Background Briefing: July 24, 2022
Bannon, the Mini-Me of Grifters, Grandstands After His Conviction
We begin with the conviction of Stephen Bannon on two counts of defying congressional subpoenas and discuss his grandstanding outside the courthouse as a fundraising ploy since Bannon is the mini-me of grifters in the shadow of the king of grifters, Donald Trump. Joining us is Adele Stan, an independent journalist and longtime chronicler of the right wing of U.S. politics. She is a winner of the Hillman Prize in opinion and analysis journalism and her work has appeared in Mother Jones, The Nation, The American Prospect and The New Republic, as well as on the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. We discuss her article at The New Republic, “Steve Bannon Will Be Convicted—and He’ll Probably Be Just Fine With That.”
American Fascism Was Never Exorcised, It Was Obscured Beneath Romantic Mythmaking
Then we examine the rise of the right and assess the size of the coalition of white supremacist Confederates, Christian nationalists, right-wing militias, alt-right neo-Nazis and America Firsters and how American fascism was never exorcised, but was merely obscured beneath romantic mythmaking. Joining us is Sarah Churchwell, a Professor of American literature and humanities at the School of Advanced Study of the University of London. She is the author of Behold America: The Entangled History of “America First” and The American Dream and her latest book, just out, is The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells.
How the Corrupt and Brutal Rajapaska Family Brought Sri Lanka to Its Knees
Then finally we investigate the crisis in Sri Lanka and the extent of the corruption, mismanagement and looting of the country by the ruling Rajapaska family and speak with Deepa Ollapally, Research Professor of International Affairs and Associate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University whose research focuses on the International Relations of South Asia. She also directs the Rising Powers Initiative, a major research program that tracks and analyzes foreign policy debates in aspiring powers of Asia and Eurasia. We discuss the humanitarian crisis brought on by the country’s default on $54 billion in debt and how India is stepping up to help while China is missing in action.