Episode description

Welcome back to our Saturday coffee klatch, where Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action, and my former student) and I examine the highlights and lowlights of the week.

Today we look into:

— Kevin McCarthy’s decision to give Fox News’s Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 40 hours of surveillance video from January 6, 2021. Is this a way for House Republicans to plant a “false flag” narrative about what happened on that fateful day?

— Two dangerous illustrations of corporations off the rails — the Norfolk Southern Railway derailment, courtesy of the Trump administration’s decision to trash proposed safety rules, and a Nebraska meatpacker that’s been hiring 13-year-olds to do hazardous work. So why do Republicans continue to demand “deregulation”?

— Yesterday’s one-year anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and Biden’s historic (and dangerous) visit to Kyiv last Monday. Why did Biden do it? What’s his game plan from here onward?

— Special Prosecutor Jack Smith subpoenas Ivanka and Jared to testify. Does this mean the Justice Department’s grand jury is on a fast track to prosecuting Trump?

— Britain’s experiment with a four-day workweek. A good idea?

And some final thoughts about President Jimmy Carter.

Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and take our poll.