Ajamu Baraka of Black Alliance for Peace attended an historic meeting, with over 100 countries represented, in Caracas Venezuela in early March. We discuss the current situation in Venezuela and why solidarity by people in the United States is critical, even if we believe the process in Venezuela is not perfect. We also discuss Syria, North Korea and the Ukraine, and the serious threat of conflict with Russia and China. Baraka placed the current discussion of gun control in the U.S. in the context of the need to make deeper connections between violence and weapons in the U.S. and U.S. imperialism around the world. We also talked about the upcoming military parade in November called for by President Trump and the urgent necessity of mobilizing against the normalization of war and militarism in the U.S. For more information, visit www.PopularResistance.org.

Public Banks exist around the world. They are used to hold public dollars, such as taxes and fees, to keep the money local so it serves the public interest, instead of giving it to Wall Street banks who charge high fees and interest rates. There is only one public bank so far in the United States, the Bank of North Dakota. It has been in existence for almost 100 years. Now, thanks to the work of the Public Banking Institute, there is a vibrant movement to create more public banks in the U.S. at the city and state level. We speak with Walt McRee and John Comerford about the reasons to support public banks, how they would serve people instead of Wall Street profits and current efforts across the country. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

President Trump formally requested the Pentagon to organize a military parade in Washington, DC on November 11, celebrated as Veteran's Day. However, groups of veterans want to stop the glorification of war and are organizing to reclaim the holiday as Armistice Day. This November is the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. We speak with Brian Becker of the ANSWER coalition about the many groups organizing opposition to the military parade and calling for an end to wars at home and abroad. We also speak with Cindy Sheehan about the October Women's March on the Pentagon, which was organized in response to the Democratic Party-affiliated Women's Marches that omitted anti-war messages. Both Becker and Sheehan expose the bipartisan nature of the war machine in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The Supreme Court has entered the final phase in its deliberation of Janus vs AFSCME and is expected to announce its decision this June. If the decision is made against public sector unions, as is expected, it will be one more nail in the coffin of collective bargaining and protection of worker's rights. Union leaders and workers are taking this assault seriously. They recently held a national day of action, #UnrigTheSystem. Unions are educating their workers about the case to overcome billionaire-funded propaganda being aired in support of it. And in West Virginia, teachers and other public school employees are now in the eighth day of a wildcat strike for better pay and health benefits. Oklahoma teachers are planning to go on strike too. We speak with Elizabeth Davis, president of the Washington Teachers Union and Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Sherri Mitchell, Penobscot, an Indigenous lawyer, writer and activist, has a new book, “Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change,” which explains her personal journey to activism and both how our societies have arrived at this time of grave threats and what we can do to create change. Some of our tasks are to recognize that colonization has not ended, the ways it manifests itself and how to begin the process of decolonization. We can do that, in part, by working to protect water sovereignty. Sherri talks about the mobilization at Standing Rock and the rise of Water Protectors. Then we speak with RaeLynn Cazelot, United Houmi and Pointe-au-Chien, who is a Water Protector working to stop the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP). The BBP is being built by Energy Transfer Partners, the same company that built the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Dakotas. Currently, Water Protectors are holding a week of action against the BBP in Louisiana. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Latin America is described as the back yard of the United States. There is a long history of US intervention in Latin American countries and vibrant resistance both to the US and to vicious right wing governments. Current hot spots are Venezuela, where the US is now openly advocating regime change, Colombia, which is struggling to live up to its peace agreement, and the Honduras, where the new president is being heavily protested after a fraudulent election. We speak about these countries and more with James Jordan and Chuck Kaufman, co-coordinators of the Alliance for Global Justice. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The United States has a long history of intervention in Africa that is not widely discussed. Africa is a continent with tremendous resources that has been colonized and exploited by Western countries for more than 100 years. True to the practices of colonizers, the United States and its allies have made sure that African governments are controlled and the population is kept in poverty. These efforts expanded with AFRICOM (Africa Command) after its creation in 2008. We discuss AFRICOM with Margaret Kimberley of Black Agenda Report and the Black Alliance for Peace. Then Maurice Carney, co-founder of Friends of the Congo, digs deep into the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and U.S. involvement, which continues today. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The new National Defense Strategy announced last week moves from the ‘war on terror’ toward conflict with great powers. The move from military conflict against non-state actors, i.e. ‘terrorists’, to great power conflict means more military hardware, massive spending on weapons and a new arms race. We speak with Nicolas Davies and Mike Whitney about reasons for the change in defense strategy, the broad impacts it will have and how it will affect areas of conflict around the world. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

In 2017, President Trump repealed Obama's executive order for young immigrants, Dreamers, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allowed them temporary status in the United States. The repeal took effect in September and advocates have been fighting since then to restore DACA and pass the Dream Act, which would create a path to citizenship. We speak with two immigrant's rights advocates, Mani Martinez of Cosecha Movement and Juan Escalante of America's Voice, about the impacts of current immigration policies and what it would take to permanently protect immigrants in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Jeff Sessions, head of the Department of Justice, reversed the “Cole Memo” that allowed states to pursue marijuana legalization without fear of the federal government stepping in and prosecuting the marijuana industry. Sessions is leaving it up to each state’s federal prosecutor to decide on how to proceed. This happened just as California moved to implement legal marijuana and Vermont voted to legalize marijuana. We speak with Justin Strekal, policy director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and Doug McVay, a long time advocate for drug law reform at the state and national level and editor of Drug War Facts, about what lies ahead for the movement to end marijuana prohibition. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

In his latest book, "In the Shadow of the American Century: The rise and decline of US global power," Alfred McCoy writes about the tools used by the United States to maintain global domination and how its status is declining. McCoy predicts that China will replace the US as the dominant global power holder by 2030. We speak with him about US Empire, what the decline will look like and how it will impact people in the US and around the world. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We talked to Mostafa Afzalzadeh from Tehran about what the current protests in Iran are about and where they are going. Mostafa has been an independent journalist in Iran for 15 years and a documentary filmmaker. One of his documentaries is Manufacturing Dissent, about the US, UK and their western and Gulf State allies that launched a covert war in Syria in early 2011, dressed up by the media as a “revolution,” to remove Assad from power and the role of western media in creating support for the war. Mostafa said the US has been trying to change the Iranian government since the 1979 Iranian revolution. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

