear more about how Lee and her colleagues on the left are planning to handle the next four years, listen to this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E3 · Fri, November 15, 2024
Radical Action Under Trump
In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, Democrats and those on the left are grappling with what comes next. On The Intercept Briefing podcast this week, columnist Natasha Lennard critiques the Democratic Party. “You can’t be both at once: You can’t be the party of Wall Street, and you can’t be the party of the working class,” Lennard says. By acquiescing to Silicon Valley and Wall Street, the Democrats failed again “to offer a robust politics that serves the working class." Facing a second Trump term, Lennard says the way forward is a politics of everyday life and radical action that focuses on empowering grassroots movements and labor organizations. “When we look at what people can [do] — involving people at a local level, building community so that it is truly kind of a form of life to be in this politics, rather than just a donation, rather than just a vote, rather than just canvassing even.” In conversation with Jessica Washington and Jordan Uhl, Lennard emphasizes the importance and resilience of the working class. "Nurses unions, food workers unions. Most of the working class in this country are women. And it is a profoundly multi-racial working class. And we have a working class of care workers. And a service economy. And an increasingly growing care economy," she says. "That needs investing in. That needs support. That needs building." To hear more about the future of progressive politics, listen to this week's episode of The Intercept Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E2 · Thu, November 07, 2024
Kamala’s Fruitless Pursuit of the Mythical Moderate
There will be much analysis and innumerable postmortems of what Kamala Harris and her campaign got wrong about the electorate this election. Already, the trends are becoming clear: She failed to reach Black and Latino men, who flocked to Donald Trump this cycle. She underperformed in cities, typically Democratic strongholds. And she even lagged among younger voters vital to her party’s present and future. What’s behind this dismal showing? One explanation is Harris’s inability to put forth a distinct agenda that would appeal to disaffected Democrats. Instead, she held steady to the policies of President Joe Biden, despite general voter dissatisfaction and anxiety about the economy and the direction of the country. “We see Democrats over and over turning to courting this mythical moderate voter,” says senior politics reporter Akela Lacy on this week’s episode of The Intercept Briefing. “We also see a big failure to account for the rightward shift among young people and figure out how to give young voters a reason to support the Democratic Party.” Listen to understand what Intercept reporters were hearing at the polls in Georgia and Pennsylvania this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 E1 · Sat, November 02, 2024
How Does AIPAC Shape Washington? We Tracked Every Dollar.
Welcome to The Intercept Briefing, a new podcast from our newsroom. In our first episode, politics reporters Jessica Washington and Akela Lacy break down The Intercept’s recent investigation on how the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has shaped U.S. foreign policy, as well as, as well as its record-breaking spending in the 2024 election cycle to unseat members of Congress who are who are insufficiently pro-Israel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, August 23, 2024
The Intercept at the DNC: Kamala Harris Mentioned Palestinian Suffering — in the Passive Voice
At the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago, Israel’s war on Gaza was the elephant in the room. On this Intercept podcast special, we’re talking about the Democratic Party’s simmering debate about Gaza inside and outside the United Center — culminating in Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech Thursday night. Intercept senior politics reporter Akela Lacy, who is in Chicago reporting on the convention, joins senior editor Ali Gharib to discuss Democrats’ approach to the war and Harris’s speech. Ahead of the convention, Harris’s ascension raised the possibility of a changed approach to Gaza, and activists organized among delegates in the streets to try to make it happen. Protests raged . The “Uncommitted” movement pushed for Palestinian speaker on the main stage. And Harris’s role in the war got a controversial shoutout from New york Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — sparking some indirect swipes from a fellow member of the progressive Squad. By Thursday night, the war on Gaza made its way into Harris’s speech. But did her words signal the change in policy that Palestine solidarity advocates were hoping for ? Transcript coming soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 03, 2024
Understanding Israel’s “System of Domination”
The process of Jewish expansion over Palestinian land has involved maintaining a "system of domination," says author Nathan Thrall on this week's Intercepted. In order to constrict "Palestinians into tighter and tighter space" over the decades, Israel has deployed a strict permit system, movement restrictions, walls, fences, segregated roads, and punitive actions such as arrests and detentions, even of children. In “ A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy ," Thrall’s book, published just before the start of the current war, tells the story of one Palestinian man’s struggle to navigate Israel’s painful system of legal and security controls after his son’s school bus is involved in a fatal accident. Thrall joins host Murtaza Hussain in a discussion about the system of control that Israel maintains over Palestinians, violence in the West Bank, the future outlook for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Gaza, and possible escalation amid fighting at Israel’s northern border. "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama" is a 2024 nonfiction Pulitzer Prize winner. Thrall is also the author of "The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine." If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 26, 2024
The Night That Won’t End in Gaza
Throughout the past nine months of Israel’s scorched-earth war against the people of Gaza, the world has watched as the official death toll has increased by the day. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. These figures are likely a stark undercount of the true devastation. A recent report from the British aid organization Save the Children estimates that more than 20,000 Palestinian children are missing in Gaza. A new documentary by Fault Lines called “ The Night Won’t End: Biden’s War on Gaza ” tells the story of the war's impact on the lives of three Palestinian families in Gaza. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill speaks to the film's correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous and executive producer Laila Al-Arian, the Emmy award-winning executive producer of Fault Lines, Al Jazeera English’s flagship U.S.-based news magazine. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 19, 2024
War Clouds Over Lebanon as Hezbollah and Israel Clash
The escalating military confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel now threatens to expand the conflict in Gaza into a full-blown regional war. For the past eight months, Israel and Hezbollah have traded missile attacks , leading to the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians from northern Israel and southern Lebanon. The two sides have fought devastating wars in the past, but a cold peace has reigned for nearly 17 years. That peace is now in jeopardy, as Hezbollah has mobilized in sympathy with Hamas following Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip . To discuss the situation this week on Intercepted is Sam Heller, a fellow with the Century Foundation and expert on Lebanon and Hezbollah. Heller spoke with host Murtaza Hussain on the prospects of the conflict escalating, as well as the potential impact on the Lebanese, Israelis, and the broader Middle East. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, June 13, 2024
Medical Aid Worker Describes the Bloody Aftermath of Israel’s Hostage Rescue
An Israeli military operation in Gaza this week aimed at rescuing four hostages from Hamas killed over 270 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more. The Nuseirat refugee camp, where the attacks occurred, became a scene of horror as the injured sought care from Gaza's few remaining hospitals. Karin Huster, a Doctors Without Borders medical coordinator, witnessed the aftermath. She joins host Murtaza Hussain on Intercepted to discuss what she saw following the Israel Defense Forces attack alleged to involve grave war crimes, and the ongoing impact of the war on Gaza's civilian population. Transcript coming soon. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 05, 2024
Rafah Clash Exposes Roots of Egypt and Israel Tension
After eight months of brutal fighting with no end in sight, the war in Gaza is at risk of metastasizing into a regional conflict. Recent tensions between Egypt and Israel — normally security partners who have cooperated in the blockade of Gaza — have thrown into stark relief the growing risks of a spillover from the war. This week on Intercepted, security expert H. A. Hellyer discusses with co-host Murtaza Hussain the growing hostilities between the two countries, which have resulted in Egypt joining the International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel, threats to annul the Camp David peace accords , and even a fatal shooting incident between Egyptian and Israel troops. The war in Gaza is at risk of exploding into a far greater war that could cause the destruction of the tenuous security architecture that has held the region together for decades. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 15, 2024
Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine
The past week in Gaza has seen a major escalation in Israeli attacks against the besieged and starving Palestinians trapped in a killing cage. The Biden administration has aggressively sought to portray itself as being increasingly at odds with Israel’s tactics, mostly focusing on U.S. threats to withhold some weapons shipments if Benjamin Netanyahu conducts an invasion of Rafah. But the cold reality is that Israel has already bombed and occupied large swaths of Rafah. The regime has ordered the forced exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, not only from Rafah, but also from areas of northern Gaza , once again thrusting masses of civilians — many of whom are wounded, starving, dehydrated, and traumatized — on a desperate hunt for a place to pitch a makeshift tent as they await either death or a ceasefire. Despite the White House leaking stories to insider media outlets about how Biden is fed up with his great friend Netanyahu, the U.S. has made clear it continues to arm and support the Israeli regime. This week on Intercepted, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the feminist antiwar organization Code Pink, speaks with Jeremy Scahill. Since the launch of the so-called war on terror in 2001, the 71-year-old activist has spent more than two decades disrupting congressional hearings, chasing members of Congress through the halls of the Capitol for answers, and traveling to countries the U.S. has labeled as enemies. Benjamin discusses her personal path to activism and the siege on Gaza, and offers a guide on how ordinary people can disrupt business as usual in the chambers of power in Washington, D.C. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 08, 2024
“A New Sense of World-Building”: Inside the Student Movement for Gaza
Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington, reached a deal with students to work toward divesting from “companies that profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.” It is one of the few schools to reach deals with students protesting Israel's war on Gaza as demonstrations spread to more than 154 campuses nationwide. This week on Intercepted, we bring you a special episode from inside the student movement for Gaza. Prem Thakker, a politics reporter for The Intercept, breaks down the campus protests and students' demands for schools to cut off financial ties with Israel and weapons makers. Thakker is joined by Gillian Goodman, a freelance writer and journalism graduate student at Columbia University. Gillian takes us inside the protest encampment at Columbia, which inspired similar demonstrations nationwide before it was violently dismantled by police. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 01, 2024
Judith Butler Will Not Co-Sign Israel’s Alibi for Genocide
Last month, the famed American philosopher and gender studies scholar Judith Butler was thrust into the center of a controversy after remarks Butler made about the October 7 attacks in Israel. A longtime critic of Zionism and Israel’s war against the Palestinians, Butler had condemned the attacks in the immediate aftermath. But at a March roundtable in France , Butler offered a historical context for the Hamas-led operations and stated that the attacks constituted armed resistance. The blowback was swift, and Butler was criticized in media outlets across Europe and in Israel. This week on Intercepted, Butler discusses the controversy and their position on Hamas, Israel, and crackdowns on student protests. Butler is currently a Distinguished Professor at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School. They are the author of several books, including “The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind,” “Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism,” and most recently, “ Who's Afraid of Gender? ” For full show transcript visit the episode page . If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 24, 2024
Biden’s Indifference to Palestinian Lives Is Sending the Middle East Into the Abyss
In the face of growing international pressure, the Biden administration has continued to double down on a policy of blanket support for Israel, even as it presses ahead with a possible military offensive against the town of Rafah that many observers have warned could trigger the largest humanitarian crisis of the war so far. This week on Intercepted, co-hosts Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain discuss the Biden administration's approach to the conflict with Thanassis Cambanis, director of the foreign policy think tank Century International. Cambanis explains how Biden’s policy toward Israel is pushing the entire Middle East to the brink of a regional war that could inflict far greater suffering than we have seen to date, in an area which U.S. policymakers claim to be trying to exit. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 17, 2024
U.S. Doctor Returning From Gaza Describes Unforgettable Carnage
The war in Gaza has been among the deadliest for civilians, including children, of any war in the 21st century. After spending five weeks volunteering and administering at a field hospital in Rafah, Mohammad Subeh, an American doctor, describes what he saw to Intercepted co-hosts Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain. Subeh spent weeks treating wounded Palestinian children, many of them orphaned by Israeli attacks. He also described treating those who survived the aftermath of “mass casualty incidents” in which dozens of civilians were killed or wounded; many of these attacks appeared deliberately targeted at civilians, Subeh says, rather than “indiscriminate.” As the Strip reels from the consequences of a breakdown of public health infrastructure following the destruction of most Gazan hospitals, Subeh says that ordinary civilians are paying a gruesome price for Israel's military assault. Intercepted has been nominated for a Webby award under the category of Best News and Politics podcast . Help us win by casting your vote today. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 10, 2024
Amid Gaza War, College Campuses Become Free Speech “Testing Ground”
The conflict in Gaza has galvanized a new generation of young anti-war activists, in the same way that opposition to the Vietnam War and apartheid South Africa did in decades past. A backlash is now building in the United States, led by right-wing activist and pro-Israel groups aimed at eliminating any public dissent over U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. As the death toll of Palestinians rises, a new authoritarian climate is sweeping across the U.S. — particularly on college campuses , which have transformed into laboratories for censorship and surveillance. Intercepted host Murtaza Hussain discusses this new political reality with Sahar Aziz, distinguished professor of law at Rutgers Law School and author of a new report on free speech and discrimination in the context of the Gaza conflict. Intercepted has been nominated for a Webby award under the category of Best News and Politics podcast . Help us win by casting your vote today. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, April 08, 2024
BONUS: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked Data
Unlike any other point in history, hackers, whistleblowers, and archivists now routinely make off with terabytes of data from governments, corporations, and extremist groups. These datasets often contain gold mines of revelations in the public interest and in many cases are freely available for anyone to download. Revelations based on leaked datasets can change the course of history.Yet these digital tomes can prove extremely difficult to analyze or interpret, and few people today have the skills to do so. Micah Lee’s new book, “ Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked Data ” teaches journalists, researchers, and activists the technologies and coding skills required to do just this. The following episode is an excerpt from the book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 27, 2024
Iran and U.S. Wage a Shadow War Behind Gaza Conflict
The Israeli military assault on Gaza has continued for nearly six months, with word of an impending attack on the densely populated town of Rafah. Against this backdrop, a shadow war has continued to play out between Iran and a network of militant groups on one side, and the U.S. and Israel on the other. Iran today supports and arms not just Hamas, but also groups like Lebanese Hezbollah , the Houthis, and various Syrian and Iraqi militia groups. Aside from the U.S. itself, Iran today is likely the most important outside power in the Gaza war, though its role is often ignored. This week on Intercepted, host Murtaza Hussain discusses the role of Iran in the region with historian Arash Azizi. The author of "What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom," Azizi also discusses political developments in the country in the aftermath of recent elections. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sat, March 23, 2024
“Man-Made Hell On Earth”: A Canadian Doctor on His Medical Mission to Gaza
Warning: This interview contains graphic descriptions of violence and death. Throughout the past five and a half months, Israel has waged a full-spectrum war against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. The United States and other Western nations have supplied not only the weapons for this war of annihilation against the Palestinians, but also key political and diplomatic support. The results of the actions of this coalition of the killing have been devastating. Conservative estimates hold that more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 13,000 children. More than 8,000 people remain missing, many of them believed to have died in the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli attacks. Famine conditions are now present in large swaths of the Gaza Strip. For months, doctors across Gaza have performed amputations and other high-risk procedures without anesthetics or proper operating rooms. Antibiotics are in short supply and often unavailable. Communicable diseases are spreading , as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are forced to live in makeshift shelters with little access to toilets or basic sanitary supplies. Israel has repeatedly blocked or delayed aid shipments of vital medical supplies to Gaza. Basic preventative medical care is nearly nonexistent, and medical experts predict that malnutrition will condemn a new generation of young Palestinians to a life of developmental struggles. The result of the onslaught against medical facilities is that there is only one fully functional hospital remaining in the territory, the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Dr. Yasser Khan, a Canadian ophthalmologist and plastic surgeon, just left Gaza where he spent 10 days at the hospital performing eye surgeries on victims of Israeli attacks. It was his second medical mission to Gaza since the war began last October. On this special Intercepted, Dr. Khan speaks to Jeremy Scahill about what he witnessed. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcas
Wed, March 20, 2024
“We Have to Start Thinking in Terms of Decolonization”
As the official death toll in Gaza passes 31,000 people, including more than 13,000 children, the Israeli state is continuing its mass-killing operations in the besieged strip. The U.N. secretary-general is warning that famine is spreading in Gaza, and Tel Aviv remains defiantly committed to its distinctly offensive war of collective punishment. While the Biden administration is growing more vocal in its public calls for a pause in Israeli military actions, it has also made clear it has imposed no “red lines” over military action. The Netanyahu government maintains it will escalate its attacks in Rafah, even as the White House is calling for Israeli officials to consider a smaller-scale operation to target Hamas fighters and leadership. This week on Intercepted, Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu discusses the disconnect between the rhetoric of Western leaders and the predictable results of their sustained military backing of Israel. Buttu also analyzes the political debates within Palestine and the role of Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, and the thousands of arrests of Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7. She also discusses the significance of Palestinian resistance leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving multiple life terms in an Israeli prison but whose freedom Hamas says it is committed to winning in a future exchange of captives. Barghouti, who is often characterized as Palestine’s Nelson Mandela, was reportedly beaten in prison this week. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 13, 2024
Israel’s Use of Mass Starvation as a Weapon of War
After six months of a sustained U.S.-backed Israeli war of annihilation against the Palestinians of Gaza, President Joe Biden says he now has a “red line.” Asked about Israel’s threatened full-scale invasion of Rafah, Biden said, “You can't have another 30,000 Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after [Hamas],” Biden told MSNBC. “There are other ways to deal with Hamas.” The White House has taken no action to halt the transfer of arms and other support to Israel’s war and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly said that he, not Biden, will decide whether to occupy Gaza. As the Ramadan holiday begins, the humanitarian reality of the people in Gaza has descended into horror. Israel’s deliberate starvation campaign is intensifying the already indescribable suffering wrought by constant bombing and ground operations. The decimation of the health infrastructure and the attacks against hospitals have resulted in the collapse of basic health services. This week on Intercepted, Yara Asi, author of “How War Kills: The Overlooked Threats to Our Health,” joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a discussion on the health impacts of the war, the dehumanizing narratives Israel has deployed to justify its mass-killing operations, and the U.S. plans for building a port off the Gaza coast. Asi is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida in the School of Global Health Management and co-director of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join , where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 06, 2024
U.S. Endorses Pakistan's Sham Election
The U.S. State Department this week congratulated Pakistan's new prime minister on assuming power, following elections that were marred by widespread allegations of rigging, voter suppression, and violence targeting supporters of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. On a special crossover episode of Intercepted and Deconstructed, hosts Murtaza Hussain and Ryan Grim discuss the aftermath of Pakistan's February 8 election, as well as growing calls inside the U.S. to hold Pakistan's military-backed regime accountable for its ongoing suppression of democracy. Hussain and Grim also discuss U.S. interests in the region, and the historical ties between the Pakistani military and its supporters in Washington. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 28, 2024
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti on the Struggle for Palestine's Future Amid Gaza Genocide
The Israeli government is on the brink of a long-feared military offensive against the town of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinian civilians have taken shelter from the Israeli campaign in Gaza. An attack on Rafah could trigger the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the war so far, including a potential ethnic cleansing of Gaza as Palestinians are pushed into Egypt. This week on Intercepted, hosts Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain discuss the current state of the war as well as the ongoing Palestinian campaign for political unity with Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a physician and general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative. Barghouti speaks about the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the role of the U.S. in facilitating the war, and his own political future and that of the Palestinian national movement in the wake of this crisis. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 14, 2024
Nowhere Left to Go in Gaza as Israel’s Ground Assault on Rafah Looms
On Friday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans for a ground invasion of Rafah, where at least 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering; the vast majority are refugees who have fled their homes. Israel’s most recent bombardments on Rafah have killed at least 14 people in a set of strikes on Thursday and upward of 100 on Monday. This week on Intercepted, guest host Sharif Abdel Kouddous — a contributing writer for The Intercept — and Tareq Baconi discuss Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, the history of Palestine, and prospects for the future. Baconi is the president of the board of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, a former senior analyst for the International Crisis Group on Israel/Palestine, and author of “Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance.” If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 07, 2024
Joe Biden Leads a Western “Coalition of the Killing” in Backing Israel’s Gaza War
The U.S.-backed Israeli war on Gaza is entering its fifth month. As the brutal siege and bombing continues, the United Nations and other international organizations are warning of famine and the outbreak of diseases. Powerful nations around the world, led by the U.S., are not just supplying weapons and political support for Israel, but also have now joined in the campaign to further restrict vital humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Biden administration has led the charge to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the most important aid organization operating in Gaza. Israel has waged a smear campaign against UNRWA, baselessly characterizing the whole organization as a front group for Hamas. What began as an accusation that a few UNRWA employees may have participated in the October 7 attacks has now become a sweeping attack against the organization’s very existence. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill is joined by Mohammed Elnaiem, a political educator and director of the Decolonial Centre in London. Elnaiem discusses the ways pro-colonial narratives provide support to Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, despite people around the world watching a “livestreamed genocide.” He also breaks down the major imperial powers’ role in the conflict, connecting the historical thread of colonialism to the current war. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 31, 2024
Biden Stands at the Precipice of a Greater War in the Middle East and His Political Future
The killing of three U.S. soldiers at a remote military outpost in Jordan, claimed by Iraqi militia groups to be retaliation for U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza, has set the stage for a response by the Biden administration that has blamed Iran for helping support the attack. After years of attempting to pivot away from the region, the Biden administration now looks set to deepen its military involvement in the Middle East as it fights the Houthis in Yemen and squares off in an escalating proxy war with Iran. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain discuss the trajectory of the U.S. long war in the Middle East with Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan and a longtime writer and commenter on the region. Cole discusses the basis of the ongoing U.S.–Israel security relationship, the perspective of anti-Israel militant groups in the region, and the prospects of the expansion of the war despite the Biden administration's desires to keep it contained. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 24, 2024
Biden’s War Expands from Gaza to Yemen
With his airstrikes this month ordered in response to attacks on Red Sea shipping, Joe Biden has become the fourth consecutive U.S. president to bomb Yemen. The strikes targeted against the Houthi militant group are aimed at preventing further attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. Biden himself has said that the strikes carried out so far have been ineffective but that they would continue on nonetheless. This week on Intercepted, Shireen Al-Adeimi, an assistant professor of language and literacy at Michigan State University and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute focused on Yemen, joins us to discuss the history of U.S. involvement in the country since the war on terror and the potential impact of this new intervention on Yemeni society. With co-hosts Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain, Al-Adeimi discusses the U.S. role in facilitating a disastrous Saudi and Emirati war in Yemen over the past decade, the emergence of the Houthis, and the political threats of the present conflict as Yemenis attempt to negotiate a peace agreement aimed at putting an end to a devastating conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands in the country. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 17, 2024
The Legal Case Against Joe Biden for Enabling Israel’s Genocide Against Gaza
A panel of judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague has entered deliberations in the preliminary phase of South Africa’s historic suit against Israel, charging it with carrying out a genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza. While a final ruling in the case could take years, the judges will rule on whether to order a halt to continued Israeli military actions pending a trial. This week on Intercepted, Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, discusses the ICJ case as well as a lawsuit CCR has filed against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the support and failure to prevent genocide in Gaza. Arguments will begin next week in federal court in California. Gallagher, Jeremy Scahill, and Murtaza Hussain discuss what a ruling in South Africa’s favor would mean for Israel’s U.S.-backed war against Gaza and how the U.S. may try to shield Israel from international consequences, as it has done throughout history. They also examine the history of the U.S. judge who is currently president of the ICJ, as well as U.S. laws that require American officials to take actions to prevent, not enable, genocide, including one that was sponsored by then-Sen. Biden. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 10, 2024
Israel Is Banking on U.S. Support for a Wider War Against the Axis of Resistance
As Israel’s war of annihilation in Gaza enters its fourth month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pulling the U.S. deeper into a wider regional war. In recent weeks, Israel has intensified its military operations inside Lebanon, killing several mid-level Hezbollah commanders in what appear to be targeted assassination strikes. Israel is also widely believed to have been responsible for the January 2 drone strike in a Beirut suburb that killed a senior Hamas official, Saleh al-Arouri. Hezbollah, a well-armed and organized Lebanese resistance movement with close links to Iran and a central member in the axis of resistance, has regularly fired rockets into northern Israel and has conducted drone strikes of its own, including against a strategic Israeli military facility. This week’s guests on Intercepted are Amal Saad , a lecturer in politics at Cardiff University and a scholar of Hezbollah, and Karim Makdisi , an associate professor of international politics at the American University of Beirut and co-host of the Makdisi Street podcast. They join Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for an in-depth discussion on whether Israel's war on Gaza will spark what many in the region believe is an inevitable “great war” against Israel. They also discuss the role of Iran and its relationships with Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as how Joe Biden compares to past presidents on the wars in Palestine and Lebanon. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, December 15, 2023
Deconstructed Podcast: “The Squad,” Part 3: The Last Gaza War
Today, we’re sharing an episode of our sister podcast, Deconstructed, hosted by Ryan Grim. More than 18,600 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s latest wave of attacks began just over two months ago, following the October 7 Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis. While the Biden administration continues to support Israel in its devastation, politicians and heads of state around the world are calling for a ceasefire. The last extended war on Gaza, in 2021, would reshape the Democratic Party's posture toward Israel and Palestine. On this episode of Deconstructed, Ryan Grim brings us another audio documentary, adapted from an excerpt of his new book, “The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution.” In this episode, Grim revisits the 2021 Gaza war. When members of the Squad and their allies began speaking out about the U.S. government’s support for Israel, the debates in Washington grew extremely messy. The Squad’s opposition led to a political showdown, with special interest groups and other politicians applying pressure on those critical of Israel’s attacks. It threatened a government shutdown and further pushed the conversation on the U.S.’s unconditional support for the Israeli military, setting the stage for the widespread opposition seen today, as well as the highly organized and well-funded reaction from supporters of Israel. You can find Grim's book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250869074/thesquad If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 13, 2023
How Israel Commodifies Mass Killing Through Its “Palestine Laboratory”
