The Real News Podcast

At least 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are on board with Trump’s new military alliance. They are calling it the America’s Counter Cartel Coalition. Latin America’s top right-wing leaders are involved, including El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei. They met in Florida for the event on March 7th.The United States has promised to use lethal force to destroy cartels and narco-traffickers in those nations. Kristi Noem, the former head of Homeland Security, is the new special envoy for the coalition.This is a new phase of Trump’s plan for Latin America. Trump’s Donroe Doctrine — Monroe 2.0. The first was the offensive against his enemies in the region. Now, Trump is shoring up his allies and building a coalition where the US military can continue to take action in collaboration with countries allied with Trump. We’ve already begun to see this unfold in Ecuador. This is Episode 8 of Under the Shadow, Season 2.Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.Follow Under the Shadow on Spotify and Apple PodcastsHosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.Many thanks to Belly of the Beast for the interview with Liz Oliva Fernandez and the use of the sound from several of their videos.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Theme music by Michael Fox’s band, Monte Perdido. Monte Perdido's 2024 album Ofrenda is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music.Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.Guests:Alexander Main from the Center for Economic and Policy ResearchAlexis Ponce Script editing by Heather Gies. Hosted, written, produced, mixed and edited by Michael Fox.Resources: You can read Alex’s excellent analysis of the Shield of the Americas summit, here.Please also check out CEPR's Americas Live Update Blog, with all of the latest from the region.You can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking hereThe Beginning: Monroe and migration | Under the Shadow, Episode 1Panama. US Invasion. | Under the Shadow, Episode 13The legacy of Monroe | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 4 Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

As their public approval sinks lower and lower, the MAGA right is leaning harder and harder into policies of abject cruelty directed at vulnerable populations that have been turned into sacrificial scapegoats; that is especially true when it comes to immigrants and trans people. In the state of Kansas, for instance, Republicans just rammed through one of the most extreme anti-trans bills in the country. TRNN Editor-in-Chief speaks with journalist and LGBTQ+ policy analyst Erin Reed about how the new law is affecting trans Kansans and about the explosion of anti-trans policies around the country. Additional links/info: Erin Reed website, Substack, Facebook page, Bluesky page, TikTok, and Instagram Erin Reed, Substack, “Anti-Trans National Legal Risk Assessment Map: Feb 2026”Erin Reed, Substack, “"You outlaw it": Heritage Foundation President announces intent to outlaw all trans adult care”Sherman Smith & Morgan Chilson, Kansas Reflector, “Trans Kansans struggle with Legislature’s ‘cruelty’ as driver’s licenses are invalidated”Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector, “Trans men file lawsuit over Kansas law that restricts bathroom use and invalidates driver’s licenses”Credits:Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

38-year-old regional video gaming champion Ludovic Mbock, who came to the US legally from Cameroon, was snatched by ICE while applying for his yearly work permit—as he’s done for 20 years. He has since been detained for three weeks and moved to facilities in Louisiana and Georgia, and his freedom depends on a critical bond hearing this week. In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with Diane Sohna, Ludovic’s sister, and Nikhil Delahaye, a close friend of Ludovic’s and a fellow gamer. Additional links/info: Ludovic Mbock InstagramGoFundMe: Support Ludovic’s Legal DefenseAntonio Planas & Rondez Green, The Baltimore Banner, “He thought it was a routine ICE check-in. Now his family fears he’ll be deported”Heidi Kemps, GameSpot, “The fighting game community bands together in solidarity to help free player from ICE”Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

A new report from The Marshall Project reveals that the daily number of kids in ICE detention has increased sixfold under the second Trump administration. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with Shannon Heffernan and Anna Flagg of The Marshall Project about the the human cost of Trump’s mass deportation campaign, and about the horrifying reality inside the South Texas Family Processing Center—the "black box" facility in Dilley, TX, where children are subjected to substandard food, medical deprivation, and prolonged detention beyond legal limits.Guests:Anna Flagg is a senior data reporter at The Marshall Project and works with data to report on detention, deaths in custody, crime, race, policing and immigration. Her reporting has appeared in The Marshall Project, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, ProPublica, Politico, The Guardian, The Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and others.Shannon Heffernan is a staff writer at The Marshall Project whose work focuses on prisons and jails across the US, as well as sexual and gender-based violence, immigration and mental health, and how arts and culture shape (and are shaped by) crime and punishment.Additional links/info:Anna Flagg & Shannon Heffernan, The Marshall Project, “‘Why is this happening to us?’ Daily number of kids in ICE detention jumps 6x under Trump”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “Texas’ one-of-a-kind concentration camp for children and families”Credits:Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