In 2017, more people became activated for social justice. At the same time, white supremacist groups became more visible, marching with torches and chanting words of hatred. There were conflicts between people who disagreed over what tactics would be most effective in stopping the rise of white supremacy and fascism and achieving greater equality and justice. We speak with Rivera Sun about her novels, which use fiction to teach lessons of movement strategy, and about organizing for social change in our times. Her newest book is "The Roots of Resistance: Book Two of the Dandelion Trilogy" and it will be available in February. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The year 2017 has been another active year for people fighting on a wide range of fronts. The Trump administration has brought many issues that have existed for years out into the open where they are more difficult to deny – racism, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism and patriarchy and the crises they create. There will be a backlash against overreach by the power holders on a number of issues, including wealth inequality, health care, Internet freedom, militarization at home and abroad, mass incarceration, climate change and human rights abuses. This backlash provides an opportunity to organize a broader movement of movements and clarify our demands so that we are well-positioned to demand transformative policies. We discuss two of these areas today in greater depth: US imperialism and the fight against fossil fuel infrastructure. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), lead by chairman Ajit Pai, voted to dismantle the hard-won net neutrality rules, going against widespread public support for those rules. The public organized in a massive effort to stop the vote, and now organizations, states and people are taking action to revoke and challenge the FCC’s decision. This decision and the public activation around it provide an opportunity to build power not only to win net neutrality, but also to put laws and structures into place that go much farther to create the universal right to high quality, affordable Internet access and equality.

A new report released by Chuck Collins and Josh Hoxie of the Institute for Policy Studies, "Billionaire Bonanza 2017: The Forbes 400 and the Rest of Us," reveals that only 3 people in the US hold wealth equivalent to the bottom 50% of the population, about 160 million people. The wealth divide is getting more severe every year. Just 7 years ago it was 400 people who owned wealth equivalent to the bottom 50%, now they own wealth equal to the bottom 64%, 204 million people. The numbers of people with zero wealth or who are in debt is also growing and is worse for black and Latinos than whites. We discuss the current wealth divide, what's behind it, how the new tax proposal will affect it and how to resolve it. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Two new divestment campaigns launched this year. One is the Divest from the War Machine campaign, led by CODEPINK and endorsed by more than 60 organizations, which is targeting weapons manufacturers. The other, Mazaska (Money) Talks, is an Indigenous-led campaign that began after Seattle divested from Wells Fargo for being a major investor in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Mazaska Talks is now a global campaign targeting Wall Street banks for the many harmful investments they make and promoting public banks as a positive alternative. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We discuss two of the many assaults on our communities by corporations that put their profits above the health and safety of people. The first is the re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the Trump administration. Bill Waren of Friends of the Earth explains how this process is more secretive than the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The corporations and Wall Street financiers are using the NAFTA negotiations to slip in the worst of the TPP and TTIP. Then Peggy Chase of the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation describes how Nestle is taking public water in Michigan and other states and other efforts at water privatization. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

PBS is currently airing a ten-part documentary about the Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that is financed by the Koch Brothers and Bank of America and promoted by the Pentagon. We speak with Vietnam scholar, Professor Bob Buzzanco about the real history of the Vietnam War, what led to it and the opposition that developed. He emphasizes that it is important to understand this history so that we do not repeat it in North Korea or the Middle East. Then we speak with Vietnam Vet, David Ross, about his experiences in Vietnam and subsequently in organizing veterans to stop the war. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, wildfires and droughts fresh in our minds and threats of greater global aggression, we take a look at the connections between Empire, war, Indigenous rights and the environment. This week is the tenth anniversary of the official adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We speak with Gar Smith, editor of The War and the Environment Reader, about his new book and a conference he is organizing later this month with World Beyond War on the topic. Then we speak with Charmaine White Face, author of Indigenous Nations' Rights in the Balance, who participated in and protested the process used by the United Nation, about Indigenous sovereignty and her work to protect the Black Hills, a sacred site. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

White supremacist rallies and counter protests, especially the events in Charlottesville that led to the murder of Heather Heyer and many people injured, are bringing the issues of institutional racism and white supremacy to the forefront of our national dialogue. After years of efforts to remove confederate statues in Baltimore, protests brought about their swift removal in the night. A Columbus monument was also protested. Sean Yoes explains what the monuments in Baltimore symbolize and efforts to remove them. Dedrick Asante-Muhammad speaks about the racial wealth divide and ways to bring greater equity. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Members of Congress are currently trying to outlaw a form of free speech – the boycott. For over a decade now, hundreds of Palestinian organizations have been calling for the world to impose boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements, much as people urged a boycott of South Africa during apartheid. The BDS movement, as it is known, has been an effective tool causing Israel to fight back. For years, state legislatures have introduced legislation to prevent participation in BDS. Now, led by Senator Ben Cardin, a similar but much more severe law has been introduced in Congress. Miko Peled, author of The General’s Son, speaks with us about Israeli apartheid, what moved him to fight it and the BDS movement. Visit www,ClearingtheFOGRadio.org for more information.

