Background Briefing with Ian Masters - podcast cover

Background Briefing with Ian Masters

Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, expert guests, policymakers, and critics offering analysis and insight on national security, foreign and domestic policy, political, cultural, and social issues. backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
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Episodes

January 5, 2026 - Robert Pape | Jacob Heilbrunn | Adele Stan

A Terrorism and Guerrilla War Expert's Warning That "Venezuela is Primed For Resistance...Far Worse Than Iraq. Chaos is Coming..." | Is Trump, Who Does Not Believe in Democracy, Replacing One Dictator With Another? | In Two Months Trump Will be Erecting Another Monument to Himself backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Jan 05, 20261 hr 3 min

January 4, 2026 - David Smilde | Francisco Mondaldi | Nader Hashemi

Trump's Monroe Doctrine: Threaten Greenland, Canada, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil But Support Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras and Ecuador Whose Authoritarian Leaders Like Him and Keep on Maduro's VP While Spurning the Nobel Prize-Winning Leader of Venezuela's Opposition | Trump's Venezuela Oil Grab to Recover "Stolen" U.S. Oil and Then Pump Baby Pump |"Locked And Loaded": Trump Vows to Rescue Iranian Demonstrators From a Brutal Government Whose Economy is Cratering From U.S. Sanctions bac...

Jan 04, 20261 hr 2 min

January 1, 2026 - Richard Parker | John Nichols

A Hopeful Welcome to 2026 | Could 2026 Be the Beginning of the End of Trump’s Reign of Ruin? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Jan 01, 202658 min

December 31, 2025 - Lisa Graves | Aram Shabanian

An Interview on the Increasing Power of the Unrepresentative Supreme Court | The Ongoing War in Ukraine As It Evolved This Year backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 31, 20251 hr 1 min

December 30, 2025 - Olga Lautman | Luke Goldstein | Anand Giridharadas

Evidence That Putin Owns Trump is Staring Us in the Face | How Google and Big Tech Are Trying to Stop States From Regulating AI | The Enduring Scandal That Above All His Other Outrages, Might Bring Trump Down backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 30, 20251 hr 5 min

December 29, 2025 - Nina Burleigh | Robert Young Pelton | Rachel VanLandingham

We continue to look back on 2025 by reviewing some of our favorite interviews from November and early December: More Damaging Epstein Emails Emerge While the Real Smoking Gun Remains Epsteins Ties to Israeli Intelligence | An Investigation Into the CIA-Run Kill Or Capture Zero Units the D.C. Shooter Worked With | A Former JAG on Hegseth and Trumps Murder Spree Which Are Not War Crimes Because We are Not at War backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.b...

Dec 29, 20251 hr 8 min

December 28, 2025 - Sean Wilentz | David Adler | Ken Klippenstein

A 2025 Retrospective - We Are Past a Constitutional Crisis and Should be Working on Restoring Our Democracy and Reviving the Constitution | An Activist on a Boat in a Flotilla Heading to Gaza That the Israelis Have Attacked With Drones | Trump and Miller’s National Security Directive NSPM-7 Outlaws the Common Beliefs of Over Half of the Country backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundb...

Dec 28, 20251 hr 1 min

December 25, 2025 - James Carroll | Steven Simon | Barbara Walter

A Christmas Message | A 2025 Retrospective -The New Hegemon in the Middle East: Israel | Trump’s Dual Strategies of Scaring Off Protests and Instigating Provocations to Enact Fascism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 25, 20251 hr 2 min

December 24, 2025 - Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis | Gil Duran | Brooke Harrington

Christmas Eve | A Look Back at 2025 Starting In January - A Manifesto to Stand Up in the Face Of Trump’s Firehose of Reactionary Initiatives | Since Musk’s Assault on the Federal Workforce is Only Saving a Pittance, the Real Intention Then Must Be To Cripple the US Government backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 24, 20251 hr

December 23, 2025 - Sidney Blumenthal | Jasper Nathaniel

The Latest Dump of the Epstein Files and Susie Wiles' Expose of the Rot at the Top of the U.S. Government | A Reporter Whose Video of a West Bank Settler Beating An Elderly Palestinian Woman Went Viral Leading to a Rare Arrest backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 23, 20251 hr

