News Beat

The News Beat crew expands on the information presented in the full Youth Prisons: Juvenile Detention’s Racial Disparity, Rampant Violence & Lasting Damage episode. Join News Beat's producer and host, Manny Faces, editor in chief Chris Twarowski in this BackBeat episode. Support the show: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=EYkdQRkbZ6vNTGfNSGWZjx7_15orqqDl8vkmrAg3TkxLprft1OguFwxlheC3tAkNd-KVPG&co...

There are tens of thousands of kids incarcerated across the United States within youth prisons, which are often outdated, antiquated, and dilapidated former military prisons dating back to the Civil War. Conditions inside mirror those of adult prisons. There’s rampant violence and abuse, both physical and psychological. Kids are placed in solitary confinement and even hog-tied by guards. And just...

The News Beat crew expands on the information presented in the full MS-13: Made in the USA episode, which explores the origins of the murderous gang which is being used as something of a scapegoat for the immigration policies of the Trump administration. This episode's featured musical guests were revolutionary hip-hop duo Rebel Diaz, with a special appearance from El Savadorian rap artist, Cruz K...

The United States under President Donald Trump is fully committed to an all-out assault on immigrants. Much of Trump's ire is directed at MS-13, the transnational gang known primarily for its brutal slayings. But what's often lost in the discussion is the fact that the United States inadvertently helped create MS-13 after providing millions to El Savador's oppressive right-wing regime during its c...

This BackBeat episode provides additional background and insight regarding our episode, "Land of the Rich, Home of the Poor: America's Poverty Crisis." Listen to the full episode first, then join us here for an in-depth discussion about the issue. You'll hear from News Beat host/producer Manny Faces, editor-in-chief Christopher Twarowski and managing editor Rashed Mian. Support the show: https://w...

The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, and by certain fiscal parameters, the wealthiest . It's richest citizens own roughly 40 percent of the world's wealth. Yet, about 40 million Americans are living in poverty, and about 20 million are mired in extreme poverty, scraping by on less than $2 a day. At the same time that the top 1 percent are increasing their vast fortunes,...

A News Beat BONUS EPISODE Just as soon as Trump selected Gina Haspel to lead the CIA, pending a Senate confirmation hearing, her critics condemned the president’s decision, saying Haspel’s role in the CIA’s brutal torture and rendition program disqualifies her for the position. Of course, Mike Pompeo, her predecessor at the agency if she is indeed confirmed, had endorsed torture in the past, just...

This BackBeat episode provides additional background and insight regarding our episode, "Enemy of the American People: The U.S. Government's War on Journalism and Press Freedom." Listen to the full episode first, then join us here for an in-depth discussion about the issue. You'll hear from News Beat producer and host Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces, editor-in-chief Christopher Twarowski and man...

Obama had his "War on Whistleblowers." Trump unflinchingly attacks the media. There's also been arrests of reporters. How "free" is the free press? News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios production:  www. MoreyCreative.com News Beat  is produced, engineered and hosted by Michael “Manny Faces” Conforti:  www. MannyFaces.com News Beat  Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christopher Twa...

This BackBeat episode provides additional background and insight regarding our episode, "America's Black Hole: Indefinite Detention, Torture at Terror at Guantanamo Bay." Listen to the full episode first, then join us here for an in-depth discussion about the issue. You'll hear from News Beat producer Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces, editor-in-chief Christopher Twarowski and managing editor Rash...

Obama and Bush said Guantanamo Bay needs to close. Trump wants to keep it open. This is the story of a prison that has become known as a legal "Black Hole." News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios production:  www. MoreyCreative.com News Beat  is produced, engineered and hosted by Michael “Manny Faces” Conforti:  www. MannyFaces.com News Beat  Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christ...

This BackBeat provides background, insight and added information regarding our episode, "Freedom For Sale: How Money Bail Crushes America's Poor and Inflates The World's Largest Prison State." Listen to the full episode first, then join us here for an in-depth discussion about the issue. You'll hear from News Beat producer Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces, editor-in-chief Christopher Twarowski an...

