Ian Masters

Background Briefing with Ian Masters

News EN ↓ 500 episodes

Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, expert guests, policymakers, and critics offering analysis and insight on national security, foreign and domestic policy, political, cultural, and social issues. backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Author

Ian Masters

Category

News

Podcast website

backgroundbriefing.org

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

March 13, 2025 - David Enrich | James Galbraith | Ben Burgis 13.03.2025

The Strategy Behind Trump's War on the So-Called Legacy Media | An Assessment of How the Senate Democrats Might Extricate Themselves From the Government Shutdown Trap | Having Decided Chuck Schumer Is No Longer Jewish, Trump's Conflation of Terrorism, Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.c...

March 12, 2025 - Tom Mockaitis | Robert Creamer | Michael Swaine 12.03.2025

With Trump Attacking Free Speech on Campuses, Expect Patel and Bongino to Order the FBI to Round Up Trump's Critics and Those on Patel's Enemies List? | The Dilemma Senate Democrats Face Whether to Vote For a Bad Bill or Stand up to Trump and Musk and Risk a Government Shutdown | Trump's Losing Strategy of Wooing Putin Away From Xi and Musk's Outsized Influence Over China Policy backgroundbriefing...

March 11, 2025 - Matt Gold | Margo Schlanger | Mihir Desai 11.03.2025

Trump's Escalating Trade War Against Canada Has the Business Roundtable He's Meeting With Nervous | Trump Tries to Deport a Student Protester With a Green Card He Labels as "Pro-Terrorist, Anti-Semitic and Anti-American | As Tesla Stock Plunges by 40%, the World's Richest Man is Beginning to Feel a Reversal of Fortune backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianma...

March 10, 2025 - Lisa Graves | Jacob Silverman | David Halperin 10.03.2025

The Courts are the Only Remaining Barrier to MAGA Fascism | The Threat to the Dollar and the Brazen Corruption of Trump's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve | Trump's War on Education will Create an American Idiocracy backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

March 9, 2025 - Scott Horton | Anders Aslund | Mike Albertus 09.03.2025

Trump's March 6 Executive Order Signals His Revenge Tour in Underway With Bondi, Patel, Bongino, Ratcliffe and Gabbard as the Executioners | An Update on How Ukraine is Surviving After Trump Cuts Off Intelligence And Arms | As Trump Eyes Canada, Greenland and Gaza, Climate Change Will Lead to Land and Resource Grabs

March 6, 2025 - Orville Schell | Andy Kroll 06.03.2025

The Similarities Between Trump and Musk Tearing America Apart and What Mao Did to China in the Cultural Revolution | An Assessment on How Much the Musk Assault on Government is Performative as Our Reality TV President Governs By Stunt backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

March 5, 2025 - Dr. Allen Frances | Alex Lawson | Karen Greenberg 05.03.2025

Trump and Musk's Blitzkrieg Coup Underway to Replace American Democracy With a Plutocracy | Trump Laid the Groundwork to Destroy Social Security With Last Night's Deliberate Demonization | Will the People Wake Up and Boot Out the Wrecking Crew Before Our Electoral System is Rigged? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/i...

March 4, 2025 - Lucan Way | Dean Baker | Corey Brettschneider 04.03.2025

Trump's Assault On Our Friends and Neighbors As He Rewards Our Enemies | How the Tariffs Will Hit Working and Middle Class Americans With a $3,000 Tax Hike | What Will the Democrats Do Tonight at the SOTU in the Face of a Blizzard of Trump Lies? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

March 3, 2025 - Anna Merlan | Casey Michel | James Thurber 03.03.2025

The Trump White House Follows the Kremlin Model Elevating Conspiracy Theorists, Propagandists and Far Right Influencers to Deliver the News | The Grift and Corruption at the Heart of Trump's Sellout to Putin | The Republicans Have Decided to Sacrifice the House in 2026 to Give Away the Store to the Plutocracy Music: Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rich Exuma – Subway Bound For Hell backgroundbriefin...

March 2, 2025 - Angela Stent | Stephen Crowley | Natalie Melnyczuk 01.03.2025

Zelensky, Who Wants to Make Peace, Gets Steamrolled By Trump Who Wants to Make a Deal | Will Trump's Capitulation to Putin Improve Ties or Give Putin a Second Wind to Cause More Mayhem? | Can Ukraine's NATO Allies Fill the Gap as Trump Abandons Ukraine to Putin? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 27, 2025 - Alexander Motyl | Victor Pickard | Brooke Harrington 27.02.2025

Is Putin Trump's Case Officer? | Will Trump be Able to Turn the Press Into His Propaganda and PR Arm as Putin and Orban Have Done? | Since Musk's Assault on the Federal Workforce is Only Saving a Pittance, the Real Intention Then Must Be To Cripple the US Government

February 26, 2025 - Paul Farhi | Mike Lofgren | Dr. Guy Ziv 26.02.2025

Press Freedom in America Under Attack by Trump and Plutocratic Press Owners Cowering Before the Dear Leader | Republicans Vote Against Their Constituent's Interests to Cut Taxes For Plutocrats | Why Did Israel Vote With Russia and Iran Against Ukraine and Its Jewish Leader? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmaster...

