The Bottom Line

By Al JazeeraNews

The Bottom Line episodes

December 02, 2021 Can the US promote democracy worldwide? | The Bottom Line
The White House is hosting leaders from more than 100 countries in a virtual conference to discuss human dignity, accountability, fair elections and the political leadership of women. But around the world, the governments supported by the United States's national security establishment are some of the worst human rights abusers and kleptocracies. And domestically, US democracy continues to suffer from the outsized influence of money in politics, runaway polarisation among Americans, and even the violent contestation of elections without evidence of fraud. Host Steve Clemons asks Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about the prospects and contradictions in US efforts to fight corruption.
25 min
November 25, 2021 Democracy vs hypocrisy: Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’ | The Bottom Line
US President Joe Biden had been in office for a few days when he announced that he would hold a virtual “Summit for Democracy” to “push back authoritarianism’s advance” worldwide.

But after the world watched the disregard for rule of law, expansion of executive power and mistrust of elections spread throughout the United States, the question is: What moral authority does Washington have to lecture the rest of the world about democracy?

Host Steve Clemons speaks with former US diplomat Daniel Fried, Foreign Policy magazine columnist Elise Labott, and Progressive International Coordinator David Adler about the prospects for the summit.
25 min
November 18, 2021 Did the United States commit war crimes in Syria? | The Bottom Line
Straddling the Syria-Iraq border, Baghuz was one of the last holdouts of the ISIL (ISIS) group.

Thousands of family members, refugees and prisoners were there when fighting erupted between ISIL fighters and American forces in March 2019; the United States called in an enormous air attack.

Recently, US Central Command acknowledged that 80 people, including civilians, were killed. But all internal procedures to investigate the potential war crime have been quashed, according to a report by The New York Times newspaper.

Host Steve Clemons speaks with the reporters that pieced together the investigation over a span of months, Eric Schmitt and David Philipps.
25 min
November 11, 2021 Are US Democrats facing a smackdown in next year’s election? | The Bottom Line
When President Joe Biden unseated Donald Trump and received the most votes of any US leader in history, liberals believed America was ready for real change towards more socialism.

But in reality, the Democrats have razor-thin margins in Congress, and the internal tug of war between progressives and conservatives has paralysed the party's agenda.

The schism became apparent as Biden tried to push his plans for US society and the environment through Congress, where they remain stuck.

Host Steve Clemons talks to Washington Post newspaper columnist David Von Drehle and Politico reporter Tara Palmeri about the recent shifts in US politics.
25 min
November 05, 2021 What happened to ‘defund the police’? | The Bottom Line
Americans have been debating the role of the police for decades, but the debate was energised last year during nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

For many in the white majority, the police must be defended at all costs. If there are proven cases of abuse, they can be resolved on a case-by-case basis. For the rest, the police are seen as the main mechanism that enforces the status quo on society, including racial inequality.

Brooklyn College professor Alex Vitale tells host Steve Clemons that Americans should rethink policing, especially when dealing with schools, the homeless, and mental health cases.
24 min
October 31, 2021 This feed is no longer being updated
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1 min
October 28, 2021 Why is white supremacy growing in the United States? | The Bottom Line
For centuries, there was no significant challenge to the supremacy of white people in the United States.

White nationalists speak of “saving America” - but who are they saving it for? And who are they saving it from?

In the last few years, demographic shifts and changing attitudes have brought a sense of anxiety among whites, who fear they will lose their majority status, become “replaced” by minorities and face all kinds of hostilities.

Host Steve Clemons asks Kathleen Belew, author of A Field Guide to White Supremacy, and Wes Bellamy, author of When White Supremacy Knocks, about the future of race in American society.
25 min
October 27, 2021 Exit Honduras: A climate in crisis | Fault Lines
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of Hondurans have made the dangerous trip north to the United States, hoping to escape poverty and violence.
But as the country endures repeated droughts, hurricanes and floods, people are also fleeing the effects of climate change.
Central America has become hotter and drier over the last few decades. And storms have grown more powerful. Hurricanes Eta and Iota pummeled Honduras in 2020 and left 175,000 people displaced.
Fault Lines reports from Honduras on how extreme weather is upending livelihoods and forcing people to leave their homes.
25 min
October 22, 2021 Colin Powell: Wise statesman or pawn? | The Bottom Line
When he retired from the military in the early 1990s, the former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell was one of the most trusted and admired leaders in the country.

But by the time he died on October 18, 2021, the role he played in selling the Iraq War to the American public had severely tarnished his reputation.

Powell’s biographer Karen DeYoung, a top editor at The Washington Post newspaper, tells host Steve Clemons that Powell regretted his role in the war but never admitted that he peddled lies in his infamous speech to the United Nations in February 2003.
25 min
October 20, 2021 Unrelinquished: When America’s gun laws fail abuse victims | Fault Lines
In Tucson, Arizona, Jazmine Willock was murdered by her partner in 2018. He was prohibited from having a firearm because of a prior domestic violence conviction, but he carried one anyway.
In Jacksonville, Florida in 2017, Ashlee Rucker’s boyfriend killed her and seriously injured her sister, Lisa, using a gun. As a convicted felon, he should never have had one.
Under US law, people convicted of felonies and certain domestic violence crimes are barred from having guns. But these laws are largely unenforced. Offenders are rarely ordered to surrender their firearms, and domestic violence victims have paid the price.
Fault Lines follows Jennifer Gollan, a reporter with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, as she investigates gaps in the system that allow domestic abusers to keep their guns - with deadly consequences.
26 min