Podcasts by Background Briefing with Ian Masters

Background Briefing with Ian Masters

Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, expert guests, policymakers, and critics offering analysis and insight on national security, foreign and domestic policy, political, cultural, and social issues.
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 11, 2023 - George Beebe | Juan Cole | Frances Kissling from 2023-12-11T22:28:14

As Russia Emphasizes its Maximalist Demands and Zelensky Heads to the White House to Try to Salvage the Aid Deal, What Kind of Peace is Possible? | How University Presidents Fell Into Congresswoman...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 10, 2023 - Jane Cohen | Thomas Nichols | Michael Kazin from 2023-12-10T17:03:37

Recently Impeached Texas AG Issues a Life-Threatening Delay to an Abortion | The Emerging Campaign Issue of Dictatorship and What a Second Trump Term Could Look Like | Biden Vetoes a Ceasefire Stic...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 7, 2023 - Aaron Rupar | Haggai Matar | Phil Gunson from 2023-12-07T21:56:40

A Meaningless Debate in a Democratic Ritual That Avoided Discussing Our Endangered Democracy | How Anti-War Left Wing Activists in Israel Are Being Threatened and Silenced | Growing Tensions as Ven...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 6, 2023 - Samuel Moyn | William Arkin | Stephanie Muravchik from 2023-12-06T21:38:51

How the Laws of War, International Law and the Right of Self-Defense Apply to the War in Gaza | Aid to Ukraine is Now Stalled in the House and the Senate | As Liz Cheney Campaigns to Stop Trump, "W...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 5, 2023 - John Nichols | Rashid Khalidi | Susan Joy Hassol from 2023-12-05T22:16:50

The Target of a Lunatic Conspiracy Theory Who Trump Claims Encouraged Jan. 6 Violence on Behalf of the Deep State | Did Blinken Lean on Jordanian and Egyptian Leaders to Allow Palestinians to be Ex...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 4, 2023 - Chuck Collins | Robert Downen | Timothy Canova from 2023-12-04T23:37:09

SCOTUS Poised to Kill Any Wealth Tax Before It Even Exists | The Texas GOP Refuses to Ban Contacts With Anti Semites, Pro-Nazi Sympathizers or Holocaust Deniers in Resolution Supporting Israel | An...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 3, 2023 - Paul Pillar | Greg Grandin | Ganesh Sitaraman from 2023-12-03T17:28:47

An Assessment of the Chillingly Precise Intelligence Report on the Planned Hamas Attack That Was ignored | The Price We Paid For the Capture of US Foreign Policy by Kissinger's Realpolitik | How De...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
How Deregulation Made Airline Travel Miserable as Underinvestment is Making it Dangerous from 2023-12-03T17:28:45

How Deregulation Made Airline Travel Miserable as Underinvestment is Making it Dangerous by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
The Price We Paid For the Capture of US Foreign Policy by Kissinger's Realpolitik from 2023-12-03T17:28:44

The Price We Paid For the Capture of US Foreign Policy by Kissinger's Realpolitik by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
The Chillingly Precise Intelligence Report on the Planned Hamas Attack That Was Ignored from 2023-12-03T17:28:43

The Chillingly Precise Intelligence Report on the Planned Hamas Attack That Was Ignored by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 30, 2023 - Jeremi Suri | Stephanie Carvin | Dr. Daniel Markey from 2023-11-30T22:03:30

The Death of Henry Kissinger, a great Elder Statesman to Some and a War Criminal to Others | The Canadian Connection to the Foiled Assassination Plot on US Soil | Why Did Modi's Government Take Suc...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 29, 2023 - Bill McKibben | Shibley Telhami | Ciara Torres-Spelliscy from 2023-11-29T21:57:21

The Host of the COP 28 Climate Summit in Dubai Exposed as a Cynic Willing to Sacrifice the Planet for Money and Power | Hugging Netanyahu is Hurting Biden | Charles Koch's $5 Billion Political Slus...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Russia's Penetration of Ukraine's Leadership Circle For Assassination from 2023-11-28T22:42:08

Russia's Penetration of Ukraine's Leadership Circle For Assassination by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Tensions Inside Netanyahu's Cabinet and Between Him and the IDF Leadership from 2023-11-28T22:41:56

Tensions Inside Netanyahu's Cabinet and Between Him and the IDF Leadership by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Hunter Biden Calls the Bluff of the Barking Fool Congressman James Comer from 2023-11-28T22:41:46

Hunter Biden Calls the Bluff of the Barking Fool Congressman James Comer by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 28, 2023 - Guy Ziv | Jacob Heilbrunn | Anders Aslund from 2023-11-28T22:41:32

November 28, 2023 - Guy Ziv | Jacob Heilbrunn | Anders Aslund by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
The Possibility of a Ceasefire and the Probability of a Resumption of the War in Gaza from 2023-11-27T23:46:28

The Possibility of a Ceasefire and the Probability of a Resumption of the War in Gaza by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 27, 2023 - Brian Katulis | James Thurber | Cleo Paskal from 2023-11-27T23:34:15

November 27, 2023 - Brian Katulis | James Thurber | Cleo Paskal by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
China's Influence in the Indo-Pacific Grows from 2023-11-27T23:34:06

China's Influence in the Indo-Pacific Grows by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Many Members of Congress Quit in Frustration Over Polarization and Gridlock from 2023-11-27T23:33:57

Many Members of Congress Quit in Frustration Over Polarization and Gridlock by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Did the Dutch Just Elect a Fascist as Their Leader? from 2023-11-26T18:01:31

Did the Dutch Just Elect a Fascist as Their Leader? by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
An Update on Trump's Many Trials and Whether He Will be Sentenced Before the Election from 2023-11-26T18:01:11

An Update on Trump's Many Trials and Whether He Will be Sentenced Before the Election by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Did India Try to Assassinate a Sikh Activist on US Soil? from 2023-11-26T18:00:38

Did India Try to Assassinate a Sikh Activist on US Soil? by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 26 - Harry Litman | Rob Riemen | Christine Fair from 2023-11-26T18:00:17

November 26 - Harry Litman | Rob Riemen | Christine Fair by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 23, 2023 - Stefan Aune | Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis | Stephan Schwartz from 2023-11-23T18:51:32

Was the Generosity of Native Americans Towards the Pilgrims Repaid With Genocide? | As the Poor and Homeless Are Fed on This Day, What Will it Take to Feed All Americans Every Day? | An Exploration...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 22, 2023 - Raz Segal | Kristin Kobes Du Mez | Reverend Billy Talen from 2023-11-22T20:50:10

An Assessment of Whether the Term Genocide Applies to What is Happening in Gaza | Speaker Mike Johnson's Pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago as his Extremist Views Are Exposed | An Activist Who Preaches Again...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 21, 2023 - Robert Baer | Dean Baker | Toby Miller from 2023-11-21T22:37:57

A Brief Pause in Gaza But a Long War to Follow | On Thanksgiving Should We Be Thankful For an Improved Economy? | Lesson For the Democratic Party From Spain Where a Fragmented Left Was Rebuilt to N...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 20, 2023 - James Fallows | Leopoldo Rodriquez | Wendy Via from 2023-11-20T22:44:33

The Death of a First Lady Who Made a Difference | A Chainsaw-Wielding Madman Just Got Elected President of Argentina | Musk's Open Anti-Semitism is Being Spread to His 170 Million Followers backgro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 19, 2023 - Simon Shuster | Mark Chiusano | Darrin McMahon from 2023-11-19T18:31:45

The US Priority of Helping Israel Over Ukraine Which is Repelling the Russian Invader While Israel Turns a Tiny Strip of Land Into Rubble | Will the House Finally Show George Santos the Door? | Mos...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 16, 2023 - Thomas Mockaitis | Alexander Sammon | Michael Swaine from 2023-11-16T22:00:48

The Escalating Threat of Domestic Terrorism as a Result of the War in Gaza | The Likely Impact of AIPAC's $100 Million Targeting of the Squad in Next Year Primaries | An Appraisal of the Biden-Xi M...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 15, 2023 - Yaqiu Wang | Joanne Freeman | Dannagal Young from 2023-11-15T21:49:03

What the US Can Do To Reach Out To the Chinese People | The Breakdown of Decorum With Outbursts of Schoolyard Taunts and Threats of Violence From Congressmen and Senators | America's Appetite For M...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 14, 2023 - Dr. Trita Parsi | Craig Holman | Richard Briffault from 2023-11-14T21:45:55

Is Israel Trying to Drag the US Into a Wider War That Neither Biden or Iran Want? | The Surprising Pragmatism Coming From the New House Speaker | The Supreme Court's New Ethics Code as a PR Stunt R...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 13, 2023 - Matthew Dallek | Will Bunch | Bennett Ramberg from 2023-11-13T21:44:43

On Veterans Day Trump Channels Adolf Hitler | Why Does the Mainstream Media Treat Trump With the Equal and Opposite Convention of So-Called Balance? | Should the US Prepare For a Post-Putin Russian...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 12, 2023 - Lisa Graves | Orville Schell | James Van Nostrand from 2023-11-12T18:31:49

Senate Republicans Protect the Powerful From the Public | A Preview of the Biden/Xi Summit in San Francisco | Will the Saboteur Joe Manchin Deliver Biden a Fatal Blow? backgroundbriefing.org/donate...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 9, 2023 - Justin Higgins | David Cay Johnston | Daniel Byman from 2023-11-09T22:30:18

Republican Presidential Hopefuls Want War Against Iran, China, Mexico and Even Canada | Ivanka Trump's Memory Lapses About Her Job That She Was Proud Of | Is Netanyahu Emotionally Destroyed and a D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 8, 2023 - David Pepper | Amanda Marcotte | Wajahat Ali from 2023-11-08T23:00:30

Democratic Wins Look Good For 2024 In Spite of the Party Leader's Poll Numbers | How the Politics of Abortion Will Play Out in 2024 | Islamophobia in the House as the Only Palestinian American in C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 7, 2023 - Miles Taylor | Rick Hasen | Seth Masket from 2023-11-07T23:35:26

One of the "Adults in the Room" on Trump's Vengeful Plans For a Second Term | A Silver Lining in the Looming Specter of American Fascism Under the Dear Leader Donald Trump | An Examination of The N...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 6, 2023 - Dennis Aftergut | Rashid Khalidi from 2023-11-07T00:03:47

Trump on the Witness Stand in a Case He Has Already Lost | An Expert on Palestinian Issues Examines the Possibility of the End to the Agony in Gaza backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmaste...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 5, 2023 - Ghada&Ghaida Ageel | Thanassis Cambanis | Chenggang Xu from 2023-11-05T17:50:39

A Palestinian Mother and Daughter Who Just Lost 36 Members of Their Family in Gaza | An Analysis of the Speech by the Leader of Hezbollah Which Is Poised to Open a Second Front | US/China Relations...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 2, 2023 - Harold Meyerson | Andrew Nathan | David Schultz from 2023-11-02T21:59:23

Increasing Tensions Inside the American Left on Campuses and Among and Between Arab and Jewish Americans Over the Gaza War | As China Mourns Li Keqiang, Its Insecure and Unpopular Leader Xi Jinpin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 1, 2023 - Edward McCaffery | Gershom Gorenberg | Jennifer Taub from 2023-11-01T22:38:50

MAGA Mike Johnson's Top Priority to Cut Taxes on the Rich by Gutting the IRS's Ability to Collect Revenues From Wealthy Tax Cheats | A Report From Israel Inside the Homes Where Hamas Terrorists But...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 31, 2023 - M.J. Rosenberg | Anne Nelson from 2023-10-31T21:11:25

More Civilian Deaths in Gaza as Israel's Ground Campaign Intensifies | Both Trump and Mike Johnson Were Backed by the Council For National Policy Founded by Right-Wing Fundamentalists and Oil Baron...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 30, 2023 - Andrew Payne | Emerson Brooking | Steven Greenhouse from 2023-10-30T22:51:44

How the War in Gaza is Impacting U.S. Electoral Politics | With the New House Speaker a Champion of the Big Lie, How Do We Deal With the Challenges Ahead From Fake News and Deep Fakes? | After Big ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 29, 2023 - Lara Friedman | Jonathan Metzl | Frederick Clarkson from 2023-10-29T17:25:24

Winning the Military Campaign But Losing the Information War | After the 565th Mass Shooting This Year, a Look at Red and Yellow Flag Laws | The Ascension of Mike Johnson as a Christian Fundamental...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 26, 2023 - Clyde Wilcox | Abbas Milani | Franklin Foer from 2023-10-26T20:55:34

Trump's Christian Soldier MAGA Mike Johnson | Will Iran's Aging Supreme Leader Avoid a Wider War or Bring on the Apocalypse? | An Inside Look at the President and Joe Biden's First Two Years in Off...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 25, 2023 - Allan Lichtman | Nick Heras | Juan Cole from 2023-10-25T21:00:57

Trump Gets His Speaker With a Friendlier Face But a Hard Right Record | A Strategic Overview of the Middle East on the Brink of a Wider War | The Reemergence of the Palestinian Statehood Issue ba...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 24, 2023 - Lawrence Jacobs | Rebecca Gordon | Maziar Behrooz from 2023-10-24T22:39:32

Emmer Gets the Nomination, Trump Calls Him a RINO, Then He Drops Out of the Race For Speaker | Are the Insurrectionist House Republicans Fascist or Nihilists, or Both? | When Israel Invades Gaza T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 23, 2023 - E.J. Dionne | Jon Hoffman | David Adler from 2023-10-23T21:57:33

The Continuing Paralysis of the Legislative Branch | Instead of Doubling Down on Failed Policies, It's Time to Reconsider Our Position in the Middle East | Argentina's Potty-Mouth Populist is Down ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 22, 2023 - Victoria Nourse | Stephen Wertheim | David Daley from 2023-10-22T17:33:53

Putin, Hamas and Trump's House Republicans Demonstrate Their Contempt For Democracy | Biden's $105 Billion Aid Request Goes to a Leaderless House With No One Constitutionally Able to Act on It | Ho...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 19, 2023 - Amy Wilentz | Sa’ed Atshan | David Graham from 2023-10-19T21:44:13

The War on Children as Bombs Fall on Gaza Where Half the Population is Under 18 | The Search for Humanity and Compassion Amid the Killing | The Kraken is Released on Probation and Will Testify Agai...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 18, 2023 - William Arkin | Haggai Matar | Moira Donegan from 2023-10-18T22:00:22

An Assessment of the Latest Intelligence on the Strike on the Gaza Hospital Parking Lot | A Local Reaction From a Journalist and Activist to Biden's Short Visit to Israel | Jordan Fails Again After...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 17, 2023 - David Hearst | Ryan Cooper | Michael Hiltzik from 2023-10-17T22:36:21

With the Facts of Who and What Was Behind the Bombing of a Hospital in Gaza Not Yet Verified, We Look Into How it Has Backfired on Israel | Jim Jordan Falls 20 GOP Votes Short, So Trump Does Not Ye...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 16, 2023 - Julian Zelizer | Jan Kubik | Anita Isaacs from 2023-10-16T22:39:19

Paralysis at Home While Wars Rage Abroad With the House to Vote on Jim (Gym) Jordan For Speaker on Tuesday at Noon | Sunday's Election in Poland a Welcome Reversal of Democratic Backsliding | Will ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 15, 2023 - Steven Simon | Katherine Franke from 2023-10-15T17:38:24

Can Israel Destroy Hamas Then Hand Over Gaza to the UN and Arab States to Rebuild and Sustain it? | Rising Tensions on Campuses Between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian Students backgroundbriefing.or...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 12, 2023 - Michael Kimmage | Leila Hilal | Ben Freeman from 2023-10-12T22:18:16

The Role the Great Powers are Likely to Play in Israel's War Against Hamas | Gaza Civilians Caught Between Israel's Retaliation For Atrocities by Hamas, and an Illegitimate, Repressive, Religious F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 11, 2023 - Paul Pillar | Andy Kroll | Paul Light from 2023-10-11T23:16:19

Israel's Intelligence Failures and the Recriminations Soon to Come | The Religious Fanatic Who Stacked Our Judiciary Believes Catholics Are Under Threat From Barbarian Secularists | Chaos With No N...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 10, 2023 - Mitchell Plitnick | Nader Hashemi | Emma Steiner from 2023-10-10T21:48:54

Jared, MbS, Biden and Bibi Ignored the Palestinians as They Dreamed Up Their Plan for Peace and Prosperity in the Middle East | The Distinction Between Supporting Palestinian Rights and Supporting ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 10, 2023 - Asher Kaufman | Denver Riggleman | Richard Parker from 2023-10-09T21:19:04

The Intensifying War Between Israel and Hamas | The Election of a New House Speaker and Jim Jordan as a Leading Insurrectionist | Democrats Should Get Behind Joe Biden and It's the Democratic Party...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 8, 2023 - Dr. Guy Ziv | Daniel Byman | Emma Ashford from 2023-10-08T17:53:42

After Declaring War on Hamas, Could the Conflict Escalate Against Hezbollah in the North? | The Colossal Israeli Intelligence Failure on the 50th Anniversary of Another Intelligence Failure | The F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 5, 2023 - Sam Quinones | George Beebe | Shushan Karapetian from 2023-10-05T22:04:10

Top Biden Officials Meet With Mexico's President AMLO Who Denies Fentanyl is Made in Mexico and Blames the US For Refugees From Cuba and Venezuela | A Warning Against Cutting Off Aid to Ukraine and...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 4, 2023 - James Thurber | William Hartung | Michael Mann from 2023-10-04T22:20:15

The United States is Without a Functioning House of Representatives | "Will the Pentagon's Techno-Fantasies Pave the Way for War with China?" | Can Lessons From the Past Save Our Future on an Endan...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 3, 2023 - John Lawence | Thomas Kahn | Garry Pierre-Pierre | Sumit Ganguly from 2023-10-03T22:50:03

Far-Right House Freedom Caucus Rebels Led by the Brat Matt Gaetz Who Hates McCarthy, Topple the Speaker | Today's Fratricide in House With Democrats Joining the Insurrectionists in a 216 to 210 Vot...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 2, 2023 - Lloyd Green | Persis Yu | Christopher Peterson from 2023-10-02T23:15:49

Trump's Day in Court Lashing Out Against New York Fraud Charges | 43 Million With Student Debt of $1.65 Trillion Now Have to Make Loan Payments | Will the Supreme Court Give Predatory Payday Lender...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 1, 2023 - Scott Horton | Sasha Abramsky | Astra Taylor from 2023-10-01T17:52:03

Apart From Helping Putin, Why is Cutting Aid to Ukraine the Top Priority of Trump and a Handful of Republicans in Congress? | The Urgency to Replace Senator Feinstein as Governor Newsom Backtracks ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 28, 2023 - Kate Andrias | Mike Rothschild | Dr. Herb Lin from 2023-09-28T21:28:55

With the Deck Stacked Against American Workers, the Competition to Win Their Votes | The Rise of Antisemitism and the Role of Conspiracy Theories in Our Politics | With 60,000 Emails Hacked From th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 27, 2023 - David Cay Johnston | Robert Kuttner | Sidney Blumenthal from 2023-09-27T22:43:50

After Losing His Business License in New York, Trump Could Lose All His Businesses Built on Fraud | Voters Care More About the Economy Than Losing American Democracy | Will Trump's Call to Shut Dow...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 26, 2023 - Alexander Sammon | Barry Lynn | Eric Levitz from 2023-09-26T22:05:23

Biden Sides With Workers on the Picket Line | The FTC's Antitrust Suit Against Amazon Which 17 States Are Joining In | Why Is Trump So Afraid of General Milley and Cassidy Hutchison? backgroundbrie...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 25, 2023 - Anne Nelson | David Dayen | Doris Meissner from 2023-09-25T22:53:28

Trump’s Latest Full-on Fascist Rant to Shut Down Any Media That’s Critical of Him | The Role of the Supreme Court in Helping Sen. Menendez Dodge a Bullet the First Time | As Thousands Arrive at the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 24, 2023 - Nelson Lichtenstein | Perry Link | Diane Winston from 2023-09-23T23:35:45

Tuesday Will See the First American President to Join a Picket Line in the UAW Strike in Detroit | How Shaky is Xi Jinping's Hold on Power? | The Failure of Journalism in the Reagan Era and Now the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 21, 2023 - Mike Lofgren | Caroline Fredrickson | Christian Leuprecht from 2023-09-21T22:23:30

The House Freedom Caucus Nihilists Further Weaken McCarthy as They Head For a Shutdown | Judicial Activists Focused on Civil Liberties While Plutocrats Captured the Supreme Court to Deconstruct Gov...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 20, 2023 - Dr. Monique Ryan | Mathias Döpfner | Houri Berberian from 2023-09-20T22:04:28

A Member of a Delegation of Australian Politicians in Washington Urging the US Not to Extradite Julian Assange | How To Stop Doing Business With Dictators and Undo the Trade Trap We Built | An Upda...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 19, 2023 - Steven Levitsky&Daniell Ziblatt | Dawn Clancy from 2023-09-19T22:07:36

How the US Constitution's Protection Against a Tyranny of the Majority Has Enabled a Tyranny of the Minority | Presidents Biden and Zelensky at the UN today and the Reactions of World Leaders backg...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 18, 2023 - Zach Despart | Thomas Nichols | Mansour El-Kikhia from 2023-09-18T20:36:48

In Spite of Damning, Salacious Testimony, Texas Republicans Acquit AG Paxton | Mitt Romney, the Last Honest Republican in the Senate | The History of What Contributed to the Tragic Loss of Life in ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 17, 2023 - Steven Greenhouse | Roberto González | Ali Abdullatif Ahmida from 2023-09-17T17:34:15

The UAW and the Transition to EV: Avoiding the False Choice Between a Good Job and a Green Job | After Trillions Wasted by the Military Industrial Complex, Cheap Drones and Robotic Vehicles Operati...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 14, 2023 - David Shapiro | Sarah Chayes | Sylvia Allegretto from 2023-09-14T22:28:33

The False Equivalence of Hunter Biden on Trial While His Father is Running Against the Head of the Trump Crime Family | The Grey Area Between What is Illegal and What is Corrupt | The Looming Strik...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 13, 2023 - David Faris | Stephen Noerper | Karen Dolan from 2023-09-13T21:59:43

How Delusion and Distraction Now Dominate Our Politics | What is Kim Jong Un Getting For Helping Putin's "Great Victory in the Sacred Struggle" in Ukraine? | Child Poverty Has Doubled in a Year Fro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 12, 2023 - Frank Bowman | Ruth Conniff | Karina Montoya from 2023-09-12T22:29:08

McCarthy Caves Into House Radicals to Impeach Biden After 9 Months of Fruitless Investigation of Hapless Hunter Biden | Can the Democrats Shame Wisconsin's Republican Legislative Thugs? | The DOJ A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 11, 2023 - Philip Shenon | Ariel Dorfman | Zack Cooper from 2023-09-11T21:52:48

Why Can't Biden and the Pentagon Control Elon Musk From Helping His Pal Putin? | Ariel Dorfman on the 50th Anniversary of the Coup Against Allende | On the 22nd Anniversary of 9/11 the Senate Homel...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 10, 2023 - Christine Fair | Victor Shih | David Phillips from 2023-09-10T16:20:06

Modi, the Host of the G20, Employs Fascist Tactics to Make India a Hindu Only Nation | As China's Economy Stumbles With Youth Unemployment at 21.3%, Xi Doubles Down on Repression | The Looming Poss...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 7, 2023 - Simon Rosenberg | Steven Donziger | Alexander Motyl from 2023-09-07T20:44:02

An Alarming Poll by CNN Has 46% Against Biden With 44% Saying Any Democrat Would Be Better Than Trump As Biden and Trump's Favorability Stands at 35% | The Only American to be Jailed by a Corporati...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 6, 2023 - Jeremi Suri | Will Potter| Ronald Suny from 2023-09-06T21:59:40

The Impeachment Trial of the "Christian" Crook Ken Paxton Divides Texas Republicans | Over 60 Environmental Activists Charged Under the Same RICO Statutes Trump and His Allies Face For Trying to St...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 5, 2023 - Christopher Miller | Sue Mi Terry | Jacob Heilbrunn from 2023-09-05T21:09:42

Erdogan Fails to Revive the Black Sea Grain Deal as Ukraine Breaks Through Russian Defenses | Leaked Intelligence on Putin's Plans to Meet With Kim Jong-Un | The Rising GOP Star Ramaswamy is Anglin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 4, 2023 - Lane Windham | Sarah Anderson | Lee Harris from 2023-09-04T20:03:30

The Summer of Strikes Enters the Fall With Energized Labor Movements From Hollywood to Detroit | Wage Disparity Grows as CEOs Write Their Own Multi-Million Compensations, Buying Back Stock to Boost...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 3, 2023 - Samuel Moyn | Jonathan Taplin from 2023-09-03T17:41:33

What Happened to America's Liberals and Can They Reimagine a Vision For the Future? | The Greatest Threat to Our Politics, Economy and Culture From Big Tech's Billionaires Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg a...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 31, 2023 - David Neiwert | Kathryn Edin | Stephen Biddle from 2023-08-31T22:45:44

Proud Boys are Sentenced but Not Their Strategists Roger Stone and Alex Jones | America's Internal Colonies of Poverty | The High-Tech Hype of a Revolution in Weaponry in Ukraine as WWI Trench Warf...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 30, 2023 - Jacob Silverman | Jason Stanley | Ananya Kalahasti from 2023-08-30T20:07:44

The Political Rise of the Annoyingly Ambitious Ramaswamy Who Will Do or Say Anything to Get Ahead | How Trump and DeSantis Brought Racism Out Into the Open | How Big Pharma With the Help of the Cor...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 29, 2023 - Brenda Priestly-Jackson | Alex Lawson | Chris Whipple from 2023-08-29T21:52:18

As DeSantis Erases Black History, His Campaign Appeals to the Likes of the Young White Nazi Who Murdered 3 Blacks In Jacksonville | The First of Ten Drugs Medicare Will Bargain Down the Prices Of W...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 28, 2023 - Dan Grazier | Eugene Gholz | Frances Kissling from 2023-08-28T21:34:25

Today's Pentagon Announcement to Deploy Thousands of Drones and AI Robotic Warfare Platforms Against China Within Two Years | The Emerging Digital Military Industrial Complex as Silicon Valley Meet...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 27, 2023 - John Pike | William Arkin | Ekow Yankah from 2023-08-27T17:40:05

How NASA and the DoD Defer to Elon Musk Who Holds Ukraine's Fate in His Hands While Buying What Putin is Selling | How Much the U.S. is Helping and Hindering Ukraine's War Effort | While Trump Gets...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 24, 2023 - Geoffrey Kabaservice | Taras Kuzio | Jennifer McCoy from 2023-08-24T22:42:44

Republican Presidential Hopefuls Deny Global Warming and Would Support Trump For President Even If He Is In Jail | The Threat to American Democracy When One of the Two Parties Embraces Authoritaria...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 23, 2023 - Olga Luatman | Justin Higgins | Jeffrey Mankoff from 2023-08-23T21:15:50

Revenge is Putin's Dish Best Served Cold to His Former Chef | The Winner of Tonight's GOP Presidential Primary Debate in Not on the Stage | Moscow is Tightening Its Grip on Belarus, Georgia and Mol...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 22, 2023 - Jon Hoffman | Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich | Jodie Evans from 2023-08-22T22:56:30

Under the Leadership of Their Murderous Dictator, Saudi Border Guards Slaughter Ethiopian Refugees | The US Government Warns Americans to Leave Belarus "Immediately" | The Co-Founder of CODEPINK Ar...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 21, 2023 - Troy Andrade | Jo-Marie Burt | Sarang Shidore from 2023-08-21T22:40:41

Biden's Visit to Maui Where 850 Are Missing After the Worst Fire in American History | Guatemala Elects a Reformer in a Landslide | The BRICS Summit in South Africa With China's Xi But Absent Putin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 20, 2023 - Sung Yoon Lee | Anders Åslund | Stephen Pyne from 2023-08-20T16:37:47

The Camp David Summit to Bring Japan and South Korea Together as China, Russia and North Korea Strengthen Ties | The U.S. Does Not Want Ukraine to Win and Defeat Russian Aggression | We Are Enterin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 17, 2023 - Dr. Mike Flannigan | Amber Polk | Lawrence Douglas | Toni Aguilar Rosenthal from 2023-08-17T22:18:18

Canada on Fire | Rights-Based Environmentalism as a Legal, Political and Moral Movement | Trump's Only Path to Victory in 2024 | Anti-Democratic Rules Hold up Biden's Diplomatic, Judicial and Milit...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 16, 2023 - Michael Gerrard | Robert Hockett | Andra Gillespie from 2023-08-16T22:57:25

Trump's Racist Response to the Latest Indictments is to Call Black Judges, Prosecutors and Election Workers "RIGGERS" | A Win For Young Environmentalists in Red State Montana | Biden Celebrates the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 15, 2023 - Jon Sale | Richard Hasen | Barbara F. Walter from 2023-08-15T23:21:59

Fani Willis's 98-Page indictment With 19 Defendants Including Trump Who Faces 13 Charges | An Expert on Election Law on the Latest Indictments | The Real World Consequences of Trump's Incitement of...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 14, 2023 - Spencer Sunshine | Stephen Marche | Howie Klein from 2023-08-14T23:27:08

Threats of Civil War From a US Congressman While Judges and Prosecutors on Trump's Cases Get Death Threats | The Likelihood of Trump Inciting Violence in the 2024 Election as the Law Closes in on H...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 13, 2023 - Kristy Parker | Jennifer Taub | David Redlawsk from 2023-08-13T14:00:06

Trump Faces Jeopardy From Reconstruction Era Laws | Trump Warned Not to Turn January 6 Trial Into a Carnival | After 5 Decades in Public Office the So-Called Head of the "Biden Crime Family" Has No...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 10, 2023 - Richard Parker | Nader Hashemi | Amy Lind from 2023-08-10T23:54:49

August 10, 2023 - Richard Parker | Nader Hashemi | Amy Lind by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 9, 2023 - Carol Sanger | Orville Schell | Josh Kurlantzick from 2023-08-09T23:09:24

A Resounding Defeat of an Anti-Abortion Power Grab in Ohio | What Genuine Peace Efforts Can be Taken Following Revelations in the NY Times That An American Peace Group Appears to be Shilling for t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 8, 2023 - David Pepper | William Robinson | Tommy Miles from 2023-08-08T23:24:27

The Power Grab by Ohio Republicans Behind Today's Election | The 'Socialism of Fools' of the 'Anti-Imperialist Left' | The Situation in Niger and the Sahel Where Wagner Mercenaries are Making Inroa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 7, 2023 - Mathew Burrows | Shuja Nawaz | Andrei Markovits from 2023-08-07T23:26:39

Have Putin and Xi Handed a Strategic Opportunity to the West? |The Downfall and Jailing of Pakistan's Former PM Imran Khan | Sunday's Loss by the US Women's Soccer Team Celebrated by Right Wing Tro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 6, 2023 - Charles Kupchan | George Beebe | Amanda Marcotte from 2023-08-06T15:35:53

Ukraine Tries to Woo the BRICS Nations to Get About Their Peace Plan | Did Saudi Arabia Make a Mistake in Not Inviting Russia to the Peace Talks? | Trump Claims Victimhood But the Real Victims Are ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 3, 2023 - Frederick Baron | Timothy Karr | Dr. Olayinka Ajala from 2023-08-03T22:15:07

Trump's Arraignment Today and Why His Defense Won't Work | The Commanding Role Trump Plays Over the Press as the Top Fox News Executives Dine With Him on the Evening of His Indictment | What is Beh...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 2, 2023 - Victoria Nourse | Justin Levitt | Dennis Aftergut from 2023-08-02T22:18:47

Trump's Latest Indictment is not a First Amendment Issue About His Words. It's About His Deeds | Examining the Indictments With an Expert on Elections and Election Law | Jack Smith's 45 Page Indict...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 1, 2023 - Joseph Lowndes | Michael Brenes | David Broder from 2023-08-01T21:19:20

The GOP's Long Quest For an Imperial Presidency. Now They're About To Crown Trump King Donald the First | What Broke the American War Machine That Now Hobbles Ukraine | How Italy's PM Giorgia Melon...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 31, 2023 - Mary Ellen O'Connell | Sarah Leah Whitson | Sidney Blumenthal from 2023-07-31T22:38:55

The Ukrainian Peace Plan to be Discussed by 30 Nations in Saudi Arabia on August 5 | Questions Following Jake Sullivan's Saudi Trip to Bolster the Abraham Accords | The Republican Napoleon is Getti...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 30, 2023 - Karen Greenberg | Michael Kimmage | Lisa Graves from 2023-07-30T17:46:08

More Indictments of Trump That Pro-Trump Jurors in Florida Could Agree Are Crimes | Do the US and NATO Really Want Ukraine's Counteroffensive to Succeed? | A Defiant Alito Tells the Congress He is ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 27, 2023 - Kim Lane Scheppele | Harold Meyerson | Jill Quadagno from 2023-07-27T23:08:09

Netanyahu's Path of Autocratic Legalism Following Orban, Erdogan, Bolsonaro, Modi and Putin | The Attempt Underway to Give Republicans and Independents Who Can't Vote For Trump an Alternative to Vo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 26, 2023 - Adam Klasfeld | Dr. Allen Frances | Quinn Slobodian from 2023-07-26T22:14:49

A Roundup of Legal Issues Facing Hunter Biden, Guiliani, Flynn, Navarro and Trump | Biden's Mental Health Initiative as Addiction and Mental Illness Remain Untreated Across the Country | The Techno...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 25, 2023 - Guy Ziv | Monica Medina | John Nichols from 2023-07-25T22:50:31

Deepening Divisions in Israel With the Country's National Security Threatened by Netanyahu's Power Grab | Scientists Predict a Tipping Point Where the Atlantic Gulf Stream Current Could Collapse as...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 24, 2023 - Avraham Burg | Michael Mann | Elizabeth Beavers from 2023-07-24T22:18:02

Massive Demonstrations in Israel Against Netanyahu's Power Grab to Avoid Jail | The Global Heatwave and It's Not Game Over on Climate Change But Game On | Does The US Government and the Pentagon Wa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 23, 2023 - Miles Taylor | Danielle Allen from 2023-07-23T17:14:36

How to Save American Democracy From the Trump 2.0 Revenge Machine | A Plan to Solve the Electoral College and Gerrymandering Problems Undermining American Democracy backgroundbriefing.org/donatet...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 20, 2023 - Lincoln Mitchell | Joe Glauber | Jonathan Zasloff from 2023-07-20T23:07:45

Today's Republican Lovefest With RFK Jr. Which Had Democrats Attacking the Anti-Vaxxer and Anti Semite With the Storied Democratic Name | As Russia Attacks Grain Terminals, Mines the Black Sea and ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 19, 2023 - Allan Lichtman | Fred Wertheimer from 2023-07-19T23:22:16

Trump Facing a Third Indictment From Jack Smith in DC for the January 6 Insurrection | Pro-Trump Fake Electors Charged in Michigan With Cases Pending in Arizona and Georgia backgroundbriefing.org/d...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 18, 2023 - Naomi Oreskes | Peter Strauss | Aziz Huq from 2023-07-18T21:32

As the Planet Bakes, Oil Companies Enjoy Record Profits From a Product that is Killing the Planet | The Heritage Foundation Plan to "Deconstruct the Administrative State" and Install Trump as Dicta...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 17, 2023 - Dennis Aftergut | Chris Barrett | Rachel Schmalz from 2023-07-17T22:19:32

No Labels, Flush With Republican Billionaire Dark Money, Woos Joe Manchin to Split the Biden Vote to Elect Trump | Russia's Suspension of the UN-Brokered Black Sea Deal to Export Grains and Fertili...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 16, 2023 - Wendy Via | Lawrence Korb | Lane Windham from 2023-07-16T17:20:23

What is Behind the Hatred Spewing Forth From House MAGA Republicans? | The Hate-Filled Amendments to the NDAA Which McCarthy Hailed as Stopping "Wokeness" in the Military | The Impact on the Broade...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 13, 2023 - Michele Bratcher Goodwin | Jo-Marie Burt | Mike Lofgren from 2023-07-13T23:14:45

Birth Control Pills Will Soon be Available Over the Counter Without a Prescription | A Brazen Coup Attempt in Guatemala Which Has the Leading Presidential Candidate Suspending Her Campaign | What H...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 12, 2023 - Ryan Busse | James Goldgeier | Henri Barkey from 2023-07-12T22:15:53

The Growing Threat to Public Safety From Ghost Guns | An Assessment of the Just-Concluded NATO Summit | Erdogan Did Not Steal the Limelight at the Summit or End up With Much backgroundbriefing.org/...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 11, 2023 - Jeffrey Goodell | Ahmet Yayla | Olivia Buckley from 2023-07-11T22:34:34

Record Heat in the South and Southwest as Climate Change Scorches the Planet | Considered the Most Corrupt Leader in the World, Erdogan's Successful Blackmail | The Crypto Industry Throws Money at ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 10, 2023 - Stephen Wertheim | Oxana Shevel | James Browning from 2023-07-10T22:40:30

Should Ukraine Model Its Security Future on Israel, Not NATO? | What Does Zelensky Want From the NATO Summit? | The Researcher Who Exposed How Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Also Represent the Victims of th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 9, 2023 - Amb. Steven Pifer | Ryan Cooper | Jared Holt from 2023-07-09T17:51:12

As Russia's Nuclear Threats Recede, Some NATO States Call For Ukraine to be Admitted | Is America Now Divided Between "Team Crazy" and "Team Normal"? | When Will Those Who Incite Violence Be Held t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 6, 2023 - Brian Concannon | Jonathan Taplin | Blake Zeff from 2023-07-06T22:29:22

The US Secretary of State and the UN Secretary General to Send an International Police Force to Haiti to Prop Up a Corrupt Government in League With the Gangs and Repugnant Elite | The Battle of th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 5, 2023 - Mariana Budjeryn | Edwin Lyman | Anders Åslund from 2023-07-05T22:25:05

Alarming Reports That the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant Could be Blown Up | Can the IAEA Save Zaporizhzhya While Giving the Go Ahead to Dump Fukushima's Radioactive Water Into the Pacific | Bide...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 4, 2023 - Aram Shabanian | Robert Crews from 2023-07-04T19:16:20

The Strategy Behind the Ukrainian Counteroffensive Many Pundits See as Being Bogged Down | Our Cavalier Disregard of Nuclear Threats From Putin Who Said "We Have No Need For a World Without Russia"...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 3, 2023 - Garrett Epps | Khaled Elgindy | Alexander Motyl from 2023-07-03T23:11:53

American Democracy Under Threat as Unelected Justices Veto Policies They Don't Like Aided By Phony Front Groups | The Israeli Military Targets Angry Young Palestinians Alienated From Their Own Aged...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 2, 2023 - René Christian Moya | Dr. Steven Hassan | Olga Lautman from 2023-07-02T17:30:10