For more than two months, the Israeli military has waged a scorched-earth campaign against Gaza, and the death toll has risen to over 18,000 Palestinians, including more than 7,000 children. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, violent Israeli government-armed and funded settlers continue their violent campaign to purge Palestinians from their homes as the Israel Defense Forces lay siege to Jenin and other cities. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill discusses the dystopian game show that Israel is subjecting Palestinians to in Gaza, kettling them into an ever-shrinking killing cage. While the scope of the war against Gaza is unprecedented, it has been preceded by a decadeslong cycle of regular Israeli ground and air attacks against the Palestinians of both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Independent journalist Antony Loewenstein discusses his groundbreaking new book, “The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World.” For two decades, Loewenstein, a co-founder of Declassified Australia, has reported on Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Israel, having lived in East Jerusalem for several years. Loewenstein breaks down how Israel markets its defense and intelligence technology to nations across the world, boasting of how it has been “battle-tested” against the Palestinians. He also discusses the weaponization of accusations of antisemitism against critics of Israeli policies and wars and the formal efforts in the U.S., Germany, and elsewhere to categorize opposition to Zionism as antisemitism. This is the last episode of 2023. Thank you for listening this year. We will be back with more episodes in 2024. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sat, December 02, 2023
Two Months That Shook the World: The First Phase of the Gaza War
On Friday morning, Israel resumed its bombing campaign against Gaza, and the civilian death toll is once again rising. Both Hamas and Israel accused the other of violating the temporary truce. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has promised, “We will fight in the entire [Gaza] Strip.” Despite meekly worded suggestions from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel make an effort to reduce civilian deaths, the U.S. position remains one of full-throttled support for a military campaign that has killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them children and other civilians. In this special episode of Intercepted, political analyst Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of the Arab Studies Institute’s ezine Jadaliyya, offers a provocative analysis of the current situation. In a discussion with Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain, Rabbani suggests that behind the belligerent rhetoric and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proclamations he will eradicate Hamas, Israel may already be heading for a bloody quagmire it is unlikely to transform into an accomplishment of its stated goals. “We’re now well into the second month of this war, and the most Israel has been able to achieve is to raise the Israeli flag on a hospital. It’s not exactly Iwo Jima,” Rabbani says. The “Israeli military is a very effective killing machine when it’s dropping 2,000-pound bombs from the air, but a rather mediocre fighting force when it comes to ground operations.” Rabbani describes the evolution of Hamas’s strategy and tactics over the past decades and maps out several scenarios that might emerge in the coming period. “The idea that you can wipe [Hamas] out, even if you fully succeed in conquering every last square inch of the Gaza Strip, is an illusion,” he says. “It is effectively impossible to resume this war without regional escalation.” If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 29, 2023
Prisoners, Propaganda, and the Battle Over the Gaza War Narrative
Despite a temporary pause in Israel’s massive bombardment and ground operations in Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe continues to worsen. With more than 15,000 dead Palestinians and whole neighborhoods and towns left in ruin, Israel’s defense minister has defiantly vowed to dramatically escalate the attacks inside Gaza the moment the truce ends. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain discuss the state of the war as well as the propaganda campaigns being waged by each side. Then Roy Yellin, head of public outreach at Israel’s leading human rights organization B’Tselem, discusses recent developments on the hostage and prisoner exchanges, how the crisis has impacted Israeli society, and describes the conditions faced by Palestinians when they are thrown into Israel’s military justice system. Yellin also explains the state sponsorship of violent Israeli settlers, the mass detentions underway of Palestinians in the West Bank, and the dangerous nature of Israel’s far-right Interior Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 22, 2023
Historian Rashid Khalidi on Israel’s Long Reign of Violence
The civilian death toll wrought by Israel’s siege of Gaza is staggering. More than 14,000 Palestinians have been killed, nearly half of them children. More than 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced from their homes. And President Joe Biden has presided over an open spigot of U.S. weapons and support for the war of annihilation being waged by the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu. This week on Intercepted, the esteemed historian Rashid Khalidi joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a wide-ranging conversation about the long arc of the history of Israel’s political, economic, and military campaigns against the Palestinian people. Khalidi, a professor at Columbia University, is the author of several books, including “The Hundred Years' War on Palestine.” Khalidi also discusses how the war on Gaza will impact Biden’s legacy and the role of the United States in facilitating the current war and those of the past 75 years. "Biden has done permanent harm to the standing of the United States in the world, in the Muslim world, and in the Arab world. Permanent harm," says Khalidi. "He has alienated young generations that will think of the United States in terms of Gaza for a very long time." If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 15, 2023
The Gaza Siege: A Harsh Spotlight on the West’s Moral Bankruptcy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently on CNN, “It’s not only our war, it’s your war too.” He was right: The Biden administration has armed, funded, and supported Netanyahu every step of the way as Israel wages a campaign of terror bombings against Gaza. In five weeks of sustained Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, one in 200 residents of Gaza has been killed. Of the more than 11,000 deaths, 4,600 of them are children. President Joe Biden remains entrenched in his support for the scorched-earth campaign of his “great, great friend” Netanyahu. This week on Intercepted, independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Jeremy Scahill discuss the horrors facing the people of Gaza and the history of Biden’s support for some of the most extreme actions of Israel. They discuss the unprecedented killing of journalists in Gaza and the violent campaign being waged by Netanyahu-backed Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. Kouddous also discusses Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera correspondent and U.S. citizen Shireen Abu Akleh and decries the lack of solidarity from U.S. and other Western journalists. We also hear recent public remarks from author Ta-Nehisi Coates as he describes his trip to Palestine last summer as part of the Palestine Festival of Literature and offers his analysis of the siege of Gaza. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 08, 2023
Netanyahu’s Savage Game: Mass Killing Palestinians, Exploiting Israeli Grief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to reject international calls for a ceasefire and says Israel will oversee security in Gaza indefinitely. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain discuss Israel's monthlong scorched-earth campaign in Gaza and the U.S. government's complicity. Then Mairav Zonszein, an Israeli American journalist and a senior analyst on Israel–Palestine at the International Crisis Group, joins to discuss developments in Israel and Gaza. Zonszein, who is based in Israel, discusses the political developments in the country, the failures of Netanyahu during the crisis, and the tragic implications for Palestinians in Gaza. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, October 31, 2023
Ceasefire Calls Grow
More than 3,000 children have been killed in Gaza since Israel began bombarding the enclave three weeks ago. The number of children reportedly killed in the conflict has surpassed the annual number of children killed in conflicts around the world since 2019, according to Save the Children. This week on Intercepted, Murtaza Hussain is joined by Khaled Elgindy, the director of the Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute and author of “Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, From Balfour to Trump.” Hussain and Elgindy discuss the latest developments in the war on Gaza, the U.S. government’s role in this crisis, and what the future may look like as the violence continues. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 25, 2023
Death Toll in Gaza Now Exceeds 5,000
The dystopian images coming out of Gaza, as Israel continues its scorched-earth campaign, show horrific destruction and the killing of civilians. Over the weekend, Israel escalated bombardments in Gaza, raising the death toll to over 5,000 with more than 62 percent of fatalities being women and children, according to the latest U.N. reports. There is a growing concern Israel’s war on Gaza will draw other nations into the conflict, including Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, and Turkey. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain are joined by Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and the head of the Palestine/Israel program at the Arab Center Washington D.C. They discuss the institutional support for war against Palestine, the shutting down of pro-Palestinian voices, and the broader regional and political implications of an intensification of the war. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 18, 2023
India — and the World — After Gaza
The Indian government was locked in a crisis over its alleged assassination of a Canadian citizen when a war between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip broke out that threatens to upend the global order. As the liberal international system begins to fray under these pressures, Indian author and journalist Pankaj Mishra joins host Murtaza Hussain on this week's Intercepted to discuss how the war in the Middle East is reshaping global politics, the evolution of India’s foreign policy, and its crisis with Canada over an alleged assassination. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 11, 2023
The Gaza Cauldron
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu has initiated a total blockade of Gaza amidst a merciless scorched-earth bombing campaign. The country’s defense minister said Israel will operate with an iron fist in its war against “human animals” following the well-coordinated surprise attacks over the weekend led by Hamas. The unprecedented raids into Israel over the weekend killed scores of both Israeli military and civilians. Hamas has vowed to execute Israeli hostages in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of civilian sites in Gaza. This week on Intercepted, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a wide-ranging discussion on Hamas’s strategy, Netanyahu’s possible attempt to draw the U.S. into a war with Iran, and the prospects for a wider Middle East war. They also discuss the difference in media coverage of Palestinian and Israeli violence and the deaths of civilians, as well as the Biden administration’s role in the crisis. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Correction: October 12, 2023: In an earlier version of this episode, Marwan Bishara said Hamas was not involved in the 2021 war between Israel and Palestine. In fact, Hamas was part of that conflict. The audio and transcript have been edited. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 04, 2023
Azerbaijan War on Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh Forcibly Displaced Tens of Thousands
Nearly the entire population of 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh has been forced to flee their homes after the latest Azerbaijani military assault, according to Armenian authorities and the U.N. This week on Intercepted, Maria Titizian, editor-in-chief of EVN Report, joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss the history leading up to the recent Azerbaijani offensive and mass exodus of civilians, the collapse of the Republic of Artsakh, and the emerging geopolitical alliances exploiting the protracted humanitarian crisis. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 27, 2023
The Hunt for the Nord Stream Bombers
In the early morning hours of September 26, 2022, in the deep abyss of the Baltic Sea, an international mystery of substantial consequence began to unfold when a bomb ruptured the Russian-dominated Nord Stream pipeline. It was the opening salvo in a four-pronged attack that day that would leave three of the four pipelines incapacitated. One year later, no suspects have been arrested and no sponsor — nation state or otherwise — has been formally accused of responsibility. This week on Intercepted, we present a special documentary, "The Hunt for the Nord Stream Bombers." We hear from Holger Stark, an investigative journalist from Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper who has broken several major stories on the bombing, as well as retired Swedish engineer Erik Andersson , who organized a groundbreaking independent expedition to film all four of the blast sites. Jeremy Scahill takes us through what we know and what we don’t about the bombing and examines the top suspects and the mounting evidence suggesting Ukrainian involvement in the attacks. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, September 22, 2023
Inside Biden’s Secret Arms Deal
The U.S. orchestrated a secret arms deal to send weapons to Ukraine, helping Pakistan reach the threshold needed for an International Monetary Fund loan to save the country's economy, according to two sources with knowledge of the arrangement and documents leaked to The Intercept. This week on a special Deconstructed and Intercepted crossover episode, Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain discuss their reporting on the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of Pakistani arms sales to the U.S. for the purpose of supplying the Ukrainian military. Grim and Hussain are joined by Arif Rafiq, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and political risk analyst who focuses on Pakistan and the region. They break down the U.S.’s pressure to oust former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the IMF’s role in the country, and Pakistan’s political economy. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/give, where your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us additional feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, August 18, 2023
How a Leaked Cable Upended Pakistani Politics — And Exposed U.S. Meddling
This is a special crossover episode with our sister podcast, Deconstructed. It's a big investigation from Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain. Last week, Intercept journalists Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain published a bombshell investigation into Pakistan’s political crisis. Grim and Hussain were provided a Pakistani intelligence document by an anonymous source, outlining how the U.S. government pressured the Pakistani government to oust former Prime Minister Imran Khan. This week on Deconstructed, Grim and Hussain discuss their reporting, the leaked cable, and the fallout from the political crisis in Pakistan. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 02, 2023
Niger Mutiny: Another U.S.-Trained Military Officer Led Coup
Troops from Niger ousted the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, last week. One of the coup leaders had previously received training from the U.S. government, becoming the 11th coup in the region led by U.S.-trained officers. This week on Intercepted, Nick Turse, investigative journalist and contributing writer with The Intercept, joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss the unfolding events in Niger and the Sahel region. Turse outlines how Africa has seen elevated conflict and instability as the U.S. has increased its military involvement on the continent over the last two decades. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 26, 2023
Protests in Israel: The Right’s Further Consolidation of Power
Despite months of widespread protests, Israel's right-wing government passed a law on Monday curbing the authority of the country's Supreme Court to block government decisions. This legislative action is just the beginning of a larger plan aimed at bolstering the nationalist Israeli right's grip on power. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain are joined by Mairav Zonszein, an Israeli American journalist and a senior analyst on Israel-Palestine at the International Crisis Group. Zonszein sheds light on the social-political dynamics driving the protests, the far-reaching implications of curtailing judiciary power on Israel and Palestine, and the future of Israel-U.S. relations. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 19, 2023
The Indiscriminate Rain of Cluster Bombs
The United States sent cluster munitions to Ukraine, bombs banned by 123 countries due to how they kill and maim indiscriminately over a wide area and for years after a conflict. This week on Intercepted, Marc Garlasco — the military adviser at PAX, a Dutch nongovernmental organization where he works to protect civilians in armed conflict, joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss how cluster munitions kill civilians during war and long after, and why their use — even by the United States — should be considered a war crime. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 12, 2023
A Teen Slain by Police Uproots France
The fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk during a traffic stop in Paris, France, sparked days of protests across the country. This week on Intercepted, host Murtaza Hussain is joined by Yasser Louati, a French political analyst and human rights advocate to discuss how Merzouk’s death struck at the fault lines underlying social discontent building in the country and the increasing power of the police. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 28, 2023
CIA Arms Dealer Was Actually DEA Target
In 2016, Flaviu Georgescu was found guilty and sentenced of attempting to traffic weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an insurgent group on the U.S. terror list. But when he was arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, he told the officials he was working for the CIA. This week on Intercepted, Trevor Aaronson, contributing writer with The Intercept, joins host Murtaza Hussain to discuss Georgescu’s case. In the second season of Aaronson’s podcast, "Alphabet Boys," Aaronson tells the story of the DEA operation against Georgescu and how he was targeted by a paid DEA informant. Georgescu, however, had reported the attempted arms trafficking to the CIA and believed he was collecting intelligence for the agency. Aaronson and Hussain discuss their reporting on the case and how the U.S. government may be manufacturing the very crimes they claim to stop. The second season of "Alphabet Boys" is out now. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 21, 2023
Turkish Elections: Erdogan’s Autocracy Continues
This week, the Turkish government announced it will raise its monthly minimum wage by 34 percent to address inflation and the economic crisis in the country. Despite the long-standing problems in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently won a contested reelection, further consolidating his 20-year rule. This week on Intercepted, Gönül Tol, the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, joins Murtaza Hussain to discuss the Turkish elections. Tol runs through Erdogan’s decadeslong history in office, how economic and social problems in Turkey contributed to the election’s rhetoric, and what Turkey’s future may look like under Erdogan’s autocratic government. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 14, 2023
Ukraine on the Offensive
The Ukrainian military’s counteroffensive against Russia is underway. Aided by the U.S. and other Western powers, Ukraine is making a push to expel Russian troops. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain are joined by Rajan Menon, the director of the Grand Strategy program at Defense Priorities and author of several books, including "Conflict in Ukraine: The Unwinding of the Post-Cold War Order.” Menon was recently in Ukraine, and he describes the developments in the country, more than one year since the Russian invasion began. Menon breaks down the regional differences in Ukraine and the geopolitical challenges to ending the conflict. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 07, 2023
Monetary Blowback: How U.S. Wars, Sanctions, and Hegemony Are Threatening the Dollar’s Reserve Currency Dominance
This week, strategists at JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, warned there are signs of “de-dollarization” around the world. Dedollarization is the push by countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and others, to move away from the U.S. dollar as the world’s primary reserve currency. This move poses a big challenge to U.S. economic hegemony. This week on Intercepted, Canadian businessperson and mining financier Frank Giustra joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss the prospective move toward nations’ dedollarization. Giustra breaks down the history of how the U.S. dollar became the world’s primary reserve currency. Scahill, Hussain, and Giustra then discuss the different nations and the political and economic motivations to dedollarize and how the U.S. government may respond in order to maintain its economic hegemony. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 31, 2023
Imran Khan’s Ousting and the Crisis of Pakistan’s Military Regime
For the past few weeks, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been at the center of an unprecedented political crisis. In the lead-up to new elections, Khan was arrested and released on corruption charges intended to keep him out of his office. Meanwhile, his supporters have been facing off against the military, as the armed forces crack down on his political party in a campaign aimed at excluding them from political life. The conflict drives at the heart of the most important issue in Pakistani politics: the reality of military rule. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain are joined by Omar Waraich — a journalist, human rights advocate, and former head of South Asia for Amnesty International. Waraich provides the historical context, explains the Pakistani military’s role in the country, and where U.S. relations with Pakistan stand. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, May 25, 2023
Henry Kissinger’s Bloody Legacy
An Intercept investigation, years in the making, reveals previously unpublished, unreported, and underappreciated evidence of hundreds of civilian casualties that were kept secret during the conflict in Cambodia and remain almost entirely unknown to the American people. This week on Intercepted, host Murtaza Hussain talks to Nick Turse, an investigative journalist and contributing writer for The Intercept, about his work to uncover the mass violence Kissinger ordered and oversaw in Cambodia while the U.S. carpet-bombed the country between 1969 and 1973. Turse’s investigation, “ Kissinger’s Killing Fields ,” is based on previously unpublished interviews with more than 75 Cambodian witnesses and survivors of U.S. military attacks in 13 Cambodian villages so remote they couldn’t be found on maps. Their accounts reveal new details of the long-term trauma borne by survivors of the American war. “It was very hands on. Kissinger was picking where bombs would be dropped in Cambodia,” Turse says. “The authentic documents associated with these strikes were burned and phony target coordinates and other forged data were supplied to the Pentagon and eventually Congress.” Experts say Kissinger bears significant responsibility for attacks in Cambodia that killed as many as 150,000 civilians — six times more noncombatants than the United States has killed in airstrikes since 9/11. Check out the full "Kissinger’s Killing Fields" project at TheIntercept.com. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 17, 2023
The Biggest Whodunnit of the Century
On September 26, 2022, at approximately 2:03 a.m. local time in the Baltic Sea off the southeast coast of the Danish island of Bornholm, the Nord Stream 2 underwater pipeline was rocked by a blast. That explosion, followed by a series of other targeted detonations on the older Nord Stream 1 pipelines some 17 hours later, were swiftly assessed to be the result of deliberate sabotage. The explosions off the Swedish and Danish coasts set off an international mystery with unimaginably high stakes. There are a variety of international players, including powerful nation states, who would have had the motive, capability, and opportunity to conduct such an operation. This week on Intercepted, investigative journalist and author James Bamford takes us on a tour of what he calls “the biggest Whodunnit of the century.” Bamford is one of the most respected experts on U.S. intelligence operations and covert action. He is the author of several best-selling books, including “The Puzzle Palace: A Report on America's Most Secret Agency” and “The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA From 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America.” His most recent book is “Spyfail: Foreign Spies, Moles, Saboteurs, and the Collapse of America’s Counterintelligence.” Last week, The Nation published a story by Bamford in which he argues that Ukraine and Poland should be viewed as the top suspects in the sabotage and that the U.S. government almost certainly knows exactly who bombed the pipelines and how. That story is titled “ The Nord Stream Explosions: New Revelations About Motive, Means, and Opportunity .” Correction: May 17, 2023 A previous version of this episode incorrectly numbered the initial blasts on the Nord Stream 2 underwater pipeline at 2:03 a.m. The show description and audio have been updated. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 10, 2023
Frank Church, Deep State: The True Story of the Senator Who Took on the CIA and Its Corporate Clients
Nearly 50 years ago, the Church Committee began holding hearings to investigate the CIA and U.S. intelligence agencies’ lawless and secret efforts to spy on and plan assassination plots. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill is joined by James Risen and Thomas Risen to discuss how the CIA — without oversight from Congress and at times behind the backs of U.S. presidents — orchestrated coups against popular democratic governments from Guatemala to Iran and spied on anti-war activists and Black Power leaders inside the U.S. It was not until the Democratic Sen. Frank Church decided to take on this unaccountable, powerful, covert force within the U.S. national security apparatus that some of the CIA’s crimes and abuses came into public view. Sen. Church chaired a committee in 1975 that sought to reign in the CIA and impose laws and rules for their conduct. A new book by James Risen and Thomas Risen, called “The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys — and One Senator’s Fight to Save Democracy,” tells the story of the man behind the Church Committee and how an unlikely hero emerged to battle the most powerful secret entity in the U.S. government. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 03, 2023
China, the Peacemaker?
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a long call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which Xi appealed for negotiations to begin between Ukraine and Russia. This week on Intercepted, hosts Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain are joined by Alfred W. McCoy, the Harrington professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of “To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change.” As McCoy explains, China’s role in brokering a peace deal could be instrumental. And it also signals that the U.S. government is no longer the most powerful and influential world power in every region of the world, as it once was. McCoy says, “If Putin sat down with Xi Jinping and Zelenskyy and they sign an agreement, Putin couldn’t break that agreement. He can break any other agreement, he’ll break them, he’s done it many times, but that’s one he can’t break.” If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 26, 2023
Virtue Signaling as a War Policy
U.S. war planners have indicated that Ukraine plans to launch a spring offensive in an effort to retake territory lost in Russia’s invasion. Military analysts have also suggested that Kyiv, backed by the U.S.-led NATO alliance and its weapons shipments, is likely to attempt to purge Russia from Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that he has no plans to cease his military operations, and the stage is being set for further bloodshed with no end in sight. This week on Intercepted, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s Kelley Beaucar Vlahos joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a wide-ranging discussion on the proxy war, the uniform support among Democrats for Joe Biden’s policies on Ukraine, and the growing opposition among Republicans to funding the war. Last week, a group of Republican lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden saying they will no longer support what they called “unrestrained” aid to Ukraine. And they added they “will adamantly oppose all future aid packages unless they are linked to a clear diplomatic strategy designed to bring this war to a rapid conclusion.” The letter, which was signed by 19 Republicans, included three senators: Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and J.D. Vance. Vlahos, Scahill, and Hussain also discuss the various factions comprising the current GOP and discuss how the enduring focus on Russiagate and the 2016 election has fed into the discourse on the war in Ukraine. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 19, 2023
The Discord Leaker: The Case of the Most Unorthodox National Security Leaks in History
Last week, federal officials arrested Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, accusing him of having leaked hundreds of pages of classified Pentagon documents on a Discord server. The documents offer rare insights into the war in Ukraine and the extent of military casualties and reveal the presence of U.S. and other NATO nations' special forces clandestinely operating in the war zone. They also document how the conflict is spilling over into the Middle East and shed light on U.S. penetration of Russian military plans and U.S. spy efforts, including against American allies and the United Nations secretary general. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill, Murtaza Hussain, and national security editor Vanessa Gezari discuss the document leak and analyze what we know and don’t know about the young airman accused of distributing the documents, initially to a small group of gamers and gun enthusiasts in a private internet chatroom. They also discuss the media's role in identifying the suspect using open source clues left by Texeira and his friends in the months leading up to his arrest as well as what the accused 21 year old might face in an Espionage Act trial. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 12, 2023
U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts Destabilizing African Nations
Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped a historic tour of Africa last week, where she positioned the U.S. as a reliable and trustworthy security and economic partner. This week on Intercepted, host Murtaza Hussain is joined by investigative reporter, Nick Turse, to discuss his latest reporting on U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa. Since the war on terror was launched, the U.S. government’s ventures in Africa have been more focused on military aid than economic support. Harris’s trip comes after a decade of China investing in infrastructure and critical resource mining throughout the continent and the administration’s concerns over the growing influence of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group. But America’s 20-plus years of counterterrorism support in the region hasn’t resulted in better security. In that time, terrorist groups have risen and U.S.-trained African officers have attempted at least nine coups, eight of which were successful. Hussain and Turse discuss the impact of U.S. military involvement and the influence of other foreign powers. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 05, 2023
China’s Mounting Challenge to U.S. Hegemony
Despite China warning “serious confrontation in the U.S.-China relationship,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed plans to meet with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen when she visits California on Wednesday. This week on Intercepted, Elbridge Colby, former defense strategist during the Trump administration, joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss and debate the emerging bipartisan consensus that China threatens U.S. economic and military dominance. They discuss the impact of the U.S. war machine globally, China’s military build-up, as well as China’s rapidly expanding international prominence and economic might. As Beijing celebrates its diplomatic efforts to broker a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and makes moves aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, they debate whether Beijing poses a real threat to the U.S. and if a non-hegemonic world is possible. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bonus · Fri, March 24, 2023
Bonus: The Bloody U.S. Legacy in Iraq
This week marked the 20th anniversary of the launch of the War in Iraq. But the U.S. government’s involvement in the country tracks back decades prior. Jeremy Scahill retraces the U.S. government's long history of meddling, destabilizing, and bombing Iraq — and how major players have faced no accountability for their crimes. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 22, 2023
The Many Lives and Deaths of Iraq, as Witnessed by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
Amidst massive protests around the United States and the world, on March 19, 2003, the U.S. began its invasion of Iraq. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill, Murtaza Hussain, and Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad discuss the long-lasting impact of the war on Iraq and its people. Throughout the 20 years since the invasion, Iraq was torn to shreds by a gratuitous American occupation and a U.S.-fueled sectarian civil war. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died as U.S. policy gave rise to Al Qaeda — and ultimately the Islamic State in Iraq. While many commemorations of this bloody anniversary focus on the 2003 invasion, the plans to destroy Iraq were launched much earlier and were supported by Democrats and Republicans alike. Scahill, Hussain, and Abdul-Ahad discuss life under Saddam Hussein, the lead-up to the U.S. invasion, the brutality of the occupation, and the systematic refusal to bring any accountability for those responsible. “Of course, the Iraqis could not believe that their new colonial masters had no clue, had done no planning and made no preparations for what was going to happen after they invaded the country,” Abdul-Ahad writes in his new book, “A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War.” “When the myth of an American-generated prosperity clashed with the realities of occupation, chaos and destruction followed. Resentment and anger swept the country and all the suppressed rage of the previous decades exploded.” Abdul-Ahad shares stories from his deeply human reporting on his personal journey from an architect living in Baghdad to a celebrated international journalist documenting the rise and fall of ISIS. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And please go and leave us a rating or a review — it helps people find the show. If you want to give us feedback, email us at Podcasts@theintercept.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 22, 2023
Dissent Episode Six: The Clean Water Act Comes Under Attack
