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You watch too many movies, police don't need a warrant. [ 24:02 | 22.44 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (230)

Rough transcrip: One of my favorite parts of being a Copwatcher and a member of the National Lawyers Guild is a class I get to teach called “Know Your Rights.”* It’s great. I get to meet lots of people, learn from their experiences and generally get to blow their freakin minds… Seriously. You would be [...]

Folks, the Radical Pessimist is coming to a town near you!  Well, only if you are a member of the effete, sea-urchin eating, iPad for underwear, East Coast power elite in NYC or Washington DC.  But, hey, gotta start somewhere. I’ll be speaking at two events in February related to the release of The Iran Primer: [...]

Cameras Are The New Gunsa [ 18:50 | 17.52 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (184)

Rough transcrip: So, I have a confession to make. Not the kind you tell a Priest in a confessional, but the one you tell your lawyer when you’re in an holding cell.My lawyer advises me that it’s not a good idea to confess to a crime- on an international radio show, but I’m not one [...]

I was in Washington DC at the Stewart/Colbert Rally.  I went because I live in Baltimore and I was taking my Iranian friend to DC.  I showed up at the National Mall, caught whiffs of lots of doobies, and saw Dr. Rockso the Rock and Roll Clown live and in person.  But the minute I [...]

John McCain walked out of a Senate hearing last Thursday on the subject of financial fraud and abuse in the for-profit higher education industry.  The fact that I am writing the phrase “education industry” says something, doesn’t it?  You shouldn’t be surprised that McCain, from the state of Arizona, isn’t interested in hearing the sordid [...]

Chuck did a great interview with Fred Kaufman on July 10th about his article in Harpers’ magazine on the “food bubble” of 2008.  In the interview, Chuck wondered if the price hikes in basic food commodities in 2007-8 were unprecedented, and much of the interview went into detail about how the newfangled financial products on [...]

The Sports Report is very excited about the summer issue of Lapham’s Quarterly, “Sports and Games.” Here is an early taste…

Akbar Ganji is one of the most famous Iranian dissidents-in-exile around.  Formerly a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, he became a Greg Palast-style investigative journalist in the 1990s, releasing several tell-all books about the shadowy networks behind the Islamic Republic’s more violent doings.  After several years in jail, along with an 80-day hunger strike [...]

Some of you may not be familiar with the quickly accumulating blooper reel of the new wave of post-Soviet US-tilting democrats.  First, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ate his tie while on camera, spawning various Pythonesque spoofs and ensuring his place in Russian comic mythology (not to mention competing with Werner Herzog for gastronomic freakishness). Not [...]

Torture Is As American As Apple Pie [ 24:47 | 22.69 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (106)

Last week something unimaginable happened,finally after 20 years Police Commander Jon Burge walked into a Chicago Federal court house to select the jury that will be judging him on charges of perjury.

I generally think Juan Cole is on the money about Middle East politics.  He speaks and reads Arabic and Persian, so he is not bound by the usual “expertise” which the overwhelming number of Middle East commentators are subject to.  Therefore, when he says that the US will be pulling out most of its troops [...]

North Korea allegedly sinks South Korean Navy vessel. South Korea responds by withholding coverage of the World Cup this summer. Sounds reasonable.