1/8/16

Casual Friday! We have  Cliff Schecter (@cliffschecter) and Film Guy Matthew Weiss (@langdonboom).

Cliff Schecter joins on Obama's executive orders on guns and the evolving debate on gun control. Closing gun sale loopholes. Government initiatives funding mental health and "smart gun" technology. The cultural momentum against guns. Maine Governor LePage's contention heroin dealers with names like "D-Money" are impregnating white girls. (7:04)

FilmGuy Matthew talking sports and why sports movies don't work. The new "Deadwood" movie and filmmaker Shirley Clarke and recommends a TV series by Caveh Zahedi called "The Show About the Show." (39:30)

And Sam returns from his foray into jury duty qualification. He wasn't selected. (56:20)

On the fun half (1:17:50): the outrageous framing during the CNN's "Guns in America" town hall, jury duty talk, Joseph Lieberman, and your calls and IMs!

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1/7/16

-Alexis Goldstein in to talk financial reform in 2016. What are the main takeaways of Dodd-Frank, why it was a big victory and why it is a big target for lobbyists. The importance of the CFPB in protecting Americans from fraud. How Dodd-Frank deals with failing banks and opaque derivatives markets, mortgage-backed securities and CDOs. The importance of the Volcker Rule. (6:38) 

-Would Dodd-Frank be having a bigger effect if it was enforced more strictly? Why we haven’t seen a change in trading behavior since the Volcker Rule, and why this might mean it’s being ignored. (17:52) 

-The contrast between Bernie and Hillary with regard to financial reform? Financial reform evolution v. revolution. The obstacles criminal prosecutions for bankers. Citigroup’s foray in writing laws. JP Morgan vs. Louis Brandeis. Holder’s admission some are “too big to jail.” (25:55)

-The “New Glass-Steagall” legislation making its way through congress and coming up in presidential primary debates, and why the removal of Glass-Steagall was vital in creating the financial crisis. Why Alexis is encouraged at the debate on financial reform we’re currently having, and how the debate is changing. Financial reform as a bipartisan issue. Finishing the unfinished business of financial reform. (35:37) 

-And on the Fun Half! Why the new iPhone is obscene, more financial reform, and your calls! (45:30)

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1/6/15

Steven A. Cook is on to discuss the Saudi perspective on current turmoil in the region as a "status-quo" power(5:50). Why the Saudis see the Iranians as meddling. The power and hypocrisy of the House of Saud and its support of radical ideologies(9:33). Why the House of Saud and Wahabi radicals are reliant on each other. On Iran(14:07). What is the next logical step in heightened aggression. Why Steve doesn't expect a ground war, and why continuance of proxy wars can be expected. The situation in Yemen. Why the Saudis miscalculate when they see Iranian manipulation behind uprisings in Bahrain and elsewhere. On Iraq and Syria(20:12). What does the Iran/Saudi for the fight against ISIS? Saudia Arabia's insecurity around US relations with Iran. The difficulty of negotiating between "bad actors," and the conversation the US needs to have about our interests in the Middle East(23:48). What is the effect from the global transition from oil.

Omer Aziz on Sam Harris(32:16). Harris' inability to deal with the complexity of issues in the Islamic history. How "muslim reformers" are intellectual junk food that pays well. How "Islamic reformers" ignore the interpretive function of the religious. Diversity of political, cultural, and scientific traditions within Islam(41:24). What would a genuine Islamic reformation look like? The "hubris" of self-identifying as a "reformer," especially in a culture that isn't your own.

On the Fun Half - Conservatives mock Obama tears, Candy Carson shares more implausible Ben Carson lore, Donald Trumps new ad, and your calls and IMs!

Investigative journalist David Neiwert explains what is motivating the militiamen who have takeover the Federal Wildlife Refuge in Oregon (12:55). The armed wing of the Koch brothers efforts to destroy America's public lands. Religions role in the far Right militia movement (19:30). The different strains of the extremist right. The Oath Keepers and the many ways that Right Wing groups threaten public safety. How racism drives the movement and why do we take the Militia movement seriously at all (29:44)?

And how much Raman do the Oregon survivalists have with them?

On The Fun Half: President Obama issues new executive orders on gun safety and "Nation of Islam Obama" explains the real plan. We take a call form our favorite right wing caller Doug. And your calls and your IMs.

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1/4/16

The moral and legal obscenity of the Tamir Rice case. Why the Police who killed Tamir Rice were incredibly reckless. The obvious racial reasons for the killing of Tamir. The myth of the "War on Cops".  Who are the far-right terrorists takeover a federal building in Oregon and the crimes that led to the Federal building takeover.