Which wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act? That’s the question before the Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA. Back in 2004, Michael and Chantell Sackett purchased a residential lot near the idyllic and popular Priest Lake in Idaho. In preparation of construction, the Sacketts started filling the lot with gravel and sand. But after an anonymous complaint about the dredging and filling, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered the Sacketts to stop construction until the proper permits and assessments were sorted out. The EPA argued that the Sacketts were building on a wetland protected by the Clean Water Act. Instead of securing federal permits, the Sacketts took their case to the Supreme Court for a second time. This week on Dissent, host Jordan Smith is joined by Sam Sankar, the senior vice president for programs at Earthjustice, a leading environmental law organization. Smith and Sankar discuss the Clean Water Act, wetlands and “navigable waters,” and the powerful interests backing the Sacketts. The outcome of the case, Smith and Sankar warn, could further gut the EPA’s ability to prevent pollution of the nation’s waters and combat climate change. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 15, 2023
Dissent Episode Five: The Death Penalty, Deadlines, and DNA
Rodney Reed has been on death row since 1998 for the killing of a 19-year-old woman named Stacey Stites. Although Texas prosecutors said the case was open and shut, Reed has consistently maintained his innocence. Over the years, dozens of witnesses have come forward with evidence that undermines the state’s case, casting serious doubt on whether Reed is actually guilty. But Texas has refused to conduct DNA testing that could put lingering questions to rest. This week on Dissent, host Jordan Smith is joined by Intercept senior writer Liliana Segura to discuss the Supreme Court’s review of the case. Segura was in Washington, D.C., for the oral arguments, which focused on whether the statute of limitations for DNA testing has run out. Although it may seem like a straightforward question, it’s anything but — and the court’s decision could have life-or-death consequences for defendants seeking to prove their innocence. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 08, 2023
Dissent Episode Four: The Right to Discriminate
Back in 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case involving a cake shop owner who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. In a 7-2 decision, the court found that the state had violated the cake maker’s religious objections. Now the court is considering another case out of Colorado that could expand the right to discriminate under the guise of free speech. In the fourth episode of Dissent, Jordan Smith and law professor Hila Keren discuss 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a challenge to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act brought by Lorie Smith, a website designer seeking to refuse wedding design services to same-sex couples. Unlike Masterpiece Cakeshop, the 303 Creative case has no injured parties; it is a preemptive attempt to allow businesses to practice unfettered discrimination. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 01, 2023
Dissent Episode Three: How an Adoption Case Could Unravel Tribal Sovereignty
The Supreme Court is hearing a case that could dismantle the Indian Child Welfare Act, also known as ICWA. The law was passed in 1978 to combat a history of forced family separation in the United States and prevent the removal of Native children from their communities. But now, in Haaland v. Brackeen, ICWA could be completely overturned. In the third episode of Dissent, host Jordan Smith is joined by Rebecca Nagle, a journalist, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and host of the podcast “This Land.” Smith and Nagle break down the case and its broad implications for laws based on tribes’ political relationship with the U.S. government. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 25, 2023
Dissent Episode Two: Judicial Adventurism
The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected a partisan gerrymandered congressional map drawn to heavily favor Republicans last year. The map violated the state’s constitution. The North Carolina legislature is now arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court whether the state legislature has the authority to override the court and ignore its own constitution. The case, Moore v. Harper, raises the prospect of the independent state legislature theory — a fringe theory that, if the Supreme Court rules in favor of, would give state legislatures unfettered authority, remove checks and balances, and undermine future elections. In the second episode of Dissent, host Jordan Smith and Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center closely examine oral arguments and unpack how a favorable or even a middle-ground ruling would radically change elections. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 18, 2023
Dissent Episode One: Tipping the Balance
Last year, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and demolish nearly half a century of abortion rights put to rest any remaining questions as to how far the 6-3 supermajority was willing to go to realize its extreme right-wing vision. With the court’s 2022-2023 term in full force, what rights are at stake this year? On the first episode of Dissent, an Intercepted miniseries, host and senior Intercept reporter Jordan Smith is joined by Jordan Rubin, a legal analyst with MSNBC and former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Smith and Rubin outline the Supreme Court’s term and discuss the major implications of the decisions ahead. If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 21, 2022
Borderland Residents Shut Down Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s Illegal Wall
Last week, the Justice Department sued the state of Arizona and its governor, Doug Ducey, for installing a shipping container wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. This week on Intercepted: Ryan Devereaux, an investigative reporter with The Intercept, breaks down Ducey’s makeshift, multimillion-dollar container wall. Devereaux tells the story of everyday people and community members who live along the border, and how they stood up to the governor and won. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Update: December 21, 2022 The state of Arizona has agreed to remove Gov. Doug Ducey’s container wall along the border, in response to the lawsuit filed by the federal government. Read the full story and watch the video here: HOW NEIGHBORS IN THE BORDERLANDS FOUGHT BACK AGAINST ARIZONA GOV. DOUG DUCEY’S ILLEGAL WALL — AND WON Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 30, 2022
Iran’s Protest Movement and Its Future
For a month and a half, Iran has been rocked by protests. The sustained demonstration, which were kicked off after a young woman was killed by the notorious morality police, are the most serious challenge to the ruling regime in at least a dozen years — maybe since its inception. This week on Intercepted: Murtaza Hussain, a reporter at The Intercept, is joined by Neda Toloui-Semnani, a journalist and the author of “They Said They Wanted a Revolution: A Memoir of My Parents.” Toloui-Semnani discusses the recent trajectory of the protests in Iran and its parallels with the 1979 revolution. Then, Hussain is joined by Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, a longtime activist, an expert working on issues of women in conflicts, and the founder of the International Civil Society Action Network. Naraghi-Anderlini and Hussain discuss the West’s approach to the demonstrations and the future of the movement. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 16, 2022
This Is How the Federal Government Force-Feeds Detainees
In 2019, Ajay Kumar, an asylum-seeker from India, began a hunger strike while in ICE detention to demand his release. In response, the U.S. government force-fed Kumar. The Intercept accessed footage of the force-feeding, a practice widely condemned by international organizations. This week on Intercepted, Travis Mannon, a video producer with The Intercept, breaks down what took place during the force-feeding and why this video is so significant: This is the first public video of a federally sanctioned force-feeding by the U.S. government. Mannon reports on Kumar’s time in ICE detention, the force-feeding he experienced, and the ethical questions surrounding the practice. Jose Olivares, lead producer for Intercepted, co-reported this story. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 02, 2022
The Fed's War on Workers
This week, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again, despite coming under scrutiny in recent months for its aggressive hikes to battle inflation. This week on Intercepted: Jon Schwarz, senior writer with The Intercept, talks all things Fed, the most powerful economic institution in the U.S. Schwarz is first joined by Intercept reporters Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw, who discuss how banks are lobbying the Fed, raising questions about the institution’s independence. Schwarz is then joined by former Fed economist Claudia Sahm to break down the Fed’s role in the economy and how its efforts to curb inflation are destabilizing the global economy and raising unemployment. Ken and Dan's story "The Fed Likes to Tout its Independence. So Why are Big Banks Lobbying It?": https://theintercept.com/2022/10/26/federal-reserve-bank-lobby/ join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 19, 2022
Crime of Aggression
Earlier this week, Russia launched a new drone bombing spree in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This followed last week's attack, when Russian missiles struck the capital and other parts of the country. This week on Intercepted: reporter Alice Speri breaks down the different international investigations into Russia’s crimes in Ukraine and explains why none include the crime of aggression. She speaks with human rights investigators and international humanitarian law experts, who break down what they think needs to happen to achieve justice for the victims of Russia’s crimes and set a precedent to prevent future acts of aggression. But prosecuting Russian leaders for the invasion of Ukraine may be a challenge, for fear it may boomerang back on Western aggressors. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, October 10, 2022
Bonus: Egypt’s Carceral Climate Summit
On October 6, 2022, University of British Columbia faculty members Mohammed Rafi Arefin and Naomi Klein from the new Centre for Climate Justice co-moderated a livestream discussion about the upcoming COP27 summit that will be held in Egypt, while the country’s most prominent pro-democracy activist, Alaa Abd El Fattah, remains in prison. As the world gets hotter, basic freedoms are under ever greater assault around the globe. These trends are about to collide in dramatic fashion at the upcoming United Nations climate summit, which this year takes place in Egypt, under the iron rule of Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Just a decade ago, Cairo’s Tahrir Square was synonymous with a hopeful, youth-led movement for liberation and democracy. Today, journalists are routinely arrested and thousands of political prisoners languish behind bars. With Egypt on the front lines of climate impacts and escalating repression, this panel discussion tackled tough questions about the relationship between meaningful climate action and political freedom. Is it possible to have one without the other? Are Egypt’s political prisoners being sacrificed in the name of climate urgency? What are the responsibilities of those choosing to attend the summit? What pressure can be brought to bear in this microcosm of the intersection of climate and justice? What pressure points exist for political action in Egypt’s debt negotiations and the government’s drive to attract foreign capital in areas like green energy? Hear from Sanaa Seif, sister of Alaa Abd El Fattah, as well as celebrated writers, journalists, and activists Omar Robert Hamilton, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Bill McKibben. Intercepted is publishing a lightly edited version of the livestream. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 05, 2022
Inside the Chinese Government’s Growing Surveillance State
The Chinese government forcibly collects biometric markers like fingerprints, facial images, and DNA of Xinjiang residents, where 12 million Uyghurs live. In recent years, the country has expanded and improved its surveillance capabilities. This week on Intercepted: investigative reporter Mara Hvistendahl speaks with Josh Chin and Liza Lin, reporters for the Wall Street Journal, about their new book, “Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.” In their book, Chin and Lin break down the international implications of the Chinese government’s adoption of surveillance technology. Hvistendahl, Chin, and Lin discuss techno-dystopia in the pandemic era, what happens when there are no checks on algorithms, and how Western companies helped the Chinese government build the surveillance state from day one. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 21, 2022
No Way Home, Episode Four: Getting Out Alive
Marked as enemies of the new Taliban regime by his work with Westerners and his family’s Hazara ethnicity, Hamid, his wife, their 8-year-old daughter, and their new baby move furtively from place to place, living under assumed names. Their year in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan echoes Hamid’s own war-torn childhood as he tries to guarantee his daughter’s future. Suddenly, an escape route opens: Will they finally make it out? Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “ No Way Home ” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, September 18, 2022
No Way Home, Episode Three: Born Again
Maryam Barak, an Afghan journalist, made it to Italy with her family last summer. In Rome, she met Qader Kazimizada, another newly arrived Afghan who is helping refugees find community in an alien place. Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “ No Way Home ” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 14, 2022
No Way Home, Episode Two: The Desert of Death
As the Taliban claimed territory last summer, Mir Abdullah Miri and his cousin Aziz both planned to flee their homes in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan. Mir, an educational researcher, made it to the Afghan capital and tried to get on a flight, while Aziz, a cellphone programmer, decided to cross into Iran on foot with his wife and two young children, hoping to reach relatives in Germany. After Aziz and his family set off through Afghanistan’s southern desert, Mir was left to untangle the mystery of what really happened to them in that desolate wilderness, where thousands of Afghans have risked their lives in search of a way out. Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “ No Way Home ” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, September 11, 2022
No Way Home, Episode One: Life and Death
When the Afghan government collapsed last summer, Summia Tora, Afghanistan’s first Rhodes scholar, used her connections to get her father out. But when she tried to evacuate a longtime NGO worker named Hamid, his pregnant wife, and their young daughter, a suicide bomber intervened. Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “ No Way Home ” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 24, 2022
The U.S. Legacy in Iraq and the Fight Against ISIS
The U.S. government’s long-lasting occupation of Iraq led to “many killings, disintegrating the country, and opening old, previous wounds,” according to former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. This week on Intercepted, reporter Murtaza Hussain is joined by Abadi, who led Iraq from 2014 to 2018. During that time he waged war against the Islamic State and eventually retook control of the country from the group. Abadi discusses his role as prime minister, his fight against ISIS, the U.S. government’s lasting legacy in Iraq, and Iranian influence in the country. Abadi has a new book out titled “Impossible Victory: How Iraq Defeated ISIS.” join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 10, 2022
How Fiscal Hawks Are Using Inflation as an Excuse to Tamp Down Worker Power
On Sunday, after months of negotiation, the Senate passed a budget reconciliation bill called the Inflation Reduction Act. This week on Intercepted, we go behind the bill to look at the dynamics driving inflation, scrutinize the solutions being pushed by fiscal hawks, and demystify the economic jargon being used to sideline worker interests in pursuit of profit. Intercept Deputy Editor Nausicaa Renner is joined by investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein and senior writer Jon Schwarz to discuss their latest story about Bank of America executives’ concerns about low unemployment and a tight labor market, how that sentiment is echoed throughout the media, and the cost of engineering a recession. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 27, 2022
The Cost of Saying No to the FBI
Since the 9/11 attacks, the FBI has dedicated huge resources to recruiting informants, particularly targeting Muslim Americans or immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. Saying no can carry serious consequences. This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain tells the story of one man who rejected the FBI’s request. Aswad Khan was visiting his family in Connecticut when the FBI tried to recruit him to spy on mosques, but he wouldn’t spy on people in prayer. That’s when Khan’s life was turned upside down. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, July 14, 2022
"I Don't Want Anyone Else to Go Through That": ICE Detainees Allege Sexual Assault by Jail Nurse
Four women who were detained in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail are alleging that a nurse at the facility sexually assaulted them. This week on Intercepted, the four women, who were detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, share their stories with lead producer José Olivares and Intercept contributor John Washington. Olivares and Washington examined internal Homeland Security records, public reports, sheriff’s department documents, emergency call records, and interviewed nearly a dozen sources. They found alarming allegations of sexual assault and harassment and myriad problems, including medical neglect, and unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Olivares and Washington break down the facility’s history, the allegations by the women, and what conditions inside Stewart have been like for the past year and a half, since women began to be detained there. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 29, 2022
Your Kitchen Floor May Have Been Made With Uyghur Forced Labor
When people shifted to working from home in 2020, many renovated their homes to add offices. Influencers showed viewers how to easily install vinyl flooring from stores around the U.S., and sales of such flooring surged. But what these influencers didn’t know is that much of the vinyl flooring sold in the U.S. is made with PVC or plastic produced with forced Uyghur labor. This week on Intercepted, Mara Hvistendahl, a senior reporter for The Intercept, breaks down the supply chain from the Chinese factories to U.S. stores. She is joined by researchers Laura Murphy and Nyrola Elimä, who recently wrote a report highlighting the working conditions in the factories, their grave environmental impact, and the human consequences for Uyghur people forced to work in the facilities. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sat, June 25, 2022
Bonus: The End of Roe
Today we bring you a special episode in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. First, The Intercept’s Washington Editor, Nausicaa Renner takes us to the protests in front of SCOTUS that formed after the radical decision to end the right to abortion. Then we turn to a livestream conversation The Intercept hosted on Friday discussing what can be done to minimize the impact on the most vulnerable people. The Intercept’s Natasha Lennard talks with professor Rachel Rebouché, interim dean of Temple Law School and author of a new report titled “The New Abortion Battleground,” which looks at the legal issues that will arise across state borders and between the state and federal government; Dani McClain, a Puffin fellow at Type Media Center and the author of “We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood”; and Hayley McMahon, an abortion access researcher and doctoral student at Emory University. Livestream: The New Fight for Reproductive Freedom More from The Intercept: In Overturning Roe, Radical Supreme Court Declares War on the 14th Amendment With the Corpse of Roe Still Warm, Far Right Plots Fascistic Anti-Abortion Enforcement More People Will Die Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 15, 2022
Jan. 6 Hearings Point Finger at Donald Trump. But Federal Prosecutors Haven’t Gone That Far.
Last week, the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, siege of the Capitol began public hearings to disclose its findings. During the hearings, the committee alleged that former President Donald Trump led and encouraged the attack on the Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results. This week on Intercepted, investigative reporter Trevor Aaronson is joined by Margot Williams, research editor for The Intercept, and Michael Loadenthal, founder and executive director of the Prosecution Project, to discuss the ongoing arrests and prosecutions of those linked to the January 6 assault. Aaronson, Williams, and Loadenthal discuss their findings from the prosecutions, along with how the legal actions against Capitol rioters contrast with people arrested during the racial justice demonstrations in 2020 and those arrested for terror-related crimes. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, June 03, 2022
How the FBI Tried to Ambush My Meeting and Arrest a Source
Back in 2014, the FBI worked with an attorney-turned-informant to try to stop a meeting between journalist James Risen and a source. This week on Intercepted: Risen, national security correspondent for The Intercept, reveals how the FBI used his reporting to try to catch a person they secretly called "the second Snowden." Recordings of conversations between an FBI agent and the attorney expose the government's efforts to prevent Risen from obtaining documents that they feared could expose new details about U.S. government spying. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 18, 2022
Overturning Roe v. Wade: "Irrational, Aggressive, and Extremely Dangerous"
Two weeks ago, Politico obtained a leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old ruling that acknowledged the constitutional right to abortion. Although this is the most egregious attack on reproductive rights, it only follows the anti-abortion momentum that has been building for years around the country. This week on Intercepted, Intercept investigative reporter Jordan Smith discusses the aggressive, irrational, and dangerous Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Smith is joined by Melissa Murray, the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at New York University and co-host of “Strict Scrutiny,” a podcast about the Supreme Court. Smith and Murray talk through the draft decision, its implications, and the future of reproductive rights. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 04, 2022
Surveillance Dragnet: How Shadowy Companies Can Track Your Every Move
Smartphone apps constantly harvest your location data. That information is shared with advertisers, typically without your knowledge or informed consent. There are no laws in the U.S. prohibiting the sale or resale of that private data. And companies like phone-tracking firm Anomaly Six exploit that. So do government agencies. This week on Intercepted, Intercept reporter Sam Biddle and Tech Inquiry’s Jack Poulson discuss their reporting on Anomaly Six and the company's pitch to a social media monitoring company, Zignal Labs. Anomaly Six proposed that their joint efforts would permit the U.S. government to effortlessly spy on its adversaries. To show off its vast surveillance capabilities, Anomaly Six demo'd its software by spying on the CIA and NSA. Biddle and Poulson talk about the Wild West of personal data brokers, how the advertising industry feeds the surveillance industry, and just why the apps on your phone made it easy for Anomaly Six to build a tool it claims can spy on billions of devices. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 20, 2022
The Death Penalty Capital
Murderville, Texas just ended its nine-episode season, casting significant doubt on whether a man on death row for the 1992 murder of a Houston grandmother is actually guilty. This week on Intercepted: Intercept Senior Editor Andrea Jones speaks with Jordan Smith and Liliana Segura, the reporters behind the investigative podcast, about what happened after the murder of 72-year-old Edna Franklin. Relying on a hunch from one of her grandsons, police had a suspect — and an arrest warrant — within 24 hours: a family friend named Charles Raby, 22, who had been released from prison two months earlier. Raby was prosecuted on the basis of a single powerful piece of evidence: a confession he gave to police four days after the murder. After a brief trial in which his attorneys called no witnesses, Raby was found guilty by a Harris County jury. He was sentenced to death. Today Raby maintains his innocence. Smith and Segura break down shoddy police work, questionable confessions, and whether the state went after the wrong man. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 06, 2022
Long After Leaving Iran, Dual Nationals Now Labeled Terrorists — Because of Mandatory Military Service
Talks with Iran to revive the nuclear deal appear to be progressing, but in recent weeks, the United States’s designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, as a terror group has emerged as a major obstacle. The listing isn’t just about nuclear diplomacy: Countless Iranians who served in the IRGC are now labeled as terrorists — including hundreds of thousands who were conscripted without a choice. This week on Intercepted, senior news editor Ali Gharib and reporter Murtaza Hussain examine the effects the terrorist designation has had on former conscripts who have lived for decades in the West. These dual nationals have been banned from the U.S., lost jobs, and separated from family as a result of the policy. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 23, 2022
Why Aren't We Hearing More Calls for Diplomacy to End War in Ukraine?
This week, President Joe Biden is visiting European nations — including Poland — as the war in Ukraine rages on. This follows on the heels of Biden pledging to send $800 million worth of weapons to Ukraine, on top of an additional $13.8 billion approved by Congress. This week on Intercepted: associate editor Maia Hibbett discusses the details behind the U.S. support for Ukraine with investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein and associate reporter Sara Sirota. As Klippenstein and Sirota explain, the U.S. has been sending ISR — or intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance — assistance to Ukraine, without being fully involved in the conflict. The aid, however, could be seen as an escalation to the conflict, despite major news organizations and think tanks pushing for an even more aggressive stance. Klippenstein and Sirota explain that the way out of the conflict is to assist in diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia — not add fuel to the fire. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 09, 2022
U.S.-Trained Officers Have Led Numerous Coups in Africa
U.S.-trained officers have led seven coups and coup attempts in Africa over the last year and a half. This week on Intercepted: Investigative reporter Nick Turse details the U.S. involvement on the African continent. U.S.-trained officers have attempted coups in five West African countries alone: three times in Burkina Faso, three times in Mali, and once each in Guinea, Mauritania, and Gambia. Turse offers the stories behind the coups, details about clandestine training efforts, and a look at the sordid history of the U.S. military’s involvement on the continent. He examines why most Americans have no idea what their tax dollars have wrought in Africa and the broader implications of failed U.S. counterterrorism policies being implemented repeatedly, in country after country. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 23, 2022
Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Extreme Heat, Fires, and Floods
Smoke-filled cells. Triple-digit temperatures. Chest-deep water. People trapped behind bars when climate disasters strike. This week on Intercepted: Ali Gharib, a senior editor, speaks to his colleagues, reporter Alleen Brown and senior research engineer Akil Harris, about the intersection of climate risks and mass incarceration. For more than a year, Brown and Harris analyzed climate risks to more than 6,500 carceral facilities throughout the U.S. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 09, 2022
Two Fires Tell the Tale of the U.S. Housing Crisis
The number of people experiencing homelessness decreased by 8 percent between 2020 and 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD suggests that the decrease could be attributed to Covid-19 pandemic relief efforts. However, many relief efforts have expired or will soon, from eviction moratoriums to expanded unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, the U.S. housing market has continued unabated, with rents rising and housing prices soaring. This week on Intercepted: Akela Lacy, an Intercept politics reporter, talks to Stephanie Sena, the founder and executive director of the Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit in Philadelphia, about the housing choices low-income families and people face and how the recent deadly residential fires in the Bronx and Philadelphia illustrate how dire the housing crisis is. We also hear from organizers and tenants who are fighting back. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 01, 2022
Introducing Murderville, Texas
Murderville, an investigative podcast hosted by senior Intercept reporters Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith, examines the systemic failures that lead to wrongful convictions. Season Two takes Segura and Smith to the death penalty capital of the country, Harris County, Texas, where they investigate a disturbing crime, a startling confession, and a story that doesn’t add up. To follow the series, subscribe to Murderville at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more at https://theintercept.com/podcasts/murderville/ If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/donate — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 26, 2022
Little Rock’s Black Police Chief and the Campaign Against Reform
Just how strong are the forces arrayed against police reform — and how far are they willing to go? In April 2019, Keith Humphrey was appointed police chief in Little Rock, Arkansas, a Southern city with a fraught history of racial division. Among the growing number of Black police chiefs, Humphrey came in with a mandate from the new mayor to implement reforms and curtail abuses. Almost as quickly as he set about to do that work, the city’s “old guard,” the police union, and even cops under Humphrey’s own command struck back. The aim, to many observers, was simple: to oust Humphrey. This week on Intercepted: Radley Balko joins The Intercept's Ali Gharib to talk about Humphrey’s ordeal. Then Balko speaks to Little Rock civil rights attorney Mike Laux and former LRPD Lieut. Johnny Gilbert Jr. Balko, an award-winning journalist and columnist at the Washington Post, is the author of “Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces” and co-author, with Tucker Carrington, of “The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South.” If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 12, 2022
“Don’t Look Up” and Fighting Capitalism With Naomi Klein
As 2022 begins, the world continues to see the effects of the climate crisis — from the severe drought in East Africa to the odd snowfall in British Columbia. But since December 5, a new film has been sounding the alarm. In Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” an allegory about the impending climate disaster, scientists discover an approaching comet that will destroy Earth. But the media, politicians, and elite in the U.S. fail at every opportunity to prevent the impending doom. The Intercept’s senior correspondent Naomi Klein joins senior writer Jon Schwarz to discuss the film, how present-day elites are failing to address the climate crisis, and the future of the climate justice movement. Klein is a professor of climate justice at the University of British Columbia and the author of many books on climate change, including her latest, “How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other.” join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 08, 2021
Life After Guantánamo: “It Doesn’t Leave You”
On Tuesday, with 39 men remaining at Guantánamo Bay, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on closing the infamous military prison. This week on Intercepted: Intercept photo editor Elise Swain breaks down the horrifying story of one Yemeni man after being released from Guantánamo. After 20 years in arbitrary detention, former Guantánamo detainee Abdulqadir al Madhfari was released from a United Arab Emirates prison to his family’s care in Yemen. His freedom lasted less than a week. Suffering the mental impact of long-term detention and torture, al Madhfari fled from his own family and was captured and detained by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Swain discusses the consequences of life after Guantanamo with Mansoor Adayfi, a former detainee and author of the memoir “Don't Forget Us Here.” Mansoor calls for accountability and reparations to the men detained and tortured, describing how his life and those of others now resemble "Guantánamo 2.0." join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 30, 2021
The Intercept’s Work Has Never Been More Urgent
Over the past year, Intercepted has been bringing you more stories from the people behind The Intercept’s reporting. For Giving Tuesday, we’re asking you to contribute to The Intercept so that we can continue to provide hard-hitting investigative journalism. Your help allows us to report on abuses of power and serve as an independent source of news. Please visit theintercept.com/join. Thank you for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 24, 2021
Kyle Rittenhouse, Ahmaud Arbery, and the Future of Right-Wing Vigilantism
Jurors in the trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery began deliberations Tuesday. Last week, a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges, including two counts of homicide. This week on Intercepted: We discuss the details of these two cases, how they differ, and the questions they raise about the normalization of violence in the U.S. On Friday, Rittenhouse, the teenager who killed two protesters and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest, was found not guilty on all charges. Meanwhile, the trial for three men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery — Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan — was wrapping up. The Intercept's Washington Editor Nausicaa Renner is joined by George Chidi, a writer for the Atlanta Objective and contributor to The Intercept, and Robert Mackey, a senior writer for The Intercept. Renner, Chidi, and Mackey break down the Rittenhouse verdict, the video evidence presented during the trial, and bigger questions about what this means for the future of protesting, the far right, and racism in the U.S. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 10, 2021
Strike Wave: Workers Flex Their Muscle in Tight Labor Market
Since January, there have been nearly 300 strikes throughout the U.S. This week on Intercepted: a look at the labor movement in 2021. Last week, tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente health care workers announced that they will go on strike on November 15 if a collective bargaining agreement is not reached. If they take to the picket line, they will join hundreds of thousands of other workers nationwide who have used their labor power to demand better wages and working conditions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. We hear from Kaiser Permanente workers, and then Labor Notes’ Jonah Furman joins The Intercept’s Washington Editor Nausicaa Renner to discuss this year’s strike wave, the continued strike at John Deere, and the political implications of 2021’s rise in labor activism. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 27, 2021
