Generic drugs amount to 90% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., most of them made in plants in India and China. Generic drugs can be more affordable, but in her new explosive book "Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom," investigative journalist Katherine Eban works with two industry whistleblowers to expose how some manufacturers are cutting corners at the cost of quality and safety. This comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just issued its own update on the state of pharmaceutical quality that found the drug quality of factories in India and China scored below the world average. FDA officials say that's because more robust inspections have uncovered problems and that "the quality of the drug supply has never been higher."

Trump Threatens "Official End of Iran" Via Tweet If It Provokes the U.S., First Phase of Kushner's Middle East Peace Plan to Focus on Palestinian Economy, Sweden Requests Detention of Assange as WikiLeaks Accuses U.S. of Illegally Seizing His Property, Australian Voters Choose Conservative PM Morrison Over Opponent Who Vowed to Tackle Climate Change, Austria Calls Snap Election After Far-Right Leader Caught in Corruption Scandal, Protesters Take to the Streets Ahead of European Parliament Elections, Narendra Modi on Track for Second Term as Prime Minister as Voting Ends in India, Taiwan Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in Historic First for Asian Continent, Protesters in Alabama, Missouri Defend Reproductive Rights from Recent Abortion Bans, Trump Considering Memorial Day Pardons for War Criminals, Deutsche Bank Ignored Internal Warnings About "Suspicious" Trump & Kushner-Related Transactions, Rep. Justin Amash Becomes First Republican Congressmember to Suggest Impeachment, NYT: Industry Leaders Helped Bury NYC Taxi Drivers Under Mountains of Debt, Billionaire Robert F. Smith Will Pay Student Debt of Entire Graduating Class of Morehouse College, Boeing Admits Flight Simulators for Faulty 737 MAX Jets Did Not Adequately Prepare Pilots, Protesters Call on Whitney Museum to Remove Tear Gas Manufacturer's CEO from Board

President Trump has unveiled plans for a new, so-called “merit-based" immigration system that would prioritize "highly-skilled" and English-speaking workers, while further restricting asylum seekers and immigrants who have family living in the United States. Although no legislative details for the plan have been revealed, Trump's proposal is likely to hit a wall in Congress, where the Democratically-led House has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration over immigration policy. Trump's immigration policies have led to dire conditions for asylum seekers to the U.S. On Wednesday, a two-and-a-half year-old migrant boy died in U.S. custody, three days after he and his family were detained by Customs and Border Protection. Immigrant communities already established in the U.S. are also being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with activists claiming they have been targeted for speaking out against the Trump administration. We speak with two prominent and outspoken immigration activists who are fighting their own deportation and have been targeted for their activism: Maru Mora-Villalpando and Ravi Ragbir. Mora-Villalpando is an activist with La Resistencia and Mijente and Ragbir is executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Ragbir in a free speech case, saying the First Amendment bars ICE from targeting activists for deportation based on their political speech.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer issued what many considered a dire warning from the bench this week, implying that Roe v. Wade — the landmark ruling that recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion — is in danger. He wrote the comments in a dissent for an unrelated case in which the court voted to overturn a 40 year-old precedent. Breyer wrote “Today’s decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the Court will overrule next.” We speak to journalist Robin Marty about what a post-Roe America would look like, and how many people are already cut off from abortion access across the country.

Program Date:  05/20/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

Program Date:  05/19/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

Program Date:  05/16/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

Program Date:  05/15/2019 mp3audio:  Full Program

FEATURING CARROLL MUFFETT – There has been tremendous concern around the pollution of our oceans, our soil and food systems, and even our bodies from plastic waste. Now, a new study has examined a little-discussed impact – how plastic waste exacerbates climate change. The Center for International Environmental Law produced the study, called Plastic & Climate:...

The US State Department has ordered its non-emergency personnel stationed in Iraq to leave the country in the latest indication that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering military action against neighboring Iran. The State Department in its announcement said, “The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq.” There...

FEATURING CARROLL MUFFETT – There has been tremendous concern around the pollution of our oceans, our soil and food systems, and even our bodies from plastic waste. Now, a new study has examined a little-discussed impact – how plastic waste exacerbates climate change. The Center for International Environmental Law produced the study, called Plastic & Climate:...

Dear KPFK listeners, It’s time for KPFK’s Spring Pledge Drive. During Rising Up With Sonali — now between 4-5 pm PT — call (818) 985-5735,  from May 1 until May 31. Your contributions will help KPFK stay alive and support this program. You can also make your pledge online at https://www.kpfk.org/support-kpfk/. There are many ways in which you can show how much...

Our guest on today's BradCast, argues that representative democracy is facing a "major crisis." And he wasn't even talking about the Constitutional Crisis we are now seeing as Trump turns up his obstruction measures against the U.S. Congress to 11. But partisan gerrymandering underscores that crisis as well. [Audio link to full show is posted [...]

Republican senators meet with Jared Kushner on immigration, conclude he's clueless * * * 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, I'm your guest host, Nicole Sandler of nicolesandler.com I’m a bit freaked out about the lawlessness of the Trump administration and the seeming lack of action on the part of the Democrats to do something! The question of the day is: "To impeach or not to impeach?" The first person I thought [...]

It's hardly breaking news at this point, but the GOP and its politicians now represent little more than a complete culture of corruption from top (Donald Trump) to bottom (find a state, pick an elected Republican). Among the tiny sampling of new stories covered on today's BradCast which bear that out. [Audio link to full [...]