Thomas C. Mountain, an independent journalist based in Eritrea, discusses the UN’s “murder and mayhem” in Africa; how US-friendly governments in Uganda and Rwanda are making matters worse in Darfur and Mogadishu; why Africa’s so-called economic miracles and democratic elections are more fiction than fact; Saudi funding for radical Wahabbis in Mali; how Al-Qaeda is both an ally and enemy of the US; and journalist Gary Webb’s exposure of the CIA’s drug running.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:00 — 6.4MB)

Joey King of Veterans for Peace discusses upcoming VFP protests against the deployment of US troops to 35 African nations; the Pentagon’s interest in staying “globally engaged;” foreign policy and blowback; and the insanity of drone warfare.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:54 — 4.8MB)

Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses how the Council for the National Interest plans to counter the Israel Lobby and Islamophobia hucksters in 2013; Chuck Hagel’s unlikely shot at Secretary of Defense; the 6000-page Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture; and how the US is descending into national barbarism.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:31 — 8.8MB)

Jonathan Landay of McClatchy Newspapers discusses the Afghan government’s draft peace plan; why the Taliban has no incentive to negotiate or make political concessions; the many factions vying for power in Afghanistan and within the Taliban itself; why there are no good outcomes possible – whether the US withdraws or not; and India’s political and financial interests in Afghanistan.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:07 — 7.4MB)

James Bovard, policy advisor to The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his new book Public Policy Hooligan; asserting individual rights in response to arbitrary authority; honing the craft of writing; doing journalism behind the Iron Curtain; US farm policy; the myth and reality of “fair trade” products; and investigations of Ruby Ridge and Waco.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:08 — 12.6MB)

Patrick Cockburn, journalist with The Independent, discusses Syria’s “descent into Holy War;” why the Assad government isn’t on the verge of collapse; the very few competent Western media figures reporting on Syria; the Al-Qaeda style public beheadings scaring minority Alawites and Christians; and how US-NATO support motivates the rebels to keep fighting and reject peaceful compromise.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:54 — 7.1MB)

Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses the Sandy Hook school massacre; Barack Obama’s ability to shed tears for murdered schoolkids in Newtown while he authorizes drone strikes that kill children in Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan; and why most Americans think murder is moral when the government does it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:31 — 7.4MB)

Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel with the ACLU, discusses the imminent re-authorization of the 2008 FISA Amendments Acts (when warrantless wiretaps were legalized) and how you can tell the Senate to Fix FISA before it’s renewed.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:17 — 6.0MB)

Jacob Hornberger, founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses FFF’s year-end fundraising drive; the history of US-Cuba relations (or lack thereof); why the US should get its own house in order instead of being “a force for freedom” abroad; and the neoconservatives who believe all those ungrateful Vietnamese, Iraqis and Afghans should pay up for their “liberation.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:55 — 7.1MB)

Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer and executive director of the Council for the National Interest, discusses how CNI counters the pro-Israel lobby’s endless propaganda; Obama’s declaration that Syria’s rebels are the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people; the consequences facing the US for toppling Middle Eastern secular governments; and why the neoconservative super-couple Kim and Fred Kagan think the US should occupy Afghanistan forever.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:11 — 7.6MB)

Charles Goyette, author of The Dollar Meltdown and Red and Blue and Broke All Over, discusses the government’s fiscal cliff; why the proposed “austerity” budget cuts are ludicrously small; how Republicans conveniently forget their own history of profligate spending; the Freedom & Prosperity newsletter; the synchronous decline of all the world’s fiat currencies; why a US economic recovery (if it ever happens) will be accompanied by serious price inflation; and the remarkable resilience of free markets in the absence of government meddling.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:42 — 9.5MB)

John Knefel, radio host and political writer, discusses his article “They Can Do That?! 10 Outrageous Tactics Cops Get Away With;” America’s descent into an authoritarian police state; why the courts can’t be counted on to protect our Constitutional rights; and how the War on Drugs allows the cops to do just about anything they want.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:34 — 8.1MB)