After weeks of downplaying the seriousness of the virus and at times implying it was a hoax, the Trump administration has announced a series of government responses to the crisis. While some actions, such as expanded testing, emergency aid to states and production of medical supplies, are aimed directly at protecting public health, serious questions abound about the economic survival of millions of people. Organizer Mariame Kaba discusses the realities facing some of the most vulnerable people in our society, from poor and working families to prisoners and immigration detainees and beyond. While the virus does not discriminate in who it infects, it will have a disproportionately devastating impact on communities that already faced dire crises before coronavirus. Kaba discusses “mutual aid” actions taking place across the country where ordinary people are pooling resources and offering direct responses to those in the most need.

Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill

Organizer Mariame Kaba: We Need a People’s Bailout to Confront Coronavirus

The U.S. failed to respond quickly to the coronavirus and as it spreads, it is likely to overwhelm the outdated and overwhelmingly privatized health care infrastructure. Author Naomi Klein and Jeremy Scahill discuss the bipartisan ruling coalition that created and supported a health system where profits are more important than public health; how the corporate vultures are circling the crisis, and how ordinary people are rising to help each other. They also discuss the Democratic primary and the looming fate of many states’ voters; the last Democratic debate between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden and the two candidates' platforms.

Naomi Klein and Jeremy Scahill Discuss Coronavirus, the Election, and Solidarity in the Midst of a Pandemic

With Michigan and other states voting in primaries today, the justice movements backing the Sanders campaign are making the case that nominating Joe Biden to take on Donald Trump is a grave risk. Poet Aja Monet and organizer Astra Taylor discuss the mini-manifesto from a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition of feminists: “Rising for a Global Feminist Future with the Movement to Elect Bernie Sanders.” As Biden’s campaign seeks to keep him away from open microphones and limit his public appearances, serious questions are being asked about Biden’s mental health and his decades of right-wing positions and policies. Nathan Robinson, editor-in-chief of Current Affairs, discusses Biden’s record on criminal justice, the climate crisis, women’s reproductive rights, war, and trade. Robinson accurately predicted Trump would defeat Hillary Clinton and he argues it will all happen again if Biden is the candidate in November. His latest article is titled, “Democrats, You Really Do Not Want To Nominate Joe Biden.”

We Need to Talk About Joe

It’s Super Tuesday and the battle lines are drawn in a campaign that will not only determine who will face Donald Trump in the general election, but also the future of the Democratic Party. The Intercept’s Lee Fang discusses who is funding and running the Biden campaign, the role of dark money in the attack against Sanders, and the looming influence of super delegates. As the Democratic establishment intensifies its battle to ward off a Sanders insurgency, former Hillary Clinton adviser Peter Daou describes why he is now backing Sanders. Daou also discusses the opposition files compiled on Sanders and rejects the claims he has not been “vetted.”

Super Tuesday: Which Side Are You On?

As Bloomberg launches a massive attack ad campaign against Sanders ahead of the South Carolina and Super Tuesday primaries, Sanders is facing a multi-pronged battle against the most powerful political and economic forces in the country. From Columbia, South Carolina, Rev. Jesse Jackson discusses the red-baiting of Sanders, offers his views on Democratic Socialism, and suggests Bloomberg should have run against Trump in the Republican primary. Jackson, who won the South Carolina primary in 1984 and 1988, discusses his presidential runs and Joe Biden’s claims of involvement with the civil rights movement.  Intercepted producer Laura Flynn and Intercept journalist Aída Chavez report from Nevada on how the Latinx community propelled Sanders to victory. Plus, Jeremy Scahill takes on the red-baiting scare tactics being deployed against Sanders.

Bernie’s Fight Against Trump, the GOP, the Democratic Establishment, and Corporate Media

Billionaire former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has announced he is going to unleash a spate of attack ads against Sanders; while Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden are harping about comments Sanders made on 60 Minutes where he praised Cuba’s literacy efforts. The red-baiting attacks on Sanders are most definitely going to increase this week ahead of the South Carolina primary Saturday and next week’s Super Tuesday contest. Sanders is simultaneously battling his challengers and an often openly hostile corporate media culture. On MSNBC, his victory in Nevada was compared to the Nazi invasion of France, one of the networks paid pundits referred to the Sanders national campaign press secretary as coming from the “Island of Misfit Black Girls” and host Chuck Todd compared Sanders's twitter followers to Nazi “brown shirts.” Meanwhile, a surrogate for Buttigieg called on Sanders to “muzzle” his top African American campaign representative, while Mike Bloomberg’s campaign put out a statement accusing Sanders of being “Trump’s new bro” and focused overwhelmingly on attacking the comments of senior Black women on the Sanders campaign. In this Intercepted special, Sanders top national surrogate, Sen. Nina Turner, and campaign press secretary Briahna Joy Gray discuss the attacks against them, the red-baiting attacks against Sanders, and why they believe Sanders could pull off a major upset in South Carolina.

BONUS: We Are Not Your Firewall

Last month, The Intercept's research editor Margot Williams reported from Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay during an extraordinary moment in the 40th pre-trial hearing for the five men accused of plotting 9/11. The men are being charged with crimes that can result in the death penalty and pre-trial hearings have been continuing in this case since 2012. During this hearing, the architect of the CIA's torture program, Dr. James Mitchell, was brought to the war court as a witness. This was the first time that Mitchell appeared in open court. Williams describes her reporting trip, Mitchell's testimony, and how the legacy of CIA torture, with FBI complicity, has marred every aspect of the 9/11 case for nearly eight years.

