Sojourner Truth Radio

Drama is high in Washington DC as Donald Trump gives his first State of the Union address. The mainstream media is giving Trump high marks for his speech. The Washington Post give the speech an 8.5 out of 10; and in one poll of listeners, 48 percent said the speech was positive. Though Trump stuck to script, he nevertheless was true to form in his exaggerations: from his creation of new jobs, to rising wages, to who will benefit from his tax cut. He also tried to position himself as Unifier in Chief " this, after spending his campaign and first year amping up racial divisiveness, playing to his base and continuing in his familys racist tradition.

But there was plenty of protest action: from Democrats booing on the floor when Trump attacked attempts to keep families together under so-named "chain immigration," to Congressional Black Caucus members wearing Kente Cloths in protest of his s-hole comment about Africa and his general racism, to CBC members such as John Lewis and Maxine Waters boycotting the speech, to Democratic women wearing black in solidarity with the #MeToo movement, to members of Congress inviting undocumented U.S. residents and family members of those deported.

Bernie Sanders gave his response to Trump. The official response from the Democratic Party was given by 37-year-old Massechusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III "It was a barnbuster.

Weighing in on the State of the Union are our guests: roundtable regulars Jackie Goldberg and Laura Carlsen, as well as Dr. Jullienne Malveaux. Later in the hour, we hear about an Alternative State of the Union that took place in Los Angeles' Skid Row "the epicenter of homelessness in the United States "with Pete White, Director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network.

In a new one-hour special, we pay tribute to the late, great investigative journalist Robert Parry who passed away this weekend. To discuss his memory and legacy of impactful reporting, we speak to Dr. Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist on U.S. national security policy; Norman Solomon, journalist, media critic and founder of the Institute for Public Accuracy; and renowned author and historian Dr. Gerald Horne.

On our Weekly Roundtable:

Trump has announced his proposal for immigration reform. It includes a path to citizenship over a 10 to 12 year period for 1.8 million young undocumented people " but only if he gets funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and ends family-based immigration. What was the impact of last weekends government shutdown? What leverage do the Democrats have left? Why did they cave to the GOP?

President Trump spoke to world leaders and capitalist leaders in Davos, Switzerland, and despite the threat of a walkout by African heads of state, it seems he was warmly welcomed by most attending the conference. Trump also made waves in a new attack on Palestinians and claimed he did not realize Britain First, a far-right group he retweeted, were racists. Protesters outside were also sending their own message to the world.

Discussing immigration, Davos and more are our roundtable paneslists: Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne.

And, in Davos, Switzerland, the global elite are meeting for their annual conference, where Trumps recent actions are sparking protest from African officials as well as people rallying outside of the event. How will the conference deal with the realities of global inequality? Our guest is Paul OBrien of Oxfam America.

Donald Trump has said he is open to a path to citizenship for some once covered under the Obama-era DACA protection. Meanwhile, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says he's taking back his offer to support Trump's wall. All of this plays out as negotiations continue and the United States has no budget. Did Democrats lose negotiating leverage by agreeing to reopen the government with nothing concretely settled on DACA? Now, Democratic senators are saying they're ready to drop relief for DACA recipients in longterm budget negotiations, but House Democrats disagree. To break all of this down – and also talk about the attacks by ICE on herself and other immigrants rights leaders – we are joined by campaigner Maru Mora-Villalpando.

For this week's installment of Earth Watch, we welcome Dr. Juliette Rooney-Varga, an associate professor of environmental science and the director of UMass Lowell's Climate Change Initiative.

Donald Trump has said he is open to a path to citizenship for some once covered under the Obama-era DACA protection. Meanwhile, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says he's taking back his offer to support Trump's wall. All of this plays out as negotiations continue and the United States has no budget. Did Democrats lose negotiating leverage by agreeing to reopen the government with nothing concretely settled on DACA? Now, Democratic senators are saying they're ready to drop relief for DACA recipients in longterm budget negotiations, but House Democrats disagree. To break all of this down "and also talk about the attacks by ICE on herself and other immigrants rights leaders "we are joined by campaigner Maru Mora-Villalpando.

And, in Davos, Switzerland, the global elite are meeting for their annual conference, where Trumps recent actions are sparking protest from African officials as well as people rallying outside of the event. How will the conference deal with the realities of global inequality? Our guest is Paul OBrien of Oxfam International.

But first, for our weekly earth watch, we welcome Juliette Rooney Varga, an associate professor of environmental science and the director of the Climate Change Initiative.

After years of organizing by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, challenging the lack of accountability in the Los Angeles Police Department for the hundreds of lives that have been lost at the hands of officers in recent years, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has announced he's "retiring early." What does this spell for the future of the movement? For our campaigners of Black Lives segment, we're joined by Melina Abdullah.

Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on up to 50 percent of imported washing machines, as well as on solar cells and modules. South Korea and China will be hit by the tariffs. A big winner in this is Whirlpool, which has international headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan, a Black, poverty-stricken community. The company plays a huge role in local politics, and they have been up against the community: grabbing land, silencing the Black community and more. To give us the latest, we speak with the Reverend Edward Pinkney of the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization in Benton Harbor.

The fate of Brazil's upcoming presidential race hangs in the balance, as the most popular candidate, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party, faces a decision on a corruption charge against him " a charge that many on the left argue is flimsy. Is this the latest step in the undermining of Brazils democracy? What does this mean for the future of the government, and of the Brazilian people, who are currently facing austere cuts to social programs and attacks on labor rights? Our guest is Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.