KPFK - BradCast w/ Brad Friedman

Final 2022 primaries held in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware -- but Delaware's electronic voting system is the worst in the country, with major security flaws. Recently revealed security camera footage exposed GA Republicans breaching a county's election system to unlawfully copy and distribute it, underscoring the system's massive security vulnerabilities in advance of the crucial Nov. 8 election. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced a national abortion ban bill. Chief Justice John Roberts complains about the US Supreme Court's record low approval among the public. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

Stunning turn of events after a Ukrainian offensive forced Russian troops into a hasty retreat. Even pro-war Russians are reportedly pushing back against the Kremlin's pretense that nothing happened. Electricity restored to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, averting a potential nuclear meltdown. Donald Trump made a surprise, unannounced visit to DC amid federal criminal probe, igniting rampant speculation. Callers weigh in on all of the above, and much more...

Guest: Dahlia Lithwick, Slate

Justice Department offers Trump-appointed Judge Cannon a compromise to her absurd, unworkable order that has halted a national security damage assessment into highly classified documents that Trump stole from the White House. Legal expert DAHLIA LITHWICK explains how the Cannon decision is part of a flood of rulings by corrupt rightwing judges and justices that underscore our broken federal judicial system, the desperate need for structural reform and how to achieve it, and her new book revealing the inspiring stories of 'extraordinary women lawyers' who 'changed the world.' Also today: New ad exposes Trump's PAC as a 'suckers' game' to bilk his supporters, and more...

Britain's longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has died at age 96. CA grapples with record heat. Poll finds majority of voters believe Trump's MAGA movement is a threat to democracy. Former Trump aide Steve Bannon was indicted in NY State on charges of money laundering and fraud over scam non-profit organization. Federal grand jury reportedly investigating Trump's scammy Save America PAC for misuse of funds. MO GOP leaders caught on video teaching MAGA pollworkers how to break election rules on behalf of Republicans. MI state supreme court allows lawful statewide ballot initiative to codify abortion rights into law. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

Guest: Marilyn Marks, Coalition for Good Governance

Record heat wave broiling US West is straining electric grids, as our climate crisis intensifies. Preliminary results from the Massachusetts primary. Corporate media is failing to grasp the scope of a multi-state plot to breach voting system security in several states. Election integrity expert MARILYN MARKS explains new evidence indicating that local election offiicals in Georgia lied about their involvement in the scheme, and Georgia's Republican Sec. of State Raffensperger either lied or tried to cover up the matter. Trump crony Steve Bannon criminally indicted in New York on fraud charges.

Dangerous, historic heat wave breaks high temperature records across California. The Jackson, MS water crisis is a warning for communities nationwide. NM: January 6 insurrectionist removed from county election post under US Constitution's 'Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause.' Surveillance video reveals Trump MAGA supporters lied to investigators in voting system security breach in Georgia. Broadcast networks refused to air Pres. Biden's speech warning about the growing menace to democracy, while corporate media pundits tried to draw false equivalence to Trump. An explainer on the disturbing ruling by a Trump-appointed judge appointing a Special Master to review documents Trump stole from the White House.

Guest: Heather 'Digby' Parton, Salon and Digby's Hullabaloo

Encore: Original air-date 8-26-2022. An unsealed, heavily redacted version of the affidavit establishing 'probable cause' for the FBI search of Donald Trump's FL residence revealed disturbing new details about highly classified documents Trump stole from the White House. Meanwhile, Pres. Biden delivered a barn-burner speech focused on the Democrats' surge of landmark legislative and policy achievements, drawing a stark contrast with Republicans' policies to strip Americans of personal liberties and dismantle democracy. Opinion columnist Heather 'Digby' Parton brings history, context and perspective to the flood of historic developments of just the last few weeks, and the landscape going into the critical November 2022 midterm elections.

Guest: Tom Bonier, TargetSmart

Encore: Original airdate 8/24/2022. Good news, bad news, and noteworthy results from primaries in New York and Florida, including a stunning Democratic win in a US House special election considered a 'bellwether' for the 2022 midterm elections. Tom Bonier, Democratic election data expert, explains surprising results around the country in favor of Democrats, upending 'conventional wisdom' about the midterm elections, and big data trends in batttleground states showing voters are increasingly focused on the rightwing US Supreme Court ruling overturning women's reproductive rights and threats to democracy.

Guest: Dan Froomkin, PressWatchers.org

Encore: Original airdate 8/19/2022. Polls and other new data points continue to suggest that the 2022 midterm elections may defy conventional wisdom in these un-conventional times. Sitting Republican governor calls GOP gubernatorial nominee 'not mentally stable.' 18 former top Trump Administration officials debunk Trump's false claims that he 'declassified' documents he stole from the White House as 'ludicrous.' Media critic DAN FROOMKIN explains why U.S. corporate media is still cowed by the radical Right and still failing in its constitutional mandate to inform and educate the electorate, deeply invested in false, misleading 'both sides' framing, and CNN's abrupt cancellation of the last remaining media criticism program on broadcast/cable TV.

Guest: Marcy Wheeler, National security journalist, Emptywheel.net

Encore: Original airdate 8/17/2022. In the Wyoming GOP primary, ultra-conservative GOP Rep. Liz Cheney lost to a Trump-backed 2020 election denier, and vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to stop Trump from getting 'anywhere near the Oval Office.' Results from Alaska's U.S. House open primary will be delayed for weeks due to Ranked Choice Voting, with former GOP Gov. Sarah Palin among the top vote-getters. National security journalist Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel explains the latest developments and what you need to know about the highly sensitive documents retrieved by the FBI that Donald Trump stole from the White House -- what is known/unknown, potential paths forward, and much more.