In 2003, Katharine Gun, a young specialist working for Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, exposed a highly confidential memo that revealed the United States' collaboration with Britain in collecting sensitive information on United Nations Security Council members in order to pressure them into supporting the Iraq invasion. Gun leaked the memo to the press, setting off a chain of events that jeopardized her freedom and safety, but also opened the door to putting the entire legality of the Iraq invasion on trial. 

Acclaimed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg described Gun's action as "the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen." Gun's incredible story is depicted in the new film "Official Secrets," which premieres in the U.S. August 30. We speak with Katharine Gun; the British journalists who reported on Gun's revelations in The Observer newspaper, Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy; and Gavin Hood, director of "Official Secrets."

On Thursday, President Trump attempted to distance himself from the racist chant of "send her back" about Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a Trump campaign rally Wednesday in North Carolina. The chants rang across the rally in response to Trump's own verbal attack against the congresswoman. He did nothing to intervene. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a resolution condemning Trump's racist remarks against Congressmembers Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We speak with Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University.

70 Catholics Arrested in Capitol Hill Protest of Trump's Immigration Policies, Asylum Seekers in Texas ICE Jail Launch Hunger Strike, House Democrats Grill Acting DHS Chief over Migrant Deaths and Squalid Jails, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Confronts DHS Chief over Racist & Sexist Border Patrol Posts, Trump Disavows "Send Her Home" Chant After Racist Attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Ilhan Omar Greeted in Minnesota with Chants of "Welcome Home", House Approves Minimum Wage Hike to $15 an Hour, Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Would Bring Overtime Pay, Union Rights, Trump to Nominate Anti-Union Lawyer Eugene Scalia as Labor Secretary, Jeffrey Epstein Denied Bail Ahead of Sex Trafficking Trial, Iran Denies Trump's Claim the U.S. Shot Down Iranian Drone, Afghan Bombers Kill 20 in Attacks in Kandahar and Kabul, Arson Attack in Kyoto, Japan, Kills 33, Excessive Heat Warning Declared Across Much of U.S. , EPA Won't Ban Toxic Pesticide Despite Link to Brain Damage in Children, Trump Administration Proposes Slashing Regulations for Nuclear Power Plants

We look at the award-winning documentary feature titled "For Sama," a devastating account of war-torn Syria told through the eyes of director Waad al-Kateab. She filmed hundreds of hours of footage in her native Aleppo to create a stunning depiction of life during wartime. Amid airstrikes and attacks on hospitals, Waad falls in love with one of the last remaining doctors in Aleppo, gets married and has a baby girl, Sama, to whom the film is dedicated. When protests against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad first began in 2011, Waad al-Kateab was a young economics student who began filming on a cellphone. For five years, she documented her own life and the lives of those around her as the Assad regime intensified its brutal response to the uprising. She eventually gathered hundreds of hours of footage. Ahead of the film's release in the U.S. next Thursday, we speak with Waad al-Kateab and her husband Hamza al-Kateab, a doctor and the co-founder and former director of the Al Quds Hospital in Aleppo.

July 18, 2019 - Justin Levitt | Roger Morris by Ian Masters

July 17 - Jonathan Weiler | Eric Levitz | Garrett Epps by Ian Masters

July 16, 2019 - Scott Horton | Halie Soifer| Ekow Yankah by Ian Masters

July 15, 2019 - Nikhil Pal Singh | David Schultz | Jeff Hauser by Ian Masters

FEATURING NEGIN OWLIAEI – The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to raise the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, marking a significant victory for progressives and labor rights. Only three House Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it. If the bill became law, it would mark the...

FEATURING IEVA JUSIONYTE – The US-Mexico border is more politicized today than in recent memory. With President Donald Trump’s rallying election campaign cry to “Build a Wall,” he has banked on the criminalization of immigrants and traded on racist stereotypes. As a result the practical impact on the border has been deadly.  A former emergency...

The Trump Administration announced that the Navy had shot down an Iranian drone in the Straits of Hormuz on Thursday, in an attempt to ratchet tensions with Iran. President Trump made the announcement of what he called “defensive” action taken from the USS Boxer. But Iranian authorities on Friday denied that the US had shot...

FEATURING JULIO RICARDO VARELA – Thousands of Puerto Ricans are continuing their protests in San Juan in front of the Governor’s mansion demanding the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló. For nearly a week people have gathered en masse in spite of police attacks of tear gas and rubber bullets.  Protesters are angry over leaked messages...

if (window.document.getElementById('post-13068')) window.document.getElementById('post-13068').parentNode.className += ' adhesive_post';It's my birthday today. I'm working anyway. No matter how much older I feel this year than last. Not happy about it any of it, of course. But, as Desi always tells me....(See headline.) On the other hand, ya'll have been very generous in previous years come birthday time. So I [...]

DOJ declines to prosecute NYPD officer who choked Eric Garner to death * * * 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, some potentially good news for Philadelphia voters (and, thus, voters across the entire country), after a citizen led effort has resulted in the state of Pennsylvania re-examining its certification of a shockingly vulnerable --- and wholly unverifiable --- new touchscreen voting system selected by the city earlier this year (under questionable circumstances) [...]

On today's BradCast, we cover a number of disturbing new stories highlighting how Donald Trump's Administration --- while everyone is distracted by his is obnoxious, racist tweets and occasionally by his felonious criminal behavior --- is absolutely hollowing out the U.S. Government to the detriment of public safety and the cheers of industry special interests. [...]