February 25, 2025 - Rachel VanLandingham | Bill Scher | Mike German 25.02.2025

Trump's Politicization of the Military and the Firing Its Top Lawyers So That His Unlawful Orders Won't be Blocked | The Historical Plunge of Trump's Poll Numbers in Just One Month | Having Patel and Bongino Head the FBI Means Trump Will Go after His Enemies While He Can Break the Law With Impunity backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.soci...

February 24, 2025 - Laura Thornton | Alfred McCoy 24.02.2025

Trump's Shameful Vote at the UN on the Third Anniversary of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and the Results of the German Elections | The Rise and Fall of the French, Soviet and American Empires With the New Chinese Empire Already on Shaky Ground backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 23, 2025 - Nathan Tankus | Bandy Lee | Peter Montgomery 23.02.2025

As Assessment of the Damage Already Done by Musk and His Teenage Techies | The Need For Our Politicians, Business Leaders and Citizens to Recognize Trump's Sickness and Intervene Before He Does Any More Damage to the Country and the World | Trump's Lies-Laden Keynote Speech to CPAC Host: Ian Masters Producer: Graham FitzGibbon Assistant Producer: Asher Price

In Crushing the Federal WorkForce, Trump Will Not Find the Trillions to Make His Tax Cuts Permanent 21.02.2025

In Crushing the Federal WorkForce, Trump Will Not Find the Trillions to Make His Tax Cuts Permanent by Ian Masters

February 20, 2025 - Ryan Cooper | Eric Blanc | Erik Baker 21.02.2025

The Confirmation of Kash Patel as Trump's Dumbest Self-inflicted Wound to Weaken America and Accelerate Its Collapse as a World Power | In Crushing of the Federal WorkForce, Musk and Trump Will Not Find the Trillions to Make Trump's Tax Cuts to the Super-Wealthy Permanent | The Fraud of the Can-Do Power of Positive Thinking as We Head Into An Era of Techno-Serfdom backgroundbriefing.org/donate twi...

February 19, 2025 - Simon Shuster | Emma Ashford | Katherine Stewart 19.02.2025

After Throwing Ukraine Under the Bus, Trump is Now Trashing Zelensky | What Can Ukraine Do to Defend Itself and Rebuild After Trump Sells the Country out to Putin? | How Trump Rode Into the White House Again on a Wave of Reactionary Nihilism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 18, 2025 - Sasha Abramsky | John Ganz | Jacob Heilbrunn 18.02.2025

From a Mad English King 249 Years Later to a Mad American King | The Wannabe Mob Boss Trump's Early Years With Made Men His Father Dealt With | Trump's Mafia-Style Foreign Policy as the Mob Boss Putin Meets With The Wannabe Mob Boss in Saudi Arabia backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 17, 2025 - Daniel Treisman | David Andelman | James Risen 17.02.2025

While Trump Brings Putin Out From the Cold of International Isolation, He Hangs Ukraine Out to Dry | An Assessment of What the Europeans Can Do to Help Ukraine As Trump Sells Out European Security | Will the Press Make a Stand as Trump Tries to Bring the AP to Heel? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 15, 2025 - Charles Kupchan | Kim Lane Scheppele | James Zirin 16.02.2025

Vance Tells Allies Russia is Not the Enemy, Europe's Enemy is Within, and It's... Wokeness! | A Global Alliance of Autocrats and Kleptocrats Emerges as Trump Follows Orban's Playbook | Our Top Law Enforcer Pam Bondi Embraces Lawlessness and Corruption backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 13, 2025 - Allison McManus | Michael Hiltzik | Timothy Shenk 13.02.2025

Trump is Selling Out Ukraine to Putin Who He Is Going to Bat For to Have the Pariah Readmitted to the G7 | Republican Senators Confirm an Anti-Vaxxer and Conspiracy Monger to Head HHS | How the Left Lost Its Political Footing and How to Get it Back backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 12, 2025 - Steven Pifer | Michael Kimmage | Daoud Kuttab 12.02.2025

Hegseth Gives Up Ukraine's Leverage Before Russia/Ukraine Peace Talks Begin | Is the Trump Administration Already Capitulating to Putin? | An Assessment of the Awkward Meeting Between Jordan's King Abdullah and Trump backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 11, 2025 - Nicholas Grossman | Lucan Way 11.02.2025

The Frightening Pace at Which the United States is Embracing Authoritarianism | Why is it Trump's Priority to Attack Allies Like Canada While Cozying up to Enemies Like Putin? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

February 10, 2025 - Jason Stanley | Jacques Berlinerbau | Allison Pugh 10.02.2025

Has Fascism Already Arrived in America? | The MAGA Christian Nationalists' War on the Separation of Church and State | Musk and His Techies Are Purging Workers to Replace Them With Automation and AI Which is Why He's Buying OpenAI For $97.4 Billion backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

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