On The Fun Half: Saudi Arabia's brutal executions. Ben Carson defends mass executions in Saudi Arabia. Obviously Donald Trump is a big racist. And your calls and IMs.

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1/1/16

The final best-of for 2015, some of Sam's comedy pals drop by and bits form the fun half.

First, David Cross was in studio for an all-time great fun half on January 23.

Then, a clip from the final M&M Monday featuring Marxist/Leninist Bernie Sanders (1:34:20).

Next, Janeane Garofalo joined via phone on September 29th (1:37:20).

Then, some sort of malfunction has included a "Ken, Ken, and Ken" show advertisement for gold bullion credit cards (2:20:35).

Finally, Sam grilled H. Jon Benjamin on his new jazz album, "Well, I Should Have Learned to Play the Piano" (2:24:40)

Also: Ben Carson's Liberal Media Diss Track!

12/31/15

Murtaza Hussain, a journalist for the Intercept, explains the stunning story behind the Fort Dix terror plot. Recorded July 15.

FOR MEMBERS: Air America throwback (2/11/2005), Sam and Janeane interview Eugene Mirman, Eddie Izzard, Flight of the Concords, and Stewart Lee live from the HBO Comedy Arts Festival.

12/30/15

From October 16, Sam live in Las Vegas at the Mass Torts Made Perfect conference:

Tim Maloney of Maloney & Campolo is on first Volkswagen’s use of a “defeat device” in their software to cheat emissions tests. Discussion of VW’s ambitions to be the world’s’ largest car company, and the role “clean diesel” was meant to play in getting them there. Which VW executives and engineers must have known about the cheat, and what was the long game? Finally, how this type of behavior is incentivized by corporate structures.

Chris Paulos from Levin Papantonio is on to talk about DuPont’s contamination of the Parkersburg, West Viginia area with C8, a harmfully bio-persistent and toxic surfactant originally developed, and subsequently phased out, by 3M. Discussion of DuPont’s cover-up of C8 contamination, as well as DuPont’s history of malfeasance and criminality. Next, the strategy and ramifications of the Carla Bartlett v. DuPont case. The use of C8 in the production of teflon products, and DuPont’s failure to incinerate the C8 as 3M guidelines recommend.

Finally, Michael Baum of Baum Hedlund is on to talk about Factor 8, a hemophilia drug found to be infected with HIV in the early 1980s. How plasma centers sought hepatitis-infected plasma, needed for antibodies, by using donors from prison populations and by advertising in gay magazines. The subsequent use of that infected plasma to make blood products meant to be with non-contaminated plasma. Baum says estimates of people infected are nearly 10k in the US and 10k internationally.

FOR MEMBERS: Paul Starr on the political decisions that formed the media, spanning from the 15th century to the 21st.

12/29/15

Journalist Johann Hari, explains the motivation for his new book Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. Why were drugs banned to begin with and what really creates drug addiction. Harry J. Anslinger the most important person you never heard of. Anslinger’s racism and obsession with Billie Holiday. The racist roots of the drug war. The heroism of Billie Holiday and the white supremacist crusade that destroyed. Arnold Rothstein and invention of modern drug dealing. Why cartels are so violent. Former drug warriors who want to end the war on drugs. Debunking drug addiction myths. What we can learn from Portugal. Also why drugs are a social problem not an individual one. Recorded January 22.

FOR MEMBERS: Another throwback to Air America days, Sam and Janeane talk to the late historian Tony Judt on Abu Ghraib, governmental lying, the media during wartime, Israel/Palestine and much more. Recorded 6/2/2004.

12/28/15

Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything, explains the fundamental organizing reality of the climate crisis and why the “right is right” on what addressing climate will mean for capitalism. Why the left should talk about climate change all the time and why they don’t talk about it more. Why the “extraction worldview” allow us to think of ourselves as separate from nature. Why the 1980s were the worst time for establishing a serious policy on climate change. How mainstream environmental groups were compromised by becoming part of the Washington DC game and should we focus on confronting the fossil fuel industry or seriously investing in renewable energy? And defining the movement that needs to be built in order to reverse the climate crisis. Recorded November 19, 2014.

FOR MEMBERS: A throwback to Air America days, Sam interviews Harry Shearer discussing the Army Corps of Engineers' failures in New Orleans that led to the Katrina disaster and Tom Delay.