FEATURING RAJ PATEL – Most of us middle and working class Americans are always looking for a good bargain. In an attempt to make ends meet we shop at Walmart or Amazon, or we eat at McDonald’s and Taco Bell, even if we may not like the business practices of those companies.

But the idea of cheap goods and services is so deeply intertwined with our current global economic system that it has become almost impossible to extricate ourselves from it. How did the pursuit of cheap things, which includes labor and care, become part of the fabric of our lives?

Telling the history of the world using the idea of “cheapness” as a lens in a new book is my guest, the award winning author and activist Raj Patel.

Raj Patel, award winning writer, activist, and academic, a research professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and a senior research associate at the Unit for the Humanities at Rhodes University. He has written several books including Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy. His newest book, co-authored with Jason W. Moore is called A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature and the Future of the Planet.

**This interview was originally broadcast on October 26, 2017.

FEATURING PATRICK WOODALL – On Monday evening President Trump gathered his cabinet for a press conference outside the White House to laud the new trade agreement that will be replacing the decades-old North America Free Trade Agreement. The new deal is to be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or U.S.M.C.A.

Patrick Woodall, Research Director with Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action.

A major New York Times investigation published on Tuesday has uncovered that President Donald Trump engaged in what appears to be tax fraud in order to keep as much of his parent’s inheritance as possible. The bombshell story on the cover of the paper is entitled, “Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father,” and details how Trump, “received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s.” Reporters David Barstow, Suzanne Craig, and Russ Beutner pointed out that, “Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help.”

Going into detail the paper found that Trump, “and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.” The Trump children should have paid about $550 million in taxes and ended up paying only about $52 million. The IRS paid little heed to these shenanigans.

Before publication, President Trump was repeatedly asked to comment on the findings according to the New York Times but he refused. Once the story was published a Trump lawyer released a statement saying, “The New York Times’ allegations of fraud and tax evasion are 100 percent false, and highly defamatory. There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which The Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate.”

A new Showtime documentary called The Family Business: Trump and Taxes, is set to debut on October 7th and features a clip of the New York Times reporters who uncovered the story published on Tuesday. Reporters David Barstow, Suzanne Craig, and Russ Beutner of the New York Times on a Showtime documentary discuss their investigative news story that published in the Times on Tuesday detailing how Trump and his siblings engaged in tax fraud to keep millions of their parent’s inheritance dollars. In the wake of the report, the New York State Tax Department is reportedly looking into potential wrongdoing by the Trumps.

Meanwhile, at a raucous rally in Mississippi on Tuesday evening Trump shockingly mocked Christine Blasey Ford‘s testimony as the crowd roared with approval. President Trump mocked the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in her accusation of attempted rape by his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Just hours earlier, Trump commented on the same issue, once again sympathizing with men.  President Trump on Tuesday on the South Lawn of the White House comments on how being accused of rape is a scary thing for young men. He made no mention of the real fear felt ubiquitously by women everywhere that men will rape them.

The FBI may be continuing its investigation into sexual assault allegations made against Brett Kavanaugh through this week. Many are pointing out the troubling fact that his orig...

FEATURING ONNESHA ROYCHOUDHURI – As we hurtle toward the midterms elections this November, many Americans who despair of the future of our nation under Donald Trump’s presidency are hoping Democrats will win majorities in both houses of Congress and save the day. But Trump and his party have already done so much damage, rolling back rights and regulations.

As Trump attempts to usher in an era of white-minority rule over an increasingly diverse nation, it is easy to give in to the despair and hope we survive the next couple of years. But a new book urges Americans – at least those of us who reject the notion of ‘alternative facts’ – that we have far more power than we think we do.

Onnesha Roychoudhuri, writer, editor and educator. Her work has been published in Rolling Stone, Boston Review, The Nation, American Prospect, Salon, and Mother Jones. She is the co-founder of Speech/Act, an organization working at the intersection of storytelling and social justice. Her new book is called The Marginalized Majority: Claiming Our Power in a Post-Truth America.

** This interview was originally broadcast on August 29, 2018.

FEATURING BTIAN LEUBITZ – If you’re among the millions of Americans depressed with the state of our nation, California is offering some hope in these dark times. Pressed by grassroots activists working on a variety of issues the nation’s most populous state passed a slate of forward-looking bills and Governor Jerry Brown just signed them into law one by one.

Among the new laws offering hope are a ban on toxic flame retardants, an affirmation of net neutrality, stricter gun laws, transparency requirements on police misconduct, and a push for gender parity on corporate boards.

Follow www.facebook.com/calitics for more information about these and other California bills.

Brian Leubitz, political consultant and editor of Calitics.com.

The New York Times reported on Monday that the White House has now expanded the scope of the FBI probe into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The FBI investigation was initially defined as being very narrow in scope and with a strict 1-week time limit. While the time limit has not changed, the scope is now apparently broadened. This is how the Times described it, “The broadening inquiry produced an unusual spectacle as friends and classmates from Judge Kavanaugh’s past provided dueling portraits of the nominee in his younger days — either a good-natured student incapable of the alleged behavior or a stumbling drunk who could easily have blacked out and forgotten inappropriate behavior at alcohol-soaked parties.” On Tuesday reports emerged that the FBI has already interviewed Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge who is implicated in some of the allegations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that the full Senate vote on Kavanaugh would proceed at the end of the week. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell on Monday said there will be a vote on Kavanaugh this week. McConnell is focusing his efforts on the three Republican Senators most likely to vote against Kavanaugh: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer relayed the Democrats’ strategy in the wake of Thursday’s harrowing Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer asserted that Kavanaugh lacked the temperament and character for a Supreme Court justice. Schumer is worried about three so-called “Red-State” Democrats voting for Kavanaugh: Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. All three are hoping Kavanaugh simply drops out.

Meanwhile a new poll has found Kavanaugh’s support among the American public sinking even further, especially among women. The CBS poll found that only 29% of American women think that Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

And NBC interviewed Julie Swetnick, a third woman who has made allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. Julie Swetnick says she was gang raped after being drugged at a party that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were at. After today’s news headlines, we’ll dig deep into what law enforcement agents could explore in the FBI probe, including the lies that Kavanaugh appears to have told last Thursday. My guest will be Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

In other news, on Monday evening President Trump gathered his cabinet for a press conference outside the White House to laud the new trade agreement that will be replacing the decades-old North America Free Trade Agreement. The new deal is to be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or U.S.M.C.A. Trump said, “It’s not Nafta redone, it’s a brand-new deal.”

Also at the press conference, Trump mocked a female journalist and then answered her question on the trade deal. Trump spoke with Cecilia Vega of ABC News at a press conference on Monday in a manner that shocked people. He later also had sharp words for CNN reporter Kaitl...

The on-going controversy around Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh continues into this week with focus now on the details of an FBI probe demanded by GOP Senator Jeff Flake and subsequently authorized by the White House. The probe is ostensibly meant to investigate claims of sexual assault against Kavanaugh by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who testified ahead of Kavanaugh himself last Thursday in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Saturday President Donald Trump spoke to reporters ahead of his rally in West Virginia about the FBI probe. Trump spoke to reporters about the FBI probe of Brett Kavanaugh on Saturday, expecting that it would turn out the way he wants it to. Trump said, “The FBI as you know is all over, talking to everybody … They have been all over it already. They have free rein to do whatever they have to do.”

Although Trump said the FBI had “free rein,” on Sunday news emerged that the White House has narrowed the scope of the inquiry, and that, “A source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that the FBI would take its direction from the White House, not the Senate, and that the agency would interview a handful of people.” The New York Times says Senate Republicans are apparently able to influence the direction of the probe but Democrats have been left out entirely. Additionally, “Kavanaugh’s drinking history, the [CNN] source said, which has come up in the allegations, is not part of the probe.” The FBI will apparently interview Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge who Dr. Blasey Ford says was part of Kavanaugh’s assault. There is also news that one of the other women who said Kavanaugh assaulted her, Debbie Ramirez, is being interviewed, but not Julie Swetnick, a third woman who described witnessing criminal behavior from Kavanaugh and Judge.

