After the horrific mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, many anti-gay politicians pretended to care about gay people in order to score some political points. Also, we discuss our thoughts about the incident and what needs to be done.
This week marks the fifth anniversary of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange taking refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as he remains wanted in Sweden for questioning on alleged sex crimes. Assange’s fear is that extradition to Sweden could lead to extradition to the US, where he could face prosecution for his work with WikiLeaks. For more on this, Chris Hedges, investigative journalist and host of ‘On Contact’ on RT America, joins Anya Parampil.
Segments about religion from Carl Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot.
Carl Sagan speaks about the Garden of Eden, and the hunger of knowledge.
The Antelope Valley Freethinkers and Freedom From Religion Foundation wanted the Antelope Valley Union High School District to list their scholarships — but the district refused to do so because they were “too aggressive” and “anti religious.” But then the atheists fought back… and won.
Bernie’s success as a mainstream, socialist presidential candidate has taken most commentators by surprise; even after he’d been mathematically counted out of the Democratic nomination race, support for Bernie Sanders kept coming in.
One person who wasn’t surprised though, is this week’s guest, Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant. Kshama is a teacher, activist, organizer, and a member of Socialist Alternative. She was a visible presence in the Occupy Movement, and an activist in her union, the American Federation of Teachers Local 178.
In 2013, Sawant ran for Seattle City Council on a platform of fighting for a $15/hr minimum wage, rent control and taxing the super-rich to fund mass transit and education. She defeated a 16-year incumbent Democrat to become the first socialist elected in a major US city in decades, and the first socialist on the Seattle city council since 1877.
On the show, Sawant discusses the radical potential of Bernie’s politics, the possibilities for Socialism in America; and argues that the Democratic Party’s anti-Trump strategy, with Hillary at the helm, is critically flawed in the long run.
Also on the show, Greek alternative energy expert Ioannis Margaris discusses going from theory to practice in the Left government in Greece. All that and a few words from Laura on Liberal Democrats and Rosa Luxemburg.
Rush Limbaugh has attacked President Barack Obama before, but the conservative chat host took a particularly, er, creative route on his June 17 radio show.
MediaMatters.org caught this gem in which Limbaugh accused Obama of exclusively blaming the internet for homegrown terror during a speech to the families of Orlando massacre victims, and claimed the president and fellow Democrats would use that rationale to “control the internet.”
The Gospel of Judas caused a huge stir when National Geographic published it back in 2006. But to this day, misconceptions about this text abound. Who wrote this text? And what does it really say?
PBS Podcast: Ancient Text Discovery Depicts Judas as a Loyal Disciple
The European Union is far from perfect but voting to leave in the EU referendum could be a huge mistake. A vote for Brexit could have a number of consequences domestically and at a European level. These could include a power grab by the Conservative right, rising anti-immigrant sentiment and fresh attacks on workers’ rights and the NHS. But we may also have to take an economic hit and Europe will be unlikely to want to give us a good deal as it seeks to discourage further disintegration of the union. If we vote leave, we have to be prepared for the consequences.
After the Orlando nightclub shooting, the worst mass shooting in American history, the Senate just voted down even the four weak sauce gun control amendments. Well fuck it. Here’s what I think.
Always Question Authority 