More than 400,000 people toil in U.S. jails annually because they can't pay bail. So why in the "Land of the Free" does freedom come at a debilitating cost? Learn how the money bail system in the United States has crushed the poor and forced potentially innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit, transforming the so-called "Land of the Free" into the world's biggest prison state, and...

This special BackBeat episode introduces our second season opener, our acclaimed episode, MLK: What They Won't Teach You In School , giving a bit of behind the scenes context as to how that episode came about and why it's so important. We also touch on our epic season one finale, Why We Riot , and tease some upcoming episodes. You'll hear from News Beat producer Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces,...

In this episode, we take an alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove, NY, Larry Hamm, of the People's Organization for Progress, hip-hop artist S...

Dr. King once said: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Indeed, nowadays, a riot is often the language of the continually oppressed, unheard citizens who are still not afforded the same general rights as their white counterparts, and when protesting these injustices—all too often with the backdrop of a member of their community unjustifiably slain by a police officer—they are met with over-mi...

On this episode of BackBeat, the team elaborates how the threat of right-wing radical extremism is often overshadowed by the fear of radical Islamist extremism, even though the statistics show that radical caucasian extremism is more likely to affect the average American. You'll hear from News Beat producer Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces, and editors Christopher Twarowski and Rashed Mian as the...

In an era in which Islamic terror is covered wall-to-wall, it is actually right-wing zealots that have carried out even more attacks in the United States since 9/11. News Beat is an MP Studios production, a division of Morey Publishing:  www. MoreyPublishing.com News Beat is produced and engineered by Michael “Manny Faces” Conforti:  www. MannyFaces.com News Beat Executive Producer is Jed Morey Ed...

On this episode of BackBeat, the team elaborates on the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, and how this one sentence, passed almost unanimously by Congress, has continued to allow America to engage in military conflicts around the world, without ever receiving official approval. You'll hear from News Beat producer Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces, and editors Christopher Twarowski and R...

The U.S. Constitution dictates Congress as the sole governmental body possessing the power to declare war, yet it hasn't done so since World War II. So how have we been waging wars for the past 75 years, and what justifies our current global conflicts? News Beat is an MP Studios production, a division of Morey Publishing:  www. MoreyPublishing.com News Beat is produced and engineered by Michael “M...

On this episode of BackBeat, the team elaborates on the Chelsea Manning leaks from seven years ago and discuss why her revelations remain relevant today. You'll hear from Michael Conforti, AKA Manny Faces, Christopher Twarowski and Rashed Mian as they provide additional insight into the making of the episode "Chelsea Manning: Collateral Murder Cover-Up." Support the show: https://www.paypal.com/do...

Chelsea Manning is perhaps the most important whistleblower in history. Yet she and her revelations remain largely distorted, misunderstood and covered up, obscured by US government- and mainstream media-manufactured hysteria about her patriotism and gender dysphoria. News Beat is an MP Studios production, a division of Morey Publishing:  www. MoreyPublishing.com News Beat is produced and engineer...

A years-long project spearheaded by Daisy Khan, one of the leading Muslim American advocates in the United States culminated last week in the release of a robust report debunking myths about Islam while amplifying the spiritual and cultural tenets of the oft-maligned religion. We featured Daisy in our previous episode, "Hijacking Jihad," and were on hand at the WISE Up: Knowledge Ends Extremism Su...

On this episode of BackBeat, the team discusses the inspiration for the episode Exonerated and Broke, providing more insight on the fight for exonerees to receive compensation for their wrongful convictions. In this BackBeat, you’ll hear from News Beat producer Michael Conforti, aka Manny Faces, editor-in-chief Christopher Twarowski, and managing editor Rashed Mian. Support the show: https://www.p...

Consider this: Alan Newton served more than 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit before DNA analysis proved him innocent and he was exonerated. Now, had this occurred in Alabama, he would have received $50,000 for every year of wrongful imprisonment. Instead, Newton was convicted in the state of New York, where exonerees receive nothing, and are instead forced to sue the government for...