July 26 to 29, 2017, there will be national actions to raise awareness that housing is a human right and to pressure the federal government to lift spending caps and increase funds for housing. Currently, only one in four people who are eligible for federal housing assistance receive it and public housing is either being privatized or wiped out of existence. We speak with Sarah Mickelson of the National Low Income Housing Coalition about the situation from a policy standpoint and with David Prater, a disability rights activist, and Rev. Annie Chambers, a welfare rights activist, about actions they are organizing in Baltimore and why they are necessary. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

As wealth inequality grows in the United States and people struggle to afford basic necessities, civil unrest is growing. Rather than responding with policies to address these unmet needs, the state responds with repression. The political system in the United States has lost its legitimacy and people are searching for alternatives. The People’s Congress of Resistance, which meets this September 16 – 17 in Washington, DC, is designed to shift political power to the people. We speak with two of the organizers, Walter Smolarek and Karina Garcia. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The health care fight is hot right now. The Republicans are working to repeal the Affordable Care Act, possibly without a replacement until a later date, and the Democrats are largely ignoring their base’s pleas for Medicare for All, with some exceptions. People across the United States are taking bold action to prevent cuts to health coverage, especially to Medicaid, and to pressure lawmakers to support Medicare for All. We speak with Professor David Barton Smith about the history of our social insurances and racism, including the way Medicare was used to by the civil rights movement to desegregate thousands of hospitals. Then we speak about the status of the current healthcare fight and what we must do to win National Improved Medicare for all. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

There are fights against new pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure around the country as people demand an end to carbon-based energy. We speak with three people who are deeply involved in pipeline fights about the impacts these projects have on their communities and the lengths that fossil fuel companies will go to in order to protect their profits. In Western Maryland and West Virginia, TransCanada wants to build a pipeline under the Potomac River in a place where the geology is very porous and a spill will poison the drinking water for 6 million people. In Pennsylvania, Sunoco is building a pipeline that will carry fracked gas to an export terminal on the Delaware River. The company is harassing families who oppose the pipeline. And in the Bayou region known as Cancer Alley, Energy Transfer Partners wants to build a final leg of the Dakota Access Pipeline that will harm mostly lower income communities of color. Visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org for more information.

June 19 is known as Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when black slaves in Texas were freed. It was two and one half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is recognized as a holiday by 45 states, although it is still not widely celebrated. On this Juneteenth, we speak with historian Ana Edwards about the work she does through the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality to preserve and protect land in Richmond that is an African Burial Ground and the site where organizers of a slave rebellion in 1800 were hanged. Then we'll speak with Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report about systemic racial injustice that continues in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

This week on Clearing the FOG Radio we examine the issue of RussiaGate and the special counsel examining the Trump administration and President Trump. We will talk with former FBI agent, Coleen Rowley, about the backgrounds of former FBI director, James Comey and Special Counsel, Robert Mueller. Both have received a lot of positive commentary on their trustworthiness and reliability. We will discuss the history of both, their relationship and whether the public can trust them. Then, with reporter Max Blumenthal, we will discuss ‘RussiaGate’: what is the proof of Russian interference in US elections, is there evidence of collusion with the Trump administration and who is behind these accusations and why? For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The United States is now in its 17th year of the "War on Terror" with no end in sight. President Trump is escalating aggression and tension in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan and is threatening Russia, Iran, North Korea and China. He wants to increase military spending by $54 billion while he cuts critical safety net programs. On top of that, militarization and the security state are growing within the United States. We discuss the impacts of living in an Empire Economy and the inherent racism with Joe Lombardo, co-coordinator of the United National Antiwar Coalition. UNAC is holding a national conference in Richmond, VA from June 16 to 18 called "Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad." Then we speak with Alice Slater of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation about the United Nations treaty to ban nuclear weapons currently being negotiated. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

In 2015, a large coalition of organizations and tech groups together with millions of people forced the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify the Internet as a common carrier under Title II of the 1934 Telecommunications Act so that strong net neutrality rules could be put in place. Net neutrality means that neither the government nor the telecoms can discriminate against legal content on the Internet and that all people can go where they want to go on the net. The new chair of the FCC, Ajit Pai, is moving quickly to dismantle net neutrality. We speak with Joe Torres of Free Press about what's happening, why it's important and what we must do to protect our Internet. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Recently, hundreds of thousands of people marched for climate justice. The science is clear that climate change is here and is happening at a more rapid rate than was expected. The United States is the world's largest economy and military, and while we have some of the best climate scientists in the world, we lack governments at every level that are willing to take necessary steps to address the crisis. We speak with climate scientist, Ben Horton, about the state of the climate crisis and what we need to do to solve it. And we speak with Lee Stewart of Beyond Extreme Energy about their extraordinary work to take on the Rubber Stamp Machine for the fossil fuel industry. Visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio,org for more information.

Immigrant's rights activists have ramped up their organizing and protests this year in response to ongoing ICE raids that are now targeting undocumented organizers. Leading up to mass marches and strikes on May Day, known as Day Without Immigrants, actions are being held across the country to raise awareness about the contributions that immigrants make to the United States economy and the challenges they experience living in the US. Organizers are working towards a week-long general strike. We discuss the May Day actions with Sergio Hurtado, a volunteer organizer with Movimiento Cosecha. And we also provide an update on the campaigns for National Improved Medicare for All and to stop a US attack on North Korea. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The level of student loan debt has risen to $1.5 trillion and defaults are 40% and rising. Underneath the crisis are rising tuition costs, a predatory student loan industry and an absence of consumer protections for students. Governor Cuomo recently signed a new law that is supposed to help with the cost of higher education, and Senators Sanders introduced similar legislation at the federal level. Alan Collinge, the founder of Student Loan Justice, says that these efforts will not solve the crisis, which is going to hit within the next 12 to 18 months. Nothing short of a student debt jubilee will end the crisis. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