Making a Killing: The Business of War Profiteering
Last month, the Democratic-controlled House voted in favor of appropriating $768 billion for the 2022 defense budget. This week on Intercepted: Senior writer for The Intercept Jon Schwarz talks with Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine, longtime national security journalist, and author of “The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine.” Cockburn and Schwarz discuss the legacy of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and how private defense companies have historically maximized profits from horrific wars. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 13, 2021
Far-Right Health Care Companies Made Millions Prescribing Unproven Covid Remedies
As the national push to vaccinate people against Covid-19 continues, hundreds of thousands of hacked documents show how a group of doctors is explicitly pushing unproven and potentially dangerous alternatives on people hesitant to follow public health authorities’ recommendations to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and socially distance. This week on Intercepted: Nausicaa Renner, The Intercept’s Washington editor, and Micah Lee, director of information security for The Intercept, discuss how a network of right-wing health care companies have been charging millions from people around the U.S. by promoting, prescribing, and selling unproven and ineffective medications for Covid-19. Lee, who received a trove of records from an anonymous hacker, was able to break down the complex network of organizations and companies involved in the operation. At the heart of it is America’s Frontline Doctors, a group of far-right doctors led anti-vaccine physician Simone Gold that promotes and prescribes unproven medications like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. The data Lee received not only shows how profitable the operation is, but also how wide the falsehoods pushed by this organization have spread. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 06, 2021
The Quest for Covid’s Origins
In late September, the World Health Organization announced that it had assembled a new team of scientists to revive its investigation into the origins of the virus that causes Covid-19. The new group will be tasked with examining whether the virus could have originated in a lab, months after its predecessor deemed the possibility too unlikely for serious consideration. This week on Intercepted: Intercept investigative reporters Sharon Lerner and Mara Hvistendahl join editor Maia Hibbett to discuss the competing theories on the origins of Covid-19. The Intercept obtained documents that shed new light on controversial lab experiments, raising questions about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. With neither of the main theories -- natural spillover versus a lab leak -- yet proved true, the Intercept is seeking answers as to how much officials knew about proposed behind-the-scenes experiments. As Georgetown virologist Angela Rasmussen, a staunch critic of the lab-leak theory, said after the first WHO investigation, “There are still major stones that need to be unturned.” join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 29, 2021
A Legacy of Corruption and Abuse: The Post-9/11 Immigration Megabureaucracy
More than 4,600 Haitian migrants were expelled by the U.S. government in little over a week. This week on Intercepted: Recent images of Border Patrol agents on horseback pushing back Haitians along the U.S.-Mexico border led to renewed anger at the United States’ immigration enforcement methods. Investigative reporter Ryan Devereaux explains how the U.S. immigration enforcement apparatus grew to the scale that it is today, stemming from the war on terror. Since the Department of Homeland Security’s messy beginnings, the number of Border Patrol agents has more than doubled; immigrants detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails have denounced mistreatment and unsafe conditions; and the number of deportations has dramatically risen. As Devereaux outlines, since Homeland Security’s creation, this trend has continued throughout the Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden administrations. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 15, 2021
No Accountability for War on Terror Atrocities
The war on terror has killed nearly 1 million people and cost more than $8 trillion, according to a report by Brown University’s Costs of War Project. This week on Intercepted: Journalists Murtaza Hussain and Rozina Ali break down how the 9/11 attacks reshaped U.S. foreign and domestic policies. In the last two decades, the U.S. launched two wars, leading to millions dead and wounded. There was also a rise in unmanned drones killing innocent civilians, the use of widespread domestic and international surveillance, innocent people imprisoned, and perpetual human rights abuses and war crimes. And recently, there was a turning point in the war in Afghanistan, with the Taliban retaking the country. Hussain and Ali walk through the systematic failures across institutions — whether it be the government, military leadership, or the press — and the lack of accountability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 01, 2021
The Long-Lasting Consequences of the War on Terror
The United States flew its last military flight out of Afghanistan, ending the 20-year war in the country — the longest in U.S. history. This week on Intercepted: Journalist Spencer Ackerman discusses his new book, "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump." In 2001, the George W. Bush administration used the 9/11 attacks to launch the war on terror — an era that led to two massive wars, countless lives lost, mass domestic surveillance, the rounding up of immigrants and people of color, a strengthened security state, drone assassinations, and human rights abuses. And it's far from over, says Ackerman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 18, 2021
Afghans Try to Flee U.S.-Caused Crisis
The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, forcing the U.S.-backed Afghan government out. This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain guides us through how the two-decade-long U.S. War in Afghanistan has concluded. With the U.S. having suffered what appears to be a stunning defeat, national security editor for The Intercept Vanessa Gezari, who also reported from Afghanistan for years after the U.S. war began, breaks down the historical trajectory that led to this moment. In the weeks leading up to the Taliban takeover, lines at the country's only passport office grew longer as fears of instability and violence increased. Andrew Quilty, a photographer and journalist based in Kabul, talked to people at the passport office who were trying to leave. He later describes scenes from the country, only a day after it fell to the Taliban. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 04, 2021
EPA Whistleblowers Say Managers Bullied Them to Approve Dangerous Chemicals
Leaked audio reveals how chemicals hazardous to human health and the environment are fast-tracked and approved at the Environmental Protection Agency. This week on Intercepted, investigative journalist Sharon Lerner reports on how the chemical industry pressures the EPA to approve chemicals and pesticides that are dangerous to public health. Lerner speaks with whistleblowers from the agency, scientists who say their research has been manipulated by EPA managers to downplay the dangers of chemicals, including extreme cases that fall under the category of "hair on fire." Lerner also discusses how the agency has approved chemicals and pesticides — at the behest of companies — without proper research into their toxicity, or worse, even though scientists point to the chemicals’ dangers. But this is not new; it follows the long, historical trajectory of the EPA, including the “revolving door” between the agency and the chemical industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, July 23, 2021
Introducing American ISIS
We'd like to introduce you to American ISIS, a new podcast from The Intercept and Topic Studios. American ISIS offers the most detailed account yet of an American who lived and died inside the Islamic State. This is the first episode. Listen to the full eight-episode documentary podcast on audible.com/AmericanISIS . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Wed, July 21, 2021
American ISIS Offers a Firsthand Look Inside the Caliphate
For more than six months, The Intercept’s Trevor Aaronson communicated with Russell Dennison, an American man who traveled to Syria and joined the Islamic State. This week on Intercepted: Aaronson, an investigative reporter, discusses American ISIS, the newest Audible Original podcast documentary from The Intercept and Topic Studios, in which he chronicles the story of Russell Dennison, one of the first American citizens to join ISIS and fight with the group in Syria. Almost daily, Dennison communicated with Aaronson, sending him hours of audio chronicling his conversion to Islam, his turn to extremism, and his journey to Syria. Aaronson talks with Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain about his reporting and what he learned from Dennison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 07, 2021
Corporate Counterinsurgency Against Line 3 Pipeline Resistance
Water protectors are traveling in growing numbers to stand with the Anishinaabe-led movement to stop the construction of Line 3, a tar sands oil pipeline. This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Alleen Brown takes us to northern Minnesota, a flashpoint in the fight to halt the expansion of the fossil fuel industry as the climate crisis deepens. Direct actions and other protests against Line 3 are just heating up and more than 500 people have already been arrested or issued citations. Opponents of the Line 3 pipeline are urging the Biden administration to intervene to stop construction, but his administration recently moved to defend the pipeline. Water protectors are being greeted by an intensifying police response and what scholars are calling a corporate counterinsurgency campaign led by the pipeline company, Enbridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 23, 2021
The Crisis of Care
Domestic workers — nannies, house cleaners, and care workers — are one of the fastest-growing labor groups in the U.S. They are also some of the most undervalued and least-protected workers, a factor further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. This week on Intercepted: Vanessa Bee and Murtaza Hussain interview Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, about the impact of Covid-19 on these vulnerable yet essential workers. They also discuss how the exclusion of labor protections for domestic workers has roots in slavery and how President Joe Biden’s jobs plan could ensure historically denied rights. And we hear stories from domestic workers themselves as they organize for their rights on International Domestic Workers Day in New York City. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 16, 2021
Stealing Children to Steal the Land
Last month, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation uncovered a mass grave of 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school in British Columbia, Canada. This week on Intercepted: Naomi Klein speaks with residential school survivor Doreen Manuel and her niece Kanahus Manuel about the horrors of residential schools and the relationship between stolen children and stolen land. Doreen’s father, George Manuel, was a survivor of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, where unmarked graves of children as young as 3 years old were found. Kanahus’s father, Arthur Manuel, was also a survivor of the Kamloops residential school. This intergenerational conversation goes deep on how the evils of the Kamloops school, and others like it, have reverberated through a century of Manuels, an experience shared by so many Indigenous families, and the Manuel family’s decades long fight to reclaim stolen land. Warning: This episode contains highly distressing details about the killing, rape, and torture of children. If you are a survivor and need to talk, there is contact information in the show notes. If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419 Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here . Show notes : Doreen Manuel can be found @DoreenManuel1 and www.runningwolf.ca Kanahus can be found at @kanahusfreedom and www.tinyhousewarriors.com “Unsettling Canada: A National Wake Up Call,” by Arthur Manuel “The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy,” by Arthur Manuel “From Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the Making of the Modern Indian Movement,” by Peter McFarlane with Doreen Manuel, afterword by Kanahus Manuel “The Fourth World: An Indian Reality,” by George Manuel and Michael Posluns “T
Wed, June 09, 2021
Killed in the Darkness
When a police officer shoots and kills someone — and there aren’t any witnesses — can we trust the police to investigate themselves? This week on Intercepted: Antoine and Tammy Bufford's son, Cortez, was shot and killed by a St. Louis police officer in 2019. Nearly two years later, the city is still investigating Cortez’s case. No charges have been filed. And the Bufford family is still looking for answers. The police kill more people per capita in St. Louis than in any other American city. Seventy-two percent of these people are Black, like Cortez. The Chicago-based Invisible Institute recently partnered with The Intercept to examine the circumstances of Cortez’s death. Their resulting investigation , reported by Alison Flowers and Sam Stecklow, sheds new light in the search for truth about this police killing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 26, 2021
Understanding the History of Black Rebellion
In the year since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the mass mobilization of protest that followed — the largest collective gesture against police violence in this country’s history — there’s been a constant and energized call to defund or outright abolish policing as we know it in the U.S. This week on Intercepted: The U.S. has been grappling with this same cycle of violence for more than nearly a century: A Black person is killed by police, and protests follow. In 1968, the U.S. tried to find out why this kept happening in cities and small towns across the country with an unprecedented frequency. President Lyndon B. Johnson assembled the Kerner Commission to study the extraordinary violence and destruction of uprisings in cities like Newark, New Jersey, and Detroit the year prior. Their findings should surprise no one. Systemic and institutionalized racism was to blame. Structural white supremacy maintained two societies: “One Black, one white. Separate and unequal.” Historian Elizabeth Hinton, author of “America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion since the 1960s,” argues that protestors were not rioters but rather political participants in rebellion against their own poverty, inequality, and constant surveillance and brutality by the police. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 12, 2021
Big Pharma’s Deadly Covid Vaccine Monopoly
A week ago, the Biden administration announced support for waiving intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines. In response, Bio, a trade association representing biotechnology companies, issued a statement saying , "The United States has unfortunately chosen to set a dangerous precedent with these actions.” This week on Intercepted: Intercept investigative journalists Sharon Lerner and Lee Fang discuss how the pharmaceutical industry has ruthlessly fought to maintain IP protection from the beginning of the pandemic despite global calls to share knowledge and know-how to end the crisis as quickly as possible. By claiming the same monopoly IP rights on Covid-19 therapeutics and vaccines as other drugs, the industry has perpetuated a market of scarcity and profiteering when a collaborative global response is needed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 28, 2021
Joe Biden's War Powers
If you went back and looked at every foreign policy decision Joe Biden made — every single one — would you be any closer to understanding him? This week on Intercepted: Our editor-at-large and senior correspondent Jeremy Scahill and reporter Murtaza Hussain examined the past 50 years of Biden’s decisions, poring over hundreds of pages of archival copies of the congressional record and reviewing declassified CIA documents for mentions of Biden. The investigation is called “Empire Politician,” and it’s the result of this painstaking research into Biden’s historical record. Jeremy and Murtaza also analyze Biden’s recent pledge to withdraw forces from Afghanistan by September this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 14, 2021
The Border Patrol’s Abdication in the Sonoran Desert
While much of the public’s attention has been focused on the thousands of unaccompanied minors currently in U.S. custody, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has quietly begun a policy of dropping off asylum-seekers in remote border towns along the deadliest stretches of the U.S.-Mexico divide. This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Ryan Devereaux travels to the Arizona cities of Ajo and Tucson, speaking to migrants and local volunteers about the dangers and uncertainty people are facing. Devereaux investigates how the Biden administration’s continuation of Trump-era policies like Title 42, which has been used to expel more than half a million migrants in the past year, jeopardizes the safety of asylum-seekers and exacerbates the humanitarian crisis at the border. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 31, 2021
Trump's EPA Helped Erase Records of Almost 270,000 Pounds of Carcinogenic Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration invited companies to retroactively amend emissions records of a deadly carcinogenic chemical. This week on Intercepted: Investigative reporter Sharon Lerner explains how 270,000 pounds of the chemical ethylene oxide vanished from the public record right after the EPA determined that it was more toxic than previously known. Ethylene oxide is a colorless and odorless gas used to produce many consumer goods and used extensively as an agent in the sterilization of medical equipment. Despite the EPA’s transition to new leadership under the Biden administration, regulatory capture is a persistent obstacle in the agency’s ability to protect public health and the environment. And as Lerner reports , a disproportionate number of poor communities and communities of color have yet to be alerted to the fact that elevated levels of cancer-causing ethylene oxide permeate the air they breathe. We also hear from a group of Texas women that believes their breast cancer diagnoses are linked to exposure to the chemical. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 17, 2021
Hope Is a Discipline: Mariame Kaba on Dismantling the Carceral State
Jury selection for the murder trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues after the city announced a $27 million settlement with George Floyd’s family. This week on Intercepted: Organizer and educator Mariame Kaba talks to lead producer Jack D’Isidoro about the case, efforts born out of the uprisings of this past summer, and the role hope plays in building a long-term abolitionist movement. Whether she’s breaking down the historical foundations of the carceral state or laying out a framework for mutual aid, Kaba works tirelessly to reimagine and create a system not rooted in punishment and oppression. They also discuss her new book “We Do This ’Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 03, 2021
The Life and Death of an Anti-Fascist
Few anti-fascists were as influential on Portland’s recent protest scene as Sean Kealiher. He rarely missed a protest, and he would have been front and center last summer when the insurrectionary activism he had long advocated for became a staple on Portland streets. But he wasn’t. In October 2019, at 23, he was killed in front of the state Democratic Party building, which protesters vandalized on Inauguration Day this year. Kealiher’s death, which was ruled a homicide, shocked Portland’s activist community. But no arrests were ever made, and no persons of interest were ever named. Those in Kealiher’s circle saw his unsolved murder as further confirmation of the police’s double standards and antagonism toward the left. This week on Intercepted: While it was largely former President Donald Trump who elevated antifa, short for anti-fascists, to a household name, generations of Portland anti-fascists have for decades opposed far-right, racist extremists as well as police. Reporter Alice Speri dives into Kealiher’s ideology and murder, Portland’s legacy of anti-fascist activism and its deeply intertwined history of white supremacist violence, and how law enforcement’s obsession with antifa led to intelligence failures like U.S. Capitol riot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 17, 2021
The Democrats’ Long War on Immigrants
As Joe Biden took the oath of office this January, Guatemalan security forces at the Honduran border thwarted thousands of U.S.-bound migrants. While decades-long American imperialism has facilitated displacement throughout the region, the U.S. is increasingly outsourcing its deadly immigration policy. This week on Intercepted: The Biden administration announced it will begin to process the 25,000 asylum seekers stuck in squalid border town camps as part of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. But immigration advocates fear President Biden will not reverse the bipartisan trend of his predecessors to further militarize the southern border and expand the reaches of immigration enforcement — policies that have led to more migrant deaths and detention in recent decades. Despite Biden’s executive actions to reverse the Muslim ban, initiate migrant family reunification, and fortify DACA, his administration has indicated that it will continue to support Mexican and Guatemalan armed enforcement of their borders on behalf of the U.S.T The activist and writer Harsha Walia joins Intercepted to discuss the Democratic Party’s fundamental role in shaping the long arc of U.S. border policy and why the practice of “prevention through deterrence” will continue to incur more suffering and preventable deaths. She also presents an abolitionist view of a world without borders. Walia’s most recent book is “Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 03, 2021
Inside China’s Police State Tactics Against Muslims
A massive police database obtained by The Intercept provides groundbreaking insight into the pervasive surveillance state operated by the Chinese government to repress Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. This week on Intercepted: A new report from The Intercept provides a raw glimpse into the persecution and sweeping internment of Muslims in the city of Ürümqi, the largest city in northwest China’s Xinjiang region. The report also confirms many of the anti-democratic systems already in place: child separation and carceral re-education, installation of surveillance cameras inside private homes and mosques, immense detention centers, constant police checkpoints, widespread collection of electronic and biometric data, demolition of Uyghur cemeteries, and the forced abortion and sterilization of women. Although the United States has surveilled, abused, rendered, and imprisoned Muslims for decades, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China is committing “ongoing” genocide. His successor, Antony Blinken, agreed with that characterization during his confirmation hearing in January. The Intercept’s Ryan Tate, technology reporter Yael Grauer, and anthropologist Darren Byler analyze the unprecedented scale and sophistication of the surveillance campaign detailed in the database. We also hear Uyghur linguist and poet Abduweli Ayup tell the story of his 15-month detainment for operating a Uyghur-language kindergarten in Xinjiang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 20, 2021
Joe Biden Is President, but Donald Trump’s Legacy of Violence Looms
Now that Donald Trump is gone from office, what’s next? This week on Intercepted: There are a slew of unanswered questions about the siege of the Capitol. Americans are being asked to believe that the national security apparatus — the same one that charged nearly 200 people en masse, including journalists and observers, with felony rioting when Trump was inaugurated in 2017, and has leveled federal charges including terrorism charges on Black Lives Matter protesters — failed to see the threat to the U.S. Congress posed by right-wing extremists, even as people organized across social media platforms in plain sight. In response to the Capitol siege, Joe Biden and some members of Congress are looking to expand new domestic terrorism laws. They are using the exact same playbook deployed by the Bush-Cheney White House after 9/11 and embraced across the aisles in Congress. This is a dangerous moment where policies with very serious implications could be rushed through in the heat of the moment. The Intercept’s Ryan Devereaux, Ken Klippenstein, Alice Speri, Natasha Lennard, Sam Biddle, Mara Hvistendahl, and Murtaza Hussain share their thoughts on the transition of power from Trump to Biden that is happening today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 30, 2020
BONUS: Universal Enemy — Scholar Daryl Li on the Relationship Between Transnational Jihadists and U.S. Empire
In this special bonus episode of Intercepted, we take an in-depth look at one of the most consequential eras of modern history, the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, as the Soviet Union crumbled. The Russian occupation of Afghanistan came to an end, thanks in no small part to the covert and overt involvement of the United States. Bill Clinton brought an end to 12 years of Republican rule, defeating the former CIA director George HW Bush. And with Clinton’s two terms in office came a new spin on US militarism across the world, the notion of liberal so-called humanitarian intervention. The propaganda pitch was that the United States would use its military force as a sort of global police officer whose violent actions were wrapped in the justification that US missiles and bombs and troop deployments were serving a greater good. Nowhere was this more boldly asserted than in the wars in Yugoslavia, which stretched from the early 1990s all the way through 2008 when the US officially recognized the independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo. The years that ushered in the declaration of the end of the Cold War would have a significant impact on global relations and warmaking to this day. University of Chicago scholar Daryl Li has written a meticulously documented book that seeks to understand the trends that emerged from this era, with a focus on putting into context the movement of foreign fighters from country to country. The book is called “The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity.” Li highlights the parallels between transnational jihadists, UN peacekeeping missions and socialist non-alignment and he examines the relationship between jihad and US empire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, December 20, 2020
The CIA’s Afghan Death Squads
A U.S.-backed militia that kills children may be America’s exit strategy from its longest war reported by journalist Andrew Quilty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 16, 2020
AOC on Ending the Pelosi Era, Biden’s Corporate Cabinet, and the Battle for Medicare for All
President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet is being constructed in significant part from corporate Democrats and Obama-era national security hawks with a small side order of more progressive figures. This week on Intercepted: As Nancy Pelosi runs unopposed in her party for another term as speaker of the House, Congress has failed for many months to deliver meaningful aid to millions of Americans suffering through the Covid-19 pandemic. But lawmakers moved swiftly to approve the National Defense Authorization Act, an overwhelmingly bipartisan military and war spending bill. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of just 37 Democrats to vote against the NDAA, and she is increasingly vocal in her criticism of her party’s leadership. In a wide-ranging interview with Intercepted, Ocasio-Cortez discusses the fight for Medicare for All, the battle for the future of the Democratic Party, red-baiting and the 2020 election, Biden’s emerging Cabinet, disaster profiteering in Puerto Rico, the weaponizing of the Espionage Act, and more. Then, The American Prospect’s Executive Editor David Dayen breaks down the negotiations over another round of Covid-19-related “stimulus” legislation, explains the failures of the Democrats and the viciousness of the Republicans on Capitol Hill, and discusses the battle over Biden Cabinet appointments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 09, 2020
State-Sanctioned Killers: As Trump Expedites Executions at Home, Biden Builds Team for Wars Abroad
Donald Trump is now in the dying days of his presidency and is spending those days promoting the myth that he actually won the November election in a landslide. This week on Intercepted: As the clock ticks toward Joe Biden’s inauguration, Trump and Attorney General William Barr have been on a grotesque killing spree, green-lighting executions of federal prisoners at breakneck pace. The Intercept’s Senior Reporter Liliana Segura reports on how Trump is on pace to authorize more federal executions than in the past 67 years combined. She discusses several specific cases, including that of Brandon Bernard who is scheduled to die on Thursday. As Biden builds his Cabinet, his national security team is looking a lot like a replay of the Obama-Biden militarist coterie. Biden’s nominees include notorious hawks who were central to the genocidal war in Yemen, the weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, the regime-change war in Libya, the war in Syria, the assassination and drone programs, and the use of economic sanctions as a deadly weapon. Several of Biden’s nominees, including his pick for defense secretary, have spent years on boards of defense corporations, profiting from military contractors and peddling influence in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the war industry. Kelley Vlahos of the American Conservative and the transpartisan Quincy Institute discusses Biden’s national security team and the largely continuous arc of U.S. policy through Republican and Democratic administrations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 18, 2020
BONUS: Naomi Klein on Fighting Trump’s Tin Pot Coup; Peace Activists Face Federal Prison
The Intercept’s Senior Correspondent Naomi Klein argues why Democrats should forcefully defend the integrity of votes and condemn coup-plotting for what it is, and stop from blowing a mandate they’ve won Associate Producer Elise Swain follows the sentencing hearings for peace activists, known as Kings Bay Plowshares 7, who face federal prison for nonviolent protest. Associate Producer Elise Swain follows the sentencing hearings for three of the Kings Bay Plowshares Seven peace activists. Despite a lethal pandemic ravaging prison populations, Carmen Trotta and Martha Hennessy are among those due to report to prison within the next few months for their nonviolent protest against nuclear weapons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, October 22, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part Seven: Climate Carnage)
In his denial of science, Donald Trump has guided the U.S. far past the tipping point of mitigating the unfolding existential threat of the climate crisis. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations over decades, U.S. climate policy has fallen far short of the urgent action scientists have demanded. In crucial ways, Donald Trump has been far more dangerous than his deeply-flawed predecessors. Trump seems to actually revel in his dangerous denial of fundamental and scientifically indisputable realities. In part seven of “ American Mythology ,” we examine how the Trump administration has catapulted the corporate-fueled deregulation crusade dramatically forward. In the past four years, Trump has undone or weakened up to 70 rules and regulations aimed at protecting the environment, while another 30 policy changes are still underway. The majority of these 100 changes are being done at the Environmental Protection Agency, which is currently headed by a former lobbyist for the coal industry who fought the Obama administration’s attempts at environmental regulations. Trump has overseen the largest rollback of federal land protection in U.S. history, opening environmentally-sensitive areas for corporate and industrial development and has portrayed himself as opening up “God’s great creation” to mining and extraction, freeing it from government protections. We analyze the corporate and industry executives and lobbyists Trump has placed in key environmental positions, his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, and hear from environmentalists and scholars on how to proceed if the earth is to remain inhabitable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 21, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part Six: The Looting of the Nation)
Donald Trump has run the White House like his family business with one primary aim: to enrich his brand, his family and his cronies. In part six of American Mythology, we examine how Trump and the GOP — at times with help from the Democrats — have opened the gates to the federal feeding trough for corporate greed and unaccountability. Throughout the 2016 campaign Trump claimed that, unlike Hillary Clinton, he was not beholden to corporate or special interests and that he would uplift the working class. Once in power, he appointed record numbers of Goldman Sachs veterans to his administration, passed sweeping tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, attacked organized labor, and chiseled away at an already abysmal health care system. Unprecedented inequality and stagnant wages have persisted. Fewer Americans currently have health insurance than when Trump was sworn into office. These sharp economic injustices have come into clear focus during the Coronavirus pandemic: Corporate robber barons like Jeff Bezos have increased their wealth by billions while 40 percent of Americans say they couldn’t withdraw $400 in the event of an unexpected emergency. In America, eight million more people have descended into poverty in recent months, as the wealth of billionaires grew by $845 billion dollars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, October 20, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part Five: Courting Corporate Theocracy)
While all eyes remain on the presidential election in November, Donald Trump has already secured a multi-generational victory with his radical reshaping of the judicial branch of government. In part five of “ American Mythology ,” we look at how the Trump administration has outsourced hundreds of federal judicial appointments to the right-wing Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation. The appointments made during the past four years will impact almost every aspect of life in the U.S.: health care, marriage equality, worker’s rights, freedom of speech and press, guns, racism, women’s rights, war powers, and others. We dig into the ideologies and organizations at the center of Trump’s judicial strategy, the influence of the Koch brothers, and the corporate and social agenda the GOP wants their new judges to impose. The stakes go well beyond the 2020 election: The impact of an extreme right-wing Supreme Court majority not only threatens reproductive rights , it could shut down any progressive attempts at lawmaking for decades to come. In some ways, confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett is more important to the GOP than Trump winning reelection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, October 19, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part Four: "You Think Our Country's So Innocent?")
