Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Peter Kuznick, a professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University and the co-author with Oliver Stone of the book and the hit Showtime television series “The Untold History of the United States.”Activists, academics, and political figures from around the world have begun circulating a document called the COVID-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto that calls for a series of basic rights for all people, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Those rights run the gamut from basic universal healthcare to an end to war to respect for life, biodiversity, and the environment. There are hundreds of signatories, including a number of very prominent people. New unemployment numbers are out this morning showing that yet another 3.8 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week as the economy slid further into the most devastating crisis since the 1930s. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pa

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Andrew Stacy, a worker at Target who is part of Target Workers Unite and is taking part in a sickout this Friday organized by Target Workers Unite.A Target warehouse in northern New Jersey is the first in the company’s nearly 60-year history to face a public campaign to form a union. Meanwhile, Target warehouse workers in Perth Amboy say they are fed up with frequent firings, steep production quotas and flex schedules, and they say they are treated as robots, not as people. Workers across the chain are preparing for a major May 1st action to protest this type of mistreatment. The coronavirus has put science at the forefront of the US presidential election. It has placed political pressure on Donald Trump and it even may be changing the way we conduct our elections. Yesterday’s Ohio primary, for example, was conducted by mail. But what is the pandemic doing to Donald Trump? Can he overcome allegations of mismanaging it? Jo

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show.Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, last week ordered the state to begin reopening, despite the fact that the coronavirus continues to spread. On Friday, the state reopened salons, barber shops, tattoo parlors, gyms, bowling alleys, and massage parlors. Yesterday, movie theaters and restaurants reopened. But mayors in cities big and small around Georgia are warning that their number of coronavirus cases is rising, and it’s too soon to return to normal. Community organizer Monica Johnson, and Brad Lathem, a writer for Liberation News, join the show. The conservative Daily Caller, in an exclusive investigat

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Amanda Starbuck, senior food researcher and policy analyst on the food team at Food & Water Watch.The economic aid bill that Congress passed last week would open Small Business Administration loans to some farmers. The move came after big banks steered the earlier $500 billion that Congress had appropriated to large corporations that used up all the money before most actual small businesses could even complete their applications. An existing $10 billion aid package provided funding for aquaculture, nurseries, and cooperatives, but allotted nothing for small farms with fewer than 500 employees. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the weekend that he was “confident” the US would soon allow the annexation of the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu and his governing partner Benny Gantz, who is now speaker of the Knesset, plan to ask the United States for its support in annexing at least those Israeli settlements th

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on Trump’s latest bizarre medical advice, the growing economic crisis, and the international implications of the Coronavirus pandemic. Politics are an important factor in reporting on the coronavirus, not just in the United States, but around the world. President Trump said in his daily press conference yesterday that the pandemic is serious only in what he called “Democrat states,” and not in Republican ones. Elsewhere around the world, governments are downplaying their rates of infection, or in some cases, pretending there are none at all, in an attempt to show that they are fully in control at home. At the same time, the United States is threatening Iran, Venezuela, and other countries. Is it just to

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mike Wong, the Vice President of the San Francisco chapter of Veterans for Peace.The Attorney General of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government and several Chinese institutions, arguing that they covered up information about the spread of the coronavirus, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to try to control the disease. Beijing has responded by calling the suit “absurd” and pointing out that as a sovereign entity, it cannot be sued. There’s no end in sight for the UK’s coronavirus lockdown because, according to the British press, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is so frightened because of his own coronavirus experience that he doesn’t dare ease up. Meanwhile, the establishment is fawning over the Labour Party’s new leader, Keir Starmer, after his first appearance as leader during Prime Minister’s Questions. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and M

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Amanda Starbuck, senior food researcher and policy analyst on the food team at Food & Water Watch.Farmers across the country are destroying their crops, plowing over their fields, and dumping milk because the supply chain is broken and they are finding it impossible to get their goods to market. How can this breakdown happen in a country that prides itself on the most efficient and technologically advanced supply chain technology in the world? President Trump yesterday temporarily suspended all immigration applications, saying that the action was necessary to protect Americans from the coronavirus. Civil liberties groups immediately said they would file suit. And a group of migrants in an ICE facility have been on a hunger strike. Those hunger strikes are expanding. Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, joins the show. Donald Trump has once again threatened to carry out a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism.”Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff.Intense battles took place yet again last night in working class suburbs of Paris with large migrant populations. French authorities have been brutalizing migrants, most of whom come from North and West Africa and the Middle East for years. But now, a combination of cramped quarters, a lack of economic opportunity, police abuse, and the coronavirus is inflaming tensions. Gilbert Mercier, Editor in Chief of News Junkie Post and the author of “The Orwellian Empire,” joins the show. As the nation was preoccupied by President Trump’s impeachment last fall and early winter, and then with the coronavirus, several states acr

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, whose latest book is called “Comrade,” and Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com.President Trump on Friday wrote several provocative tweets, saying, “Liberate Michigan,” “Liberate Minnesota,” and “Liberate Virginia” and urging residents of those states to protest in favor of their 2nd Amendment rights. Those tweets led to thousands of protestors marching on statehouses demanding an end to the coronavirus quarantine. Meanwhile, debate continues in Congress over the next steps on Coronavirus relief and economic recovery, and all conventional logic about the 2020 presidential election has been upended. Coronavirus is ravaging the economies and societies of countries all across Latin America. Peru on Sunday reported 15,000 cases, the second most in Latin Am

