Background Briefing: September 29, 2024

After Repeated Humiliations, Will Iran Strike Back at Israel in a Wider Middle East War?

We begin with Israel’s killing of the leader of Hezbollah along with 7 top commanders and the deputy head of Iran’s Quds Force which has prompted Iran to hide its Supreme Leader and have its Foreign Minister vow that Israel’s actions will not go unanswered. Joining us to discuss how much Iran has lost its insurance against an Israeli attack by the degrading of Hezbollah and the possible death of the Hamas leader Sinwar is Mohsen Milani, the Executive Director of the World Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies and Professor of Politics at the University of South Florida. Professor Milani has served as a fellow at Harvard, Oxford, and Foscari University, Italy and is the author of The Making of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. He is currently writing a book about Iranian foreign policy.

 

J.D. Vance Doubles Down in His Embrace of Christian Nationalism and “Christo-Fascism

Then we look into J.D. Vance’s doubling down on his embrace of Christian nationalism and “Christo-Fascism” by speaking at an event on Saturday arranged by a self-appointed “apostle” who talks to God and believes Kamala Harris is under the spell of witchcraft. Joining us is Frederick Clarkson, a Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates and an analyst of the Religious Right for over 30 years. He has worked as Communications Director at the Institute for Democracy Studies, and co-founded the important group blog about the Christian Right, Talk to Action. His books include Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America and Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy. He has a series of essays on the New Apostolic Reformation, the cutting edge of the Christian Right, at the online magazine Religion Dispatches.

 

The Filmmaker of the Feature Documentary on the Electoral College One Person, One Vote Which Premieres on PBS’s Independent Lens on Monday

Then finally we investigate the role of the Electoral College in the election just weeks away in which most of the country is excluded from the campaigns because all the focus is on the few swing states and even if Harris wins by 10 million in the popular vote, Trump could win the presidency by a hundred votes in the Electoral College. Joining us is Maximina Juson, an award-winning filmmaker and founder of HUMovies, a film production company in Los Angeles. Her debut feature documentary, “One Person, One Vote?” is a National Endowment for the Humanities grant recipient that world premiered at the Pan African Film Festival, taking home the Programmers’ Award for Best Documentary Feature and One Person, One Vote will premiere tomorrow September 30 on PBS’s Independent lens.