Background Briefing: January 8, 2024
Why Boeing’s 737 Max is Grounded and is a Flying Turkey
We begin with the grounding of the fleets of Boeing 737 Max aircraft after a door blew off one in mid-flight and look into how a storied American company was taken over by numbers-crunchers and still has a disastrous CEO in charge who ignored aeronautical engineers who wanted to build a new plane rather than bulk up the old 737, resulting in a flying turkey. Joining us is Jeff Wise, a science journalist specializing in aviation and psychology. A licensed pilot of gliders and light airplanes, he has served as an on-camera aviation analyst on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC and his articles have appeared in New York Magazine, the New York Times, Time, Businessweek, Esquire, and many others. He is the author of The Taking of MH370 and the new podcast series “Deep Dive MH370.”
The History Behind South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel in the International Court of Justice
Then we assess the case brought by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice accusing the Jewish state of genocide in Gaza and calling for an immediate ceasefire. Joining us is Chris McGreal who writes for Guardian US and is a former Guardian correspondent in Washington, Johannesburg and Jerusalem. He is the author of American Overdose, The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts and his latest article at The Guardian is “How apartheid history shaped South Africa’s genocide case against Israel: Jewish groups have accused the ANC of antisemitism, but ICJ case stems from party’s long standing support for Palestinians.”
Can the Democrats Return to the New Deal Fight for the Common Man and Equal Opportunity?
Then finally we speak with John Judis, Editor-At-Large at Talking Points Memo and author of many books, including The Nationalist Revival: Trade, Immigration, and the Revolt Against Globalization, and The Politics of Our Time: Populism, Nationalism, and Socialism. . We discuss his latest book, co-written with Ruy Teixeira, Where Have All the Democrats Gone? The Soul of the Party in the Age of Extremes and whether the Biden campaign, just getting underway, can return the party to the New Deal fight for the common man and equal opportunity instead of identity politics and sucking up to Wall Street and Silicon Valley.