Month: April 2022

Facing Defeat, Russia Mobilizes for the Decisive Offensive in Eastern Ukraine

We begin with the decisive offensive the Russians are mobilizing for to take the Donbas and encircle the Ukrainian army in the east. Having lost up to a third of their combat power so far, if the Russians fail to secure the territory they need to claim some kind of victory, then Ukraine will be in a stronger position to bargain for a settlement, assuming Putin is capable of facing the reality of a defeat. Joining us is Keith Darden, a Professor in the School of International Service at American University where his research focuses on nationalism, state-building, and the politics of Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. His forthcoming book is Resisting Occupation in Eurasia.

The Lawyer Leading the Fight to Take Insurrectionist Members of Congress Off the Ballots

Then we speak with the lawyer leading the fight to have the insurrectionist members of Congress taken off the ballots for reelection in November under a provision in the 14th Amendment that clearly states “no person shall hold any office, civil or military under the United States… having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution, had then engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereoff.”  Joining us is Ron Fein, the legal director for Free Speech For People and a constitutional lawyer who is the co-author of The Constitution Demands It: The Case for the Impeachment of Donald Trump and has already sued to get Madison Cawthorn and Margorie Taylor Greene off the ballots in North Carolina and Georgia and is part of a lawsuit on behalf of Arizona voters challenging the eligibility of Congressmen Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, and State Representative Mark Finchem (who is running for Arizona Secretary of State with Trump’s backing), to appear on the 2022 ballot.

The Consequences of the Failure to Convict the Wolverine Watchmen Who Plotted to Kidnap and Kill Governor Whitmer

Then finally we look into the consequences of the failure to convict members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia in Michigan who had plotted to kidnap and kill Governor Whitmer who said in response to the acquittals “Today Michiganders and Americans – especially our children – are living through the normalization of political violence.” Joining us is David Neiwert, an award-winning journalist, author and expert in American right-wing extremism whose books include The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, and Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump. His latest book is Red Pill Blue Pill: How to counteract the conspiracy theories that are killing us.