The GOP is demanding that the probe be completed in less than a week so that the party can confirm Kavanaugh with its slim Senate majority ahead of the midterm elections.

In the wake of Kavanaugh’s testimony on Thursday several of his inconsistencies and falsehoods have been reported in the news. Among them are the definitions of slang words written in his 1982 calendar, his assertions of the legal drinking age in Maryland and his connections to Yale University. Given that he made many easily provable false assertions under oath, it is not yet clear if Republicans will give up on his nomination to the Supreme Court despite apparent multiple perjuries. Nor is it clear if the FBI will focus on them.

Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders has written a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley demanding that the FBI also investigate whether Kavanaugh perjured himself during his testimony. Sanders wrote, “In order for this FBI investigation regarding Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to be complete, it is imperative the bureau must not only look into the accusations made by Dr. Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick, it should also examine the veracity of his testimony before the Judiciary Committee.” Sanders added pointedly, “If you are concerned with a delay in this confirmation process, remember that Senate Republicans refused to allow the Senate to consider Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court for nearly a year.”

FEATURING MARJORIE COHN – The nation remains riveted this week as the White House ordered an FBI probe of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The move came after Republican Senator Jeff Flake last Friday announced that he would vote to advance Kavanaugh from the Senate Judiciary Committee on the condition that the FBI investigate the claims of sexual assault against him.

There are contradicting reports about the scope of the FBI probe. After President Trump told reporters on Saturday that the FBI would have “free rein” to interview whomever they want, new reports cited officials saying the inquiry would be very limited and is being directed by White House Counsel Don McGahan and Senate Republicans. But on Monday morning the New York Times reported anonymous sources that said backlash against the limits of the probe has resulted in a new White House directive that the FBI can interview anyone it wants to, provided the investigation is complete by the end of the week.

In the wake of Kavanaugh’s testimony on Thursday several of his inconsistencies and falsehoods have been reported in the news. Among them are the definitions of slang words written in his 1982 calendar, his assertions of the legal drinking age in Maryland and his connections to Yale University. Given that he made many easily provable false assertions under oath, it is not yet clear if Republicans will give up on his nomination to the Supreme Court despite apparent multiple perjuries. Nor is it clear if the FBI will focus on them.

Read Marjorie Cohn’s “Aggressive Kavanaugh Portrays Himself as Victim” for Truthout, HERE.

Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. She recently wrote the piece “Aggressive Kavanaugh Portrays Himself as Victim” for Truthout.

FEATURING NAEEMA MUHAMMAD – It has been more than two weeks since Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina. Dozens of people were killed during the relatively slow-moving disaster of relentless rain and record-breaking flooding in the region.

The prevalence of massive hog farms and unlined coal-ash pits were an environmental disaster waiting to happen and with the rising waters of Hurricane Florence flooding those industrial waste sites, what will become of the air and water in those affected parts of the state?

Now that the TV cameras have left and FEMA is wrapping up its operations, we’ll turn to an activist on the ground in North Carolina.

Naeema Muhammad, Organizing Co-Director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network.

FEATURING RACHEL O’LEARY CARMONA AND MEGAN PETERSON – Republican Senator Jeff Flake on Friday requested a delay in the Senate confirmation vote for Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance the nomination. He voted for Kavanaugh anyway. GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski has also called for a one-week delay in the full vote.

On Thursday a stunning and emotionally charged Senate Judiciary Committee hearing riveted the nation as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of a national audience about the man who she accused of assaulting her when they were both teenagers. Dr. Ford’s testimony was universally seen as sympathetic, credible, and honest

By contrast Mr. Kavanaugh was angry, defiant, aggressive, hyper partisan, and engaged in emotional histrionics during his testimony. To President Trump that was evidence of good behavior. Trump tweeted on Thursday afternoon that, “Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting.”

Outside the Senate committee hearing on Thursday hundreds of protesters gathered to show their support for Blasey Ford and demand Kavanaugh not be confirmed.

Rachel O’leary Carmona, Chief Operating Officer of the Women’s March, Megan Peterson, Executive Director at Gender Justice, a legal and policy advocacy org committed to gender, economic and reproductive justice.