On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker spends the full hour discussing the issue of political prisoners in the United States.

Despite having only about five percent of the world’s total population, the United States has over a quarter of the world’s prisoners. But does the U.S. in fact hold political prisoners? Although the government asserts that it does not incarcerate people based on their political convictions, many who took part in the social justice and liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s continue to be behind bars.

Joining Becker is Ramona Africa, the minister of communication for the MOVE Organization; Noelle Hanrahan, a journalist with Prison Radio who co-wrote and produced the documentary “Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary” about Mumia Abu-Jamal; Eddie Conway, a recently-freed political prisoner who is now a journalist with the Real News and who spent 44 years in prison for a crime he did not commit; and Cynthia Dunne, a former federal prosecutor who now works for the release of Leonard Peltier as his co-counsel.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by author and historian Gerald Horne to discuss he true meaning behind Independence Day. As people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July holiday today in commemoration of the revolution against Britain, Horne argues that the events of 1776 and the American Revolution in fact constituted a counter-revolution staged by a desperate elite who feared the end of slavery?

A scandal is rocking Japan as the President of TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, admits that the corporation engaged in a coverup during the devastating Fukushima nuclear disaster. So far, there has been no real accountability for this historic disaster. Becker is joined by Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear to talk about the coverup.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an alliance between China, Russia and several former Soviet Central Asian Republics, is now joined by Pakistan and India. Political analyst Eric Draitser joins Becker to discuss if US unipolar domination is coming to an end.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Cate Long of Puerto Rico Clearinghouse.

Puerto Rico defaults today on over $1 billion of debt despite the poison pill “rescue” legislation passed by the Senate on Wednesday. Now, the colonial shackles will be tightened even more.

Arch Neo-conservative Republican leader Robert Kagan is hosting a major fundraiser not for the Republicans but for Hillary Clinton. NeoConservatives ruled the roost under George W. Bush and now they see Hillary Clinton as the continuation of their hyper-interventionist dream

France’s foreign minister says sanctions against Russia should be lifted as soon as possible. Will European countries break free from US domination in their foreign policy.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined from Turkey by journalists to assess the aftermath of the terrible terrorist attack on Istanbul airport, as well as Turkey's steps toward normalizing relations with Israel and Russia.

Turkey is reeling today from a massive attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that killed over 40 people and injured hundreds more. President Erdogan is talking tough but his reckless adventures make this kind of tragedy inevitable. The so-called Islamic State is the prime suspect - who facilitated their rise? Erman Cete, a journalist with SoL newspaper, joins Becker to discuss the tragedy.

But on the diplomatic front, Erdogan has been forced to back down. In the course of just a few days, Turkey has normalized relations with Israel and apologized to Russia for the shootdown of one of its jets operating over Syria. Kemal Okuyan talks about if this is more theatre than substance.

The world’s largest maritime war exercises kick off today. This is a Pentagon-led initiative but what are real politics of the Asia Pivot? Joining Becker to discuss RIMPAC is political analyst Alexander Mercouris.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, to discuss these troubling developments in Bahrian.



The Bahrain Royal family’s crackdown and repression of a pro-democracy continues but the regime is backed by the US and Britain. The US 5th Fleet trumps democracy.



Matthieu Bowla-Reba, the General Secretary of the CGT Union of Railroad Workers in Versailles talks about how for over four months French workers have shown such endurance in the face of stubborn politicians, brutal cops and a hostile mainstream media. Will the power of the people force Prime Minister Hollande to give in?



The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States are meeting today in Ottawa for the annual North American Leaders’ Summit. TPP is on the agenda but the politicians don’t want tthe public hearing them. TransCanada, the Canadian corporation behind the infamous Keystone XL pipeline, is using a provision of NAFTA to sue the U.S. government for refusing its permit. Will corporate profit trump the environment and democracy? Joining Becker to discuss the issue is Dr. Margaret Flowers, a longtime environmental activist running as the Green Party candidate in Maryland for the U.S. Senate, and Bill Waren, senior trade analyst at Friends of the Earth.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by British politicians, activists and economists to evaluate the meaning of the stunning UK vote to leave the European Union.

