Background Briefing: July 14, 2022
The Impact of the Video of Police Inaction While Children Were Being Slaughtered
We begin with the impact of the release of the video of police inaction while children were being slaughtered in Uvalde, Texas and investigate the coverups from state and local officials with Zach Despart, a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune. He investigates power — who wields it, how and to what ends — through the lens of Texas government. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey and we discuss his latest article at the Texas Tribune, “Leaked video shows Texas law enforcement’s long wait to confront Uvalde school shooter.”
The Oct. 31, 2020 Leaked Recording Of Bannon Making Predictions That Proved Eerily Accurate
Then we look into an October 31, 2020 tape recording of Stephen Bannon just before the election discussing strategy which was leaked to Mother Jones in which Bannon predicted Trump’s premature victory declaration, lawsuits and uncertainty that would force Congress to decide the election and that post-election unrest and chaos would be desirable in what he described as a “firestorm.” Joining us is Dan Friedman, a reporter in Mother Jones’ DC bureau covering foreign influence and national security for Mother Jones. We will play some of the tape and discuss Dan’s latest article at Mother Jones, “Leaked Audio: Before Election Day, Bannon Said Trump Planned to Falsely Claim Victory.”
The Crisis In Sri Lanka and the Default on Its $50 Billion Debt
Then finally we get an assessment of the crisis in Sri Lanka from Shanta Devarajan who was born in Sri Lanka and is working with what is left of the Sri Lankan government and its creditors to resolve the country’s default on more than $50 billion in debts owed to multilateral agencies, foreign governments and commercial lenders. A Professor of the Practice of Development at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, he was previously the Senior Director for Development Economics and a former Acting Chief Economist of the World Bank Group.