This has been a tumultuous time for health care in the United States,. The Affordable Care Act has plateaued in the number of people that it covers, leaving 29 million out altogether and tens of millions more who are under-insured. The Republican's attempt to move our health system further towards privatization flopped due to public pressure. And meanwhile, the house bill HR 676: The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act is gaining co-sponsors rapidly and Senator Sanders has committed to introducing a companion bill in the Senate. We speak with Dr. Robert Zarr, the past president of Physicians for a National Health Program and a practicing pediatrician about why now is the time for National Improved Medicare for All and what we must do to win. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Mainstream media in the US are complicit in drumming up support for US aggression against North Korea. They fail to place North Korea’s actions in the context of the long history of US hostility and interference in North and South Korea. As both the US and North Korea prepare for war, and a successful sociopolitical movement in South Korea has ousted President Park Geun-hye, there is a critical need for clarity about North and South Korea. We speak with Tim Shorrock, an independent journalist who grew up in and has written extensively about Korea, and Hyun Lee, managing editor of Zoom in Korea. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Kevin Zeese interviews two alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Rashad Staton of Morgan State University and DeJuan Patterson of Bowie State University, about an ongoing situation. Since the early 1970's, Maryland has been found to be in violation of its constitutional requirement to desegregate higher education by significantly under-funding its four HBCUs and duplicating their flagship programs (rather than investing in the HBCUs) at other schools, drawing students and faculty away. In what is the most significant federal court case since Brown v The Board of Education, Maryland was found again in violation in 2013 and the struggle over remediation of this continues. This is not being covered well in the commercial media. This interview was pre-recorded for the Baltimore Green Party Education Series. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGadio.org.

Last week we discussed the ongoing push towards privatization and commodification of everything. We are in a disastrous cycle: As wealth inequality grows and the rich successfully avoid taxes, the funds for necessary programs and projects are shrinking. This is driving privatization of basic needs like water systems, transportation, schools and more. Some cities are taking action to oppose this trend by developing the commons, putting control and benefit into the hands of the people. David Bollier joins us to discuss the municipal commons movement. For more information and resources, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

For decades, the neo-liberal agenda, first tested outside of the United States and then brought home, has driven waves of privatization. Today, it is proceeding in an unchecked way and without regard for the suffering that it leaves in its wake. We'll discuss some of the vehicles for privatization and commodification of everything and how we fight back. We'll cover the Trade in Services Agreement, public private partnerships and the attack on the commons, such as the Internet. This boils down to corporate power versus popular power. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The Trump administration has taken the attack on immigrants in the United States to a higher level, and people are responding in some areas with escalated fight back. From Sanctuary Cities to Rapid Response Teams to days of mass actions, communities are organizing to disobey stricter enforcement of deportations and to pressure the Trump administration to back down. Our guests will describe the history of immigrant struggles in the US in recent decades and what we can all do to protect our families, neighbors and communities. www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

In his first few weeks in office, the Trump administration has escalated US aggression towards both Syria and Iran. He is asking for more US military presence on the ground in Syria, which may increase tension with Russia, and signed an Executive Order for more sanctions against Iran, which received bipartisan support in Congress. Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, stated last week that Iran has been "put on notice" and that the US would consider military action in response to Iran's legal test of a non-nuclear missile. We speak with foreign correspondent Reese Erlich and retired Colonel Ann Wright about the current situation between the United States and countries in the Middle East and Asia. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

As President Trump and Congress repeal the failing “Affordable Care Act” it becomes even more critical that people organize to make National Improved Medicare for All the only politically viable replacement. To that end, a new coalition called Health Over Profit for Everyone (HOPE) has formed to use all of the tools necessary to finally solve the healthcare crisis in the United States. Our guests are Dr. Carol Paris, the current president of Physicians for a National Health Program, and Russell Mokhiber of Single Payer Action. The four of us were part of the National Mobilization for Healthcare Reform, which organized national days of protest for Medicare for All in 2009-10. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The outgoing President Obama, who used the Espionage Law more times than all other presidents combined to go after whistleblowers and the media, hurled a final blow at political dissent when he signed the newest version of the National Defense Authorization Act into law (on the Friday before Christmas when people weren't paying attention). Within the new NDAA is a provision to create and fund a "Global Engagement Center" to counter so-called propaganda. Chris Hedges, who sued President Obama over a previous version of the NDAA and has reported in countries that experienced similar silencing of dissent, and Rick Sterling, an independent journalist, who has been investigating the new NDAA, will explain what is going on, what we can expect and what we can do about it. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Communities around the country are meeting and preparing for the continued onslaught of neo-liberalism that has exploded the wealth divide and has undermined education, health care, wages and more and the additional threats of an administration and Congress that are openly hostile towards immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ, women and blacks. We speak with Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson and the Malcolm X Grassroots Organizing Movement about the new project Ungovernable 2017 and the ongoing work to build economic alternatives to capitalism. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Throughout 2016, there have been protests of presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat. They took place during the primaries, at the conventions and through and after the election. No matter who was elected, it was clear that the next president would be a plutocrat who does not have the interests of the people or planet at heart. We will talk with three activists who are organizing protests around the inauguration about those actions and how they will build a presidency of protest so that the people set the political agenda. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from being built on tribal land and under Lake Oahe has brought together hundreds of tribes in an historic show of unity. Non-indigenous people and organizations have also joined to support this Indigenous-led effort. There is a long legacy of extraction of fuels on Indigenous land without respect for their sovereignty or treaties and without regard for the impacts these projects have on people, animals and Earth. Currently, another project is about to start – a Uranium mine on Havasupai land near the Grand Canyon. The Uranium ore will be carried by trucks through Diné (Navajo) and close to Hopi land to White Mesa Mill, which is close to a Ute community. President-elect Trump has declared a plan to privatize Indigenous land for coal, oil and gas extraction. Our guests will discuss the history of Indigenous rights in the United States and the current effort to stop the Canyon Mine. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Now that the election is over, we will discuss what it will take to build political power for the changes that we require. We'll look specifically at the Green Party, its history, its context within the current political environment and what must be done next. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On Dec. 1 and 2, the People’s Tribunal on the Iraq War will take place in Washington, DC. Organized by CODEPINK, people from around the world will testify or send testimony on the lies that were used to start the war and on the costs of war. We speak with two people who will participate, Sam Koplinka-Loehr of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee and Elizabeth Murray, a former intelligence officer who is now a peace activist. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org

