The United Nations is calling for the protection of the Amazon amid fears that thousands of fires raging across Brazil and some parts of Bolivia are rapidly destroying the world's largest rainforest and paving the way for a climate catastrophe. The fires have spread a vast plume of smoke across South America and the Atlantic Ocean that's visible from space. They're unprecedented in recorded history, and environmentalists say most of the fires were deliberately set by illegal miners and cattle ranchers. Indigenous people in Brazil have accused far-right President Jair Bolsonaro of encouraging the destruction. Bolsonaro has worked to deregulate and open up the Amazon for agribusiness, logging and mining since he came into office in January. We speak with Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch.

Fallout from the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the landmark 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is mounting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to prepare for what he called a "symmetrical response" after the U.S. tested what it said was a nonnuclear cruise missile earlier this week. The U.S. launch was the first test of its kind since the Trump administration withdrew from the INF. We speak to Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon about U.S. nuclear policy, as well as the Green New Deal, President Trump's wish to buy Greenland and more.

The Trump administration is moving to indefinitely detain migrant children and their families, reversing decades of U.S. policy. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to issue a new rule today to withdraw from a 1997 federal court settlement known as the Flores agreement, which put a 20-day limit on migrant family detentions. We speak with Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who made headlines last year when he was barred from entering an old Walmart where the government was detaining about 1,500 immigrant children in Brownsville, Texas.

U.N. Calls for Protection of the Amazon as Rainforest Burns at Record Pace, Indigenous Communities Say Brazil's President Is Encouraging Destruction of Forests, Bernie Sanders Unveils Ambitious Green New Deal to Avert Climate Catastrophe, Democratic Leaders Reject Resolution Calling for Candidate Climate Debate, French Authorities to Crack Down on Protest as 13,000 Police Mobilize for G7 Summit, Syrian Forces Encircle Last Major Rebel-Held Stronghold in Hama Province, U.N.: Burmese Troops Had "Genocidal Intent" in Targeting Rohingya for Sexual Violence, Indonesia Deploys Troops to Quell Independence Protests in West Papua, Russian Opposition Leader Freed from Jail 30 Days After Promoting Pro-Democracy Protests, North Korea Calls U.S. Secretary of State "Poisonous" as Denuclearization Talks Stall, Russian President Orders "Symmetrical Response" After U.S. Tests New Cruise Missile, French President Calls for Global Tax on Tech Giants , Justice Department Emailed Employees Link to White Nationalist Website, Sarah Sanders to Join Fox News; Sean Spicer to Join "Dancing with the Stars", Labor Leader Dolores Huerta Among 8 Arrested at Protest Demanding Raise for Home Care Workers, Thousands of Accountants Join Latest Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests, Activists Demand Parole Reform as They Mark Passing of NY's Longest-Serving Woman Prisoner

"The Chosen One" Is Losing It; Bolsanaro's War on the Amazon; Trump Tries to Get Putin Readmitted to the G8 backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Is Trump Losing It?; Is the President Crazy?; Trump Makes Abortions More Likely by Denying Women Contraception; Trump Pouts at the "Nasty" Woman Who Turned Down His Offer to Buy Greenland backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Another Cowardly Retreat by Trump After a Call from the NRA; The Democrats Should Be at Least as Radical as FDR; The Pentagon's IG Cautions Trump to Not Let ISIS Rebuild in Syria backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Ghislaine Maxwell's Mystery and Scandal-Plagued Family; An FBI Insider on How the Bureau is Chasing the Wrong Targets; A Reality Check on the Economy Trump Claims the Fake News is Crashing backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

FEATURING RHETT A. BUTLER – The fires burning in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest have garnered international attention and thrust President Jair Bolsonaro’s pro-business and deregulatory policies into focus. Thousands of fires are burning in the world’s largest rainforest, considered to be a critical carbon sink protecting global climate stability.  European nations are threatening to block a...

FEATURING JESSICA MASON PIEKLO – The American right wing has enjoyed one success after another in chipping away and women’s legal right to an abortion. The decision by Donald Trump’s administration to withhold Title X funding for family planning from providers that also offer abortion is only one prong of a multi-prong effort. Other efforts...

China has announced a new round of tariffs on $75 billion worth of American goods in direct retaliation to President Donald Trump’s trade war. The tariffs, ranging from 5-10% are set to begin on September 1st. China also announced that it would resume tariffs on American auto manufacturers with 5% on car parts and a...

FEATURING JUDITH LEBLANC – The first-ever Native American Presidential Forum took place this week in Sioux City, Iowa, drawing 10 of the Democratic Presidential candidates including 3 of the four frontrunners, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris. Former Vice President Joe Biden chose not attend.  At the forum, named after the revered indigenous...

Just before airtime for today's BradCast, everything seemed to blow up at once (figuratively!) But we do our best to navigate through the most important explosions, including one that is likely receiving little coverage around the country. An astounding vote by the North Carolina Board of Elections --- led by a new appointee of Democratic [...]

On today's BradCast, we catch up with a grab bag of stuff, most of which doesn't have to do with Donald Trump's idiocy --- you're welcome --- but a lot of which has to do with what Americans need to do about him! [Audio link to full show is posted below.] Among the many stories covered [...]

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Record wildfires from the Amazon rainforest to the Arctic North; Alaska is so warm, salmon are dying in rivers; Swedish teen climate activist sails for New York City on a solar-powered boat; PLUS: The 2020 Democratic 'climate change candidate' drops out of race... All that and more in today's Green News [...]

On today's BradCast: It's the first day of early voting in two U.S. House Special Elections, both in North Carolina, one of them a do-over election after a massive GOP Absentee Ballot Election Fraud scheme last November resulted in the State Board of Election's refusal to certify the fraudulent results. And this week, as our [...]