A DAILY PUBLIC RADIO PROGRAM FEATURING NEWS ANALYSIS OF THE DAY'S TOP ISSUES

Background Briefing: August 20, 2018

  Could Trump Have a Pecker Problem? We begin with another close confident of Donald Trump who has been subpoenaed by Robert Mueller and the Southern District of New York but is not getting the attention Michael Cohen or Omorosa is getting even though he could...

Background Briefing: August 19, 2018

  What Can be Done to Constrain Trump and Avoid a ‘Wag the Dog’ War We begin with the letter signed by 70 top intelligence officials in support of the former head of the CIA who had his security clearance revoked by Trump, with others on Trump’s enemies list soon...

Background Briefing: August 16, 2018

  Trump’s Dog Whistles Are Now a Howl We begin with the coded racial politics that Trump used in his campaign and continues to deploy in his presidency with an escalating fury of late in which his dog whistles have turned into a howl. Ian Haney Lopez, a Professor...

Background Briefing: August 15, 2018

   Trump, with Erdogan’s Help, is Driving Turkey Into Chaos We begin with the wreckage that Donald Trump’s ego-driven erratic personality is causing on the world stage as back home in the domestic arena he tweets out racist insults at his former protégé and...

Background Briefing: August 14, 2018

  Russian Media Suggests Trump Needs Putin’s Help to Rig the Midterm Elections We begin with an examination of the Russian media’s coverage of Donald Trump who is routinely referred to on State TV as “our president” with a political joke doing the rounds on...