Background Briefing

Background Briefing – April 14, 2026

On today’s briefing: The Trump Administration’s Explanation of Why We Are at War With Iran…”We’re America Bitches” We begin with how, while American presidents have had their sights on Iran for a long time, we are now at war with a senior Trump administration official explaining the Trump doctrine, “We’re America, bitches.” Joining us is … Continued


Hosts Nora Barrows-Friedman and Ali Abunimah speak with American filmmaker and reporter Ahmad Hussam, the founder of the media project Propaganda and Co, who recently traveled across Iran during the war. Israel launched one of the most intense airstrikes in Lebanon in recent memory. Electronic Intifada contributor Roqayah Chamseddine reports on the massacres of civilians. On the Resistance … Continued


Hawaii: A US History of Occupation Guests: Camille Kalama is the Executive Director of Koʻihonua and a longtime advocate for Native Hawaiian rights and self-determination in Hawaiʻi. Kyle Kajihiro is Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  His research focuses on U.S. imperial formations, Militarization, and Indigenous and decolonial social movements … Continued


UpFront

Upcoming Israel and Lebanon Negotiations; Plus, A New Paradigm for Fighting Homelessness; And, Remembering Carl Anthony

08:00 — Joel Beinin Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus at Stanford University.  33:00 — Marissa Kendall covers homelessness for the nonprofit newsroom Calmatters.  45:00 — Carl Anthony has died. He was an architect, planner, founder of one of the country’s oldest environmental justice organizations, Urban Habitat. Among his many legacies: he played a pivotal … Continued