Background Briefing: June 9, 2026
In Spite of Hit Jobs From the Liberal Media, a Progressive Populist is Poised to Win in Maine
We will begin with all eyes on Maine today with the embattled candidate Graham Platner poised to win a primary election to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins which could determine whether the Democrats take back the US Senate. Joining us is Ben Burgis, the host of the “Give Them an Argument” podcast and YouTube channel, a professor at Rutgers University and a columnist for Jacobin. His books include Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left, Canceling Comedians While the World Burns: A Critique Of The Contemporary Left, and Christopher Hitchens: What He Got Right, How He Went Wrong, and Why He Still Matters. He has an article at Jacobin we will discuss, “Why the Smears Against Graham Platner Didn’t Work.”
A Report From Albania on Protests Against Jared and Ivanka’s Luxury Resort in a Nature Reserve
Then we go to Albania to look into an eruption of popular protests against Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s plan to build a luxury resort playground for their billionaire buddies in a nature reserve which could serve as a model for Americans to unite against the flagrant corruption and self-dealing by the Trump family. Joining us is Mitchell Prothero who has covered international crime, terrorism, intelligence and security issues from the Middle East and Europe for over two decades. Previously the Iraq bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, he’s written about security and terrorism in Europe for BuzzFeed News and as a senior writer for Vice World News. He’s currently based in Tirana, Albania and has an article at The Nation we discuss “How Jared Kushner Sparked a Political Crisis in Albania.”
Trump Has His Roy Cohn but Will the Mafia Boss Get His Consigliere Confirmed?
Then finally we assess the chance of Todd Blanche, who Trump nominated today, becoming the next AG and speak with Lisa Graves, one of the nation’s foremost experts on the right-wing influence on the US Supreme Court and other levers of power. She leads True North Research and co-hosts Legal AF and has served as a senior advisor in all three branches of the federal government, as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department, as Chief Counsel for Nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as a Deputy Chief of the article 3 judges division for the U.S. Courts. She is the author of the new book, Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights.