The Intercept Briefing

On matters of war, Donald Trump has consistently spoken and acted in contradictory and unorthodox ways. He campaigned in 2016 with a mixed message of attacking the legacy of the Iraq war and U.S. military adventurism, while simultaneously pledging to commit war crimes and promote imperialism as a matter of policy. On part four of American Mythology, we take an in-depth look at Trump’s war and...

On the campaign and as president, Donald Trump has worked hard to resurrect the George Wallace strand of U.S. politics: He has consistently used racist and bigoted language to accompany his policy onslaughts. In part three of American Mythology, we examine the ways Trump has used racialized fear-mongering and incitement in both word and deed; from his Muslim ban, to his denigration of immigra...

In the nearly four years that Trump has been in office, his administration has  transformed U.S. immigration  at a breakneck pace and governed with an overtly xenophobic posture toward immigrants. In episode two of our audio documentary series “ American Mythology ,” we chronicle the Trump administration’s war against immigrants from the southern border to the Muslim ban and beyond....

Donald Trump is often portrayed as an aberration of U.S. history, an outsider who seized power and is intent on destroying democracy as we know it. In the premiere episode of American Mythology, we examine the ways that Trump has proven to be a particularly dangerous autocrat who doesn’t believe in any semblance of a democratic process. But that story cannot be told without also exploring how...

On this bonus episode of Intercepted, journalist John Washington, whose latest reporting for The Intercept expanded on an explosive new whistleblower complaint alleging that mass hysterectomies occurred at an ICE detention facility, reads an excerpt from his new book, “The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum and the US-Mexican Border and Beyond.” And the Colombian-Canadian musician Lido Pimienta talks...

As Washington cuts off desperately needed aid to the unemployed, millions of families face the reality that many K-12 schools likely aren’t reopening, and young adults look ahead to a bleak future, reality is setting in that the Covid 19 crisis was not a blip. This week on Intercepted: guest host Naomi Klein argues that it’s time for some big bold thinking about how we can safely live, work, and l...

As Donald Trump promises the pandemic will “disappear,” the U.S. simultaneously grapples with a public health disaster, economic collapse, and a social crisis. This week on Intercepted: The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain is joined by military expert and anthropologist David Kilcullen. He discusses the global national security implications unleashed by the coronavirus and...

As Trump vows to smash leftist movements, we take a comprehensive look at the life of the revolutionary Black socialist, antifascist, and artist Paul Robeson. University of Houston historian Dr. Gerald Horne, author of “Paul Robeson: The Artist as Revolutionary,” discusses Robeson’s life from his early years to his time in Europe on the brink of a fascist war. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson...

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers led by Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, is trying to stop Trump from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. This week on Intercepted: As the longest continuous war in U.S. history enters its 19th year, Congressional Democrats and Republicans are joining together in an effort to keep the war going. Constitutional lawyer and activist Shahid Buttar, who...

As cases of Covid-19 skyrocket across the U.S., Trump passionately focuses on defending the legacy of the Confederacy and white supremacist monuments. Native American historian Nick Estes explains the crimes against Indigenous people committed by the four presidents whose faces are carved into Mount Rushmore. Black Lives Matter demonstrations against police brutality and system...

Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley, a distinguished history professor at UCLA, explains why he believes the current abolitionist movement has the potential to fundamentally change the country and offers a historical analysis of the weaponization of racial capitalism throughout U.S. history. He also tells the story of the Black-led communist party of Alabama in the aftermath of the Great Depression and the raci...

Chenjerai Kumanyika, assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, hosts a special two part discussion. Kumanyika is co-host of the podcasts Uncivil and Scene on Radio. He is an organizer with 215 People’s Alliance, and the Debt Collective. He is joined for this special episode of Intercepted by the iconic geographer and abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore, auth...

