Background Briefing (5am)
5:00 AM PACIFIC TIME: TUESDAYS - FRIDAYS
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 16, 2023
We begin with the Republican party’s embrace of authoritarianism as they blindly defend Trump from the most serious possible charges under the Espionage Act while his GOP campaign rivals trip over each other promising him pardons. Vowing to go after Biden and what he calls “the Biden crime family” as “the most corrupt presidency in … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 15, 2023
We begin with Secretary of State Blinken heading to China in a few days to try to repair dangerously frayed relations between the world’s leading military powers and meet with his Chinese counterpart and possibly Xi Jinping. Joining us is Lyle Goldstein, a Professor at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 14, 2023
We begin with the arrest and arraignment on 37 charges of Donald Trump in a Miami courthouse today along with his body man Walt Nauta who has yet to find an attorney while Trump is scrambling to find representation with three of his lawyers having quit in the last two weeks. Joining us to discuss … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 13, 2023
We begin with the latest CBS News poll that finds 80% of Republicans saying that if Trump is convicted he should be able to serve as president with 76% saying the indictments are politically motivated. Joining us to discuss whether it is possible for Trump’s supporters to be told the truth and accept it is Dr. … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 12, 2023
We begin with the devastating 37 indictments of Donald Trump by the Special Counsel Jack Smith based on findings by a Florida grand jury which compel the former president to show up on Tuesday at the Federal Court in Miami one day before his 77th birthday. The indictments provide overwhelming and damning evidence of Trump’s endangerment of … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 9, 2023
We begin with the surprise ruling from the Supreme Court striking down the Alabama Republican legislature’s flagrant gerrymandering in a state that is 27% black with only one out of seven congressional districts representing African/Americans. Joining us to discuss the extent to which this ruling could reverse the growing lack of legitimacy and loss of … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 8, 2023
We begin with the revelations from The Washington Post that a small group of six Ukrainian operatives blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines which the US government blamed on Russia leading to many journalists, including myself reporting that the Kremlin was most likely behind the sabotage. Joining us to discuss how Ukraine’s military intelligence … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 7, 2023
We begin with the blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka dam presumably by the Russians which has caused catastrophic flooding and environmental damage downstream making it unlikely that a Ukrainian military attack from the south into Crimea could be launched until the flood waters recede and the ground dries. Joining us is Dr. Sasha Dovzhyk, a … Continued
Background Briefing with Ian Masters – June 6, 2023
We begin with the coverage of the recent debt ceiling extortion in which much of the press equated the far right with the progressive left in their opposition to the Biden/McCarthy deal when there is no comparison between the white supremacist, Christian nationalist insurrectionists in the House Freedom Caucus and the Progressive Caucus of the … Continued