5:00 AM PACIFIC TIME: MONDAYS
This hour broadcasts the show produced by Background Briefing with Ian Masters on Sunday.
Meeting Ukraine’s Needs as Russia Mobilizes for a June Offensive We begin with the long-delayed $61 billion aid package for Ukraine passed by the House on Saturday 311 to 112 with all the Democrats for it and Republicans voting 112 to 101 against it. Joining us to discuss what Ukraine needs as Russia prepares for … Continued
Iran’s Theatrical Response to the Israeli Strike and the Fear of Netanyahu Escalating We begin with Iran’s almost theatrical retaliation against Israel’s first strike this April against its diplomatic compound in Damascus, which is clearly a limited tit-for-tat meant to placate Iran’s hardliners while giving Israel and its allies plenty of warning that the drones … Continued
Iran’s Vow to Retaliate Against an Israeli Strike Could Lead to a Wider War Biden is Trying to Avoid We begin with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei promising retribution, declaring that those responsible for the recent killing of top IRGC officers at an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus “will be punished by our brave men,” … Continued
The State Department Officer With Feds United for Peace Who Resigned to Protest U.S. Complicity in Israel’s War on Gaza We begin with the resignation of a State Department officer and a member of Feds United for Peace who just resigned to protest U.S. complicity in Israel’s war on Gaza. Joining us is Annelle Sheline, an … Continued
The Do-Nothing Congress Descends Into the Chaos Congress We begin with the do-nothing congress now descending into the chaos congress with Marjorie Taylor Greene filing a motion to vacate the speakership, as the House Republican majority hangs by the thread of only a one seat majority thanks to resignations of adult members who can’t stand … Continued
The Russian Elections and Putin’s Plans to Stoke Divisions in an Already-Divided America We begin with the elections in Russia and Sunday’s “noon against Putin” protests organized by Navalny, as if reaching out from the grave, where citizens in the main cities showed up in long lines in spite of massive repression against the mildest … Continued
Biden Turns the Tide Against the Press and Pollsters Who Have Written Him Off As Too Old and Losing Badly to Trump We begin with a turning of the tide as Biden, who has been written off by the press and pollsters as too old and losing badly to Trump, made a fiery SOTU speech … Continued
Following the Massacre of Desperate Gazans Storming Food Trucks, Ceasefire Talks Are Underway We begin with the US airdrop of food to the starving Gazans that many see as a BandAid over a gaping wound while talks underway in Cairo could bring about as much as a six-week ceasefire although Hamas has yet to agree. … Continued
A Lackluster CPAC and the VP Auditions in Spite Of Trump Trying to Have His Last VP Killed We begin with Trump’s expected victory in South Carolina after his keynote speech on Friday at CPAC in which he referred to himself as “a proud dissident” and “a total genius.” We discuss how this year’s gathering … Continued
A Friend of the Murdered Leader of the Russian Opposition Discusses Putin’s Latest Murder of the Leader of the Russian Opposition We begin with the murder of the leader of the opposition in Russia, Alexei Navalny, who Putin’s FSB almost killed with a nerve agent in 2020, then had him incarcerated in gulags on trumped … Continued
