Attorney Lea Tsemel has defended Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli courts for nearly half a century, insisting on their humanity and their right to a fair trial. Her work has earned her the scorn and reprobation of many Israelis, as well as death threats. A staunch critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Tsemel has long argued that Palestinians who carry out politically motivated violence are freedom fighters, not "terrorists." In 1999, Tsemel won a landmark case in the Israeli Supreme Court, making it illegal for Israeli officials to torture detained Palestinians during interrogations. The documentary "Advocate" narrates the remarkable life story of Tsemel. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and screened in New York City for the first time Thursday night at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. We speak with Lea Tsemel and the director of "Advocate," Rachel Leah Jones.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared before a magistrates' court in London Friday, saying his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors an extradition request from the United States, where he faces 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. Meanwhile, a friend of Assange's, Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini, is still in prison in Ecuador, after being arrested April 11, the same day Assange was forcibly taken by British authorities from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and has been jailed ever since without charges. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and a friend of Ola Bini.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are again ratcheting up as the Trump administration accused Iran of orchestrating an attack Thursday on Japanese and Norwegian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran denied any involvement and accused the Trump administration of trying to sabotage diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly accused Iran of attacking the oil tankers, and the U.S. released video of what it claimed was Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from the side of the Japanese oil tanker that was attacked. However, the president of the Japanese company that owns the ship said it was not attacked by mines but two flying objects. He also said he doesn't believe any objects were attached to the side of the ship. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Accuses Iran of Attacking Oil Tankers, Federal Elections Commissioner Warns Trump over Foreign Help for Re-election, Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Step Down as White House Press Secretary, Federal Watchdog Recommends Kellyanne Conway Be Fired for Hatch Act Violations, Teen Mother and Premature Baby Found Neglected in Border Patrol Custody, Whole Villages Evacuated Amid Record Heat and Drought in India, Study Finds U.S. Pentagon Emits More Greenhouse Gas Than Portugal, Accused New Zealand Mosque Shooter Pleads Not Guilty to Terrorism and Murder, Palestinian Medic, Shot in the Head by Israeli Snipers, Dies, Julian Assange Says His Life Is at Stake as U.S. Seeks His Extradition, Michigan Prosecutors Drop Flint Lead Poisoning Charges, Pledging Expanded Case, As Measles Spreads, New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Vaccinations, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Bill Would Cancel Student Loan Debt for Millions of Americans, Democratic National Committee Approves 20 Candidates for June Debates

Program Date:  06/16/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

Program Date:  06/13/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

Program Date:  06/12/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

Program Date:  06/11/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

FEATURING TINA VASQUEZ – The Washington Post has reported that immigrant minors are being held in detention longer than is legally allowed. And, the Southern Poverty Law Center together with the ACLU of Louisiana has launched a lawsuit over the prolonged detention of hundreds of asylum seekers. As the Trump administration continues to ramp up...

FEATURING BESS WILLIAMSON – A young mother in New York City died in a subway station in late January. Twenty-two year old Malaysia Goodson of Stamford, Connecticut, was navigating New York City’s notoriously inaccessible subway system with her 1-year old child in a stroller while on the subway steps. She fell down the flight of...

FEATURING BESS WILLIAMSON – A young mother in New York City died in a subway station in late January. Twenty-two year old Malaysia Goodson of Stamford, Connecticut, was navigating New York City’s notoriously inaccessible subway system with her 1-year old child in a stroller while on the subway steps. She fell down the flight of...

FEATURING MARTIN SCHOENHALS – Progressives can clearly articulate what we are fighting against: poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, wars, climate change, injustice. But what are we fighting for? In the 1990s and 2000s the slogan, “Another World is Possible” took hold but today we seem further than ever from the ideal society we want. Now a new...

New York Times cancels editorial cartoons You could be swallowing a credit card's weight in plastic every week * * * Perry Dorrell blogs as PDiddie at Brains and Eggs, usually on topics concerning the strange brew of Texas politics. He's also on Twitter @PDiddie.

On today's BradCast: A longtime investigative journalist who has documented the rise of the radical right has been suspended from Twitter for a ridiculous reason. Should that be cause for alarm for some of those on the left who applauded the recent removals of right-wingers from that and other social media platforms? [Audio link to [...]

On today's BradCast, we've got quite a bit of hard news, though we have to start off with a brief personal note. [Audio link to today's show follows below.] Among the stories covered today... My much-beloved hometown hockey team, the St. Louis Blues, are now Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in the franchise's storied if [...]

We've got some interesting follow-up on today's BradCast, following the disturbing story we broke on air earlier this week regarding the "master passwords" for North Carolina electronic voting systems --- and more --- found online, unprotected, and downloadable by anybody since at least early 2016, at the NC Board of Elections website. [Audio link to [...]