Intercepted With Jeremy Scahill

Yousef Mema, a 24-year-old nursing student in Gaza who witnessed the massacre, describes the killings and the aftermath and he has a message for U.S. lawmakers. Then, key narratives about the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, and his motives and alleged accomplices are falling apart. The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald talks about the new information. We speak to two DA candidates in California: Geneviéve Jones-Wright of San Diego and Pamela Price of Alameda County. If successful, these new, progressive DAs could shake the criminal justice industry to its core and find themselves at war with the Trump White House.  And, Frank from Donnie Darko pays a visit to the White House.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Famed women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, who has a case against Trump that may result in her deposing the president, analyzes the legal battles ahead for the president. Former national security briefer to George HW Bush, Ray McGovern, talks about John Bolton, Russia, and the CIA’s twitter account engaging in domestic propaganda. The Intercept’s Ryan Grim and Alex Emmons talk about Kushner, the Presidential Daily Brief, and MBS’s royal putsch that made him next in line for the Saudi throne. And punk musician Alice Bags of The Bags talks about the early punk scene in Los Angeles, feminism, her career and we hear music from her new album, “Blueprint.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the debut episode of The Intercept’s new podcast, Mehdi Hasan sits down with independent senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to discuss why the mainstream press ignores so many of the economic issues that affect the lives of average Americans: poverty, homelessness, and inequality. Subscribe at theintercept.com/deconstructed or search for Deconstructed on your podcast platform of choice.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeremy digs deep into the U.S. legacy in Iraq.  Mehdi Hasan, host of the new Intercept podcast "Deconstructed," talks about the commercial that 60 Minutes ran for the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and the war in Syria. Matthew Cole talks about how, before becoming FBI director, Chris Wray supervised an investigation that found that Blackwater founder Erik Prince likely broke U.S. laws. The Intercept’s Sam Biddle takes us inside the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the chaos at Facebook. And artist, writer, and educator Eve Ewing talks about her new book "Electric Arches,"  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Intercept’s Matthew Cole and Jeremy analyze the major re-shuffle in Trumpland and what it means for the future of the planet. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who led the investigation of Erik Prince and Blackwater for years in Congress, analyzes the ongoing scandal over his alleged role in the Trump era. Musical artists Ana Tijoux and Lila Downs talk about the politics of colonialism, neoliberalism, and revolution and their new collaboration, Tinta Roja.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we're taking a step back to look at the larger implications of the Trump administration. Rebel historian and professor Alfred McCoy breaks down the history of America's geopolitical maneuvering and how it has shifted under Obama and Trump. He explains why Trump reminds him of disgraced former British Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden. We also speak to acclaimed hip-hop artist Felipe Coronel, better known as Immortal Technique, on issues of American imperialism, racism, global covert actions, and capitalism — topics that his lyrics often tackle head-on. He details the connection between Black Lives Matter and opposing the drone killing of black and brown people across the world. Plus, he shares a powerful freestyle verse on the state of life in America today. And Sam Nunberg stars in "Swingers."  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1958, a Virginia couple, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, married in the District of Columbia. About four months after their marriage, the Virginia county they lived in issued a criminal indictment charging the Lovings with violating Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. Mildred was black and Richard was white.Their case, Loving v. Virginia, eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. And it would take nearly a decade before all state laws prohibiting interracial marriage were struck down.A new series from TOPIC.com tells the story of Americans born to one black parent and one white parent after the 1967 Supreme Court decision. The series is titled “The Loving Generation.”From Melissa Harris-Perry to Mat Johnson, and Panama Jackson, The Loving Generation features a diversity of voices examining the borderland between “blackness” and “whiteness.”Johnson is an award winning novelist and comic book writer. His graphic novel series "Incognegro" centers around a mixed race detective who goes undercover as a w

Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz argues that the Second Amendment is rooted in genocide, slave patrols and says it should be abolished. Artist Tanna Tucker and historian Nestor Castillo take us on an audio tour of their new graphic history for The Nib, “Black and Red: The History of Black Socialism in America.” And acclaimed novelist Mat Johnson talks about guns, the NFL, the Black Panther film, and growing up bi-racial in Philadelphia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

James Risen and Glenn Greenwald have both won Pulitzer prizes. They both have found themselves in the crosshairs of the U.S. government for their journalism. And they both write for The Intercept. But Jim and Glenn have taken very different approaches to covering the Trump/Russia story. This week on Intercepted, they go head-to-head in a debate.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Trump presidency is itself a provocation. But is he the most dangerous president ever? Is he really so outside the norm of the policies of his predecessors? The short answer, when it comes to substance and policy, is: not yet. There is a particular risk in erasing the line between horrible things Trump does with horrible things the U.S. has done for a long time and acting like it is all Trump. It’s a complicated conversation, but it is one we should have. It means exploring the roots of white supremacy in the U.S., the way American wars are constantly put through a laundering process to make them seem noble and brave, the way “real American” has been defined and continues to be defined in our society. For eight years, we had the first black president in U.S. history and now we have a reality TV host who spends a great deal of time tweeting and watching TV. So what is unique to Trump and what is embedded in the politics of empire in the U.S.?Professor Nikhil Pal Singh has spent years studying trends in U.S