Why Not Cancel Student Debts Now Using The Higher Education Act of 1965? | How to Deprogram the Followers Inside the Cult of Trump | An Update on the Mutiny in Russia and Ukraine's Counteroffensive...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 29, 2023 - Katherine Franke | Kevin Kumashiro | Wesley Lowery from 2023-06-29T22:15:18

Another Right Wing Front Group Gets SCOTUS to Rule With a Predetermined Outcome, This Time Against Affirmative Action | How Asian Students Were Used to Perpetuate the Myth of Colorblindness | The P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 28, 2023 - Nick Schwellenbach | John Bonifaz | Juan Cole from 2023-06-28T21:09:55

The SBA Finds That Over $200 Billion Was Stolen From Covid Relief Funds With Billions More Unaccounted For | The Terrible Electoral Systems We Are Left With After the Supreme Court Voted Down an Ou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 27, 2023 - Thomas Mockaitis | David Marples | Dr. Tatisana Kulakevich from 2023-06-27T22:29:03

A Scathing Senate Report "Planned in Plain Sight" Compiles the Failures of the FBI, DHS and Capitol Police to Act on January 6 Warnings | Prigozhin's Fate Now That He is in Belarus Without His Merc...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 26, 2023 - Andrew Weiss | Ben Terris from 2023-06-26T21:11:45

Putin's Angry Address Tries to Drive a Wedge Between Prigozhin and the Rank and File of His Wagner Mercenary Army | How Trump Changed the Culture of Washington With the Influx of Grifters, Con Men,...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 25, 2023 - George Beebe | Robert Young Pelton | Scott Horton from 2023-06-25T17:39:06

Putin's Brush With Civil War in Nuclear-Armed Russia | A Profile of the Russian Warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin | What we Might Learn About Trump's Ties to Putin and Collusion with MBS from the Upcoming ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 22, 2023 - Dr. Sumit Ganguly | Leah Litman | Dr. Margot Kushel from 2023-06-22T23:20:40

India's Controversial Leader Modi Gets the Royal Treatment at the White House But is an Alliance with the US in the Cards? | A Supreme Court Captured by Plutocrats Has Thomas and Alito Serving Thei...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 21, 2023 - David Cay Johnston | William Arkin | Jacob Silverman from 2023-06-21T22:41:16

GOP Show Trials Sputter As 5 Years Later We Have Durham's Nothingburger and Hunter Biden's Misdemeanor Plea Deal | Why Tech Billionaires and Bannon Are Promoting RFK Jr's Primary Challenge of the B...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 20, 2023 - Corey Brettschneider | Lawrence Gostin | Alfred McCoy from 2023-06-20T22:23:12

Why Were the DOJ's Investigations Into January 6 and the Theft of Documents Delayed For 15 Months? | What is Behind Tech Billionaires Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and David Sacks' Promotion of RFK Jr's S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 19, 2023 - Tanner Mirrlees | Andrew Nathan | David Schultz from 2023-06-19T22:10:51

Can the GOP Convince American Voters That Biden's Government Has Been Captured by Marxists and Communists? | Blinken and Xi Jinping Agree on the Need to Stabilize US-China Relations | The Scathing ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 18, 2023 - Thom Hartmann | Margaret MacMillan from 2023-06-18T17:06:41

Why Did Trump Steal Classified Documents? Maybe Because Putin Told Him To | Analogies Between World War I and the War in Ukraine backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.co...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 15, 2023 - Thomas Edsall | Jackson Lears from 2023-06-15T22:55:23

Are We at the Point of No Return With American Democracy at the Crossroads? | A Cultural Historian on "Animal Spirits" and How the Universe is Alive backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmast...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 14, 2023 - Lyle Goldstein | Laura Rodriguez | Alexander Stille from 2023-06-14T22:19:25

Blinken Sets Out to Try to Repair Dangerously Frayed Relations Between the World's Leading Military Powers | With Florida Trump Country, Can the Democrats Reverse GOP Gains? | Comparisons Between B...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 13, 2023 - Harry Litman | Lisa Graves | Azamat Junisbai from 2023-06-13T22:55:02

Arrested and Arraigned Today, Trump is So Lucky to Have Judge Aileen Cannon Preside over His Prosecution | Could Judge Cannon Influence the Jury Pool to Ensure a Hung Jury? | How Did a Ruthless Col...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 12, 2023 - Dr. Allen Frances | Sean Wilentz | Matt Stoller from 2023-06-12T22:46:35

An Overwhelming Majority of Republicans Think Trump Should Serve as President if Convicted and That the Indictments Are Politically Motivated | At War With the Rule of Law, Trump is Calling For a R...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 11, 2023 - Michael Greenberger | Frederick Baron | Bruce Green from 2023-06-11T17:18:02

Overwhelming Evidence of Trump's Endangerment of US National Security | Republican Efforts to Portray the Prosecution as Biden Taking Out His Main Rival For the Presidency | Trump's Uncanny Luck at...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 8, 2023 - Michael Waldman | Kate Mackintosh | Charles Kupchan from 2023-06-08T19:41:46

A Surprise Ruling From the Supreme Court Whose Supermajority is Increasingly Out Of Touch With Mainstream America | Is the Breaching of the Dam in Ukraine an Act of Ecocide? | The Impact on Europea...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 7, 2023 - Michael Weiss | Sarah Leah Whitson | Stephen Vladeck from 2023-06-07T22:53:26

Evidence That it Was Ukraine, Not Russia Behind the Sabotage of the Nord Stream Gas Pipelines | Is the Merger Between the PGA and LIV Golf Tournaments a Way For the Saudis to Pay Off Donald Trump? ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 6, 2023 - Dr. Sasha Dovzhyk | Simon Shuster | Emily Channell-Justice from 2023-06-06T21:10:27

Flooding From a Breached Dam Delays Any Ukrainian Military Attack From the South Into Crimea | A Reporter's Earlier Conversations With Zelensky About Russia Blowing up the Dam | The Impact on Ukrai...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 5, 2023 - Peter Dreier | Tom LoBianco | Jan Kubik from 2023-06-05T22:22:21

The False Equivalence of the Far-Right House Freedom Caucus and the Democrat's Progressive Caucus | Mike Pence and the Growing Republican Ranks of Hopefuls Challenging Trump | Sunday's Massive Demo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 4, 2023 - James Galbraith | Lauren Kahn | Antony Loewenstein from 2023-06-04T17:24:31

A Phony Crisis Averted Now a Celebration of Compromise and Bipartisanship | The Next War of Drones and AI Now in Ukraine | Exporting the Technology of Repression and Australia's Trial of the Centur...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 1, 2023 - Dennis Aftergut | Richard Parker | Ben Freeman from 2023-06-01T22:35:49

Trump Eviscerates His Own Defense as Jack Smith Closes in on Indicting Him | The Disconnect Between Biden's Low Poll Numbers and His Many Achievements | How Defense Contractors Influence the Ukrain...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 31, 2023 - Chris McGreal | Daniel Serwer | Jake Grumbach from 2023-05-31T22:26:11

The Sacklers Get to Keep Most of Their Money After a Million Americans Have Died From Their Drug OxyContin | Serbia's Authoritarian Leader and Russian Provocateurs Are Behind What Lavrov Says is a ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 30, 2023 - Jeff Hauser | Paul Pillar | Aaron Stein from 2023-05-30T22:07:53

The Hazardous Passage of the Debt Ceiling Deal Through Congress | Will Putin Get the Traitor-in-Chief Back in the Oval Office? | Is Erdogan's Victory Also a Victory For Putin? backgroundbriefing.or...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 29, 2023 - Lucian Truscott IV | Julia Gledhill | Scott Shapiro from 2023-05-29T21:01:31

Remembering an American General Who Would Not Speak of the Glorious Dead on Memorial Day | How Defense Contractors Are Gouging the Taxpayer While Rewarding Shareholders at the Expense of R&D | Is C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 28, 2023 - Jeremi Suri | Steven Harper | Branislav Slantchev from 2023-05-28T17:44:20

The Impeachment of a MAGA Crook by a Far-Right Republican-Dominated House of the Texas Legislature | Ron DeSantis's Alarming Promise to Do To the Nation What He Has Done To Florida | The Ukrainian ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 25, 2023 - David Roth | Steven Greenhouse | Shibley Telhami from 2023-05-25T22:52:06

The Meltdown of DeSantis's Big Announcement on Elon Musk's Troubled $44 Billion Platform | A Chief Justice Out of Touch With Reality and a Call For Justice Thomas to Resign | Time to Deal With the ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 24, 2023 - E.J. Dionne | Ari Berman | Nina Burleigh from 2023-05-24T20:30:44

The Continuing Standoff Over the Debt Ceiling as the Congressional Clock Runs Out | As a Red State Turns Blue, New Bills in Texas Target Democratic Voters in Houston | The Shadowy Fixer For the Rev...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 23, 2023 - Michael Binder | Whitney Tucker | Kent Harrington from 2023-05-23T22:59:51

Ron DeSantis Will Announce His Bid For the Presidency in Conversation With Elon Musk on Twitter | Debt Ceiling Negotiations Will Determine How Much Punishment Will Be Inflicted on the Poor to Rewar...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 22, 2023 - Alec Bertina | Joshua Shifrinson | Quinn Slobodian from 2023-05-22T23:01:43

Ukrainian Sabotage Operations Inside Russia as Part of the Upcoming Counteroffensive | Europe Can Provide More Military and Economic Assistance to Ukraine | Free Trade Zones as Capitalist Nirvanas ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 21, 2023 - Ellis Krauss | Jon Hoffman | Aram Shabanian from 2023-05-21T16:59:57

Zelensky's Surprise Visit to the G7 in Hiroshima, Japan | MBS Welcomes Assad Back Into the Arab League While Also Welcoming President Zelensky | Russia Warns of Escalation as Biden Allows Ukrainian...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 18, 2023 - Mark Fitzpatrick | Dean Baker | David Dayen from 2023-05-18T23:03:56

The G7 Summit Underway in Hiroshima, Japan and the Haunting Spectre of Nuclear Weapons | Can the House Radicals Compromise on a Deal Many Democrats Say Biden Should Not Be Negotiating? | The Politi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 17, 2023 - Cleo Paskal | Lloyd Green | Jessica Melugin from 2023-05-17T23:09:18

How Domestic Turmoil Caused by GOP Radicals Makes the U.S. an Unreliable Partner on the World Stage | What Does Trump Owe Rudy Giuliani and Will he Throw Him Under the Bus? | Regulation of Promisin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 16, 2023 - Thomas Kahn | Scott Horton | Aslı Bâli from 2023-05-16T21:50:15

A Lawsuit With Recorded Evidence Against Giuliani By A Woman Scorned Could Be Devastating For Trump | Democrats Cave on a Clean Debt Ceiling Bill | The Disappointing Results of Sunday's Elections i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 15, 2023 - Stephanie Kelton | Nicholas Danforth | Fred Turner from 2023-05-15T22:25:44

As the Standoff Over the Debt Ceiling Gets Closer to Default, Can Biden Call the House Republicans Bluff? | Running an Anti-American Campaign, Erdogan is Likely to be Reelected, Making Him Less Con...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 14, 2023 - Miles Taylor | Orville Schell | James Risen from 2023-05-14T17:47:59

The First White House Insider to Expose Trump on How Trump Will be Even More Dangerous Next Time | After Top Officials Met For 8 Hours, Could China and the U.S. Work Together to End the War in Ukra...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Could China and the U.S. Work Together to End the War in Ukraine? from 2023-05-14T17:47:54

Could China and the U.S. Work Together to End the War in Ukraine? by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 11, 2023 - Dr. Bandy Lee | Michelle Garcia | Christine Fair from 2023-05-11T22:16:35

Trump's Unstable Unfitness For Office on Display as the Much of the U.S Falls into the Grip of Madness | A Flood of Desperate and Destitute Migrants Face More Military and Police Response Than Huma...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 10, 2023 - Will Brederman | Michael Gorham | Elmira Bayrasli from 2023-05-10T22:24:21

Today's Indictment of Congressman George Santos on 13 Counts and Calls For Him To Resign, But Not From Speaker McCarthy | Prigozhin Throws Shade on Putin's Victory Day Parade Telling Him Not to F**...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 9, 2023 - Anthea Butler | Robert Hockett | Hamilton Nolan from 2023-05-09T23:12:29

A Former President Has Been Found Guilty of Sexual Assault But Does the Party of Donald Trump and George Santos Care? | After Today's Pointless Meeting, Biden Should Now Call McCarthy's Bluff on th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 8, 2023 - Victoria Sanford | Garrett Epps | Sam Biddle from 2023-05-08T22:35:59

Thursday's Expected Influx of Immigrants at the Southern Border and the Failure to Deal With the Root Causes | As Republicans Try to Extort Budget Cuts, the Counter Leverage of the 14th Amendment i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 7, 2023 - Jacob Heilbrunn | Eric Segall | Brendan Ballou from 2023-05-07T17:25:07

A Reporter Who Was Banned From Entering the "Woke Free Zone" at CPAC's Conference in Orban's Hungary | The Growing Evidence of Ethical Violations by Justice Clarence Thomas and His Right Wing Activ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 4, 2023 - Andy Campbell | Lucas Webber | Dov Zakheim from 2023-05-04T21:40:11

Trump's StormTroopers the Proud Boys Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy | The Possibility the Drone Attack on the Kremlin Was Carried Out By Anti-Putin Russian Partisans | Why Does the Biden Admi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 3, 2023 - Vera Mironova | James Thurber | Henry Giroux from 2023-05-03T22:49:52

Was the Drone Attack on the Kremlin Staged or a Ukrainian Attempt to Rattle Putin's Cage? | In the Face of House Republicans Extortion, is the Democratic Work-Around of a Discharge Petition Feasibl...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 2, 2023 - Norm Ornstein | Graham Smith | Michael Hiltzik from 2023-05-02T22:25:07

How the Press Has Framed the Looming Act of Insanity by House Republicans as Dueling Budget Proposals | Royal Fever Ahead of King Charles's Coronation and a Plan to Abolish the Monarchy | Republica...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 1, 2023 - Moira Donegan | Sirang Shidore | Simon Rosenberg from 2023-05-01T22:07:31

Growing Concern at the Supreme Court's Impunity From Ethical Norms as Its Credibility With the Public Plunges | Biden Pledges "Ironclad" Military Ties With The Philippines As China Warns of "Stokin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 30, 2023 - Alden Young | Branislav Slantchev from 2023-04-30T16:44:34

Sudan is Descending Into a Destructive and Bloody Civil War Along the Lines of Syria and Libya | An Extensive Look Into Military Preparations For a Ukrainian Spring Offensive Aimed at a Decisive Vi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 27, 2023 - Jeff Madrick | Sung Yoon Lee | Michael Kimmage from 2023-04-27T23:14:32

A Republican Budget That Punishes the Poorest Americans, Children, to Deal With A Debt They Caused by Cutting Taxes For the Rich | The U.S. Nuclear Guarantees To South Korea to Stop Their Self Nucl...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 26, 2023 - Charles Kupchan | Deborah Tuerkheimer | David Smilde from 2023-04-26T22:21:27

China's Peace Offer to Ukraine and Does the US Want to Avoid Ukraine Humiliating Putin With Its Upcoming Offensive? | Today's Testimony by E. Jean Carroll Describing How Donald Trump Raped Her in a...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 25, 2023 - Jonathan Alter | Christopher Whipple | Ryan Cooper from 2023-04-25T22:34:32

Biden Announces He is Running For a Second Term at the End of Which He Will be 86 | Biden's Relationship With Kamala Harris Who Might Succeed Him | DeSantis's Surgeon General Doctors Data to Suppor...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 24, 2023 - Ben Smith | Adele Stan | Dr. Michael McDonald from 2023-04-24T22:54

Murdoch's Abrupt Firing of Tucker Carlson and How Progressives Assumed They'd Dominate Social Media Only to be Outflanked by Right Wing Populism | The Sudden Silencing of the Loudest and Most Comma...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 23, 2023 - James Zirin | Ryan Busse | Lako Tongun from 2023-04-23T17:47:49

Tensions Within the Supreme Court As Its Popularity and Credibility Suffers While Justice Thomas Flouts Ethics | More Guns and No Restrictions For the Few Or Safety in Schools, Churches, Malls and ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 20, 2023 - John Donohue | Craig Holman | Mike Lofgren from 2023-04-20T22:21:02

What Will it Take For the Supreme Court to Deal With Reality and Politicians to Ignore the NRA? | Growing Pressure From the Clarence Thomas Scandal on the Supreme Court to Adopt a Code of Ethics | ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 19, 2023 - Caroline Light | Harold Meyerson | Carol Sanger from 2023-04-19T22:18:57

How Innocent Mistakes Can Get You Killed in the NRA's America | A $787 Million Loss For Fox is a Win In Not Having Tucker Carlson Squirm on the Witness Stand Confronted by His True Statements About...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 18, 2023 - Karen Dolan | Joseph Bodnar | Steven Simon from 2023-04-18T22:34:31

The House Republican Caucus Fails to Agree on a Budget to Punish the Poor and Reward the Rich Using the Debt Ceiling as Leverage | "Donbass Devushka", The Navy Vet Behind the Pro-Putin Site that Do...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 17, 2023 - Angelo Carusone | Dave Kamper | Steve Howard from 2023-04-17T23:01:12

How Americans Alarmed by the Murdoch Propaganda Machine and Appalled by Trump, Subsidize Fox News | Speaker McCarthy Declares War on the Poor Before the New York Stock Exchange | The Callous Barbar...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 16, 2023 - Robert Young Pelton | Karen Greenberg | Kerry Howley from 2023-04-16T16:47:47

Prigozhin's Call to End the War is Actually a Call to Rise Up From a Temporary Defeat as a "War Monster" | Our Zombie National Security State Transitions From "Forever War" to Eternal War | As the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 13, 2023 - William Arkin | Dr. Heidi Beirich | Alexander Sammon from 2023-04-13T22:37:05

The Arrest of the Leaker and the Inordinate and Unnecessary Amount of Widely Circulated Classified Material | The Dangers Racist, White Supremacist, Anti Semitic and Anti Government Views Pose to t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 12, 2023 - Rachel Rebouch | Jacob Heilbrunn | Luke Tonachel from 2023-04-12T22:46:58

How the FDA Overregulates Mifepristone and Why it Should Decline to Enforce a Ban | The Intellectual Leader of GOP Insurgents Who Want to Abandon Ukraine to Confront China | The New EPA Rules to En...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 11, 2023 - Scott Horton | Alexander Motyl | Rory Carroll from 2023-04-11T22:45:04

The Manhattan DA Sues Congressman Jim Jordan and the Pentagon Leaks That Have the IC in a State of Alarm | Rumors of Divisions, Russian Moles and Corruption at the Highest Level Inside Ukraine's Le...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 10, 2023 - Olga Lautman | Lawrence Korb | Lisa Tucker from 2023-04-10T22:41:38

Damaging Leaks From Inside the Pentagon Embarrass Allies and Demoralize Ukrainian Officials | Along With the House, Senate and Fox News, is There a Pro-Putin Network Inside the Pentagon? | What Wil...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 9, 2023 - Caroline Fredrickson | Anne Nelson | Jeff Sharlet from 2023-04-09T17:21:42

A Far-Right Anti-Abortion Zealot Bans a Drug the FDA Approved 23 Years Ago Which is Safer ThanViagra or Tylenol | The Shadow Network Behind the Capture of Our Judiciary | The Author of The Undertow...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 6, 2023 - John Nichols | Scott Kennedy | Michael Swaine from 2023-04-06T23:17:18

Tennessee's Republican Majority Railroad Three Democratic State Legislators in a Display of Anti-democratic Thuggery | The Dangerous Lack of Dialogue Between the World's Biggest Military and Econom...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 5, 2023 - Corey Brettschneider | Victor Pickard | Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling from 2023-04-05T23:25:10

As Trump Faces Further Legal Jeopardy, Is the Manhattan DA's Case Against Him Weak or Strong? | After Trump's Prime Time Tirade of Bitter Fury and Paranoid Delusion, Will the Mainstream Media Conti...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 4, 2023 - Sidney Blumenthal | Dr. Allen Frances | Lisa Graves from 2023-04-04T22:41:53

With Today's Indictment Securing Trump's Domination of the GOP, is the Monster Right Wing Plutocrats Created Now Out of Their Control? | With So Many Americans Seeing Trump as a Hero and Martyr, Wh...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 3, 2023 - Lawrence Douglas | Jonathan Zasloff | Derek Schearer from 2023-04-03T22:59:19

The GOP Embraces Lawlessness Placing Trump Above the Law While Denigrating the Rule of Law | The Republican Strategy of Weaponizing the Judiciary by Forum-Shopping in an End-run Around the Executiv...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 2, 2023 - Harry Litman | Allan Lichtman | Daniel Runde from 2023-04-02T17:36:08

What Changed the Manhattan DA's Mind to Charge Trump on 34 Counts? | Trump Will Delay and Defame Into the Summer of 2024, Rallying the GOP to His Side While Locking Out His Primary Challengers | Ho...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 30, 2023 - David Satter | Will Bunch | Dr. Sumit Ganguly from 2023-03-30T23:40:04

An American Journalist Charged with Spying Who Was Arrested in Russia For the Crime of Reporting | More Chemical Spills into Rivers as Plan B for Big Oil is the Manufacture of Plastics | How Far-Ri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 29, 2023 - Laura Thornton | Lane Windham | Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera from 2023-03-29T22:28:07

Biden's Second Summit for Democracy and the Need For a Plan to Combat the Growth of Autocracies | Starbucks CEO in the Hot Seat Before Bernie Sanders' Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 28, 2023 - Jonathan Metzl | Jon Hoffman | Barbara Walter from 2023-03-28T22:18:38

A Majority of Americans Want Their Kids to Come Home From School Alive So It is Time For Them to Stand Up and Be Counted | As MBS Plays America Off Against China, the Abraham Accords Are Stalled Wi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 27, 2023 - Avraham Burg | Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich | Seth Hettena from 2023-03-27T22:33:01

Netanyahu Postpones Power Grab in the Face of Massive Demonstrations and a National Strike | Putin Threatens Nukes in Response to Ukraine Getting 14 British Tanks with Depleted Uranium Ammunition |...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 26, 2023 - Jennifer Mercieca | David Andelman | Michael Kazin from 2023-03-26T17:36:39

Trump's First 2024 Presidential Rally Shouts Out to the Far Right, Militias and Insurrectionists That He is Their Fuhrer and They Are Coming After You | The Massive Protest in France to Protect a S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 23, 2023 - David Carroll | James Bamford from 2023-03-23T22:46:13

Beating up on TikTok While Ignoring the Data Mining Business Model of Big Tech Based on Surveillance Capitalism | Netanyahu's Unreported Collusion to Elect Trump in 2016 backgroundbriefing.org/don...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 22, 2023 - Mark Hannah | Deak Baker | Matthew Dallek from 2023-03-22T21:54:40

Xi Fails to Deliver a Viable Peace Plan Leaving Putin to Pursue His War While Appearing to be Open to Peace Talks | The Fed Raises Interest Rates for the Ninth Time to Just Under 5% | The Roots of ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 21, 2023 - George Beebe | Michael D'Antonio | Jane McAlevey from 2023-03-21T23:31:04

Could China Deliver a Peace Deal to End the War in Ukraine? | On the Day Trump Said He Would Be Arrested, Where are the Indictments? | Reinvigorating the Labor Movement as Strikes and Union Negotia...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 20, 2023 - H. W. Brands | Gary Sick from 2023-03-20T22:25:15

An Historian Who First Learned of the 1980 October Surprise Which Helped Elect Reagan and End Carter's Presidency | A Carter White House Insider on the Second Act of Treason by Republicans Which De...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 19, 2023 - Rachel Denber | Stephen Wertheim | Dr. Ariel Cohen from 2023-03-19T17:39:16

What An Arrest Warrant For Putin Means and What it Will Achieve | Our Historical Memory Lapse on the 20th Anniversary of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq | A Scholar's Critique of Tucker Carlson's Pro-Rus...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 16, 2023 - David Cay Johnston | Cleo Paskal | Paul Pillar from 2023-03-16T21:55:11

The Under-reported Role of Crypto in the Silicon Valley Bank Crash | Mass Hysteria Got Us Into the Iraq War 20 Years Ago and is on Display Today Over China | An Update From Taiwan, the Flashpoint F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 15, 2023 - John Pike | Dr. Ushma Upadhyay | Dennis Kelleher from 2023-03-15T23:03:10

Russian and American Military Aircraft Clash Over the Black Sea | A Zealous Anti-Abortion Judge in Texas is Poised to Ban an Abortion Drug Nationwide | Fallout From the Failure of the SVB Bank is S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 13, 2023 - Ian Haney López | Bonnie Glaser | Juan Cole from 2023-03-14T21:51:54

Hatred and Division Intensifies in the US as the Phony War Against the Woke, Drag Queens and Trans Kids Accelerates | China's Reaction to the AUKUS Deal on Display Yesterday With Biden Beside the P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 13, 2023 - Graham Fuller | Robert Hockett | James Henry from 2023-03-13T22:02:44

China Brings Diplomacy to the Middle East Where the US Has Wasted Trillions on Endless Wars | Trump and the Fed Chair's Role in the Collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank | Are There More Shoes to Dro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 12, 2023 - Jennifer Taub | Katheryn Russ Russ | Lincoln Mitchell from 2023-03-12T17:41:07

An "Invitation" to Trump to Testify Before a Manhattan Grand Jury Will Likely be Followed by the First Indictment of a President in US History | The Dire Consequences of Defaulting on Our Debt | De...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 9, 2023 - Ben Jacobs | Annelle Sheline | Max Bergmann from 2023-03-09T21:32:41

More Damning Texts and Emails Show That Fox News Considers Telling the Truth Bad For Business | The Saudi War Against Yemen Could be Coming to an End | The Threadbare State Of NATO's Military Readi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 8, 2023 - Richard Parker | Amanda Marcotte | Anders Åslund from 2023-03-08T23:48:03

The Fed Chair is asked if he is OK With Putting 2 Million Americans Out of Work by Raising Interest Rates to Curb Inflation | How Best to Respond to Increasingly Extreme GOP Trolling | Another Thin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 7, 2023 - Carol Anderson | Jessica Melugin | Mitchell Plitnick from 2023-03-08T00:21:04

Environmental Protestors in Georgia Are Charged With Domestic Terrorism for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights | Why in the Land of the Free Are we Afraid of Being Turned Into Communists by Ti...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 6, 2023 - Aaron Rupar | Aram Shabanian | Mark FitzPatrick from 2023-03-06T23:17:34

Trump's Bizarre Fact-Free Speech to CPAC Where He Out-Polled DeSantis for the Nomination 3 to 1 | The Russian Strategy to Draw Ukraine's Main Force Into the Bakhmut Battle is Not Working | An Asses...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 5, 2023 - Stephen Walt | Betsey Stevenson | John Mill Ackerman from 2023-03-05T19:22:30

Can Germany Persuade its Biggest Trading Partner China to to Bring Russia to the Peace Table? | 200 Economists Urge Leaders of Congress to Raise the Debt Ceiling to Avoid a "Dangerous and Unnecessa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 2, 2023 - William Arkin | Olga Lautman | Michael Binder from 2023-03-02T23:24:33

With Biden's First Veto of a Culture War Absurdity "Woke Capitalism" Which Does Not Exist, Is Ron DeSantis Setting the Republican Agenda? | Is There Any Possibility of a Peaceful Solution to the Wa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 1, 2023 - Joshua Shifrinson | Ellen Vollinger | Persis Yu from 2023-03-01T23:03:09

Amid Rising U.S./ China Tensions, the House Holds a Hearing of Its New Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party | As of Today 42 Million Americans Will Have Food Stamp Benefits Cut Down to $...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 28, 2023 - Adele Stan | Barmak Nassirian | Rob Wallace from 2023-02-28T22:12:10

Bombshells in Unsealed Deposition Have Murdoch Revealing Biden's Ads and Debate Strategy to Trump | Republicans With Shaky Standing Urge the Supreme Court to Kill Biden's Student Debt Relief | The ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 27, 2023 - Khaled Elgindy | Stanley Perlman | Patrick Allen from 2023-02-27T22:07:14

New Intelligence Has the DOE and the FBI Suggesting the Coronavirus Pandemic Could Have Originated from a Lab Accident in China | As Settlers Rampage on The West Bank, a Jordanian/Israeli Agreement...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 26, 2023 - Simon Shuster | Gilbert Rozman | Naomi Oreskes from 2023-02-26T18:40:03

Russia's War on Ukraine One Year Later | Skepticism About China's "Position Paper" on Ending the Ukraine War Although Zelensky Welcomes It | How the Magic of the Free Market Ended Up Impoverishing...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 23, 2023 - John Nichols | Will Sommer | Christian De Vos from 2023-02-23T23:05:23

The Ohio Derailment as an Example of Wall Street's Priority of Extracting Wealth Not Creating It | The Vast Constituency of Americans Comprising Much of the GOP Who Believe in Lies and Conspiracies...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 22, 2023 - Greg Miller | Marci Shore | David Salvo from 2023-02-22T22:30:51

The Spy Scandal Rocking the German Government and the Roll-up of Russian Spies Across Europe | The Orwellian Tone and Stalinist Paranoia and Brutality in Putin's Speech to the Nation | Biden's Meet...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 21, 2023 - Stephen Young | Andrew Michta | Ioan Grillo from 2023-02-21T23:45:20

Putin Puts Russia on a Nuclear Hair Trigger While Blaming the U.S. For the War in Ukraine | A Paranoid Russia Threatening Nuclear War While China is Poised to Deliver a Peace Plan or Deepen Its All...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 20, 2023 - Jacob Heilbrunn | Michael Swaine | Jeffrey Kosseff from 2023-02-20T23:45:08

Biden's Surprise Visit to Kyiv and Hysteria From Putin's Supporters on America's Far Right | Deteriorating Relations With China Amid Fears China Will Supply Lethal Aid to Russia | The Supreme Court...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 19, 2023 - Charles Kupchan | Peter Pomerantsev | Clyde Whitaker from 2023-02-19T18:31:30

An Update From the Munich Security Conference | Fox News is Afraid of Its Viewers and the Truth Which Would be Bad For Business | The Origins of the Derailment in Ohio backgroundbriefing.org/donate...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 16, 2023 - Adam Klasfeld | David Graham | Nelson Lichtenstein from 2023-02-16T22:32:12

The Partial Release of Findings From the Special Grand Jury Investigation of Trump's Attempt to "Find" 11,780 Votes in Georgia | Which of the Many Cases Against Trump Will be the First to Issue Ind...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 15, 2023 - Brian Kalt | Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich | Stuart Kaufman from 2023-02-15T22:27:47

How Was a Mentally Ill Man With a Gun Conviction Who Shot Up His Neighborhood Able to Buy Guns and Kill 3 MSU Students? | 54 Countries Make Commitments to Arm Ukraine For a Spring Offensive | What ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 14, 2023 - Jason Stanley | Frederick Clarkson | Andrew Whelton from 2023-02-14T23:28:38

The Authoritarian Movement Underway to Ban Books, Ideas, Knowledge and History in America | The Pious Bigots Behind the $20 Million Superbowl Ad Buy For a Hip and Cool Jesus Who Gets Us | Delayed a...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 13, 2023 - R. John Hansman | Gregory Treverton | Rachel Schmalz from 2023-02-13T23:34:44

What Hazards Did the Unidentified Objects that Were Shot Down Pose to Commercial Aviation? | The Risks to Diplomacy From Intelligence Collection | Russia's Plans to Topple the Government in Moldova...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 12, 2023 - Leah Litman | Peter Bergen | Tom LoBianco from 2023-02-12T18:38:41

A Religious Zealot Could Ban Nationwide the Pill Used in Over 50% of Abortions and Do So Without Evidence | The History of Balloons Used For Spying and How Many UFOs Were Balloons | Will Mike Pence...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 9, 2023 - Andrew Feinberg | Duncan Campbell | David Vine from 2023-02-10T00:18:18

The Far-Right House Republican's Madcap Hearings Yesterday and Today | The Spiking of a Story on The Nation Magazine's Publisher's Pro-Putin Bias By the CJR's Kyle Pope | What Are "Spaces Not Bases...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 8, 2023 - Robert Johnson | Amb. Chas Freeman | Henri Barkey from 2023-02-08T22:11:11

Biden's Pro-Worker Anti-Corporate Profiteering SOTU Speech | Rising Tensions With China and a U.S. China Policy of Self-Harm | As Erdogan Shuts Down Criticism on Social Media, What Will He Do to St...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 7, 2023 - Hümeyra Pamuk | Susan Hough | Paul Glastris from 2023-02-07T21:22:26

Erdogan's Role in the Critical Delay in Getting Rescue Teams to the Sites of Devastation from the Earthquake | An Expert on Intraplate Earthquakes and Seismic Similarities Between Turkey and Califo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 6, 2023 - Sibel Oktay | Thomas Mockaitis | James Cronin from 2023-02-06T22:25

Will Western Donors Respond to Erdogan's Plea for Aid After Earthquakes Devastate Southern Turkey and Northern Syria? | The GOP House Plans To Cut FBI Funding Just as They Stop American Neo-Nazis F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 5, 2023 - Wajahat Ali | Victor Shih | Pavlina Tcherneva from 2023-02-05T18:08:58

What it is Like to Be a Person of Color and a Muslim American Constantly Having Your Loyalty Questioned | Did Xi Jinping Authorize the Chinese Spy Balloon's Intrusion Over the US? | As Pundits Warn...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 2, 2023 - Thomas Kahn | Luke Cooper | June Dreyer from 2023-02-03T00:14:09

Speaker McCarthy Will Continue Legislative Terrorism to Extort Budget Cuts by Threatening to Crash the US and Global Economy | Cleaning Up Corruption Ahead of Ukraine's Talks on EU Membership | The...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 1, 2023 - Angela Stent | Wendy Via | Christina Fair from 2023-02-01T23:01:53

Facebook/Meta Reinstates Trump While Allowing Other Despots to Incite Violence and Genocide and Spread Hate and Disinformation | A Top US Russia Expert on Mistakes Made in Dealing With Putin | Paki...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 31, 2023 - Scott Horton | Olga Lautman | Tom Collina from 2023-01-31T23:19:09

Trump Could be Indicted in Atlanta and Manhattan Within Days or Weeks | The Ukraine War Has Derailed Russian Espionage Activities Leading to an Unprecedented Number of Arrests | The State Departmen...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 30, 2023 - Lara Friedman | Will Bunch | Stuart Schrader from 2023-01-30T23:38:50

Secretary of State Blinken's Meeting with Netanyahu and Israeli Drone Strike on Iran | Was Top FBI Agent Involved in Comey's Nothingburger and the NY Times's Dismissal of Trump's Russia Ties That H...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 28, 2023 - Cheryl Dorsey | Frank Costigliola | Daniel Nexon from 2023-01-29T18:37:58

The Culture of Violence in Elite Police Squads and the Failure of Command to Know or Want to Know What is Going on at the Street Level | George Kennan's Warning About NATO Expansion Eastward | The ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 26, 2023 - Jeff Stein | Matthew Connelly | Daniel Holz from 2023-01-26T22:57:35

Could the Arrest of a Top FBI Counterintelligence Agent in New York on a Russian Oligarch's Payroll be Connected to HRC's Claim that Comey Cost Her the Election? | The Understaffed National Archive...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 25, 2023 - Mark Lowenthal | Dr. Sumit Ganguly | Harold Meyerson from 2023-01-25T23:14:14

McCarthy's Revenge as he Strips Schiff and Swalwell of Their Seats on the House Intelligence Committee | India's Prime Minister Modi's Frantic Efforts to Prevent 1.4 Billion in the World's Biggest ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 24, 2023 - John Donohue | Douglas London | Katherine Stewart from 2023-01-24T22:12:03

Another Mass Shooting in California, a Record 39th So Far This Year in the US | Assessing Russia's anti-Putin Partisan Movement and How Much the US Should Support Russia's Armed Opposition | The Al...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 23, 2023 - Jonathan Alter | Jim Small | David Schultz from 2023-01-23T23:10:47

Another Gift From Biden to Trump and Whether Biden Should Not Run in 2024 | Congressman Ruben Gallego's Announcement Today He is Running to Replace Sinema | Attacks on Academic Freedom by DeSantis ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 22, 2023 - Anna Grzymala-Busse | Alexander Motyl | Robert Young Pelton from 2023-01-22T18:35:31

Why is Germany's Chancellor Scholz Stubbornly Dragging His Heels Lagging Behind German Public Opinion? | Is Russia Becoming a Case in Which a State Fails When it Loses Its Monopoly on Violence? | I...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 19, 2023 - Robert Hockett | Maria Armoudian | Jo-Marie Burt from 2023-01-19T23:08:38

How to Deal With the Economic Suicide Attack by Legislative Terrorists | The Surprise Resignation of New Zealand's Much Admired PM Jacinda Ahern | Political Instability in Peru as Voters Feel Betra...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 18, 2023 - David Satter | Thomas Berger | Morris Pearl from 2023-01-18T23:01:26

A Call to the World's Billionaires at Davos to End the Age of Extreme Wealth by Starting to Pay Taxes | Germany on the Spot For Vacillating Over Sending Arms to Ukraine | Why Tucker Carlson and Elo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 17, 2023 - Jessica Feezell | Zachary Carter | Jared Yates Sexton from 2023-01-17T22:54:07

A "Stop the Steal" Loser Shoots up the Homes of Democrats Claiming "I stand with Donald J. Trump" | The Good Faith and Credit of the US at the Mercy of Freedom Caucus Nihilists | A History of Paran...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 16, 2023 - Jefferson Cowie | David Phillips | Ellis Krauss from 2023-01-16T21:49:38

On MLK Day: Taking on the Jan. 6 Coalition of Racists, Christian Nationalists, Anti-Government Radicals and the Freedom Caucus | Could Russia's Indifference Allow Another Genocide of Armenians? | J...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 15, 2023 - Julian Zelizer | Luke Harding from 2023-01-15T18:40:52

What to do When You Elect a Fictional Character and Get Stuck With an Abject Fraud | A Reporter Who has Been Covering the War in Ukraine For The Guardian Since it Started 326 Days Ago backgroundbri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 12, 2023 - Frederick Baron | Jared Olson | James Goldgeier from 2023-01-12T23:33:16

AG Garland Appoints a Special Counsel in Biden’s Classified Docs Self-Inflicted Wound | Brazen Murders in Honduras Raise Questions of How the US Is Dealing With the Root of the Migrant Problem | Th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 11, 2023 - Thomas Kahn | Alexander Sammon | Joshua Horowitz from 2023-01-11T23:34:39

Out With the Old and in With the New in the California Race to Replace Senator Feinstein | The New House and the GOP Tradition of Decrying Deficits While Running up the Debt | A Six Year Old in Vir...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 10, 2023 - Steven Rosenthal | Kenneth Roth | Laura Rodriguez from 2023-01-10T22:34:03

The First Bill the House Republicans Pass Cuts Funds For the IRS to Help Tax Cheats and Run Up the Deficit | The Former Head of Human Rights Watch is Denied a Fellowship at Harvard by the Pro-Israe...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 9, 2023 - Andre Pagliarini | Nancy MacLean | William LeoGrande from 2023-01-09T23:09:38

Brazil's Pro-Bolsonaro Riot Pales in Comparison to the January 6 Insurrection | McCarthy Has Been Installed by the Same Right Wing Oligarchs Behind, Trump and DeSantis | Mexico's President Calls on...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 8, 2023 - Michelle García | Geneive Abdo | Thomas Balcerski from 2023-01-08T18:26:13

Biden's Visit to the Border at El Paso on his Way to the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico | Why is the US Not Doing More to Support the Popular Revolution Underway in Iran? | An Historical P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 5, 2022 - James Thurber | Alexander Butterfield | Guy Ziv from 2023-01-05T23:17:14

After 10 Rounds of Voting Still No Speaker as Dysfunction Spills Over to Tomorrow's Second Anniversary of the Jan. 6 Insurrection | 50 Years From One Whistleblower Who Brought Down a President to A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 4, 2023 - Jacob Heilbrunn | Paul Light | William McGee from 2023-01-04T23:10:59

The Nihilism of Trump's Republican Party on Display in the House Today | A Twice in 100 Years Failure to Elect a Speaker With 9 Ballots in 1923 and 6 Failures So Far Today | Southwest Airlines Exec...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 3, 2023 - Dr. Bandy Lee | Dennis Aftergut | Robert Lipsyte from 2023-01-03T23:35:52

With the Head of the House and the Head of Our Military Agreeing Trump is Crazy, Why Has it Taken So Long For the Truth to Come Out? | The Chaotic Election Underway For the Next House Speaker | The...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 2, 2023 - Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Steven Levitsky | Dr. Brad Onishi from 2023-01-02T23:59:23

How in America Liars and Cheats Can Become Presidents or be Sworn in Tomorrow as Congressmen | What Makes Dictatorships Like Russia and Iran so Durable | The Threat of White Christian Nationalism i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 1, 2023 - Adele Stan | Sean Wilentz from 2023-01-01T18:15:45

The House in 2023 Crippled by Polarization and the Growing Threat of American Fascism | Are We Seeing a Replay of the 1850 Collapse of the Whig Party and the Rise of the Know-Nothings? backgroundbr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 29, 2022 - Pavel Felgenhauer | Michael Weiss | Andrew Weiss from 2022-12-29T23:23:46

A Moscow-Based Defense Analyst on How the Ukrainians Are Winning So Far | Ukraine’s Successful Counter Offensive and Pressure on Putin to Take More Desperate Measures | Why has Such a Small Man as ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 28, 2022 - Ian Haney López | Allan Lichtman | Sarah Churchwell from 2022-12-28T15:15:14

What Patriotic Americans Can Do to Save Their Democracy From the Resurgence of Plutocratic Populism | Trump’s Pressure Campaign on the DOJ and Pardons Sought by the GOP’s Most Ardent Trumpsters | A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 27, 2022 - Jody Freeman | Robert Baer | David Victor from 2022-12-27T18:55:05

The Climate Bill Biden Signed Into Law Today is a Major Victory | The US Fought Two Wars To Protect the Saudi Regime, Now They Are Allied With Russia and China | An Update on the COP 27 Climate Tal...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 26, 2022 - Samuel Moyn | Nancy Maclean | Jared Yates Sexton from 2022-12-26T14:13:39

How the American Majority Can Thwart the Tyranny of the Minority | Billionaires Behind Dark Money Can’t Openly Sell Their Terrible Ideas to a Public That Doesn’t Want Them | Having Bought the Supre...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Decemberr 25, 2022 - Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis | Frank Schaeffer from 2022-12-24T21:05:23

The Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign on How We Treat the Least Among Us on the Birthday of Jesus Christ | A Warning From the Son of the Founder of the Religious Right About the Dangerous Here...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 22, 2022 - Emily Channel-Justice | Jennifer Taub | Lisa Graves from 2022-12-22T23:10:53

Ukraine's President Zelensky's Rousing Speech to a Joint Session of Congress | An Update on the Public Release of the House January 6 Committee Report | Democratic Party Leaders Need to Understand ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 21, 2022 - Anders Aslund | Edward McCaffery | Robert Baer from 2022-12-22T00:15:33

Over Objections From Republicans, the House Ways and Means Committee Make Public Trump's Taxes | Today's Visit of Ukraine's President Zelensky to the White House and the Press Conference That Follo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 20, 2022 - Aziz Huq | William Hartung | Michael Kimmage from 2022-12-20T23:50

More Important Than Jailing Trump, the Jan. 6 Hearings Cry Out For Us to Fix Our Fragile Electoral System That He Exploited | Just the $80 Billion Increase From Last Year's Defense Budget to Today'...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 19, 2022 - Corey Brettschneider | Zak Smith | Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich from 2022-12-19T23:21:01

The House January 6 Committee Sends 4 Indictments of Trump to the DOJ | An Assessment of the Just-Concluded UN COP15 Biodiversity Conference | Putin Met Today With Lukashenko to Put the Squeeze on ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 18, 2022 - James Zirin | Linda Greenhouse | David Roth from 2022-12-18T18:43:44

3 Criminal Referrals of Trump From the Jan. 6 Committee to the DOJ Expected on Monday | The Decades-Long Far-Right Capture of the Supreme Court | How Long Can We Endure the Curse of the Manchild Wi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 15, 2022 - Aaron Rupar | Tom Diaz | Cristina Florea from 2022-12-15T23:49:11

Trump's "Major Announcement" Falls Flat as the White House Recalibrates, Expecting to Run Against DeSantis | Ten Years After Sandy Hook, 150 Million Guns Have Been Sold in America | The European Pa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 14, 2022 - James Risen | Nader Hasemi | Dr. Steven Nabieu Rogers from 2022-12-15T00:04:57

Finally the Law is Catching up to Trump and It's Happening on Many Fronts | The UN Votes to Remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women | The Second Africa Leaders Summit Underway in Was...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 13, 2022 - Robert Hockett | Peter Ward | Arjun Makhijani from 2022-12-13T23:17:21

A Bipartisan Bill Introduced Today For a National Development Strategy to Rebuild Our Industry and Build Back Our Middle Class | The UN COP15 Biodiversity Conference Underway Aimed at Conserving 30...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 12, 2022 - Michael Edison Hayden | Joseph Lowndes | Kai Newkirk from 2022-12-12T21:59:24

At Saturday's Celebration of American and European Fascists and Their Sympathizers, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Called for an Armed Insurrection | How the House Was Flipped by Black and La...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 11, 2022 - Alejandra Gomez | Daniela Schwarzer | Steven Greenhouse from 2022-12-11T18:48:41

Sinema, the Saboteur of the Democratic Agenda, Pulls Another Selfish Stunt | Germany's Bizarre Coup Plot and Putin's Spy Swap Attempt of Paul Whelan For an FSB Assassin | What Biden Can do to Repai...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 8, 2022 - George Beebe | Stephen Braun | Peter Bergen | Jo-Marie Burt from 2022-12-08T22:56:31

More Deals With Putin Unlikely Until After a Russian Offensive in the Spring of 2023 | Why Putin Wanted the Merchant of Death Viktor Bout Back | The Dangers Facing Americans Who Travel to Russia, C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 7, 2022 - Fred Wertheimer | Sarah Leah Whitson | Bret Schafer from 2022-12-07T22:04:16

Far Right Supreme Court Justices Seem to Support a Dangerous Fringe Theory That Could Upend Our Elections | The Biden Administration Gets a Lawsuit Against MBS Dismissed in Return he Greets China's...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 6, 2022 - David Cay Johnston | Charles Bullock | Dr. Paul Sullivan from 2022-12-06T23:53:45

The Trump Organization Found Guilty With Trump Accused of Explicitly Sanctioning Tax Fraud | The History of Runoff Elections in Georgia Designed to Dilute the Power of the Black Vote | The Mysterio...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 5, 2022 - Jill Hasday | Jennifer Mercieca | Brian Concannon from 2022-12-05T22:39:44

Our Far-Right Supreme Court Appears Sympathetic to Imposing Conservative Christian Dogma on American Life in the Name of Freedom of Speech | Trump's Call to "Terminate" the Constitution as Treason ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 4, 2022 - David Redlawsk | Andrew Weiss from 2022-12-04T18:27:11

The Democrats Change Their Presidential Primary Nominating Calendar for 2024 | Why has Such a Small Man as Putin Had a Disproportionate Impact on the World Stage? backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 1, 2022 - David Andelman | Nelson Lichtenstein | Jeffrey Winte from 2022-12-01T22:19:34

The Biden White House's First State Visit by France's President Macron | Railway Workers are Denied Paid Sick Leave in Today's Senate Vote to Avert a Strike | The Plutocratic Takeover of Our Inform...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 11, 2022 - Carlton Larson | Robert Mackey | Sam Quinones from 2022-11-30T23:40:34

Why the Seditious Conspiracy Convictions of the Oath Keepers' Leaders Matter | Why Americans Like Nick Fuentes and Elon Musk Admire and Support Putin | The Epidemic of Fentanyl Deaths Enabled by So...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 29, 2022 - Jeffrey Lazarus | Michael Hiltzik | Dr. John Mueller from 2022-11-29T23:23:22

An Update on the Heavily-Contested Georgia Runoff For the US Senate | The Decline and Possible Fall of Twitter as Musk Invites Right Wing Trolls, Anti-Vaxxers and White Supremacists Aboard His Plat...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 28, 2022 - Perry Link | Francisco Monaldi | Chuck Collins from 2022-11-28T22:17:38

Aspirations for Freedom and Democracy Erupt in Demonstrations Across China | Maduro's Deal With Chevron and the Venezuelan Opposition | Pledges by Billionaires to Give Away Vast Fortunes and What C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 27, 2022 - Robert Young Pelton | Tara Kangarlou | Richard Parker from 2022-11-27T18:24:28

A Veteran War Reporter Just Back From a Month in Ukraine | An Update on the Revolution in Iran Led by Brave Young Women | Progressive Strategies to Build a Democratic Majority in 2024 backgroundbri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 24, 2022 - Kate Mackintosh | Stephan Schwartz from 2022-11-23T22:50:19

What We Can Be Thankful for in Spite of Hate-Filled Politics at Home and War Crimes Abroad | Making a Future We Can Be Thankful for With Daunting Challenges Ahead backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 23, 2022 - Edward McCaffery | Michael J. Wilson | Beverly Gage from 2022-11-23T19:57:39

Finally Trump is Forced to Release His Tax Returns Just Before the House Republicans Shut Down Investigations | Food Insecurity on Thanksgiving in the World's Richest Country | As Trump Attacks the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 22, 2022 - Lisa Graves | Mike Lofgren | Jeremi Suri from 2022-11-22T23:45:35

Scandal at the Supreme Court Where There is No Ethical Code of Conduct | The Midterms For the Democrats Were More Like Deliverance Than Victory | Biden Should Stop Fighting For America's Soul and S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 21, 2022 - Jo Wenke | Laurie Levenson | Andrei Markovits from 2022-11-21T23:57:15

The Connection Between the Killings of Gay and Trans Americans and the 300 Anti-LGBTQ Republican Bills in 36 States This Year | The Special Counsel in Private on a Parallel Track With the Media and...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 20, 2022 - Frederick Baron | Michael Li | John Christensen&Jim Henry from 2022-11-20T18:37:28

Will Indictments of Trump That Even Bill Barr Expects, be Delayed by the Appointment of a Special Counsel? | Why Did Deep Blue New York Democrats Cost Their Party the House? | How Big Banks Can Loo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 17, 2022 - John Lawrence | Sidney Blumenthal | Amb. Cynthia Schneider | John Bongaarts | from 2022-11-17T22:47:31

Nancy Pelosi's Former Chief of Staff on Her Career and Legacy | Trump is Now Effectively in Control of the US House of Representatives | Convictions of Those Responsible For Downing a Malaysian Air...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 16, 2022 - Christopher Beem | Aram Shabanian | Frank Dikötter from 2022-11-16T22:42:56

Trump's Boring Announcement and the Election Deniers Electoral Rebuke | The Work of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group of Almost 50 Nations | Inside the Black Box of Chinese Communist Leadership bac...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 15, 2022 - Michael Weiss | Zaha Hassan | Dr. Allen Frances from 2022-11-15T22:31:27

Russia Rains Missiles Down on Ukraine as Top US National Security Officials Meet With Their Russian Counterparts | What is Behind the FBI Probe Into Israel's Killing of a Palestinian Journalist and...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 14, 2022 - Orville Schell | Darrell West | Molly White from 2022-11-14T21:55:23

After a 3 Hour Meeting with Xi Jinping, Biden Declares No New Cold War With China | With Election Deniers Making Up a Third of the New Congress, Could They Elect Trump as Their Speaker? | The Colla...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 13, 2022 - Lincoln Mitchell | Samuel Moyn | Mark Galeotti from 2022-11-13T17:50:59

Contrary to the Punditry, Trump is in Firm Control of the GOP and Bent on Destroying His Rival | Time For the Democrats to Move Past Trump | Russia's Future as Putin Clings to Power But His Legend ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 10, 2022 - Sasha Abramsky | David Daley | Alexander Stubb from 2022-11-10T23:09:45

How Europe is Adapting to a Cutoff of Russian Energy and Moving Towards a Green Energy Future | Cliffhanger Races in Arizona and Nevada and California Congressional Races Will Determine Who Control...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 9, 2022 - Simon Rosenberg | David Weigel | Paul Light from 2022-11-09T23:02:41

The Results of Yesterday's Election Defy the Poll and Pundits and Shock the Republicans | An Update on the Races and Recriminations | We Can Expect Government Paralysis and the Trump/DeSantis War t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 8, 2022 - Anand Giridharadas | David Victor | Dr. Louise Shelley from 2022-11-08T21:53:10

Can Persuasion Overcome Delusion in American Politics? | An Update on the COP 27 Climate Talks Underway and an Alternative Approach to the Fight Against Climate Change | Prigozhin Epitomizes the Ta...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 7, 2022 - Ari Berman | Dr. Michael McDonald | Scott Horton from 2022-11-07T22:39:18

Efforts to Stop Democrats From Voting and Why It Will Take So Long to Count the Vote | Although Not on the Ballot, American Democracy is What is at Stake in Tomorrow's Election | Putin's Election I...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 6, 2022 - Peter Dreier | J.W. Mason | Abbas Milani from 2022-11-06T17:32:55

The Person Most Responsible For Hate, Delusion, Threats and Acts of Violence in Our Politics | With Inflation the GOP's Main Election Issue and the Fed's Cure Worsening it, Who is Most to Blame? | ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 3, 2022 - John Nichols | Amb. Steven Pifer | Nathan Park from 2022-11-03T22:23:32

Biden Makes an Urgent Case to Defend American Democracy From MAGA Republicans | Putin is Hoping a Republican Victory on Tuesday Will Lead to Less US Support For Ukraine | Kim Jong-un Fires a Record...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 2, 2022 - Allan Lichtman | Joshua Douglas | Charles Kupchan from 2022-11-02T20:53:01

Questioning Pollsters and Pundits Assumptions That Republicans Will Take the House and the Senate | Changes in Voting Laws Make it Easier to Vote in Some States and Harder in Others | The Need to P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 1, 2022 - Michael D'Antonio | Anne Nelson | Dr. Guy Ziv from 2022-11-01T21:57:33

The Party of Trolls Makes Fun of an 82 Year-Old Man Who Was Beaten Over the Head With a Hammer in a Home Invasion | Conspiracy Theories Have Entered the Mainstream of Republican Discourse | An Upda...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 31, 2022 - Nico Lusiani | Douglas Rushkoff | James Green from 2022-10-31T21:22:48

Biden Takes on Big Oil and Their Record Windfall Thanks to the Actions of Putin and MBS | The Latest Tweet From a Trump-like Troll With an Ego Inflated by Billions Who Now Owns Twitter | Lula's Nar...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 30, 2022 - Wendy Via | Jacob Silverman | David Rothkopf from 2022-10-30T17:34:10

After Being Demonized by Trump and Republicans, Pelosi Was Targeted by a "Stop the Steal" Q-Anon Follower | In the Name of Free Speech, The World's Richest Man Just Turned a Public Company Into His...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 27, 2022 - Tom Mockaitis | Stephen Wertheim | Sarah Leah Whitson from 2022-10-27T20:58:29

Far-Right Vigilantes Engaged in Election Intimidation Will Escalate Violence If the Election Does Not Go Their Way | How to Stop Escalation and Achieve a Peaceful Solution Without Helping Putin and...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 26, 2022 - Harold Meyerson | Dr. Terry Madonna | Shibley Telhami from 2022-10-26T23:11:50

In an About Face the House Progressive Caucus Withdraws a Letter Urging Biden to Negotiate With Putin Over Ukraine | Last Night's Debate For the Critical US Senate Seat in Pennsylvania | MBS Strung...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 25, 2022 - Polly Toynbee | Edwin Lyman | Lynn Parramore from 2022-10-25T21:26:32

What Does Britain's Latest PM Mean by "Difficult Decisions to Come"? | Running Against the Biden Economy, Republicans Promise to Tank the Global Economy to Force Cuts in Social Security and Medicar...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 24, 2022 - Robert Draper | Quinn Slobodian | Victor Shih from 2022-10-24T22:04:28

The Author of Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost Its Mind | Rishi Sunak, Britain's Third PM in Less Than Two Months | Communist Chinese Officials and Intelligence Officers Acc...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 23, 2022 - Dennis Aftergut | Alec MacGillis | Eric Levitz from 2022-10-23T17:45:01

Friday's Subpoena From the January 6 Committee and Trump's Next Move | The Senate Race in Ohio as a Referendum On the Direction the Democratic Party Has Taken in Recent Decades | The Education Divi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 20, 2022 - Patrick Allen | Amb. Peter Galbraith | Anna Massoglia from 2022-10-20T22:00:16

The Paralysis Caused by Brexit Claims Another British Conservative Prime Minister | Is Putin Planning to Sabotage Norwegian Gas Pipelines and Infrastructure? | A New Study Finds Record Amounts of M...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 19, 2022 - Annelle Sheline | Mohsen Sazegara | Joseph Fishkin&William Forbath from 2022-10-19T20:43:36

US Generals and Admirals on MBS's Payroll Oversee the Transfer of Advanced Weapons Even Our Reliable Allies Can't Buy | Iran's Regime is Losing Its Grip as Members of the IRGC and Basij Refuse to S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 18, 2022 - Mike German | Taras Kuzio | Mitchell Plitnick from 2022-10-18T22:49:03

The FBI's Failure to Act on Warnings Before Jan. 6 and Sympathy For the Insurgents Within the FBI's Ranks | Why Did American Experts on Russia Get the Ukraine War So Wrong? | AIPAC is Backing Trump...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 17, 2022 - Dov Waxman | Jeffrey Sonnenfeld | Sasha Abramsky from 2022-10-17T21:58:56

Anti-Semitism From Trump and Kanye West is Feeding the Dual Loyalty Trope | Alarm That the Latest Weapons to Saudi Arabia Now Allied With Putin Could End up in the Wrong Hands | Could Democrats Los...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 16, 2022 - Jared Yates Sexton | Moira Donegan | Susan Shirk from 2022-10-16T00:50:01

Having Bought the Supreme Court, American Oligarchs Are Now Trying to Buy the Legislative Branch | Did the House January 6 Hearing Move the Needle For Democrats Ahead of the Upcoming Election? | Wi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 13, 2022 - Norman Ornstein | Adele Stan | Laura Thornton from 2022-10-13T22:14:38

An Analysis of Today's Final House January 6 Committee Hearing | Who Did Liz Cheney Have in Mind When She Said "We Have Enough Information For Criminal Referrals?" | With the UN Voting Overwhelming...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 12, 2022 - Tom Collina | Gary Pierre-Pierre | Matthew Rothschild from 2022-10-12T21:35:02

Biden's New National Security Strategy and the Danger Putin May Not be Able to Accept Losing His War Without Escalating to Nukes | Haiti Now a Lawless State Controlled by Gangs, is Poised For Anoth...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 11, 2022 - Jennifer McCoy | Robert Alexander | David Marples from 2022-10-11T21:29:34

The Pernicious Polarization Gripping Our Politics As We Head For Electoral Autocracy or a Democratic Collapse | The Ohio Senate Race as a Contest Between an "Ass-kicker and an "Ass-kisser" | Zelens...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 10, 2022 - Hossein Askari | Robert Baer | Simon Shuster from 2022-10-10T21:45:29

Apart From Angry Denunciations of MBS From Congress, What Can Be Done About His Perfidy? | The US Fought Two Wars To Protect the Saudi Regime, Now They Are Allied With Russia and China | Inside Ukr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 9, 2022 - Francesca Giovannini | James Galbraith | Dahlia Lithwick from 2022-10-10T16:08:03

Biden Warns We Are Close to Armageddon and Have To Take Putin's Nuclear Threats Seriously | How We Can Build a Fair and Secure Middle Class Society | Women in America and Iran are Leading the Fight...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 6, 2022 - John Hudak | Anthea Butler | David Hearst from 2022-10-06T22:50:10

Biden Will Pardon all Federal Offenses of Simple Marijuana Possession | The Breathtaking Hypocrisy of the GOP's "Christian" Base Doubling Down in Their Support of a Brazen Liar and Serial Sinner | ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 5, 2022 - Jon Hoffman | Stephen Young | Assal Rad from 2022-10-05T21:26:01

The Murderous Pals MBS and Putin Jack Up the Price of Oil Ahead of the Midterms to Help Republicans and Bring Trump Back | How Putin Uses Mutually Assured Destruction as a Shield to Conduct a Conve...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 4, 2022 - Anders Åslund | Hans Kristensen | Lawrence Douglas from 2022-10-04T21:55:39

Is Putin Desperate or Upping the Nuclear Ante to Force Biden to the Negotiating Table? | How Close Are We to Having the Nuclear Taboo Which Has Existed Since Nagasaki, Broken By Putin? | What Pract...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 3, 2022 - Eric Segall | Jamie Court | Zhong-Ren Peng from 2022-10-03T23:47:52

Questioning the Supreme Court's Legitimacy as a New Term Begins | Oil Company Extortion in California as Consumers Pay Twice as Much Per Gallon as the Rest of the Country | Does it Make Sense to Bu...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 2, 2022 - William Arkin | George Beebe | Andrew Pagliarini from 2022-10-02T16:28:45

Will Biden's Threats Deter Putin? Apparently Our Military Does Not Think So | Could Our Shadow War With Russia Spiral Into Nuclear Catastrophe? | The Loser in Today's Election in Brazil Will Contes...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 29th, 2022 - Claire Connolly Knox | Cleo Paskal | Daniel Boguslaw from 2022-09-29T23:31:30

Hurricane Ian's Path of Destruction and the Need To Update Building Codes | Today's First Pacific Islands Summit at the White House as China Makes Inroads Into the Region | The CIA's Investment in ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 28th, 2022 - Dr. Paul Sullivan | Steven Simon | Dr. Mohsen Sazegara from 2022-09-28T23:05:51

Who Sabotaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 Undersea Gas Pipelines? | Is the Disunited States of America Heading For a Civil War? | The Revolution in Iran Broadens Across Society Including Strikes backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 27, 2022 - David Faris | Zach Despart | Péter Krekó from 2022-09-27T22:23:58

Are the Democrats Too Timid Playing Defense While the Republicans Dominate With Illusion? | Highlights From the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas | Why Does Hungary Have Such an Outsize Influ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 26, 2022 - Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Andrew Feinberg | Barbara Walter from 2022-09-26T22:47:23

Italy Lurches to the Far Right in a Low-Turnout Election With the Left Divided | An Update on the Investigations Into Trump Ahead of Wednesday's Jan. 6 Hearing | As Trump Drags the Country Towards ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 25, 2022 - Christopher Chivvis | Aram Shabanian | Roya Hakakian from 2022-09-25T17:46:03

Putin's Nuclear Sabre-Rattling and How to Deal With It | Hideous Russian War Crimes Unearthed in Ukraine | Iran's Corrupt and Hypocritical Clerical Mafia Could Soon be Toppled backgroundbriefing.or...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 22, 2022 - Adam Klasfeld | Jacob Love | Maziar Behrooz from 2022-09-22T22:36

The 11th Circuit's Blistering Smackdown of Judge Cannon's Ruling and Judge Dearie's Call For Trump's Lawyers to Put up or Shut up about Claims the FBI Planted Documents | A Lawyer for Some of the V...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 21, 2022 - David Cay Johnston | Michael Kimmage | Richard Gowan from 2022-09-21T23:23:34

The New York AG Sues Trump, the Trump Organization, Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka for Staggering Fraud | Putin Threatens to Use Nukes, Declaring "It's Not a Bluff" | President Biden's Address to the UN ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 20, 2022 - Karen Greenberg | Craig Holman | Nader Hashemi from 2022-09-20T22:46:10

The Special Master Essentially Tells Trump's Lawyers to Put Up or Shut Up | Biden Makes a Pitch For the Disclose Act Which Americans Favor But Republicans Don't | The Violent Crackdown on Demonstra...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 19 - Robert Ford | David Pepper | Ryan Cooper from 2022-09-19T22:44:20

Wall-to-Wall Media Coverage of Mourning and Ritual has Given the British PM a Break From the Crises Left to Worsen | Trump's Humiliating Praise of His Ohio Senate Candidate Before a QAnon Crowd | C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 18, 2022 -Justin Elliot | Michael Swaine | Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner from 2022-09-18T17:19:06

How an Unqualified Trump Judge Got on the Bench With the Dark Money That Bought the Supreme Court Which Could Also Buy the Next Election | China's Troubled Ties With Putin | With American Women Reg...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 15, 2022 - Michael Binder | Rachel Premack | Nelson Lichtenstein from 2022-09-15T21:45:50

Ron DeSantis's Politics of Hate is Met By the Politics of Love in Martha's Vineyard | After a Cut of 25% of Workers in 7 Years, Railway Workers Fight Back to Be Able to See a Doctor | How Railway S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 14, 2022 - David Enrich | Paul Sullivan | Emily Channell Justice from 2022-09-14T21:36:04

The Shadow Power of Trump's Law Firm and the Corruption of Justice | With Russian Gas Cut Off, the Head of the EU Vows "Putin Will Fail, Europe Will Prevail" | Will the Ukrainian Counteroffensive R...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 13, 2022 - Amanda Marcotte | Steven Walt | Sheri Berman from 2022-09-13T21:51:24

Senator Graham's Attempt at Damage Control for the GOP on Abortion | As Global Order Deteriorates Before our Eyes, a Proposal to Establish a New and Benign Order | The Shift to the Right in Sweden ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 12, 2022 - Michael Weiss | Julian Zelizer | Thomas Mockaitis from 2022-09-12T21:46:12

Ukraine's Successful Counter Offensive and Pressure on Putin to Take More Desperate Measures | Internal Republican Friction and What it Will Take For the GOP to Abandon Trump | "Biden Was Right: MA...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 11, 2022 - Bill Yeomans | Maya Jasanoff | Douglas Rushkoff from 2022-09-11T17:17:55

The DOJ's Polite Request in Response to the Trump Judge's Indefensible Ruling | The Distinction Between the Queen's Admirable Service and Duty and the Empire and Commonwealth She Served | How the B...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 8, 2022 - Polly Toynbee | Jedediah Purdy from 2022-09-08T21:09

The Death of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family's Future Under a New King Charles | How American Political Culture Disempowers Ordinary Citizens and How to Take Back the Ground We Have Ceded t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 7, 2022 - Paul Carroll | Lisa Graves | Anne Nelson from 2022-09-07T23:13:53

Now We Learn How Trump Has Endangered Our National Security and Given Aid and Comfort to Our Enemies | Judge Cannon is the Culmination of the Right Wing Project to Capture the Courts to Make Politi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 6, 2022 - Daniel Uhlfelder | Paul Whiteley | David Daley from 2022-09-06T22:46:38

Trump, Who Has Contempt For the Law, Has an Unqualified Judge He Appointed Give Him More Than He Asked For | After Months of Leadership Paralysis, the UK Has a New PM Who Promises Tax Cuts For the ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 5, 2022 - Lane Windham | Thom Hartmann | Steven Greenhouse from 2022-09-05T22:45:46

Good News For Labor With 71% of Americans Approving Unions | Thom Hartmann on The End of Neoliberalism and the Renewal of Social Democracy | How Anti-Union Corporations Delay Contracts After Unioni...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 4, 2022 - Harry Litman | Alexander Keyssar | Dr. Sasha Dovzhyk from 2022-09-04T17:49:53

Trump Will Likely be Indicted But Not Until After the November Elections | Biden's Speech to Save American Democracy Was Too Partisan for the TV Networks | Growing up Next to the Nuclear Plant Now ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 1, 2022 - Jason Stanley | Lincoln Mitchell | Mikhail Chester from 2022-09-01T22:40:19

In Tonight's Speech Will Biden Go From Semi Fascist to Full on Fascist in Describing the MAGA Republicans? | Is Fascism in America's Political DNA or Has Trump Brought it Into the Mainstream? | Acr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 31, 2022 - Ilya Yablokov | Stanislav Kucher | Michael Gorham from 2022-08-31T20:30:35

A Russian Journalist Remembers Gorbachev | Will Russians Eventually See Gorbachev in a Kinder Light? | Internal Battles Within Russia's Security Services backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ia...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 30, 2022 - Dr. Allen Frances | Nicole Hemmer | Douglas London from 2022-08-30T20:23:54

In Declaring Himself President Today, Has Trump Lost it? | The Origins of MAGA Republican Radicalism | An Assessment of Ukraine's Offensive in the South and the State of US Intelligence backgroundb...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 29, 2022 - Juan Cole | Dr. Richard Alley | Regina Hsu from 2022-08-29T22:22:40

Iraq on the Brink of Civil War | Inevitably 3.3 % of Greenland's Ice Sheet Will Melt Causing a Global Sea-Level Rise of 10 Inches | The Need to Electrify Diesel-Burning Trucks That Haul Most of Ame...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 28, 2022 - Gregory Treverton | Wil Jordan | Richard Hasen from 2022-08-28T17:25:31

Damning Evidence Against Trump Who Held Onto More Top Secrets Than the Trove Just Revealed in the Unsealed Affidavit | Could the Mar-a-Lago Grifter Posing as Anna de Rothschild be What the KGB Call...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 25, 2022 - David Victor | Taras Kuzio | Trita Parsi from 2022-08-25T22:36:33

California Will Ban Gasoline Cars Aiming to be 100% All-Electric by 2035 | An Update Six Months Into a War Russia is Waging Against An Embattled Ukraine | With The Revival of the Iran Nuclear Deal ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 23, 2022 - Jack Blum | Kent Harrington | Bandy Lee from 2022-08-23T22:00:34

Trump's Amateurish "Special Master" Ploy and the 300 Classified Documents Found at Mar-a-Lago | Hostile Intelligence Services Would Be Remiss in Not Targeting Mar-a-Lago | Does Trump Have the "Sams...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 22, 2022 - Brendan Fischer | Nancy MacLean | Douglas Century from 2022-08-22T22:38:20

The $1.6 Billion in Dark Money Leonard Leo Got to Finance Far-Right Causes | Billionaires Behind Dark Money Can't Openly Sell Their Terrible Ideas to a Public That Doesn't Want Them | Russian Organ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 21, 2022 - Jeffrey Lewis | Cristina Florea | John Gibler from 2022-08-21T17:14:32

Amid Fears Over Ukraine's Nuclear Plant, Putin Appears Poised to Steal 20% of the Country's Electricity | Fears of Revenge For the Assassination Attempt on the Russian Nationalist Called "Putin's B...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 18, 2022 - Marcy Wheeler | Scott Horton | Casey Michel from 2022-08-18T22:31:20

Florida Judge Rules on Unsealing the Affidavit Subject to DOJ Redaction | The Ramifications of the Trump Organization CFO's Guilty Plea | Senators Cruz and Grassley Make Outrageous Threats Against ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 17, 2022 - Sidney Blumenthal | Jacob Heilbrunn | Stephanie Muravchik from 2022-08-17T21:58:24

Unanswered Questions Swirling Around the Mar-a-Lago Document Seizure | Has the Law Finally Caught Up to Donald Trump? | Liz Cheney's Wyoming Is Now Trumpland backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.co...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 16, 2022 - Jody Freeman | Michael Greenberger | Susan Greenhalgh from 2022-08-16T22:38:16

The Climate Bill Biden Signed Into Law Today is a Major Victory | Did Trump Lose His Get-Out-Of-Jail Bargaining Chip With the Seizure of the Documents? | Did Trump's Lawyers Get Hold of Sensitive S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 15, 2022 - Sarah Kendzior | Natalie Southwick from 2022-08-15T21:47:35

Trump Attacks the FBI Inflaming His Base While Warning the AG "Our Country is on Fire. What Can I do to Reduce the Heat" | The Threat to Journalists in Mexico From Drug Cartels and in Nicaragua Fro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 14, 2022 - Robert Baer | Joseph Cirincione | David Rohde from 2022-08-14T17:48:22

Why Did Trump Take the Top Secret Documents and For What Purpose? | An Investigation Into Reports That Trump Took Nuclear Secrets | Trump Tries to Blame the "Deep State" For His Treasonous Behavior...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 11, 2022 - Sean Wilentz | Grant Stern from 2022-08-11T21:37:39

Merrick Garland Speaks After Trump Makes Wild Claims About the FBI Whose Office in Cincinnati Was Attacked | A Local Perspective from Miami, Florida on the Mar-a-Lago Raid backgroundbriefing.org/do...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 10, 2022 - Caroline Frederickson | Chris Whipple | Abbas Milani from 2022-08-10T21:41:55

Trump Pleads the 5th as he Doubles Down on Lawlessness to Scam Donations | Other Cases Involving the Theft or Mishandling of Classified Material | Iran's Plot to Kill John Bolton and Another Unname...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 9, 2022 - Peter Strzok | Lloyd Green | Anna Merlan from 2022-08-09T21:54:05

What Did Trump Take to Mar-a-Lago He Wanted Kept Secret and What Did the FBI Find? | The Party of Law and Order in Complete Submission to Trump's Lawlessness | The Fallout From the Alex Jones Trial...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 8, 2022 - John Nichols | Bennett Ramberg | John Mueller from 2022-08-08T21:46:23

Biden's Big Wins Defy Pundits Who Were Writing His Political Obituary | Russia's Reckless Endangerment of Europe's Biggest Civilian Nuclear Reactors | Putin's Disastrous War in Ukraine is Making Ma...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 7, 2022 - Jim Small | Erica Payne | Izabella Tabarovsky from 2022-08-07T17:41:18

The Trump GOP Sweep in Arizona | The Sellout Senator Sinema Auditions for a Job With Hedge Fund Billionaires | Putin’s Weaponization of History backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersme...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 4, 2022 - James Moore | Oliver Bullough | Jamie Martin from 2022-08-04T23:37:39

Alex Jones on Trial and His Lawyer's Blunder That Will Prove a Gift to the January 6 Investigation | How the UK Has Become a Haven For Laundering Dirty Money | Many Countries Are Poised to Default ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 3, 2022 - Tiffany Muller | Carol Sanger | Jonathan Weiler from 2022-08-03T23:28:24

Results From Kansas Signal a Robust National Majority Against the Supreme Court and Republican Legislators | Americans Are in Favor of Settled Law Which the Right Wing Radicals on the Supreme Court...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 2, 2022 - Peter Bergen | Perry Link | Bruce Fein from 2022-08-02T23:08:02

The Drone Strike on Al Qaeda's Leader the Taliban Were Hosting in Spite of Reassurances to the Contrary | Why is Xi Jinping Making Such a Big Deal About Pelosi's Visit to Taiwan? | Why Have Efforts...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 1, 2022 - Henry Giroux | Anders Aslund | Matthew Klein from 2022-08-01T23:10:43

Ron DeSantis's Nazification of American Education | When Russia Annexes Captured Territory, Will They Consider an Attack On It a NATO Attack on Russia? | The State of the US Economy and Relations W...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 31, 2022 - Erica Newland | Stephanie Kelton | Andre Pagliarini from 2022-07-31T12:53:28

The DOJ Prepares to Force Top Trump Officials to Testify About the Insurrection and Trump's Role in It | Are We In A Recession Or Entering One? | Brazil's Bolsonaro Poised to the Violently Contest ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 28, 2022 - Tyson Slocum | Robert Hockett | Kim Lane Scheppele from 2022-07-28T22:29:51

Manchin's Surprise Agreement to a $369 Billion Climate and Tax Increase Deal | While the Fed Frets Over Inflation, Everyone Else Worries About Recession Which the Fed's Actions Make More Likely | O...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 27, 2022 - Tom LoBianco | Shelley Rigger | Jayati Ghosh from 2022-07-27T21:41:56

What is Pence's Strategy in Challenging Trump Without Condemning Him? | Pelosi's Trip to Taiwan Has Created an Unnecessary Crisis in an Already Deteriorating Relationship | The Coming Global Debt C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 26, 2022 - Harold Meyerson | Robert McElvaine from 2022-07-26T23:34:16

Pence and Trump's Dueling Speeches and Some Legislative Victories For Biden | How the Oligarchy Bought the Supreme Court to End American Democracy by Decree backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 25, 2022 - James Risen | Kristin Kobes Du Mez | Linc Kessler from 2022-07-25T22:16:51

Should Crime Reporters Replace Political Reporters in Covering Trump? | The Growing Influence of White Christian Nationalism in the GOP | The Pope Apologizes to Canada's Indigenous Peoples backgrou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 24, 2022 - Adele Stan | Sarah Churchwell | Deepa Ollapally from 2022-07-24T21:46:39

Bannon, the Mini-Me of Grifters, Grandstands After His Conviction | American Fascism Was Never Exorcised, It Was Obscured Beneath Romantic Mythmaking | How the Corrupt and Brutal Rajapaska Family B...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 21, 2022 - Lisa Graves | William Arkin | Stephen Marche from 2022-07-21T21:33:39

The Powerful Case Against Trump Must Result in an Indictment and a Trial Even If There Will Be Trumpsters on the Jury | Will Putin's Strategy of a Long War With Ukraine Work? | If the Crimes Reveal...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 20, 2022 - Rep. Ro Khanna | Julia Gledhill | David de Jong from 2022-07-20T23:42:25

Rep. Ro Khanna on Democrats More Angry at Biden Than Alarmed by the Embrace of Fascism by Trump’s GOP | The Real Defense Budget of $1.4 Trillion | Comparing German Industrialists’ Support of Hitler...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 19, 2022 - George Beebe | Rob Johnson | Mike Lofgren from 2022-07-19T23:45

The Purge at the Top of Ukraine's Intelligence and Prosecutor's Office | With 75% of Americans Seeing Inflation as Their Top Concern, What Will the White House Do to Stop a Wipeout in November? | W...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 18, 2022 - Alan Morrison | Rachel Rebouché | Dov Waxman from 2022-07-18T20:36:31

Why Trump Should Immediately be Sued Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment | The Call For Biden to Declare a Public Health Emergency on Abortion | Enormous Sums Are Pouring Into Democratic Primary ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 17, 2022 - Robert Baer | David Dayen | Corey Brettschneider from 2022-07-17T17:45:37

Why Did Biden Meet With Middle East Leaders Who Want Trump Back in the White House? | The Futility of Dealing With Joe Manchin Who Just Stymied Biden's Agenda for a Second Time | Why is the DOJ Pro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 13, 2022 - Zach Despart | Dan Friedman | Shanta Devarajan from 2022-07-14T22:46:22

The Impact of the Video of Police Inaction While Children Were Being Slaughtered | The Oct. 31, 2020 Leaked Recording Of Bannon Making Predictions That Proved Eerily Accurate | The Crisis In Sri La...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 13, 2022 - Jon Hoffman | Dean Baker | Monica Muñoz Martinez from 2022-07-13T21:52:34

What Will Biden Gain From Meetings With Middle East Leaders Who Want Trump Back? | Could Alarm Over Inflation Trigger a Recession? | Texas Officials More Concerned Over The Leak of a Video Than Hol...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 12, 2022 - Rachel Kleinfeld | Lara Friedman | Gary Jacobson from 2022-07-12T23:32:57

How Trump Mainstreamed Violence as a Political Tool | The Centerpiece of Biden's Israel Visit Will Be The Jerusalem Declaration, a US-Israel Strategic Partnership Against Iran | Biden at 44% to Tru...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 7, 2022 - Jonathan Stern | Ryan Cooper | Brian Levin from 2022-07-11T21:29:46

Western Europe Braces For Putin's Permanent Cutoff of Russian Gas | The Political Left is More Focused on Biden's Shortcomings Than a Looming Fascist Takeover | An Assessment of the Upcoming Hearin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 10, 2022 - Jeff Sharlet | Gaby Goldstein from 2022-07-10T17:44:19

Inside Trumpworld Civil War Looms in Our Deeply Polarized and Divided Country | The Need For the Democrats to Pay Attention to State Legislature Races backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianma...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 7, 2022 - Chris Whipple | Ben Burgis | Pia Malaney from 2022-07-07T20:12:14

A New Hearing on January 12 Will Add to the Portrait of a Disastrously Dysfunctional Trump White House | The Texas GOP Explodes the Myth of the Party of Shills For the Plutocracy Caring For Working...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 6, 2022 - Paul Whiteley | David Marples | Lawrence Douglas from 2022-07-06T22:17:22

The UK's Scandal-Plagued Prime Minister Circles the Drain | Under Enormous Pressure From Putin, Belarus Will Soon Enter the War Against Ukraine | SCOTUS is Using the Constitution to Destroy the Ver...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 5, 2022 - Jared Holt | Simon Rosenberg | Helen White from 2022-07-05T23:13:37

The Violent and Macabre Online Posting by the Assassin Who Fired 70 Shots Into a 4th of July Parade | Instead ofa Red Wave, The Democrats Could Pick Up 4 New Senate Seats | SCOTUS Could Give Republ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 4, 2022 - Geoffrey Kabaservice | Nicole Huberfeld | Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera from 2022-07-04T21:15:57

Is Trump Blackmailing the GOP Into Submission Threatening to Run as an Independent? | What Can the Biden Administration Do to Mitigate or Undo the Supreme Court's Assault on Women's Reproductive Ri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 3, 2022 - Norman Ornstein | Joseph Fishkin&William Forbath from 2022-07-03T17:42:55

Will Trump Soon Announce He is Running For the Presidency to Get Legal Cover and Fleece the MAGA Crowd? | As We Celebrate the Constitution, Are We Still a Democracy or Have We Become a Plutocracy? ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 30, 2022 - Michael Mann | James Van Nostrand | Michael Gerrard from 2022-06-30T23:06:30

Thanks to the Supreme Court, Will There Be a Liveable Planet in Our Children and Grandchildren's Future? | As Electrical Generators Move Away From Coal, SCOTUS Turns Back the Clock | Will This Unpo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 29, 2022 - Jean Guerrero | David Cay Johnson | Kani Xulam from 2022-06-29T22:09:45

Our Borderlands With Mexico Are Becoming a Graveyard | The Likelihood That Giuliani and Flynn Will Go To Jail and That Meadows, Clark, Eastman and Trump Will be Indicted | Did Sweden and Finland Se...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 28, 2022 - Paul Campos | Lance Dodes | Daniel Treisman from 2022-06-28T23:08:31

With Evidence Against Trump Piling Up, Why is he Not in Jail? | Today's Witness Describes a Psychotic Trump Strangling His Bodyguard and Throwing Dishes | An Update on the G-7 Summit Just Ending an...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 27, 2022 - Gloria Browne-Marshall | Scott Horton | Casey Michel from 2022-06-27T21:20:12

Alito's "Victory for White Life" and the Freakout on the White Right | The Case So Far Presented by the House Select Committee | How American Think Tanks do the Bidding of Their Foreign Patrons bac...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 26, 2022 - Gloria Steinem | Jill Hasday | Michael Greenberger from 2022-06-26T17:45:29

Gloria Steinem on a New Wave of Activism and Voting Beginning to Swell | State Versus State in a Fight Over Abortion Pills and Interstate Travel | A Radical Supreme Court Just Starting to Enact Its...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 23, 2022 - Allan Lichtman | Saul Cornell | Brad Snyder from 2022-06-23T23:22:54

Trump's Pressure Campaign on the DOJ and Pardons Sought by the GOP's Most Ardent Trumpsters | If Today's Supreme Court Ruling Against Gun Safety Had Been in Effect on Jan. 6, Bullets and Bloodshed ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 22, 2022 - Steven Harper | Nico Luciani | Henri Barkey from 2022-06-22T21:24:16

The Hearings Portray Trump as a Mafia Boss With Giuliani His Consigliere | Fight Inflation With An Excess Profits Tax to Rein in U.S. Corporate Markups | Erdogan Washes the Blood From MBS's Hands b...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 21, 2022 - Dr. Michael McDonald | Diane Ravitch | Forrest Hylton from 2022-06-21T21:07:57

More Powerful Testimony From Republican Witnesses Demolish Trump's Election Lies | The Supreme Court Decision to Fund Religious Schools With Taxpayer Money | A Former Guerrilla and Domestic Servant...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 20, 2022 - Jeremi Suri | Dr. Trita Parsi | Philippe Marlière from 2022-06-20T22:50:32

The Face of Trump's GOP on Display at the Texas Republican Convention | Biden Will Get Nothing in Return For Bowing to the Sociopathic Crown Prince | Far Right Gains and Ruling Party Loses in Frenc...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 19, 2022 - Lincoln Mitchell | Richard Parker | Sarah Lipton-Lubet from 2022-06-19T17:36:37

The Critical Tipping Point For Democracy and the Rule of Law America and the World Faces | What the Democrats Can Do As a Perfect Storm of Economic Gloom Approaches | How to Fight Back Against Our ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 16, 2022 - Jennifer Taub | Robert Hockett | Michael Swaine from 2022-06-16T22:26:40

The Internal White House Battles Between Pence and His Lawyers and Trump and His Legal Charlatan John Eastman | The Fed's Interest Rate Hike and Its Impact on the Markets and Economy | Growing Tens...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 15, 2022 - Rick Perlstein | Samuel Moyn | Michael Binder from 2022-06-15T22:17:26

A History of the Right Wing Grift Machine Now That the "Big Lie" Has Become the "Big Grift" | How the American Majority Can Thwart the Tyranny of the Minority | The Presidential Ambition of Florida...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 14, 2022 - Jonathan Zimmerman | Christopher Leonard from 2022-06-14T20:23:56

Republicans Don't Trust Teachers to Teach But Trust Them to Have Loaded Guns Around Children with Little Training | Blaming the Fed Instead of Biden For the Economy As the Era of Easy Money For Wal...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 13, 2022 - John Bonifaz | Daniel Weiner | John Donohue from 2022-06-13T22:22

After Manufacturing the Big Lie, Trump Engineered the Big Ripoff to Fund His Comeback and Intimidate the GOP Into Supporting the Big Lie | Are the Hearings Meant to Educate Americans or Get AG Garl...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 12, 2022 - Joseph Lowndes | Shane Burley | Stephen Wertheim from 2022-06-12T17:44:59

Coordination Between the Proud Boys and the Mob Trump Sent to the Capitol | Trump's Seven-Point Plan to Undo American Democracy | Now That Putin Wants to "Return and Fortify" Russia's Lost Lands, t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 9, 2022 - Federico Finchelstein | Michael Kimmage | Christopher Barrett from 2022-06-09T22:28:25

An Historian of Fascism on Trump's January 6 Fascist Coup Attempt | Could Ukraine Win Small or Win Big? | The Global Food Crisis Caused by Russian War on Ukraine backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitte...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 8, 2022 - Gary Blasi | Peter Dreier | Lara Bazelon from 2022-06-08T21:29:01

Homelessness as a Moral Issue Not A Blight the Privileged Have to be Protected From | Adding More Police Will Criminalize a Problem Rooted in Inequality, Poverty and Unaffordability | Are We Seeing...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 7, 2022 - Will Bunch | Eric Wesoff | Laura Carlsen from 2022-06-07T21:01:26

The January 6 Hearings Will Not Be Like the Watergate Hearings But It Could Expose Trump as a Criminal and a Fascist | Biden Moves to Stop One Defunct Company From Killing the US Solar Industry | A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 6, 2022 - Josh Horwitz | Javier Corrales | Michael Hiltzik from 2022-06-06T22:14:01

As More and More Americans Are Killed in Mass Shootings, What Will the Senate Do? | Will This Week's Summit of the Americas Be a Bust? | Will Another Billionaire Real-Estate Developer's $33 Million...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 5, 2022 - William Arkin | Sarah Leah Whitson | Polly Toynbee from 2022-06-05T17:44:22

An Assassination Attempt on Putin in March and Cancer Treatment in April | How Much Will the American President Have To Bow Before the Entitled Saudi Thug? | Amid Pomp and Ceremony, a Majority of Y...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 6, 2022 - Michael Mann | Philip Alpers | David Halperin from 2022-06-02T21:15:33

How People Power Trumped the Murdoch Press and How Ranked-Choice Voting Could Revive Our Democracy | How After Mass Shootings, 3 Nations Radically Reduced Gun Massacres | After Relieving Debts of $...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 1, 2022 - Paul Pillar | Lawrence Korb | Harry Litman from 2022-06-01T21:28:29

Are We Heading Into a New Cold War With Russia? | Biden's Decision to Deploy U.S. Rocket Systems In Ukraine | After 3 Years the Failure to Prove Barr's Trumpworld Fantasy That Trump Was Spied On ba...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 31, 2022 - Patrick Blanchfield | Nicholas Heras | Emma Ashford from 2022-05-31T21:45:29

Amid Growing Outrage Over Police Inaction as Kids Were Slaughtered, What Might The Senate Do About Guns? | Biden Decides Not to Send Offensive Weapons Systems to Ukraine | The E.U. Will Block Most ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 30, 2022 - Lucian Truscott IV | Norman Naimark from 2022-05-30T18:35:32

Although We Arm Police With Military Equipment, 19 Officers Stood By As 19 Kids and 2 Teachers Were Slaughtered | Will Democracies Remain United As Putin Intensifies His Destruction of Ukraine? bac...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 29, 2022 - Angela Stent | Christopher Atwood | Marci Shore from 2022-05-29T17:34:53

Putin Digs in For a Long War While His Security Services Tighten Control of Russia | Russia is Inciting Genocide and Violating the U.N. Genocide Convention | Ukrainians Are Fighting For All Who Bel...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 26, 2022 - James Moore | Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz | Sarang Shidore from 2022-05-26T21:48:02

Now Governor Abbott Wants More Action on Mental Health After Calling on Texans to Buy More Guns, Tweeting "Let's Pick up the Pace Texans" | Our Gun Culture and Its Historical Roots | The Chinese Fo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 25, 2022 - Lydia Camarillo | Jonathan Metzl | Jo-Marie Burt from 2022-05-25T22:47:40

Following Today's Thoughts and Prayers Press Conference, Abbott and Cruz Will Join Trump at Friday's NRA Convention | Blaming Mental Health, Not the Availability of Weapons of War in the Hands of T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 24, 2022 - Jared Yates Sexton | Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Mark Wolfe from 2022-05-24T22:33:08

Primaries in Georgia as 14 Children and 1 Teacher are Shot Dead in a Texas Elementary School | Pessimism as a Weapon Authoritarians Use to Defeat Hope | The Urgent Need to Lower the Price and Incre...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 23, 2022 - Shelley Rigger | Robert Kuttner | Anthea Butler from 2022-05-23T23:05:21

No More Strategic Ambiguity When it Comes to China Invading Taiwan | The New Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Is SCOTUS About to Gut the SEC? | Sexual Abuse Inside The Church That Is Not Without...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 22, 2022 - Robert Baer | Helen Thompson from 2022-05-22T17:31:39

How U.S. Intelligence Missed Putin and the Takeover of Russia by the Security Services | Oil continues to rise as MBS and MBZ collude with Putin to turn American voters against Biden to bring back ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 19, 2022 - Jonathan Martin&Alexander Burns | John Nichols from 2022-05-19T20:17:50

The Authors Who Revealed Tapes of Top Republicans Speaking as Patriots in Private But Traitors in Public | The Supreme Court OK's Bribing Senators and The Israel Lobby Goes After Minority Congressw...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 18, 2022 - Charles Kupchan | Dr. Terry Madonna | Lloyd Green from 2022-05-18T20:53:45

The Need to Focus on Ending the War in Ukraine Over a Push For Victory | The Results of Yesterday's Primaries in Pennsylvania | The Competition to be the Furthest Out on the MAGA Fringe of Trump's ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 17, 2022 - Thomas Mockaitis | Kenneth Dekleva | Jamie Martin from 2022-05-17T20:49:39

The Need For Media Outlets Like Fox News and the Murdoch Family to Take Responsibility For What They Air | A Former State Dept. Profiler of the Mental And Physical Health of World Leaders on Putin'...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 16, 2022 - Jason Stanley | Molly White | Anders Åslund from 2022-05-16T21:38:58

Texas's Social Media Censorship Law and Elon Musk Owning Twitter Will Allow More Racist Hate Speech Like the "Great Replacement" Theory | Last Week's Crash of Cryptocurrency That Wiped Out a Lot of...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 14, 2022 - Karen Greenberg | David Phillips&Madeleine Joelson | Ian Morris from 2022-05-15T17:39:10

Top Republicans Are Patriots in Private But Traitors in Public | An Axis of Autocrats While Orban, Ergogan and Senator Rand Paul Act as Pro-Putin Spoilers | How Central Asia Could be the Key to Dri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 12, 2022 - David Hearst | Kim Lan Scheppele | Andrew Noymer from 2022-05-12T22:56:48

Israel's Killing of a Popular Al Jazeera Journalist Roils the Palestinian Territories | Orban's Hungary is the Lone Holdout as the E.U. Moves to Ban Russia Oil | The U.S. Passes the Grim Milestone ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 11, 2022 - Jim Manley | Max Chafkin | Michael Gorham from 2022-05-11T22:32:10

Today's Senate Vote Binding Republicans to the Radical Supreme Court's Pending Ruling | Elon Musk Admits That Once He Owns Twitter, He Plans to Bring Back Trump | Looking For Signs of a Lessening o...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 10, 2022 - Lisandro Claudio | Daniel Treisman | Katherine Stewart from 2022-05-10T22:49:39

The Philippines' Strongman Problem With the Return of the Marcos Kleptocracy | With No End in Sight, Putin Will Turn to More Drastic Means in Ukraine | The Christian Nationalist Takeover of Our Jud...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 9, 2022 - Stephen Marche | Christopher Mitchell | Dulcie Leimbach from 2022-05-09T22:54:43

Will the Supreme Court Spark Civil Unrest in This Election Year? | Broadband for 48 Million Low Income Households Welcome But Not Enough | Corruption and Impunity at a Little-Known U.N. Agency back...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 8, 2022 - Miles Taylor | Robert Young Pelton from 2022-05-08T17:48:46

The Growing Influence of the Pro-Putin Republicans in Trump's GOP | The Russia, Saudi, UAE Alliance Against the United States and Democracy backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 5, 2022 - Moira Donegan | Oleh Kotsyuba | James Galbraith from 2022-05-05T21:45:02

Republican Moves to Ban Medication Abortion Which is 54% of all Abortions | Rumors Putin Has Cancer and is Crazy Allow Him a Nuclear Advantage | The Economic and Political Consequence of the Fed In...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 4, 2022 - Lisa Graves | Caroline Frederickson | Laura Thornton from 2022-05-04T22:33:29

Alito's Opinion Opens the Door to Overturning Laws Protecting Rights to Privacy | The Legislative Path Forward to Protect Abortion Rights | The DHS IG Reports On Trump's 2020 Russia Coverup as Pro-...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 3, 2022 - Michele Goodwin | Ilya Yablokov | David Kotz from 2022-05-03T19:34:24

Alito's Leaked Draft Opinion Overturning Roe and Casey | The Five Conspiracy Theories Putin Has Weaponized | The Dilemma Putin's Ukraine War Has Created For the U.S. Left backgroundbriefing.org/don...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 2, 2022 - Gideon Levy | Angelo Carusone | Jeffrey Frankel from 2022-05-02T21:34:02

Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov's Ignorant Racism Infuriates Israel | The Murdoch Family Are Fully Onboard Tucker Carlson's Racist Propaganda | National Security and Environmental Concerns Over De...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 1,, 2021 - Rupert Russell | Cristina Florea from 2022-05-01T18:34:19

How Escalating Commodity Prices Will Cause a Decade of Global Turmoil | Can Putin Be Fairly Described as a Fascist?backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmediafacebook.com/ianmastersmedia

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 28, 2022 - Robert Baer | Tyson Slocum | Dean Baker from 2022-04-28T22:48:04

Does Putin Have a Samson Complex and Will He Use a Nuke on Ukraine? | What is Driving the Price of Commodities, Especially Oil | How Bad Are Today's Economic Numbers For Biden and the Democrats in ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 27, 2022 - Jonathan Stern | Michael Greenberger | Jonathan Katz from 2022-04-27T22:32:10

What's Next After Russia Cuts Off Gas to Poland and Bulgaria? | The Most Revealing Episode to Emerge From the January 6 Insurrection | Is Putin About to Expand the War Into Moldova? backgroundbrief...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 26, 2022 - George Beebe | Daniela Shwarzer | Cleo Paskal from 2022-04-26T21:57:47

Options For Ending the War in Ukraine | At the 40 Nation Meeting in Germany Scholz Pledges Heavy Weapons to Ukraine | A Secret Agreement Between China and the Solomon Islands Has the U.S. and Austr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 25, 2022 - David Carroll | Lawrence Gostin | Christina Ponsa-Kraus from 2022-04-25T22:14:35

A Mega-Billionaire Buys a Public Media Company to Take it Private in the Name of Democracy? | First OSHA Now the CDC, SCOTUS and Trump Judges are Deconstructing the Administrative State | What the ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 24, 2022 - Michael Weiss | Tom LoBianco | David Andelman | Jonathan Taplin from 2022-04-24T17:37:53

Putin's Russia Now a Complete Mafia State | Will Kevin McCarthy Pay a Price For Being a Liar and a Coward? | An Update on the French Presidential Election | The Shakeup Among Streaming Services and...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 21, 2022 - Anna Grzymala-Busse | Hans Kristensen | Rebecca Roiphe from 2022-04-21T21:26:40

The Gap Between the German Government's Promises and What They are Not Delivering to Ukraine | Putin's Nuclear Saber-Rattling With the Launch of His Satan 2 ICBM | What is Going on with The Manhatt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 20, 2022 - Bill Browder | Anne Nelson | James Henry from 2022-04-20T21:45:29

One of the Few People to Stand Up to Putin Who Are Still Alive | The Shadow Network Behind the Judge Who Ended the CDC's Mask Mandate | DOL About to Ban Repeat Felon Credit Suisse From Pension Fund...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 19, 2022 - William Arkin | Michael D'Antonio from 2022-04-19T20:09:06

On May 9 Victory Day Could Putin Announce a Ceasefire and Declare Victory? | Is the Already Mentally Unstable Trump Getting Even Crazier? backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia fa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 18, 2022 - Anna Merlan | Paul Keil | Emily Channell-Justice from 2022-04-18T21:41:56

The Heartless and Vile Liar, Alex Jones Tries to Avoid Paying the Parents of the Children Massacred at Sandy Hook | How the U.S. Tax System is Making Inequality Worse | Russian Nationalists and a P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 17, 2022 - Simon Shuster | Yascha Mounk | Gary Gerstle from 2022-04-17T17:39:58

A Report From Kyiv Ahead of the Decisive Battle For the Donbas | Amid Republican Anti-immigrant Grandstanding, a Case for Diversity and an Inclusive Patriotism | The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 14, 2022 - Derek Shearer | Victor Pickard | Ryan Cooper from 2022-04-14T22:03:43

Russia Threatens and Warns Finland and Sweden Not to Join NATO | Elon Musk Wants to Buy Twitter For $43 Billion Then Bring Back Trump | Does the NYPD Need More Than 3,500 Transit Cops and Its $11 b...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 13, 2022 - Saul Cornell | Timothy Frye | David Faris from 2022-04-13T21:03:56

SCOTUS Will Soon Make it Easier to Arm Mass Shooters on New York Subways | The Decisive Battle in Ukraine Putin is Determined to Win and Can't Afford to Lose | A Path to Stop the Authoritarian Take...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 12, 2022 - Stanislav Kucher | Gregory Treverton | Juan Cole from 2022-04-12T22:56:21

With Putin at 83% Approval in the Polls, Will the War in Ukraine Bring Him Down? | How Can Ukraine and Europe Stop Trading With the Enemy and Financing the War Against Them? | The Best Way to Defea...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 11, 2022 - Annelle Sheline | Philippe Marlière | Robert Bell from 2022-04-11T21:45:15

While Republicans Obsess About Hunter Biden, MBS Rewards Jared Kushner With $2 Billion Over Objections From the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund | Can Macron Win Back the 22% of Voters on the Left He Ha...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 10, 2022 - Keith Darden | Ron Fein | David Neiwert from 2022-04-10T17:50:20

Facing Defeat, Russia Mobilizes for the Decisive Offensive in Eastern Ukraine | The Lawyer Leading the Fight to Take Insurrectionist Members of Congress Off the Ballots | The Consequences of the Fa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 7, 2022 - Lincoln Mitchell | Barmak Nassirian | Carol Sanger from 2022-04-07T21:20:13

The War in Ukraine Could Last For Months If Not Years | As Long as Students Are Exploited For Profit, Extending the Moratorium on Student Debt Does Not Solve the Problem | Oklahoma's Punitive Abort...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 6, 2022 - Julia Davis | David Kaye | Garrett Epps from 2022-04-06T22:05:37

An Analyst Who Exposes Russian Propaganda, Watching it For 8 Hours a Day | Russian Propaganda Takes a Sinister Turn, Now It's All Ukrainians, Not Just the Government Who Are Nazis | The Continuing ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 5, 2022 - Kenneth Roth | Taras Kuzio | Christine Fair from 2022-04-05T21:43:29

Zelensky's Call For a Nuremberg Tribunal Accusing the Russian Military of Behaving Like Nazis | The Brainwashing of the Russian Military and the People About Fighting Nazis When it's Their Governme...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 4, 2022 - Rebecca Hamilton | L. Gordon Crovitz | Harold Meyerson from 2022-04-04T21:33:57

Prosecuting Putin For Going to War and Then Committing War Crimes | The U.S. Has Tools to Stop Russian Propaganda Which We Are Not Using | The David Versus Goliath Victory Over Amazon to Unionize a...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 3, 2022 - Kim Lane Scheppele | Marlene Laruelle | David Victor from 2022-04-03T17:38:12

Today's Hungarian Election as a Test Case For America's Democratic Future | The Russian Philosophers and Intellectuals Who Influence Putin's Thinking | Instead of Finding More And More Oil and Gas,...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 31, 2022 - David Knight Legg | Bruce Bueno de Mesquita | Fred Wertheimer from 2022-03-31T22:56:42

Is Putin's Real Target in Ukraine the Energy Riches in the East of the Country? | How Much is Putin Vulnerable to a Backlash from Parents of Dead Sons? | "Finally, a Road Map to Hold Trump Accounta...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 30, 2022 - Gerard Toal | Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Paul Ehrlich from 2022-03-30T22:29:58

What Territorial Division of Ukraine Might Emerge From Peace Talks | Hungary's Orban Avoids the Taint of His Toxic Pal Putin Ahead of Sunday's Election | Climate Catastrophes in Australia Which is ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 29, 2022 - Andrew Feinberg | Lindsay Koshgarian | Eliot Borenstein from 2022-03-29T22:17:24

The Seven Hour Gap in Trump's White House Phone Records on January 6 | Putin's Culture Wars and His American "Family Values" Allies | Defense Spending Gets 2 Out of Every 3 Dollars in Biden's FY 20...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 28, 2022 - Christopher Chivvis | Olga Lautman from 2022-03-28T22:17:15

Biden Tries to Make Clear He Was Expressing Moral Outrage, Not Calling For Regime Change in Russia | An Expert Analysis on the Ties Between Russia's Intelligence Services and Organized Crime backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 27, 2022 - Michael Kimmage | Kathryn Stoner | Leah Litman from 2022-03-27T17:31:10

Biden's Call to Remove Putin and is Russia's Main Objective to "Liberate" the Donbas? | How to Get Around Putin's Orwellian Grip on Information Inside Russia | What to Do About a Supreme Court Just...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 24, 2022 - Kimberly Wehle | Kate Mackintosh | R. Daniel Kelemen from 2022-03-24T21:56:20

American Law and Government Are Under Attack by the Radical Right in Concert With Our Right Wing Supreme Court | Assessing U.S. Evidence of Russian War Crimes in Ukraine | In Stressing Steps He Wil...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 23, 2022 - Erwin Chemerinsky | Robert Mackey | Richard Hasen from 2022-03-23T21:06:53

A Second Day of Sleaze and Slime From Republican Senators | Putin's Totally Orwellian State and the Bioweapons Lie Fox News Echoes | The Undermining of American Democracy by "Cheap Speech" backgrou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 22, 2022 - Lisa Graves | Douglas London | Benn Steil from 2022-03-22T23:05:03

Republican Attack Dogs Try to Portray Judge Jackson as Soft on Pedophiles | Is Putin's Purge an Attempt to Preempt a Coup Against Him? | Will Freezing Russian Reserves Cause Blowback Against the Do...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 21, 2022 - Natalie Jaresko | John Burgess | Matthew Klein from 2022-03-21T22:36:14

A Case for More Sanctions On Putin For the Death and Destruction he is Inflicting on Ukraine | The Role of Religion in Russia's War Against Ukraine | Can the Autocracies Work Around the Dollar as t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 20, 2022 - Casey Michel | Alfred McCoy from 2022-03-20T11:08:19

Hitting Back at Putin Where it Hurts | How Long Will the Xi - Putin Bromance Last? backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 17, 2021 - David Hearst | Steven Harper | Steven Greenhouse from 2022-03-17T18:00:13

Saudi Arabia's Arrogant and Entitled MBS Adds Injury to his Insulting Behavior Towards the U.S. | Trump Targets Secretaries of State in His War on American Democracy | Good News For a Change on the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 16, 2022 - Emma Ashford | Michael Newton | Gregory Koblentz from 2022-03-16T22:38:27

Having Been Fought to a Standstill, Russia Now Appears Interested in Peace | Biden Calls Putin a War Criminal as Mounting Evidence in Ukraine Makes the Case | The Possibility Russia Might Use Chemi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 15, 2022 - Thomas Berger | Jacob Heilbrunn | Alan Zibel from 2022-03-15T23:25:57

The Change in German Attitudes to Russia and Three Prime Ministers Show up in Kyiv | Many Republican and a Few Democratic Hawks are Animated by the War in Ukraine | As Oil Prices Dip, Price Gouging...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 14, 2022 - Zack Cooper | Ian Johnson | Dr. Sumit Ganguly from 2022-03-14T22:20:33

How Far Will Xi Jinping Go in Supporting His Fellow Dictator Putin? | Possible Blowback Against China's Support of Putin | Why is India's Modi Siding With Putin? backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitte...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 13, 2021 - Dr. Pavel Felgenhauer | Malcolm Nance | Cole Smith from 2022-03-13T17:54:39

A Moscow-Based Defense Analyst on How the Ukrainians Are Winning So Far | An Assessment of the Military Situation From an Analyst Who Surveyed the Terrain | A Perspective From a U.S.A.F. Nuclear Mi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 10, 2022 - Jeffrey Lewis | James Goldgeier | Karen Greenberg from 2022-03-10T23:43:27

Is Putin's Nuclear Alert a Bluff and Could He Cross the Nuclear Threshold by Firing a Tactical Nuke? | Will the $7 Billon in Arms For Ukraine the Congress Just Passed Hold Putin Off? | The War in U...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 9, 2022 - Oleh Kotsyuba | Sarah Leah Whitson | Jennifer Taub from 2022-03-09T23:58:08

An Appeal to Western Academic and Cultural Institutions to Sever Ties With Putin's Oligarchs | After 50 Years of U.S. Support, the Saudi and Emirati Leaders Stiff Biden | Has Trump Again Skirted th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 8, 2022 - Peter Bergen | Ilya Zaslavskiy | Tom Kloza from 2022-03-08T22:29:15

An Analysis of Ukraine's Military Capabilities | The Influence of Money From Putin's Oligarchs on U.S. Politics | Biden Bans Russian Oil So As Not to Subsidize Putin's War backgroundbriefing.org/do...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 7, 2022 - Craig Unger | Thomas Homer-Dixon | David Smilde from 2022-03-07T23:34:38

The Consequences Today of Trump's 40-Year-Long Effort to Help Russia by Getting the U.S. Out of NATO | The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Global Food Supply | Replacing Russian Oil With Venezuelan...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 6, 2022 - Nicholas Heras | Jason Stanley | Michael Kazin from 2022-03-06T18:37:47

Putin's Strategy to Weaponize Refugees | The Fascist Autocrat and Leader of the Global Far-right is Trying to Restore Soviet Power in a Fascist Form | As Ukrainians Suffer the GOP Blames it all on ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 3, 2022 - Dr. Louise Shelley | Thomas Mockaitis | Harry Litman from 2022-03-04T00:21:06

The Limits of Sanctions and Going After Putin's Enablers Like Trump | Ukrainian Civilians Will Increasing Become Putin's Targets | A Criminal Collusion Case is Building Against Trump For Obstructin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 2, 2022 - Marci Shore | Scott Horton | James Risen from 2022-03-03T00:18:59

Is Putin, Like Many Tyrants in History, Mentally Ill? | Dissent Among Russia's Top Intel and Military Officials Who Likely Leaked War Plans | The GOP is Torn Between Putin Haters and Putin Lovers L...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 1, 2022 - William Arkin | Thomas Nichols | Jeremi Suri from 2022-03-01T23:04:25

A Leading Military Expert on Russia's Seige of Kyiv and Kharkiv | How to Respond to Putin's Nuclear Provocation | Will Tonight's State of the Union be Biden's "Ich bin ein Ukrainian" Moment? backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 28, 2022 - Emily Channell-Justice | David Marples | James Moore from 2022-03-01T00:04:56

Why Ukrainians Are Fighting and What They Are Fighting For | The Belarus Dictator Welcomes Russian Nukes and Offers up his Army to Putin | Massive Texas GOP Voter Suppression is Working With 46% of...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 27, 2022 - Col. Alexander Vindman | Keith Darden | Charles Kupchan from 2022-02-27T17:07:15

Colonel Vindman on Ukraine's Military Situation and the Prospects For Diplomacy | Russia Goes to Full Nuclear Alert as Putin's Invasion Suffers Setbacks | Could the Czar in the Kremlin's Brutal Mis...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 24, 2022 - Nina Khrushcheva | Anders Åslund | Moisés Naím from 2022-02-24T23:07:38

Why Did Putin Start a War Against Ukraine and What Will He Get Out of It? | Assessing the Sanctions Announced Today by President Biden | Putin and How Dictators are Reinventing Politics For the 21s...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 23, 2022 - Steven Pifer | Daniel Treisman | Jack Blum from 2022-02-23T23:04:51

Ukraine Calls Up Reservists as Putin Moves Forces Into Donbas | Will Putin Cross the Line of Control and Provoke a Shooting War With Ukraine? | Will Rudy Giuliani Give up Others Except Trump to the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 22, 2022 - Simon Shuster | Mike Lofgren | Amy Myers Jaffe from 2022-02-22T23:25:45

Has Putin Become Even More Hawkish Than His Sycophantic Coterie? | How Trump's GOP Mirrors Putin's United Russia Party | Biden Warns of a Spike in Gas Prices as He Sanctions Russia backgroundbriefi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 22, 2022 - Alexander Cooley | Bartlett Naylor | Simon Rosenberg from 2022-02-21T22:07:32

In An Angry Speech Putin All But Declares War on Ukraine | The Leak of Dictator's $100 Billion in Credit Suisse, Often Originating as US Foreign Aid | How the Democrats Can Avoid an Electoral Wipeo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 20, 2022 - Alexander Motyl | Michael Gorham | Lee Fang from 2022-02-20T18:33:10

Russian Military Preparations for an Invasion of Ukraine Intensify | How Propaganda is Preparing the Russian People For War With Their Neighbor | Lawyers Line Up For a Slice of the $3.5 Billion of ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 17, 2022 - Gregory Treverton | James Henry | Kevin Kumashiro from 2022-02-17T23:43:58

Rumors of War Intensify as Putin Has No Reason to Invade Ukraine | How Effective Would Sanctions be Against the $2 Trillion in Russian Capital Flight Abroad? | The Nationwide Attack on School Board...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 16, 2022 - Annelle Sheline | Tara Connolly | Annie Bird from 2022-02-16T23:00:48

The Saudis Stiff Biden's Effort to Lower the Price of Gas at the Pump | How To Get Europe Off Russian Gas and Reduce Global Warming | The Former Honduran President's Perp-Walk on His Way to a U.S. ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 15, 2022 - Joshua Shifrinson | Bennett Ramberg | Stanley Greenberg from 2022-02-15T23:20:52

Could Ukraine Become Finlandized? | The Danger of Ukraine's 15 Nuclear Power Reactors Being Struck or Their Back-up Power Cut Off | How to Reverse the Democrats' Loss of Working-Class Voters backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 14, 2022 - Michael Kimmage | Gilbert Rozman | Justin Gest from 2022-02-14T23:13:14

NATO Should Not Expand Eastward For Its Own Sake, Not Russia's | Could the U.S. Find Itself in Two Cold Wars, the One We Have With Russia and Another With China? | Why Latinos Are Turning to the Re...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 13, 2022 - Adam Tooze | Zack Kopplin | Jen Senko from 2022-02-13T18:45:05

With Warnings War Could Break Out on Wednesday, Ukraine's Other Problem is Its Economy | 23 Million Afghans Face Starvation While We Decide What to do With Their Money | Fox's Propaganda is Undermi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 10, 2022 - Joseph Cirincione | Julian Zelizer | Max Chafkin from 2022-02-10T23:49:52

The Shadow of Nuclear Weapons Looming Over the Ukraine Crisis | Trump's Ripping, Burning and Toilet Flushing of Protected Documents | Trump Ally Peter Thiel's $5 Billion Deployed to Elect Trumpster...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 9, 2022 - David Kramer | Christopher Shaw | Zachary Carter from 2022-02-09T23:09:05

Strategies to Prevent a War in Ukraine and Soft Power Alternatives to Reach the Russian People | Good News From Congress That Will Save the U.S. Postal Service | The Economy is Good, Actually, But ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 8, 2022 - Chris McGreal | Kenneth Dekleva | Rob Ford from 2022-02-08T22:14:17

Big Oil Representatives a No-Show a House Oversight Hearing Today | Should Biden Negotiate Like Putin? | Has Boris Johnson Just Gone One Scandal Too Far? backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ia...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 7, 2022 - Andrew Cohen | David Andelman | Thomas Berger from 2022-02-08T00:14:34

Right Wing America Cheers Canada's Truckers But Canadians Prefer the Loss of Liberty to the Loss of Life | Putin and Macron's Marathon Meeting Which Might Yield Results | The Leaders of Germany and...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 6, 2022 - Stephen Wertheim | Anne Nelson | Robert Lipsyte from 2022-02-06T18:49:19

Finding a Path to Back Away From Brinkmanship Over Ukraine | The Shadow Network Behind the Right Wing Takeover of America Underway | The Sleazy Secrets and Unsportsmanlike Conduct of the NFL backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 3, 2022 - Dr. Allen Frances | Michael Weiss from 2022-02-03T21:48:43

The Crisis of American Sanity As We Tolerate Our Own Division and Destruction | Updates From a Leading Expert on ISIS Just Back From Ukraine backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 2, 2022 - Nicholas Mulder | Timothy Sayle | Jessica Lee from 2022-02-02T23:00:16

What Kind of Sanctions and Will They Work Against Putin? | Russia and America's Different Interpretation of the History of James Baker's "One Inch" Remark | The Need to Resume Talks With Kim Jong-u...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 1, 2022 - Peter Strzok | Amanda Starbuck | Sheila Krumholz from 2022-02-02T00:06:41

With Trump the GOP Frontrunner, Are We Heading For Putin-style Gangster Government? | What Can Be Done To Stop Corporate Price Gouging | Big Oil Rewards Senator Sinema For Killing Build Back Better...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 31, 2022 - Jennifer Mercieca | Dulcie Leimbach | Max Bergmann from 2022-01-31T23:48:41

In Incendiary Racist Demagoguery, Trump Threatens Civil War if He is Indicted | Today's UN Security Council Deliberations on Russia's Threats to Ukraine | How Should the US Respond if Russia Invade...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 31, 2022 - Jennifer Mercieca | Dulcie Leimbach | Max Bergmann from 2022-01-31T23:48:41

In Incendiary Racist Demagoguery, Trump Threatens Civil War if He is Indicted | Today's UN Security Council Deliberations on Russia's Threats to Ukraine | How Should the US Respond if Russia Invade...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 30, 2022 - Nestor Gomez | Brad Adams | Jonathan Katz from 2022-01-30T18:44:36

Will the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Meet the Infrastructure Crisis With 43,000 Unsafe Bridges Nationwide? | Multinational Oil Companies Cut Off Revenues to the Burmese Junta | Similarities Betw...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 27, 2022 - Emily Channel-Justice | Rob Jackson | Ryan Cooper from 2022-01-27T22:12:03

Understanding Putin's Mindset and Why He Won't Accept Ukrainian Sovereignty | Your Gas Stove is Killing You and Your Planet | Why Americans are Detached and Alienated From the Purpose of Government...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 26, 2022 - Aziz Huq | David Dayen | Robert Hockett from 2022-01-26T23:39:08

Lessons Learned From RBG With Justice Breyer Retiring From the Supreme Court | What Biden Can Accomplish With Executive Orders | The Fed Signals Interest Rates Will Go Up in March backgroundbriefin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 25, 2022 - Peter Pomerantsev | Steven Levitsky | Carlos Lauría from 2022-01-26T00:39:08

How to Penetrate Putin’s Wall of Propaganda Inside Russia Instead of Feeding It | Our Increasingly Incendiary Politics and the Spark of a Rigged Election That Will Ignite Political Violence | A Mur...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 24, 2022 - Anders Åslund | Kevin Carey | Martin Carnoy from 2022-01-24T22:09:49

Mounting Russian Military Preparation as Ukraine Disperses its Army in Readiness For Guerrilla War | The Supreme Court Targets Affirmative Action | How the Politics of White Grievance is Infecting ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 23, 2022 - Dr. Pavel Felgenhauer | Astra Taylor | Daniel Uhlfelder from 2022-01-23T18:41:55

Russia's Military Industrial Complex and Hawkish Generals Driving the War Party | How Do Democrats Get Out the Vote and Motivate Their Demoralized Base? | Florida's Thuggish Governor to Form His Ow...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 20, 2022 - Lisa Graves | Peter Goodman | Donald Cohen from 2022-01-20T23:54:06

SCOTUS Slouches Towards Right Wing Lunacy with a Maskless Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas's Sole Dissent | The Author of Davos Man: How Billionaires Devoured the World | The Links Between Privatization...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 19, 2022 - David Cay Johnston | David Feinberg | Thomas Zimmer from 2022-01-20T00:26:45

The New York AG Lays out a Pattern of "Fraudulent and Misleading" Practices by the Trump Organization | Biden's Second Press Conference on the Eve of His First Year in Office | An Expert on Democra...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 18, 2022 - Christopher Chivvis | Paul Glastris | Valeria Sinclair-Chapman from 2022-01-19T00:11:51

A War Between Russia and Ukraine Will Likely Break Out Within Weeks | Biden's First Year in Office at a Time His Domestic Agenda is Stalled and Poll Numbers Are Sinking | The Apparently Futile Sena...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 17, 2022 - Anthea Butler | Sam Pizzigati | Dr. Alan Robock from 2022-01-17T23:27:15

On MLK Day Rancor From African American Leaders at Senators Sinema and Manchin | The World's 10 Richest Men Double Their Wealth While 160 Million More Are Pushed Into Poverty | With Tonga Covered i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 16, 2022 - Kimberly Wehle | Spencer Sunshine | Toby Miller from 2022-01-16T18:50:57

The Supreme Court's Power Grab Puts the Authority of All Government Departments and Agencies in Jeopardy | "Seditious Conspiracy" Charges Against the Oath Keepers and Their Plans to Hold the Capito...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 13, 2022 - William Haseltine | Jonathan Metzl | Rodolfo Espino from 2022-01-14T00:47:48

In a Deadly Ruling the Supreme Court Takes the Public Out of Public Health | The Politicization of Public Health Has Led To the Defiance of Common Sense and Science | Senator Sinema's Death Blow to...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 12, 2022 - Garrett Epps | Richard Briffault | Aya Gruber from 2022-01-12T22:47:53

Could Biden and the Democrats Have Stopped the "Big Lie" Just After January 6? | Will Biden's Speech Change Minds in the Senate? | Does the Ruling Against Prince Andrew Mean He Will Pay Off His Acc...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 11, 2022 - Fred Wertheimer | Sally Denton | Taras Kuzio from 2022-01-12T00:42:30

Biden Gets Tough on Voting Rights and Republican Obstruction Via the Filibuster | The 1933 Coup Attempt Against FDR and Today's Plots By Plutocrats | What a War Between Russia and Ukraine Might Loo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 10, 2022 - Peter Stone | Thomas Homer-Dixon from 2022-01-10T23:23:11

Has Bannon's Precinct Strategy Caught the Democrats Napping? | A Warning From a Scholar of Violent Conflict That the U.S. Is Heading for a Dictatorial Takeover backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 9, 2022 - Michael Greenberger | Barbara Walter from 2022-01-09T18:38:57

The Homeland Security Election Year Landscape in Which Violence is Expected | Is a New American Civil War Led By Trump the "Ethnic Entrepreneur" Possible or Inevitable? backgroundbriefing.org/donat...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 6, 2022 - Elie Honig | Robert Pape | Sidney Blumenthal from 2022-01-06T22:54:59

Biden Accuses Trump of Holding "A Dagger at the Throat of America" | Who the January 6 Insurrectionists Really Were As the Movement Moves From the Far Right Fringes to the Mainstream | The Coup Plo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 5, 2022 - Aaron Rupar | John Bonifaz | Richard Hasen from 2022-01-05T23:47:09

Even Fox's Sean Hannity Could Not Get Through To Trump That He Lost the Election | The Campaign to Bar Jan.6 Insurrectionists From Future Public Office | Democracy As We Know It Could Come To An En...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 4, 2022 - William Arkin | Constanze Stelzenmüller | Stephen Marche from 2022-01-04T23:05:46

The Untold Story of Top Secret Teams Sent to Protect the Capitol on Jan. 6 | How Germans See the Challenges to American Democracy From Within | How the Next Civil War is Already Here But We Refuse ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 3, 2022 - Michael Gorham | Scott Horton | Ian Haney López from 2022-01-03T20:07:09

Putin and Biden and NATO Continue to Speak Past Each Other Ahead of Talks in Geneva | The DOJ's Failure to Stop the Rewriting of History of Jan. 6 and Putin's Ties to Trump | What Patriotic America...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 2, 2022 - Harry Litman | Deborah Tuerkheimer | Michael E. Hayden from 2022-01-02T18:41:44

Will Merrick Garland's Caution Allow the Insurrectionists to Get Away With Treason? | Will Maxwell Give Up the Rich and Powerful Who Availed Themselves of Epstein's Sex Trafficking? | The New Year ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 30, 2021 - Jan-Werner Müller | Sean Wilentz | John Nichols from 2021-12-30T21:48:32

Background Briefing's September 5, 2021 broadcast on the Global Growth of Plutocratic Populism | Our October 25, 2021 Broadcast on the Red State Secession to Create a Permanent Tyranny of the Minor...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 29, 2021 - Chas Freeman | Adam Weinstein | Fiona Hill from 2021-12-29T23:25:21

Background Briefing's April 28, 2021 Broadcast on China and the Middle East With Veteran Diplomat Chas Freeman | An August 26, 2021 Broadcast with an Analysis of Biden's Afghanistan Withdrawal From...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 28, 2021 - Rob Wallace | Jonathan Metzl | Adam Tooze from 2021-12-28T20:22:18

Background Briefing's March 1, 2021 Broadcast on the Origins of Covid-19 | Our July 14, 2021 Broadcast on How Republicans Don't Believe You Have a Right to Vote, But You Do Have a Right To Infect |...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 27, 2021 - Michael Mann | Srecko Horvat | Laurie Laybourne-Langton from 2021-12-27T15:20:02

Background Briefing's Feb 3, 2021 Broadcast on Polluters Trying to Blame Climate Change on Personal Responsibility and Not the Fossil Fuel Industry | Our Broadcast From May 24, 2021 With the Philos...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 26, 2021 - Will Sommer | Rep. Adam Schiff | Kathleen Belew from 2021-12-26T15:19:20

Background Briefing's January 6, 2021's Broadcast With a Reporter on the Ground Who Covered the Storming of the Capitol | The Congressman Who Led the Second Impeachment of Trump on Insurrectionists...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 23, 2021 - Rachel VanLandingham | Lawrence Douglas from 2021-12-23T21:03:38

Dealing With the Threat of Political Extremism Within the Ranks of the Military | The Plot to Destroy America From Within backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianma...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 22, 2021 - Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis | Richard Parker from 2021-12-22T21:48:59

Celebrating the Birth of Jesus and the Poor People's Campaign | Reviving Build Back Better and Saving American Democracy backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmas...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 21, 2021 - Robert Kuttner | Alfred McCoy from 2021-12-21T21:37:47

Will Putin be Trapped Into War With Ukraine By His Own Hawkish Rhetoric? | The Geopolitical Upheavals Ahead From Climate Change backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 20, 2021 - James Van Nostrand | Karen Dolan | Barry Barish from 2021-12-20T23:34:19

Manchin's Death Blow to the Biden Agenda is Not About Cost But About Stopping Alternative Energy | Manchin Criminalizes Poverty Claiming Child Tax Credits Used to Buy Drugs | A Nobel Laureate Who S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 19, 2021 - Arthur Caplan | Charles Stewart | Paul Pillar from 2021-12-19T18:36:55

Will Omicron Overwhelm Us and Will SCOTUS Uphold Employer Vaccination Mandates? | Could Voting Rights Bills Head Off the GOP Tsunami of Voter Suppression? | Israel's Intel Chiefs Decry Netanyahu an...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 16, 2021 - Paul Waldman | Daniel Rogers | Gilbert Rozman from 2021-12-17T00:02:10

If or When Will Biden's Build Back Better Bill Pass Now That it is Shelved Until Next Year | A Blow to a Veteran of the Senate Adding to the Exaggerated Perception of a Failing Presidency | Could R...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 15, 2021 - Samuel Moyn | Lloyd Green | Michael Swain from 2021-12-15T23:16:13

Time is Running Out For Senate Democrats on Election Reform and Build Back Better | The Race Between the Law Catching Up On Trump and Rigging the Vote to Ensure His Comeback | The Virtual Summit Be...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 14, 2021 - Debbie Berkowitz | Will Bunch | Ruth Ben-Ghiat from 2021-12-14T23:30:53

Workers at the Candle Factory and the Amazon Warehouse Were Not Allowed to Seek Shelter From Deadly Tornadoes | The Dickensian Disregard for Workers American Employers and Supervisors Have | Liz Ch...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 13, 2021 - Jennifer Marlon | John Allen | Thomas Bollyky from 2021-12-13T23:46:17

Will More and More Extreme Weather Events Make Climate Change a Clear and Present Danger? | Why do Tornadoes Now Happen in the Winter Instead of the Spring? | The Grim Milestone of 800,000 Covid De...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 12, 2021 - James Risen | Naomi Oreskes | Jennifer Pribble from 2021-12-12T18:24:59

The Dire Implications For Press Freedom in the Extradition of Julian Assange | Big Oil's Global Warming Strategy From Climate Denial to Climate Delay | Pinochet's Ghost Emerges With the Son of a Na...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 9, 2021 - Steven Feldstein | Robert Shapiro | Daniel Ziblatt from 2021-12-09T23:10:43

The White House Heads-of-State Zoom Meeting for Democracy | The Health of Our Own Democracy Under Attack From Trump's GOP | In Spite of Biden's Successes, the Perception of Failure Persists backgro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 8, 2021 - Michael Sandel | John Nichols from 2021-12-08T22:53:39

The American Political Philosopher the New Chancellor of Germany Consulted | Trying to Understand the Trump Party Propelled by Hate and Anger With no Policies, Plans or Platform backgroundbriefing....

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 7, 2021 - Laura Thornton | Daniel Treisman | Jared Holt from 2021-12-07T23:26:22

As the White House Hosts a Summit for Democracy, American Democracy is Under Attack by the GOP | An Assessment of Today's Biden and Putin Virtual Summit | The Chances of Success For Trump's Social ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 6, 2021 - Lydia Camarillo | Michael Beer | Sean Roberts from 2021-12-07T00:13:20

The Attorney General Takes on Texas Republicans Over Their Brazenly Racist Redistricting | Myanmar's Military Mafia Sentences the Country's Former Civilian Leader | The Diplomatic Boycott of the Be...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 5, 2021 - Steven Pifer | Dick Lehr | David Cay Johnston from 2021-12-05T18:49:48

The Presidents of the U.S. and Russia Will Speak on Tuesday as Putin is Poised to Invade Ukraine | The Rise of Political Hatred in the Pro-Trump Red States | Trump Made $1.7 Billion While in Office...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 2, 2021 - Jared Olson | Robert McChesney from 2021-12-02T22:43:28

A Narco-Dictatorship is About to be Transformed Into a Social Democracy | How Public Funding Could Save American Journalism Where it Began, at the Local Level backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.c...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 1, 2021 - Sherry Colb | Michael McDonald | Joshua Douglas from 2021-12-01T20:46:53

The Supreme Court Appears Ready to Restrict Abortions or Overrule Roe | An Expert Witness the University of Florida Barred From Testifying Against Gov. Ron DeSantis' Voting Restrictions | The Attac...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 30, 2021 - David Rothkopf | Trita Parsi | Ronnie Yearwood from 2021-12-01T00:36:37

Reports Emerge That Trump Played a Hands-on Role in the Coup Attempt | Mixed Messages From Iran as the Nuclear Talks Resume | Barbados Cuts Ties With the British Crown to Become a Republic backgrou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 29, 2021 - David Pepper | Dr. Stanley Perlman | Annie Bird from 2021-11-29T22:59:34

Democrats Are Asleep as the Republicans Quietly Rig the Vote | Mixed Messages About the New Covid Variant Omicron | An Overwhelming Victory to Oust the Narco-Dictator in Honduras backgroundbriefing...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 28, 2021 - Shannon Bennett | Philippe Marlière | Sarah Williams from 2021-11-28T18:24:45

The New Variant of Covid the WHO Has Designated as Omicron | Boris Johnson's Shameful Grandstanding Over the Channel Crossing Tragedies | 1.8 Million Central American Refugees in 5 Years Each Year ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 25, 2021 - Rev. Billy | Stephan Schwartz from 2021-11-25T19:55:42

Thanksgiving for the Earth and Stopping Shopping on Black Friday | What We Can Be Thankful For and Aspire to Become backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersm...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 24, 2021 - Lincoln Mitchell | Ekow Yankah from 2021-11-24T23:58:11

The Alleged Rift Between VP Harris and the White House is the Last Thing Biden Needs | Guilty Verdicts in the Ahmaud Arbery Case Come as a Relief to Many backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ia...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 23, 2021 - Alan Leveritt | Tyson Slocum | Mike Konczal from 2021-11-23T22:10:33

The Attack on the First Amendment From ALEC's Anti-boycott Laws | The U.S., China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. Tap Into Their Strategic Petroleum Reserves | An Appraisal of President Bid...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 22, 2021 - Edward McCaffery | Georg Diez | Samuel Charap from 2021-11-22T23:44:05

Democrats' Tax Bill Helps Blue State Millionaires While Leaving Billionaires Unscathed | Anti-vaxxer Violence in Europe and Mandatory Vaccination in Austria | Fears of a War Between Russia and Ukra...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 21, 2021 - Ruth Conniff | James Van Nostrand | Aluf Benn from 2021-11-21T18:52:03

Open Season on Left Wing Demonstrators by Right Wing Vigilantes Sanctioned by Self Defense Laws and Now Considered Heroes | Build Back Better Now in the Hands of Senator Joe Manchin | The Editor-in...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 18, 2021 - Jonathan Cohn | Robert Hockett | Matt Angle from 2021-11-18T19:35:03

Big Pharma's Blitz to Weaken Biden's Build Back Better Bill | The History of Combating Inflation and Replicating FDR Today | Can Democrats Overcome Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression to Win Texas...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 17, 2021 - Patrick Blanchfield | Chris Arnade | Anne Marie Lofaso from 2021-11-17T21:30:36

Will an Acquittal of Rittenhouse Embolden the 30% of Republicans Who Believe Violence is Necessary? | The Defiance of Back Row Americans Who Consider Being Unvaccinated a Badge of Honor | Trump's V...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 16, 2021 - Thomas Carothers | Jennifer Taub | Mandy Smithberger from 2021-11-16T23:41:19

Backsliding Among the World's Democracies | White Collar Crime Moves From the Freezer to the Front Burner at the DOJ | The CBO Outlines 3 Ways to Cut $1 Trillion From the Pentagon backgroundbriefin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 15, 2021 - Perry Link | Anders Aslund | Rep. Ruben Gallego from 2021-11-15T23:38:45

A Virtual Summit of America's Messy Democracy Versus Xi Jinping's Efficient Autocracy | Is Putin Poised for a Knockout Blow of Ukraine's Shaky Government? | How the January 6 Insurrection Was a Fla...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 14, 2021 - Laurie Laybourn-Langton | William Yeomans | Annelle Sheline from 2021-11-14T18:22:28

Our Fragile Planet Hangs By a Thread With a Meek and Weak COP 26 Agreement | Bannon Will Likely Refuse to Testify and Instead Go To Jail as a Martyr | Is the Saudi Crown Prince the Main Driver of I...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 11, 2021 - Ion Meyn | Matthew Lawrence | Benn Steil from 2021-11-11T22:32:14

The Judge in the Rittenhouse Trial Tips the Scales For an Acquittal | After a Disappointing COP26 Climate Activists Must Now Double Down | Xi Jinping's "Historic Declaration" As He Rolls Back the C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 10, 2021 - Katheryn Russ | Michael Gerrard | Sam Quinones from 2021-11-10T23:35:29

Exaggerated Fears of Inflation and Keeping Powell at the Fed | COP26 Draft Agreement Seen as Too Little Too Late | Prosecutors Seek Murder Charges in the Fentanyl Epidemic Killing Teenagersbackgrou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 9, 2021 - Adam Klasfeld | Kathleen Belew | David Marples from 2021-11-09T23:24:59

The Jan. 6 Committee Drops 10 Subpoenas Today After Issuing 6 on Monday | QAnon, Stop the Steal and White Supremacy Coalesce Around Trump | Refugees Used as Pawns by the Belarus Dictator as Border ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 8, 2021 - Robert Baer | Dr. Stephie Wooldhandler | Charles Gaba from 2021-11-08T22:33:55

The Latest Twist in the Tangled Tale of Trump's Ties to Putin | Are Republicans Killing Americans For Political Gain? | The Covid Death Toll Between Red and Blue America Grows Wider and Faster back...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 7, 2021 - Robert Stavins | Anatol Leiven | Joel Rogers from 2021-11-07T18:44:01

An Assessment of the Work So Far at the COP 26 Climate Conference | Great Power Competition is in the Way of the Real National Security Threat, Climate Change | Exaggerated Alarm at the Alleged Dem...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 4, 2021 - Jacob Heilbrunn | Stephen Farnsworth | Ben Freeman from 2021-11-04T23:27:36

Trump Appears to Have Failed to Block Documents For the 1/6 House Investigation | Democrat's Blame Each Other for Losses in Virginia | The FEC's Appalling Decision to Allow Foreign Money to Corrupt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 3, 2021 - Amy Fried | Amanda Marcotte | Jake Charles from 2021-11-03T21:40:25

Dog Whistles Worked for Republicans in Virginia While Intraparty Fighting Hurt the Democrats | Can the GOP Run Two Campaigns in 2022, One For the Trumpsters and a Youngkin-like One? | SCOTUS Seems ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 2, 2021 - Andrew Revkin | Basav Sen | Robert Johnson from 2021-11-02T22:27:53

COP26 Agreements on Cutting Methane and Ending Deforestation | How Climate Agreements Impact the North-South Divide | The Worsening Standoff Between Manchin and Sinema and House Progressives backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 1, 2021 - Dean Baker | Aziz Huq | Natalie Jackson from 2021-11-01T22:19:36

Manchin Throws a Grenade Into Biden's and the Democrats' Hopes and Plans | SCOTUS Hears The Texas Abortion Law Which Has a Lot in Common With the Fugitive Slave Act | An Alarming New Survey on Our ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 31, 2021 - Daphne Wysham | Sydney Blumenthal | Andrew Cockburn from 2021-10-31T17:42:38

Solutions at the COP 26 Conference to Remove Atmospheric Methane | Virginia's Trial Run For the GOP to Campaign on the "Critical Race Theory" Lie | No $3.5 Trillion to Build Back America, But For t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 28, 2021 - Jim Manley | Lauren Windsor | Tracey Lewis from 2021-10-28T23:22:18

Biden Implores His Fellow Democrats to Accept the Slimmed-down $1.85 Trillion Reconciliation Bill | The Real John Eastman Praises His Memo For the Trump Coup Attempt | Oil Executives Deny Global Wa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 27, 2021 - Todd Gitlin | Morris Pearl | Erica Payne from 2021-10-27T21:26:36

An Open Letter by Prominent Progressives and Conservatives to Save American Democracy From Trump's GOP | Manchin Boasts to a Billionaire Tax Cheat That he Stopped the IRS From Taxing Them backgroun...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 26, 2021 - Carlton Larson | Anna Massoglia | Steve Howard from 2021-10-26T21:42:20

Does Sedition or Treason Apply to Trump, Bannon and Members of Congress Behind the Planning of January 6? | We "Follow the Money" Behind the Financing of January 6 | An Expert on Sudan on the Milit...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 25, 2021 - Sean Wilentz | Ali Alyami | Henri Barkey from 2021-10-25T21:57:49

The Red State Succession to Create a Permanent Tyranny of the Minority | Top Saudi Intelligence Official Calls MBS a Psychopath Threatening His People, Americans and the Planet | Erdogan Walks Back...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 24, 2021 - Lawrence Lessig | Lincoln Mitchell | Carol Sanger from 2021-10-24T17:49:56

How Facebook Turns Conservatives Into Extremists | Will Delivering on Biden's Promises Lead to Victory in the Midterms? | Again The Supreme Court Refuses to block Extreme Texas Abortion Law backgro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 21, 2021 - John Dean | Alexander Keyssar | Ryan Cooper from 2021-10-21T23:41:47

John Dean On How Bannon Is "Up to His Eyeballs" in January 6 and So Is Trump | The Next Step For Senate Democrats After Republicans Kill Manchin's Freedom to Vote Act | Democratic Dithering is Hurt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 20, 2021 - Casey Michel | David Faris | Rachel Cleetus from 2021-10-20T22:06:13

Why the U.S. is the Kleptocrats Preferred Destination to Launder Billions | Is the Secretary of Defense Opening the Door for Ukraine to Enter NATO? | Coal Makes a Comeback as Manchin Blocks Clean A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 19, 2021 - Geoffrey Kabaservice | Lydia Camarillo | Aaron Scherb from 2021-10-19T21:36:09

Colin Powell's Passing As a Metaphor For the Death of Republican Moderation | Texas's Nakedly Racist, Greedy and Undemocratic Redistricting Maps | Do Democratic Politicians in Washington Realize Tr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 18, 2021 - Jane McAlevey | Brian Concannon | Cas Mudde from 2021-10-18T21:53:24

Labor Fights Back Against Inequality With 176 Strikes Launched So Far This Year | As Haiti Collapses, Kidnapping and Extortion Now Claims U.S. Missionaries | Inside the Far-Right International Netw...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 17, 2021 - Bill McKibbon | Adam Schiff | George Magnus from 2021-10-17T17:51:05

Manchin Holds Biden Hostage to Coal Ahead of the UN Climate Conference | Congressman Adam Schiff on the Insurrectionists in Suits Threatening Our Democracy | Xi's "Common Prosperity" Hoax and the F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 14, 2021 - Harry Litman | Miles Taylor | Nader Hashemi from 2021-10-14T22:24:48

Trump Faces a Deposition as Bannon Defies a House Subpoena | The Resistance Movement of the Rationals Against the Radical in the GOP | Iran Stalls the Nuclear Talks as it Moves Closer to a Nuclear ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 13, 2021 - Amy Myers Jaffe | J.W. Mason | Mike Kugelman from 2021-10-13T21:36:53

Relieving the Bottlenecks in the Supply Chain While Not Giving in to Panic Over Inflation | What is Behind the Rise in Oil and Gas Prices | How to Help the Afghan People Avoid Starvation While Not ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 12, 2021 - Aaron Rupar | Fiona Hill | Justin Vaughn from 2021-10-12T22:50:57

Trump on the Stump in Iowa Running for the Presidency He Claims He Never Lost | Fiona Hill's Journey From the Coal House to the White House | Idaho's Governorship, a Clash Between the Old and the N...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 11, 2021 - Lawrence Gostin | David Halperin | David McClotsky from 2021-10-11T14:41:06

A Better Way to End the Covid Nightmare | Finally the Government is Cracking Down on the Taxpayer-Funded Crooks of the For-Profit Colleges | A Former CIA Analyst on What Could Have Been Done to Pre...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 10, 2021 - Frank Vogl | Patrick Wyman from 2021-10-10T13:46:20

The Continuing Fallout From the Pandora Papers | The Less Discussed Elite, Trump's American Gentry backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 7, 2021 - Simon Rosenberg | Shelley Rigger | Ryan Devereaux from 2021-10-07T19:39:58

Intra-party Democratic wrangling is Hurting Biden and the Chances of Holding the House and Senate | China's Escalating Military Pressure on Taiwan Could Get Out of Hand | While Arms From the U.S. F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 6, 2021 - Joe Margulies | Michael Hiltzik | Karim Zidan from 2021-10-06T22:51:35

The Lawyer for Abu Zubaydah Whose Case Was Heard Today by the Supreme Court | Lessons From Previous Coastal Oil Spills Have Not Been Learned | How Fight Clubs and MMA Are Incubators For Far Right H...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 5, 2021 - Peter Dreier | Kai Newkirk | Adam Cohen from 2021-10-05T22:22:23

How the Press is Helping the Republicans Frame the Infrastructure Debate | Will Home State Pressure on Sinema Stop Her From Tanking the Democrats and Biden's Presidency? | As the Supreme Court Move...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 4, 2021 - Oliver Bullough | Gwen Goodmanlowe | Jonathan Taplin from 2021-10-04T22:04

The Pandora Papers Trove and South Dakota as an Onshore Haven For Dirty Money | The Latest Devastating California Coastal Oil Spill | Facebook Offline and in the Hotseat Following Whistleblower on ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 3, 2021 - Howie Klein | Adam Tooze | Dr. Azza Karam from 2021-10-03T15:00:10

Biden Tries to Bridge the Democratic Divide on Capitol Hill | The Pandemic Provides an Opportunity to Rebuild a New Society Not Preserve the Old | A Call From Religious Leaders That No One is Safe ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 30, 2021 - Andrew Feinberg | Steve Muratore | John Fitzpatrick from 2021-09-30T23:03:31

January 6 Subpoenas and Republicans Equate Egging of Larry Elder With Growing Threat of Domestic Terrorism | Trying to Understand Kyrsten Sinema Who Controls the Fate of Biden and the Democrats | A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 29, 2021 - Sam Quinones | Anthea Butler | Christopher Shah from 2021-09-29T23:19:55

DEA Warns Fentanyl-laced Counterfeit Drugs Sold on Sites Like SnapChat are Killing Thousands of American Teenagers | The Growing Use of Religious Exemptions by Anti-Vaxxers | Trump's Postmaster Gen...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 28, 2021 - Adam Green | Joe Cirincione | Logan Wright from 2021-09-28T22:54:47

The Showdown Between Progressive and "Corporate" Democrats Over the Infrastructure Bills | The Generals Testify in the Face of Petty Republican Sniping | Evergrande's Impact on 30% of China's Econo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 27, 2021 - Mike Lofgren | Max Chafkin | Michael Werz from 2021-09-27T23:00:06

The Democrats Should Invoke the 14th Amendment to Raise the Debt Ceiling | Peter Thiel, the Ultimate Plutocratic Populist Financing Far Right Candidates | An Update From Berlin on the Social Democr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 26, 2021 - Charles Kupchan | Evan Osnos | Will Bunch from 2021-09-26T17:52:28

Are the Quad and Aukus Deals Happening at the Expense of Ties to Our European Allies? | Evan Osnos on His New Book Wildland: The Making of America's Fury | The Cynical Trump and Republican Recounts...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 23, 2021 - James Galbraith | Gary Pierre Pierre | Sarah Turbeville from 2021-09-23T22:41:48

Is McConnell Bluffing Over Not Raising the Debt Ceiling? | Reaction to Our Ambassador to Haiti Calling U.S. Treatment of Haitian Refugees "Inhumane" | The Border Patrol as America's Most Out-Of-Con...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 22, 2021 - Daniel Goldberg | Jason Stanley | Zach Carter from 2021-09-22T22:36:25

The January 6 Coup Almost Succeeded, Not by the Mob, But the Eastman Memo | The U.S. is Heading For an Authoritarian Electoral Coup to Install a Kleptocracy | Why Are Democratic Moderates Sabotagin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 21, 2021 - Barbara Crossette | Kelley Vlahos | Michael Gorham from 2021-09-21T21:40:55

At the U.N. Biden Urges World Leaders to Face the Challenges of Climate Change and Pandemics | Apple and Google Helped Putin Rig Russia's Parliamentary Elections | Stuffing More Pork Into the NDAA ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 20, 2021 - Victor Shih | Martha Pskowski | Richard Johnston from 2021-09-20T22:00:01

Could the Collapse of Evergrande Become China's Lehman Brothers Moment? | Border Patrol Officers on Horseback With Whips Round Up Haitian Refugees | Today's Elections in Canada backgroundbriefing.o...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 19, 2021 - William Haseltine | Rachel Stohl | Joe von Fischer from 2021-09-19T16:59:38

We Need More Covid Booster Shots, Not Less | Rethinking U.S. Drone Policy While Repairing Trump's Damage to Our National Security | Biden's Call to Reduce Methane Emissions by 30% by the End of the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 16, 2021 - June Dreyer | Max Bergmann | Adele Stan from 2021-09-16T23:01:40

China's Reaction to the AUKUS Deal Between the U.S., U.K., and Australia | French Fury at Australia For Cancelling a $66 Billion Submarine Deal | Who Will Show Up For the "Justice For J6" Rally on ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 15, 2021 - Greg Palast | Alfred McCoy | Jessica Lee from 2021-09-15T22:26:11

What is the Plan B If Joe Manchin Can't Sell the Republicans His Freedom to Vote Act? | After We Wasted $2.3 Trillion, China Looks Like the Biggest Winner in Afghanistan | Averting a Nuclear Arms R...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 14, 2021 - Larry Gerston | Eric Levitz | Virginia López from 2021-09-14T22:12:19

The Last Day of Voting in the California Recall | The All-or-Nothing Bill That Has Progressive and Moderate Democrats at Loggerheads | An Update On Venezuela Where Maduro Is Propped Up By Dollars F...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 13, 2021 - Lisa Graves | Edward McCaffery | Ali Al-Ahmed from 2021-09-13T21:51:11

After Allowing a Partisan Anti-Abortion Law to Stand, Amy Coney Barrett Claims Nonpartisanship | The House Proposal to Pay For the $3.5 Trillion Build Back Better Plan | The Heavily-Redacted FBI 9/...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 12, 2021 - Philip Shenon | Suzanne Schneider | Geoff Thale from 2021-09-12T18:05:36

Why Has Nobody Been Held to Account For the Failure to Prevent 9/11? | Comparisons Between Al Qaeda and ISIS and Far-Right Domestic Terrorism | El Salvador's Increasingly Authoritarian Leader Makes...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 9, 2021 - Kristen Breitweiser | Stephen Wertheim | David Blight from 2021-09-09T21:59:05

A 9/11 Widow on the 20th Anniversary and Why the Killers of 3000 Have Yet to Be Put on Trial | Biden's Foreign Policy of Pragmatism and Realism | The Republican Party as the Party of the Confederac...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 8, 2021 - Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera | Lawrence Douglas | Carl Tobias from 2021-09-08T22:34:39

Mexico's Supreme Court Decriminalizes Abortion While SCOTUS Does the Opposite | Is it Time For Biden to Pack the Supreme Court? | Toppling the Confederate Traitor in the Former Capital of the Confe...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 7, 2021 - Matthew Avery Sutton | William Arkin | Kai Thaler from 2021-09-07T20:24:24

The Evangelical Movement's Determination to End Abortion and It's Strategists on the Supreme Court | Who the 9/11 Hijackers Were and How They Deviated From Bin Laden's Orders | Nicaragua's Dictator...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 6, 2021 - Harley Shaiken | Lawrence Mishel | Gabriel Winant from 2021-09-06T21:29:53

The Paradox That Americans Support Labor Unions Yet Only 6.3% of the Private Workforce is Unionized | The Fate on the PRO Act in the Hands of Senator Sinema | Deindustrialized Union Jobs Are Being ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 5, 2021 - Caroline Frederickson | Jan-Werner Müller | Lindsay Koshgarian from 2021-09-05T17:56:16

Our Reactionary Supreme Court Reveals Its Determination to Kill Roe | The Global Growth of Plutocratic Populism | The Financial and Human Costs of the Wars Since 9/11 backgroundbriefing.org/donatet...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 2, 2021 - Jamille Fields Allsbrook | Dr. Andrew Kolodny | William Hartung from 2021-09-02T23:04

Texas Puts Constitutional Rights Up For Sale With a Soviet-Style Regime of Informants | The Bitter Bankruptcy Deal That Allows the Sackler Family to Keep Their Ill-Gotten Gains | Afghanistan as the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 1, 2021 - Sarah Slamen | Sidney Blumenthal | Thomas Barfield from 2021-09-01T22:06:17

The Handmaid's Tale Comes to Texas as SCOTUS Moves to End Abortion Rights | Panic Among House Republicans and Their Leader | Can the Taliban Rule Afghanistan's Urban Population Who Do Not Want to G...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Can the Taliban Rule Afghanistan's Urban Population Who Do Not Want to Go Back to the 7th Century? from 2021-09-01T22:06:17

Can the Taliban Rule Afghanistan's Urban Population Who Do Not Want to Go Back to the 7th Century? by Ian Masters

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 31, 2021 - Zack Kopplin | Jeremi Suri | Karl Frisch from 2021-08-31T21:56:30

We Can't Blame the Afghans for Corruption We Brought With Our Conquest | America's Military Dominance Has Not Yielded the Promised Benefits | The Pro-Landlord SCOTUS Evicts 750,000 Families During ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 30, 2021 - Eric Schleifstein | Najmedin Meshkati | Dr. Stanley Perlman from 2021-08-30T21:24:30

Devastation in New Orleans as Superstorms Become the New Normal | The Weaknesses of the Nation's Electricity Grids | Obstruction by the Chinese Government Means We Will Never Know What Caused the P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 29, 2021 - Michael Weiss | Lawrence Korb | Shannon Bennett from 2021-08-29T17:46:48

The Scope and Size of ISIS Inside Afghanistan | What Went Wrong at the Gate to the Kabul Airport? | An Assessment of the I.C.'s Inconclusive Report on the Origin of the Covid-19 Pandemic background...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 26, 2021 - Adam Weinstein | Dorit Reiss | David Kamper from 2021-08-26T22:28:07

Terrorists Bombs at Kabul's Airport Kill U.S. Marines, Afghan Civilians and Taliban Guards | Growing Pressure For Vaccine Mandates Puts Grandstanding GOP Governors in a Bind | The 100th Anniversary...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 25, 2021 - Thomas Wright | Paul Campos | Paul Light from 2021-08-25T22:15:54

The IC's Report of the Origins of the Pandemic and the PRC's Hysterical Propaganda Onslaught | Unprecedented Judicial Activism From the Supreme Court's Meddling in Foreign Policy | House Democratic...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 24, 2021 - Robert Kuttner | Andrew Latham | Karen Greenberg from 2021-08-24T22:23:06

Biden's Poll Numbers Are Down, But Likely to be Back in a Month or So | With Resistance to Foreign Occupiers the Glue, The Taliban Could Soon Dissolve | We Could be at a Turning Point to End the Fo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 23, 2021 - David Rothkopf | Jacob Silverman | Jeremy Duda from 2021-08-23T23:28:03

The Blame Game Continues Without Considering 20 Years of Disastrous Decisions | A California Ruling and the Future of the Gig Economy | The Center of Attention Senator Sinema Vows to Stop the $3.5 ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 22, 2021 - Shane Burley | David Vine | Samuel Moyn from 2021-08-22T17:50:10

Pro-Trump White Nationalists Will Be Back at The Capitol Next Month in a Volatile Heightened Threat Environment | Afghanistan's Refugee Crisis With 5.9 Million Already Displaced | Pulling Troops Ou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 19, 2021 - Amb. Husain Haqqani | James Jennings | Lincoln Mitchell from 2021-08-19T22:37:20

Pakistan Celebrates America's Humiliation Before They Come to Regret Their Pyrrhic Victory | The Coming Afghan Refugee Crisis | Could a Republican Stealth Campaign Elect a Right Wing Crackpot to Ru...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 18, 2021 - Sarah Leah Whitson | Peter Dreier | Jon Cohen from 2021-08-18T22:15:10

The UAE Welcomes the Afghan Ex-President Ghani Carrying $169 Million in Cash | The Myth of the Moderate Republican | Will Booster Shots in the U.S. be at the Expense of the Rest of the World? backg...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 17, 2021 - Thomas Mockaitis | Dr. Sajjan Gohel | Brian Concannon from 2021-08-17T21:06:01

$2 Trillion Blindly Spent on Afghanistan While a Half is Hotly Debated in the Senate Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill | The Current Pragmatism of the Taliban is Not to be Trusted | Earthquake in Hait...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 16, 2021 - Paul Pillar | Robert Baer | Christopher Mitchell from 2021-08-16T23:38:55

Is What We are Seeing in Afghanistan an Intelligence Failure? | Russia Worries the Taliban Will Export Their Religious Fundamentalist Revolution | Broadband in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 15, 2021 - John Nichols | Shuja Nawaz | Christine Fair from 2021-08-15T20:17:50

The Democrats Are Running Out of Time to Stop Massive GOP Voter Suppression | The Taliban Now Entering Kabul | Biden Should Have Known and Got Those Who Helped the U.S. Out backgroundbriefing.org/...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 12, 2021 - Graham Fuller | Dowell Myers | Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from 2021-08-12T23:30:10

The U.S. Asks the Taliban Not to Sack Our Embassy in Kabul | The Census Has Whites Declining While Blacks, Hispanics and Asians Are on the Rise | The Patriot Behind Trump's First Impeachment backgr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 11, 2021 - Harold Meyerson | Tapio Schneider | Spencer Ackerman from 2021-08-11T23:03:33

Now That Cuomo is Gone, Time to Save Newsom | Is There a Technological Fix to Remove CO2 From the Atmosphere? | Can We Undo the Damage The War on Terror Has Done to America? backgroundbriefing.org/...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 10, 2021 - David Dayen | Steven Greenhouse | Joel Clement from 2021-08-10T23:22:45

19 Senate Republicans Vote For an Infrastructure Bill the House Will Put on Hold | Biden Celebrates the Bill's High-Paying Union Jobs | Time Wasted and the Urgent Need to Decarbonize backgroundbrie...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 8, 2021 - Rachel Cleetus | Mohamed Ismail | Peter Bergen from 2021-08-09T23:16:08

The Latest U.N. Climate Report is Beyond Alarming | Will the U.S. Stand For Human Rights Against Egypt's Dictator? | As Afghanistan Collapses, a Portrait of Osama bin Laden backgroundbriefing.org/d...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 8, 2021 - Alex Pareene | Fred Wertheimer | Samuel Chu from 2021-08-08T20:26:45

Our Broken Senate's Pyrrhic Victory Today | The For The People Act Should Be the Democrat's Top Priority | Hong Kong's Fate As 10,000 Are Arrested backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter.com/ianmaster...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 8, 2021 - Dr. Ben Freeman | Ioan Grillo | Col. Andrew Bacevich from 2021-08-05T23:45:07

The DOJ and Senators Stop a Saudi Lawsuit That Would Expose State Secrets | Mexico Sues U.S. Gun Manufacturers For Arms Trafficking | A Call For a National Security Overhaul to Deal With the Real T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 4, 2021 - Tamara Fucile | David Marples | Nader Hashemi from 2021-08-04T22:53:34

Biden Revives the Eviction Moratorium with Unspent Money For Tenants and Landlords Already in the Pipeline | The Shadow War Between Iran and Israel is About to Escalate | The Soviet Relic in Belaru...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 3, 2021 - Ryan Cooper | Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Helaine Olen from 2021-08-03T22:31:03

The Devastating Report from the Sexual Harassment Investigation Into Governor Cuomo | Tucker Carlson Broadcasts From Hungary as the GOP Copies Orban's Electoral Autocracy | The U.S. is Alone in No ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 2, 2021 - Gary Blasi | Larry Gerston | Lloyd Green from 2021-08-02T23:29:40

Unnecessary Cruelty as the Eviction Moratorium Ends | California's Governor Newsom Could be Replaced by a Crackpot with Less Than 20% of the Vote | Congressional Investigations and Mounting Legal T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 1, 2021 - Harry Litman | Basav Sen | Lawrence Wright from 2021-08-01T19:40:25

Trump Shakes Down the DOJ to Declare the Election "Corrupt" | The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Could Have Been Written by Exxon | Lawrence Wright on The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 29, 2021 - Kent Harrington | William Ripple | Julie Brown from 2021-07-29T23:04:08

The Need For the Media to Cooperate on Investigative Journalism While Combatting Disinformation | An Alarming New Study on the Planet's Vital Signs | The Journalist, Without Whom, Jeffrey Epstein W...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 28, 2021 - Robert Hockett | John Pike | Philip Rucker from 2021-07-28T23:10:52

What the Senate Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Does and Doesn't Do | China Signals It Is Building up its Strategic Nuclear Arsenal | The Co-author of I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastro...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 27, 2021 - Will Sommer | Sidney Blumenthal | John Bonifaz from 2021-07-27T23:37:05

Trump's GOP is Turning Traitors and Seditionists Into Martyrs and Patriots | Today's Testimony and the Role of Jim Jordan in the Insurrection | Section 3 of the 14th Amendment Bars Trump and Other ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 26, 2021 - Michael Mann | David Pogue | Juan Cole from 2021-07-26T22:55:46

The World's Climate Scientists Meet as Fires, Floods and Droughts Ravage the Planet | The Author of How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos | Biden Agrees to Lea...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 25, 2021 - Jamie Metzl | Lisa Graves | Greg Grandin from 2021-07-25T22:50:20

Why is the Communist Chinese Government so Afraid of an Investigation Into Covid 19's Origins? | What Happened to the 4,500 Tips Into Kavanaugh's Background? | Blowback as New Waves of Refugees Hea...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 22, 2021 - James Thurber | Eric Schickler | Michael Bender from 2021-07-22T23:17:03

McCarthy and the "Political Terrorist" Jim Jordan's Trolling of the January 6 Select Committee | Already Fox's Tucker Carlson Has Slandered Tuesday's First Witness | Michael Bender on Frankly We Di...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 21, 2021 - Eli Zupnick | David Hearst | Ann Hagehorn from 2021-07-21T22:57:16

Fixing the Senate McConnell Has Made a Graveyard of Legislation | Barrack's Arrest and the Outsized Role of the UAE in Trump's Administration | The Untold Story of a Russian Atomic Spy Even Putin D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 20, 2021 - Alex Kotch | Jamie Beck Alexander | Jennifer Mercieca from 2021-07-20T23:19:52

Joe Manchin's Deep Ties to the Fossil Fuel Industries | A Climate Refugee on Being Safe and Being of the Most Use | The Bewildered Herd Now in a Rage is Trampling and Destroying Things backgroundbr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 19, 2021 - Miles Taylor | David Kaye | Lawrence Gostin from 2021-07-19T22:57:33

The First to Reveal Trump's Oval Office Insanity Now that the Generals are Speaking Out Years Later | The Spyware Used to Target Journalists, Human Rights Activists and Politicians | Trump is Now t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 18, 2021 - Col. Lawrence Wilkerson | Robert Baer | Richard Parker from 2021-07-18T18:40:48

How the Generals Saved us From a Wannabe Dictator | What Will It Take For Trump's Base to See Their Hero as a Traitor? | Can Democrats Weaponize This Flood of Mounting Evidence? backgroundbriefing....

