Politics of Diversion: Trump Pivots Toward Conflict w/ Iran & Venezuela

Published: April 2, 2020, 10:04 p.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mohammad Marandi. He is an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.

Although the Coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc inside the United States, Donald Trump is lashing out at Iran once again. The sanctions regime the United States has imposed on Iran is pushing the country’s public health system to the brink, but now Trump is ludicrously accusing Iran of plotting to attack the United States.

Coronavirus cases continue to worsen on an exponential basis, with nearly one million cases now documented around the world. The United States now has nearly a quarter million documented cases and now a single county or municipality in America has been spared. But there may be some good news. Social distancing and quarantines appear to be helping to slow the spread of the disease in places like Washington State and California. And even Italy has seen a two-day decline in the number of new cases. Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician and vice chair of the Infectious Disease Society of America’s Global Health Committee, joins the show.

Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.

Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.

A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.