On matters of war, Donald Trump has consistently spoken and acted in contradictory and unorthodox ways. He campaigned in 2016 with a mixed message of attacking the legacy of the Iraq war and U.S. military adventurism, while simultaneously pledging to commit war crimes and promote imperialism as a matter of policy. On part four of American Mythology, we take an in-depth look at Trump’s war and national security policies. He escalated drone strikes in Somalia and Afghanistan, authorized troop surges and massive bombings in Iraq, launched cruise missile strikes in Syria, and threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.” On the other hand, he signed a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. forces, attempted to end the Korean War, and claims to have fired John Bolton to avoid being in “World War 6.” In assessing Trump’s war policies, we seek to navigate past the rhetoric from Trump and his critics and examine his place in the history of U.S. presidents. In many ways, Trump has represented a continuity of U.S. policy with largely tactical differences from his predecessors. Overall, Trump built on some of the worst excesses of the Bush/Cheney administration and took advantage of the weak guardrails left behind by the Obama administration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, October 16, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part Three: The Neo-Confederate in Chief)
On the campaign and as president, Donald Trump has worked hard to resurrect the George Wallace strand of U.S. politics: He has consistently used racist and bigoted language to accompany his policy onslaughts. In part three of American Mythology, we examine the ways Trump has used racialized fear-mongering and incitement in both word and deed; from his Muslim ban, to his denigration of immigrants, to his attacks on the Black Lives Matter Movement. Trump has openly encouraged police to act extrajudicially, brutally, and with impunity, while simultaneously emboldening violent white nationalists and militias. He has even defended a young man accused of shooting and killing BLM protesters. As he campaigns for reelection, Trump is hedging on many of his 2016 tactics, but now is backed by the extraordinary power of the executive branch. The Justice Department, virtually privatized by Trump, appears to be coordinating its official functions with his reelection effort. Trump is intensifying his voter disenfranchisement operation and he has threatened to remain in office regardless of the election results. We dig deep into Trump, race, and the wars at home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, October 15, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part Two: Administration of Xenophobia)
In the nearly four years that Trump has been in office, his administration has transformed U.S. immigration at a breakneck pace and governed with an overtly xenophobic posture toward immigrants. In episode two of our audio documentary series “ American Mythology ,” we chronicle the Trump administration’s war against immigrants from the southern border to the Muslim ban and beyond. Trump has already implemented more than 400 changes to immigration rules and regulations, changes that will impact millions of people. But to portray the extremism of this administration on immigration as an entirely radical departure from decades of policy under Democrats and Republicans is inaccurate. While Trump has wielded his signature cruelty in implementing new policy and has made some far-reaching changes, significant aspects of his policy are rooted in the agendas of his predecessors, from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Trump inherited an already punitive and authoritarian deportation machine constructed by both his Democratic and Republican predecessors and has taken it to new extremes. This episode offers an overview of what has changed and what has remained the same, featuring the voices of lawyers, immigrants, activists, journalists, and others who are on the front lines of the battle over immigrant rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 14, 2020
American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump (Part One: Manufacturing the Carnage)
Donald Trump is often portrayed as an aberration of U.S. history, an outsider who seized power and is intent on destroying democracy as we know it. In the premiere episode of American Mythology, we examine the ways that Trump has proven to be a particularly dangerous autocrat who doesn’t believe in any semblance of a democratic process. But that story cannot be told without also exploring how various U.S. systems and the policies of Trump’s predecessors carved the way for many of his most dangerous actions. Featuring interviews with lawmakers, journalists, activists and dissidents, world renowned historians, and constitutional scholars and lawyers on the front lines of scores of battles against the Trump administration, this episode offers an overview of how the Republican Party has embraced Trump as a Trojan horse to ram through its most extreme — and long-standing — policy agendas. It also probes the role of Democratic Party leaders in facilitating some of Trump and the GOP’s most dangerous policies and lays out the stakes of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump is already calling illegitimate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 16, 2020
BONUS: A Story of Asylum, and Musician Lido Pimienta on Her New Album "Miss Colombia"
On this bonus episode of Intercepted, journalist John Washington, whose latest reporting for The Intercept expanded on an explosive new whistleblower complaint alleging that mass hysterectomies occurred at an ICE detention facility, reads an excerpt from his new book, “The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum and the US-Mexican Border and Beyond.” And the Colombian-Canadian musician Lido Pimienta talks about her latest album, Miss Colombia , and how the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant inspired her to look critically at anti-blackness in Colombia. She’s currently organizing a relief fund for Colombian families affected by Covid-19, which you can learn more about here . A very special thanks to our friend Francisco Bravo for his help with this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 05, 2020
Escape From the Nuclear Family: Covid-19 Should Provoke a Re-Think of How We Live
As Washington cuts off desperately needed aid to the unemployed, millions of families face the reality that many K-12 schools likely aren’t reopening, and young adults look ahead to a bleak future, reality is setting in that the Covid 19 crisis was not a blip. This week on Intercepted: guest host Naomi Klein argues that it’s time for some big bold thinking about how we can safely live, work, and learn with the virus — and maybe even enjoy ourselves. She takes us to visit friends in Oakland, California who have been living in a multi-family housing compound for years. Longtime environmental justice organizer and co-founder of Movement Generation Gopal Dayeneni explains that living in a democratic community with friends, rather than a single-family home, has meant far more capacity to deal with the labor of lockdown, and far less isolation for everyone. Klein is also joined by Rutgers University- Newark historian Neil Maher to discuss how a reboot of the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps could provide opportunities for young adults to find work, battle climate disruption, and live in their own communities of peers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 22, 2020
Weak State: How the Coronavirus Pandemic Exposed America’s Dysfunctional Democracy
As Donald Trump promises the pandemic will “disappear,” the U.S. simultaneously grapples with a public health disaster, economic collapse, and a social crisis. This week on Intercepted: The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain is joined by military expert and anthropologist David Kilcullen. He discusses the global national security implications unleashed by the coronavirus and the decline in U.S. dominance and the liberal international system. Kilcullen also examines the catastrophic consequences that could come from rising tensions within the country and between the U.S. and China. Hussain is also joined by Indian writer Pankaj Mishra, author of many books, including,“From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia.” Mishra lays out how the rise of free market ideology in the U.S. and Britain has undermined democracy and diminished social protections for ordinary people. He dismisses the idea of a Joe Biden administration as any departure from the status quo and describes how hope lies in the power of nonviolent social movements. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 15, 2020
The Revolutionary Life of Paul Robeson: Scholar Gerald Horne on the Great Antifascist Singer, Artist and Rebel
As Trump vows to smash leftist movements, we take a comprehensive look at the life of the revolutionary Black socialist, antifascist, and artist Paul Robeson. University of Houston historian Dr. Gerald Horne, author of “Paul Robeson: The Artist as Revolutionary,” discusses Robeson’s life from his early years to his time in Europe on the brink of a fascist war. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson rose to international fame as a singer and actor, but committed himself to the liberation of oppressed people across the globe and was a tenacious fighter for the freedom of Black people in the U.S. Robeson was heavily surveilled by the FBI and CIA, dragged before the House Un-American Activities Committee and was stripped of his passport by a U.S. government afraid that he would become a “Black Stalin.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 08, 2020
An Interview with Nancy Pelosi Challenger Shahid Buttar and a Look at the History of Fascist Movements in the U.S.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers led by Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, is trying to stop Trump from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. This week on Intercepted: As the longest continuous war in U.S. history enters its 19th year, Congressional Democrats and Republicans are joining together in an effort to keep the war going. Constitutional lawyer and activist Shahid Buttar, who is challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her Congressional seat in San Francisco, alleges that Pelosi’s leadership during the Trump era has amounted to enabling Trump at his worst while simultaneously working to block the potential good that could come from ending the Afghanistan war. Buttar also discusses his views on surveillance, the climate crisis, the role of large tech companies in violating human rights, and he assesses the state of the Democratic Party ahead of the November elections. In a spate of recent speeches, Donald Trump has portrayed himself as a noble warrior in the battle to protect America’s heritage. He is consistently railing against a long list of perceived enemies, including anarchists, Marxists, immigrants, while preemptively casting doubts on the validity of the 2020 election. And as he campaigns, Trump is increasingly operating — whether intentional or not — from a playbook that is eerily reminiscent of the America First movement in the United States that operated in the 1930s. These were allies of Germany’s Nazi Party, the most famous amongst them was famed pilot Charles Lindbergh. California State University historian Bradley W. Hart, author of “Hitler's American Friends: The Third Reich's Supporters in the United States,” discusses the history of the movements and figures in U.S. history who supported Hitler and the Third Reich in the years before and during World War II. Hart also discusses Hitler’s affection for Henry Ford and details the rise and fall of radical rightwing radio host Fr. Charles Coughlin whose broadcasts into tens of millions of homes built support for fascism in the U.S. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 01, 2020
Confederacy Inc.: Donald Trump, Racist Police, and the Whitewashing of History
As cases of Covid-19 skyrocket across the U.S., Trump passionately focuses on defending the legacy of the Confederacy and white supremacist monuments. Native American historian Nick Estes explains the crimes against Indigenous people committed by the four presidents whose faces are carved into Mount Rushmore. Black Lives Matter demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism continue across the U.S. as calls to defund the police intensify. University of Iowa historian Simon Balto, author of the new book “Occupied Territory: Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power,” lays out the origins of the Chicago Police Department as a moralistic enforcement agency in the late 1800s and its transformation into a militarized terror force deployed to control Black people in Chicago while simultaneously crushing movements for workers rights, tenant rights, and basic human rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 24, 2020
The Rebellion Against Racial Capitalism
Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley, a distinguished history professor at UCLA, explains why he believes the current abolitionist movement has the potential to fundamentally change the country and offers a historical analysis of the weaponization of racial capitalism throughout U.S. history. He also tells the story of the Black-led communist party of Alabama in the aftermath of the Great Depression and the racist roots of U.S.-style policing. As Attorney General William Barr continues to preside over a Justice Department being wielded as a political and legal weapon to defend Trump, Hina Shamsi of the ACLU explains the dangerous use of military and intelligence surveillance systems to spy on activists, the characterizations of activists as terrorists, and discusses the ongoing drone strikes overseas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 10, 2020
Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition (Part 2)
Chenjerai Kumanyika, assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, hosts a special two part discussion. Kumanyika is co-host of the podcasts Uncivil and Scene on Radio. He is an organizer with 215 People’s Alliance, and the Debt Collective. He is joined for this special episode of Intercepted by the iconic geographer and abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author of "Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California." Gilmore is one of the world’s preeminent scholars on prisons and the machinery of carceral punishment and policing. In this discussion, she offers a sweeping and detailed analysis of the relentless expansion and funding of police and prisons, and how locking people in cages has become central to the American project. Gilmore offers a comprehensive road map for understanding how we have arrived at the present political moment of brutality and rebellion, and she lays out the need for prison abolition and defunding police forces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 10, 2020
Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition (Part 1)
Chenjerai Kumanyika, assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, hosts a special two part discussion. Kumanyika is co-host of the podcasts Uncivil and Scene on Radio. He is an organizer with 215 People’s Alliance, and the Debt Collective. He is joined for this special episode of Intercepted by the iconic geographer and abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author of "Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California." Gilmore is one of the world’s preeminent scholars on prisons and the machinery of carceral punishment and policing. In this discussion, she offers a sweeping and detailed analysis of the relentless expansion and funding of police and prisons, and how locking people in cages has become central to the American project. Gilmore offers a comprehensive road map for understanding how we have arrived at the present political moment of brutality and rebellion, and she lays out the need for prison abolition and defunding police forces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 03, 2020
The Rebellion in Defense of Black Lives Is Rooted in U.S. History. So Too Is Trump’s Authoritarian Rule
With the threat of a widespread military deployment in U.S. cities looming, the president is acting as an authoritarian dictator. Dr. Keisha Blain, author of "Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom," discusses the history of black rebellion against police violence, the deadly ‘Red Summer” of 1919, and the life of Ida B. Wells. Dr. Blain, a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh, also discusses the context of various protests tactics and the weaponization of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Police forces across the U.S. are functioning as violent militias equipped with military gear. Operating like a violent counterinsurgency force, the government has used drones and is using other military and intelligence-grade surveillance systems on protesters. Stuart Schrader, author of "Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing" and a lecturer at Johns Hopkins, analyzes the long and intertwined history between policing in the U.S. and abroad. Schrader also discusses the context of U.S. military deployment on American soil and the long tradition of militarized police forces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 27, 2020
The Disenfranchiser: Donald Trump’s Attack on Voting Rights and the Threat to Native Sovereignty
The modern Republican Party has mastered the art of voter suppression and gerrymandering, but the president is now seeking to exploit the pandemic to aid these efforts. In between tweets accusing Joe Scarborough of being involved with the death of an intern decades ago and spending time on the golf course as the U.S. neared 100,000 coronavirus deaths, Trump has offered an overwhelmingly fictional narrative about Democratic voter fraud punctuated by warnings of the election being illegitimate before a single vote has been cast. Mother Jones senior reporter Ari Berman, author of "Give Us The Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America," analyzes the strategy of Trump and the GOP and lays out what he considers the nightmare scenario for the November election. As Trump continues to downplay the human toll of Covid-19, he is doubling down on his push for states to quickly reopen. Many of the states that have reopened surround Indian country and the Chairman of the Hopi Tribe reservation says, “we have a wildfire burning around us.” Journalist Rebecca Nagle, host of the podcast This Land, discusses how the coronavirus is disproportionately impacting native communities, explains some major cases before the U.S. Supreme Court on indigenous land rights, and talks about Trump’s battles against native tribes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 20, 2020
The Jungle and the Pandemic: The Meat Industry, Coronavirus, and an Economy in Crisis
As the Covid-19 U.S. death toll climbs toward 100,000 and unemployment is nearing 20 percent, House Democrats have offered up a bill that is intended to offer a sharp contrast to the corporatist Republican agenda. HuffPost senior reporter Zach Carter analyzes how Nancy Pelosi quashed progressive calls for action within her own party and delivered a bill filled with corporate gifts, means-tested crumbs for many, along with some good proposals. Carter also discusses his new book "The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes" and the influence the famed economist maintains to this day. As Trump claims the meat industry is back on track, meat plant workers are getting sick in droves. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the industry consistently maintains the highest workplace injury rate among manufacturing and private industry. Journalist Ted Genoways, author of “The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food,” discusses the lives and deaths of meat workers and looks back at Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” and its parallels to the modern meat industry. Other podcasts make money from advertising and corporate sponsors. We don’t have ads — Intercepted is powered by its members. When you support Intercepted, you become a part of the journalism that holds the powerful to account. Become a member — together we can make a difference. This is a community effort. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a difference. Generous support of listeners like you is what makes our fierce and independent reporting possible. Do what you can. Become a member at theintercept.com/join. All donations are welcome. You can make a one-time gift or become a sustaining member. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 13, 2020
What Reconstruction and the New Deal Can Teach Us About What Comes After the Pandemic Presidency
David Blight, Pulitzer prize winning author of "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom" and a Yale history professor, discusses the era of Reconstruction, the swift dismantling of its hard fought gains, and the enduring power of white supremacy. As Joe Biden talks of building a presidency in the spirit of FDR and the New Deal, Greg Grandin, whose book "The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" won the 2020 Pulitzer in nonfiction, discusses the battle for the New Deal, who was left out of its gains, and analyzes what such a program would look like in the aftermath of the Trump presidency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 06, 2020
Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and the Politics of Sexual Misconduct
Two dozen women have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault, including rape. Trump has responded by denigrating, mocking and attacking his accusers. Eight women have made allegations of misconduct against Biden and one of them has accused him of sexual assault. Biden, who is running on a campaign to restore dignity and honesty to the White House, emphatically denies he assaulted his former staffer Tara Reade and has sought to explain away his conduct toward his other accusers by portraying his unwanted touching as his way of being affectionate. The New Republic’s Melissa Gira Grant discusses Reade’s allegations, Biden’s response and the broader discourse in the media and Democratic Party surrounding the actions of the presumptive nominee toward women. And former Nevada lawmaker Lucy Flores says Joe Biden touched her inappropriately, kissed her head and sniffed her hair when he was campaigning for her. She says she didn’t report it to the Obama White House at the time for fear of retaliation or rejection, but when Biden began to run for president she felt an obligation to speak out. Flores was soon followed by seven other women sharing similar stories. She discusses her experience with Biden, what it means that the Democratic party is standing by him and the impact of a choice between Trump and Biden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, May 01, 2020
BONUS: Race, Trust, and the Chicago Police — The Investigation of Courtney Copeland’s Murder
The new podcast Somebody documents Shapearl Wells’s quest to find out what happened to Courtney Copeland, her 22-year-old son who wound up with a bullet in his back outside a Chicago police station in 2016 and died soon after. On April 30, Topic Studios, The Intercept, and Chicago-based journalism nonprofit Invisible Institute presented a live conversation and listening session focused on Shapearl’s experiences confronting Chicago Police and challenging the city’s long-standing racial disparities. The event was hosted by Intercept co-founding editor Jeremy Scahill and featured Somebody co-hosts Shapearl and Alison Flowers, a journalist at the Invisible Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 29, 2020
Viral Injustice
While the statistics are grim, the harsh reality is how the Trump administration — as well as some governors and mayors — handled this crisis made the situation much more deadly than it should have been. New York Magazine writer Zak Cheney-Rice discusses how the economic, social, racial, and gender injustices that predate this pandemic have impacted the most vulnerable people in the United States. He also discusses Trump’s incompetence, Joe Biden’s strategy of being seldom seen or heard, and how all of this might impact the 2020 presidential election. Trump and his radical anti-immigrant minion Stephen Miller are already exploiting the crisis to ram through radical measures aimed at immigrants, as ICE deports detainees infected with the coronavirus disease. John Washington, author of “The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the U.S.-Mexico Border and Beyond,” discusses the dueling messages to migrant workers from a White House that openly espouses hate and wants them deported while government agencies have categorized many as “essential workers.” Washington also discusses his latest piece for The Intercept, “We Need to Reverse the Damage Trump Has Done in Latin America. Biden’s Plans Don’t Cut It.” And Intercepted listeners share more of their stories of life during the pandemic. If you or someone you know needs emotional support or is contemplating suicide, resources include the Crisis Text Line , the Suicide Prevention Lifeline , the Trevor Project , or the International Association for Suicide Prevention . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 22, 2020
Coronavirus and the Radical Religious Right's Bumbling Messiah
Hidden behind the scenes of protests against Democratic governors is the role of radical fringe groups, gun enthusiasts, and right-wing financiers, some with ties to the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Author Jeff Sharlet discusses the rise of right-wing religious extremists, influential members, their broader strategy, and how the shutdown protesters are being used as disposable pawns in a much longer game. Sharlet’s books “The Family” and “C-Street” chronicle the history and strategy now permeating the Trump administration and the Republican Party. As his administration rolls out its phased plan for “re-opening America,” Dr. Seema Yasmin, a former officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzes the insanity of Trump’s daily briefings, his strategy to withhold aid from states based on how nice governors are to him, and what should be done to overcome the pandemic scientifically and socially. Plus, Intercepted listeners share their often gut-wrenching stories of struggling to survive in a country rocked by the nightmare of economic uncertainty in the time of the coronavirus crisis. If you or someone you know needs emotional support or is contemplating suicide, resources include the Crisis Text Line , the Suicide Prevention Lifeline , the Trevor Project , or the International Association for Suicide Prevention . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, April 17, 2020
BONUS: "Burials Are Cheaper Than Deportations"
Across the United States right now, there are over 32,000 people in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE. Tucked away in remote corners of the country, ICE’s detention centers have long had issues with providing adequate medical care, and have been proven breeding grounds for disease. Just last year, an outbreak of mumps overtook dozens of ICE facilities, infecting nearly 900 detainees. For the tens of thousands of people currently detained by ICE during the coronavirus pandemic, for whom social distancing is impossible, there is widespread fear that an even more pervasive and deadly outbreak could occur. Carceral facilities — prisons, jails — like ICE detention centers, have much higher infection rates than the general public. On Riker’s Island, for example, the rate of infection is seven times that of New York City. As of Thursday, there have been 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus among ICE detainees, and 25 cases among ICE employees at detention centers, according to ICE’s own website. The Intercept's Ryan Devereaux has been speaking directly to detainees inside of an ICE facility in Etowah County, Alabama. ICE maintains that it is following appropriate CDC protocols. But as Ryan recently reported in his story “'Burials Are Cheaper Than Deportations': Virus Unleashes Terror in a Troubled Ice Detention Center,” detainees in this facility, overwhelmed by their own precarious conditions in the face of the coronavirus threat, were forced to radically take matters into their own hands to ensure their own safety. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 15, 2020
Introducing Somebody Episode 1: Courtney
On March 4, 2016, Shapearl Wells wakes up to a bamming at her door. It’s the police, telling her that her 22-year-old son, Courtney Copeland, has been shot. Detectives tell her Courtney drove his BMW to a police station for help. But Shapearl’s grief turns into suspicion when police start asking her questions, so she launches her own investigation into her son’s murder, teaming up with journalists from the Invisible Institute to confront the cops and find the truth about Courtney's death. This week on Intercepted: We air the first episode of Somebody, a new podcast from the Invisible Institute, The Intercept, Topic Studios, and iHeartRadio, in association with Tenderfoot TV. Somebody explores the racial disparities and turbulent relationship between law enforcement and citizens in one of America’s largest cities. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and for more information go to somebodypodcast.com . Intercepted will be back next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, April 10, 2020
The Failed State of America
Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president as the country continues to be rocked by Covid-19 cases and hospitals are struggling to obtain basic supplies. The U.S. has seen almost 20 million unemployment claims in just the past few weeks while new data is revealing that Covid-19 is killing African Americans disproportionately in some major cities. What we are witnessing in stark reality is — contrary to the rhetoric of American greatness — a mask now being lifted to reveal a failed state. On the new Intercepted: Jacobin magazine executive editor, Seth Ackerman, discusses the pandemic, capitalism, the suspension of the Sanders campaign, and the future of the U.S. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 08, 2020
Pandemic Racism: The Wisconsin Primary, Disenfranchisement, and the Cost of Life
Milwaukee’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Jeanette Kowalik, discusses the Wisconsin Supreme Court's reckless disregard for public safety as they force the state to conduct in-person voting. Dr. Kowalik analyzes why some 70% of Covid-19 deaths in Milwaukee are African Americans and why the city has declared racism a public health crisis. She also analyses the expected consequences of Tuesday’s crowded voting lines at limited number of polling sites across Wisconsin. Author and scholar Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How to Be Antiracist," discusses what the data tells us about race and coronavirus in America. He draws historical parallels between the Trump administration response and the Mississippi flood of 1927 and analyzes what it means for the U.S. to have to choose between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Fired Amazon worker Christian Smalls responds to the company’s smear campaign organized against him during a meeting attended by the wealthiest person in the world, Jeff Bezos. And Intercepted listeners share their stories of struggle during the pandemic. If you or someone you know needs emotional support or is contemplating suicide, resources include the Crisis Text Line , the Suicide Prevention Lifeline , the Trevor Project , or the International Association for Suicide Prevention . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 01, 2020
Essential Workers and the Reverse Robin Hood Coronavirus Bailout
Workers at Amazon, Instacart, and Whole Foods have gone on strike demanding safe work conditions. Amazon has already fired one organizer and continues to pump out misinformation and propaganda as Jeff Bezos continues to rake in billions of dollars. We hear from the fired Amazon manager Christian Smalls and talk to Jacobin magazine reporter Meagan Day about her reporting on the conditions of some essential workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Joe Biden’s campaign against Medicare for All, and the shortage of supplies in hospitals. Emergency Room nurse John Pearson, from Highland Hospital in Oakland, explains why his colleagues had to start a GoFundMe campaign for vital medical equipment. He talks about the lack of supplies to deal with the coming surge of coronavirus cases and why he believes that this crisis demands the implementation of a single-payer healthcare system. He also talks about the California health care workers petition to Governor Gavin Newsom. Intercepted listeners share their stories of struggle during the pandemic — we hear from people losing jobs, facing mounting debt, working in unsafe conditions, and worrying about what the future holds for the most vulnerable people. As Congress pats itself on the back for the bipartisan $2.2 trillion “stimulus” package Trump signed into law, journalist David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, breaks down the corporate interests and powerful people who stand to gain the most from the looting of taxpayer funds. Dayen analyzes the portions of the bill aimed at bailing out struggling families, workers, small business owners, and explains why he believes Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were wrong to vote in favor of the bailout. And if you or someone you know needs emotional support or is contemplating suicide, resources include the Crisis Text Line , the Suicide Prevention Lifeline , the Trevor Project , or the International Association for Suicide Prevention . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 25, 2020
Capitalist Death Panels: If Corporate Vultures Get Their Way, We’ll Be Dead
As Congress continues to negotiate a bailout, Republicans seem intent on exploiting the crisis to enrich Wall Street, while Democrats offer meek resistance. Matt Bruenig of the Peoples Policy Project breaks down the various proposals in Congress, compares the U.S. plans with other countries’ responses, and lays out some of the tenets of what a bailout for the people should look like. Meanwhile, the fate of more than 2 million people locked up in U.S. jails and prisons hangs in the balance as coronavirus begins to spread among incarcerated populations. Workers at carceral facilities are also getting sick. While some cities are working to release pre-trial detainees and people convicted of non-violent technical crimes, legal groups and human rights organizations are sounding the alarm bells on what could be a horrifying aspect of the coronavirus pandemic hitting people who are literally prevented from social distancing. Premal Dharia, Founder and Director of of the Defender Impact Initiative, describes the situation in carceral facilities across the U.S. and why she is warning of a humanitarian disaster if action is not taken immediately. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, March 19, 2020
Organizer Mariame Kaba: We Need a People’s Bailout to Confront Coronavirus
After weeks of downplaying the seriousness of the virus and at times implying it was a hoax, the Trump administration has announced a series of government responses to the crisis. While some actions, such as expanded testing, emergency aid to states and production of medical supplies, are aimed directly at protecting public health, serious questions abound about the economic survival of millions of people. Organizer Mariame Kaba discusses the realities facing some of the most vulnerable people in our society, from poor and working families to prisoners and immigration detainees and beyond. While the virus does not discriminate in who it infects, it will have a disproportionately devastating impact on communities that already faced dire crises before coronavirus. Kaba discusses “mutual aid” actions taking place across the country where ordinary people are pooling resources and offering direct responses to those in the most need. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, March 17, 2020
Naomi Klein and Jeremy Scahill Discuss Coronavirus, the Election, and Solidarity in the Midst of a Pandemic
The U.S. failed to respond quickly to the coronavirus and as it spreads, it is likely to overwhelm the outdated and overwhelmingly privatized health care infrastructure. Author Naomi Klein and Jeremy Scahill discuss the bipartisan ruling coalition that created and supported a health system where profits are more important than public health; how the corporate vultures are circling the crisis, and how ordinary people are rising to help each other. They also discuss the Democratic primary and the looming fate of many states’ voters; the last Democratic debate between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden and the two candidates' platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, March 10, 2020
We Need to Talk About Joe
With Michigan and other states voting in primaries today, the justice movements backing the Sanders campaign are making the case that nominating Joe Biden to take on Donald Trump is a grave risk. Poet Aja Monet and organizer Astra Taylor discuss the mini-manifesto from a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition of feminists: “ Rising for a Global Feminist Future with the Movement to Elect Bernie Sanders .” As Biden’s campaign seeks to keep him away from open microphones and limit his public appearances, serious questions are being asked about Biden’s mental health and his decades of right-wing positions and policies. Nathan Robinson, editor-in-chief of Current Affairs, discusses Biden’s record on criminal justice, the climate crisis, women’s reproductive rights, war, and trade. Robinson accurately predicted Trump would defeat Hillary Clinton and he argues it will all happen again if Biden is the candidate in November. His latest article is titled, “ Democrats, You Really Do Not Want To Nominate Joe Biden .” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, March 03, 2020
Super Tuesday: Which Side Are You On?
It’s Super Tuesday and the battle lines are drawn in a campaign that will not only determine who will face Donald Trump in the general election, but also the future of the Democratic Party. The Intercept’s Lee Fang discusses who is funding and running the Biden campaign, the role of dark money in the attack against Sanders, and the looming influence of super delegates. As the Democratic establishment intensifies its battle to ward off a Sanders insurgency, former Hillary Clinton adviser Peter Daou describes why he is now backing Sanders. Daou also discusses the opposition files compiled on Sanders and rejects the claims he has not been “vetted.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 26, 2020
Bernie’s Fight Against Trump, the GOP, the Democratic Establishment, and Corporate Media
As Bloomberg launches a massive attack ad campaign against Sanders ahead of the South Carolina and Super Tuesday primaries, Sanders is facing a multi-pronged battle against the most powerful political and economic forces in the country. From Columbia, South Carolina, Rev. Jesse Jackson discusses the red-baiting of Sanders, offers his views on Democratic Socialism, and suggests Bloomberg should have run against Trump in the Republican primary. Jackson, who won the South Carolina primary in 1984 and 1988, discusses his presidential runs and Joe Biden’s claims of involvement with the civil rights movement. Intercepted producer Laura Flynn and Intercept journalist Aída Chavez report from Nevada on how the Latinx community propelled Sanders to victory. Plus, Jeremy Scahill takes on the red-baiting scare tactics being deployed against Sanders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 25, 2020
BONUS: We Are Not Your Firewall
Billionaire former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has announced he is going to unleash a spate of attack ads against Sanders; while Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden are harping about comments Sanders made on 60 Minutes where he praised Cuba’s literacy efforts. The red-baiting attacks on Sanders are most definitely going to increase this week ahead of the South Carolina primary Saturday and next week’s Super Tuesday contest. Sanders is simultaneously battling his challengers and an often openly hostile corporate media culture. On MSNBC, his victory in Nevada was compared to the Nazi invasion of France, one of the networks paid pundits referred to the Sanders national campaign press secretary as coming from the “Island of Misfit Black Girls” and host Chuck Todd compared Sanders's twitter followers to Nazi “brown shirts.” Meanwhile, a surrogate for Buttigieg called on Sanders to “muzzle” his top African American campaign representative, while Mike Bloomberg’s campaign put out a statement accusing Sanders of being “Trump’s new bro” and focused overwhelmingly on attacking the comments of senior Black women on the Sanders campaign. In this Intercepted special, Sanders top national surrogate, Sen. Nina Turner, and campaign press secretary Briahna Joy Gray discuss the attacks against them, the red-baiting attacks against Sanders, and why they believe Sanders could pull off a major upset in South Carolina. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, February 21, 2020
BONUS: Inside the Secretive Court at Guantanamo Bay as CIA Torture Architect Testifies
Last month, The Intercept's research editor Margot Williams reported from Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay during an extraordinary moment in the 40th pre-trial hearing for the five men accused of plotting 9/11. The men are being charged with crimes that can result in the death penalty and pre-trial hearings have been continuing in this case since 2012. During this hearing, the architect of the CIA's torture program, Dr. James Mitchell, was brought to the war court as a witness. This was the first time that Mitchell appeared in open court. Williams describes her reporting trip, Mitchell's testimony, and how the legacy of CIA torture, with FBI complicity, has marred every aspect of the 9/11 case for nearly eight years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 19, 2020
Mike Bloomberg Ran Stasi-Style Police and Surveillance Operations Against Muslim Americans
As Bloomberg nears a half a billion dollars in paid ads for his presidential campaign, he is intensifying his attacks on Bernie Sanders. Meanwhile, the red-baiting smears against Sanders are resurfacing as he surges in national polls. NYU Professor Nikhil Pal Singh, author of "Race and America’s Long War," dissects the record of Bloomberg, what his candidacy says about the state of electoral politics in the U.S. and discusses Bloomberg’s “racial terror” tactics in New York. Attorney Diala Shamas, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who fought Bloomberg over his Muslim surveillance program, describes the NYPD’s “Demographics Unit” that targeted Muslim Americans, businesses, houses of worship, and restaurants. Shamas compares the surveillance program to some of the activities of the East German Stasi secret police and says Bloomberg’s use of the program should be seen as an ominous sign of what he might do as president. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 12, 2020
"It's Armageddon Time for the Democratic Party"
Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader talks about the state of the Democratic primary, the corporate DNC panic over Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and what would happen to the Democratic party if Sanders wins. Nader also discusses a phone call he had with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just before the impeachment process began. As Michael Bloomberg buys his way into the Democratic primary, he is plastering the airwaves with hagiographic advertisements that ignore his awful record on race, labor unions and how he escalated the Stop-and-Frisk program as mayor of New York. Intercept investigative reporter Lee Fang talks about Bloomberg’s advisers and the strategy to block Sanders or Warren from getting the nomination, possibly seeking to force a brokered convention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 04, 2020
On the Ground in Iowa
While the Iowa Democratic Party has thoroughly fumbled reporting official results of Monday’s caucuses, Sen. Bernie Sanders’s campaign has released figures showing a significant lead. The Intercept’s Washington D.C. bureau chief Ryan Grim reports from the ground in Iowa and traces the rise of today’s progressive moment to Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign. Producers Jack D’Isidoro and Elise Swain speak with caucus-goers in Ottumwa, where meatpacking union workers in the first satellite caucus of the state emphatically supported Sanders. During a caucus at Drake University, Grim speaks with Rep. Ro Khanna and Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor about Bernie Sanders and electability. At the Sanders campaign victory party in Des Moines, Sanders gives a speech before election results are known, and Chapo Trap House’s Matt Christman weighs in on this political moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 29, 2020
John Bolton and the Giant Impeachment
Donald Trump’s legal team, including Allan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, argue that the president cannot be impeached for abusing his power. As the battle over Bolton testifying before the Senate intensifies, The Daily Beast’s Spencer Ackerman discusses the longterm impact of the trial on extreme executive power. He also describes his report that Saudi Arabia plotted to kidnap a critic of the regime on U.S. soil and the Cold War rhetoric deployed by the House Managers. While Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are often portrayed in the media as being kindred political souls with identical and similar positions, there are some important differences, particularly on foreign policy. Sarah Lazare, a writer at In These Times, discusses Warren’s hawkish side, her team of advisers and her evolving position on Israel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 22, 2020
Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and the Rewriting of Iraq War History
Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is already unfolding as a Mitch McConnell-coordinated farce. The charges against Trump are serious, but they beg the question of why Congress has never impeached a president for war crimes. None of the three Senate trials of a president was for imperial crimes committed in plain sight, despite a long history of presidents invading countries, killing civilians, and torturing prisoners. Constitutional and international law scholar Marjorie Cohn discusses the trial of Trump, the refusal of lawmakers to prosecute war crimes, and presents the case that Trump should be impeached for assassinating Iranian Gen. Qassim Suleimani in Baghdad. This month marks 29 straight years that the US has been bombing Iraq. Joe Biden, who proactively aided and abetted the Bush administration’s drive for war, has been openly lying about his record, but Bernie Sanders also has some serious questions he needs to answer about his own support for regime change, missile strikes, and deadly economic sanctions. Jeremy Scahill and Sam Husseini, of the Institute for Public Accuracy, present a thorough history of both candidates records on Iraq over the past three decades. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, January 14, 2020
Iran: What Next?
