House Democrats are continuing to probe how President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner received a top-secret security clearance despite concerns from the CIA. The New York Times recently reported Trump ordered then-Chief of Staff John Kelly to grant Kushner the clearance despite the judgment of intelligence officials. Kushner failed to report over 100 foreign contacts on his initial application for clearance, which was denied by the FBI after a background check into his financial history and contacts with foreign investors. Kushner later revised his application three times, and was ultimately granted permanent security clearance last May. We speak with Vicky Ward, the author of a new book uncovering details about how Kushner has continued to let the financial dealings of his family impact the policy decisions he promoted overseas. In one case, this almost led to a war in the Middle East between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The book is called "Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump."

Ongoing protests are roiling Haiti, as demonstrators take to the streets to demand President Jovenel Moïse's resignation due to government corruption and mismanagement of the country's oil fund. The protests began in July, but Moïse is facing further scrutiny after five heavily armed Americans were arrested last month near Haiti's central bank in Port-au-Prince with a cache of weapons, claiming to be on a "government mission." The mercenaries were quickly sent back to the United States without facing criminal charges in Haiti, sparking outrage and mounting demands that the government explain why the men had been at the central bank in the first place. An explosive new investigation by Haiti Liberté and The Intercept has found that the mercenaries were at the central bank on a mission ordered directly by the embattled Haitian president. Their goal was to escort a presidential aide to the Haitian central bank as he transferred $80 million from the government's oil account to another account controlled by Moïse. This news comes as Haiti's Parliament has thrown out Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant in a no-confidence vote. We speak with Kim Ives, an editor of Haiti Liberté and co-author of the new joint investigation with The Intercept.

Amnesty International is accusing the United States of covering up civilian casualties in its secretive air war in Somalia targeting the militant group al-Shabab. The U.S. has carried out over 100 strikes in Somalia since 2017. For years the Pentagon has claimed no civilians were being killed in the airstrikes, but the new Amnesty report found that at least 14 civilians were killed, and eight more were injured, in just five airstrikes. The overall civilian death toll is likely to be far higher. We speak with Brian Castner, Amnesty International's senior crisis adviser on arms and military operations. He helped write Amnesty's report, titled "The Hidden US War in Somalia."

New Zealand Outlaws Military-Style Weapons After Mosque Attacks, "Major Humanitarian Emergency" After Cyclone Pounds Southeast Africa, Three U.S. States Declare Emergencies as Missouri River Swells, Judge Halts Wyoming Oil and Gas Drilling, Citing Climate Change, Radovan Karadzic Sentenced to Life in Prison over Bosnian Genocide, Trump Administration Official Under Fire for Islamophobic Comments, Trump Travel Ban Prohibits Dozens from Attending U.N. Women's Forum, Trump Claims Mueller Report Should Be Made Public, Trump Assails Husband of White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, Pentagon Watchdog to Probe Acting Defense Secretary's Ties to Boeing, Disney Completes $71 Billion Acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Kazakhstan's President Steps Down After Three Decades in Power, Morocco Begins New Round of Talks over Status of Western Sahara, Costa Rican Indigenous Land Activist Found Murdered, Guatemalan Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Anti-Corruption Campaigner, Lawsuit Charges Harvard with Profiting from Photos of Enslaved People

FEATURING FELICIA KORNBLUH – A recent report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities concluded that TANF – the government welfare program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – is reaching fewer poor families. The number of poor Americans receiving assistance dipped to a low in 2014 and has remained there. The report...

FEATURING ROBERT E. FRIEDMAN – Although the stock market is booming, the majority of Americans continue to struggle financially today. A hand-to-mouth existence is sadly quite typical and many families find building up a nest egg out of reach, let alone buying a home, saving up for their kids’ college, or their own retirement. The...

FEATURING FRANCIS FUKUYAMA – The rise of Donald Trump has sent shock waves through the American political landscape. But his Presidency is not an isolated phenomenon globally. Across many countries authoritarian leaders have exploited the grievances of resentful populations to grab power and roll back progress on many fronts. Over the last two years there...

FEATURING FRANCIS FUKUYAMA – The rise of Donald Trump has sent shock waves through the American political landscape. But his Presidency is not an isolated phenomenon globally. Across many countries authoritarian leaders have exploited the grievances of resentful populations to grab power and roll back progress on many fronts. Over the last two years there...

All of the news you need to know today, and nothing you don't. Among the many important stories covered on today's BradCast [Audio link to complete show is posted below]... New Zealand bans military-style assault weapons less than one week after a white supremacist terrorist massacred 50 worshiping Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch. That was [...]

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Staggering economic losses from extreme weather and historic floods in the Upper Midwest; 'Shelter in place' order issued after massive, toxic chemical fire extinguished in Houston; Trump EPA chief Wheeler pushes more dangerous delay on climate change, while 2020 Democratic Presidential candidates push climate change solutions; PLUS: Federal judge blocks oil [...]

On today's BradCast, the fight to vote, particularly in Florida, never seems to end --- even after a huge bi-partisan majority of voters in the state voted to change their Constitution last November to re-enfranchise more than a million of their fellow citizens. [Audio link to show is posted below.] Following decades of post-Civil War Reconstruction/Jim [...]

On today's BradCast, climate change slams Trump Country (again), several 2020 Democratic candidates call for structural change to our electoral system, some elected jerk in Missouri wants government to mandate everyone purchase an AR-15, and we continue to help you make sense of it all --- or, at least, try to make sense of it [...]