December 22, 2025 - Lincoln Mitchell | Ben Armbruster | Ariel Dorfman

The Relationship Between Antisemitism and Criticism of Israel | The CBS News Editor Appointed by the Ellisons Spikes a 60 Minutes Segment to Re Edit a More Trump-Friendly Version | Ariel Dorfman From Chile on the Election of a Far-Right President Who Will Free Pinochet's Murderers, Torturers and Kidnappers backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 22, 20251 hr 2 min

December 21, 2025 - Moira Donegan | James Zirin | Samuel Moyn

Trump's Deteriorating Mental and Physical Health| Trump's DoJ Releases 10% of the Heavily Redacted Epstein Files Trying to Shift the Focus From Trump to Clinton | Ending the Oligarch-Friendly Illegitimate Rule of the Supreme Court backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 21, 202559 min

December 18, 2025 - Mike Lofgren | Francisco Rodríguez | Tim Wu

Trump's Mad, Fact-Free Diatribe to the Nation Telling Us How Bad Biden Was and How Great He Is | A Tanker Blockade and the Venezuelan Navy Going Up Against the U.S. Navy: What Could Go Wrong? | The Former White House Tech and Competition Czar on How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 18, 20251 hr 2 min

December 17, 2025 - Greg Sargent | Sven Beckert

A Profile of the Dark Force Behind the Indiscriminate Roundup of Immigrants and the Revival of the Political Paranoia of the "Red Scare" | With Young Americans Rejecting Capitalism, a Deep Dive Into the History of Capitalism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 17, 202558 min

December 16, 2025 - Jennifer Kavanagh | Karen Greenberg | Henry Giroux

Is Peace on the Horizon as Ukraine Agrees to Drop Hopes of Joining NATO? | Doubts of Putin's Interest in Peace in a Europe Rattled by Trump's National Security Strategy | Higher Education in a Time of Fascists and Autocrats Taking Over the World ackgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 17, 20251 hr

December 15, 2025 - Jordan Baker | Jonathan Alter | Victoria Hui

The Hanukkah Terror Attack in Australia | Trump's Disgusting Reaction to the Murders of Rob Reiner and His Wife | Today's Conviction of the Hong Kong Freedom Activist Jimmy Lai backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 15, 20251 hr 3 min

December 14, 2025 - Charles Kupchan | Sam Rosenthal | Jaz Brisack

An Assessment of Trump's New National Security Strategy | Why Democrats Lost the Last Election and What They Must Do to Win the Next One | A Gen Z Union Organizer on Standing Up For a Better Workplace backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 14, 20251 hr 2 min

December 11, 2025 - David Smilde | Harold Meyerson | Dalia Dassa Kaye

Trump Targets Venezuela's Oil, Intensifying Pressure on Maduro | Why Are Trump and Vance Trashing a "Decaying" Europe When They Have a Better Quality of Life Than We Do? | The Vexed Relationship Between the U.S. and Iran With a Hostility That Has Lasted Longer Than the Cold War backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 11, 20251 hr 1 min

December 10, 2025 - John Judis | Deb Otis | Nina Burleigh

Will the Anti-Capitalist Gen Z Left Which Has Energized the Democrats Dominate American Politics in the Future? | The Bill Introduced Today for Rank Choice Voting in House and Senate Primaries and General Elections | Will the Release of Records From Maxwell and Epstein Trials Bring Us Closer to Justice For the Victims? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 10, 20251 hr

December 9, 2025 - William LeoGrande | Victor Pickard | Mike Pepi

Trump Says Maduro's Days Are Numbered at War Against Venezuela Could Break Out at Any Time | The Ellison's Have Promised Trump They Will Revamp CNN to Trump's Liking | Australia's Social Media Ban and How the "Tech Left" Can Mobilize Against Techno-Utopianism backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 10, 20251 hr 2 min

December 8, 2025 - William Cohan | Aram Shabanian | Ari Berman

Trump's Billionaire Buddy Launches a Hostile Takeover To Create a Trump-Friendly Media Giant | Zelensky Meets with Europe's Leaders Alarmed by Trump's New National Security Strategy | How Do the Democrats Take Back the House in the Face of a Partisan Supreme Court, a Serial Coup-Plotter and a Craven GOP Willing to Sell Out American Democracy? backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 08, 20251 hr 2 min