We are in uncharted territory - No country has ever left the European Union before. Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned, and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing a coup. Award-winning filmmaker and activist John Pilger discusses the future of British and European politics in light of this dramatic development.

Jeremy Corbyn is facing a full-fledged coup as his opponents in the Blairite parliamentary Labour Party conspire to oust him in a confidence vote. Are other dramatic developments in British politics - like a new independence referendum for Scotland - possible? Brian is joined by former Member of Parliament and leader of the RESPECT Party George Galloway.

Chaos reigns in global stock and currency markets. Traders were anticipating a vote to remain, but Brexit has badly thrown them off balance. Can the panic be contained? Head of the School of Economics, Politics and History at Kingston University London Steve Keen considers the economic fallout from the referendum.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks at the world oil market's rebound to nearly $50 a barrel. After dropping by more than 80% in two years oil prices are rebounding. This episode examines Saudi Arabia's economic and geo-strategic strategies and its deliberate plans to keep oil prices low, drive out shale producers, and harm Iran. He examines the impact of low oil prices on Venezuela and the underlying problems facing Latin America's largest oil producer.

He is joined for the full hour by Ed Hirs, a lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Houston as well as Managing Director for Hillhouse Resources, LLC, and Zafar Bangash, the Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought and author of the book “The Doomed Kingdom of the House of Saud”.

They discuss the oil bust of 2014 and why the Saudi monarchy and its allies decided that they would break with economic orthodoxy and keep pumping oil. What does the end of the oil bust mean for the Saudis and their geopolitical interests?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks at the news that top members of the Senate want to give the federal government and intelligence agencies even more power in the wake of the Orlando massacre. Will Congress further expand the FBI’s ability to spy on people without a warrant? Becker is joined by NSA whistleblower William Binney and Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the CATO Institute, to discuss the latest intensification of the police state in America.

Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., the driver of the police van in the infamous “rough ride” that killed Freddie Gray in Baltimore, has been acquitted of all charges. Will this cause the city to explode yet again? Eugene Puryear, activist and author, joins Becker to address if justice will ever be served in the death that brought about last year's uprising in Baltimore.

The Supreme Court is deadlocked on the question of the White House’s deferred action program, letting stand a lower court ruling against these measures. Now four million undocumented parents are at risk of deportation. Becker talks with Jessica González-Rojas, the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, about what's next in the fight for immigration reform.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker looks at today's referendum in Britain on whether the country should remain in or leave the European Union. He is joined for a full hour debate by three prominent figures from the British left: writer and analyst John Wight, who supports staying in the EU; as well as Alex Gordon and Robert Griffiths, both of whom work with the Left Leave (Lexit) campaign.

The three discuss the nail-biter of a referendum and its potential impact on the workers of Britain. Would the country leaving the bloc lead to the downfall of David Cameron's government and the swift election of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party? Or would a Leave vote embolden xenophobic and anti-immigrant organizations and right-wing populist parties? Can the EU be reformed from inside to become a vehicle for democratic and workers' rights? Or is neo-liberalism enshrined in its institutions? What are the lessons of Greece's struggle against austerity and the institutions of the EU? All these issues and more are discussed during the wide-ranging and sharp debate.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker takes a look at an earthshaking Supreme Court ruling that allows police to illegally stop, detain and arrest individuals without probable cause that they have committed a crime. He is joined by Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, as well as Eugene Puryear of the Stop Police Terror Project to discuss the watershed Supreme Court ruling and the historic dissent offered by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court judge.

Will Hillary Clinton accelerate the drive for regime change in Syria if she becomes President? A State Department document released last week calls for airstrikes against the Damascus government as a means to defeat ISIL, but would it bring the US to war with Russia and Iran? Becker is joined by political analyst Daniel McAdams to discuss the importance of the dissent within the State Department.

A new corruption scandal in Brazil could implicate a third of the country's lawmakers. As the coup government of Michel Temer struggles for legitimacy in the eyes of the Brazilian people, what does this mean for impeached President Dilma Rousseff? Joining Becker to talk about these developments is writer and activist Kim Ives and Aline C. Piva of Brazilian Expats for Democracy.