Loud & Clear

On today’s episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker looks ahead to the Republican debate happening tonight in North Charleston, South Carolina. With Donald Trump still leading in polls among Republican voters, Becker analyzes how profound Islamophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric has been in the campaign so far. Joining him for this discussion are Robert McCaw, Government Affairs Manager at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Karina Garcia, an activist with the ANSWER Coalition.In the second segment, we turn to Hyun Lee, fellow at the Korea Policy Institute, to assess the continuing implications of North Korea’s major announcement last week that they had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. Finally, Becker is joined by James Jordan, National Co-Coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice, to comment on the continuing negotiations between Colombia’s FARC rebels and the government. With a March 23 deadline for the implementation of a ceasefire looming, will there finally be an end to Latin America’s longest civil war?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker is joined by Danny Makki of the Syrian Youth Movement. A bomb blast, thought to be the work of ISIL, rocks a tourist area in Istanbul, Turkey and UN humanitarian trucks enter the besieged Syrian town of Madaya. We discuss why Turkey may now be targeted by ISIL, as well as what has been missing from the mainstream narrative in regards to the siege of the Syrian town of Madaya, and if there is a prospect for a peace in Syria.In the second segment, U.S. Army veteran Michael Prysner, a leader of anti-war soldiers, marines and veterans, examines the real reasons why the US has been at war in Iraq for decades. This marks the 25th anniversary of the Senate authorization of the first Iraq war during the administration of George H.W. Bush.Finally, Brian Becker is joined by public sector workers' union representative Jeff Bigelow who explains the potential impact of the Supreme Court's looming decision that could be a hammer blow against public sector workers' unions in the United States.

As President Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address, Brian Becker analyzes the legacy of his presidency together with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and author and activist Eugene Puryear.Will he be remembered for “Obamacare” or the drone killings? Normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations or regime change efforts all around the world?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker addresses the recent wave of night-time raids, arrests, and deportations from the United States of immigrants from Central America. He is joined by Juan Jose Gutierrez, the director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition to discuss why the Obama Administration has launched the latest crackdown after deporting a record number immigrants during his administration. In the second segment, we turn to Baltimore where today jury selection is expected to begin in the trial of the second of six officers prosecuted in the death of Freddie Gray last year. Becker is joined for this discussion by Eddie Conway, who served as the Minister of Defense for the Baltimore branch of the Black Panther Party and served a 43-year sentence for the alleged murder of a police officer, leading many to label him a political prisoner. Finally, we turn to the Patriot movement militia's occupation of a federal building in Oregon, and hear an indigenous people's perspective from Jacqueline Keeler, an Oregon-based activist. Keeler helps explain the history of land loss experienced by the indigenous people of the area and addresses who actually has a right to the land under dispute.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker discusses the "liberation" of Ramadi from ISIL and why the U.S. has been waging war in Iraq since 1991. He is joined by Raed Jarrar, Iraqi-American political analyst from the American Friends Service Committee and Ryan Endicott, a former U.S Marine who took part in the occupation of Ramadi as a Marine in 2005.In the final segment, Becker is joined by Leah Barrett, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV). Will President Obama’s Executive Actions to enforce stricter gun regulations make a dent in a country where more than 100,000 people are shot each year or were they part of a political theatre in this election year?

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, host Brian Becker tackles the issue of North Korea's announcement that the country just conducted their first test of a hydrogen bomb. Joining him for the full hour to discuss the ramifications of the announcement are Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists; Paul Liem, chairman of the Korea Peace Institute; and Daniel Jasper, advocacy coordinator for Asia at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The guests discuss core questions surrounding the test, why the DPRK exited from the NPT Treaty and resumed its nuclear weapons program, Obama's Asia pivot, what North Korea really wants and whether the US can shift its policy toward North Korea.

Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, joins host Brian Becker to discuss his views on President Obama's executive order on gun control. Pratt argues that not enough Americans are in possession of firearms.In the second segment of the show, activist, writer and former Wall Street professional Alexis Goldstein talks about the obstacles to far reaching reforms of Wall Street banks.Finally, Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) where the opposition political forces gained the upper hand in the Parliament.

Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Institute of Gulf Affairs, tells host Brian Becker that he warned State Department officials about the upcoming executions of critics of the Saudi monarchy that put Iran and Saudi Arabia on the brink of military conflict. Despite his warnings, no action was taken by the U.S.In the second segment of the show, the President of the Oath Keepers Steward Rhodes, explains why his movement wouldn't support armed protesters who took over federal government buildings in Oregon this past weekend.Finally, Eugene Puryear of the Black Lives Matter Movement, talks about the police killings of Tamir Rice, the death of Sandra Bland in police custody, and the next steps for the new civil rights movement in the United States.

After a nearly three decade stint at the CIA from 1963 to 1990, McGovern went on to become a fierce critic of the way intelligence was being used by the U.S. government, particularly the Bush administration in the run up to the war in Iraq in 2003. A wide range of topics are covered in the episode, including what's behind the tense relations between the United States and Russia.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by presumptive 2016 Green Party Presidential hopeful Jill Stein, an advocate for the overhaul of the two-party electoral system.Stein ran as the Green Party candidate in 2012, receiving more votes than any other woman in the history of the US Presidential race.We talk to Stein about the phenomenon of Bernie Sanders, the recent Paris climate conference, her take on Obamacare, and how fundamental change can come about in the United States.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by legendary British parliamentarian and London mayoral candidate George Galloway, a long-time thorn in the side of the political establishment. Kicked out of the Labour Party in 2003 for his opposition to Tony Blair's war drive in Iraq, Galloway has continued his anti-war activism inside and outside of Parliament.We ask him about leaks that show the George W. Bush and Blair had planned the Iraq invasion a year in advance, his activism against sanctions in Iraq, the Palestinian cause, and what a London under his leadership would look like.

On today's special episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker interviews National Security Agency whistleblower William Binney. Before the earth shaking revelations by figures such as Chelsey Manning and Edward Snowden, there were NSA agents turned critics such as Binney. We ask Binney what led to his decision to leave the NSA less than two months after 9/11, how he views recent changes to the bulk collection of citizens' data, if terror attacks could have been thwarted, and why the spying apparatus in the U.S continues to grow.

Bill Ayers first came to prominence for his role in the anti-Vietnam war movement in the late 1960s, and spent ten years living underground due to his organization's militant actions against the US government. Ayers became the focus of attention again in 2008 when it was alleged that he was a close associate of then-presidential hopeful Barack Obama.We ask Ayers about being back in the spotlight, about his time during the revolutionary 1960s and 70s, and his take on the potential for fundamental change in US society today.

On today's premiere episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff under Secretary of State Colin Powell during the first four years of the George W. Bush administration.Col. Wilkerson has been a fierce critic of the war in Iraq and the roles played by Bush administration figures such as Vice President Dick Cheney. We go inside the mind of this truth teller for his views on the state of the U.S. empire, the war in Syria and whether or not he feels Bush era officials will ever face criminal prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity.