KPFK - BradCast w/ Brad Friedman

Guest: Jeff Hauser, director of The Revolving Door Project

Guest host Nicole Sandler speaks with Jeff Hauser of The Revolving Door Project to assess President Biden's first year in office by way of the people he chose to name to his cabinet and other leadership positions. Plus a warning about FloriDUH.

Guest: Author John M. Barry; NY Times columnist and Oregon Governor candidate Nicholas Kristof

Guest host Nicole Sandler speaks with John M. Barry, author of "The Great Influenza," about the 1918 Spanish Flu, about the parallels between that flu and our current covid outbreak. Then, former NY Times columnist turned Oregon gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Kristof on poverty in America.

Guest: Marcy Wheeler - independent journalist at emptywheel.com

Guest host Nicole Sandler speaks with Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net, who's been provideing the most comprehensive coverage of the hearings of the Capitol insurrectionists, and the investigations by both the DOJ and the House Select Committee investigating January 6, 2021.

Call in the family, curl up around the fire and return to radio yesteryear with Our Very Special (And Somewhat Subversive) BradCast Holiday Special! Featuring The BradCast Radio Theatre Players in some of our very first BradCast broadcasts from the 1930s and 1940s! Don't miss this award-wanting holiday tradition in the making! And Merry Christmas, world!

Guest: John Nichols, The Nation

Unionized Kellogg's workers approved a new contract after a lengthy strike. The Nation's John Nichols explains how workers achieved several labor victories this year, and legislation boosting workers' rights pending in Congress. Nichols also discusses his new article on the FBI's weird scrutiny of the holiday classic, 'It's a Wonderful Life,' Sen. Joe Manchin's betrayal of Biden's Build Back Better Act, and much more. Trump gets caught doing the right thing on COVID vaccines. Exxon squeezes in one last disaster before year's end. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

Guest: Heather 'Digby' Parton, Salon

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan.6 Capitol Insurrection is reportedly shifting focus to criminal offenses, and seeking testimony from far right House Republicans, including key Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. economy is booming by all measures - yet the corporate media is downplaying or ignoring positive economic news. Opinion columnist Heather 'Digby' Parton offers incisive analysis on this tumultuous year, the corporate media's unbalanced coverage, accountability for Trump and his friends, the future of Biden's agenda, and a look ahead to the political landscape in 2022...

United Mine Workers union calls on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to support miners in Coal Country by voting for Biden's Build Back Better Act, but Manchin seems to care more about his coal profits. The highly transmissible Omicron variant is now the dominant variant in the US, and is already overwhelming hospitals. Even Donald Trump got a vaccine booster (secretly, of course). President Biden outlined steps the federal government is now taking to combat the Omicron surge, reiterating the need for everyone eligible to get vaccinated ASAP. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

CDC says theOmicron variant of COVID now dominates all new US infections, with guidance how to assess the changing risk profile of COVID and keep your family safe over the holidays. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) dropped bombshell, saying he won't support Biden's historic Build Back Better Act, with limp justifications about 'cost' repeatedly debunked by economists. Donald Trump sues NY Attorney General to delay corruption investigation into his company. Lively callers weigh in all of the above.

Guest: Marilyn Marks, Coalition For Good Governance

GOP dirty-trickster Roger Stone invokes his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination to House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection. Judge rejects bid by Fox 'News' to dismiss $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. In Georgia, judge allows 8 lawsuits to proceed brought by voting and civil rights groups challenging the state's draconian SB202 voter suppression law. Coalition For Good Governance's Marilyn Marks explains those lawsuits and another challenging SB202's provisions blocking press freedom (Brad is a plaintiff, representing media) and allowing election subversion, along with new developments in several lawsuits defending non-partisan election administration and security.

The CDC says vaccines + boosters provide the best protection against the fast-spreading Omicron variant. New data suggests the US will see a massive surge of new COVID infections and hospitalizations in 2-4 weeks, engulfing the already-overwhelmed healthcare system. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pens blistering op-ed making the case for re-balancing the GOP's stolen and packed US Supreme Court to protect basic liberties. CA Gov. Newsom proposes gun law to test SCOTUS ruling allowing an unconstitutional Texas anti-abortion law to evade judicial review, and NY State may follow suit. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'