Truth, Politics and Power

In his address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump turned to a slogan he trumpeted during his campaign and his inaugural address. But this time, he spoke of “America First” almost exclusively in terms of trade policy. In the next edition of “Truth, Politics and Power,” host Neal Conan asks whether the slogan more accurately describes a nationalist revision of American foreign policy that threatens to make the world more chaotic and more dangerous. Plus we revisit interviews on the original America First movement, when the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh campaigned to keep the US on the sidelines of the Second World War and on the issue that underlies much debate on US foreign Policy since the 1890s - intervention. “America First” on the next Truth Politics and Power.

Turkey's escalation in it's war against US backed Kurdish fighters puts the United States on a collision course with a NATO ally and offers a window into the contradictions of U.S. Middle East policy in a post ISIS Syria. For Syria's Kurds, it means being caught in between President Erdogan's plan to eliminate a "mortal enemy", and President Trump's overarching goal in the region ... to confront Iran.

A year ago, as Donald Trump took office as the 45th President of the United States, many compared elements of his campaign to fascism. This week, we invite you to revisit the inaugural edition of “Truth, Politics and Power,” where host Neal Conan asked whether it was fair or accurate to use terms like fascist and Nazi, or to make direct comparisons to Adolph Hitler. A year later, the conversations with Hitler biographer Volker Ullrich and historian Robert Kagan resonate with the tumultuous events of President Trump’s first year in power.

As President Trump makes a crucial decision on the deal to contain Iran’s nuclear weapons program, two old enemies confront each other in eastern Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and in the waters of the Persian Gulf. In “Confronting Iran ” Truth, Politics and Power host Neal Conan considers the consequences of the current stand-off, and re-visits  conversations on two crucial periods  - how Iran emerged as the winner of the US lead invasion of Iraq, and the small naval war between Iran and the US in 1988.

The effort to suppress specific words at the Centers for Disease Control represents another round in the long conflict between politics and science. In a “Seven Dirty Words” Edition of Truth Politics and Power, host Neal Conan revisits the history of science and censorship, plus a strange story of the FCC and George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words…you know, the ones you can never say on TV…or radio.

Two law professors from Yale argue that a now-obscure treaty ,,,the Kellogg-Briand Pact…marked a major turning point in world history; prior to its ratification in 1928, war and territorial conquest were entirely legal. Their book, “The Internationalists” has been hailed as one of the books of the year by, among others, The Economist. In a re-run of one of our favorite episodes of Truth Politics and Power, they tell host Neal Conan how an agreement to outlaw war transformed the world conflagration that erupted only a few years later into a war between the Old World Order and the new, and enabled the Allies to try German and Japanese leaders for an unprecedented crime - waging aggressive war. Since then, wars between states and territorial conquest have declined dramatically. “When the world Outlawed War.”

Donald Trump’s promise to end what he called the war on coal played a critical role in his presidential campaign. On a “King Coal” edition of “Truth, Politics and Power,” host Neal Conan asks what Trump has done in his first year in office to redeem his promise to revive the industry. We’ll also go to Appalachia to listen to the men and women whose jobs and way of life are threatened by cheaper, cleaner energy alternatives and mechanization; and we’ll learn about the critical role coal played as America emerged as an industrial and military power. It all started with delivering the mail.

Presidents use the power of speech to persuade, console, encourage and inspire. On a “Bully Pulpit” Edition of Truth, Politics and Power, Host Neal Conan speaks with linguist John McWhorter about the distinctive cadences of President Barack Obama plus extended conversations with former presidential speechwriters Peter Robinson and Paul Glastris on the purpose and meaning of the rhetoric of the presidents they wrote for - Reagan and Clinton - and President Trump’s prolific use of twitter to send messages that are both often petty and untrue.

Plea Deal by TRUTH, POLITICS AND POWER

From Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo to the War on Terror, Presidents have gathered more and more authority to start and conduct wars on their own. In a “War Powers Edition” of Truth Politics and Power, Host Neal Conan asks how the commander in chief acquired that authority, why Congress has surrendered its constitutional role and whether there are any checks and balances on President Trump’s ability to launch a nuclear first strike on North Korea.

Next Time on Truth Politics and Power, Saudi Arabia and the United States…Donald Trump made his first visit as President to Saudi Arabia and embraced King Salman and his son. Now the Crown Prince, the 32 year old Mohammed Bin Salman arrested hundreds of prominent Saudis in what’s been described as a purge…he’s also responsible for Saudi Arabia’s aggressive proxy wars with Iran…and it’s unstated alliance with Israel.

The Presidents Club by TRUTH, POLITICS AND POWER

As the White House and Congressional Republicans press for sweeping tax reform, Truth Politics and Power Host Neal Conan explores the economic and political history of the federal tax system. From the tariffs and excise taxes that funded government in the 18th and 19th century to the 16th amendment and a permanent income tax to “Taxes to beat the Axis” in WWII which created the federal tax system as we know it. How both political parties became allergic to tax increases and the hidden tax benefits of the welfare state that subsidize the middle class. With Molly Michelmore, author of "Tax and Spend: The Welfare State, Tax Politics and the Limits of American Liberalism", and Joseph J. Thorndike, director of the Tax History Project at Tax Analysts and the author of "Their Fair Share: Taxing the Rich in the Age of FDR."

While details of the future obviously remain unknowable, we can predict that the next few decades will be profoundly affected by climate change, that unmanned weapons systems - drones - will come to play bigger and bigger roles in war and that changes in the populations of Japan and China will be a major factor in the destiny of East Asia and the Pacific Rim. In a “Forseeable Future” Edition of Truth Politics and Power, host Neal Conan holds in depth conversations with leading climatologist Michael Mann, Missy Cummings, an expert on the development of unmanned systems and Howard French, author of “Everything Under the Heavens.”

The Kellogg-Briand Pact returns! Two law professors from Yale argue that the now-obscure treaty marked a major turning point in world history; prior to its ratification in 1928, war and territorial conquest were entirely legal. In a “New World Order Edition” of Truth Politics and Power, they tell host Neal Conan how an agreement to outlaw war made the world conflagration that erupted only a few years later into a war between the Old World Order and the new, and enabled the Allies to try German and Japanese leaders for an unprecedented crime - waging aggressive war. Since then, war between states and territorial conquest have declined dramatically.