BONUS: Inside the Secretive Court at Guantanamo Bay as CIA Torture Architect Testifies

As Bloomberg nears a half a billion dollars in paid ads for his presidential campaign, he is intensifying his attacks on Bernie Sanders. Meanwhile, the red-baiting smears against Sanders are resurfacing as he surges in national polls. NYU Professor Nikhil Pal Singh, author of "Race and America’s Long War," dissects the record of Bloomberg, what his candidacy says about the state of electoral politics in the U.S. and discusses Bloomberg’s “racial terror” tactics in New York. Attorney Diala Shamas, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who fought Bloomberg over his Muslim surveillance program, describes the NYPD’s “Demographics Unit” that targeted Muslim Americans, businesses, houses of worship, and restaurants. Shamas compares the surveillance program to some of the activities of the East German Stasi secret police and says Bloomberg’s use of the program should be seen as an ominous sign of what he might do as president.

Mike Bloomberg Ran Stasi-Style Police and Surveillance Operations Against Muslim Americans

Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader talks about the state of the Democratic primary, the corporate DNC panic over Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and what would happen to the Democratic party if Sanders wins. Nader also discusses a phone call he had with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just before the impeachment process began. As Michael Bloomberg buys his way into the Democratic primary, he is plastering the airwaves with hagiographic advertisements that ignore his awful record on race, labor unions and how he escalated the Stop-and-Frisk program as mayor of New York. Intercept investigative reporter Lee Fang talks about Bloomberg’s advisers and the strategy to block Sanders or Warren from getting the nomination, possibly seeking to force a brokered convention.

"It's Armageddon Time for the Democratic Party"

While the Iowa Democratic Party has thoroughly fumbled reporting official results of Monday’s caucuses, Sen. Bernie Sanders’s campaign has released figures showing a significant lead. ﻿ The Intercept’s Washington D.C. bureau chief Ryan Grim reports from the ground in Iowa and traces the rise of today’s progressive moment to Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign. Producers Jack D’Isidoro and Elise Swain speak with caucus-goers in Ottumwa, where meatpacking union workers in the first satellite caucus of the state emphatically supported Sanders. During a caucus at Drake University, Grim speaks with Rep. Ro Khanna and Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor about Bernie Sanders and electability. At the Sanders campaign victory party in Des Moines, Sanders gives a speech before election results are known, and Chapo Trap House’s Matt Christman weighs in on this political moment.

On the Ground in Iowa

Donald Trump’s legal team, including Allan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, argue that the president cannot be impeached for abusing his power. As the battle over Bolton testifying before the Senate intensifies, The Daily Beast’s Spencer Ackerman discusses the longterm impact of the trial on extreme executive power. He also describes his report that Saudi Arabia plotted to kidnap a critic of the regime on U.S. soil and the Cold War rhetoric deployed by the House Managers. While Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are often portrayed in the media as being kindred political souls with identical and similar positions, there are some important differences, particularly on foreign policy. Sarah Lazare, a writer at In These Times, discusses Warren’s hawkish side, her team of advisers and her evolving position on Israel.

John Bolton and the Giant Impeachment

Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is already unfolding as a Mitch McConnell-coordinated farce. The charges against Trump are serious, but they beg the question of why Congress has never impeached a president for war crimes. None of the three Senate trials of a president was for imperial crimes committed in plain sight, despite a long history of presidents invading countries, killing civilians, and torturing prisoners. Constitutional and international law scholar Marjorie Cohn discusses the trial of Trump, the refusal of lawmakers to prosecute war crimes, and presents the case that Trump should be impeached for assassinating Iranian Gen. Qassim Suleimani in Baghdad. This month marks 29 straight years that the US has been bombing Iraq. Joe Biden, who proactively aided and abetted the Bush administration’s drive for war, has been openly lying about his record, but Bernie Sanders also has some serious questions he needs to answer about his own support for regime change, missile strikes, and deadly economic sanctions. Jeremy Scahill and Sam Husseini, of the Institute for Public Accuracy, present a thorough history of both candidates records on Iraq over the past three decades.

Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and the Rewriting of Iraq War History

Jeremy Scahill hosts a live discussion in New York on the unfolding crisis with Intercept senior columnist Mehdi Hasan, reporter Murtaza Hussain, national security editor Vanessa Gezari, and senior news editor Ali Gharib. They discuss what the latest developments mean for Iran and the U.S. and how tensions have rapidly escalated since Donald Trump came to office. Will Trump’s current posture hold, or will he order more violence?

Iran: What Next?

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Former senior health insurance executive-turned-whistleblower Wendell Potter explains McKinsey’s role in our insurance nightmare and how Pete Buttigieg is using industry talking points to attack Medicare for All. Potter also discusses his career working for insurance giants, soaring medical costs in the U.S. and his role in killing Hillary Clinton’s health care initiative in the 1990s. Propublica reporter Ian MacDougall discusses McKinsey’s relationship with the Saudi regime, its work for Rikers island, and how it helped push opioids to doctors and patients. MacDougall also lays out his reporting on how McKinsey’s work for ICE in detaining and deporting immigrants disturbed career immigration officials. And, the Justice Department’s Inspector General blasted the FBI over its lies and omissions in obtaining a secret FISA warrant to spy on Trump campaign operative Carter Page. Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald discusses how the report vindicates civil liberties activists and serves as a striking rebuke of the bipartisan love affair with law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Capitalism’s Consigliere

The people behind The Intercept’s fearless reporting and incisive commentary—Jeremy Scahill, Glenn Greenwald, Betsy Reed and others—discuss the crucial issues of our time: national security, civil liberties, foreign policy, and criminal justice. Plus interviews with artists, thinkers, and newsmakers who challenge our preconceptions about the world we live in.

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Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill

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