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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”

Attorney General William Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today and answered questions about the Mueller Report. Democrats criticized Barr harshly because he first released his own four-page analysis of the Mueller Report, apparently in an attempt to control news of its release. A redacted version of the report was released later.

Julian Assange was sentenced today to 50 weeks in prison by a UK court for skipping bail, close to the maximum allowable sentence. His lawyers, however, argue that he had a well-founded fear of extradition to the United States, where his fundamental human rights would be violated. Karen Kwiatkowski, an activist and former U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who left the armed forces in protest of the invasion of Iraq, joins the show.

Last week, the NSA’s mass collection of Americans’ metadata under Section 215 of the Patriot Act was reported as ending. Our guest, Bill Binney said that he would believe it when he saw it. Today, new reports have surfaced that the White House will seek the permanent renewal of Section 215 that would once again allow NSA to collect and analyze the phone records of every American. Brian and John speak with Bill Binney, a former NSA technical director who became a legendary national security whistleblower.

May Day demonstrations are taking place across the world, marking International Workers Day. Huge marches, acts of civil disobedience and clashes are taking place in nearly every country. Vijay Prashad, the Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and the author of several books including most recently “Arab Spring, Libyan Winter,” joins the show.

For the first time ever, the US Air Force has used at F-35 fighter jet in a combat mission, using two of the aircraft to bomb an ISIS tunnel network and weapons cache in Iraq yesterday. The F-35 has long been a subject of complaint for its difficult maneuverability and its excessive cost. The Government Accounting Office estimates that the F-35 program will cost more than $1 trillion over its lifetime. Pierre Sprey, a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense, a former defense analyst who is considered to be one of the fathers of the F-16 and A-10 fighter jets. He is also one of the country’s foremost critics of the F-35, joins Brian and John.

Juan Guaido’s third coup attempt appears to fail once again. What’s driving the US effort to carry out the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Latin America? Is it oil? Is it regional domination? Is it both? Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “Blows Against the Empire: U.S. Imperialism in Crisis,” joins the show.

Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.