Chenjerai Kumanyika, assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, hosts a special two part discussion. Kumanyika is co-host of the podcasts Uncivil and Scene on Radio. He is an organizer with 215 People’s Alliance, and the Debt Collective. He is joined for this special episode of Intercepted by the iconic geographer and abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore, auth...

With the threat of a widespread military deployment in U.S. cities looming, the president is acting as an authoritarian dictator. Dr. Keisha Blain, author of "Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom," discusses the history of black rebellion against police violence, the deadly ‘Red Summer” of 1919, and the life of Ida B. Wells. Dr. Blain, a history profes...

The modern Republican Party has mastered the art of voter suppression and gerrymandering, but the president is now seeking to exploit the pandemic to aid these efforts. In between tweets accusing Joe Scarborough of being involved with the death of an intern decades ago and spending time on the golf course as the U.S. neared 100,000 coronavirus deaths, Trump has offered an overwhelmingly fictional...

As the Covid-19 U.S. death toll climbs toward 100,000 and unemployment is nearing 20 percent, House Democrats have offered up a bill that is intended to offer a sharp contrast to the corporatist Republican agenda. HuffPost senior reporter Zach Carter analyzes how Nancy Pelosi quashed progressive calls for action within her own party and delivered a bill filled with corporate gifts, means-tested cr...

David Blight, Pulitzer prize winning author of "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom" and a Yale history professor, discusses the era of Reconstruction, the swift dismantling of its hard fought gains, and the enduring power of white supremacy. As Joe Biden talks of building a presidency in the spirit of FDR and the New Deal, Greg Grandin, whose book "The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the...

Two dozen women have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault, including rape. Trump has responded by denigrating, mocking and attacking his accusers. Eight women have made allegations of misconduct against Biden and one of them has accused him of sexual assault. Biden, who is running on a campaign to restore dignity and honesty to the White House, emphatically denies he a...

The new podcast  Somebody  documents Shapearl Wells’s quest to find out what happened to Courtney Copeland, her 22-year-old son who wound up with a bullet in his back outside a Chicago police station in 2016 and died soon after. On April 30, Topic Studios, The Intercept, and Chicago-based journalism nonprofit Invisible Institute presented a live conversation and listening session focused on Shapea...

While the statistics are grim, the harsh reality is how the Trump administration — as well as some governors and mayors — handled this crisis made the situation much more deadly than it should have been. New York Magazine writer Zak Cheney-Rice discusses how the economic, social, racial, and gender injustices that predate this pandemic have impacted the most vulnerable people in the United States....

Hidden behind the scenes of protests against Democratic governors is the role of radical fringe groups, gun enthusiasts, and right-wing financiers, some with ties to the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Author Jeff Sharlet discusses the rise of right-wing religious extremists, influential members, their broader strategy, and how the shutdown protesters are being used as disposable pawns...

Across the United States right now, there are over 32,000 people in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE.  Tucked away in remote corners of the country, ICE’s detention centers have long had issues with providing adequate medical care, and have been proven breeding grounds for disease. Just last year, an outbreak of mumps overtook dozens of ICE facilities, inf...

On March 4, 2016, Shapearl Wells wakes up to a bamming at her door. It’s the police, telling her that her 22-year-old son, Courtney Copeland, has been shot. Detectives tell her Courtney drove his BMW to a police station for help. But Shapearl’s grief turns into suspicion when police start asking her questions, so she launches her own investigation into her son’s murder, teaming up with journalists...

Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president as the country continues to be rocked by Covid-19 cases and hospitals are struggling to obtain basic supplies. The U.S. has seen almost 20 million unemployment claims in just the past few weeks while new data is revealing that Covid-19 is killing African Americans disproportionately in some major cities. What we...

Milwaukee’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Jeanette Kowalik, discusses the Wisconsin Supreme Court's reckless disregard for public safety as they force the state to conduct in-person voting. Dr. Kowalik analyzes why some 70% of Covid-19 deaths in Milwaukee are African Americans and why the city has declared racism a public health crisis. She also analyses the expected consequences of Tuesday’s crowded v...