The DSR Network

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz has just produced an important new book, "The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society" that explores not just the merits but the urgent need to embrace progressive economics as an alternative to the distortionary, inequality-driving and freedom-limiting consequences of neo-liberalism. Ed Luce of the Financial Times and host David Rothkopf en...

On this edition of the DSR Daily Brief, we cover the Israeli airstrike in Rafah, South Africa's upcoming election, North Korea's balloon incident, the criminal trial of Donald Trump, and the controversy surrounding the upside-down American flag at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily denied special counsel Jack Smith’s latest request for a gag order on Donald Trump’s lie that the FBI was set to use lethal force on Trump at Mar-a-Lago. In keeping with a shady pattern of favoritism to Trump, Cannon said No, but she may feel pressure to grant the gag order later, lest Smith seek her removal. We talked to legal scholar Matthew Seligman,...

On this episode of the DSR Daily Brief, we cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the situation in Ukraine, Donald Trump's legal issues, and a natural disaster in Papua New Guinea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump and his media propagandists have been preposterously suggesting the FBI under President Biden was set to use “lethal force” against Trump when it searched Mar-a-Lago. This fabrication was summoned into existence by Fox News and the right wing media. We talked with media reporter Brian Stelter, author of a great new piece on Trump in The New Republic’s “American Fascism” issue, who put...

Original Air Date: June 23, 2023 Norm and Kavita are back this week to discuss the 8-1 ruling in favor of the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement guidelines. From there, they turn their attention to Justice Alito, who earlier in the week wrote a preemptive opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal addressing the ProPublica investigative piece which disclosed his fishing trips with a Bil...

Original Air Date: June 26, 2023 The dust is still settling from Yevgeny Prigozhin's march on Moscow that gripped the world and rocked the Kremlin. Many questions remain but one thing is certain. In the wake of Prigozhin's bold if seemingly ill-fated challenge to the authority of Russia's Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Putin is weaker today in the eyes of Russians, Ukrainians and the world. We disc...

Two satellites snuggling doesn’t sound so bad, right? The new space race with China, Russia, and the US has led to some interesting new tech with scarier implications than you might expect. David Sanger and Victoria Samson join Jon and Heather to break down the far-reaching consequences of space defense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Friday edition of the DSR daily, we discuss China staging mock missile strikes on Taiwan, the US announcing new military aid for Ukraine, the dispute over President Biden on the ballot in Ohio, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Thursday, Donald Trump tweeted that Vladimir Putin will release Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia, after the election—“for me,” meaning for Trump. In other words, elect Trump president, and Putin will release him. We think this saga gets at a larger story about Trump’s approach to politics and foreign policy. So we talked to Nicholas Grossman, a professor of...

Original Air Date: June 1, 2023 Every day it seems new revelations suggest Donald Trump is in greater legal jeopardy. And, with each new revelation, comes a chorus of accusations and threats from the GOP led by Trump himself that it is time to shut down the Department of Justice and the FBI, time to fire those who are involved in investigating him, time to purge the government of everyone disloyal...

Jess McHugh joins Marissa to share the compelling true life story of two people who fell in love--one Jewish and one German-- and made it their life’s work to bring Nazis to justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Thursday edition of the DSR daily, we cover Nikki Haley’s statement that she will vote for Trump, Israel’s intention to reprimand Irish, Norwegian, and Spanish ambassadors, the Pentagon’s report of a Russian space weapon, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump and MAGA Republicans are floating the crackpot idea that President Biden’s FBI was ready to target Trump with lethal force when it searched Mar-a-Lago. This is based on a wildly absurd reading of FBI policy, but beyond this, we think this saga says something larger about the fascistic politics of Trump and his MAGA allies. We talked to Federico Finchelstein, an expert on fascist movements an...

Original Air Date: May 31, 2023 America did not choose to blow up the world economy. The lunatic caucus in Congress did not prevail. An experienced president helped strike a deal that preserved critical U.S. programs and priorities. The world can stop thinking we've lost our minds. Or can they? With 2024 looming we discuss whether the trends are encouraging or discouraging or downright frightening...

On the Wednesday edition of the DSR daily we cover Ireland, Norway, and Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state, the US signaling towards ICC sanctions, Rudy Giuliani and Trump allies pleading not guilty, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To say it’s been a busy week in American politics would be an understatement. Thankfully, Kavita and Norm are here to discuss the unfolding dynamics of the primaries and Senate races, the state of the Supreme Court and upcoming decisions, and why voters’ economic perception isn’t matching the reality.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the updated situation in Haiti, the conclusion of the prosecutors’ case against Donald Trump, the German foreign minister’s visit to Kyiv, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, the prosecution rested its case in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan. This comes after Trump’s defense team concluded their efforts to destroy former Trump fixer Michael Cohen’s credibility as one of the chief witnesses against Trump. So has the prosecution proven its case? We talked to New York Law School professor Rebecca Roiphe, who has prosecuted cases like these in New Y...

Emerging from the shadows after a 24 year career at CIA, former senior case officer Ed Bogan joins Marc to share his insights on serving everywhere from South Asia to Ukraine, including the critical importance of people at CIA, the need to form enduring liaison partnerships and building a resilient workforce. A lively tour d’horizon of an amazing agency life, that includes Ed’s journey from skateb...

On the Monday edition of the DSR daily, we cover the death of Iranian President Raisi in a helicopter crash, the ICC prosecutor requesting warrants for Hamas and Israeli leadership, Trump’s potential testimony on Monday, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GOP’s embrace of Donald Trump’s authoritarianism is growing more blatant. Republicans have joined him in attacking his criminal trials as illegitimate. Those angling to be his running mate say they wouldn’t have certified his 2020 loss. And many Republicans are echoing his refusal to say he’ll respect the 2024 outcome. We talked to Tom Nichols, a leading Never Trump conservative and staff writ...

Original Air Date: May 30, 2023 Michael’s guest this week is Jennifer Cafarella, the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Jennifer and her team of analysts have been providing detailed reports and interactive maps each day since the war began on both Russian and Ukrainian positions. If you’re interested in what’s really happening in Ukraine, don’t miss thi...

Original Air Date: April 13, 2023 It is bad enough the Supreme Court has been transformed from the central pillar of our justice system into a mood ring reflective the shifting views of the extreme right. But the damage that has been done to our legal system and our democracy at large now is visible at every level of the courts, state legislatures and in our Congress. We don't often connect the do...

We’re getting worried about the things that go boom in the night. Between talk about removing one of the legs of the US nuclear triad and Russia’s ever-present saber-rattling, there’s no shortage of things that give us insomnia. Heather and Jon are back to talk about the many foolhardy ideas being floated in the world of nuclear arms and defense both in the US and abroad. Learn more about your ad...