Background Briefing – January 13, 2026
Background Briefing offers an educational approach to providing information in an era of “fake news.”
Featured Episode
Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project – Sobriety
In this episode we hear the stories of people incarcerated with substance use disorder. An estimated 65% of the US prison population has a substance addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And on any given day 366,000 people are jailed for a drug offense. Nearly 60% of them for a non violent … Continued
Cover to Cover – January 13, 2026
A celebration of the art of poetry and prose with Jovelyn Richards.
Join Renée Camila in conversation with Maria Noël Groves for a deep dive into herbal gut health. Together, they explore the nuanced dance between stimulating digestion and soothing the gut, unpacking when each approach is most effective, how to sequence them, and the herbal strategies that support a balanced, resilient digestive system. Maria Noël Groves, RH (AHG), is a … Continued
Modern art has always been a battleground — and the highly influential Museum of Modern Art has been partisan since its inception. Architectural historian Patricio Del Real discusses two differing political visions of modernism and modern architecture: one rooted in the left, and associated with figures such as Communist muralist Diego Rivera, and the other … Continued
On January 3rd, 2026, the United States launched military strikes on Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Hosts Nora Barrows-Friedman and Ali Abunimah speak with Justin Podur about US aggression from Venezuela to Gaza. He is the host of the Anti-Empire Project and author of books such as Siegebreakers, a … Continued
UpFront (Replay) – January 13, 2026
UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors.
Democracy Now! (Rebroadcast) – January 13, 2026
ON TODAY’S SHOW: “Stolen from Us”: Family Demands Justice for Keith Porter, Black Father Killed by Off-Duty ICE Agent “State of Siege”: Iran Protest Death Toll Rises to 2,000 After U.S. Sanctions Spawn Economic Crisis “Empire in Decline”: Historian Alfred McCoy on U.S. Aggression in Venezuela, Iran & Beyond Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news … Continued
News from Sudan; 1 Year After LA Fires
On this episode, we speak with Dr. Arif Gamal about news from the devastating civil war in Sudan. Dr. Gamal was born and raised in Khartoum, Sudan. Dr. Arif is a Nubian poet, environmental scholar, and author of Morning in Serra Mattu: A Nubian Ode. After earning a doctorate in environmental science in France, he moved … Continued
Anti-government Protests in Iran Escalate, Death Toll Rising; Plus, Fallout from ICE Killing in Minneapolis; Trump’s Attack on the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell
00:08 — Sussan Tahmasebi is executive director of FEMENA. 00:24 — Christopher Sweat is a technologist and journalist. He is the founder of GrayStak Media, they have been covering ICE activity around the country. 00:33 — JW Mason is Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College of the City University of New York, and a senior fellow … Continued