President Trump’s catastrophic decision to plunge the US into a war with Iran is following a depressingly familiar playbook to those who lived through—and those who served in—the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with military veteran, author, and peace activist Rory Fanning—who served two tours in combat as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan—about the reality of what the US military has done in the Middle East, and about the veterans who are speaking out against the US-Israeli war with Iran. Guests:Rory Fanning is a war resister, military counter recruiter, and writer living in Chicago, IL. Fanning served two deployments with the Second Army Ranger Battalion in Afghanistan, and he is the author of Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger's Journey Out of the Military and Across America. Credits:Producer: Rosette SewaliStudio Production: David HebdenAudio Post-Production: Stephen FrankBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The term “mass incarceration” is inaccurate and misleading, Distinguished Professor and author Dylan Rodríguez says: “The masses are not being policed, targeted, and incarcerated; it's a targeted war with asymmetrical casualties.” In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Rodríguez speaks with former political prisoner and Black Panther Mansa Musa about the horrifying truth behind the US prison-industrial complex—and about the "pseudo-abolitionist" politics that often dilute the power of radical movements trying to dismantle it.Follow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Guests:Dylan Rodríguez is a teacher, scholar, organizer, and collaborator who has worked at the University of California-Riverside since 200. He is a Distinguished Professor in the recently created Department of Black Study as well as the Department of Media and Cultural Studies. He is the author of three books: Forced Passages: Imprisoned Radical Intellectuals and the U.S. Prison Regime; Suspended Apocalypse: White Supremacy, Genocide, and the Filipino Condition; and White Reconstruction: Domestic Warfare and the Logic of Racial Genocide, which won the 2022 Frantz Fanon Book Award from the Caribbean Philosophical Association.Additional links/info:Mansa Musa, Ratting the Bars / TRNN, “Manifest Destiny never ended: the domestic war for white supremacy”Credits:Producer, Videographer, Editor: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Cuba is facing the greatest existential threat it has seen in decades. Trash is filling streets, because garbage trucks can’t make the rounds. Rolling blackouts, rising food prices and cuts to transportation, university classes, and hospitals amid a gas shortage, the likes of which the country hasn’t seen in years.US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other officials have made it clear that they aren’t interested in anything less than regime change. And they’re going after that goal full throttle. The United States is now imposing an oil blockade on the island nation that is pushing it to the brink – and hitting its most vulnerable residents the hardest.In this episode, we look at Cuba, the history of the more than 65-year-old US embargo on Cuba and Trump’s actions, which are pushing the country to the brink.This is Episode 7 of Under the Shadow, Season 2.Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.This episode was made in collaboration with Belly of the Beast. Many thanks to them for the interview with Liz Oliva Fernandez and the use of the sound from several of their videos.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Theme music by Michael Fox’s band, Monte Perdido. Monte Perdido's 2024 album Ofrenda is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music.Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.Guests: Liz Oliva Fernandez with Belly of the BeastCamila PineiroMedea Benjamin with Code PinkPeter Kornbluh with National Security ArchivesGreg Wilpert, founder of VenezuelanalysisScript editing by Heather Gies. Hosted, written, produced, mixed and edited by Michael Fox.Resources Please visit Belly of the Beast for their excellent coverage of the situation in Cuba. You can see a copy of the Mallory Memo on the National Security Archive’s website: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/cuba/2022-02-02/cuba-embargoed-us-trade-sanctions-turn-sixty This is the 1960 document that created the justification for the Eisenhower’s first sanctions on Cuba. Here is the link to Peter Kornbluh’s co-authored book, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana https://www.amazon.com/Back-Channel-Cuba-Negotiations-Washington-ebook/dp/B00W1VH9LETo get involved in the flotilla to carry aid to Cuba this month, you can find out more on the Code Pink website, here: https://www.codepink.org/convergecubaUnder the Shadow, Season 1: You can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking hereThe Beginning: Monroe and migration | Under the Shadow, Episode 1Panama. US Invasion. | Under the Shadow, Episode 13The legacy of Monroe | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 4 Michael Fox’s recent reporting on the boat strikes and the ramp-up for war in Venezuela: With the strike on a ‘drug-carrying boat,’ Trump returns to a dangerous US policy for Latin AmericaCaribbean leaders call for unified Latin American resistance to US attacksTrump’s Monroe Doctrine 2.0 outlines imperial intentions for Latin AmericaYou can check out Michael’s recent episode of Stories of Resistance about the protests against US intervention in Venezuela.NACLA’s Curated Guide to the US Attack on Venezuela Truthout’s ongoing reporting on War and Peace and the US invasion of VenezuelaVisit TRNN for all of TRNN’s coverage on this and so much morePlease consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The US-Israeli war with Iran is spiraling into a regional catastrophe, and the number of dead is rising quickly. While President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the war hawks in their cabinets are responsible for this illegal war, they are not the only ones with blood on their hands. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files, and Adam Johnson, co-host of Citations Needed, about how Western media and American politicians in the Democratic "opposition" have helped manufacture the conditions for war with Iran. Guests:Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy. Adam Johnson is a writer, media critic, co-host of the podcast Citations Needed, and a columnist for TRNN.  Credits:Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

