Background Briefing (5am)
5:00 AM PACIFIC TIME: TUESDAYS - FRIDAYS
Background Briefing offers an educational approach to providing information in an era of “fake news.”
This episode explores how Trump’s allies are reshaping the legal system by elevating unqualified ideologues, the foreign policy risks of his chaotic leadership style, and the GOP’s efforts to block transparency around the Epstein files. Ask ChatGPT
The Trump-controlled US Senate Elevates Bove as the Law is Weaponized to Keep Unqualified Ideologues on as US Attorneys We begin with the Trump-controlled US Senate elevating Emil Bove to the Court of Appeals and possibly on to the Supreme Court and assess the extent to which Trump has successfully weaponized the law by using … Continued
An episode unpacking Trump’s headline-grabbing EU trade deal announcement as a distraction from scandal, his escalating ultimatum to Putin on Ukraine, and the hypocrisy of rebuking Netanyahu over Gaza’s starvation while greenlighting territorial annexation.
Trump’s Announce First- Details Later Trade Deal With the EU and “Air Farce One: When Gift Becomes Grift” We begin with an analysis of Trump’s “announce first – details later” trade deal with the EU he proclaimed at his golf course in Scotland which critics see as an attempt to distract from the Epstein story. … Continued
A look at Trump’s escalating instability, JD Vance’s intellectual cover for racist policy, the erosion of constitutional remedies, and the GOP’s war on the free press — with guests Katherine Stewart, Aziz Huq, and Peter Loge.
We begin with Trump appearing increasingly mentally ill when announcing a trade deal with the EU and reducing his ultimatum to Putin from 50 days down to 10 or 12 as he went on a fact-free rant about windmills and whales. We discuss how Trump’s more and more likely successor J.D. Vance is putting an … Continued
Trump mocks his own supporters, Epstein’s prosecutor is fired under political pressure, and Senate Democrats stage a walkout over a far-right judicial nominee. Ask ChatGPT
After Feeding Them Lies and Delusions For Years, Trump Now Calls His MAGA Cultists “Stupid” and “Weaklings” We begin with a reporter who I spoke with live on January 6, 2021 from the scene as the US Capitol was being stormed by Trump’s insurrectionists. We discuss how Trump is now castigating his followers for being … Continued
Joshua Landis/Bill Hing/Sylvia Allegretto
Israel Bombs Damascus as the Syrian Government Slaughters the Druze Minority, Exposing the Different Interests of Israel and the U.S. When it Comes to the Jihadi in a Suit Leading the New Syria We begin with the bombing of Damascus by Israel as the Druze in the south are being slaughtered by the Syrian army … Continued