December 7, 2025 - Rachel VanLandingham | Lydia Camarillo | Jordan Schwartz | Lisa Graves

A Former JAG on Hegseth and Trump's Murder Spree Which Are Not War Crimes Because We are Not at War | The Supreme Court Just Gave Republicans 30 of the 38 House Seats in Texas Before a Vote is Cast in November | The Harvard Youth Pollster Who Finds 13% of Americans Between 18 and 29 Say the U.S. is Heading in the Right Direction With Only 39% Supporting Capitalism | The Naked Partisanship of John Roberts Should be Clear to All As His Gives Trump Unlimited Power and Moves Us Towards a One-Party S...

Dec 07, 20251 hr 19 min

December 4, 2025 - David Broder | Mstyslav Chernov | Casey Michel

France's Fifth Government in Three Years Collapses as the Far Right in Europe Rises | A Film That Takes You Inside the Battlefield Under Russian Fire as Ukrainian Soldiers Fight and Die Defending Their Land Putin Claims As His | Trump Breaks Records Pardoning Crooked Congressmen, Scammers, Embezzlers, Fraudsters and Fanatics backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 04, 20251 hr 6 min

December 3, 2025 - Paul Waldman | Michael Kimmage | Sarah Leah Whitson

Trump and MAGA's Policies and Politics Are Driven By Sadism | Putin Warns of War With Europe After Which There Will Be No One Left to Negotiate With | In Spite Of the Ongoing Agony, A Plan For Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Dec 03, 20251 hr 2 min

December 2, 2025 - Tom Nichols | Jonathan Metzl | William Hartung

Secretary of Defense Hegseth Needs to Step Down Now! | Could the Democratic Underdog Win Today in Deep Red Tennessee? | With Affordability the Big Issue, Why Can We Afford Guns and Not Butter? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 02, 20251 hr 1 min

December 1, 2025 - Alejandro Velasco | Alex Lawson | Sidney Blumenthal

Trump and His Team Meet on Going to War Against Venezuela | With the House Back in Session, the Fate of Affordable Healthcare Hangs by a Thread | How Much is Melania Mentioned in the Epstein Files Trump is Trying to Suppress? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Dec 01, 20251 hr 1 min

November 30, 2025 - Robert Young Pelton | Christine Fair | Tamar Jacoby

An Investigation Into the CIA-Run "Kill Or Capture" Zero Units the D.C. Shooter Worked With | As Trump Blames Biden, Who is Responsible For the Chaotic U.S. Withdrawal of 76,000 Afghans Including the Shooter? | With Many Trump Teams Negotiating While Putin Has No Interest in Peace, What Impact Will the Resignation of Ukraine's Negotiator Yermak Have? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backg...

Nov 30, 20251 hr 2 min

November 27, 2025 - Richard Parker | Jackie Mitchell | Brian Holmes

What We Can Be Thankful For in This Otherwise Bleak Time | Talking Turkey About the Turkey Industry and Its lobbying Clout | How Art in Activism Can Uplift Dissent and Inspire Community Organizing backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing

Nov 27, 202557 min

November 26, 2025 - Adele Stan | Julia Loktev

Will the Shooting of 2 National Guardsmen in Washington D.C. Provide Trump With an Excuse to Invoke the Insurrection Act For Example? | A Warning to the American Press From the Filmmaker of a Powerful New Feature Documentary About Brave Young Russian Women Reporting the Truth as Putin Shuts Down Independent Media and Criminalizes Journalism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbrief...

Nov 26, 20251 hr

November 25, 2025 - Harry Litman | James Green | Tom Mockaitis

Will There Be Further Vindictiveness After the Dismissals of the Revenge Cases Against James Comey and Letitia James? | Bolsonaros Botched Escape Attempt and Possible Collusion With the Trump Administration | Why Are Trump, Hegseth, and Vance So Freaked Out Over the Video by Six Democratic Lawmakers Who Are Veterans backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Nov 25, 20251 hr 5 min
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