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 15, 2021 - Scott Horton | David Karpf | Ann Louis Bardach from 2021-07-15T21:34:05

Kremlin Documents Show How Putin Put Trump in the White House | The Left Should Push Biden on Infrastructure | Miami as the Exile Capital of the World Where Cubans, Haitians and Venezuelans Cook up...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 14, 2021 - Jonathan Metzl | Keesha Gaskins-Nathan | Rob Johnson from 2021-07-14T22:51:30

Republicans Don't Believe You Have a Right to Vote, But You Do Have a Right To Infect | The House Democratic Whip Pressures Senate Democrats to Carve-Out Voting Rights From the Filibuster | The $3....

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 13, 2021 - Joshua Douglas | Garry Pierre-Pierre | Ada Ferrer from 2021-07-13T23:02:12

Biden Takes On Trump's "Big Lie" at the Birthplace of American Democracy | Why Do We Accept Reports Completely Lacking In Credibility From Haitian Officials and Politicians? | Cuban Leaders Resort ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 12, 2021 - Jeremi Suri | Arturo Lopez Levy | Robert Jones from 2021-07-12T22:17:48

Texas Democrats Head Out of Town Again to Stop Republican Voter Suppression | Popular Demonstrations Erupt in Cuba | White Evangelicals Double Down in Their Support For a Violator of Seven of the T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 8, 2021 - Alex Weinstein | Brian Concannon | Terry O'Rourke from 2021-07-08T22:43:04

An Analysis Of Biden's Afghanistan Withdrawal Announcement From a Marine Who Served There | An Update on the Killing and Capture of Suspects Behind the Assassination of Haiti's President | The Texa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 7, 2021 - Alex Dupuy | Amy Wilentz | Amanda Tyler from 2021-07-07T20:23:15

Haiti's Corrupt and Illegitimate President Assassinated | How Gangs and a New Corrupt Elite Have Made Haiti Unlivable | Christians Against Christian Nationalism Join the Fight Against White Suprema...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 7, 2021 - Amy Fried | David Rothkopf | Thomas Barfield from 2021-07-06T22:46:02

How Conservative Elites Have Created Distrust in Government and Profited From It | Why So Many Americans Believe In "the Big Lie" | Afghanistan's Incompetent Leader is Making a Taliban Takeover Eas...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 6, 2021 - Amy Fried | David Rothkopf | Thomas Barfield from 2021-07-06T22:44:18

How Conservative Elites Have Created Distrust in Government and Profited From It | Why So Many American Believe In "the Big Lie" | Afghanistan's Incompetent Leader is Making a Taliban Takeover Easi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 5, 2021 - Adam Serwer | Neta Crawford | Michael Gerrard from 2021-07-05T22:21:15

Why Republican Oppose Voter Reform and Making Life Better For All Americans | The Costs or Post-9/11 Wars With 4 Times More Vets Dying From Suicides Than Combat | Using the Law to Fight Global Warm...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 1, 2021 - Leah Litman | Henry Pontell | Susan Joy Hassol from 2021-07-01T23:45:23

The Supreme Court Guts Voting Rights and Hands a Gift to the Koch Brothers | Will Indictments Against the Trump Organization and Its CFO be Enough to Nail Trump? | Climate Change is Behind the Reco...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 30, 2021 - Michael Greenberger | Elizabeth Goitein | Abadir Ibrahim from 2021-06-30T22:23:46

The Republicans fail to Stop a Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Insurrection | A Red State Governor Sends a Private Army to the Border Paid For By a Billionaire Donor | Human Rights At...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 29, 2021 - David Cay Johnston | Nic Lutsey | Zhong-Ren Peng from 2021-06-29T22:04:18

Trump's IRS Commissioner Allows the Super-Rich to Cheat on Gifts as Trump is About to be Indicted on Tax Avoidance on Gifts | The U.S. is Falling Behind China and Europe in Investments in Electric ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 28, 2021 - David Daley | Eugene Gholz | Madiha Afzal from 2021-06-28T23:03:22

The Republicans Will Win Back the House in 2022 Before One Vote is Cast | The U.S. Could Pull All of Its Troops Out of the Middle East | A Violent Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan and Blowback for P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 27, 2021 - Harry Litman | Kate Mackintosh | William Lazonick from 2021-06-27T18:46:18

The DOJ's Move to Protect Voting Rights Could Be Undone Next Week By the Supreme Court | A New Ecocide Law To Hold Governments and Corporations Responsible for Environmental Crimes | Corporate Amer...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 24, 2021 - Jonna Hamilton | Cheryl Dorsey | John Pfaff from 2021-06-24T22:59

How Much Does the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Address the Needs of the Future? | The Future of the Stalled George Floyd Justice in Policing Act | An Analysis Of Biden's Strategy to Deal With Vio...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 23, 2021 - Philip Stinson | Jo-Marie Burt | Seth Mnookin from 2021-06-23T22:52:43

Biden's Strategy to Combat Violent Crime and Restrict Guns | Peru's Presidential Loser Follows Trump's Playbook. Steal an Election to Stay Out of Jail | With a New COVID Variant Spreading, the Anti...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 22, 2021 - Alexander Keyssar | Charles Zelden | Mark Fenster from 2021-06-22T22:21:31

The Debate About Having a Debate in Our Broken Senate | Will Biden Make Saving American Democracy a Priority? | Are Conspiracy Theories Behind the Shortfall in Vaccinating 70% by July 4th? backgrou...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 21, 2021 - Edward McCaffery | Abbas Milani | Phil Gunson from 2021-06-21T22:23:18

Will We Get a Small Useless Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal or One That Meets Our Future Needs? | Low Voter Turnout for the Hardline Hanging Judge Now Iran's President | Millions Flee Venezuela as i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 20, 2021 - Ari Berman | Nina Khrushcheva from 2021-06-20T18:30:13

The Layered Republican Electoral Strategy to Cheat Rather Than Compete | A View From Moscow of Putin's Recent Nuclear Alert Compared to the Cuban Missile Crisis backgroundbriefing.org/donatetwitter...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 17, 2021 - Ryan Cooper | David Dayen | Jack Goldstone from 2021-06-17T23:17:36

Senator Manchin's Changes to the For the People Act That Stacey Abrams "Absolutely" Supports | "Everything You Need to Know About the Infrastructure Bill Traveling Through Congress" | Biden Carries...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 15, 2021 - Timothy Frye | Lance Dodes | Jesse Eisinger from 2021-06-16T22:28:20

The Biden-Putin Summit and the Press Conferences That Followed | Why is Putin Supporting the Far-Right Rabble Who Stormed the Capitol? | The ProPublica Reporter Who Revealed the Secret IRS Files ba...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 15, 2021 - Anatol Lieven | Andrew Noymer | David Schanzer from 2021-06-15T23:02:27

A Plan to End the Standoff Between Ukraine and Russia to Avoid a Wider War | With 600,000 Deaths by Covid in the U.S., Deadlier Strains are on the Horizon | The White House Unveils its First Nation...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 14, 2021 - Orville Schell | Gideon Levy | Anne Marie Lofaso from 2021-06-14T23:34:02

The G7 and NATO Issue Warnings About China's Rise | Israel's New Government With a One Seat Majority in the Knesset | The Poor People's Campaign Demonstrate in Joe Manchin's West Virginia backgroun...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 13, 2021 - Elie Honig | Bill Yeomans | Frank Clemente from 2021-06-13T17:17:57

Abuses by Trump's DOJ Under Sessions Then Barr Now Come to Light | Will Sessions, Rosenstein and Barr Ever Answer For Their Conduct Before Congress? | Republicans Resist Raising Taxes on the Rich t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 10, 2021 - Asl? Bâli | Mateo Jarquin | James Cronin from 2021-06-10T22:53:40

The Contrast Between Biden's Progressive Domestic Policies and Conservative Foreign Policies | An Increasingly Despotic Ortega Arrests Nicaragua's Opposition Candidates | Biden and Johnson Reaffirm...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 9, 2021 - David Cay Johnston | Charles Kupchan | Lawrence Douglas from 2021-06-09T21:51:56

The Super-Rich are Making More Money Than Ever and Paying Less Taxes Than Ever | Biden's Repair Job After Trump Divided Our Allies and United Our Enemies | Trump's "Big Lie" is Being Weaponized Int...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 8, 2021 - Lisa Graves | Robert Hockett | T.J. Newman from 2021-06-08T23:07:36

The Koch Brothers "Thank and Spank" Joe Manchin as He Does Their Bidding | Yellen's Global Agreement on a 15% Corporate Tax Rate | A Flight Attendant Turned Bestselling Author on 2,500 Incidents of...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 7, 2021 - Scott Kennedy | Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera | Gershom Gorenberg from 2021-06-07T23:18:55

Competing With China Without Conflict | Results in Mexico of an Election in Which 96 Politicians and Candidates Were Assassinated | Netanyahu Incites Violence That Could Lead to a January 6-Style A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 6, 2021 - Ira Shapiro | Thom Hartmann | Linc Kesler from 2021-06-06T18:11:08

Manchin Kills the "For The People Act" as Not Sufficiently Bipartisan | Thom Hartmann on How the Democrats Should Fight Back | Canada's Trudeau Calls on the Catholic Church to Take Responsibility f...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 3, 2021 - Guy Ziv | Julian Zelizer | Jo Marie Burt from 2021-06-03T22:59:52

The End of Netanyahu's 12 Year Rule in Israel | With Republicans Attacking the Foundation of American Democracy, Biden is Compelled to Act | VP Harris Heads For Mexico and Guatemala on Challenging ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 2, 2021 - David Faris | Adele Stan | Nader Hashemi from 2021-06-02T23:07:29

An Urgent Call to Save American Democracy | After Trump's Dec 19 Call for "Wild" Protests, Plots to Murder U.S. Officials Began | The Supreme Leader Picks a Hardline Hanging Judge as Iran's Next Pr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 1, 2021 - William Darity | Matt Angle | Steven Levitsky from 2021-06-01T23:50:35

The 1921 Tulsa Massacre and the Persisting Wealth Gap Between Blacks and Whites | The Texas Walkout and the Need for the House and Senate to Pass HR 1 and SB1 | An Urgent Call From 100 Experts on D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 31, 2021 - Dr. Phillip Butler | Shibley Telhami | Leah Garrett from 2021-05-31T21:45:44

After 8 Years as a POW in North Vietnam, Going Back Inside California's Prisons to Help Vets Rebuild Their Lives | A Dramatic Drop in Support For Israel Among Young Evangelicals | The Secret Jewish...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 30, 2021 - Merve Tahiroglu | John Nichols | Eric Rauchway from 2021-05-30T19:22:22

With Democracy Under Attack Around the World, Could Turkey See the Reversal of That Trend? | The Democrats Should Prioritize Defending Democracy at Home and Abroad | Lesson From The New Deal For To...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 27, 2021 - Norman Ornstein | James Henry | David Phillips from 2021-05-27T22:56:08

Republican Senators Kill the 1/6 Bi-partisan Commission as a Personal Favor to McConnell | Focus Should be on Biden's Tax Plan Otherwise There Will Be No infrastructure Bill | Turkey has Become a M...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 26, 2021 - Dr. Stanley Perlman | Dr. Gulnoza Said | Dr. Scott Ellsworth from 2021-05-26T22:27:30

Biden Calls For an Investigation Into Whether a Lab Accident Caused the Covid Pandemic | The Fate of Journalists Jailed and Tortured by the Lukashenko Regime | Exhuming Mass Graves 100 Years After ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 25, 2021 - Ahmet Yayla | Ekow Yankah | David Schultz from 2021-05-25T23:24:30

An Explosive Story That Will Bring Down Turkey's Spectacularly Corrupt Dictator | Police Reform on the Anniversary of George Floyd's Murder | The Scene of the Crime One Year Later backgroundbriefin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 24, 2021 - David Marples | James Green | Sre?ko Horvat from 2021-05-24T23:27:57

A Desperate Move by Europe's Last Dictator the Stalinist Thug Lukashenko | Change Underway in Brazil to Sweep Out the Anti-Science Moron Bolsonaro | The Philosopher/Author of After The Apocalypse Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 23, 2021 - Lloyd Green | Sung Yoon Lee | Sebastian Junger from 2021-05-23T19:44:26

Alarming Poll Finds Republicans in an Alternate Universe Believing Trump Lies | An Analysis of Biden's Meeting with South Korean President Moon | Best-Selling Author and Filmmaker Sebastian Junger ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 20, 2021 - Kimberly Wehle | William Pomeranz | Russell Jeung from 2021-05-20T23:35:59

The Law is Finally Catching Up With Donald Trump | A Possible Thaw in the Frosty Relations Between Russia and the U.S. | The Law to Stop Asian American Hate 63 House Republicans Voted Against backg...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 19, 2021 - Dov Waxman | Adriana Beltrán | Elizabeth Hinton from 2021-05-19T23:14:10

Biden Leans on Netanyahu to End the Latest War With Hamas | The State Department List of Corrupt Government Officials in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras | The Author of America on Fire: The Unt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 18, 2021 - Amb. Martin Indyk | Joseph Lowndes | Dr. Peter Katona from 2021-05-18T22:55:40

A Veteran of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations on the Current Israel-Hamas War | The GOP's Slide into Authoritarianism and Dictator Worship | Conflicting Messages Over Masks and the Lag in Glo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 17, 2021 - Melissa Murray | Mark Perry | Charlotte Alter from 2021-05-17T23:00:17

The Supreme Court's Decision to Revisit Roe v Wade Places Abortion Rights in Jeopardy | Unconditional Support for Israel in Congress is Starting to Erode | The Emerging Role of Millennials in Polit...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 16, 2021 - Sarah Leah Whitson | Noura Erekat | Laurie Laybourn-Langton and Martin Lawrence from 2021-05-16T18:30:10

Divisions Among Middle Eastern Rulers and the Arab Street Over the War in Gaza | The Asymmetry of Overwhelming Force Against a Captive People Caught Between Corruption and Fanaticism | A Way to Add...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 13, 2021 - Zara Hassan | Dr. Amesh Adalja | Mike Lofgren from 2021-05-13T23:11:01

Communal Violence Inside of Israel May Restrain Escalation to an Invasion of Gaza | Fully-Vaccinated Americans Can Now Take Off Their Masks | The GOP is Getting More Extreme and Will Dismantle Demo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 12, 2021 - Asher Kaufman | Mitchell Plitnick | Amanda Marcotte from 2021-05-12T23:38:46

Vigilante Violence in Israel Against Israeli Arabs and Palestinians | Unconditional Support For Israel in Our Politics and Press is Eroding | The GOP is a Threat to American Democracy. What are the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 11, 2021 - Victoria Sanford | Dorit Reiss | Patrick Radden Keefe from 2021-05-11T22:32:12

How to Ensure Aid to Central America Will Reach the People, Not Line the Pockets of Corrupt Leaders | The FDA's Authorization to Vaccinate Teenagers Faces Resistance From Parents | 24 State Attorne...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 10, 2021 - Gideon Levy | Sean Lyngaas | Michael Khodarkovsky from 2021-05-10T22:04:32

Clashes in Jerusalem as Israel Forms a Far-Right Government Under Naftali Bennett | Was the Cyberattack on Critical Infrastructure by Russian Criminals, the State, or Both? | The Trump GOP is Look...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 9, 2021 - Harry Litman | Dennis Wadley | Shyam Balganesh from 2021-05-09T19:38:22

Bill Barr's and Rudy Giuliani's Growing Legal Troubles | Genocide is Underway Against Tigrayans in Ethiopia | European Leaders Warn Production of Vaccines in the Problem Not Patents backgroundbrief...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 6, 2021 - Thomas Bollyky | Charles Zelden | David Rothkopf from 2021-05-06T23:57:06

Biden's Decision to Ease Patent Rules on Vaccines for Poorer Countries | Florida's Authoritarian Governor Signs Voter Suppression Bill With Only Fox News Present | Judge to Reveal How Barr Spun the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 5, 2021 - Michael Hiltzik | Natalie Manaeva Rice | Ben Burgis from 2021-05-05T23:58:20

Facebook's Non-Decision on Making its Ban of Trump Permanent | The G7 Decides to Fight Disinformation From Russia and China | How Could the American Left Allow the Republicans to Become the Party o...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 4, 2021 - Geoffrey Kabaservice | Lauren Ancel Meyers | Christopher Shaw from 2021-05-04T22:07:34

Trump's GOP Demands Loyalty to the "Big Lie" While Purging Truth-Tellers | A Half-Ill Informed - Half-Sensible Country Cannot Defeat the Pandemic | Removing Trump's Postmaster General and Reviving ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 3, 2021 - Jeffrey Shaman | Amy Hollyfield | Mark Bittman from 2021-05-03T22:59:22

With 30% Resisting Vaccination, the U.S. is Unlikely to Reach Herd Immunity | The GOP's Great White Hope, Florida Governor DeSantis's Authoritarian Bent | Mark Bittman's Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 2, 2021 - Craig Unger&Yuri Shvets | Ciara Torres-Spelliscy | Jonathan Taplin from 2021-05-02T18:03:53

Giuliani in Trouble and Putin Under Threat From Hardliners At Home | A Right Wing Supreme Court Could Give Dark Money Constitutional Protection | Republicans Wage the Culture Wars, While the Left D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 29, 2021 - Harold Meyerson | John Lawrence | Michael Mechanic from 2021-04-29T23:24:09

Biden Lays Out A Social Democratic Manifesto Than Harkens to LBJ's "Great Society" and FDR's "Second Bill of Rights" | Only the American People, Not Politicians, Can End Partisanship | While Billio...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 28, 2021 - Scott Horton | Chas Freeman | David Halperin from 2021-04-28T21:19:36

Feds Raid Giuliani and Victoria Toensing's Law Firm and Confiscate Electronic Devices | Veteran Diplomat Ambassador Chas Freeman on China and the Middle East | Biden's $1.8 Trillion Plan to Tax the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 27, 2021 - Thanassis Cambanis | Dr. Michael McDonald | William Arkin from 2021-04-27T22:40:41

Did Iran Send a Signal With the Missile That Landed Near Israel's Reactor at Dimona? | Winners and Losers in the 2020 Census Results | A Leading Expert on Our Endless Wars and the Need For Civilian...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 26, 2021 - Richard Parker | Zoë Carpenter | Sumit Ganguly from 2021-04-26T23:03:22

Biden's 100 Day Approval Rating and How to Build on it For 2022 | How to Combat Weaponized Misinformation When There is no Downside to Lying | Death Toll Mounts as India's Trump Bans Facebook and T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 25, 2021 - Doug McAdam | George Derek Musgrove | Robert Pollin from 2021-04-25T20:41:27

A Rash of Police Killings Following the Guilty Verdict of George Floyd’s Murderer | Fighting Racism to Bring Democracy to the Nation's Capitol | The Coauthor with Noam Chomsky of Climate Crisis an...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 22, 2021 - David Marples | David Phillips | Kate Aronoff from 2021-04-22T23:01:39

Putin Warns the U.S. About Red Lines as He Puts the Squeeze on Belarus | How Will Erdogan Respond to Biden Recognizing the Armenian Genocide? | Earth Day's Virtual Summit on Climate Change and the ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 21, 2021 - Elly Page | Andrew Gordon | Katrina Mulligan&Brette Steele from 2021-04-21T22:42:40

In Response to BLM Protests, Republican Laws Now Criminalize Protest in 45 States | The DOJ Investigates the Minneapolis Police Department for Over-Policing and Under-Protecting | White Supremacist...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 20, 2021 - Mark Osler | Andrew Cockburn | Michael Mann from 2021-04-20T23:32:56

Three Guilty Verdicts in the Trial of the Murderer of George Floyd | Why Does the U.S. Support the Drug-Dealing Leader of Honduras? | The Agreement by China and the U.S. to Work Together Against Cl...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 19, 2021 - Vida Johnson | Brian Levin | Ambassador Fesseha Tessema from 2021-04-19T22:56:42

How to Screen Out Racist Cops Who Join Anti-Government Militias | With a Leader of the Oath Keepers Cooperating With Investigators, We Should Learn More About Who Planned the Assault on the Capitol...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 18, 2021 - Mark Lowenthal | Naomi Oreskes | Ruth Ben Ghiat from 2021-04-18T18:11:28

Finally the "Smoking Gun" of Collusion Mueller Was Looking For Emerges | "Liberty" in the U.S. Now Threatens Life and the Pursuit of Happiness | Fox's Tucker Carlson Mainstreams the Charlottesville...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 15, 2021 - Dean Baker | Jim Goldgeier | Thomas Barfield from 2021-04-15T22:30:30

Pandemic Profiteers and Global Inequality in Vaccination | Sanctions Aimed at "Deterring Russia's Harmful Foreign Activities" | Biden's Critics Are Happy to Waste $2 Trillion in Afghanistan But Won...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 14, 2021 - Christine Fair | Stephan Schwartz from 2021-04-14T22:48:53

The Tragic Span of America's 20 Year History in Afghanistan Since 9/11 | Why Do American Police Kill 1,099 Civilians Annually Compared to 36 in Canada, 21 in Australia and 11 in Germany? background...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 13, 2021 - Mark Fitzpatrick | David Albright | Jamie Metzl from 2021-04-13T23:50:37

With Months Before a Nuclear Breakout, Israel Again Sets Back Iran's Path to the Bomb | Can Deterrence Work Between Israel and Iran? | A Call for More Research on a Possible Lab Leak at the Wuhan I...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 12, 2021 - Nina Jankowicz | Kent Harrington | Donna Manning from 2021-04-12T22:12:33

Is Putin Poised to Attack Ukraine Or Using the Threat as a Bargaining Ploy? | The National Intelligence Council's Global Trends 2040 Report | What Residents of Blue States Can Do to Help Citizens i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 11, 2021 - Pavel Felgenhauer | Adam Ramsay | Mike Elk from 2021-04-11T17:38:47

Putin Prepares a Knockout Blow to Defeat Ukraine's Military and Topple Its Government | The Tripod of Anglo-British Nationalism; TV, the Tabloids, and the Monarchy | Why the RWDSU Lost the Vote to ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 8, 2021 - Anne Marie Lofaso | Patrick Blanchfield | Dr. Andrew Hartman from 2021-04-08T21:12:39

As Joe Manchin Exerts More Power Over Biden's Agenda, an Analysis of What Motivates His Stance | Biden's Modest Proposals to Curb an "Epidemic" of Gun Violence | Absent a GOP Platform, Right Wing M...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 7, 2021 - Glenn Cohen | Lincoln Mitchell | Timothy Frye from 2021-04-07T21:21:58

Republican Hysteria Over Vaccine Passports | McConnell Picks a Losing Fight With Corporate America | Putin as a Weak Strongman and Personalist Autocraciesbackgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 6, 2021 - Trita Parsi | Carlton Larson | Barry Naughton from 2021-04-06T22:37:17

Today's Opening Talks Through Intermediaries Between the U.S. and Iran | The Difference Between Treason and Insurrection as it Applies to January 6 | Is China Trying to Get Out From Under the Domin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 5, 2021 - Lynn Parramore | Jillian Schwedler | Ken Deklava from 2021-04-05T20:17:08

Yellen's Initiative and McConnell's Determination to Stop Biden's Infrastructure Plan | Palace Intrigue in the Kingdom of Jordan | How Biden Could Learn From the Pope's Diplomatic Initiatives backg...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 4, 2021 - Jennifer Rodgers | Jim Small | Ryan Brown from 2021-04-04T18:53:40

Matt Gaetz as the Latest Lowlife Exposed in the Trump Era of Sleaze | How the Arizona Senate is Trying to Keep the "Stop the Steal" Scam Alive | A New Study on Radicalization and Deradicalization o...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 1, 2021 - Jeff Stein | Michael Davis | Jason Morgan Ward from 2021-04-01T21:56:05

A New Even Wackier Twist in the Emerging Matt Gaetz Scandal | Today's Convictions of Prominent Pro-democracy Activists in Hong Kong | An Historian on Why Georgia's New Voting Law is Jim Crow 2.0 ba...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 31, 2021 - Constantine Samaras | Aaron Rupar | Kevin Kumashiro from 2021-03-31T23:14:29

Biden's $T Billion Infrastructure Program Will Require Massive Amounts of Electricity From Wind and Solar | The Trumpiest Congressman Embroiled in a Burgeoning Child Sex Scandal | Biden's First Pre...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 30, 2021 - David Schultz | Jonathan Latham | Anna Massoglia from 2021-03-30T21:53:59

In Spite of Damning Testimony, the Derek Chauvin Trial Could End in a Hung Jury | A Case for Why it is More Likely Covid-19 is the Result of a Lab Accident Than a Zoonotic Leap | Why the Democrats ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 29, 2021 - Dennis Kelleher | Lawrence Gostin | Andrew Gordon from 2021-03-29T23:36:47

Another Bout of Wretched Excess and Lack of Regulators on Wall Street | The WHO Report China Got to Shape on the Origins of the Pandemic | Today's Opening Testimony in the Trial of Derek Chauvin ba...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 28, 2021 - Justin Levitt | Philip Zelikow | Robert Bell from 2021-03-28T18:52:30

Republican Lawmakers Shamelessly Set About Stealing Democracy | How Diplomacy Could Have Shortened World War 1 and How it Can Prevent Wars and End Them | Energy Transformation in Coal Country as a ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 25, 2021 - Lawrence Lessig | Robert Hockett | Trevor Sutton from 2021-03-25T22:43:32

At Today's First Press Conference Biden Calls GOP Voter Suppression "Un-American" and "It's Sick" | Biden's Ambitious Infrastructure Plans | Biden Reveals Many Long Conversations With Xi and How We...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 24, 2021 - Dr. Comilla Sasoon | Joshua Horwitz | Elie Honig from 2021-03-24T20:49:21

An ER Doctor Who Treated the Aurora Victims on What Assault Rifles Do to the Human Body | Assessing the Chances of Bringing Back the Assault Weapons Ban | Did the Former U.S. Attorney For D.C. Make...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 23, 2021 - Aya Gruber | Saul Cornell | Graham Fuller from 2021-03-23T22:38:32

The Seventh Mass Shooting in Seven Days in Gun-soaked America | The NRA "Victory" in Striking Down a Boulder City Ordinance to Ban Assault Rifles | Biden's Opening Salvo in Diplomacy Between Superp...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 22, 2021 - Jean Guerrero | Paul Pierson | Amy Wilentz from 2021-03-22T22:17:11

Republicans Seize on Border Issues Using Mexican Trolls for Anti-Immigrant Propaganda | Democrats Should Call McConnell's Bluff on the Filibuster | Gangs and Kidnappers Rule the Streets of Jovenel ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 21, 2021 - Mae Ngai | Thomas Frank | Charles Kupchan from 2021-03-21T18:37:44

Separating Asian Americans From Worsening U.S.-China Relations | Censoring Lies, Idiocy and Hate On the Right is a Declaration ofDefeat by the Left | The May 1 Deadline to Get Out of Afghanistan ba...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 18, 2021 - David Wallace-Wells | Jim Manley | Katie Kalvoda from 2021-03-18T20:18:18

The Filibuster Wars and the Pros and Cons of Getting Rid of It | Comparing Successful Handling of the Pandemic to the Bungling Leaders in the U.S., the U.K. and Brazil | The Murders of Six Asian Wo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 17, 2021 - Anders Åslund | Adam Klasfeld | Sarah Anderson from 2021-03-17T23:06:45

The National Intelligence Council's "Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal Elections" Report | The Just-Released ODNI, Homeland Security, DOJ Report on the Growing Threat of Domestic Terrorism |...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 3, 2021 - Ryan Cooper | Dr. Russell Jeung | Lisa Graves from 2021-03-16T22:45:13

How the Television Version of Governor Cuomo Differs From What We Now Read in the Newspaper | Assessing the Sharp Rise in Racist Violence Against Asian Americans | Was the FBI Investigation into Ch...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 15, 2021 - Atain Goelman | Matt Angle | Lane Windham from 2021-03-15T22:21:32

As Two are Charged in the Death of a Capitol Police Officer, Will Trump be Held Responsible? | Republicans no Longer Want to Compete But Instead Plan to Cheat | The PRO Act and How Americans Like U...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 14, 2021 - Josh Rogin | Shannon Bennett | Silvio Carrillo from 2021-03-14T19:19:12

The Inside Story of How Trump Bungled the Pandemic and How it Began | Conflicting Messages on Whether We Are Turning the Corner or the Mutations are Getting Worse | The Need to go to the Source of ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 11, 2021 - Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser | Eli Zupnick | Bennett Ramberg from 2021-03-11T22:13:17

Pandemic Fatigue, States Opening Up Prematurely and the New Brazilian Covid Variant Among the Challenges Biden Might Address | How to Fix Our Senate | Since Biden is Focused on His Domestic Agenda,...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 10, 2021 - Brendan Fischer | Peniel Joseph | Paul Glastris from 2021-03-10T23:13:30

Trump Owns the GOP But Now Wants to Turn it Into his Personal Piggy Bank | States Turn Back the Clock to Stop Blacks and Progressive Whites From Voting | How Biden Might Sell the Stimulus in Thursd...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 9, 2021 - Alam Abramowitz | Osita Nwanevu | James Green from 2021-03-09T22:52:33

Voter Suppression Laws in Georgia May Create a Bigger BacklashAgainst the GOP Than the Gains From Their Rigging | The Fight For the $15 Minimum Wage Continues | Brazil's Lula is Cleared for 2022 Pr...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 8, 2021 - Gregory Wawro | James Galbraith | Toby Miller from 2021-03-08T23:53:21

Moderate Democratic Senators Now Consider Getting Rid of the Filibuster | A Leading Economist Assesses the $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan | Harry and Meghan Use the Tabloids That Have Been Used...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 7, 2021 - Tom Nichols | Adrienne Pine | Mark Osler from 2021-03-07T20:35

The GOP is Going the Way of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union | Biden Should Deal With the Source of the Problems at the Border, Starting With the Corrupt Regime in Honduras | Could The Derek...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 4, 2021 - Nicole Hemmer | Mark Perry | Matthew Rothschild from 2021-03-05T00:45:26

"How the Party of Lincoln Has Become the Party of Alex Jones" | Christopher Miller and Ryan McCarthy Must Explain Why The Pentagon Waited Over Three Hours to Rescue the Capitol | How One Crackpot C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 3, 2021 - Leonard Zeskind | Frank Bowman | Chuck Collins from 2021-03-03T23:13:34

Time to Join the Fight Against the Party of White Supremacy's Attempt to Rewrite History | A Former Colleague of Senator Hawley's on Whether the FBI is Investigating Hawley's Ties to the Insurrecti...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 2, 2021 - Christina Giogio | Trevor Sutton | Gayle Lemmon from 2021-03-02T22:30:18

The "Christian" GOP Celebrates a Sexual Harasser While the Democrats Show Cuomo the Door | A Plan to Save Democracies From Kleptocracies by Going After Dirty Money | The Brave and Inspiring Kurdish...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 1, 2021 - Ben Jacobs | David Weigel | Rob Wallace from 2021-03-02T01:24:01

Trump Makes It Clear He IS the Republican Party and It's Kingmaker | Trump Outlines Voter Suppression Plans at CPAC | Rob Wallace on the Origins of Covid-19
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 28, 2021 - Dr. Allen Frances | Steven Greenhouse | James Henry from 2021-02-28T20:09:48

Trump's GOP Weaponizes the Big Lie of "Stop the Steal" to Steal the Next Elections | What is Wrong With Paying Workers a Living Wage? | Could the Revelations in Trump's Tax Documents Land Him in Ja...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 25, 2021 - Vanessa Wills | Sarah Leah Whitson | Adam Jentleson from 2021-02-26T01:09:09

While Holding the Mob Accountable For Storming the Capitol, We Cannot Police Our Way Out of Authoritarianism | No Report from the DNI Because Biden Can't Get the Saudi King on the Phone | A Senate ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 24, 2021 - Adele Stan | Persis Yu | Justin Scheck from 2021-02-25T00:46:02

Further Investigations of the Capitol Riot Could Involve Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Mike Flynn and Steve Bannon | Relief For the 45 Million Americans Drowning Under $1.7 Trillion in Student Loan Debt...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 23, 2021 - Angela Rasmusen | Joaquin Sapien | Mike Konczal from 2021-02-24T00:34:47

America's Deadly Milestone of 500,000 Preventable Deaths Had We Not Had Such a Sick and Stupid Leader | Capitol Cops on the Failures of Their Chiefs and Sergeants-at-Arms | Rediscovering America's ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 22, 2021 - Edward McCaffery | Michael Klarman | Mansour Farhang from 2021-02-23T00:19:34

SCOTUS Finally Releases Trump's Taxes to the Manhattan DA | If the Democrats Don't Go Bold the GOP Will Control the Senate and Courts Into the Future | Iran Takes an American Hostage as Blinken End...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 21, 2021 - Paul Wood | Robert Johnson | Ioan Grillo from 2021-02-21T20:11:23

Trump's Save America PAC in the Real Steal as he Fleeces His Followers Out of $500 million | Can Principled Conservative and Democrats Work Around Trump's GOP? | The River of Guns From the U.S. to ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 18, 2021 - Harry Litman | Frank Clemente | Kathryn Stoner Stoner from 2021-02-19T01:17:43

Why Is the Supreme Court Sitting on Trump's Tax Returns? | Bills to Have the IRS Audit Rich Tax Cheats Would Raise $600 Billion a Year | How Putin Has Brought Russia Back and is Reshaping the Inter...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 17, 2021 - Forrest Wilder | Daniel Byman | Michael Gerhardt from 2021-02-18T00:12:48

