DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you what the Democrats’ elections sweep means and what comes next for the future of their party and the country. Zohran Mamdani's Triumph : Once again, “DeProgram” called the election results on the nose, within 0.5 percent. Over two million New Yorkers cast votes, doubling 2021 turnout and electing 34-year-old democratic socia...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explore the legacy of Dick Cheney, America's most powerful modern vice president and chief architect of the "war on terror,” Israel’s top army lawyer imprisoned after she exposed IDF’s sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee, the shakeup at the Heritage Foundation over Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes, and Tanzania's sham...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explain why Wednesday's landmark hearing before the Supreme Court about President Trump's tariffs may be the most important constitutional case of our lives, how AI spending surges toward $400 billion this year on infrastructure may be a warning sign of a corporate bubble about to burst, how New York City’s big mayoral election tomo...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou take you from nuclear brinkmanship to economic sabotage and humanitarian crises. Nuke Testing Is Back : Trump shocks the globe by ordering the Pentagon to immediately resume U.S. nuclear weapons testing after a 33-year moratorium, while en route to a high-stakes summit with China's Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. Citing Russia's r...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explain the battle between a federal judge and the Trump Administration over SNAP Benefits, Congressional skepticism over the DoD's Drug Boat Strikes and rumors that Pakistan Will Send Troops to Gaza. SNAP Benefits Battle Intensifies : A Boston federal judge signals that she will overturn the Trump administration's refusal to releas...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you about the Pete Buttigieg surge, the last days of a fading Biden, covering up Israel’s murder of Abu Akleh, and how honeytraps are infiltrating the West. Team Democrat Is All About Pete : Confirming Ted’s prediction, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is the Democratic Party’s early presidential frontrunner in Ne...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you about Argentina’s midterm elections, where President Javier Milei’s party secures a landslide victory, the US-China trade deal framework forged at the ASEAN summit, arrests in the audacious $102 million Louvre crown jewel heist, and the US-China race for Pacific seabed minerals in the Cook Islands. Plus, we answer your ques...

Tune in to the “DMZ America Podcast” as nationally-syndicated editorial cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis interview Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Matt Wuerker of “The Politico.” They’ll discuss their own cartoons about the news and issues of the week, as well as those of their peers. Don’t be surprised if the state of the media and cartooning come up as well. Matt Wuerker, born...

On DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou : mysterious bodies washing ashore in Trinidad prompt questions about U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean, Silicon Valley tech bros convince Trump to cancel a federal troop surge in San Francisco, and a U.S. official warns Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu that stunts like a bill to annex parts of the West Bank could cause the U.S. to cut off Israel entire...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, back from Mexico, tell you about the reaction to Donald Trump’s radical move to demolish the White House’s East Wing to replace it with a hulking a $250 million ballroom, San Francisco’s bold legal stance against immigration raids, with local officials warning that federal agents could face arrest, and the military’s lethal strikes...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explore topics shaking the world stage. Trump-Putin Talks on Hold : The White House now says there are no immediate plans for President Trump to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin, despite Trump’s earlier suggestion of a Budapest summit to end the Ukraine war. After a “productive call” between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s S...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall, and producer Robby West filling in for CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, confront the fallout from federal overreach in Chicago's ICE raids and the violent U.S. military brinkmanship off Venezuela's shores, revealing how unchecked authority clashes with human rights and global stability. Pressure on Bibi: Advocates of Israel believe Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu isn’t ser...

In this pulse-pounding episode of Deprogrammed, hosted by political cartoonist Ted Rall and whistleblower John Kiriakou, CNN anchor Jake Tapper joins for a riveting interview unpacking his new book, Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War , released on October 7, 2025. The conversation thrusts listeners into the heart of a real-life thriller: the unprecedente...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou analyze the Supreme Court’s probable gutting of Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Trump eyeing covert strikes and land airstrikes against Venezuela, the decline of the power of the U.S. passport, and archivists race a looming "digital dark age.” House Gerrymandering by the Supreme Court : Republicans redraw districts, targeti...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou unpack the fragile Gaza ceasefire teetering on the brink. Gaza Hostage Remains Crisis : Hamas returns the remains of four additional deceased hostages on Tuesday, including Guy Illouz and Bipin Joshi, through the Red Cross after Israel's threats to block Rafah and halve Gaza aid trucks for non-compliance with the U.S.-brokered deal....

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou catch you up after the long weekend, beginning with a L.A. story with a personal connection to “Deprogram.” Is Los Angeles for Sale? : Austin Beutner, scandal-plagued billionaire and widely reviled ex-LA schools superintendent, plans to run against Mayor Karen Bass, criticizing her over homelessness and living costs. As ex-publisher...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou bring you up to date on the ceasefire deal seeking to end the Gaza War. President Trump delivers ironclad guarantees preventing Israel from abandoning the ceasefire, with U.S. officials revealing a pivotal U.S.-led military task force monitoring violations—exposing the moral bankruptcy of those who claimed the U.S. could not control...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, dissect the shocking new deal for Gaza, which appears to hand Hamas a major win over Israel, as well as other stories you need to know about. Gaza Deal : Brokered by a Trump increasingly disgusted by Netanyahu, Israel and Hamas negotiate a hostage-prisoner swap that seems to favor the Palestinians, exchanging 20 Israeli captives fo...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou look at the Trump administration's plan to mint a $1 coin with the president's image, his messaging to furloughed government workers that they may forfeit back pay, Colorado's conversion therapy ban, and CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis demotion of the acting general counsel—a career lawyer—and assuming the role himself. Trump $1 C...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou get into the second anniversary of the Oct. 7th raid by Hamas, Supreme Court’s decision to decline Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal, France’s political crisis, and Trump refusing to negotiate with Democrats despite the government shutdown. Gaza War Enters Year 3: It’s been three years since Hamas launched its attack on Israel. John and Te...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou start your week with a federally-driven crisis in Portland , where 300 California National Guard troops were federalized over that state’s governor’s objections, and were due to be sent to Oregon because Oregon's governor refuses mobilization. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek complains about "breathtaking abuse," saying there is no insurr...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou dissects the Trump administration's dramatic, legally unfounded escalation against drug cartels, declaring a formal armed conflict in order to unlock powers for indefinite detentions and lethal strikes—challenging international law amid last month's Caribbean boat attacks that claimed 17 Venezuelans. Trump's War on Cartels : The adm...

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou cut through the bias, deprogramming you from corporate media narratives. Government Shutdown Escalates : Congress adjourns without resolving the funding deadlock. The White House ratchets up the pressure by freezing $26 billion in funds for Democratic-leaning states, while Trump's budget chief warns of imminent mass layoffs. Democra...

CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou and political cartoonist Ted Rall interview whistleblower Reality Winner. Reality Leigh Winner is a former U.S. Air Force veteran, linguist, and NSA contractor whose life took a dramatic turn in 2017. Raised by a politically engaged family—her father, a brilliant but unstable philosopher, ignited her passion for ancient languages like Pashto and Farsi—she enlisted p...

Investigators comb through the charred remnants of a Michigan church, White House unveils President Trump's bizarre 21-point blueprint for halting the Gaza War, Trump racing the midnight funding cliff, Eric Adams bows out his quixotic reelection campaign, a torrent of pressure on Republican Curtis Sliwa to abandon ship • Michigan Church Attack: Investigators sift through fiery debris at the Grand...