The unexpected election of Donald Trump has created confusion among the elites and political space for a new people's agenda. Bruce Dixon of Black Agenda Report joins us to analyze the elections results. Then Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign will discuss ways to build popular power to counter the potential harm of Trump's policies and demand changes that protect our communities and the planet. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the eve of the election in an unprecedented election year, we speak with Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President in the US, for an hour about the campaign, the Green Party and how to build political power for radical change in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Decades of lesser evil voting and a growing plutocracy have brought us to the two most hated presidential candidates in history. The public discourse has devolved to discussion of the illegal behaviors of the candidates while the United States and the planet are facing multiple crises. We can almost hear Nero's fiddles. To help us get through the next week, we invite political comedians Lee Camp and John F. O'Donnell to join us for some therapeutic humor. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Tensions are mounting between the US and Russia. The European border with Russia has seen an increase in NATO troops, missile systems and bases, while Russia has moved troops and equipment to their border. The conflict in Syria has grown worse with a failed cease fire, and Russia and the US are unable to agree to renewed talks. Russia has added additional air defense systems in Syria and for the first time in many years has dispatched 5,000 paratroopers to Egypt for joint anti-terrorist exercises. Russia has suspended several nuclear weapons agreements with the United States while the US continues to upgrade its nuclear stockpile with a trillion dollar program. The US media has been accusing Putin of being an aggressor. Our guests are former CIA official Ray McGovern and Gerry Condon, vice president of Veterans for Peace. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Most people in the US buy their food in grocery stores with little knowledge of the human and environmental injustices that went into bringing it there or the fights to improve the quality of our food. Today we speak with Maru Mora-Villalpando, who works with Families United for Justice, about a campaign led by farm workers who pick berries in the U.S. and Mexico that is starting to have victories. And then we talk with long-time food advocate Carlos Martinez about Monsanto, the consolidation of Big Ag and the fight for the right to healthy food. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The science is clear that no new fossil fuel infrastructure can be built. People around the world are taking it upon themselves to stop fossil fuel projects. The Sacred Stone Camp was created by the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Nations on April 1, 2016 to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), which would carry Bakken oil through four states. The DAPL could contaminate the Missouri River, as well as the land and other aquifers. Construction of the pipeline is destroying sacred sites and wildlife habitat. Matt Remle will speak with us about resistance to the pipeline and what people can do to support the efforts. We must also build alternatives to meet our needs for energy and transportation. Bill Moyer and Steve Chrismer have been working together on a project that they call Solutionary Rail. They envision rebuilding the rail system to run on electricity created through renewable sources to carry goods and passengers. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Ajamu Baraka about his work for decades as a human rights defender, about his current run for Vice President on the Green Party ticket and his activism at the Sacred Stone Camp in North Dakota recently in solidarity with the fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

As predicted, major insurance companies are complaining that they are not making enough money and so they are pulling out of the health insurance exchanges. What does this mean for health professionals and patients? How do we solve the ongoing health care crisis in the United States? We speak with Sam Jordan about his fight to force Care First Blue Cross to live up to its public obligations and Dr. Steffie Woolhandler about the current state of healthcare in the United States and what impact proposed solutions would have. For more information, please visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

As we enter the final months of the presidential campaigns, voters are looking towards the debates. The first one will be in New York on September 26. However, unless we mobilize to change the process for presidential debates, voters will not get to hear the views of all candidates who are on the ballot in enough states to win the election. We'll talk about the presidential debate commission, which is really a private corporation, the ways that debates are restricted by the Democrats and Republicans and what we can do to create greater democracy. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOG.org.

The final national presidential nominating convention is over for this election season. To discuss the upcoming elections and what they mean, we are joined by Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report and Eugene Puryear, an activist based in Washington, DC. What will it take to build the political power necessary for transformation to a more just and peaceful society? For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOG.org.

Decades of lesser evil voting and the failed policies that have been the result are creating a political realignment in the United States. Such a realignment has been going on in other countries recently such as Spain, Venezuela, Greece and Iceland. The two major parties in the US, the Democrats and Republicans, are shrinking and more people are joining third parties or switching to be unaffiliated. We’ll discuss this political realignment and what it means with Darcy Richardson and Ashley Smith. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

A study from 2014 showed that 99% of domestic terrorist plots in the US are aided in some way by the FBI; only 4 out of 400 were not FBI stings. And human rights groups found that the way the sting operations are conducted violate human rights. Sue Udry of Defending Dissent will speak about the ways these sting operations have been used to fuel hatred against Muslims. And to discuss the shooting and mass murder in Orlando, FL, Janaid Ahmad of Just International and Peace for Life speaks about the rise of homophobia and violence within Muslim communities because of Western influence and support for extremist sects such as the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

As President Obama completes his final term in office, his administration is working closely with Big Business and Big Finance to sneak the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress during the lame duck session after the November election. The TPP is an international agreement that was negotiated in secret with the help of hundreds of corporate advisers. If ratified, it will rig the political system even more to benefit multinational corporations at the expense of our sovereignty and our ability to protect our communities and the planet. Bill Waren of Friends of the Earth will join us to discuss the close ties between the financial industry and the office of the US Trade Representative and why it is critical that we stop the TPP. Gillian Locascio  of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition will speak with us about how people are organizing to stop the TPP. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Three members of the Corean Alliance for Independent Reunification and Democracy (CAIRD) are in the United States on a peace expedition. They speak with us about the brutal history of the US’ involvement in Korea and their work to end the Korean War, bring reunification and build democracy. Their work builds on decades of work by Korean activists. Under the current leader, this work is being made even more challenging by the application of a National Security Law. We also discuss the impact of trade agreements on Korean farmers and workers. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

