The Rick Smith Show

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Allison McManus, Managing Director of National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, breaks down her recent piece "The Case Against Trump’s War of Choice in Iran," highlighting the mounting costs and risks to American families.   Later, Chuck Collins, Director at the Institute for Policy Studies and author, discusses...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick welcomes Jimmy Williams Jr. to unpack escalating tensions with Iran and the stark reality of billionaires profiting massively while working-class Americans bear the economic brunt through higher costs and stagnant wages. Later, Bucknell Economics Professor Matias Vernengo delivers incisive analysis on the unraveling economy, vanishing jobs, and AI's...

On this episode of the Rick Smith Show Rick talks with AlterNet Senior Editor Sarah Burris about the chaos of the Trump agenda, latest Epstein files news, and DHS Secretary Markwayne. Then NC-9 Congressional candidate and 24-year Army veteran Rich Ojeda joins the show to talk campaign, Trump’s interventionist foreign policy, and how endless wars and bad priorities hammer working families and veter...

Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech TV:  www.freespeech.org Find us on: ·       DirecTV (Channel 348) ·       Dish (Channel 269) ·       Sling ·       Roku ·       Apple TV ·       Amazon Fire TV ·       Get the FSTV iOS app  HERE Did you miss last night’s show? Miss part of the #RickShow on your local radio station? Want to listen at work, or around the house? Download the podcast on our...

On this episode of the Rick Smith Show Rick talks with David Janovsky (POGO Constitution Project Acting Director) demanding Congress impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for turning her department into an "unaccountable threat" via fatal shootings, contract backlogs, and ICE/CBP abuses blocking oversight. Military Religious Freedom Foundation's Mikey Weinstein follows, revealing 110+ troo...

On this episode of the Rick Smith Show Smokejumper Jumps into Congressional Race Rick welcomes union smokejumper Sam Forstag, who quit his $19/hr wildfire job to run in Montana's 1st CD, the state's first union candidate in a decade. Zinke dropped out amid DOGE cuts gutting Forest Service crews. Forstag blasts elite-built broken systems profiting off housing crises ($570K Missoula medians)...

On this episode of the Rick Smith Show Rick warns Trump's unauthorized Iran strikes risk endless war, joined by Iraq vet John Kamin (Common Defense) demanding War Powers Resolution votes at commondefense.us/actions, and ex-Rep. Bob Ney, who lived in Iran. Ney cites 1953 U.S. coup blowback, no opposition to fill regime void post-Khamenei, oil shocks looming via Hormuz. Both fear Iraq-style quag...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick talks with Harrison Mann of Win Without War on Trump's "Operation Epic Fury" airstrikes against Iran, exposing debunked SOTU lies like obliterated nuclear sites (they're rebuilding), imminent U.S. threats (Iran lacks such capability), and regime change safety claims. Mann warns Americans aren't primed for full war despite the hype. L...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick talks with AFL-CIO Advocacy Director Jody Calemine to unpack labor's verdict on Trump's State of the Union: Are workers thriving under his policies? Calemine slams stagnant wages, slashed overtime protections, and NLRB sabotage despite job boasts, insisting unions demand real gains like prevailing wages and fair scheduling not tariffs spiking co...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick is joined by Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works, to lay out The People’s State of the Union, a working-class counter to Trump’s SOTU spin. Alex explains how activists are demanding dignity, expanded Social Security, and real democracy instead of billionaire talking points. Later, Rick talks with Sarah Burris, Senior Editor at Alter...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick talks with Guardian labor journalist Michael Sainato about the surge in union membership, Trump’s escalating attacks on organized labor, and why more working-class union members are running for public office to fight back. Michael connects grassroots organizing to a broader pro-worker political wave. Later, Rick is joined by James Grant, an LPN and nurs...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick dives into government accountability with Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator at POGO. They unpack the GAO's probe into DHS's mistreatment of whistleblowers from both Trump terms, spotlighting retaliation and flawed protections. Later, Sarah Christopherson, Senior Advisor for Government Affairs at Patriotic Millionaires, exposes the Epstein...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick digs into life under Donald Trump’s economy for working-class Americans. Economist Sara Estep from the Center for American Progress joins to explain why so many workers are still struggling to find stable jobs, rising wages, and real opportunity even as headline numbers suggest everything is “booming.” Then David Cooper, director of the Economic Analysi...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick talks with investigative journalist Greg Palast, who remembers the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson sharing stories from their 50-year friendship and Jackson’s enduring fight for justice and equality. Later, longtime union organizer and writer Rand Wilson joins the show to discuss why organized labor must unite in the battle to unionize Amazon....

Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech TV:  www.freespeech.org Find us on: ·       DirecTV (Channel 348) ·       Dish (Channel 269) ·       Sling ·       Roku ·       Apple TV ·       Amazon Fire TV ·       Get the FSTV iOS app  HERE Did you miss last night’s show? Miss part of the #RickShow on your local radio station? Want to listen at work, or around the house? Download the podcast on our...

On the latest Rick Smith Show, host Rick dives into explosive headlines with Alternet Senior Editor Sarah Burris, unpacking the latest Epstein files, Pam Bondi's controversies, Kristi Noem's scandals, and more. Then, BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh joins to slam EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's move to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, a scientific cornerstone affi...

On this episone of The Rick Smith Show, Rick is joined by LIUNA General President Brent Booker to discuss how Donald Trump’s decision to withhold funding for the Gateway Tunnel project is putting skilled workers out of jobs and how Trump’s Biden ego driven attacks on infrastructure and clean energy projects are costing Americans their livelihoods. Rick also talks with Alec Walker-Serrano from Penn...

On The Rick Smith Show, On The Rick Smith Show, Rick dives into pressing worker issues with sharp analysis. Bucknell Economics Professor Matias Vernengo breaks down Bad Bunny's unifying Super Bowl halftime message of solidarity, ties it to flagging job numbers, and exposes the fraying economy's toll on working families amid stagnant wages and billionaire gains.​​ Ted Genoways, Mother Jones...

On The Rick Smith Show, Rick exposes Trump’s Pentagon rot with POGO Senior Investigator René Kladzyk. Newly released Epstein files name Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg 20 times and his firm Cerberus Capital 360 times, raising money laundering alarms, SEC probes, and ethics nightmares at the trillion dollar DOD. Later, Pennsylvania Municipal League’s Abe Amorós hails Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick kicks things off with Sarah Burris, Senior Editor at Alternet, breaking down Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, Trump deleting a racist Truth Social post, and the latest batch of right wing meltdown and manufactured outrage. They connect the culture war circus back to the real agenda as distraction from attacks on working people. Later, Patriotic Milli...

On The Rick Smith Show, Rick rips into billionaire Jeff Bezos with NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss over the Washington Post gutting its newsroom firing 300 union journalists, axing sports, local coverage, and photographers while Amazon bankrolls a $75M Melania Trump movie to curry favor with Trump. Schleuss blasts Bezos for killing innovation and trust with AI slop as democracy dies in darkne...

Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech TV:  www.freespeech.org Find us on: ·       DirecTV (Channel 348) ·       Dish (Channel 269) ·       Sling ·       Roku ·       Apple TV ·       Amazon Fire TV ·       Get the FSTV iOS app  HERE Did you miss last night’s show? Miss part of the #RickShow on your local radio station? Want to listen at work, or around the house? Download the podcast on our...

On The Rick Smith Show, Rick talks with labor historian Shaun Richman, educator and author, unpacking his piece “Mamdani is right to side with the nurses.” They dive into why backing frontline healthcare heroes against corporate greed is a working-class must, solidarity over suits. Later, TTD-AFL-CIO President Greg Regan joins for the 3-year East Palestine derailment anniversary, spotlighting a bi...

On The Rick Smith Show, Rick dives into Trump’s grift with Will Ragland, VP of Advocacy and Outreach at American Progress. They unpack the Epstein files where Trump is named 5,300 times and the Trump Take Tracker, exposing how the family’s raking in millions from the presidency via crypto schemes, foreign deals, and MAGA merch. Where’s the outrage from Hunter Biden obsessives? Later, Emily de La B...

On this episode of The Rick Smith Show, Rick talks with Sarah Burris, senior editor at Alternet, about “Melania the Movie” and the newly released Epstein files, asking where MAGA is now after years of Hunter Biden outrage while Trump’s name appears 5,300 times. Rick then welcomes John Logan, director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, to unpack rising labor militanc...