An Interview From July on How We Are Already in a Constitutional Crisis
Today we are continuing our retrospective of the major news stories of 2025 from the Background Briefing archives and go to an interview on July 20, 2025 when many were fretting over whether we might be in a constitutional crisis when we were already there. We examined whether we are past that and already in a Trump dictatorship and should be working on how to get the Constitution back and restore our democracy. Joining us was Sean Wilentz, the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University. His books include The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln, The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008, Bob Dylan in America, and The Politicians and the Egalitarians. His latest book is No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding and he is the co-host of the podcast “The Court of History.”
An Interview From September of an Activist in a Flotilla Heading For Gaza
We then we go to an interview from September 28, 2025 when our guest was on a boat with the flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza. Joining us was David Adler, General Coordinator of the Progressive International who previously served as foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders in his campaign for US president, policy director of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 and the co-founder of its Green New Deal for Europe campaign. He was on a boat with a flotilla heading for Gaza that had already been under attack by Israeli drones dropping explosive and incendiary devices as well as chemical agents and David had an article at The Guardian, “We are sailing to Gaza. Here’s why.”
Trump and Miller’s National Security Directive NSPM-7 Makes Most Americans Terrorists
Then finally we go to an interview from October 1, 2025 on a frightening move that went under the radar by Trump and Stephen Miller to outlaw and defund political opposition as “Anti-Christian” and “Anti-American,” in the name of dismantling “left wing terrorism” which means going after over half of the country’s common beliefs that don’t align with Stephen Miller’s extreme political paranoia and delusion. Joining us was Ken Klippenstein, an independent journalist reporting on the U.S. national security state and politics. He previously was an investigative reporter at The Intercept, prior to that was the D.C. Correspondent at The Nation and a senior reporter for The Young Turks. He now publishes a popular Substack at kenkleppenstein.com where he had a recent article we discussed, “Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs as Terrorist “Indicators.”
This hour broadcasts the show produced by Background Briefing with Ian Masters on Sunday.