Texas's Political Leaders and Fox News Blame AOC and the Green New Deal for the Frozen Electricity Grid | A Commission to Find the "Facts and Causes" of the Insurrection and Storming of the Capitol...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 16, 2021 - Ari Berman | Amy Myers Jaffe | Ali al-Ahmed from 2021-02-17T00:48:17

The Democrats Will Get Nowhere Unless They End the Filibuster | Climate Change Deniers in Charge of Texas Grapple With a Frozen Electricity Grid | With Biden Isolating MbS, Will the Saudi Royals Co...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 15, 2021 - Lawrence Douglas | Michael Beer | Alexander Cooley from 2021-02-15T23:52:27

After Exonerating Trump, the GOP Targets Republican Senators Who Voted to Convict Him | The Backlash Against the Military Coup From Brave Citizens in Myanmar | America's Waning Dominance and the Ri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 14, 2021 - Sarah Churchwell | Michael Li | Arthur Caplan from 2021-02-14T19:55:42

Republican Senators Who Acquitted Trump For a Second Time Will Live in Infamy | If Republicans Win a Future Election It's OK, But if Democrats Do It's Rigged | Employers Should be Able to Mandate C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 11, 2021 - Garrett Epps | Geoffrey Kabaservice | Nicole Perlroth from 2021-02-12T00:56:28

Could Jamie Raskin's Closing Argument Move Enough Republicans to Avoid Their Eternal Shame in History? | The Consequences For the GOP in Exonerating Trump | The Cyberweapons Arms Race and a New Kin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 10, 2021 - Caroline Fredrickson | Tom LoBianco | Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling from 2021-02-11T01:13:26

History Will Condemn Senators Who Turn a Blind Eye to Trump's Monstrous Crimes | A Biographer of Mike Pence on Our Homeless and Silent Ex VP | What Happens When Anti-Government Libertarians Take Ov...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 9, 2021 - Kimberly Wehle | Jim Small | Richard Kreitner from 2021-02-10T00:16:17

Will Witnesses Who Could Seal Trump's Fate Testify? | The GOP's Authoritarian Moves to Recount the Election in Arizona | Secession Movements Are on the Rise and Break Ups Could Happen Soon
back...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 8, 2021 - Sidney Blumenthal | Asawin Suebsaeng | Sarah Jaffe from 2021-02-09T00:32:08

Will Mike Pence Confront the Man He Slavishly Served Who Tried to Have Him Killed? | Trump's Dead-Enders Are Now Getting Sued and Losing Business | Investing Love and Solidarity, Not in Jobs But in...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 7, 2021 - Paul Pillar | Larry Tye | Sumit Ganguly from 2021-02-07T18:56:23

Biden Cuts Off Trump's Intelligence Briefings as it Becomes Clear Trump Was Behind the Storming of the Capitol | The Uncanny Similarities Between Trump and Senator Joe McCarthy | Protests by India'...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 4, 2021 - Charles Kupchan | Jesse Walker | Henry Giroux from 2021-02-05T01:29:30

Biden Outlines His Foreign Policy at a Decimated State Department | The GOP Defends a Dangerous Ignoramus to Pander to Its Base | At the Heart of All the Crises We Face, Is Our Crisis in Education<...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 3, 2021 - Jennifer Taub | Chris Whipple | Michael Mann from 2021-02-04T00:12:52

The Democratic House Managers' Impeachment Brief | The Axios Report Inside the Craziest Meeting in the Trump Presidency | Polluters Try to Blame Climate Change on Personal Responsibility Not the Fo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 2, 2021 - Craig Unger | Lloyd Green from 2021-02-02T23:49:24

Trump Exposed as a Traitor and His Pal Epstein as a Blackmailer | The Lunatics May be Taking Over, But the GOP Could Still Win the Next Election
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
February 2, 2021 - Paul Blumenthal | Jack Blum | David Steinberg from 2021-02-01T23:19:39

Fixing American Democracy as the Democrat's First Order of Business | Trump's New Lawyers Have Less Than 48 Hours to Prepare Briefs | Military Junta Arrests Myanmar's Elected Leader Whose Reputatio...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 31, 2021 - Wendy Brown | Alfred McCoy | Jody Freeman from 2021-01-31T20:19:32

The Enemy Within the House of Representatives | The Spectacular Fall of U.S. Power and Influence Around the World | Biden's Bold Climate Initiatives as a Win-Win, Creating Jobs While Saving the Pla...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 28, 2021 - Anna Merlan | Jacob Silverman | Luke Tonachel from 2021-01-29T00:37:33

Censuring or Removing the QAnon Congresswoman the Republicans Placed on the Education Committee | An Army of Small-Time Speculators at War With Wall Street Hedge Funds | Biden and Car-Makers Want A...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 27, 2021 - Elizabeth Neumann | William Cohan | Shireen Al-Adeimi from 2021-01-27T23:05:26

As Republicans Try to Stop the Impeachment Trial, Will Democrats Wimp Out With a Censure of Trump? | Elite Impunity: Why Did Wall Street Titans Pay Epstein So Much Money? | Biden Freezes Arms Sales...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 26, 2021 - Alexey Kovalev | Corey Brettschneider | Mark Feldstein from 2021-01-27T00:10:24

Putin's Dilemma: A Dead Navalny Means More Demonstrations While a Live Navalny Leads the Opposition | Today's 55 to 45 Senate Vote Shows it is Unlikely Republicans Will Convict Trump | Murdoch Doub...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 25, 2021 - Michael D'Antonio | Tamara Fucile | Ryan Devereaux from 2021-01-25T23:57:44

The Storming of the Capitol as the Culmination of Generation of Far-Right Extremism | Has the Law Finally Caught Up With Trump? | The Future of Biden's $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Package
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 24, 2021 - Ryan Cooper | Lisa Graves | Lincoln Mitchell from 2021-01-24T19:51:16

McConnell is Already Trying to Strangle the Biden Presidency | Trump's Attempted Coup at the Department of Justice | Was Trump Much More Hands-on in Planning and Executing the Capitol Coup Attempt?...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 21, 2021 - Lawrence Gostin | Samuel Moyn | Jared Holt from 2021-01-21T23:47:37

Biden Rejoins the WHO and Joins the Fight Against Covid as Mutations Race Against Vaccinations | How Biden Will Navigate a New Political Landscape Reshaped by Trump | Fox Moves to the Right and the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 20, 2021 - Sean Wilentz | David Schanzer | Mark Galeotti from 2021-01-20T22:55:52

Biden's Inauguration and His Call For Unity and Civility | Will Dealing With Domestic Terrorism Be a Priority in the Biden Administration? | The Arrest of Navalny and His Expose of Putin's $1.4 bil...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 19, 2021 - Karen Hult | Harry Litman | Suzanne Schneider from 2021-01-20T00:19:04

Will Biden's Ambitious Agenda be Sidetracked by Trump's Impeachment Trial? | The Sleaze Surrounding Who Gets on Trump's Pardon List | The Performative Violence of the Insurrectionists Without a Pol...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 18, 2021 - Anthea Butler | Bree Carlson | Andra Gillespie from 2021-01-18T20:40:27

The Role of Apocalyptic Evangelicalism and Religious Nationalism in the Storming of the Capitol | Political Organizing in the Footsteps of MLK | MLK's Successor the Reverend Warnock and the Lessons...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 17, 2021 - Michael Greenberger | Quinn Slobodian | Sheila Krumholz from 2021-01-17T18:52:13

Mounting Evidence the Attack on the Capitol Was an Inside Job | The Merging of the Left and Right in Conspiracy and Alienation | Right Wing Funding of Politicians Who Championed Insurrection
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 14, 2021 - Mike Lofgren | Eric Levitz | Annie Jacobsen from 2021-01-14T23:31:30

Is the Toxic Trump GOP Now a Captive of the Lunatic Fringe? | Polls Indicate 40% of Americans Still Think Trump is Doing a Good Job | Could the World's Most Powerful Biometric Database Be Used Agai...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 13, 2021 - Michael Gerhardt | Jeremi Suri | Tim Naftali from 2021-01-14T00:56:37

10 Republicans Joined Democrats in a 232 to 197 House Vote to Impeach Trump | The Sudden and Spectacular Fall of Donald Trump | De-radicalizing the Republican Party
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 12, 2021 - Jacob Heilbrunn | Mike German | Steven Mulroy from 2021-01-13T00:20:54

Corporate America Cuts Ties With an Increasingly Isolated Trump | How Much Has Law Enforcement, the Military and the Secret Service Been Infiltrated by Trump Sympathizers? | A Resolution to Abolish...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 11, 2021 - Jason Stanley | Julian Zelizer | Robert Kuttner from 2021-01-12T00:21:07

GOP "Gamers" (McConnell) Flirt with Fascism While Their "Breakers" (Hawley and Cruz) Embrace it | Pelosi's Deadline to Pence on the 25th Amendment or a Second Impeachment | Will the Democratic Part...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 10, 2021 - Norman Ornstein | Thomas Mockaitis | Jennifer Golbeck from 2021-01-10T19:29:25

Will a Second Impeachment Get Trump to Resign With A Pardon From Pence? | Domestic Terrorism and the Reactions of America's Allies | Cutting Trump Off From Social Media and Protecting Biden's Inaug...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 7, 2021 - Col. Lawrence Wilkerson | Jan Schakowsky | David Rothkopf from 2021-01-07T23:28:24

Serious Discussions Underway to Invoke the 25th Amendment | A Congresswoman on Being Hunkered Down with a Rampaging Mob Outside | Yesterday Was a Coup Attempt Deliberately Instigated by Trump
b...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 6, 2020 - Will Sommer | Robert Creamer | James Thurber from 2021-01-07T00:33:16

A Reporter on the Ground Who Covered Today's Storming of the Capitol | Banana Republic Politics on Display in Washington Today | Can Biden Restore Enough Bi-partisanship For Our Government to Funct...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 5, 2020 - Jeffrey Lazarus | David Dayen | Bryan Fogel from 2021-01-05T23:58:55

An Update From Georgia on Today's Critical Elections | Operation Warp Speed Delivered Vaccines But Not Vaccinations | The Maker of the Documentary on the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi, "The Dissident"<...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 4, 2020 - David Cay Johnston | Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Mark Perry from 2021-01-04T23:26:45

Trump's Shakedown of Georgia's Election Officials Offer a Glimpse of the Mob Boss in the Oval Office | The Bunker Mentality of an Increasingly Desperate and Delusional Trump | What is Behind the Wa...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
January 3, 2020 - Frank Bowman | Jon Cohen | Stephen Walt from 2021-01-03T21:00:09

12 Republican Senators and 140 House Members Debase Themselves in an Un-American Putsch | Limited Supply and Urgent Need in the Botched Distribution of Vaccines | Will the Fortunate Circumstances T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 31, 2020 - Patrick Blanchfield | Sarah Churchwell | Cynthia Miller-Idriss from 2020-12-31T21:47:55

Trump is Using Guns As An Instrument of Political Intimidation | The Deep Roots of Fascism in America | The Mainstreaming of White Nationalism
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 30, 2020 - Bree Carlson | Robert Evans | Stuart Schrader from 2020-12-30T21:28:49

A Look Back at the Movement Against Racial Injustice and Police Brutality in 2020 - Will This Nationwide Uprising Bring About Racial Justice and Economic Equality? | Citizens of Portland Continue T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 29, 2020 - Richard Flanagan | David Wallace-Wells | Naomi Oreskes from 2020-12-29T21:48:30

A Look Back at the Impact of Global Warming in 2020 - Australia as the Chernobyl of the Climate Crisis | As the West Burns, 9 Times More CO2 Enters the Atmosphere Than All the Reductions From Calif...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 28, 2020 - Rob Wallace | Greg Grandin | Dr. Ian Lipkin from 2020-12-28T21:47:23

The Origins of the Covid-19 Virus | The Pandemic as the Fourth Turning Point After 9/11, the 2008 Crash and Climate Change | We Need Dr. Fauci More Than Ever as Trump Embraces Quackery
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 27, 2020 - Allan Lichtman | Lisa Graves | Scott Horton from 2020-12-27T20:53:25

Trump's Delicate Ego has America Suffering as he Sulks and Settles Scores | The Lasting Legacy of Trump and McConnell's Stacking of the Courts | The Q-Anon and 5G Connection to the Nashville Bombin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 24, 2020 - Gloria Steinem | Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox | Nancy MacLean from 2020-12-24T22:09:10

Gloria Steinem on Her Friend, Hero and Guide Ruth Bader Ginsburg | A Former Catholic Theologian's Open Letter to Amy Coney Barrett | Could a Reactionary Majority on the Supreme Court Take America B...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 23, 2020 - Sarah Chayes | Oliver Bullough | Tom Burgis from 2020-12-23T20:27:12

A Look Back at Corruption in 2020 - Have We Become a Family-Run Banana Republic? | We Should Blame Politicians Who Accept Dirty Money More Than the Kleptocrats Who Bribe Them | An FT Investigative ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 21, 2020 - Sylvia Allegretto | Robert Johnson | Tamara Fucile from 2020-12-22T00:54:27

The Semi-Stimulus and Widening Income Inequality | Will McConnell Give Biden the Same Treatment He Gave Obama? | Many Immediate Needs Met But Long Term Help is Uncertain
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 20, 2020 - Sean Lyngaas | Malcolm Nance | Terry O'Rourke from 2020-12-20T20:55:34

Trump Dismisses the Russian Hack as Fake News and Blames China Not Russia | Q-Anon is Among Putin's Many "Active Measures" Campaigns Against the U.S. | There is a Lot More to the Bizarre Vigilante ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 17, 2020 - James Thurber | John Nichols | Zach Despart from 2020-12-18T00:37:10

Republican Grinches Haggle Over a Paltry Stimulus While America is in Crisis | We Should be Throwing Money at the Problem Which Will Get Worse and Require More | Holding an A/C Repairman at Gunpoin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 16, 2020 - Alan Paller | Fred Kaplan | Michael Gorham from 2020-12-17T00:39:12

Why the U.S. is Vulnerable to Cyber and Ransomware Attacks | Trumpsters Lie About a Hack That Did Not Happen While Ignoring the Russian Hack | The Russian Dissident Who Putin Tried to Kill Strikes ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 15, 2020 - William Yeomans | Austin Sarat | Robert Hockett from 2020-12-16T00:47:53

Barr's Firing Means Trump's Toady Rosen Will Booby Trap DOJ to Harass Biden | Trump's Assembly Line of Death in His Lame Duck Killing Spree | How the Green New Deal Will Revive the Economy and Save...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 14, 2020 - Akhil Amar | Dr. Michael McDonald | Julia Lynch from 2020-12-14T23:53:52

Will Trump Give up the Election Contestation Grift of Donations That Go Into his Pocket? | What Today's Early Voting in Georgia Reveals | After Unequal Covid Treatment, Will the Vaccine be Fairly D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 13, 2020 - Daniel Ziblatt | Matt Stoller | Getachew Begashaw from 2020-12-13T21:13:30

The GOP's Anti-Democratic Suicide Pact With Trump | The FTC and 46 States Sue to Break Up Facebook | The Civil War in Ethiopia to Which the Press is Denied Access
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 10, 2020 - James Moore | Adam Klasfeld | Michael Sandel from 2020-12-11T00:48:42

The GOP's Authoritarian Move From Voter Suppression to Outright Voter Theft | An Investigation Into a Bailout by Qatar of Jared Kushner's Bad Investment | Healing the Wounds of Those Who Feel the D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 9, 2020 - Sarah Leah Whitson & Michael Eisner | Bandy Lee from 2020-12-09T23:26:53

The UAE Arms Deal Changes the Subject From the Arab-Israeli Conflict to the Arab-Iranian Conflict | A Forensic Psychiatrist on Our Abuser as Head of State Who Made the American People his Victims Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 8, 2020 - Lawrence Douglas | Col. Don Christensen | Kristin Kobes Du Mez from 2020-12-09T00:09:32

On Safe Harbor Day More Deranged Lawsuits From Trumpsters | The Removal of 14 Army Leaders at Fort Hood as 20,000 Sexual Assaults in 2019 Resulted in 138 Military Convictions | Evangelical Masculin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 7, 2020 - Dean Baker | Lauren Windsor | John Judis from 2020-12-07T23:09:04

The Battle Between the Haves and the Have-Nots Over Who Gets the Vaccine at an Affordable Price | The Journalist Who Asked Giuliani Whether He Is a Crook | Socialism's Contribution to American Just...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 6, 2020 - Alan Abramowitz | John Barry | Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett from 2020-12-06T20:09:56

Trump's Mixed Message to Georgia Voters | The Covid Death Toll Inches Toward the 1918-1919 Pandemic Death Toll | Authors of the New and Timely Book, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 3, 2020 - Dr. Amesh Adalja | Dr. Dawn Garzon | Jacob Hacker from 2020-12-04T00:21:28

Record-Breaking Grim Statistics of an Out-of-Control Pandemic | The Key Link in Our Defense Are Nurses on the Front Line of a Losing Battle | Plutocratic Populism Now Rules the GOP and With Trump G...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 2, 2020 - Jennifer Taub | David Adler | Thomas Frank from 2020-12-03T00:26:06

The Erupting White House Bribery-for-Pardons Scandal | An Organizer of the "Make Amazon Pay" Campaign | Thomas Frank on His New Book The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
December 1, 2020 - Lance Dodes | Steven Hassan from 2020-12-01T23:35:27

Breaking the Ties That Bind Trump's Base to His Delusions | Why Trump's Followers Believe His Lies and How to Break His Cult-like Spell
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 30, 2020 - Stephanie Kelton | Wendy Orent | David Halperin from 2020-11-30T23:52:55

Assessing Biden's Economic Team and the Challenges They Face | Killing Minks Won't End the Danger of Factory Farms | Who Will Clean Up the Wreckage Left By Betsy DeVos?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 29, 2020 - David Hearst | Mohsen Sazegara | Jeffrey Lazarus from 2020-11-29T19:50:37

The Pompeo, MbS, Netanyahu Secret Meeting That Led to the Hit on the Iranian Nuclear Scientist | A Founder of the IRGC on Israel's Fear Iran is Three Months Away From the Bomb | Can Trump Undo His ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 26, 2020 - Jaynie Parrish | Stephan Schwartz | Rev. Billy from 2020-11-26T19:32:07

A Native American Perspective on Thanksgiving | What We Can Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving | The Reverend Billy on the Sin of Shopping
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 25, 2020 - Wendy Weiser | Laren Bauer | Jacob Silverman from 2020-11-25T21:25:05

The Supreme Court's Radical View of Election Law and Rollback of Voting Rights | Hunger Among America's Children at Thanksgiving | With Pompeo as the Global Arsonist, Can Biden Put Out the Fires? Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 24, 2020 - Jody Freeman | Kingston Reif | Matthew Rojansky from 2020-11-25T00:14:54

Biden's Signal that Climate Change is a National Security Issue | Is the Pullout From the Open Skies Treaty Trump's Parting Gift to Putin? | Could Biden Set a New Course With Russia?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 23, 2020 - Rachel Kleinfeld | David Rothkopf | Robert Hockett from 2020-11-24T00:10:20

As Trump Tears the Country Apart, Republicans Prefer Partisan Warfare to Patriotic Cooperation | An Assessment of Biden's New National Security Team | Janet Yellen as Biden's Likely Secretary of Th...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 22, 2020 - Paul Waldman | Justin Scheck | Chris Masters from 2020-11-22T19:34:24

Trump's Attempted Murder of American Democracy | The Host of the G-20's Heavy-Handed Rule and Boundless Greed | The Australian Journalist Who Broke the Story of War Heroes as War Criminals
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 19, 2020 - Brian Kalt | Juan Cole | Jennifer Kavanagh from 2020-11-19T22:25:52

Trump is Trying to Steal the Election in Plain Sight | The Consequences of a Strike on Iran Trump Requested | How to Stop "Truth Decay" and Build a Reality-Based Community in Post-Truth America
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 18, 2020 - Sean Lyngaas | Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser | Tamara Loos from 2020-11-18T22:54:33

Trump's Petty Vengeance Against CISA Head Risks Hospitals Getting Ransomware Attacks | Survey Finds 40% of Americans Not Taking Precautions at Thanksgiving Gatherings | Turmoil In Thailand As Subje...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 17, 2020 - Eric Segall | Christine Fair | William Gould from 2020-11-17T23:30:40

Senator Graham's Election Meddling and the Democrats Chances in Georgia's Run-off Elections | A Vindictive Trump Exits From Afghanistan and Threatens to Bomb Iran to Hurt Biden | Stanford Universit...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 16, 2020 - Katherine Stewart | Benjamin Carter Hett | Robert Alexander from 2020-11-16T23:54:26

Trump's Religious Right Supporters Lost the White House But Plan to Win the War | In the Bunker Spouting the Big Lie as Trump's Goebbles Rupert Murdoch Spreads Dangerous Delusions | Pressure Underw...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 15, 2020 - Amanda Marcotte | Ivo Daalder | Mike Lux from 2020-11-15T20:25:57

The Much Less Than A Million MAGA March | America's Unnecessarily Long Transition | Post-election Recriminations Among House Democrats
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 12, 2020 - Evan Osnos | Dr. Stanley Perlman | Mark Hayward from 2020-11-13T00:00:02

The New Yorker's Evan Osnos Profiles Joe Biden | Americans Will Die as Trump's Task Force is Not Allowed to Speak With Biden's Covid Task Force | Assessing the Growing Coronavirus Death Toll and Ho...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 11, 2020 - Col. Lawrence Wilkerson | Alan Hirsch | Lawrence Gostin from 2020-11-11T21:56:23

The Purge at The Pentagon and The Coup Underway Against the Transition | This Manufactured Election Crisis is Far Worse Than 1876 or 2000 | With 135,000 New Covid Cases on Tuesday, the Pandemic is ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 10, 2020 - Harry Litman | Sidney Blumenthal | Ruth Ben-Ghiat from 2020-11-11T00:13:43

A Self-Pardon Or One By a President Pence? | The GOP and Most of Trump's 71 Million Voters Refuse to Accept Defeat | Our Weak Strongman is Taking His Defeat Poorly But Predictably
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 9, 2020 - Lincoln Mitchell | Lawrence Korb | Julian Zelizer from 2020-11-09T23:37:49

Could Trump Form a Permanent Opposition of 71 Million Voters Who Believe he Won? | Trump's "Termination" of His Secretary of Defense | The History of Presidential Transitions and Concessions
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 8, 2020 - Joseph Cirincione | Mark Danner | Andra Gillespie from 2020-11-08T19:55:59

The Madman Melts Down With Thousands of Nukes at His Fingertip | Trump's Followers Believe His Lies That He Won and the Election Was Stolen | The Battle Ahead in Georgia For Control of the Senate Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 5, 2020 - Jim Small | Alan Abramowitz | Jeremi Suri from 2020-11-06T02:02:57

Arizona Will Have Biden at 264 With Either Georgia, Nevada or Pennsylvania Putting Him Over the 270 | Biden Could Win Georgia Which Will Have Two Run-offs for the Senate That the Democrats Might Co...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 4, 2020 - Richard Parker | Eric Levitz | Will Bunch from 2020-11-05T00:29:34

Biden Has a Path to the Presidency, Trump Has Lawyers and Courts | Trump the Loser and Four Years of Scorched-Earth Opposition | With Biden Likely to Win Pennsylvania, Trump Sues to Both Stop the C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 3, 2020 - Bob Fitrakis | Peter Brown | Jonathan Weiler | Robert Alexander | Lydia Camarillo from 2020-11-04T02:59:47

Election Updates from Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Texas
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 2, 2020 - Sean Wilentz | Michael Lewis Beck | Travis Ridout from 2020-11-02T23:06:36

When Trump Loses Is He Likely to Start Looking Into Countries Without an Extradition Treaty with the U.S? | Is Trump Losing the Rural Vote? | The Last Call in Our Record-Breaking $8 Billion Electio...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
November 1, 2020 - Ron Suskind | Jason Stanley from 2020-11-01T19:28:14

Ron Suskind on The Day After Election Day | Will Fascism Steal the U.S. Election?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 29, 2020 - Spencer Sunshine | Steven Greenhouse | Corey Brettschneider from 2020-10-29T23:34:40

An "Army" of Militias Will Answer Trump to Intimidate Voters on Tuesday | How Trump's False Promises to the Rust Belt Could Hurt Him in Ohio | A New Book of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Opinions a...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 28, 2020 - Elie Honig | Richard John | David Dayen from 2020-10-28T23:02:06

Kavanaugh's Partisanship Towards Election Vote Count Raises Alarms | The Post Office Can No Longer Deliver Ballots on Time | Grandstanding at Senate Hearing on Section 230 of Communications Decency...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 27, 2020 - Nancy MacLean | Seth Abramson from 2020-10-27T22:58:50

Could a Reactionary Majority on the Supreme Court Take America Back to the Gilded Age? | Amid the Piles of Evidence, Why Has Trump's Criminality and Treachery Not Been Proven?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 26, 2020 - Anne Nelson | Dr. Angela Rasmussen | Max Hoffman from 2020-10-27T00:16:23

How Dark Money Put Barrett and Her Predecessors on Our Highest Court | As We Intrude on Nature With Ecological Disruption, Expect More Pandemics | Erdogan's Son-in-law's Drones Tip the Balance in t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 25, 2020 - Andrew Feinberg | Jonathan Metzl | Sean Lyngaas from 2020-10-25T18:50:23

Trump Just Rigged a Booby Trap to Cripple a Biden Administration | Trump's Debate Dog Whistles and the Politics of White Anxiety | The FSB's "Energetic Bear" Probes Networks to Disrupt Election Res...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 22, 2020 - Allen Frances | Josh Douglas | David Rothkopf from 2020-10-22T23:20:09

If Biden Gets Under His Skin, Will Trump Have a Meltdown in Tonight's Debate? | Why Did the Supreme Court Uphold Voter Suppression in Alabama? | America's History of Treason Confirms Trump is a Tra...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 21, 2020 - Lee Gelernt | Mary Jane Mudd | Jared Yates Sexton from 2020-10-22T00:58:19

Parents of 545 Immigrant Children Separated at the Border Can't Be Found | As More Democrats Vote in Texas, Voter Suppression Ramps Up | Challenging Our Foundational Myths to Make Us More Clear Eye...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 20, 2020 - Frank Clemente | Andrew Nathan | Barry Lynn from 2020-10-20T23:57:47

As Americans Suffer the Pandemic Billionaires' Wealth Increases by $931 Billion | China Wants Trump, The Gift That Keeps On Giving, Reelected | Today's First Blow Against Monopoly Power

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 19, 2020 - Lydia Camarillo | Anders Aslund | Jack Fong from 2020-10-19T23:32:25

Record Turnouts Underway For Early Voting in Texas In Spite of Voter Suppression | Giuliani's Phony Biden Dossier Manufactured by Russian Intelligence | Pro-Democracy Young Thais Protest a King Bac...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 18, 2020 - Dr. Ian Lipkin | Ruth Ben Ghiat | Carl Hoffman from 2020-10-18T19:11:30

We Need Dr. Fauci More Than Ever as Trump Embraces Quackery | Trump, The Ill Strongmen on the White House Balcony | Inside the World of Q-Anon and Trump's Deadly Conspiracies
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 15, 2020 - Dr. Irwin Redlener | John Stoehr | Tom Burgis from 2020-10-15T23:37:26

The Author of the Open Letter to Trump's Top Doctors Asking Them to Step Down and Speak Up | The SCOTUS Confirmation Ritual of Refusing to Answer Key Questions Then Ruling as Their Critics Feared |...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 14, 2020 - Mary McCord | Thomas Bollyky | Grace Blakeley from 2020-10-15T00:07:43

Trump Calls Out His "Army" to the Polls Just As He Called on His Militias to "Liberate" Michigan and Virginia | Trump's Herd Immunity Strategy is Exactly What He Has Been Doing to Stop the Pandemic...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 13, 2020 - Zalman Rothschild | John Myers | Stephen Wertheim from 2020-10-13T23:39:51

In Spite of Routine Assurances Politics Play No Role, Judges' Politics Sway Their Decisions | The Battle Over Ballot Boxes in California | The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy and Whether the Republi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 12, 2020 - Christopher Leonard | Thomas Csordas | Alexander Keyssar from 2020-10-13T00:23:33

Charles Koch is Funding Amy Coney Barrett to Overturn Restrictions on Carbon Pollution Dooming the Planet | Why This Nice Lady Amy Coney Barrett is So Dangerous | The Long Effort to Get Rid of the ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 11, 2020 - John Nichols | Paul Wood | Rick Perlstein from 2020-10-11T18:18:31

Congress is Supposed to Play a Key Role in Invoking the 25th Amendment | Was Saudi, Emirati and Russian Money Funneled into Trump's 2016 Campaign Via Micropayments? | Republican Rats Are Deserting ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 8, 2020 - Thomas Mockaitis | David Phillips | Jean Guerrero from 2020-10-08T23:48:59

Trump's Encouragement of Militia's Takes A Deadly Turn | Erdogan Has to Be Stopped But Trump Ignores the New Armenian Genocide | How Stephen Miller Has Crippled DHS's Ability to Protect the Homelan...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 7, 2020 - Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox | Rebecca Lissner | Chelsea Jane from 2020-10-07T23:33:38

A Former Catholic Theologian's Open Letter to Amy Coney Barrett | Reimagining, Not Restoring a New Post-Trump Liberal International Order | How Will Kamala Harris Handle Mike Pence?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 6, 2020 - Robert Hockett | John Barry | Sarah Chayes from 2020-10-06T23:39:15

Trump Stiffs Needy Americans and Struggling Businesses to Get Barrett on the Court | Our Mussolini Gasps For Air While Projecting Strength Over a Virus he Claims to Have Conquered | On Corruption i...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 5, 2020 - Victoria Nourse | Natasha Sarin | Lawrence Douglas from 2020-10-06T00:02:42

Will Amy Coney Barrett Go Down in History as the "Typhoid Mary" of the Supreme Court? | How the IRS is Outgunned and How to Make the Rich Pay Their Taxes | The Author of Will He Go? Trump and the L...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 4, 2020 - Dr. Kavita Patel | Allan Lichtman | Kurt Andersen from 2020-10-04T18:05:15

Evasion Over Trump's Health and Capability to Carry Out His Duties | Trump Has Failed to Lie the Pandemic Away | How Plutocrats and Their Enablers Captured the U.S. and How Americans Can Take Back ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
October 1, 2020 - Robert Mackey | Lisa Graves | Jennifer Taub from 2020-10-01T23:23:37

Will Law Enforcement Protect Voters From Trump's MAGA Militias Harassing Them at the Polls? | Roberts, Kavanaugh and Barrett all Worked to Stop the Count in Florida 2000, Will They Do It Again? | T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 30, 2020 - Nicole Hemmer | Amanda Marcotte | Edward McCaffery from 2020-09-30T20:19:49

Trump Turned Last Night's Debate Into a National Shame and an International Embarrassment | Trump's Bullying Was Meant to Drown Out the Truth | The Impact of the Trump Tax Scandal on the Debate
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 29, 2020 - David Cay Johnston | Leslie Samuels | Jennifer Mercieca from 2020-09-29T22:31:02

Trump's MO of Lying, Cheating and Stealing to Tie up IRS Auditors for Years Until They Give up and Cry Uncle | Congress's Gutting of the IRS's Revenue Collection Capabilities | Ahead of Tonight's D...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 28, 2020 - Kimberly Clausing | Gloria Steinem | Paul Pillar from 2020-09-28T22:43:52

Trump Exposed as a Spectacularly Inept Businessman and a Serial Tax Cheat | Gloria Steinem on Her Friend, Hero and Guide Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Following Robert Cardillo, It's Time For Mattis, McMas...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 27, 2020 - Malcolm Nance | Lara Bazelon | Massimo Faggioli from 2020-09-27T18:29:49

A Top Intelligence Official Warns Trump Decisions Are Not Based on Real-World Facts But on What's Good For Him | The Politics Behind the Choice of Amy Coney Barrett | Religious Dogma's Influence on...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 24, 2020 - Col. Lawrence Wilkerson | Norm Ornstein | Richard Hasen from 2020-09-24T22:19:16

Trump's Refusal to Commit to a Peaceful Transition of Power | Trump's Plan to Steal a Close Election and Contest a Biden Landslide | An Election Expert on Why He's Never Been More Worried
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 23, 2020 - Oliver Bullough | Dr. Pete Kraska | Dr. Terry Madonna from 2020-09-23T22:25:41

We Should Blame Politicians Who Accept Dirty Money More Than the Kleptocrats Who Bribe Them | A Flagrant Miscarriage of Justice in Kentucky | A Ruling in Pennsylvania Tosses 100,000 ballots in a Sw...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 22, 2020 - Will Fitzgibbon | Mandy Smithberger | Sean Roberts from 2020-09-22T21:28:13

Prying Into a World Awash with Dirty Money Major Banks are Laundering | The Pentagon Diverts Money for PPE to Engine Parts, Body Armor and Dress Uniforms | Inside China's Cultural Genocide Against ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 21, 2020 - Robert Alexander | Michael Coppedge | Kevin Kumashiro from 2020-09-21T20:50:55

How McConnell and Trump's Appointment to Replace RBG Will Backfire | The Global "Dictator Drift" as the U.S. Undergoes "Substantial Autocratization" | Trump's Call to "Restore Patriotic Education" ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 20, 2020 - Jim Manley | Caroline Fredrickson | James Fallows from 2020-09-20T18:52:59

Trump and McConnell Move With Unseemly Haste to Fill RBG's Just-vacated Seat | Opus Dei's Leonard Leo Gets his Sixth Pick to Stack the Supreme Court | Has the Press Learned Anything After Billions ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 17, 2020 - Joseph Lowndes | Mark Sandel | Shuja Nawaz from 2020-09-17T20:58:25

When he Loses the Election Will Trump Call His Armed and Delusional Supporters to the Streets? | The Dark Side of Meritocracy and the Need to Restore the Dignity of Work | Chaos and War Will Follow...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 16, 2020 - Paul Waldman | David Graham | Ryan Cooper from 2020-09-16T23:24

Trump Chokes on ABC's Town Hall Facing Real Questions From Ordinary Americans | Silence From the White House and GOP on Caputo's Call to Arms For a Civil War in November | The GOP's Affinity for Pu...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 15, 2020 - Juan Cole | Naomi Oreskes | Valerie Trouet from 2020-09-15T22:53:14

The Trump, Netanyahu, UAE and Bahrain Peace Deal is Actually an Arms Deal | With the West of Fire, Trump Puts a Global Warming Denier in Charge of the Weather | Ending Fire Suppression and Learning...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 14, 2020 - Daphne Wysham | Meg Krawchuk | David Vine from 2020-09-14T22:45:24

Trump's Threat to Withhold Funds Unless States Follow his Advice to Rake the Forest Floor | The Role of Winds and Power Lines in the Oregon Fires | The 48 to 59 Million Displaced by the U.S. War on...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 13, 2020 - Peter Strzok | Harry Litman from 2020-09-13T17:22:28

The Person at the Eye of the Storm Heading up the "Crossfire Hurricane" Counterintelligence Investigation Into Trump/Russia Ties | Growing Resistance Inside Barr's DOJ
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 9, 2020 - Michael Greenberger | Stanley Greenberg | Susan Neiman from 2020-09-10T22:35:56

Trump's Minions Bury Intelligence on How the Russians Are helping Reelect the Boss | Trump is Losing His Base Who Are Suffering in the Healthcare Crisis He is Worsening | How the Germans Confronted...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 9, 2020 - Lawrence Gostin | LeRoy Westerling | Dr. David Hill from 2020-09-09T23:06:16

Our Spectacularly Stupid President Who Would Rather Let People Die Than Panic Them | The Unprecedented Wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington | An Expert on Voter Turnout
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September 8, 2020 - Ian Haney Lopez | Fathali Moghaddam | Dr. Michael McDonald from 2020-09-08T22:55:02

Calling Out Trump's Racist Reelection Strategy | Time For the Democrats to Get Tough With the Mafia Boss in the White House | Senior Republicans Try to Stop Trump From Trashing Mail-in Balloting Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 7, 2020 - Lawrence Mishel | Janice Fine | Dr. Harley Shaiken from 2020-09-07T21:40:16

On Labor Day: The State of Working America | The Disgraceful Growth of Wage Theft During the Pandemic | According to a Recent Gallup Poll, 65% of Americans Approve of Labor Unions
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 6, 2020 - Lucian Truscott | Cynthia Miller-Idriss | Benjamin Carter-Hett from 2020-09-06T18:51:28

The Commander-in- Chief's Real Attitude Toward Those Who Serve Under Him | The Mainstreaming of White Nationalism | Similarities Between the 1930's and the Present
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 3, 2020 - Arlie Hochschild | James Risen | Kai Strittmatter from 2020-09-03T21:23:48

While Trump Offers Simplistic, Strongman Magic, Biden Must Show That Real Strength Does Not Depend on Magic | The Overlooked Senate Intelligence Report Puts Mueller's Report to Shame | China's Orwe...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 2, 2020 - Pavel Felgenhauer | Gregory Koblentz | James Henry from 2020-09-02T23:23:20

A Report From Moscow on the Poisoning of Navalny by Novichok | Outrage in Europe at Putin the Poisoner But Silence From Trump | Will The Trump Inaugural Committee's Corruption Ensnare Trump?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
September 1, 2020 - Ruth Conniff | John Dean | Cynthia Schneider from 2020-09-01T23:10:46

Trump's Unwelcome Visit to Kenosha | John Dean on His New Book Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers | A Former U.S. Ambassador on the Kind of People Trump Sends Abroad to Represent Us Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 31, 2020 - Jason Wilson | Katrina Mulligan | Geoffrey Kabaservice from 2020-08-31T23:09:45

A Convoy of Far Right Trump Supporters Provoke Violence in Portland | Trump Loyalists in Charge of Intelligence Hold Back Evidence of Foreign Interference in the Upcoming Election | Was Biden Effec...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 30, 2020 - Carl Hoffman | Matthew Rothschild | MIke German from 2020-08-30T20:10:23

Why Trump Loves Rallies in Which He Shares the Unhinged Belief Systems of His Cult-like Followers | Will Biden Call Trump Out on His Cynical Game of Creating Civil Strife in Order to Benefit From I...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 27, 2020 - Mike Lofgren | Sylvia Allegretto | Alexander Zaitchik from 2020-08-27T21:06:48

The Cult-like Quality of the GOP's Capitulation to Trumpism | Economic Distress Grows With No Unemployment Benefits and Protection From Eviction | How Big Pharma Price-Gouges on Drugs Taxpayers Inv...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 26, 2020 - David Wallace-Wells | Jean Guerrero from 2020-08-26T19:04:19

As the West Burns 9 Times More CO2 Enters the Atmosphere Than All the Reductions From California's Green Initiatives | The Malign Influence of Stephen Miller Who Follows His Mentor David Horowitz's...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 25, 2020 - Thomas Nichols | Harold Meyerson | Joshua Green from 2020-08-25T23:20:43

RNC Fantasy Night Has Trump a Decisive Leader Against the Pandemic | RNC Diversity Night Showcases a Few Minority Faces Without the Usual 95% White Crowd | Bannon Hopes For a Pardon Which is Unlike...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 24, 2020 - Sidney Blumenthal | Will Bunch | Lawrence Rosenthal from 2020-08-24T23:38:37

The Trump No-Platform Know Nothing Party Convention | QAnon Previews the Biden Resistance in Weekend Demonstrations | The Author of Empire of Resentment: Populism's Toxic Embrace of Nationalism
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 23, 2020 - Kavita Patel | Douglas Rushkoff from 2020-08-23T18:06:06

An Update On the State of the Pandemic and its Impact on the Election Campaigns | How the Biggest Digital Companies are Decimating the Economy Turning People into Assets
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 20, 2020 - Robert Kuttner | Carol Anderson | Melissa Ryan from 2020-08-20T21:10:13

Can Biden's Big Tent Paper Over Differences of Policy and Principal? | Voter suppression Never Went Away. It Evolved | Trump All But Endorses the QAnon Conspiracy Cult backgroundbriefing.org/donat...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 19, 2020 - Robert Draper | Scott Horton | Kristen Clarke from 2020-08-19T22:40:32

How Trump Wore Down the Intelligence Community | The Explosive Report From the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee | Suing Trump and DeJoy to Stop the Weaponizing of the USPS Against Ameri...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 18, 2020 - John Nichols | Moira Donega | Mohamad Bazzi from 2020-08-18T23:26:12

An Assessment of the First Night of the Democrat's Virtual Convention | The 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment | How Do the Lebanese People Break Free From the Sectarian Warlords?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 17, 2020 - Joshua Geltzer | Barton Gellman | Natalie Manaeva Rice from 2020-08-17T22:52:11

Trump's Three-Pronged Attack on the Election | What is Behind Trump's Suggested Pardoning of Edward Snowden | Putin is Unlikely to Invade Belarus to Rescue a Dictator he Despises
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 16, 2020 - Richard Parker | Matt Angle | Michael Shifter from 2020-08-16T17:50:31

Trump and DeJoy's Criminal Sabotage of the USPS Underway | Can the Democrats Do Something to Stop Trump From Writing the Rules For His Own Reelection? | Elliott Abrams' Appointment and the Seizure ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 13, 2020 - Angelo Carusone | Steve Hutkins | Rick Perlstein from 2020-08-13T22:42:33

Trump Praises a Racist Q-Anon Devotee as a Rising Star in the GOP | Trump and De Joy's Criminal Attack on the United States Postal Service | The Author of Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976 - 18...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 12, 2020 - Chelsea Janes | Christopher Parker | Allan Lichtman from 2020-08-12T20:41:44

The Washington Post Reporter who was Embedded in Kamala Harris's Presidential Primary Campaign | What Will Kamala Harris Bring to the On-going Struggle For Racial Justice? | The Presidential Predic...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 8, 2020 - Andra Gillespie | John Lawrence | Thom Hartmann from 2020-08-12T00:30

Biden Chooses California Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential Running Mate | The Messaging War Between the Democratic Leaders and the White House Over the Next Stimulus Package | The Hidd...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 10, 2020 - David Hearst | David Marples | James Thurber from 2020-08-10T23:14:51

U.S. Court Summons MBS and His Hit Team to Answer Charges From Targeted Former Saudi Intelligence Official | Europe's Last Dictator Flagrantly Steals Sunday's Election | Will the Next Stimulus Pack...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 9, 2020 - Paul Light | Anders Aslund | Vincent Bevins from 2020-08-09T17:52:49

Trump's Phony Stunt to Break a Deadlock That He Created | The Ex-KGB Ukrainian Who Senators Johnson and Grassley Are Working With to Get Dirt on Biden | How the Jakarta Method of Exterminating Left...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 6, 2020 - Thanassis Cambanis | Joshua Horwitz | Philip Rubio from 2020-08-06T22:35:51

Trump Insists Without Evidence the Destruction of Beirut Was Not an Accident | The Once-Powerful NRA Will Go the Way of the Trump Foundation | A Veteran of the U.S.P.S. on the Manufactured Crisis t...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 5, 2020 - Habib Battah | Lincoln Mitchell | Dr. Michael McDonald from 2020-08-05T22:35:30

An Update From Beirut on the Devastation Which Government Incompetence and Indifferent Politicians Are Responsible For | Trump's Law and Order Campaign is Backfiring | Trump OK's Mail-in Ballots in...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 4, 2020 - Robert Baer | Aaron Rupar | Stephanie Kelton from 2020-08-05T00:09:04

A Massive Explosion Rocks Beirut Ahead of a Verdict in the Bombing of a Former Prime Minister | Trump's Disastrous Interview in Which Follow Up Questions Were Asked | Republicans Revive the Deficit...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 3, 2020 - Dr. Irwin Redlener | Dr. Stanley Perlman | Chuck Collins from 2020-08-03T22:09:42

All of Trump's Public Health Experts Should Have Resigned Months Ago | The Countrywide Spread of the Coronavirus and Herd Immunity | Billionaires Are Richer Than Ever So Why Aren't They Giving More...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
August 2, 2020 - Ananya Roy | Christopher Shaw | Tom Hastings from 2020-08-02T17:40:19

Americans Face a Tsunami of Evictions | It is Clear Trump is Crippling the U.S. Postal Service to Stymie Voting by Mail in November | Advice From Portland's Veteran in Non-Violent Activism and Trai...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 30, 2020 - Rachel Kleinfeld | Rudy deLeon | David Dayen from 2020-07-30T23:42:29

On the Day John Lewis is Buried, Trump Attacks Voting Rights To Delay the Election | Members of the Military, Does the Commander-in-Chief Have Your Back? | Congress Finally Addresses Monopoly Power...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 29, 2020 - Ryan Cooper | Stuart Schrader | Robert Draper from 2020-07-29T23:32:09

The $1 Trillion Republican Stimulus Bill Gives the Pentagon More Weapons They Don't Want While Stiffing the American People | How the Dirty Wars We Exported Are Coming Home in Portland | The Origin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 28, 2020 - Rebecca Roiphe | Jennifer Mercieca | Garrett Epps from 2020-07-28T22:38:41

Black Lives Matter Versus Antifa at Barr's Grilling Before the House | What Can be Done to Stop Giving the Trump Campaign Videos to Discredit Peaceful Protests | How and Why Trump's Dangerous Demag...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 27, 2020 - Thomas Bollyky | Lawrence Douglas | Michael D'Antonio from 2020-07-27T23:07:24

The Continuation of the Republican War on Strong Women by Weak and Insecure Men | How the 2020 Election Meltdown Could be a Repeat of 1876 | The Danger of Vaccine Nationalism Making the Pandemic Wo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 26, 2020 - Sarah Churchwell | Michael Hirsh | Rob Johnson from 2020-07-26T18:57:40

The Deep Roots of Fascism in America | Fascists Always Fail and So Will Trump | McConnell's Congress Takes Care of the Donors First With Leftover Crumbs for the American People
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 23, 2020 - Elizabeth Goitein | Trita Parsi | Victor Shih from 2020-07-23T23:39:40

The Enormous Emergency Powers a Lawless Trump Has at Hand His Predecessors Used With Restraint | A Plan to End Our Misguided Policy of Domination in the Middle East | Trump's New Cold War With Chin...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 22, 2020 - Federico Finchelstein | Orville Schell | Daniel Drezner from 2020-07-22T23:12:49

Fascism Comes to America | An Escalating Tit-For-Tat With China | What Will a Post-Trump GOP Look Like?
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 21, 2020 - Sharon Meieran | Heather Boushey | Jeet Heer from 2020-07-21T23:53:50

One of the Moms From the "Wall of Moms" in Portland Protecting the Protesters | Families About to Lose Their Unemployment Money Face Eviction and Foreclosure | Trump's One-Man Coronavirus Show Bomb...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 20, 2020 - Mike German | Sean Wilentz | Dr. Robert Bollinger from 2020-07-20T23:06:36

After a Trial Run in Portland, Trump Plans to Deploy his Private Federal Militia in Chicago and Across the Country | An Historian and Friend of John Lewis Talks About His Hero | Can We Reverse the ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 19, 2020 - Robert Evans | Sen. Tim Wirth | Allan Frances from 2020-07-19T18:40:49

Citizens of Portland Continue Their Stand Against Brutal Police Now Aided by Trump's Stormtroopers | How Trump and Barr Are Planning to Overturn the Election | A Psychiatrist Examines Mary Trump's ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 16, 2020 - Lisa Graves | Greg Palast | Dr. Dan Cooper from 2020-07-16T22:00:56

Will Trump Be Able to Kill the Postal Service Before November to Stop Mail-in Ballots? | Biden May Be Ahead in the Polls But 16 Million Likely Democratic Voters Have Already Been Purged | Can Schoo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 15, 2020 - John Barry | Ryan Devereaux | Julian Zelizer from 2020-07-15T22:15:43

Since Trump Blew Our First Chance, We Have To Contain Covid Now Because We Won't Get a Third Chance | Instead of Antifa, Police Should Focus on the Boogaloo Bois Who Are Killing Cops to Start a Civ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 14, 2020 - Jennifer Taub | Dennis Kelleher | Kathy Hipple from 2020-07-14T22:42:26

Trump Clearly Bribed Stone For His Silence But Will Other Republican Senators Join the Two Who Have Condemned His Criminality? | The Supreme Court Gives Pension Fund Managers the Green Light to Rip...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 13, 2020 - Corey Brettschneider | Shannon Bennett | David Glass from 2020-07-13T21:44:17

Trump's Pardon of Roger Stone is Unconstitutional | Trump Defames Dr. Fauci While Offering Medical Advice From a Talk Show Host | The Owner of the Washington Redskins Bows to Financial, Not Moral P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 12, 2020 - Adam Klasfeld | Cas Mudde | Nina Jankowicz from 2020-07-12T18:02:33

Did the Dirty Trickster of The Mob Boss-in-Chief Threaten to Rat Him Out If he Goes to Jail? | The Global Growth of the Extreme Right and the Radical Right | Why the West is Losing the Information ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 9, 2020 - David Cay Johnston | Leah Litman | Joseph Nye from 2020-07-09T21:39:47

SCOTUS Hands Trump a Victory Even Though he is Whining That it's Not Fair | Trump and Roberts are the Winners While the American Public is the Loser | In Extinguishing the Voice of America, We Lose...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 8, 2020 - Lance Dodes | Jamille Fields Allsbrook | Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera from 2020-07-08T22:16:12

Trump's Niece Portrays Her Uncle as a Fraud and a Bully Whose Ego is So Fragile it Must Be Bolstered Every Moment | The Supreme Court Makes Birth Control Less Accessible and Abortion More Likely | ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 7, 2020 - Amanda Marcotte | Craig Holman | Henri Barkey from 2020-07-07T22:17:45

Are There Enough Racists in America for Trump to Win in November? | A Little But Not Enough Transparency on Who Got the SBA's PPP Money | NATO Members French and Turkish Warships Clash Off Libya Listen

Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 6, 2020 - Elie Honig | Jason Stanley | Laura Miller from 2020-07-06T21:40:12

To Avoid Prison Will Epstein's Procurer Implicate Powerful Men? | Trump's Full-on Fascist 4th of July Speeches | The Cumulative Effect of the Books by the "Axis of Adults"
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 5, 2020 - David Shimer | Roger Morris from 2020-07-05T18:25:03

The History Of The U.S. and Russia Rigging Votes | Trump Could Take Advantage of Multiple Crises If We Take His Bait
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 2, 2020 - Pavlina Tcherneva | David Halperin | Toby Miller from 2020-07-02T21:49:06

Job Guarantees Could Reverse the Epidemic of Job Loss Since the Government Has the Cure | SCOTUS Hands DeVos a Victory to Fund Religious Schools at the Expense of Public Education | Mexico's AMLO T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
July 1, 2020 - Aaron Blake | Michael Davis | Tom Collina from 2020-07-01T23:28:21

How Far Out on Limb is Trump With His Latest Routine "Hoax" Defense? | Protestors Arrested On the First Day of China's New Security Law in Hong Kong | With Trump and Putin Having the Ability to De...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 30, 2020 - Paul Pillar | David Rohde | Frederick Clarkson from 2020-06-30T22:37:28

Trump's Excuses For Ignoring Intelligence Get Increasingly Lame as More Evidence Emerges | The Taliban Side of the Story From Someone Who Was Kidnapped by Them | The Supreme Court's Makeup Gift to ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 29, 2020 - Nicole Hemmer | Christine Fair | Dru Gladney from 2020-06-29T21:39:52

Is Trump's Incitement of his Armed Followers to Confront Demonstrators his Reelection Strategy? | In Afghanistan Russia Holds a Grudge But the Taliban Hardly Need to be Bribed to Kill Americans | C...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 28, 2020 - James W. Loewen | Luke Harding from 2020-06-28T17:52:30

Trump Cares More About Dead Confederate Soldiers Than Live Black Americans | Investigating the GRU's Unit 29155 and Why Trump Has Not Lifted a Finger to Stop Them Killing U.S. Soldiers
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 25, 2020 - Andrew Noymer | Lincoln Mitchell | Lara Friedman from 2020-06-25T21:36:28

As Trump Does the Opposite of What is Needed, We Could Have 300,000 Covid Deaths by November | What Happens When Trump Rejects the Election Results? | With Trump's Backing, Israel Moves to Annex 30...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 24, 2020 - Harry Litman | Cynthia Miller-Idress | Kent Harrington from 2020-06-24T22:21:16

Republicans Try to Shut Down Testimony From Critics of Barr | The U.S. Military's Vulnerability to Infiltration by Neo-Nazi Groups | The Latest Threats From North Korea and Why China Props up the R...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 23, 2020 - Ari Berman | Jennifer Rodgers | Dr. Lawrence Gostin from 2020-06-23T21:43:35

How "Moscow Mitch's" Voting Suppression is Playing Out in Kentucky Today | A Former AUSA with the SDNY on How New York Prosecutors Will Not be Cowed by Barr and Trump | Dr. Fauci's Testimony Today ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 22, 2020 - Scott Horton | Kavita Patel | Andrea Flores from 2020-06-22T22:35:34

Strands of Incriminating Evidence Against Trump are Coming Together | An Update on the Pandemic as Trump Pretends it Has Gone Away | Trump and Miller's Relentless Drive to Hurt Immigrants and Their...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 21, 2020 - David Rothkopf | Catherine Belton from 2020-06-21T18:27:35

To Avoid a Growing Likelihood of Humiliation, Could Trump Walk Off the Job he Doesn't Like Doing | The Real History of Putin and How the KGB Never Went Away
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 18, 2020 - Jacob Heilbrunn | Craig Futterman | Rob Jackson from 2020-06-18T21:32:12

Is the Dam Breaking to Sweep Trump Away? | The Killing in Atlanta Reveals a Sadistic Streak in Policing | After a Recent Drop, CO2 Emissions are Surging Back as Countries and States Reopen
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 17, 2020 - Joshua Geltzer | Lara Bazelon | Joshua Douglas from 2020-06-17T22:08:10

Trump and Barr's Frantic Last-Ditch Effort to Stop the Release of Bolton's Book | Trump's "Law and Order" Photo Op Dressed up as Police Reform | Democratic Candidate's Race in Kentucky to Unseat Mc...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 16, 2020 - Charles Armstrong | Joshua Fitt | Tobias Wolff from 2020-06-16T23:27:08

Kim Jong-Un's Sister Issues North Korea's Latest Round of Threats | Chinese Soldiers Club 20 Indian Soldiers to Death on Disputed Border | The Supreme Court's Ruling Protecting LGBT Americans From ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 15, 2020 - Peniel Joseph | Adam Hochschild | Kate Mackintosh from 2020-06-15T21:48:25

An Awakening Underway Will Leave Trump and His Racist Followers in the Rear-View Mirror of History | The Toppling of Statues of Confederate Generals and Slave Traders | Trump's Attack on the Staff ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 14, 2020 - Malcolm Nance | Stuart Schrader | Steven Simon from 2020-06-14T17:19:45

Trump's Misuse of the Most Diverse Class of West Point Cadets as Campaign Props | The Militarized Mindset of Policing in America | Shifting the Focus from Jihadist Terrorists Abroad to Right-Wing T...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 11, 2020 - Jim Adams | Dr. Scott Ellsworth | Stephanie Kelton from 2020-06-11T21:06:16

Trump's Gift to Donald Jr., You Can Now Kill Hibernating Bear Cubs and Their Mothers Along With Wolf Pups | Trump Chooses "Juneteenth" and Tulsa, the Site of the Worst Massacre of Blacks in Our His...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 10, 2020 - Aklima Khondocker | Dennis Kenney | Robert Hennelly from 2020-06-10T20:56:13

Is Georgia's Election Debacle the Trump GOP's Strategy for November? | The Feasibility of Defunding the Police | Police Reforms in Camden, New Jersey as a National Model
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 9, 2020 - Ian Haney Lopez | Lloyd Green | Ekow Yankah from 2020-06-09T21:25:45

Trump's Appropriation of Nixon's 1968 "Silent Majority" Playbook Will Not Work in 2020 | Barr as a Right-Wing Culture Warrior Propping Up a Weak Strongman | Defunding the Police and Eradicating the...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 8, 2020 - Federico Finchelstein | Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Carol Anderson from 2020-06-08T23:06:34

Comparing the Latin American Fascist Playbook to Today's Putsch by Trump and Barr | Trump is Already Performing Fascism, Will He Get to Enact It? | The Ongoing Youthful Demonstrations as a Potentia...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 7, 2020 - Peter Bergen | Jennifer Taub | Ian Lipkin from 2020-06-07T18:23:50

The "Adults in the Room" Finally Speak Out Against the Fraud in the Oval Office | In Dropping the Flynn Case, Barr Sets up a Confrontation Between the Executive and Judicial Branches | With Fauci S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 4, 2020 - Col. Lawrence Wilkerson | Dahlia Lithwick | Dr. Andrew Rosenberg from 2020-06-04T22:37:32

The Likelihood Trump Will Invoke Martial Law Before or After an Electoral Defeat | The Federalist's Leonard Leo is Now Using Dark Money to Suppress the Democratic Vote | Trump Kills Environmental P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 3, 2020 - Spencer Sunshine | Bree Carlson | Quinn Slobodian from 2020-06-03T22:17:11

While Police Mass Against Demonstrations, Stores and Pharmacies are Looted | Will This Nationwide Uprising Bring About Racial Justice and Economic Equality? | The Techno-Utopian Fantasies of Libert...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 2, 2020 - Col. Rachel VanLandingham | Andrew Whitehead | Glenn Kessler from 2020-06-02T21:31:56

Trump's Entirely Fabricated Pretext of Domestic Terrorism to Justify Martial Law | Trump's Bible-in-hand Appeal to Christian Nationalism | The Washington Post's Fact-Checker on Donald Trump and His...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
June 1, 2020 - Darnell Hunt | Sebastian Mallaby | Joseph Pierre from 2020-06-01T22:53:01

The 1992 Rodney King Riots and Today's Looting and Rioting in LA | How the Fed Not Only Tolerates Budget Deficits But Facilitates Them | How Conspiracy Theories Could Prolong the Pandemic
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 31, 2020 - Brian Levin | Sidney Blumenthal | Andrew Nathan from 2020-05-31T18:56:17

How Rioting and Looting Will Help Trump Cast Himself for Reelection as the "Law and Order" President | The Know-Nothings of the 1850's Have Come Back as Donald Trump's GOP of Today | Trump's Bluste...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 28, 2020 - Philip Stinson | Thomas Nichols | Greg Grandin from 2020-05-28T22:20:40

Investigating Police Crime | Trump's Attacks of Twitter Are About His Freedom to Continue to Lie | The Pandemic as the Fourth Turning Point After 9/11, the 2008 Crash and Climate Change
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 27, 2020 - Dr. Jacob Hacker | David Schultz | Sarah Posner from 2020-05-27T22:37:47

Can the Republicans Get Away With Unpopular Programs While Ignoring Popular Demands? | A Murder by Police in Minneapolis Could Sink Klobuchar's VP Chances | The Unholy Alliance of White Nationalist...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 26, 2020 - Angelo Carusone | Dr. Samuel Woolley from 2020-05-26T22:08:31

Our "Bone Spur" President Trolls a Marine Captain on Memorial Day and Promotes a Vile Conspiracy | The Role of "Fake News" and Twitter Trolls in the Election and in the Future With AI-edited "Deepf...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 25, 2020 - Lucian Truscott | Robert Dreyfuss | Victoria Hui from 2020-05-25T21:07:50

As Tribal Divisions Intensify, We Look More and More Like a Failed State | Trump's Wuhan Hoax and His War on the U.S. Intelligence Community | Trump Ignores the Tragedy as Hong Kong's Democracy Die...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 24, 2020 - Dr. Allen Frances | Frank Clemente | Peter Kuznick from 2020-05-24T18:17:13

Questioning Trump's Sanity and Half the Country's Too | While 40 Million Lose Jobs, 1.6 Million Get Covid and 100,000 Die, Billionaires' Profits Are Up 15% | The Rise of Global Activism and the Cov...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 21, 2020 - Joseph Cirincione | Katie Kalvoda | Barton Gellman from 2020-05-22T00:26:17

Trump Trashes Another Treaty | A Call to Speak Out Against Trump's Anti-Asian Language and Hold Him Responsible For the Violence it Inspires | Three-time Pulitzer Prize Winner Barton Gellman on His...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 20, 2020 - Mark Hayward | Justin Levitt | Karen Greenberg from 2020-05-21T00:19:17

Republican Governors Assist Trump by Undercounting Covid Deaths | Fact-checking Trump's Attacks on Mail-in Ballots in Nevada and Michigan | How the Pandemic Has Destroyed the Myth of American Excep...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 19, 2020 - Alexander Zaitchik | James Henry | Joel Goldstein from 2020-05-19T23:56:11

Trump's New Vaccine Czar and Big Pharma's Grip on Vaccines | Profiteering as Trump Throws Money at the Disaster he Created | Assessing the Field of Female Vice Presidents Biden is Vetting
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 18, 2020 - Dr. Amesh Adalja | Jesse Eisinger | Lawrence Douglas from 2020-05-19T01:33:02

China Gives $2 Billion to the WHO While the US Cuts Funds and Blames Them for the Pandemic | While Main Street is Hurting, a Wall Street Hedge Fund is up 80% | The Likelihood a Defeated Trump Will ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 17, 2020 - Dr. Irwin Redlener | Heather Hurlburt | David Hearst from 2020-05-17T20:08:25

Trump Sidelines Health Professionals While Fox Switches Coverage From Covid to Obamagate | The Latest in a String of Firings of Inspector Generals | Trump's Secret Negotiations With Iran Could Resu...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 14, 2020 - Arthur Caplan | Robert Baer | Kevin O'Leary from 2020-05-15T02:00:18

The Whistleblower's Dark Warning as Trump is Poised to Fire or Muzzle Fauci | Trump, Barr and the DNI Abuse Intelligence to Cook up "Obamagate" | The Illiberal Revolution That Has Destroyed the Rep...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 13, 2020 - Eugene Jarecki | Anna Merlan | Robert Alexander from 2020-05-14T01:27:04

Holding Trump Responsible for the Deaths He's Caused at TrumpDeathClock.com | Lies From the Anti-vaxxing Movement When the World Awaits a Vaccine | "Faithless Electors" and Electoral College Campai...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 12, 2020 - David Cay Johnston | Nick Schwellenbach from 2020-05-13T00:41:31

Debunking Trump's Bonkers "Obamagate" Conspiracy | The Upcoming Testimony From the Whistleblower Trump Fired Dr. Bright
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 11, 2020 - Stephen Wertheim | Stanley Brand | Sylvia Albert from 2020-05-12T01:04:07

Will Americans Fall for Trump's Distraction of a New Cold War With China? | Will the Supreme Court Defy Precedent and Rule Against Congressional Oversight? | Trump's Partisan Interference in Califo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 10, 2020 - Bill Yeomans | Michele Evermore | Dennis Kelleher from 2020-05-10T20:47:45

The Attorney General Has Branded Law Enforcement the Enemy of the People | Unemployment Numbers Are Worse Than the 14.7% Announced Friday | The Underreported Bailout of the $4.7 Trillion Money Mark...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 7, 2020 - Andrew Noymer | Richard John | John Stoehr from 2020-05-08T01:46:44

Trump Rejects CDC Guidelines to Open Up the Country | Will Trump's New Postmaster General Stop Mail-in Balloting? | When Things Get Rocky, Trump Walks Away and He's Doing it Now to the Country
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 6, 2020 - Sarah Chayes | Alejandro Velasco | Art Cullen from 2020-05-07T01:25:42

Glimpses Emerging of the Trump Administration's Systemic and Sociopathic Corruption | The Fiasco in Venezuela and its Ties to Q-Anon and Trump | Instead of Saving the American Hamburger, Trump Has ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 5, 2020 - Richard Parker | Rob Wallace | Kim Cordova from 2020-05-06T00:40:54

Trump Prepares to Sacrifice American Lives to Get Re-elected | The Origins of the Covid-19 Virus | Forcing Workers to Choose Between a Paycheck and a Death Sentence
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 4, 2020 - Dr. Dara Kass | Jeff Madrick | Michael Fuchs from 2020-05-05T01:15:30

Our Frontline Workers Fighting the Pandemic Are Still Not Protected | How Trump, Kushner and Mnuchin Relied on a Compliant Economist's Absurd Model | Using Bad Intel to Start a War of Words With Ch...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
May 3, 2020 - Patrick Blanchfield | Allan Lichtman | Julia Davis from 2020-05-03T20:15:56

Trump is Using Guns As An Instrument of Political Intimidation | A Collapse of Leadership at a Moment of Crisis | Biden's Accuser's Peculiar Love For Putin
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 30, 2020 - Kathleen McGrory | Victor Shih | Dr. Terry Madonna from 2020-05-01T00:48:26

Exposing an Undercount of Covid-19 Deaths in Florida and in the Nation | Trump Pressures the Intelligence Community for Evidence to Blame China | A Pollster on Trump Blaming His Campaign Manager Fo...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 29, 2020 - John Latham | John Grant | Ken Deklava from 2020-04-30T02:59:19

Investigating the Origins of the Covid-19 Virus | Trump Designates Meat-Packing Plants as Critical Infrastructure | Assessing the Rumors of Kim Jong-un's Health or Incapacitation
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 28, 2020 - Greg Miller | Mike Lofgren | Graham Steele from 2020-04-29T00:48:53

How Trump Ignored Intelligence Briefings When the Virus Could Have Been Stopped | Blue States Subsidize Red States Like McConnell's Kentucky | The Fed's $500 billion to Big Corporations While 26 Mi...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 27, 2020 - Andra Gillespie | Harry Litman | Chuck Collins from 2020-04-28T00:40:42

Stacey Abrams Offers Herself as Biden's VP | Why is Barr Inflaming the Already Overheated Debate Over State Lockdowns? | While 26 Million Americans Run Out of Food and Money, Billionaires Get $308 ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 26, 2020 - Robert Mackey | Frances Brown | Ryan Cooper from 2020-04-26T20:45:36

Deadly Advice From the Quack-in-Chief | The Pandemic is Magnifying Already Grave Economic and Security Problems | How Societies Can Transform From Unequal Plutocracies into Egalitarian Democracies<...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 23, 2020 - Lisa Graves | Juliette Kayyem | Andrea Bernstein from 2020-04-24T01:19:25

The Plutocrat-funded Organizers Behind the Astroturf Anti-lockdown Demonstrations | Trump's Glaring Failure to Protect the Homeland | The Role of the Second Most Powerful Person in the U.S., Jared ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 22, 2020 - Jonathan Metzl | Igor Derysh | Dr. Elizabeth Southerland from 2020-04-23T03:09:44

Why Trump's Protesters Risk Their Lives Choosing Beliefs Over Facts | Jared's Invitation to Profiteer From Desperately-needed Medical Supplies | On Earth Day How to Stop Trump's Roll Back of 50 Yea...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 21, 2020 - Daniel Drezner | Sue Mi Terry | Tyson Slocum from 2020-04-22T00:06:57

Having the Toddler-in-Chief in Charge During a Real Crisis | Is North Korea's Kim Jong-un in Grave Condition? | Trump's Plans to Bailout Oil Industry Executives and Shareholders
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 20, 2020 - Amy Myers Jaffe | David Rohde | Robert Kahn from 2020-04-21T01:37:29

The Oil Market's Historic Plunge to a Negative $37.63 a Barrel | In Search of the "Deep State" That Does Not Exist | Wearing Face Masks or Not Means You Either Support Dr. Fauci or Trump
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 19, 2020 - Jennifer Mercieca | William Banks | Katherine Stone from 2020-04-19T19:58:51

Trump's Rhetoric Escalates Into Dangerous Territory | Is Trump Both the Arsonist and the Fire Brigade Sparking Insurrection Then Declaring Martial Law? | Are We Seeing a Repeat of 2008 With Victims...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 16, 2020 - David Dayen | Richard Hasen | Frances Kissling from 2020-04-17T01:57:35

Mnuchin Allows Banks and Debt Collectors to Grab the Stimulus Checks Unemployed Americans Need | Is Trump Starving the USPS So We Can't Vote by Mail in November? | Countries the Best in Containing ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 15, 2020 - Lawrence Gostin | Amanda Marcotte | Michael Greenberger from 2020-04-16T00:36:25

Trump's Phony Reality TV Move Against the WHO to Obscure His Record | Pro-Trump Civil Unrest to Shift Blame From the Virus to Democratic Governors | Why Putin Called Off His War Against America's S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 14, 2020 - Lance Dodes | Steve Hutkins | Whitney Whimbish from 2020-04-14T23:35:10

Trump Has a Meltdown When the Press Finally Challenge His Lies | Is Trump Trying to Put the USPS Out Of Business to Stop Mail-in Ballots? | The Sociopathic Aspects of Wall Street Capitalism
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 13, 2020 - Eric Levitz | Peter Atwater | Debbie Berkowitz from 2020-04-14T00:38:18

Sanders Concedes in a Joint Broadcast With Biden | Trauma on Main Street While Wall Street Gets a Limitless Infusion | A Former OSHA Official on the Abandonment of Front Line Workers
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 12, 2020 - Steven Greenhouse | Aaron Glantz | James Poniewozik from 2020-04-12T21:02:30

With American Workers in Desperate Need, the Ideologue in Charge of the Labor Department Creates a Bottleneck for Benefits | While Labor is Short-Changed, Wall Street is Rewarded | Our Reality TV P...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 9, 2020 - Dr. Robert Bollinger | Lawrence Jacobs | David Halperin from 2020-04-10T02:20:22

Without Testing We Do Not Know Where the Virus is and Who Has It | With the Public and Press Distracted, Trump and Jared Push Their Crooked Agenda | DeVos Ignores the CARES Act, Funneling Money to ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 8, 2020 - Robert Hockett | Caroline Fredrickson | Dr. Steffie Woolhandler from 2020-04-09T00:57:41

Bernie Sanders Withdraws From the Presidential Campaign | The Supreme Court Intervenes in Wisconsin to Protect Voter Suppression | The Folly of Employer-based Health Insurance with 47 Million Unemp...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 7, 2020 - Shannon Bennett | John Nichols | Matthew Baum from 2020-04-08T02:35:42

An Expert on the Zoonotic Leap of the Virus from Animals to Humans | Today's Insult to Democracy and Decency Underway in Wisconsin | Will the Public Tire of Our Wartime President's Reality TV Antic...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 6, 2020 - Melvin Goodman | Danielle Brian | Lisa Graves from 2020-04-07T01:39:31

Trump Declares War on Whistleblowers | The Need For Government Oversight is More Urgent Than Ever | Wisconsin is the Test Case For What Kind of Elections We'll Have in November
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 5, 2020 - Paul Waldman | David Freeman | Robert Creamer from 2020-04-05T20:19:19

After Showing His Face in Public, the Destructive Role Jared Kushner Plays Behind the Scene | Trump Stiffs the American Consumer to Help Big Oil | The Silence of Democratic Lambs as Trump Leads The...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 2, 2020 - Mark Feldstein | Angelo Carusone | Robert McElvaine from 2020-04-03T01:02:58

A Signatory of the Letter to the Owners of Fox to Stop Spreading Lies and Misinformation | Dr. Fauci Gives the White House Cover, Forcing the Press to Broadcast Trump's Daily Political Rallies | 6....

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
April 1, 2020 - Lawrence Gostin | Christine Ferguson | Alexander Cooley & Daniel Nexon from 2020-04-02T01:30:40

Why There is no National Lockdown in the U.S.; Getting Around Trump With a Bipartisan Approach to Deal With the Crisis; How the Pandemic Will Impact Geopolitics as China Rises and the U.S. Declines...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 31, 2020 - Jason Stanley | Michael Fuchs | Kishore Mahbubani from 2020-04-01T01:25:54

Propaganda is Working For Trump, Helped by Coverage From the Mainstream Press | As Trump Wrecks the Home Front, Pompeo Wreaks Havoc Abroad | The Author of "Has China Won?: The Chinese Challenge to ...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 30, 2020 - Dr. Rachel Werner | Julian Zelizer | Alejandro Velasco from 2020-03-31T01:15:57

The False Choice Between Saving Lives and Saving Livelihoods; The Need for a Multi-State Solution to Enable Voting by Mail; Venezuela's Opposition Leader's Call to Form an Emergency Government
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 29, 2020 - Dr. Kavita Patel | Dr. Michael Carome | John Barry from 2020-03-29T20:15:34

The Pandemic Worsens With the First Peak in New York in 2 to 3 Weeks; Gagging Heath Care Workers to Avoid Trump's Vindictiveness; Similarities with the 1918 - 1919 Great Influenza Pandemic
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 26, 2020 - David Smilde | James Galbraith | David Rossi and Adam McGill from 2020-03-27T01:01:10

Barr Places a $15 Million Bounty on Maduro While Guatemala Exports Six Times More Cocaine to the US; Practical Advice to Ensure Medical and Civilian Supplies Get to Where They Are Needed; Makers of...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 25, 2020 - Sylvia Allegretto | LaFleur Stephens-Dougan | Ben Smith from 2020-03-26T01:19:39

The Stimulus Bill Emerges as an Obscene Gift to CEO's With Chump Change for Workers | Trump Uses Racism to Distract From His Disastrous Handling of the Pandemic | Is Donald Trump Now Running Fox News?

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 24, 2020 - Dr. Dara Kass | Dr. Susan Michaels-Strasser | Pavlina Tcherneva from 2020-03-25T00:11:20

An Emergency Physician Who Became Infected With COVID-19 at Work | The Selfless Dedication of Nurses Who Are Not Getting the Help They Need | Unemployed Workers Should Be the Senate's First Priorit...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 23, 2020 - Matt Stoller | Stacy Mitchell | Dr. Allen Frances from 2020-03-24T00:18:50

Trump's $500 Billion "Slush Fund" Slows Down Senate Stimulus Bill; The Dire Plight of Small Businesses as Big Corporations Get Bailed Out; Trump Uses the Bully Pulpit While the Democrats Go Silent<...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 22, 2020 - Alan Hirsch | Joseph Stieb | Thomas Ferguson from 2020-03-22T19:07:16

What Kind of Election Will We Have in November, If Any?: Will This Crisis Revive Citizenship as Consumerism Becomes Less Patriotic?; The Shameful Insider Trading by U.S. Senators
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 19, 2020 - Ian Haney Lopez | Robert Johnson | Katrina Mulligan from 2020-03-20T00:16:54

Today's GOP as the "White Grievance Party" in Which "Race Is the Original Sin"; A Leading Economist on Whether the Recession We Are Entering Will Become a Depression; Our Wartime President Throws o...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 18, 2020 - David Rothkopf | Dean Baker | Mae Ngai from 2020-03-19T01:12:12

Will Trump's Followers Who Were Told It Is a "Hoax" Be the First to Get the Virus? | an Economist on the Politics of the Bailouts | Trump Doubles Down on His Racist Description of the "Chinese Viru...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 17, 2020 - Arthur Caplan | Scott Horton | Daniel Tokaji from 2020-03-18T00:42:05

A Medical Ethicist on Moral Questions Arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic; Trump's New DNI Tips His Treacherous Hand; Ohio Shuts Down Today's Primary Election
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 16, 2020 - Matt Richtel | Jonathan Oberlander | Anders Aslund from 2020-03-17T00:46:24

COVID-19 and the Body's Immune System; Coronavirus and Health Care as a Campaign Issue; An Economy in Freefall and a Looming Global Recession
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 15, 2020 - Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Dr. Susan Butler-Wu | Joshua Yaffa from 2020-03-15T19:50:19

Will Trump Turn the Crisis He Made Worse to His Advantage?; The Critical Nature of the Shortage of Testing Nationwide; The Convergence Between Putin's Political Culture and Our Own
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 12, 2020 - Thomas Bollyky | Benn Steil | Christine Fair from 2020-03-12T21:35:37

A History of Plagues and Pandemics; How the Democratic Party Dealt With the Bernie Sanders of 1944; The Short-Lived Deal in Afghanistan Which Now Has Two Presidents

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 11, 2020 - Matthew Greenberger | Elizabeth Goitein | Matthew Cole from 2020-03-11T22:27:55

Has Trump's "America First" Nationalism Contributed to the Botched Handling of the Coronavirus Outbreak; Will Trump Take Advantage of This Real Emergency?; The Full Story About What Erik Prince Has...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 10, 2020 - Heather Long | Jared Holt | Will Bunch from 2020-03-11T02:34:53

Trump Offers Economic Stimulus While Claiming the Epidemic "Will Go Away"; The Coronavirus Strikes at the Heart of Power in Trump World; Results Coming from Today's Primary Election
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 9, 2020 - Dennis Kelleher | Seema Lakdawala | Amy Myers Jaffe from 2020-03-10T02:26:47

Today's Market Free Fall, the Worst in History; An Expert on Respiratory Viruses and How They Spread; Who Will Be First to Blink in the Saudi-Russia Oil War?

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 8, 2020 - Irwin Redlener | Will Sommer | David Hearst from 2020-03-08T20:15:59

A Leader in Public Health and Disaster Preparedness on the Worsening Coronavirus Pandemic; The Infiltration of Mercenary Intelligence Operations Into Domestic Politics; MBS's Latest Purge and the S...

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Background Briefing with Ian Masters
March 5, 2020 - Moira Donegan | Justin Levitt | Craig Holman from 2020-03-06T04:18:13

Elizabeth Warren's Withdrawal From the Presidential Race; Problems With Voting in California and Texas; Can Bloomberg Spent the Other Half a Billion on Biden?

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