Sojourner Truth Radio

– Sojourner Truth Radio: Wednesday, July 5, 2017 –

The Trump administration wants the voter roll data, including social security information, of every voter registered in the U.S. What is behind this request? Our guest is Barbara Arnwine, a veteran voting rights advocate.

Trump and Putin will meet face-to-face on Friday. What are the key conflicts and concerns between the U.S. and Russia? What is expected, if anything, to come out of the meeting? We speak to political analyst Gilbert Doctorow, who is on the ground in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Lastly, we kick off a new series: Campaigners for Black Lives. We are joined Charles Lyles, the father of Charleena Lyles, a Seattle woman who was killed by police in front of her children on June 18. Dr. Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles also joins the discussion.

On June 27, government offices in Venezuela were attacked from helicopter by opposition forces in what the government of President Nicolas Maduro is calling a "terrorist attack." What's going on? What led to this moment? Our guests are Katrina Kozarek, a Venezuela-based video journalist, and David Comissiong of the Clement Payne Society in Barbados. Comissiong has been key in organizing Caribbean-wide support for the Maduro government.

On our weekly roundtable, we discuss the latest on immigration. Two new repressive bills supported by Trump pass in the House of Representatives, and Trumps Muslim ban is back in a limited form.

A vote on the Senates Trumpcare bill has been delayed. Whats at stake, and what impact can voters have as senators return to their home states?

What do the lack of convictions of police officers involved in killing Black people tell us about race in the United States? What role did race in the election of Trump?

Our panelists are Jackie Goldberg, Linn Washington and Dr. Gerald Horne.

The Trump administration is doubling down on its aggression in Syria and claimed this week that the Assad government was planning another chemical attack "though a new investigative report released this week suggest the Syrian government was not responsible for the use chemical weapons in an initial attack this April. What is the story behind these so-named chemical attacks? Who are the forces involved in the proxy war in Syria? Are recent U.S. military actions in Syria in breach of U.S. and international law? Our guest is Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law.

What was behind the massive forest fire June 17th in Portugal that claimed more than 60 lives? For our Weekly Earth Watch, we speak with Oliver Munnion, co-director of Biofuelwatch and worker with the Global Forest Coalition.

Also, historic public radio station WBAI is under threat, unable to meet huge financial demands from the Empire State Building, where its tower is located. Whats going on? We speak with WBAI General Manager Berthold Reimers.

On Tuesday, government offices in Venezuela were attacked from helicopter by opposition forces in what the government of President Nicolas Maduro is calling a "terrorist attack." What's going on? What led to this moment? Our guests are Katrina Kozarek, a Venezuela-based video journalist, and David Comissiong of the Clement Payne Society in Barbados. Comissiong has been key in organizing Caribbean-wide support for the Maduro government.

As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was forced to delay a vote on a controversial health care bill, we look into the details of Trumpcare. Who gains? Who loses? Our guests are Dean Baker, author and analyst for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Julie Alderman, research coordinator for Media Matters for America.

Trump and his Senate allies have stepped up their race and class warfare with the newly released Trumpcare bill, a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare while providing tax breaks for the rich.

We also bring you analysis of Jon Ossoff's congressional loss in Tuesday's Georgia special election. Where do the Democrats go from here?

Plus, the stepped up U.S. military attacks in Syria and U.S. support for the Gulf states' isolation of Qatar.

Discussing all of this and more are our panelists: Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne.

Today, we analyze Jon Ossoff's defeat in the Georgia's 6th district's special election. Peter Dreier, journalist, professor of politics, and chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, shares his thoughts on what lessons the Democratic Party can learn from this loss.

Barbara Arnwine on Juneteenth and the History of Voting Rights for Black Americans by Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod

Is this the end of the Democratic Party as we know it? Today, we analyze the Democrats' defeat in the Georgia's 6th district's special election. Peter Dreier, journalist, advocate and professor of politics and chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, brakes it down for us.

Then, investigative journalist Arun Gupta joins us to discuss anti-Muslim terrorism.

But first, for our Weekly Earth Watch, Chilean professor Felipe Grez Moreno discusses the recent international meeting of the campaign to stop genetically engineered trees. He is with the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts.

Today, we bring you a new talk by poet, activist and author Nikki Giovanni. She shared stories, poems and reflections on today's political climate at the 10th Annual Pan-African Studies Forum at California State University, Los Angeles, held on May 10, 2017.