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Background Briefing offers an educational approach to providing information in an era of “fake news.”
The Weaponization of Anti-Semitism Against Students Protesting on American Campuses We begin with escalating tensions on campuses across America, as pro-Palestinian demonstrators face off against supporters of Israel, with the charge of anti-semitism weaponized against students expressing outrage over the war in Gaza. Joining us is Raz Segal, a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies … Continued
More Special Treatment of Trump by the Supreme Court We begin with today’s Supreme Court hearing on Trump’s immunity claim, which is delaying Jack Smith’s Washington D.C. case against Trump for the January 6th insurrection. Based on what we heard today, the far-right justices will delay things even more until after the election or possibly … Continued
Supreme Court Anti-Abortion Ideologues Threaten Access to Emergency Care We begin with the Supreme Court’s oral arguments over whether an Idaho abortion ban will gut the Reagan era law EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which prevents hospitals from denying patients care who show up at hospital emergency rooms. Joining us is Dr. Rob … Continued
Trump’s History of Using and Abusing Women We begin with the role The National Enquirer played in helping to elect Trump in 2016, which emerged from today’s testimony from the tabloid’s ex-publisher David Pecker, who operated a “catch and kill” policy of burying damaging stories about Trump and his extramarital affairs, including Trump’s sexual encounter … Continued
Arrests of Students Protesting the War in Gaza Spread From Columbia to Yale We begin with dozens of students protesting the war in Gaza arrested today at Yale University following last week’s arrests of over 100 at Columbia University and speak with Alexander Sammon, a politics writer at Slate who has previously written for Mother Jones, … Continued
A View From Ukraine as the Fate of Their Country Hangs in the Hands of Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Greene We begin with Speaker Johnson promising the Ukraine aid bill will be on the House floor on Saturday, as the far-right Republican pro-Putin caucus intensifies their threats against him. We go to Ukraine to … Continued
The Prologue to the Trump Criminal Trial Underway in Which AG Barr Went Out of His Way to Protect “Individual 1” We begin with the criminal trial of Donald Trump underway in New York and examine the prologue to the trial, going back to the case brought by the Republican SDNY U.S. Attorney at the … Continued
A Look Inside Iran as Its People Wait for Israel’s Retaliation Which Could Lead to a Wider War We begin with a look inside of Iran to gauge the attitudes of its people, as the country waits for a retaliation from Israel that could lead to a wider war. Joining us is Assal Rad, former … Continued
Biden Meets With Iraq’s P.M. Over Concerns That U.S. Troops in Iraq and Syria Are Vulnerable if Israel Retaliates Against Iran We begin with today’s White House meeting between President Biden and Iraq’s Prime Minister Al-Sudani to discuss the future of U.S. troops in a country heavily influenced by Iran, with the possibility of an … Continued
Israel’s AI Tools “Gospel,” “Lavender” and “Where’s Daddy” are Being Used for Targeted Assassinations in Gaza We begin with information emerging that Israel has weaponized artificial intelligence and that AI tools are being used in Gaza for targeted assassinations, with the “Gospel” system used to target buildings used by militants, “Lavender” used to compile kill … Continued