As Trump continues his obsession with the MS-13 street gang, The Intercept’s Alice Speri reports on how this “war on gangs” has given the green light for federal agents to target high school students for deportation. NYU professor Nikhil Singh talks about race and America’s long war, and offers a provocative perspective on some of the golden calves of "American exceptionalism." Iran analyst Holly Dagres of TheIranist discusses the politics of regime change and the recent protests in Iran. Plus, Stormy Daniels helps Trump wag the dog.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The legendary national security reporter James Risen has a fascinating new expose detailing how U.S. intelligence agencies opened a secret communications channel with Russian operatives, who were offering to sell damaging or compromising intelligence on Donald Trump. In this special bonus episode of Intercepted, James Risen lays out the whole story.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former State Department official Peter van Buren and civil liberties advocate Julian Sanchez offer provocative analysis the Nunes memo. Academy Award winner Errol Morris and actor Peter Sarsgaard talk about their new hybrid-documentary series Wormwood and present their case that a US Army scientist was murdered by the CIA in 1953. Yemeni analyst Nadwa al Dawsari details the key events of the past 20 years.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This year in the National Football League, there have been 281 recorded concussions that players have suffered — spanning from the pre-season right up to the last playoff games. This weekend is Super Bowl Sunday. That is a macabre sort of record — it represents the most concussions in a season since the NFL started keeping track six years ago. The hits that these players take over and over during their careers can lead to very serious brain damage and a  degenerative condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE.We are doing this special episode of Intercepted to highlight a gut-wrenching new short film that The Intercept’s Josh Begley has directed. It is called "Concussion Protocol."In this special bonus episode of Intercepted, Josh Begley, The Intercept’s Shaun King and Donte Stallworth, a ten year veteran of the NFL, discuss brain injuries, the #TakeAKnee protests, and Trump’s attacks on athletes.Josh Begley’s video “Concussion Protocol” can be viewed at theintercept.com/NFL.  

Naomi Klein and Jeremy analyze Trump’s threats toward North Korea, his Executive Order on Guantanamo and the attack on immigrants, the poor, and the environment. Veteran journalist Juan González dissects the roots of fascism, the rise of authoritarian movements, and global migration trends. Marcy Wheeler gives a brief analysis of a theory floated by a former CIA officer that the “Steele dossier” contains Russian disinformation. Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada discusses Israeli collusion with the Trump campaign and Mike Pence’s trip to Israel. And Franklin James Fisher of the band Algiers talks about their music from "The Underside of Power."  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As Donald Trump forges ahead with his plans for mass deportations and Democrats flail in their response, Ninaj Roul and Yanira Arias describe the plight of hundreds of thousands of people in imminent danger of deportation. Journalist Nick Pinto reveals how ICE agents are staking out churches and homes of immigrant rights activists. Intercept Washington D.C. bureau chief Ryan Grim breaks down a clause slipped into the budget bill that gives the White House authority to fund CIA programs without oversight. We talk to revolutionary musical artist Seun Kuti, son of the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela, and hear music from his forthcoming album, Black Times.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We live in a society that does not study its own history —  its unvarnished history — and often current events are analyzed in a vacuum that almost never includes the context or history necessary to understand what is new, what is old and how we got to where we are. As Trump celebrates his first year in office and demonstrations confront a year of his rule, leading Marxist scholar David Harvey sat down for an interview on Intercepted. Harvey is one of the leading Marxist thinkers in the world and a leading authority on Marx’s "Das Kapital," which turned 150 years old late last year. Harvey is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeremy lays out the bloody US history in Haiti and El Salvador and blasts the bipartisan, selective amnesia and historical revisionism that “American exceptionalism” demands. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard discusses U.S. regime change, North Korea and why Bernie Sanders would have defeated Trump. As Robert Mueller hits Bannon with a Grand Jury subpoena, former CIA operative and  Cipher Brief columnist John Sipher and journalist Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel analyze the Russia investigation and the Steele dossier. Leading Marxist scholar David Harvey talks about debt peonage in the age of Trump and the crimes of capitalism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

James Risen is a legend in the world of investigative and national security journalism. As a reporter for the New York Times, Risen broke some of the most important stories of the post 9/11 era, from the warrantless surveillance against Americans conducted under the Bush-Cheney administration, to black prison sites run by the CIA, to failed covert actions in Iran. Risen has won the Pulitzer and other major journalism awards. But perhaps what he is now most famous for is fighting a battle under both the Bush and Obama administrations as they demanded — under threat of imprisonment —the name of one of Risen’s alleged confidential sources. But it isn’t just the government that Risen had to fight. He also battled his own editors and other powerful figures at the New York Times. Risen is now a senior national security correspondent at The Intercept where his incredible inside story has now been published. We talk with Risen about his career at the New York Times in a special edition of Intercepted. &nb

Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean talks about the Mueller investigation, how the CIA may benefit from Trump’s presidency and how Trump stacks up to Nixon and Reagan. Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg talks about the classified secrets he has kept for decades. He has just published his story in a new book, The Doomsday Machine. Field of Vision takes us inside the very strange world of Steve Bannon’s films. Patterson Hood of the band Drive-By Truckers performs.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.