Jeremy Scahill hosts a live discussion in New York on the unfolding crisis with Intercept senior columnist Mehdi Hasan, reporter Murtaza Hussain, national security editor Vanessa Gezari, and senior news editor Ali Gharib. They discuss what the latest developments mean for Iran and the U.S. and how tensions have rapidly escalated since Donald Trump came to office. Will Trump’s current posture hold, or will he order more violence? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, December 29, 2019
Intercepted Is Powered by Its Members
Other podcasts make money from advertising and corporate sponsors. We don’t have ads — Intercepted is powered by its members. When you support Intercepted, you become a part of the journalism that holds the powerful to account. Become a member — together we can make a difference. If you become a sustaining member at $10/month, we’ll send you our stylish Intercepted t-shirt. This is a community effort. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a difference. Generous support of listeners like you is what makes our fierce and independent reporting possible. Do what you can. Become a member at theintercept.com/support . All donations are welcome. You can make a one-time gift or become a sustaining member. Thank you! We’ll see you in 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 18, 2019
Capitalism’s Consigliere
Former senior health insurance executive-turned-whistleblower Wendell Potter explains McKinsey’s role in our insurance nightmare and how Pete Buttigieg is using industry talking points to attack Medicare for All. Potter also discusses his career working for insurance giants, soaring medical costs in the U.S. and his role in killing Hillary Clinton’s health care initiative in the 1990s. Propublica reporter Ian MacDougall discusses McKinsey’s relationship with the Saudi regime, its work for Rikers island, and how it helped push opioids to doctors and patients. MacDougall also lays out his reporting on how McKinsey’s work for ICE in detaining and deporting immigrants disturbed career immigration officials. And, the Justice Department’s Inspector General blasted the FBI over its lies and omissions in obtaining a secret FISA warrant to spy on Trump campaign operative Carter Page. Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald discusses how the report vindicates civil liberties activists and serves as a striking rebuke of the bipartisan love affair with law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 11, 2019
We Tortured Some Folks
Monday marked the five year anniversary of the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s executive summary on the CIA’s torture program. The former top Senate Intelligence Committee investigator, Daniel Jones and his team combed through 6.3 million pages of CIA records. Jones discusses the years-long battle with the Bush and Obama administrations to make public the findings of this still-classified 7,000 page report. In this bonus episode, Jones expands on the torture report findings. Jones is the subject of the new feature film, The Report, starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening, and the host of its companion podcast, The Report Podcast, with Kelly McEvers, where they unpack the story of the CIA’s torture program, the Senate’s investigation, and ensuing cover-up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 04, 2019
The CIA Torture Cover-Up
As Washington D.C. remains focused on the Trump impeachment, Daniel Jones, the former top Senate Intelligence Committee investigator into the CIA torture program discusses the years-long battle with the Bush and Obama administrations to make public the findings of his still-classified 7,000 page report. Jones, the subject of the new feature film, The Report, starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening, discusses his findings. He tells the story of how the CIA, under John Brennan, spied on the Senate investigators and accessed their classified computers. As a rebellion in Iraq forces the resignation of the country’s prime minister, Iraqi activist Raed Jarrar describes the roots of the protests, the impact of foreign intervention by numerous countries, and the history of the U.S. encouraging sectarianism in Iraq. Plus, "Bigger Than Baghdad" — we hear new music from Iraqi-Canadian hip-hop artist Narcy about the protests in Iraq. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 03, 2019
A Message from Jeremy on Giving Tuesday
Other podcasts make money from advertising and corporate sponsors. We don’t have ads — Intercepted is powered by its members. All donations are welcome. You can make a one-time gift or become a sustaining member. If you become a sustaining member at $10/month, we’ll send you our stylish Intercepted t-shirt. This is a community effort. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a difference. Generous support of listeners like you is what makes our fierce and independent reporting possible. Do what you can. Become a member at theintercept.com/support . Thank you! We’ll be back tomorrow with a full show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 27, 2019
Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling’s Life as an “Unwanted Spy”
Jeffrey Sterling was indicted in 2010 on charges under the Espionage Act for allegedly leaking sensitive national security information to then-New York Times reporter James Risen. Sterling discusses his time as a CIA case officer and how his internal complaint about Operation Merlin, a half-baked CIA scheme that had tried to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development, led to his firing. Sterling explains the discrimination suit he filed against the CIA and how there is no evidence that he was the source for Risen, who is now The Intercept's senior national security correspondent. Sterling also shares what it was like to be charged under the Espionage Act and comments on the appalling hostility toward whistleblowers in the U.S. Sterling’s new book is “Unwanted Spy: The Persecution of an American Whistleblower.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 20, 2019
Ghosts of Mossadegh: The Iran Cables, U.S. Empire, and the Arc of History
Iranian-American author and analyst Hooman Majd discusses a century of history marked by intervention and threats from major world powers. Beginning with Britain, Russia, and Germany battling for control of Iran’s oil, Majd and Jeremy Scahill discuss the CIA coup against Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, the Islamic revolution, and the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and how Washington has repeatedly tried to bring down the government of the Islamic Republic. The Intercept’s investigative series The Iran Cables offers historical insight into Iran’s operations in neighboring Iraq, which are informed by the bloody history of the Iran-Iraq War, the U.S. invasion, subsequent occupation, and the shattering of Iraqi society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 19, 2019
What the Iran Cables Tell Us About the U.S.-Made Hellscape in Iraq
Early Monday morning, a few minutes past midnight, The Intercept published a major series of investigative stories based on a cache of more than 700 pages of secret Iranian intelligence files detailing years of “painstaking work by Iranian spies to co-opt the country’s leaders, pay Iraqi agents working for the Americans to switch sides, and infiltrate every aspect of Iraq’s political, economic, and religious life.” On this special episode of Intercepted: The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussein and New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi discuss the revelations. The leak of these files is historic. The Iran Cables paint a picture of the actions of a rational nation state actor’s intervention in the affairs of a neighbor whose government once launched a devastating war against it with the backing of the world’s preeminent superpower, the U.S. For more than six decades, successive U.S. governments have waged military and economic war on Iran and Iraq. In the post-9/11 world, the U.S. overthrew the governments of two of Iran’s most threatening neighbors, Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, while simultaneously coming dangerously close to an all out regime change war against Iran. The 2003 invasion shattered Iraq and the documents in the Iran Cables tell the story of the secret activities of its neighbor Iran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 13, 2019
Bolivia and Brazil at the Crossroads
As right-wing forces attack indigenous Bolivians and allies of Morales, the Trump administration says the toppling of the democratically-elected government “preserves democracy.” Anthropologist and Bolivia scholar Bret Gustafson offers a nuanced analysis of how the coup unfolded, who benefits from the crisis, and what is at stake for the overwhelmingly indigenous population. Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is now free after spending a year and a half behind bars. He says he wants to run for president and fight the far right regime of Jair Bolsonaro. The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald talks about his recent conversation with Lula, the threats against Intercept journalists in Brasil, and the latest on the corruption investigation into Justice Minister Sergio Moro. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 13, 2019
The Case of Rodney Reed
On this special episode of Intercepted, Jordan Smith and Liliana Segura discuss the case of Rodney Reed. The state of Texas has set an execution date of November 20 for Reed. He has been on death row since 1998, following his conviction in the murder of a young woman named Stacy Stites in April of 1996. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence in this case that Reed is innocent, and a very compelling case to be made that Stites’s fiancee at the time of her murder should be the focus of this case. Her fiancee was a police officer at the time of her killing. He is also now a convicted felon himself with a shocking track record of violent assault and rape. Rodney Reed’s life is now hanging in the balance, and an unlikely coalition of high profile people are trying to halt this execution, including Texas Republican politicians and elected officials. Perhaps most prominent among them is Sen. Ted Cruz. Jordan Smith and Liliana Segura are both journalists at The Intercept and the cohosts of Murderville . Check out all of their work on this case at The Intercept . If you like what we do, support our show by going to TheIntercept.com/join . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 06, 2019
The Case for Economic Disobedience
Organizer Astra Taylor, author of “Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone,” analyzes “minoritarian” rule in the U.S., how capitalism undermines democracy, and lays out concrete ideas for fighting back. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of “Race for Profit,” talks about the history of how the U.S. government and predatory lenders conspired against Black home ownership in the United States. She also explains why privatizing affordable housing initiatives is a recipe for continued disaster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 30, 2019
American Horrors
Amidst the grandstanding and partisan bickering, no one wants to talk about the decades of U.S. policy that helped give rise to ISIS and al Qaeda. Jeremy Scahill discusses how U.S. policy opened a Pandora’s box in Iraq and Syria. Islamic studies scholar Amanda Rogers discusses the actual founder of ISIS, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and how ISIS adopted tactics from the U.S. “war on terror.” War reporter Mike Giglio talks about his time on the ground covering ISIS. He documents this experience in his new book, “Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 23, 2019
Omnicidal Tendencies
Legendary peace activist Liz McAlister has spent her entire life resisting U.S. war. The 79-year-old grandmother of six, who is on trial with her Kings Bay Plowshares co-defendants, explains why she and her friends snuck onto a U.S. nuclear base to deliver an indictment of the U.S. government. Rudy Giuliani has emerged as Donald Trump’s dollar store Roy Cohn and he has put himself right in the center of the impeachment inquiry. Journalist Johnny Dwyer, author of “The Districts,” chronicles Giuliani’s time as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Giuliani’s connections to shady characters from a host of countries and why he may never face indictment. Journalist Emily Guendelsberger went undercover working at Amazon, McDonald’s and Convergys. She discusses her experience in the dystopic world of low wage work and her new book “On the Clock, What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 16, 2019
Wasteland of Corruption
Adam Serwer of The Atlantic discusses the impeachment inquiry, the cruelty of the Trump presidency and the state of play in Washington D.C. As Turkey continues its brutal incursion into parts of Syria, U.S. politicians accuse Trump of “betraying” the Kurds. Jeremy Scahill and Dr. Kamran Matin of Sussex University discuss the long history of U.S. support for despotic regimes as they’ve waged genocidal campaigns against Kurdish people. Author Fatima Bhutto has two new books out, a novel “The Runaways” and “New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi, and K-Pop.” Bhutto discusses these books, the role of the CIA in Hollywood and the evolving story of Pakistan in the post-9/11 world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 09, 2019
The Trump Effect
Jeremy Scahill is back. Well, sort of. He passes the reins over to Intercepted's producers. A recent report from Airwars investigates the incredibly thin media coverage of civilian harm during the U.S. war against ISIS. The author of that report, investigative researcher Alexa O'Brien, shares her findings with associate producer Elise Swain. Lead producer Jack D'Isidoro interviews Wilfred Chan, who dives deep into the pro-democracy uprising in Hong Kong and explores the protesters' demands. The Intercept's Jordan Smith discusses the first abortion case before the Supreme Court since Trump’s new appointments with producer Laura Flynn. They analyze the latest in the war against women's reproductive rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 02, 2019
We've Got Impeachment
D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim hosts and gives the long history of Hunter Biden in Ukraine. Senior National Security Correspondent James Risen explains Donald Trump’s abuse of power, comments on the New York Times publishing information about the whistleblower, he calls for an end to leak prosecutions, especially under the Espionage Act. Grim and Risen are joined by Edward Baumgartner, a researcher on Ukraine and Russia, and Kristofer Harrison, a former Defense and State Department adviser during the George W. Bush administration. They discuss Joe and Hunter Biden’s involvement in Ukraine, and the interests of various Trump associates in Ukraine including Rudy Giuliani, Michael Cohen, and Paul Manafort. Reporter Murtaza Hussain asks why the moral outrage over Trump’s abuse of political power is so much greater than it is for America’s endless wars and rising civilian deaths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 25, 2019
We Were Warned: The Climate Emergency and the Surveillance State
Senior Correspondent Naomi Klein imagines what real climate justice could look like and talks about her new book, “On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal.” The Intercept’s Sharon Lerner tells Intercepted’s Elise Swain about her groundbreaking reporting on toxic industrial chemicals. NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden reads an excerpt from his new memoir, “Permanent Record,” and reflects on his time since revealing the broad scope of NSA surveillance with Micah Lee, First Look Media’s Director of Information Security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 03, 2019
BONUS: Philosopher Srecko Horvat
Philosopher Srecko Horvat discusses the historical lessons we can learn from the guerrilla struggle against fascism waged by the Partisans in Yugoslavia during World War II. Horvat also talks about the recent surge in extreme right-wing political forces in Europe and what that trend and Julian Assange’s case mean for the future of democracy. Intercepted is going on hiatus for the summer and will return with new episodes in September 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 26, 2019
Whitewashing History
Rutgers professor and co-host of the Uncivil podcast Chenjerai Kumanyika argues that demands for reparations should include challenging the driving forces behind slavery: capitalism and imperialism. The Intercept’s Ryan Devereaux gives an update on the trial for humanitarian aid worker Scott Warren and discusses the dehumanization that has allowed the war on immigrants to continue for decades. Artist and musician Nakhane reflects on growing up queer in South Africa and talks about his new record, “You Will Not Die.” This is our last episode of the season. Intercepted is going on hiatus for the summer and will return with new episodes in September 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 19, 2019
Gulf of Tonkin Redux
As the U.S. accuses Iran of attacking civilian ships while offering scant evidence, grave historical parallels are emerging with the Gulf of Tonkin incidents in 1964 that were manipulated to justify Lyndon Johnson’s dramatic escalation of the war in Vietnam. California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna is preparing legislation aimed at stopping an attack on Iran and he says he would not put it past National Security Adviser John Bolton to manipulate evidence. Journalist Negar Mortazavi of The Independent analyzes what war with Iran would look like and exposes the State Department’s funding of propaganda operations against Iran. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman talks about the parallels with the build up to the Iraq invasion of 2003 and shares stories from her early life as a journalist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 12, 2019
Running for Justice
In a bombshell series of reports, The Intercept Brasil has revealed dirty tricks used in the prosecution of the leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on corruption charges and improper coordination among prosecutors and judges. Glenn Greenwald discusses the documents in the leaked archive and what this means for Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro. Tiffany Cabán, a queer Latina public defender from Queens, New York, talks about her battle with the Democratic Party machine in her bid to become a prosecutor opposed to the carceral state. Chesa Boudin, whose parents were sentenced to lengthy prison terms when he was 14-months-old, is trying to overhaul San Francisco’s justice system and radically change the relationship between cops and the DA. As paramilitary forces carry out a massacre against non-violent protesters in Sudan, we get a report from filmmaker Hajooj Kuka who was wounded in the raid in Khartoum last week. And we hear the music of Sudanese-American Ahmed Gallab, the lead singer-songwriter of the band Sinkane, and his experience of monitoring the major developments in his home country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 05, 2019
Criminalizing Freedom
Fanatical opponents of a woman’s right to choose are pushing to criminalize abortion and women's healthcare providers. Historian Johanna Schoen, Rutgers professor and author, talks about when abortion was illegal and the history of coercive policies from forced sterilization to blocking access to sex education, birth control, and abortions. Whistleblower Reality Winner has spent more than two years in prison for allegedly leaking a top-secret NSA document on Russian cyber attacks on software used in some U.S. voting systems. Her mother, Billie Winner-Davis, describes her daughter’s prison conditions and makes the case for why she should be freed. As Donald Trump wraps up his state visit to the United Kingdom, we speak with philosopher and activist Srećko Horvat about the historical lessons we can learn from the guerrilla struggle against fascism waged by the Partizans in Yugoslavia during World War II, as well as the recent surge in extreme right-wing political forces in Europe. If you like what we do, support our show by going to TheIntercept.com/join to become a member. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, June 02, 2019
BONUS: "We've Got People"
As Democrats continue to debate whether to initiate an impeachment inquiry, Trump seems to be going nuts from the Democrats’ continuing probe into his possible obstruction of justice, corruption, and abuse of power. The Intercept’s Ryan Grim explains Nancy Pelosi’s rise to power within the Democratic Party, her political origins, and what her possible end game strategy is for Trump. Grim also weighs in on the large 2020 Democratic candidate field and talks about his new book, “We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 29, 2019
A Coup Against the First Amendment
For the first time in U.S. history, the government is criminally prosecuting a publisher for printing truthful information. Whether Assange is extradited or not, this case casts a dangerous cloud over aggressive national security reporting and means criminalizing journalism is on the table. Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and former top lawyer at the ACLU, analyzes the indictment and explains why he believes this case represents a grave threat to a free press. As Democrats continue to debate whether to initiate an impeachment inquiry against Trump, Nancy Pelosi seems to be getting under The Donald’s skin. The Intercept’s Ryan Grim explains Pelosi’s rise to power within the Democratic Party, her political origins and what her possible end game strategy is for Donald Trump. Grim also discusses his new book “We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.” If you like what we do, support our show by going to TheIntercept.com/join to become a member. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 22, 2019
Authoritarians Like Us
National Security Adviser John Bolton is more powerful than ever and is obsessed with regime change in Tehran. His boss is threatening to bring the “end of Iran” as some news outlets help spread the administration’s unveiled attempt to gin up a Gulf of Tonkin-style justification for war. Iranian author and analyst Hooman Majd explains how we got here and how Iran’s leaders view the Trump administration. Trump loves to talk about locking up his political opponents and with William Barr as his attorney general, it may not be unthinkable. That is precisely what the former President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is charging happened to him. Lula, the once popular leftist president of Brazil, is serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges. But, in an exclusive prison interview with The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald, Lula says his prosecution was an attempt to destroy him and the Workers Party he built. Greenwald discusses his interview and plays highlights of his conversation with Lula. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 15, 2019
The Espionage Axe
Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, talks about the weaponization of this law for use in stopping investigative journalism and the case of Air Force veteran Daniel Hale, who is facing 50 years in prison. Organizer Bill Fletcher Jr. discusses the Trump administration’s intensifying military threats against Iran, the ongoing coup attempt in Venezuela and offers strategic thoughts on how to view the 2020 Democratic primary field. Dr. Krystal Redman, executive director of SPARK Reproductive Justice Now in Georgia, talks about the spate of new laws being implemented in several states that seek to criminalize abortion and women’s health care providers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 08, 2019
Everywhere Is War
The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain discusses Trump’s motley crew of regime change warriors, what war with Iran would look like, and the strategy behind the economic sanctions. At nearly 90 years old, former Senator Mike Gravel may be the oldest candidate for president, but he also has the dankest social media memes. Gravel discusses his insurgent run for the Democratic nomination led by his campaign volunteers who are teenagers. The Intercept’s Jordan Smith talks about her latest reporting on abortion. In honor of the 100th anniversary of Pete Seeger’s birth, we hear some never before released recordings and talk with Jeff Place, the curator and senior archivist of The Smithsonian Folkways Collection’s career-spanning anthology of Seeger’s work. If you like what we do, support our show by going to TheIntercept.com/join to become a member. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 01, 2019
Shadow Players
The Intercept’s editor-in-chief Betsy Reed, investigative journalist Matthew Cole, and national security editor Vanessa Gezari discuss how Erik Prince went from exile in the United Arab Emirates to a shadow player in Trump world. Famed Pentagon Papers lawyer James Goodale, former counsel to the New York Times, discusses the dangerous precedent the prosecution of Julian Assange would set and criticizes “establishment” media outlets for not speaking out. War reporter Dahr Jamail, who reported inside Fallujah during the first U.S. siege, has now deployed to the frontlines of the war to save the climate. He reads from his new book, ”The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 24, 2019
Introducing Running from COPS
We’d like to introduce you to Running from COPS — a new podcast from our sister company Topic Studios and the team behind Missing Richard Simmons. After 30 years on television, COPS has evolved into a constant messaging machine about policing in America. Running from COPS is the result of an 18-month investigation and delves deep into how the show actually gets made, how much control police departments really have over the final product, and the harrowing stories of the people who have ended up on camera. If you like what you hear, the show is out now on all podcast platforms. Just search for “Running from COPS.” Intercepted will be back with new episodes next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 10, 2019
Immoral Compass
Ryan Grim, the Washington DC bureau chief of The Intercept, discusses the departure of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Neilsen and the historic War Powers Resolution vote that just passed Congress. Investigative reporter Aura Bogado, of Reveal, discusses the Trump administration’s current immigration policies, the ongoing family separations and Bernie Sanders rejection of the concept of “open borders.” The Intercept’s Micah Lee discusses the bizarre case of the Chinese national who talked her way onto Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort with a bunch of cash, USB drives with malware and some counter surveillance equipment. Two Catholic Worker peace activists explain why they snuck onto a US military base, poured their own blood and attempted to deliver an indictment of President Trump. Carmen Trotta of the New York Catholic Worker and Martha Hennessy, the granddaughter of Dorothy Day, discuss their legal strategy, why they acted, and the history of the Plowshares movement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 03, 2019
American Dystopia
The Intercept’s Alice Speri discusses her investigation into the FBI’s creation of the term “black identity extremist” and explains why this label is so dangerous. Science fiction author Cory Doctorow walks us through the dystopian yet highly plausible futures in his new book “Radicalized.” Plus, Katie Alice Greer of the band Priests describes how history and mythology influenced their new record, “The Seduction of Kansas.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 27, 2019
The Day After Mueller
Naomi Klein analyzes the epic media failure on Trump-Russia and discusses the agenda for change and resistance that should have been. Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi details how on Trump-Russia the media failed to do its job. Ali Abunimah, of the Electronic Intifada, lays out the scandal in plain sight: Israeli collusion with Trump and the broader U.S. political power structure. The Intercept’s Jon Schwarz tells the bizarre tale of China’s illegal influence over the presidential campaign of Jeb Bush. And Alison Klayman talks about her film "The Brink," a look at the past year of Steve Bannon’s project to bring his white nationalist agenda global. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 20, 2019
Radical White Terrorism
Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik talks about the “ghoulish routine” in the media and among politicians that increasingly emerges in the aftermath of massacres of Muslims by white supremacists. The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain explains why, as a non-white Western Muslim, he felt compelled to analyze the “manifesto” of the shooter. University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew, author of “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America,” discusses the history of white power movements and why she draws a distinction between white power and white supremacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 13, 2019
The American Machine: Police Torture to Drone Assassinations
Famed civil rights lawyer Flint Taylor discusses his 13 year struggle for justice for Fred Hampton, his work in exposing the torture program in Chicago that was unleashed on black men, and his career fighting against violent corrupt cops, the city of Chicago, and J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. Taylor’s new memoir is called "The Torture Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago." Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union talks about the expansion of drone strikes under Trump, how Obama paved the way for his successor, and what we might expect from Attorney General William Barr. Meghan McCain is not Jewish, but she is accusing a Jewish comic artist of creating “one of the most anti-semitic things” she has ever seen: a cartoon about her hypocrisy in attacking Ilhan Omar and appropriating Jewish suffering. Artist Eli Valley talks about why he drew it and why he believes McCain’s attacks on his cartoon proves the very point he was making. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 06, 2019
American Misdirection
Journalist and Russiagate critic Aaron Maté presents his dissenting analysis, what he believes is behind the investigation, and how the scandal has distracted from other urgent issues. We hear a speech from professor Shoshana Zuboff, author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power.” As the Trump administration intensifies its air war in Somalia, journalist Harun Maruf, author of “Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al-Qaeda’s Most Powerful Ally," discusses the war in Somalia and the seldom mentioned history of how the George W. Bush administration helped overthrow the only force that had brought peace to Somalia since the early 1990s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 27, 2019
The Secrets of American Power
California Rep. Ro Khanna tells us he is ready to invoke the War Powers Act in an effort to stop military action in Venezuela. New York Times reporter Charlie Savage discusses the rise of the unitary executive theory and how Attorney General William Barr could impact the Trump scandals and U.S. national security policy. Carol Rosenberg, the only journalist covering the Guantanamo prison and trials full-time, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation. She discusses 17 years of reporting, controversies around prosecuting detainees, and the evidence that Haspel's covert career included a stint at GTMO. Jordan Carver, the author of “Spaces of Disappearance: the Architecture of Extraordinary Rendition,” takes us on an audio journey mapping the covert CIA program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 20, 2019
Regime Change We Can Believe In
Venezuela scholar George Ciccariello-Maher and journalist Kim Ives discuss recent developments and examine the massive protests rocking Haiti’s U.S.-backed president. The Intercept’s Jon Schwarz details the bloody and murderous career of Elliott Abrams, the man now in charge of U.S.-Venezuela operations. And journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous explains the failed revolution in Egypt and outlines U.S.-backed dictator General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s plot to make himself president for life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 13, 2019
Neoliberalism or Death: The U.S. Economic War Against Venezuela
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially endorses the attempted coup in Venezuela, joining forces with Donald Trump and his posse of neoconservatives. Venezuela’s Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Ron responds to the threats of military action, the reports about covert U.S. activity in the country, and discusses the impact of the sanctions on Venezuela. Former United Nations rapporteur Alfred de Zayas is accusing the U.S. of attempting to “asphyxiate” Venezuela with economic warfare and says the U.S. should be investigated by the International Criminal Court. Zayas wrote a UN report on Venezuela in late 2018 that was scathing in its assessment of U.S. policy towards Venezuela under both Obama and Trump. He talks about what he found during his investigation. And we go inside the mind of journalist Sam Husseini who tried to ask convicted criminal Elliott Abrams about his past and the present U.S. lies about Venezuela. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 06, 2019
Trump Headlines a Benefit Concert for Imperialism
Donald Trump received big bipartisan applause at his State of the Union. Vijay Prashad discusses the state of imperialism in the world, the battle for Venezuela, India’s upcoming election, and the history of U.S. dirty operations across the globe. As right-wing media and politicians have gone berserk over the FBI raid on the home of Trump crony, Roger Stone, whistleblower Reality Winner remains behind bars. The Intercept’s Peter Maass discusses the hypocrisy surrounding the two cases and we hear excerpts from the recent play, “ Is This A Room: Reality Winner Verbatim Transcription ,” created by Tina Satter. The play is based entirely on the verbatim transcript of the FBI interrogation of Winner the day she was arrested. Plus, a sneak peak at the new film Donald Trump’s Day Off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 30, 2019
Donald Trump and the Yankee Plot to Overthrow the Venezuelan Government
Investigative journalist Allan Nairn talks about the history of U.S. crimes in Central America, the time he told Abrams, on national television, he should stand trial for war crimes and the threat of U.S. military action in Venezuela. Former adviser to Hugo Chavez, Eva Golinger, and journalist and educator Roberto Lovato discuss how Venezuela was thrust into economic crisis, who is responsible, and what Washington really wants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, January 28, 2019
Intercept Podcast Special: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Today we’re presenting a podcast special from our Intercept colleagues in DC. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins Intercept reporters Ryan Grim and Briahna Joy Gray for an in-depth conversation about her fresh approach to politics, her thoughts on 2020, and her insurgent congressional campaign. As a new member of the House Financial Services Committee, she’s already shaping the conversation with her call to raise the top marginal tax rate to 70%. And former North Carolina congressman Brad Miller, a progressive Democrat who served for years on the committee, joins the conversation to talk about the challenges Ocasio-Cortez will face there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 23, 2019
Donald Trump and the Media Temple of BOOM!