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on the media’s bent against China even and especially in these serious times, Trump’s unrealistic and dangerous plan to reopen the country, and Bernie Sanders endorsing Joe Biden for president. President Trump has said repeatedly over the past several weeks that he wants to reopen the country--and the economy--sooner, rather than later. But medical experts say that’s not realistic, or safe. The President has even named a panel, that includes Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, to restart the economy. But governors have rebelled and many have said they would refuse to entertain the President’s demands. Now they are coming up with their own plans to restart their economies. Dr. Kruti

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition.Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has broad powers to detain and hold people indefinitely at the country’s borders. It has the power to imprison them, to expel them, or to release them to their families in the United States. In the age of the coronavirus, however, ICE also has the power to decide who lives and who dies. It has the power to decide who enters the country and who must deal with the ravages of the disease in the agency’s teeming, filthy, and overcrowded border prisons. That’s what’s happening in California, where some detainees are on a hunger strike. Bernie Sanders this week formally dropped out of the Democratic presidential race and endorsed Joe Biden for president. Elizabeth Warren, who had been uncommitted, did the same thing. The endorsements are a result of a hard push by Democratic National Committee officia

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Krissy Kasserman, the Factory Farm Organizing Manager at Food & Water Watch.Smithfield Foods is the largest pork processor in America and is the largest employer in the state of South Dakota, accounting for an astounding 130 million servings of meat every day. Yesterday the company announced that it would close indefinitely after scores of employees tested positive for the coronavirus, accounting for half of all coronavirus cases in the state. Meanwhile, farmers around the country are being forced to destroy fruits, vegetables, and dairy products because they can’t sell them. The Trump administration is working to slash the wages of migrant farmworkers, even as it works to send direct aid to farmers and ranchers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump continues to blame China for the spread of the coronavirus and for the concurrent downturn in the global economy. The conservative media, meanwhile, has pushed a

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism.”Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Israeli politics has undergone a dramatic realignment, with the main opposition alliance breaking apart and the once-dominant Labor Party effectively dissolving itself. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Resilience Party leader Benny Gantz said last night that they had made “major progress” in talks toward a coalition government. Talks are now extended until midnight Wednesday. Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five,” joins the show. Our friend and frequent guest Steve Hedley was recently su

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba during Slavery and Jim Crow.”The global pandemic and economic depression is reshaping the world in fundamental ways. Facing a choice between destitution and risking their lives, workers are rising up across the country. Once again, Black working class neighborhoods are being left behind by the government in a time of crisis. And globally, the old international order between world powers is fraying and the neo-liberal model of capitalism may be on its last legs. President Trump has gone out of his way to blame China for the spread of the coronavirus, which in turn has led to violence against Asian-Americans. The conservative media, meanwhile, has pushed a steady anti-China narrative. And the blogosphere has even suggested the possibility of war with China. With a presidential elec

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on the huge unemployment numbers, the difficulties workers and small businesses are dealing with right now while Boeing gets a bailout, whether insurance companies are going to pay for pandemic expenses, Bernie dropping out of the presidential race, where the socialist movement is headed, and more. Nearly 17 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past three weeks--numbers not seen since the Great Depression. Congress, the White House, and the Federal Reserve have all moved to soften the blow by spending vast amounts of borrowed money and trying to provide a buffer for businesses small and large alike. But is it enough to stop the country from going into another depression? Dr. Ja

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, whose latest book is called “Comrade.”Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic presidential race yesterday, saying that he was suspending his campaign. Sanders seemed to be merely an accidental figure for the emerging socialist movement in the United States. Where will this movement head now? Healthcare workers across America are struggling to treat the tidal wave of coronavirus patients and they’re doing so with shortages of basic necessities, like gloves, masks, and gowns. How can the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, the country that brags about its healthcare system, not have the bare basics to provide to its first responders and frontline medical personnel? Satya Vatti, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, joins the show. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injust

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek.Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Today’s In the News is about Sanders dropping out of the race, the movement that propelled him continuing onward, and the racialized health disparities in the United States becoming even clearer in the coronavirus pandemic. Unfounded accusations against the Chinese abound--that Beijing has stolen medical supplies destined for the United States, that the coronavirus was created in a Chinese military intelligence lab, and that the pandemic is part of a Chinese plan for world domination. Is this anti-Chinese bias new or has the pandemic just given media outlets an opportunity to promote it? KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, joins t

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism.”Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest Prof. Richard Wolff.Tuesday’s regular segment is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show. Loud & Clear’s series, IIn the News, is where the hosts look at the most impor

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com.Congress last week appropriated $2 trillion in new spending in an effort to keep the economy afloat during the coronavirus crisis. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she is amenable to another spending package. This kind of government spending is seen around the world as “responsible” in order to prime the pump and keep people working. Why is it seen as a “left wing” approach here in the United States? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been hospitalized with the coronavirus, some 11 days after testing positive. Johnson’s office said that he is comfortable and undergoing tests, but that his illness has been lingering and so it was prudent to seek further testing. Meanwhile the Labour Party has elected a new leader to replace Jeremy Corbyn. Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, received 56 percent on the first ballot i

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on the scarcity of essential medical goods, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, exploding unemployment, essential workers standing up for safety on the job, and more. Literally every country in the world is fighting the coronavirus, some with more success than others. But some countries are dealing with extreme added difficulty as they try to mount a defense against the virus. Why? Because of US sanctions. Health care professionals in Iran, Venezuela, and elsewhere are struggling to provide for the public health because the United States will not allow for the importation of medicines or supplies. Anya Parampil, a journalist for The Grayzone who hosts the new show Red Lines, joins the show. Syria i