May has been a month of escalated resistance to fossil fuel industries and a call for a rapid transition to clean renewable sources of energy. The month began with Break Free: two weeks of direct action targeting coal, oil and gas around the world. That was followed by a week of action called the Rubber Stamp Rebellion protesting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its approval of new fossil fuel infrastructure without adequate consideration of the impacts new projects will have on the health and safety of communities, harm to the environment or worsening of the climate crisis. We speak with three advocates who are working to stop dangerous fossil fuel projects. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We discuss the current election environment in the context of the movement: how the movement and the Sanders campaign have impacted the campaigns and the political parties and what a political revolution means.  Our guests discuss their ideas for continuing the momentum beyond this election season and for having an impact on whomever is elected. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Joe Guinan and Dana Brown of the Next System Project about their ambitious work to draw from new economic institutions that are being used in the United States and around the world to build real alternatives that solve the crises of economic, racial and environmental injustice. They just completed a series of teach-ins across the country. They share with us what they've learned so far and what exciting new initiatives are developing out of the teach-ins. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the day after May Day, we focus on the current situation forworkers and how they are building power to lift up wages and workerrights. We speak with Professor Richard Wolff of Democracy at Workand Mike Somers, President of CWA Local 2100. Nearly 40,000 CWAmembers have been on strike against Verizon since April 13. Theyare calling for a national day of action on May 5. For moreinformation, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Joshua Harris is a leader and visionary who advocates on behalf of the community. He is dedicated to creating attainable solutions for the challenges Baltimore faces. He is currently running for Mayor of Baltimore seeking the Green Party nomination. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Derrick Chase was born and raised in Baltimore. He is currently the president of the Coalition for the Transformation and Betterment of Baltimore, known as Stand Up Bmore. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Kelly Holsey is a paraeducator for the Baltimore County Public School system. She is the fiancee of Keith Davis, Jr. who remains in jail after being chased and shot by Baltimore City Police in June, 2015 for a crime that he did not commit. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org. To support Keith and Kelly, visit https://fundrazr.com/b16kK3.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Abdul Salaam is a Baltimore resident and father who works in as a mental health provider. He was brutally beaten during a July 1, 2013, traffic stop in Northeast Baltimore. The same officers beat and killed another Baltimorean, Tyrone West, during a traffic stop a few weeks later. Salaam was recently awarded $70,000 in a case related to the beating. The officers continue to work for the police force and have been promoted. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org.

We speak with two Refusers from Israel, Yasmin Yablonko and Khaled Farrag, who are on tour in the United States to raise awareness about the conditions that youth face in Israel. Yasmin and Khaled are part of a coalition of organizations called the Refuser Solidarity Network that supports teenagers who decide not to serve in the Israeli Defense Force. Then we speak with Ramah Kudaimi of End the Occupation and Chip Gibbons of Freedom to Boycott - Maryland about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to end Israeli Apartheid and the push back against it in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The release of the 'Panama Papers' reveal the secret world of shell companies used by the rich to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes on it. While it appears that the release of information was intended as a tool to demonize Russian President Vladimir Putin, it has backfired and instead led to a probing of who in the US is involved in this type of scheme. McClatchy News is publishing investigative pieces revealing the same activity taking place in states such as Nevada and Wyoming. The list of people involved connects directly to government figures such as US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. It has also led to massive upheaval in Iceland where protesters are calling for the resignation of the government and new elections. We explore what's going on with James Henry of the Tax Justice Network and Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the heels of Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit, we speak with Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group and Lillyanne Daigle and John Qua of Global Zero to cut through the propaganda about nuclear weapons, discuss which countries pose the greatest threat and what activists are doing to push for nuclear disarmament. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Dr. Michael E. Mann, esteemed climate scientist, about the latest science regarding the climate crisis - the rise in global temperature, sea level rise, the impact of glacier melting on ocean currents and weather and what we can expect in the next few decades. Then we speak with Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson who has developed a 50-state plan for 100% renewable energy in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Farm workers in the United States and Mexico are uniting to protest working conditions. From March 17 to 20, workers marched North in Mexico and South in the United States to meet at the border, at Playas de Tijuana. They are commemorating a march and strike one year ago and they are calling for the right to organize and demand fair wages, overtime pay and more. We speak with Rosalinda Guillen and Edgar Franks of Food Justice. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with two educators, Stephen Krashen and Timothy Slekar, about the newest federal legislation on education, the so-called “Every Student Succeeds Act.” Hidden in the more than 1,000 pages are provisions that will undercut the profession of teaching. We discuss why and how education is under attack, not just in the United States but globally, and what teachers are doing to fight back and create the high quality education that children deserve. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Vijay Prashad and Raed Jarrar about the politics of Saudi Arabia, its ties to the United States and its role in the Middle East. We also discuss the rise of ISIS and what steps to take to weaken it and end the war on Syria. Both Vijay and Raed will speak at the upcoming Summit on Saudi Arabia being organized by CODEPINK on March 5 and 6 in Washington, DC. A thread that ties this all together and that is not discussed enough is how the conflicts in this region reflect the U.S. foreign policy of hegemony, which is designed by and for the benefit of the wealthy. We ask: what would a foreign policy for the 99% look like? For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Neill Franklin from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) about the failed drug war, the damage it has done and alternatives to it that are working to create healthy and safe communities. We also speak with Yohanan EliYah of Move to Abolish 21st Century Slavery about the growing movement to amend the 13th Amendment and take the profit out of incarceration.For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org,

We speak with activists who are fighting to protect their homes from new fossil fuel projects. Cherri Foytlin from South Louisiana has been working constantly since the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the people of that region and their livelihoods. She is currently organizing a mass action to peacefully protest an auction of more oil drilling leases in the Gulf on March 23. Megan Holleran is a landowner in Northeast Pennsylvania who is physically blocking Williams, the company that wants to build the Constitution gas pipeline, from cutting down more than 100 trees on her property. Williams has not yet been granted all of the permits required to build the pipeline. The Holleran family and supporters are maintaining a vigil on their property to stop any tree cutting. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, Iceland had a very different response than the United States. Iceland let the big banks fail, nationalized them and prosecuted the bankers, sending 26 of the bank executives to jail for fraud and market manipulation. In the US, no high level bankers were prosecuted and the big banks were bailed out. The weak response in the US means that fraud and corruption by big finance continue and we are facing an unstable market which many people predict will crash again within the year. We speak with Bill Black of the newly formed Bank Whistleblowers United about the plan they have outlined to instill the rule of law on Wall Street and end fraud with the hope of mitigating the effects of the next financial crisis. And we speak with Randall Wray, an expert in financial instability and macroeconomics, about alternatives to the current financial system that would bring greater stability. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

