Then, we bring you an update on movements and controversies on the continent of Africa: from Libya, to Zimbabwe to the growing resistance movements on the continent. Kumi Naidoo, launch director of Africans Rising, is our guest.

2018 may just be a few days old, but already there is non-stop breaking news. Michael Wolffs new book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, has been described as explosive; indeed, it is so controversial that Trump has severed ties (for now) with his former Chief Advisor Steve Bannon and has threatened to take legal action against the book.

Days after California rolled out legal recreational marijuana, U.S. Attorney General Jefferson Sessions will undo what President Obama put in place to protect users of legal marijuana " this is prompting an immediate backlash.

Trump is saying the size of his nuclear button is bigger than that of Kim Jong-un of North Korea, has threatened to cut aid to Palestinian refugees and to cut off aid to Pakistan, while also unleashing a new onslaught on the environment.

Before weighing in on the challenges of the year ahead, our roundtable regulars will reflect on 2017, giving their assessment of what where the key stories of the past year and commenting on the movements that give them hope for the year ahead. Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne join us for our annual new year roundtable.

Following a UN vote overwhelmingly opposing Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy there, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Niki Hayley will host a thank you gathering for those countries who voted with the U.S. And: Trump has announced that the U.S. will cut off aid to a UN agency that funds humanitarian resources for Palestinian refugees. We discuss the latest updates and growing worldwide tensions following the U.S. moves against the Palestinians. Our guest is Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis.

Then: an update on key issues and controversies south of the border with Mexico City journalist and campaigner Laura Carlsen – from the upcoming Presidential election in Mexico to the recent stolen election in Honduras and more.

For our Weekly Earth Watch, we speak with Tabitha Tripp, an advocate for public lands, opposed to mismanagement and industrialization of state and public forests.

She is currently on the Board of SAFE, (Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment), is the founder of the Shawnee Forest Sentinels and is a council member of the regional network known as Heartwood.

We also remember Erica Garner, the 27-year-old daughter of Eric Garner who recently passed away.

Following a UN vote overwhelmingly opposing Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy there, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Niki Hayley will host a thank you gathering for those countries who voted with the U.S. And: Trump has announced that the U.S. will cut off aid to a UN agency that funds humanitarian resources for Palestinian refugees. We discuss the latest updates and growing worldwide tensions following the U.S. moves against the Palestinians. Our guest is Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis.

Mexico City journalist and campaigner Laura Carlsen gives us an update on key issues and controversies south of the border: from the upcoming Presidential election in Mexico to the recent stolen election in Honduras.

For our Weekly Earth Watch, we speak with Tabitha Tripp, an advocate for public lands, opposed to mismanagement and industrialization of state and public forests. She is currently on the Board of SAFE, (Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment), is the founder of the Shawnee Forest Sentinels and is a council member of the regional network known as Heartwood.

Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This caused consternation and protest across the world by world leaders and environmentalists. The agreement was even considered by environmentalists to be weak - to not have gone far enough to confront the environmental crisis facing our planet.

But world leaders, despite Trump's move, have said they will proceed to implement the agreement without the United States; and French President Emmanuel Macron said it is unacceptable for Donald Trump to say he now wants to renegotiate the agreement. "That won't happen, says Macron, who recently was photographed holding a sign that said, "Make The Planet Great Again" "of course a play on Trump's nationalistic "Make America Great Again."

Meanwhile, on a community-based, grassroots level, environmentalists " who long gave up hope that governments would provide any leadership in solving the environmental crisis, and who have long accepted that governments have to be pushed from the bottom up "continue to do their hard day-to-day work. This is work fighting for communities hardest hit by environmental devastation and poverty, taking a toll on the individuals in those communities. In working to heal Mother Earth, are we working to heal ourselves?

We have a wide-ranging and in-depth conversation with two key environmental leaders: Anne Petermann, Executive Director of the Global Justice Ecology Project; and indigenous campaigner Clayton Thomas-Müller. We discuss the recent One Planet Summit, GE seeds, GE trees, tar sands, growing up indigenous and much more.

For today's show, we bring you a new, in-depth conversation with education expert Jackie Goldberg about the state of schools in the United States. Goldberg has served in the California State Assembly, a member of the Los Angeles City Council and as head of the Los Angeles School Board. She has been an educator all of her life.

Economist Sarah Anderson joins us to discuss the latest on the GOP tax plans. How will this plan, if passed, impact each and every one of us?

For our weekly Earth Watch, indigenous and environmental rights campaigner Clayton Thomas-Muller discusses his latest project, Life in the City of Dirty Water.

Dr. Gerald Horne gives us a preview of the questions he'll discuss in his upcoming conversation with actor and activist Mr. Danny Glover, including: What are some of the greatest crises facing all of us now? What is the importance of understanding the interrelationship of history and today's social justice movements?

For our weekly Earth Watch, indigenous and environmental rights campaigner Clayton Thomas-Muller discusses his latest project, Life in the City of Dirty Water.