Longtime investigative journalist Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News analyzes the Buzzfeed News bombshell report that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to cover up a planned Trump Tower in Moscow. Robert Mueller is disputing the report and Isikoff offers his own critique of the story and what we know to be true thus far. Popular economist and adviser to Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign Stephanie Kelton talks about Modern Monetary Theory, the lies told by Republicans and Democrats about deficits, and whether young workers will ever get Social Security benefits. Los Angeles public school teachers appear to have won some major victories as a result of their historic strike. We speak to Noriko Nakada, an 8th grade English teacher at Emerson Middle School in LA, and labor journalist Sarah Jaffe, who covered the strike for The Nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 16, 2019
One Wall, Supersized, Extra Racism, Hold the Wars
Trump says he wants to end U.S. wars abroad, while he threatens to use emergency powers to further militarize U.S. immigration enforcement. On Twitter, Trump advocates isolationism, while embracing lifelong warmongers like John Bolton and Benjamin Netanyahu. Investigative reporter and historian Gareth Porter analyzes Trump's pledge to pull troops from Syria and Afghanistan. He breaks down why Israel and the Pentagon don't want to see an end to U.S. militarism. Historian Greg Grandin lays out the nativist roots of the U.S. Border Patrol, its connection to CIA dirty wars in Latin America, and nearly 100-years of brutality and impunity. Sudan has been rocked by large demonstrations for the past month, threatening the regime of Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court. Despite Bashir’s pariah status, Trump has lifted some longstanding sanctions against his regime. Journalist Hana Baba discusses her recent trip to Sudan and what the protests are really about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, December 13, 2018
Introducing Murderville (Part 2)
Introducing Murderville, a new investigative podcast from The Intercept. Episode 2: The Trial. Devonia Inman goes on trial for his life. But there’s really no evidence against him. Witnesses keep changing their stories. And the jury never hears about an alternate suspect — a man who was just arrested for a brazen murder of two prominent community members. The full seven-episode Murderville series is available now on Stitcher Premium, or free on all platforms starting December 20. To subscribe, go to theintercept.com/murderville . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, December 13, 2018
Introducing Murderville (Part 1)
Introducing Murderville, a new investigative podcast from The Intercept. Episode 1: Murder at Taco Bell. A murder in the small southern town of Adel, Georgia, sent Devonia Inman to jail 20 years ago. He was accused of robbing and shooting a woman named Donna Brown in a Taco Bell parking lot. He swore he was innocent and there were good reasons to believe him. And while he awaited trial, three more brutal killings took place in Adel. Did police get the wrong man? The full seven-episode Murderville series is available now on Stitcher Premium, or free on all platforms starting December 20. To subscribe, go to theintercept.com/murderville . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 12, 2018
Supreme Injustices
Dan Kaufman, author of "The Fall of Wisconsin: Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and The Future Of American Politics," digs into the history, analyzes the latest Republican conspiracy and lays out why we all should study the Wisconsin model. Longtime criminal justice reporters Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith talk about their gripping new true crime podcast, Murderville, which tells the story of a series of grisly killings in a small Georgia town and the man they believe has been wrongly imprisoned. Canadian hip-hop artist and host of Netflix's "Hip-Hop Evolution," Shad, talks about his roots, class warfare, and his imaginative new album “A Short Story About a War.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 05, 2018
George H. W. Bush, American War Criminal
Jeremy Scahill details the crimes of George H.W. Bush, the sick propaganda of the corporate media memorials; and the trail of blood, death, and tears Bush leaves behind. Independent journalist Arun Gupta covers decades of Bush, from his time at the helm of the CIA, to the presidency. Gupta discusses Bush’s support for Manuel Noriega and his eventual invasion of Panama, the pardoning of Iran-Contra criminals, the dirty wars in Central America, the support for Saddam Hussein, and the launch of the Gulf War. Acclaimed Iraqi poet and scholar Sinan Antoon describes his life under the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Saddam, the horrors of the Gulf War, and how Bush’s destruction of Iraqi civilian society led to the rise of ISIS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 28, 2018
Killing Asylum
Decades of CIA death squads, economic warfare, coups, and support for authoritarian rule played a central role in the exodus of refugees from Central America. Donald Trump is now threatening to shoot the fleeing victims. Honduran professor Suyapa Portillo Villeda analyzes how Washington created the crisis. Jeremy Scahill details the history of John Negroponte and the Contra death squads in Nicaragua and the case of a U.S. Jesuit priest murdered in Honduras during Negroponte’s tenure. The Intercept’s Ryan Devereaux and Melissa del Bosque of The Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute talk about the militarization of the border, the prosecution of humanitarian volunteers who help immigrants and the nativist, white supremacists driving U.S. policy. Director Alex Winter talks about his film documenting the hundreds of reporters who produced the Panama Papers — more than 11 million documents showing systematic tax evasion and money laundering by some of the world’s most powerful people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 21, 2018
BONUS: Rapper Vic Mensa
The Chicago-based hip-hop artist Vic Mensa not only raps about Chicago police killings of black and brown people, about apartheid in Palestine, the poisoning of the water in Flint, Michigan, but he also goes to where the silence is and speaks out. In the aftermath of the police shooting of Laquan MacDonald, Mensa was in the streets and gave voice to the movement that led to the conviction of second-degree murder for Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke. Mensa has traveled in Palestine with the poet Aja Monet, and he has gone to Flint to help amplify the voices of a community that was poisoned and continues to be poisoned. During the Standing Rock movement, he joined to support the water protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline. He speaks about his activism, what he saw in Palestine, being a gun owner who supports gun control, and the revolutionary figures that inspire his work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 14, 2018
Donald Trump and the Counterrevolutionary War
Columbia University professor Bernard Harcourt lays out the multi-decade history of paramilitarized politics in the U.S., how the tactics of the “War on Terror” have come back to American soil, and why no one talks about drone strikes anymore. Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore talks about his recent visit from the FBI in connection to the pipe bomb packages and who he thinks should run against Trump in 2020. Journalist and lawyer Josie Duffy Rice analyzes the battle over vote counts in Florida and Georgia, the Republican campaign to suppress black voters, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and why she isn’t protesting the firing of Jeff Sessions. Jeremy Scahill explains why Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer need to go away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 07, 2018
The Rot Within the American System
Journalist Chris Hedges has spent the past 15 years trying to ring the alarm about the dangers of the U.S. political system and the impact of a corporate and financial coup d’etat that happened long ago. He talks about the growing power of “Christian fascists,” predicts a major financial crash and offers ideas on how to fight back. In 1923, a year after Mussolini took power in Italy, one radical and visionary woman saw his rise for what it was and warned of the grave dangers the world would face if fascism spread. Her name was Clara Zetkin. Acclaimed writer and actor Deborah Eisenberg performs a selection of Zetkin's writing, which was recently published as a book, “Fighting Fascism: How to Struggle and How to Win.” Also, new music from the incredible visual artist and musician Lonnie Holley who is out with a new album called "MITH." Join Michael Moore, Jeremy Scahill, and Marshall Curry for a special post-election screening and discussion about the rise of hate crimes and right-wing political violence in the age of Trump on November 9th, in New York City. Tickets are available here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 31, 2018
The Doctrine of American Mythology
NYU’s Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and Yale’s Jason Stanley discuss Trump’s brand of authoritarianism and dissect the similarities and differences between Trump and fascist leaders Mussolini and Hitler. Actor Ty Jones, Producing Artistic Director at The Classical Theatre of Harlem, perform’s Langston Hughes’s poem “Let America Be America Again.” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s Adam Johnson breaks down how white supremacy and fascism are discussed in U.S. media, hypocrisy on Saudi Arabia and the false both-sides paradigm on radical rightwing violence and terrorism. And hardcore punk musician Julian Cashwan Pratt, of Show Me the Body, talks about "Work Sets You Free," a silent visual essay juxtaposing federal prisons in America with the band’s own footage of visits to concentration camps while touring Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 24, 2018
Royal Murderers
Journalist Rula Jebreal, who conducted one of the last interviews with Jamal Khashoggi before he was executed, discusses possible motives for his murder and shares audio from the interview. Sam Husseini, a journalist who once asked a top Saudi official to defend the legitimacy of his regime, joins for a roundtable on the history of U.S. support for Saudi Arabia, the intentional amnesia of the politicians demanding action, and the slaughter in Yemen. Renowned playwright Naomi Wallace has a new one-person play about Yemen. Intercepted has adapted it into a radio drama performed by Ismail Khalidi. Indigenous historian Nick Estes discusses the ongoing attacks on native people, voter disenfranchisement, the Red Power movement and the latest on the fight against major oil and gas pipelines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 17, 2018
Brazil on the Brink. The Saudi Regime Under Fire.
Glenn Greenwald is host and he breaks down the rise of the most extreme right-wing candidate in the democratic world and explains why Brazil’s young and fragile democracy leaves it far more susceptible to a return of military rule. Glenn is joined by the Vice Presidential candidate on the Worker’s Party ticket running against Bolsonaro, Manuela d’Ávila, for a wide-ranging interview about Bolsonaro, the campaign she and the Worker’s Party are running, and the severe dangers posed to Brazilian democracy. Journalist Sarah Aziza gives an in-depth analysis of the alleged brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi that has rocked the journalistic world and started a debate over the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 10, 2018
Chicago Claps Back
Chicago claps back in a live show recorded in the Windy City. Poet, scholar, and author Eve Ewing, revolutionary educator Bill Ayers, activist Charlene Carruthers, and journalist Jamie Kalven discuss the murder conviction of the Chicago Police officer who gunned down Laquan McDonald, the neoliberal tenure of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the war on Chicago’s public schools. Plus, musician Malcolm London performs and Eve Ewing reads a poem which imagines the mundane normalcies of life for Emmett Till — if he hadn't been murdered. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, October 05, 2018
BONUS: From Nation State to Empire State
Most analysis of Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency in 2016 focuses on immediate causes and, of course, its effects. In a recent speech, NYU history professor Nikhil Pal Singh took a longer historical view, sketching three arcs of U.S. history that have yielded the durable commitments to racism, militarism, and unequal class power that have sharpened over the past two decades. Considering the historical development of the United States as an empire-state, rather than as a nation-state, he argues, is essential to understanding what it has meant, and what it might mean going forward, to bend the future toward greater equality and justice – both in the United States and in its relationship to the wider world. He argues that the election of Trump and the failure of Hillary Clinton may be the clearest signals yet, of the decline of U.S. empire. Rather than a cause for pessimism, he says, this moment is an opportunity to enliven a new politics and begin a new story — but only if we are honest about our past. Singh is the author of "Black is a Country" and "Race and America’s Long War." He is also the founding co-director of NYU’s Prison Education Project. This speech was delivered on September 26th at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The event was sponsored by the Lannan Foundation, which granted Intercepted permission to share it with our audience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 03, 2018
Raging Bullsh*t
If the Democrats retake the House, Rep. Hank Johnson will be the chair of a subcommittee that has subpoena power to continue the investigation of Kavanaugh. He explains his position on Kavanaugh and also Justice Clarence Thomas and his history of alleged sexual harassment of Anita Hill. Former White House lawyer, Supreme Court clerk and current constitutional law professor Kate Shaw and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman offer an in-depth analysis of the battle over Kavanaugh. The Intercept’s Peter Maass got a copy of Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge’s novel about their drunken high school years. We made a radio drama of some of the scenes from the book, including a character named Bart O’Kavanaugh. We hear brand new music from musician and radical indigenous queer feminist Katherine Paul, aka Black Belt Eagle Scout. Plus, Donald Trump says he has never had a drink, but how different would he be if he liked beer as much as Brett Kavanaugh? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 26, 2018
American Dissident: Noam Chomsky on the State of the Empire
Famed dissident Noam Chomsky breaks down the Trump presidency; the defeat of the U.S. in Afghanistan; what he believes is a just position on Syria’s civil war; and the agenda of Vladimir Putin and Russia. He also discusses the impact of big social media companies and explains why a life of resisting and fighting is worth it. Jeremy Scahill analyzes Trump’s U.N. speech and gives context to the seldom-discussed bipartisan support for much of Trump’s global agenda. Dallas Hip Hop artist Bobby Sessions talks about police killings and this political moment. We also hear music from his new EP, "RVLTN (Chapter 1): The Divided States of AmeriKKKa." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 19, 2018
Hurricane Colonialism
One year ago, Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, but U.S. colonialism prepared the ground for the deadly crisis. Journalist Juan González exposes how Wall Street, the bipartisan Washington political machine, and climate change conspired to kill thousands of Puerto Ricans. The Intercept’s Naomi Klein outlines the neoliberal economic attack on Puerto Rico and a shock doctrine in motion. Puerto Rican musician Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar, better known as iLe, talks about her new song, "Odio" and the struggle for Puerto Rican independence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 12, 2018
Donald Trump, the Democrats and the Illusion of American Greatness
Constitutional law professor Zephyr Teachout is running to be the New York Attorney General, and has vowed to put Trump and his organization in her legal sights if she wins. She talks about why she believes Trump may have violated the emoluments clause and her plan to undermine his potential pardons. Socialist academic Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor talks about socialism, capitalism and what real resistance looks like in Trump’s America. On the 17th anniversary of 9/11, the longest continuous U.S. war in history continues in Afghanistan. Rep. Barbara Lee tells the story of her historic lone vote against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, and the harassment and death threats she received after her speech on September 14, 2001. We speak with Nathan Robinson, the editor of Current Affairs magazine, and Intercept senior politics editor Briahna Joy Gray about the state of left politics, the midterm elections and the reappearance of Barack Obama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 25, 2018
Double Negative
Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen analyzes the fallout from the Trump-Putin summit, what Putin actually wants from Trump, and the indictment of 12 Russian GRU officers. The Intercept’s Micah Lee offers a technical analysis of the indictment of Russian intelligence operatives. NYU professor Nikhil Pal Singh talks about the ahistorical analogies used to describe Trump and l’affaire Russia. Experimental electronic musician Oneohtrix Point Never discusses his Russian roots, Steve Bannon's favorite book, and the inspiration for his cinematically dystopic album, "Age Of." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 18, 2018
A Message from Jeremy
We're off this week, but we'll be back with a new episode of Intercepted on July 25th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 11, 2018
A Judicial Coup, the Carceral State, and the War Against Us All
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, 33, is running for governor of Michigan on a campaign of creating a single-payer health care system, raising the minimum wage to $15, legalizing marijuana, and a sweeping overhaul of the state’s criminal justice system. He discusses his campaign, his views on the Democratic Party, the Flint water catastrophe, and why he believes he can accomplish his agenda despite the powerful right-wing forces in Michigan politics. As the internment of immigrant families continues, we revisit Scahill's 2017 conversation with educator and organizer Mariame Kaba. She retraces the evolution of the U.S. prison system, from convict leasing to three-strikes law, and the devastating generational impact these policies have disproportionately had on black and brown communities. Filmmaker Michelle Latimer discusses her new documentary "Nuuca," a nuanced exploration of the brutal transformation that oil extraction brought to one North Dakotan community. The film follows three young indigenous women who struggle with an influx of men and rising rates of sexual abuse, rape, and kidnappings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 27, 2018
Intercepted Live from Brooklyn
Legendary reporter Seymour Hersh on what he thinks of Donald Trump, his analysis of the Trump/Russia story, and some wild stories from his new memoir, “Reporter.” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt recounts the latest on the immigrant families that are being ripped apart and separated indefinitely, and shares personal stories of the victims he represents in a nationwide class action suit against the Trump administration. Activist Mariame Kaba explains the historical foundations of the American carceral state and calls for the abolition of ICE and the prison industrial complex. Multimedia artist and rapper Yassin Alsalman, better known by Narcy, performs an original spoken word and premieres his new song, “Yemenade.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 20, 2018
Administration of Hate
The Intercept’s Ryan Devereaux talks about his recent reporting in the border state of Arizona and paints a harrowing picture of the human toll of family separations by ICE. Alice Speri lays out her investigation of sexual abuse by ICE officers and contractors in immigration detention centers. Sohail Daulatzai discusses his new book," With Stones in Our Hands: Writings on Muslims, Racism and Empire," and explains why the film "The Battle of Algiers" is still relevant more than 50 years since its release. The legendary resistance singer Barbara Dane shares stories from her 91 years on earth fighting militarism, racism, and economic injustice. Plus, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen competes on Jeopardy! and we hear a cover of “The Partisan” from composers and musicians Leo Heiblum of Mexico and Tenzin Choegyal of Tibet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 13, 2018
Kim Meets Trump
As TV pundits gasped at the sight of the North Korean and U.S. flags side by side and Trump treating Kim Jong-un as an “equal,” most Koreans supported the summit. UC Santa Cruz professor Christine Hong talks about the significance of this moment, how the U.S. has sabotaged peace in the past and what an end to the war might look like. Tom Engelhardt, editor of TomDispatch, shares an essay on American militarism from his new book "A Nation Unmade by War." Journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal explains why the U.S. healthcare system is so bad and how Trump and the Republicans are trying to make it even worse. Musical artist Yasmine Hamdan shares her thoughts on war, the Middle East, Trump, and her groundbreaking music. Plus, Trump stops by Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 06, 2018
The Persecution of Reality Winner
While Paul Manafort enjoyed the comforts of his Hamptons mansion on house arrest, Winner was denied bond, kept in a jail and has been subjected to a public smear campaign by Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department. She was the first whistleblower charged under President Trump and her treatment is unprecedented. Former drone technician-turned-whistleblower Lisa Ling talks about the campaign to free Winner. Trevor Timm of Freedom of the Press Foundation breaks down how the government is stripping Winner of her right to a fair trial. The Intercept’s Peter Maass highlights the injustice and hypocrisy of her treatment. Intercept editor in chief Betsy Reed and reporter Sam Biddle talk about the top secret NSA document she allegedly leaked, the irony of the media silence about Winner’s treatment, and why First Look Media is funding her defense. To support Reality Winner's legal defense fund, click here . Come see Intercepted live in Brooklyn, NY on June 21 with featured guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh. Tickets are now available . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 30, 2018
White Fear
ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have become authoritarian shock forces, operating with impunity, ripping children from their parents’ arms, and enforcing the anti-immigrant edicts of Trump and Sessions. But the horrors did not start with Trump. This week on Intercepted: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is challenging one of the most powerful Democrats in the country for his Congressional seat. She is running on a platform of social and economic justice and she has called for ICE to be abolished. Professor Eddie Glaude Jr. of Princeton on white supremacy and law enforcement, the “rot” in the establishment Democratic Party, and Trump’s obsession with Black athletes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 23, 2018
The Killing Machine
Journalist Allan Nairn analyzes Trump's rise to power, the agenda of the extremist Republican Party, and dissects the latest on the Trump/Russia investigation. Author and retired psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Kaye discusses the U.S. Army Field Manual and its Appendix M. This document is the current U.S. policy on the treatment of foreign detainees. Kaye explains why some of its currently “approved” tactics are torture. Syrian journalist Marwan Hisham and artist Molly Crabapple discuss their new book, "Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War." Plus, the bizarre and frightening story of how the CIA created a shellfish toxin dart gun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 16, 2018
War Crimes and Collective Punishment
Blacklisted academic Norman Finkelstein discusses his meticulous, scholarly documentation of the collective punishment of Gaza, “the largest concentration camp in the world.” The son of two Nazi concentration camp survivors, Finkelstein is an incendiary academic whose work has infuriated the Israeli government for decades. His latest book, "Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom," has not been reviewed in a single U.S. newspaper. He talks about the latest massacre in Gaza, the history of US support for Israel’s war crimes and why he believes Iran is out-maneuvering Netanyahu. Sen. Ron Wyden, a longtime member of the Intelligence Committee, blasts the CIA propaganda campaign in support of Haspel and accuses the Republicans of engaging in a secret confirmation process. Jeremy also asks Wyden if he believes CIA personnel involved with torture should be criminally prosecuted, what he thinks of Edward Snowden and why James Clapper, Obama’s director of national intelligence, was never charged with perjury. Plus, Jared Kushner speaks a little too much truth at the Jerusalem embassy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 09, 2018
Just Following Orders
As a bipartisan gaggle of spies and politicians lobby for Gina Haspel to become CIA director, we look at how after World War II, the U.S. and its allies prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American POWs. Journalist Matt Taibbi talks about Trump, Russia, Putin, Stormy Daniels and the liberal embrace of authoritarianism. Sarah Jaffe reports on the teachers’ strikes across the U.S., the fight for unions and the rebellion of low wage workers. Former Goldman Sachs and Bear Sterns executive Nomi Prins talks about central banks, the Federal Reserve and economic neoliberalism. Plus, Melania Trump launches a campaign to educate her husband. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 02, 2018
War Games
Trita Parsi of the National Iranian American Council confronts the lies and propaganda emanating from Israel and the White House on Iran and nuclear weapons. As Trump prepares his Nobel Peace Prize tweets and the afterparty for his upcoming summit with Kim Jong-un, Christine Ahn looks at U.S. war crimes in Korea, Pyongyang's strategy, and the quiet revolution that swept Moon Jae-in into power in South Korea. Mark Keam, a former top Senate lawyer and current delegate to Virginia’s legislature, talks about the CIA spying on the Senate, Haspel and torture, and the growing movement to block her confirmation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, April 29, 2018
BONUS: Ralph Nader on Gina Haspel, John Bolton, Syria and the ‘decrepit’ Democratic Party
Ralph Nader is the best known public advocate in modern U.S. history, and has run for president four times. On this special episode of Intercepted, we are going to dig deep into several issues facing the country and the world right now. Nader rose to prominence in the 1960s after blowing the lid on extreme safety issues with General Motors and other car manufacturers’ products. His book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," was an influential investigation and exposé. Throughout his life, Nader has waged countless campaigns aimed at food safety, worker, and environmental protections. At the age of 84, he continues to wage the very same battles he has from the start of his public life. His latest book, “Breaking Through Power,” chronicles his various battles against the U.S. government, big corporations and concentrated political power. The latest Intercepted featured an excerpt of our interview with Nader. What follows is the entire conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 25, 2018
The Haspel Ultimatum
Ralph Nader analyzes the state of the Democratic Party, the DNC lawsuit against Russia, and lays out the John Bolton threat. Whistleblower and Senate candidate Chelsea Manning talks about prison, comparisons to Edward Snowden, and her campaign. And artist Ricardo Cortés ("Go the Fuck to Sleep") talks about the secret history of the coca and cola in your Coke, his post-9/11 coloring book about xenophobia, and his latest work, “Sea Creatures from the Sky,” a children’s book about otherness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 18, 2018
Evening at the Talk House (Part 3)
Intercepted presents "Evening at the Talk House", an original play by Wallace Shawn. Part 3 of 3. All it takes is complacency to enable the dirty work of an authoritarian regime. Cast: JANE - Annapurna Sriram; DICK - Wallace Shawn; ROBERT - Matthew Broderick; TED - John Epperson; NELLIE - Jill Eikenberry; TOM - Larry Pine; ANNETTE - Claudia Shear; BILL - Michael Tucker Based on the original U.S. theatrical production directed by Scott Elliott for the New Group in New York. Written by Wallace Shawn. Directed and produced by Pejk Malinovski. Assistant Director Marie Masters. Original music by John Epperson. Additional music, mixing, and sound design by Bart Warshaw. Executive producers Jeremy Scahill and Leital Molad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 18, 2018
Evening at the Talk House (Part 2)
Intercepted presents "Evening at the Talk House", an original play by Wallace Shawn. Part 2 of 3. As drinks and hors d’oeuvres are consumed, small talk evolves into more sinister topics. Cast: JANE - Annapurna Sriram; DICK - Wallace Shawn; ROBERT - Matthew Broderick; TED - John Epperson; NELLIE - Jill Eikenberry; TOM - Larry Pine; ANNETTE - Claudia Shear; BILL - Michael Tucker Based on the original U.S. theatrical production directed by Scott Elliott for the New Group in New York. Written by Wallace Shawn. Directed and produced by Pejk Malinovski. Assistant Director Marie Masters. Original music by John Epperson. Additional music, mixing, and sound design by Bart Warshaw. Executive producers Jeremy Scahill and Leital Molad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 18, 2018
Evening at the Talk House (Part 1)
Intercepted presents "Evening at the Talk House", an original play by Wallace Shawn. Part 1 of 3. A group of writers and actors reunite to celebrate a collaboration from their past. But the world is now very different. And so are they Cast: JANE - Annapurna Sriram; DICK - Wallace Shawn; ROBERT - Matthew Broderick; TED - John Epperson; NELLIE - Jill Eikenberry; TOM - Larry Pine; ANNETTE - Claudia Shear; BILL - Michael Tucker Based on the original U.S. theatrical production directed by Scott Elliott for the New Group in New York. Written by Wallace Shawn. Directed and produced by Pejk Malinovski. Assistant Director Marie Masters. Original music by John Epperson. Additional music, mixing, and sound design by Bart Warshaw. Executive producers Jeremy Scahill and Leital Molad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 11, 2018
A Nation Addicted to War
Historian Andrew Bacevich and Jeremy make the case against escalating U.S. military action in Syria even if Assad’s forces were behind the attack. The acclaimed novelist Arundhati Roy talks about her new novel, "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness," and offers insights on Kashmir, Narendra Modi, Trump, and more. Actor and writer Wallace Shawn (My Dinner with Andre, The Princess Bride) talks about the U.S. assassination program, imperial wars and collective responsibility. He and Jeremy also discuss "Evening at the Talk House," Shawn’s new audio drama premiering next week on Intercepted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 04, 2018
Injustice League
Yousef Mema, a 24-year-old nursing student in Gaza who witnessed the massacre, describes the killings and the aftermath and he has a message for U.S. lawmakers. Then, key narratives about the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, and his motives and alleged accomplices are falling apart. The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald talks about the new information. We speak to two DA candidates in California: Geneviéve Jones-Wright of San Diego and Pamela Price of Alameda County. If successful, these new, progressive DAs could shake the criminal justice industry to its core and find themselves at war with the Trump White House. And, Frank from Donnie Darko pays a visit to the White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 28, 2018
Donald Trump's 'Stache Infection
Famed women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, who has a case against Trump that may result in her deposing the president, analyzes the legal battles ahead for the president. Former national security briefer to George HW Bush, Ray McGovern, talks about John Bolton, Russia, and the CIA’s twitter account engaging in domestic propaganda. The Intercept’s Ryan Grim and Alex Emmons talk about Kushner, the Presidential Daily Brief, and MBS’s royal putsch that made him next in line for the Saudi throne. And punk musician Alice Bags of The Bags talks about the early punk scene in Los Angeles, feminism, her career and we hear music from her new album, “Blueprint.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, March 23, 2018
Presenting: Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan
In the debut episode of The Intercept’s new podcast, Mehdi Hasan sits down with independent senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to discuss why the mainstream press ignores so many of the economic issues that affect the lives of average Americans: poverty, homelessness, and inequality. Subscribe at theintercept.com/deconstructed or search for Deconstructed on your podcast platform of choice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 21, 2018
Legacy of Blood
Jeremy digs deep into the U.S. legacy in Iraq. Mehdi Hasan, host of the new Intercept podcast "Deconstructed," talks about the commercial that 60 Minutes ran for the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and the war in Syria. Matthew Cole talks about how, before becoming FBI director, Chris Wray supervised an investigation that found that Blackwater founder Erik Prince likely broke U.S. laws. The Intercept’s Sam Biddle takes us inside the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the chaos at Facebook. And artist, writer, and educator Eve Ewing talks about her new book "Electric Arches," Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 14, 2018
The Lyin', the Rich and the Warmongers
The Intercept’s Matthew Cole and Jeremy analyze the major re-shuffle in Trumpland and what it means for the future of the planet. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who led the investigation of Erik Prince and Blackwater for years in Congress, analyzes the ongoing scandal over his alleged role in the Trump era. Musical artists Ana Tijoux and Lila Downs talk about the politics of colonialism, neoliberalism, and revolution and their new collaboration, Tinta Roja. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 07, 2018
Covert History, Revolutionary Hip-Hop, and the Politics of Empire
This week we're taking a step back to look at the larger implications of the Trump administration. Rebel historian and professor Alfred McCoy breaks down the history of America's geopolitical maneuvering and how it has shifted under Obama and Trump. He explains why Trump reminds him of disgraced former British Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden. We also speak to acclaimed hip-hop artist Felipe Coronel, better known as Immortal Technique, on issues of American imperialism, racism, global covert actions, and capitalism — topics that his lyrics often tackle head-on. He details the connection between Black Lives Matter and opposing the drone killing of black and brown people across the world. Plus, he shares a powerful freestyle verse on the state of life in America today. And Sam Nunberg stars in "Swingers." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, March 04, 2018
BONUS: Mat Johnson Talks "Incognegro," Guns, Black Panther, and Growing up in Philadelphia
In 1958, a Virginia couple, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, married in the District of Columbia. About four months after their marriage, the Virginia county they lived in issued a criminal indictment charging the Lovings with violating Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. Mildred was black and Richard was white. Their case, Loving v. Virginia, eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. And it would take nearly a decade before all state laws prohibiting interracial marriage were struck down. A new series from TOPIC.com tells the story of Americans born to one black parent and one white parent after the 1967 Supreme Court decision. The series is titled “The Loving Generation.” From Melissa Harris-Perry to Mat Johnson, and Panama Jackson, The Loving Generation features a diversity of voices examining the borderland between “blackness” and “whiteness.” Johnson is an award winning novelist and comic book writer. His graphic novel series "Incognegro" centers around a mixed race detective who goes undercover as a white man to solve racially-motivated crimes. His latest work is titled "Incognegro: Renaissance." Mat is also a professor at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 28, 2018
White Supremacy and the Church of the Second Amendment
Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz argues that the Second Amendment is rooted in genocide, slave patrols and says it should be abolished. Artist Tanna Tucker and historian Nestor Castillo take us on an audio tour of their new graphic history for The Nib , “Black and Red: The History of Black Socialism in America.” And acclaimed novelist Mat Johnson talks about guns, the NFL, the Black Panther film, and growing up bi-racial in Philadelphia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 21, 2018
RussiaMania: Glenn Greenwald vs. James Risen
James Risen and Glenn Greenwald have both won Pulitzer prizes. They both have found themselves in the crosshairs of the U.S. government for their journalism. And they both write for The Intercept. But Jim and Glenn have taken very different approaches to covering the Trump/Russia story. This week on Intercepted, they go head-to-head in a debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sat, February 17, 2018
BONUS: The Laundering of American Empire
The Trump presidency is itself a provocation. But is he the most dangerous president ever? Is he really so outside the norm of the policies of his predecessors? The short answer, when it comes to substance and policy, is: not yet. There is a particular risk in erasing the line between horrible things Trump does with horrible things the U.S. has done for a long time and acting like it is all Trump. It’s a complicated conversation, but it is one we should have. It means exploring the roots of white supremacy in the U.S., the way American wars are constantly put through a laundering process to make them seem noble and brave, the way “real American” has been defined and continues to be defined in our society. For eight years, we had the first black president in U.S. history and now we have a reality TV host who spends a great deal of time tweeting and watching TV. So what is unique to Trump and what is embedded in the politics of empire in the U.S.? Professor Nikhil Pal Singh has spent years studying trends in U.S. policies throughout history, domestically and internationally. He is professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and History at New York University. His latest book is “Race and America’s Long War.” He is unafraid to take on the golden calves of “American exceptionalism” and challenges us all to examine both the forrest and the trees of American Empire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 14, 2018
America's Distribution of Violence
As Trump continues his obsession with the MS-13 street gang, The Intercept’s Alice Speri reports on how this “war on gangs” has given the green light for federal agents to target high school students for deportation. NYU professor Nikhil Singh talks about race and America’s long war, and offers a provocative perspective on some of the golden calves of "American exceptionalism." Iran analyst Holly Dagres of TheIranist discusses the politics of regime change and the recent protests in Iran. Plus, Stormy Daniels helps Trump wag the dog. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, February 12, 2018
BONUS: Jim Risen Goes Inside the NSA’s Secret Channel to Russia
The legendary national security reporter James Risen has a fascinating new expose detailing how U.S. intelligence agencies opened a secret communications channel with Russian operatives, who were offering to sell damaging or compromising intelligence on Donald Trump. In this special bonus episode of Intercepted, James Risen lays out the whole story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 07, 2018
Memo and Memoer
Former State Department official Peter van Buren and civil liberties advocate Julian Sanchez offer provocative analysis the Nunes memo. Academy Award winner Errol Morris and actor Peter Sarsgaard talk about their new hybrid-documentary series Wormwood and present their case that a US Army scientist was murdered by the CIA in 1953. Yemeni analyst Nadwa al Dawsari details the key events of the past 20 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, February 01, 2018
BONUS: The NFL's Violent Ballet
This year in the National Football League, there have been 281 recorded concussions that players have suffered — spanning from the pre-season right up to the last playoff games. This weekend is Super Bowl Sunday. That is a macabre sort of record — it represents the most concussions in a season since the NFL started keeping track six years ago. The hits that these players take over and over during their careers can lead to very serious brain damage and a degenerative condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. We are doing this special episode of Intercepted to highlight a gut-wrenching new short film that The Intercept’s Josh Begley has directed. It is called "Concussion Protocol." In this special bonus episode of Intercepted, Josh Begley, The Intercept’s Shaun King and Donte Stallworth, a ten year veteran of the NFL, discuss brain injuries, the #TakeAKnee protests, and Trump’s attacks on athletes. Josh Begley’s video “Concussion Protocol” can be viewed at theintercept.com/NFL . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 31, 2018
Hate of the Union
Naomi Klein and Jeremy analyze Trump’s threats toward North Korea, his Executive Order on Guantanamo and the attack on immigrants, the poor, and the environment. Veteran journalist Juan González dissects the roots of fascism, the rise of authoritarian movements, and global migration trends. Marcy Wheeler gives a brief analysis of a theory floated by a former CIA officer that the “Steele dossier” contains Russian disinformation. Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada discusses Israeli collusion with the Trump campaign and Mike Pence’s trip to Israel. And Franklin James Fisher of the band Algiers talks about their music from "The Underside of Power." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 24, 2018
First They Came For the Immigrants
As Donald Trump forges ahead with his plans for mass deportations and Democrats flail in their response, Ninaj Roul and Yanira Arias describe the plight of hundreds of thousands of people in imminent danger of deportation. Journalist Nick Pinto reveals how ICE agents are staking out churches and homes of immigrant rights activists. Intercept Washington D.C. bureau chief Ryan Grim breaks down a clause slipped into the budget bill that gives the White House authority to fund CIA programs without oversight. We talk to revolutionary musical artist Seun Kuti, son of the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela, and hear music from his forthcoming album, Black Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, January 21, 2018
BONUS: Leading Marxist Scholar David Harvey on Trump, Wall Street and Debt Peonage
We live in a society that does not study its own history — its unvarnished history — and often current events are analyzed in a vacuum that almost never includes the context or history necessary to understand what is new, what is old and how we got to where we are. As Trump celebrates his first year in office and demonstrations confront a year of his rule, leading Marxist scholar David Harvey sat down for an interview on Intercepted. Harvey is one of the leading Marxist thinkers in the world and a leading authority on Marx’s "Das Kapital," which turned 150 years old late last year. Harvey is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 17, 2018
White Mirror
Jeremy lays out the bloody US history in Haiti and El Salvador and blasts the bipartisan, selective amnesia and historical revisionism that “American exceptionalism” demands. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard discusses U.S. regime change, North Korea and why Bernie Sanders would have defeated Trump. As Robert Mueller hits Bannon with a Grand Jury subpoena, former CIA operative and Cipher Brief columnist John Sipher and journalist Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel analyze the Russia investigation and the Steele dossier. Leading Marxist scholar David Harvey talks about debt peonage in the age of Trump and the crimes of capitalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 03, 2018
BONUS: All The News Unfit to Print
James Risen is a legend in the world of investigative and national security journalism. As a reporter for the New York Times, Risen broke some of the most important stories of the post 9/11 era, from the warrantless surveillance against Americans conducted under the Bush-Cheney administration, to black prison sites run by the CIA, to failed covert actions in Iran. Risen has won the Pulitzer and other major journalism awards. But perhaps what he is now most famous for is fighting a battle under both the Bush and Obama administrations as they demanded — under threat of imprisonment —the name of one of Risen’s alleged confidential sources. But it isn’t just the government that Risen had to fight. He also battled his own editors and other powerful figures at the New York Times. Risen is now a senior national security correspondent at The Intercept where his incredible inside story has now been published. We talk with Risen about his career at the New York Times in a special edition of Intercepted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 13, 2017
Full Metal Jackass
Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean talks about the Mueller investigation, how the CIA may benefit from Trump’s presidency and how Trump stacks up to Nixon and Reagan. Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg talks about the classified secrets he has kept for decades. He has just published his story in a new book, The Doomsday Machine. Field of Vision takes us inside the very strange world of Steve Bannon’s films. Patterson Hood of the band Drive-By Truckers performs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 06, 2017
Who's Afraid of the Alt-Deep State?