President Obama started the New Year off with a wave of ICE raids, including early morning raids of family homes with young children. Obama’s legacy, when it comes to immigration, will be one of mass deportations, the jailing of immigrants in for-profit prisons and of worsening the US foreign policies that drive people to leave their homes. We’ll speak with Abraham Paulos, executive director of Families for Freedom, which has taken bold actions to highlight and stop these practices. And we’ll speak with Alexis Stoumbelis of Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) about the policies that drive migration. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with four organizers who are currently involved in projects around racial, economic and environmental justice about what they are currently working on, what their goals are for the year ahead and how their issues are connected. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Venezuela has been a leading country of the resistance in Latin America to US Empire and, through the Bolivarian Revolution, has put in place reforms that have created greater democracy and economic equality. Chavez called it 'Twentyfirst Century Socialism.' However, in the Dec. 6 Venezuelan elections, the right wing won 109 of the 164 seats in the National Assembly giving them the power to possibly undo much of the progress that the Bolivarian Revolution made over the past 15 years. We speak with Keane Bhatt, who was in Venezuela during the elections about the state of the economy, the elections and the extent of US involvement in both of these. Then we speak with Jesus Rodriguez-Espinosa of the Venezuelan Consul in Chicago about the response to the elections and next steps for the revolution. Visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Herman Wainggai, a former political prisoner, visiting scholar and a leader in West Papua’s self-determination struggle, John Miller of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network and Arnie Saiki of the Moana Nui Action Alliance about the ongoing threats to self-determination and resistance to it in Asia Pacific. Colonialism is still present and just as destructive as ever. We discuss the fight for independence in West Papua. Few know that West Papua was given independence only to be invaded by Indonesia. They have been under military occupation for more than 50 years. We discuss why and the US' hand in it. We also speak about the Moana Nui Action Alliance which brings the struggles of many Pacific Islanders together. With the TransPacific Partnership racing to the finish line and the military's Asia pivot, collective resistance is critical. For more information, visitwww.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Chris Hedges about his newest book, “Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt.” Before turning his focus to resistance in the United States, Hedges spent twenty years as a foreign correspondent covering fifty countries. We discuss the lessons he learned from watching countries in turmoil, the dramatic political changes that occurred and how those lessons might be applied in the US. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The capitalist economic model is one of wealth extraction from communities to consolidate riches at the top. As an antidote, many communities are building alternatives to this model – models called economic democracy, the solidarity economy and ‘buen vivir’ (good living). We begin with Michael Johnson who is actively building the alternative economy in the Northeast to talk about what the alternative looks like and how communities are making it a reality. Johnson is currently on a book tour. Then we speak with Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute. Ellen has been following and writing about the fragility of the global financial system. Her most recent article concerns an extreme step being taken by central banks in the European Union of moving to a negative interest rate. This means that depositors could be forced to pay banks to hold their money. Ellen will describe who is the most impacted by this practice and who is most at risk. Visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

At the end of November, national leaders will meet in Paris, France for the United Nation’s COP 21 to try to put together a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Treaty which expires in 2020. With atmospheric CO2 levels continuing to rise, this may be too little too late.It is up to our communities to take action now. Courtney White who has published a new book, “Two Percent Solutions for the Planet: 50 Low-Cost, Low-Tech, Nature-Based Practices for Combatting Hunger, Drought and Climate Change” speaks about ways that communities can work together now to lower carbon footprints and sequester carbon. Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, youth director of the Earth Guardians, works locally and globally fighting pollution and fossil fuel extraction. He is helping to organize a global youth climate strike on November 30. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

While Martin O'Malley was governor of Maryland, he pushed two energy projects that threaten the health of local Marylanders. First we hear from Lili Sheeline who lives near the neighborhood of Cove Point where Dominion Resources is building a new gas refinery, power plant and export terminal. It is the first gas export terminal to be built on the East coast and the first in the world to be placed in a densely-populated community. Learn more about it, why O'Malley was given the "Golden Pillow" award for his role and how the community is fighting back. Then we hear from Amanda Maminski of Curtis Bay where Energy Answers is trying to build a large trash incinerator. O'Malley tried to sneak it through as a 'clean energy solution' but the community didn't fall for that and they are working to build a solar farm there instead. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

This fall, with international treaties like the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) and Paris climate treaty looming, mass actions are taking place to demand an end to the fossil fuel and the rapid transition to clean sustainable energy, trade that doesn't drive a race to the bottom in worker rights and environmental protection and a health care system that includes everyone. As a wave of protests is unfolding in the capital of Vermont, we speak with Jane Palmer, a landowner trying to stop a fracked gas pipeline on her land. These actions are part of Rising Tide North America's campaign, Flood the System. We talk about the mass mobilization being planned in Washington, DC November 14 to 18 to protest treaties like the TPP and the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. And we talk with Anand Saha, a medical student and organizer with Students for a National Health Program which held a national days of actions on October first called #TenOne. Visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

October 16 was World Food Day. Decades of consolidation of agriculture into large industrial farms and the drive for ever greater profits is destroying family farms, the environment and climate, our health and food safety. Vandana Shiva writes, "“For the planet and people, the costs have been tragically high. 75 per cent of the earth’s biodiversity, soils, water have been destroyed, the climate has been destabilised, farmers have been uprooted, and instead of nourishing us, industrial food has become the biggest cause of disease and ill health.” We speak with Jim Goodman, an organic dairy farmer who started Family Farm Defenders, about the what smaller farms are doing to protect their futures and the integrity of the food system. Then we speak with Diana Reeves, founder and executive director of GMO Free USA, about the growing movement to label foods that contain GMOs and her work to build sustainable and healthy food systems. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

October 7 marked the 14th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan. The week started off in a tragic way with the US bombing of a Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres, MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. It was the only hospital of its kind serving Northeastern Afghanistan and treated hundreds of patients every week. The Senate held a hearing last week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. We discuss the hospital bombing and why this may be a violation of international law and we will speak with Kathy Kelly, who travels frequently to Afghanistan, about her impressions of the US' military presence there. We also discuss Columbus/Indigenous Peoples' Day and its impacts on US 'War Culture'. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We talk with attorney and consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who, along with a team of lawyers and museum experts, recently opened The American Museum of Tort Law in his home town of Winsted, CT. The  first museum of law in the country, focuses on tort law which governs claims made in courts by victims harmed by wrongful actions of corporations or others. Tort law operates of, by and for the people by giving people the power to right injustices and operates because of citizen participation: citizens bring the lawsuit, not the government; and  the outcome of the lawsuit often depends on a verdict reached by a group of ordinary citizens, sitting as jurors, who determine the facts to and apply the law.However, for many reasons, Tort law is under attack. In addition to the new museum, we discuss current issues with Nader, among them whether people will be able to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other corporate rigged trade deals. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Ethel Long-Scott of the Women’s Economic Agenda Project (WEAP) about the crises of poverty and un/under-employment that are not expected to improve under the current system due to technology and robotics and the need for new solutions such as an unconditional basic income. Then Steve Shafarman, a life member of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), discusses the history of basic income and how it works to immediately end poverty and guarantee that all people can meet their basic needs and live with dignity. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

This week on Clearing The FOG Radio Margaret Flowers will be interviewed by Kevin Zeese about her plans to run for US Senate in Maryland. Flowers is normally a co-host on the show but this week she will change roles and be interviewed by her co-host. Flowers and Zeese not only co-host Clearing The FOG but also co-direct Popular Resistance and are partners in life. So, you can expect an in-depth conversation about why she is running for Senate, how she plans to win as a third party candidate and what she will do when she is elected. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK women for peace and tireless activist for justice and peace about US foreign policy and taboo topics like American Empire, Saudi Arabia, AIPAC, the soft regime change tools of US agencies like the CIA, State Department and US AID and the corporate duopoly. In particular, Benjamin talks about her travels and work in Iran, Yemen, Bahrain, Cuba and more. We discuss the Iran Nuclear Agreement and what people can do to support that. And we talk about the presidential elections. Tune in for views you won't hear in commercial media. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We talk with two teachers who are protecting our children's right to have an education. In the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, parents are on a hunger strike in their desperate attempt to save the last public high school. Dyett High School is the last school in their area that accepts all students regardless of ability and the city is trying to shut it down. The parents have another vision of a school that teaches cutting edge technology for sustainability. In Washington State, kindergarten teacher, Susan DuFresne, is a power house fighting to protect her students from the cruelty of standardized testing that robs them of their education and labels them at successes or failures when they are just getting started. Seattle, where Susan teaches, is investing $210 million to expand a youth prison. The city is basing occupancy on fourth grade reading scores. Rather than investing in better education, it is choosing to lock students up. For more info, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Two major diplomatic changes occurred recently between the US and Iran and Cuba. Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, UK, US + Germany) completed an agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program. It is historic that the US and Iran engaged in diplomatic relations and that the sanctions against Iran will end. The agreement opens Iran up for more foreign investment and trade. Will war be averted? We speak with Professor Muhammad Sahimi, a chemical engineer who frequently writes about Iranian politics and the nuclear program to hear an Iranian perspective on this agreement. And diplomatic relations were restored with Cuba after 54 years of economic and political isolation. The Cuban embassy was reopened in Washington, DC. We speak with Miguel Fraga, the First Secretary of the Cuban Embassy about the restoration of diplomacy, what Cuba is asking of the US and how the US is responding. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

This week there are two groups in Washington, DC protesting colonialist policies being imposed on them by the US government. Apache Stronghold traveled across the country from Oak Flat in Arizona because there was a provision in the most recent version of the National Defense Authorization Act to give land including the sacred site of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper Company – Rio Tinto – BHP for a billion dollar mining operation. The land was protected since 1955, but the mining companies have been trying to get a license to mine it since 2005. We speak with San Carlos Apache Tribal Councilman Wendsler Nosie and Naelyn Pike, a leader in the Apache Stronghold movement. The International People’s Tribunal held events over the past week in New York and Washington, DC to bring attention to the collaboration between the US and Philippines in the “war on terror” which is resulting in the disappearances, torture and murder of hundreds of people and the displacement of tens of thousands. We speak with Ka Paeng (Rafael Mariano) who is a former member of Congress and is current co-chair of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines, KMP. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Debbie Bookchin and Blair Taylor, editors of "The Next Revolution: Popular Assemblies and the Promise of Direct Democracy," which is a compilation of essays by the late Murray Bookchin. Bookchin ran the Institute for Social Ecology in Vermont which describes itself as "a pioneer in the exploration of ecological approaches to food production, alternative technologies, and urban design, and has played an essential, catalytic role in movements to challenge nuclear power, global injustices and unsustainable biotechnologies, while building participatory, community-based alternatives. The Institute strives to be an agent of social transformation, demonstrating the skills, ideas and relationships that can nurture vibrant, self-governed, healthy communities." Bookchin was one of the most influential thought leaders in the later twentieth century. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The recent massacre of nine people in a black church in Charleston, South Carolina by a white supremacist highlights the racist culture that is particularly prevalent in the South and has amplified the call for removal of symbols such as the Confederate flag. The attack demonstrates that institutionalized racism is not isolated to the police and judicial system, it is pervasive in the educational system, government and in our neighborhoods. And it is not limited to the United States but extends around the world, particularly where the US Empire and other colonists have interfered. Kymone Freeman, an activist and artist, and Reverend Graylan Hagler of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, DC join us to discuss the state of racism in the US and around the world today. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.