Matthew Cole joins Jeremy for a discussion about their explosive report in The Intercept that Blackwater founder Erik Prince has been pitching a private spy operation to the White House and CIA. Activist and comedian Randy Credico, who has been hit with a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee investigating Trump and Russia, joins us. Journalist Barrett Brown talks about the FBI’s campaign against him and offers a critique of Wikileaks. Singer Amanda Palmer talks about her provocative new video for a cover she did of Pink Floyd’s “Mother." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 29, 2017
Very Bad Men
This week on Intercepted: Sen. Chris Murphy blasts the US government for its role in the destruction of Yemen. Jeremy tears apart Thomas Friedman’s gross love letter to the Saudi Crown Prince and talks about the bi-partisan war against journalism from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump. The Intercept’s Betsy Reed and Buzzfeed’s Katie Baker analyze this unprecedented public fight against sexual assaulters. Analysis from Harare, Zimbabwe on the ouster of Robert Mugabe. Comedian Joe Para performs a dramatic reenactment of a secret Snowden document. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 15, 2017
The Distraction in Chief
This week on Intercepted: Rami Khouri breaks down the Saudi agenda in the Middle East, its destruction of Yemen and the bizarre case of the exiled Lebanese prime minister. Aram Roston of Buzzfeed, Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast, and The Intercept’s Matthew Cole join Jeremy for a discussion on the mysterious death of a Green Beret in Mali and why the CIA and US military are quite content with the Trump presidency. Wikileaks slid into Donald Trump Jr.’s DMs. Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald analyzes what the messages say and how the media covered the story. And we talk to two newly elected Democrats in Virginia: Lee Carter and Elizabeth Guzman. Donald Trump stars in American Beauty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 08, 2017
Say Hello to My Little Hands
This week on Intercepted: Rep. Ro Khanna calls for a complete end to all U.S. military assistance to Saudi Arabia and the catastrophe in Yemen. The former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, Col. Morris Davis, blasts Trump over his interference in the case of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl and the recent terror attack in New York. And as the Paradise Papers rock the world of the rich who use offshore banks and law firms, we get analysis from Nomi Prins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 01, 2017
Criminal Indictments at Home, Secret Wars Abroad
This week on Intercepted: New York Times reporter Charlie Savage and former federal prosecutor Ken White of Popehat break down the recent indictment and plea deal and what it may mean for Trump. Investigative journalist Nick Turse and Kenya scholar Samar Al-Bulushi take us into the world of US militarism in Africa: secret drone bases, US commandos and Washington-backed African forces operating under the guise of the “war on terror.” Musician Roberto Lange of Helado Negro performs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 25, 2017
Mike Pence is The Koch Brothers' Manchurian Candidate
This week on Intercepted: Investigative journalist Jane Mayer exposes the Koch Brother puppet masters behind Vice President Mike Pence’s rise to power and the ruthless pursuit of corporate profits that put Pence a heartbeat from the presidency.We speak to Chinese dissident and renown artist Ai Weiwei about the humanitarian catastrophe of the 65 million globally displaced migrants and his new documentary, Human Flow. And we end with Deerhoof's Greg Saunier on the songs of “Mountain Moves.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 18, 2017
Canada is Racist Too
This week on Intercepted live from Toronto: A recent poll puts activist Desmond Cole in prime position to win the mayorship. We talk to him about Canada’s stop and frisk and how Cole would change Toronto. Journalist Naomi Klein warns that the Trudeau and Trump brands may have more in common than expected. And returning Iraqi-Canadian hip-hop artist Narcy gives a powerful live performance. Become a sustaining member! Go to theintercept.com/join for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 11, 2017
The White Stuff
Trump sent Mike Pence on a mission to protest black protesters at an NFL game. Acclaimed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about Trump, Obama, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, the NFL and much more. Mehrsa Baradaran breaks down the roots of economic apartheid in the US, the ongoing impact of slavery on black communities and offers a provocative history of black banks. And the lead singer of Mashrou Leila, Hamed Sinno, talks about being queer and Arab in the Middle East and Trump’s America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 04, 2017
Guns Before Country
This week, Jeremy talks about the Coalition of the Killing — gun lobbyists, politicians and weapons manufacturers — the only beneficiaries of the massacre in Las Vegas. Alynda Segarra of the band Hurray for the Riff Raff explores her Puerto Rican roots and performs new songs. Former US Army Ranger Rory Fanning talks about his slain comrade, NFL star-turned soldier Pat Tillman. Historian Jeanne Theoharis shreds the sanitizing of the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. And Donald Trump takes his love of guns into the Twilight Zone. Support our show — become a member! theintercept.com/join Panoply's podcast listener survey: survey.panoply.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 27, 2017
For Whom the Trump Trolls
This week on Intercepted, physicist David Wright from the Union of Concerned Scientists explains how easy it would be for Trump to launch a nuclear strike. Professor James Fernandez of NYU talks about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the 3,000 Americans who tried to stop fascism before it spread in Europe. We speak with the directors of a haunting new film about a terror attack in an Israeli bus station that leads to the brutal mob killing of an innocent Eritrean immigrant. And Donald Trump gets a visit from the two Bobs in his Office Space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 20, 2017
'Merican Psycho
Jeremy analyzes Trump’s belligerent UN speech and the massive military budget the Democrats just gave him. Journalist Gary Rivlin takes us deep inside the world of the Goldman Sachs executives now working for Trump. Poet Aja Monet performs. The Intercept’s Alice Speri investigates the militarization of police and how Israel is training American cops. Plus, Donald Trump stars in American Psycho. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, September 13, 2017
The Super Bowl of Racism
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden discusses the massive Equifax data breach and allegations of Russian interference in the US election. Commentator Shaun King explains his call for a boycott of the NFL and talks about his campaign to bring violent neo-Nazis to justice. Rapper Open Mike Eagle performs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 09, 2017
Atlas Golfed — U.S.-Backed Think Tanks Target Latin America
This week on Intercepted: Jeremy gives an update on the aftermath of Blackwater’s 2007 massacre of Iraqi civilians. Intercept reporter Lee Fang lays out how a network of libertarian think tanks called the Atlas Network is insidiously shaping political infrastructure in Latin America. We speak with attorney and former Hugo Chavez adviser Eva Golinger about the Venezuela's political turmoil.And we hear Claudia Lizardo of the Caracas-based band, La Pequeña Revancha, talk about her music and hopes for Venezuela. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 02, 2017
Pyongyang and the White House Gang
News from the White House this week has been like a twisted mash up of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Macbeth, Project Runway and a Mr. Bean movie. Dime-store Sopranos reject Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just 10 days as White House communications director. Reince Priebus is out as chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly is in. And with spiking tensions between the United States and North Korea, we reflect on the history of the region. Plus, The Intercept’s Naomi Klein talks to U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn about the lessons the Democratic Party could learn from Corbyn’s unexpected electoral success. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 26, 2017
Glenn Greenwald on the New Cold War
With all the constant hype about Russia, you’d think we were living in a new Cold War. This week on Intercepted: Glenn Greenwald fills in for Jeremy Scahill, and we take a deep dive into the origins and evolution of the Trump-Russia story. Fox News' Tucker Carlson and Glenn find something they can actually agree on (the Democratic establishment’s Russia hysteria), but diverge on Tucker’s coverage of immigration and crime. Russian-American writer Masha Gessen explains how conspiracy thinking is a mirror of the leaders we put in power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 19, 2017
Veni, Vidi, Tweeti
Donald Trump enjoyed playing fireman and asking where the fire is. Hint: all around you, Mr. President. This week on Intercepted: the famed rebel academic, Alfred McCoy, whose book on narcotrafficking the CIA tried to stop from being published, lays out his meticulously argued theory that the U.S. empire will fall by the year 2030. The Washington Post’s media columnist, Margaret Sullivan, talks about Trump ratcheting up the war on whistleblowers and the existence of a free press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, July 12, 2017
Dumb, Dumber and Don Jr.
This week on Intercepted: Don Jr. is in the shit throne over a secret meeting he had with a Russian lawyer. Could this be, as many in the media are claiming, the smoking gun of Russia collusion? Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald weighs in and debunks a forged NSA document sent to Rachel Maddow. Intercept reporters Alice Speri and Alleen Brown talk about the shadowy mercenary company TigerSwan. We also hear music from Victoria Ruiz of the punk band Downtown Boys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 28, 2017
The House of Trump
President Trump said when it comes to health insurance, he would cover everyone. He lied. Meanwhile the Crown Prince of America, Jared Kushner, and Mohammed Bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, play house with foreign policy. This week: Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan fills in for Jeremy Scahill. Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain and journalist Rula Jebreal discuss the global consequences of the House of Trump’s meddling in the Middle East. Historian Tom Holland joins Mehdi for a debate on the role of Islam within the Islamic State. Plus, actor Bill Camp reprises his role as the “SIGINT Philosopher.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 21, 2017
Dispatch from the Dirtbag Left
While all eyes in Washington remain focused on the Russia investigation, a Republican firm forgot to secure its invasive personal data on 198 million American voters. This week on Intercepted: We speak to radical librarian Alison Macrina of the Library Freedom Project about the fight against digital surveillance. Sam Biddle gives an update on attacks on U.S. voting systems. And, we speak with one of the rising stars of the “dirtbag left,” Felix Biederman of Chapo Trap House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 14, 2017
The Trump Mixtape — Dante’s Inferno meets Disco Inferno
Donald Trump has a great affinity for strongmen and for unquestioned loyalty of those who work for him. This week on Intercepted: Trump’s besties in Saudi Arabia convinced him that Qatar is the premiere Arab nation sponsoring terrorism. Amnesty International’s Sherine Tadros and al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan analyze the hypocrisy-laden, bizarre crisis. Jeremy discusses the prosecution of an alleged NSA leaker. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes talks Russia, Trump, the media and his new book A Colony in a Nation. DJ Spooky imagines a Trump-inspired mash-up of Dante’s Inferno and Disco Inferno. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, June 07, 2017
The Woman Democrats Love to Hate
The Green Party’s Jill Stein has been widely attacked by Democrats simply for running for president. Some blame her for Hillary Clinton’s loss. This week, Stein strikes back at her critics and reveals the story behind the infamous Moscow dinner where she was seated with Vladimir Putin and Gen. Michael Flynn. The Intercept’s DC bureau chief Ryan Grim digs into the contents of a newly published top secret NSA document outlining alleged Russian cyberattacks against software companies that service U.S. elections. And singer-songwriter Damien Jurado performs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 31, 2017
There's Something About Jared
This week, the scandal spotlight shines on Trump’s influential (and strangely quiet) son-in-law. We talk to national security correspondent Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast about Jared Kushner’s alleged meetings with Russian officials to establish back channel communications. Organizer and scholar Mariame Kaba offers a people’s history of prisons in the US and the politicians—both Democrats and Republicans—who have made them what they are today. And we hear an incredible rendition of “The Partisan” from composers and musicians Leo Heiblum of Mexico and Tenzin Choegyal of Tibet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 24, 2017
Donald Trump and his League of Extraordinary Despots
This week, Donald Trump stood in a sea of tyrants and joined in a bizarre group petting of a glowing white orb. Professor As’ad AbuKhalil dissects Trump’s summit in Saudi Arabia and the role Trump’s friends in the Middle East play in fueling such horrors as the attack on Manchester. The Intercept’s new DC bureau chief, Ryan Grim, and national security reporter Matthew Cole discuss Gen. Michael Flynn and whether anyone in the Trump administration realizes how insane their boss is. And Steve Earle performs live. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 17, 2017
Donald and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Presidency
Donald Trump is spectacularly bad at being president. This week on Intercepted, investigative journalist Marcy Wheeler and The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald analyze the latest insanity emanating from the White House. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tim Weiner and Intercept writer Trevor Aaronson discuss the firing of James Comey and debate his FBI legacy. And Palestinian author and journalist Rula Jebreal explains why President Trump is going to Saudi Arabia and Israel on his first international trip. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 10, 2017
James Comey, Chelsea Manning and the secrets America keeps
Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with FBI Director James Comey came to a shocking conclusion in Tuesday night’s episode of American shitshow. Glenn Greenwald analyzes Comey’s firing. Next week, Chelsea Manning will be freed from prison. We hear exclusive audio from her trial and talk to journalist Alexa O’Brien. And French civil liberties activist Yasser Louati says despite her defeat in the presidential election, many of Marine Le Pen’s ideas are already embedded in mainstream French politics. And a premiere track from hip-hop artists MC Sole and DJ Pain 1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 03, 2017
BONUS: Jeremy talks Milo on Politically Re-Active
We're still a week away from the beginning of season two, but here's a taster of Jeremy's interview on our sister podcast, Politically Re-Active. Jeremy clears the air on his cancelled appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher" with hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu, and much more. To hear the full interview, subscribe to Politically Re-Active or head to politicallyreactive.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 19, 2017
Wikileaks vs the CIA
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange hits back at Trump’s CIA director Mike Pompeo after Pompeo accused Wikileaks of being a “hostile non-state intelligence agency.” In a wide-ranging interview, Assange discusses the allegations Wikileaks was abetted by Russian intelligence in its publication of DNC emails, and the new-found admiration for him by FOX News and Donald Trump. Also, why Assange believes he and Hillary Clinton may get along if they ever met in person. And we premiere an unreleased song by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 12, 2017
The Emperor’s New Cruise Missiles
Nothing brings warmongers, hawks and elites from both parties closer than a cruise missile strike. This week’s Intercepted will piss off Assad supporters and the Democrats and Republicans fawning over Trump’s newest war. Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich questions the official story on the chemical weapons attack. Murtaza Hussain on what Assad gains by using chemical weapons. And, Maher Arar is a Syrian-born Canadian engineer who was kidnapped at JFK airport by US operatives after 9/11 and rendered to Syria and tortured by Assad’s agents. Arar says he opposes Assad and US intervention. All that and a bucket of media stupidity to celebrate beautiful missiles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 05, 2017
Trump's Secret Prince
Erik Prince—the most infamous mercenary in modern U.S. history—is Trump’s secret emissary. This week, an exclusive interview with Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who has fought a decades-long battle against Prince. Tavis Smiley talks about the “Santa Claus-ification” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of King’s militant speech against the Vietnam War. Rep. Barbara Lee reflects on her own historic anti-war speech, delivered three days after 9/11. And Vice President Pence, who can’t be alone in a room with a woman who is not his wife, goes Psycho. Please take a moment to fill out Panoply's survey about the shows you listen to, love, and what else you'd like to hear: survey.panoply.fm . Many thanks! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 29, 2017
Trump Declares War on the Planet
Donald Trump officially rejects climate change and unofficially declares war on planet Earth. Naomi Klein takes us on a terrifying journey into Trump’s real life version of The Purge. Boots Riley of The Coup discusses Trump and hip hop and performs. Murtaza Hussain talks about the US bombings in Iraq and Syria that have killed 1,000 civilians in one month. And, we talk to the developer of an app that tracks US drone strikes that Apple has censored 13 times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 22, 2017
Could Trump Start World War III?
Donald Trump has not started any new wars… yet. But his administration is pouring gasoline on several initiated by his predecessors. This week on Intercepted: US forces are deploying in Syria, as drone strikes expand in Yemen. And Russia and Iran loom over everything. We talk to veteran war correspondents Anand Gopal and Iona Craig. Glenn Greenwald analyzes James Comey’s testimony on Capitol Hill and exposes a major lie spread about Edward Snowden. Actor William Camp “stars” in the real life story of the spy who became “the Socrates of the NSA.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 15, 2017
Snowden vs. Trump
This week, Intercepted is live from the SXSW Festival in Austin. Edward Snowden joins us via video feed from Moscow. He discusses Trump’s allegations of Obama’s wiretapping, analyzes some of the CIA’s hacking capabilities, and blasts critics who accuse him of being a Russian agent. And we talk to Libyan-American hip hop artist Kayem, who was forced to keep a low profile the past several years after multiple detentions and visits from the FBI. He shares some verses with Intercepted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 08, 2017
Ready to Lie
The Notorious B.I.G. famously alleged that federal agents were mad because he was flagrant. Trump also believes he has beef with the Feds, accusing Obama of tapping his phones. The Intercept’s Matthew Cole and journalist Marcy Wheeler dissect the accusations and the (curious) denials. Sam Biddle and Josh Begley explain what the CIA hacking docs published by Wikileaks say about our “smart” TVs and phones. Journalist Aura Bogado confronts Trump’s assault on undocumented immigrants. Punk band Anti-Flag performs. Plus, Trump “stars” in a scene from Goodfellas. Can he get out of Mar-a-Lago alive? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 01, 2017
Donald in Wonderland
Ex-CIA analyst Nada Bakos and former FBI agent Clint Watts explain how Trump’s administration could use “alternative intelligence” to justify dangerous military actions. Shane Bauer of Mother Jones breaks down the connections between immigration raids and soaring private prison profits. Plus the world premiere of a song by the Iraqi-Canadian hip hop artist Narcy. We bet you never thought you’d hear Steve Bannon’s name rapped in autotune. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 22, 2017
The Undisciplined Authoritarian
New York Times investigative reporter James Risen breaks down Trump’s declaration that journalists are the enemy and analyzes Trump’s royal court. ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio and former New England Patriots star Donté Stallworth talk about the war on the transgender community and the rising resistance of pro athletes. Sam Biddle exposes the Trump-connected firm that helped the NSA spy on the world and actor Wallace Shawn stars as an NSA operative who is worried about adversaries spying on his luncheons. Plus music from Anohni. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 15, 2017
We Are All in Trump’s Hunger Games Now
The first contestant in Donald Trump’s reality administration has left the West Wing. This week, Glenn Greenwald offers some provocative pushback on the Russia fear-mongering surrounding Gen. Michael Flynn’s resignation (or firing). Naomi Klein walks the dark aisles of the Trump family department store. Former Congresswoman Liz Holtzman, a key figure in the impeachment of Richard Nixon, explains how impeachment actually works. And Hina Shamsi of the ACLU recounts her interrogation at the border. Plus a performance from Jedi Mind Tricks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 08, 2017
Trump's Cabinet of Killers and Why Orange is the New Anti-Black
This week, investigative reporter Allan Nairn breaks down Trump's relationship with the CIA and the killer assembly of neocons and right-wing conspiracists running the U.S. war machine. Princeton professor Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor dismantles Obama's problematic legacy and offers strategic advice for resisting Trump. The Intercept's own distinguished alt-historian, Jon Schwarz, offers a lesson on the origins of presidential executive orders. And Kimya Dawson gives a raw performance of a new song about racism and the police state. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 01, 2017
Trump Week Two: The Rise of Chief Yookeroo
Donald Trump is signing executive orders like autographed pictures. This week on Intercepted: Two former senior FBI agents blast the “Muslim ban” and Trump’s campaign to make torture great again. Constitutional rights lawyers dissect the (il)legalities of Trump’s orders. Rep. Barbara Lee confronts the president's terrifying approach to government. New secret documents reveal how Trump could resurrect J. Edgar Hoover’s legacy. Brother Ali freestyles a verse, and Peter Sarsgaard stars in the bizarre true story of an NSA operative with vacation tips for deploying to Guantanamo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 25, 2017
The Clock Strikes Thirteen, Donald Trump is President
The clock struck thirteen on January 20, Donald Trump is the president of the United States and episode one of Intercepted is here. Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald and editor-in-chief Betsy Reed join Jeremy Scahill for a discussion on the crazy apocalyptic present. They break down Trump’s attacks on the media, that insane speech he gave at the CIA and the state of the Democratic party. Naomi Klein sends in a dispatch from the Women’s March on Washington. Jeremy goes deep into the secretive world of Seymour Hersh’s kitchen, and shoots the shit with the legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist about why he calls Trump a “circuit breaker." And we hear a spoken word performance from hip-hop artist Immortal Technique. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, January 13, 2017
Introducing Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill
Hear a preview of Intercepted, a new podcast coming January 25 from the people behind the fearless, adversarial journalism of The Intercept. Every week, host Jeremy Scahill will discuss the crucial issues of our time with fellow reporters, and outspoken writers, artists and thinkers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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