As general president of the union, Sean O’Brien has operated with a “Teamsters vs. Everybody” mentality, especially when it comes to dealing with President Trump and embracing the MAGA right. But now, 14 months into the second Trump administration, the labor movement and the entire working class—Teamsters members included—is under attack. In this episode of Working People, we speak with veteran Teamsters Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer, who are running to oust O’Brien from leadership in the upcoming union election.Guests: Richard Hooker Jr. has dedicated 26 years to the Teamsters, spending 20 of those years at UPS and the last six in leadership roles. He is the Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, and he is now running on the Fearless Slate to unseat Sean O’Brien as a candidate for general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. John Palmer has 38 years of experience in the Teamsters and is currently serving as a vice president at large of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is running on the Fearless Slate as a candidate to be the union’s general secretary-treasurer.Additional links/info: Teamsters Fearless Slate websiteHank Kennedy, Current Affairs, “Sean O’Brien sold labor to Trump, and got nothing”Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “Labor activist takes on Teamsters leader allying with Trump: ‘He doesn’t represent the workers’”Joe Allen, CounterPunch, “Why are the Teamsters endorsing Greg Abbott?”Peter Eavis, The New York Times, “UPS says it is cutting up to 30,000 jobs”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “Everybody hates Sean”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “We asked 8 different Teamsters what they thought of Sean O'Brien's speech—their responses may surprise you”Featured Music:Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules TaylorBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

From the very beginning, the United States of America has been at war—not just abroad, but domestically. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with scholar and author Dylan Rodríguez about how the US operates as a nation in a perpetual state of internal war, and how the white supremacist legacy of domestic warfare has reached terrifying new heights in the Trump era.Resource Links:Purchase Dylan Rodríguez’s book White ReconstructionRevolt against the carceral worldCOVID-19 pandemic illuminates anti-Chinese racism and xenophobiaWhy corporate media doesn’t talk honestly about racismCredits:Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron GranadinoFollow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

How did the promise of Black wealth become a tool for white elites? In this Black History Month special of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with UVA Professor and author Justene Hill Edwards about the tragic history of the Freedman’s Bank. They dive into the economic intelligence of enslaved people and how they navigated the inherent violence of the slave economy. Professor Hill Edwards also breaks down the betrayal detailed in her book, Savings and Trust, revealing how a bank built for the formerly enslaved was redirected to fund D.C. infrastructure and white elite interests.Get the book at this link on bookshop.com.Host: Mansa Musa Videographer / Editor / Producer: Cameron GranadinoFollow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Urged on by Israel and neocon war hawks, President Trump has brought the US to the verge of a war with Iran, amassing more American military forces in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the disastrous ramifications such a war would have—and what options remain to avoid it. Guests:Trita Parsi is an Iranian-born Swedish writer and policy analyst and the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He is an award-winning author and the 2010 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. He is an expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian foreign policy, and the geopolitics of the Middle East. He has authored four books on US foreign policy in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Iran and Israel. Additional links/info:Trita Parsi, Common Dreams, “How does this end? Even a ‘small’ US strike on Iran by Trump would be disastrous”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “Jeremy Scahill: Prospects for avoiding US-Iran war ‘remain fragile’”Credits:Producer: Rosette SewaliStudio Production: David HebdenAudio Post-Production: Stephen FrankFollow The Marc Steiner Show on Spotify and Apple PodcastsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In just six months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than tripled the amount of data stored on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform,The Guardian reports, “at the same time that its arsenal of surveillance technology ballooned.” This week, tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) campaign staged a protest and informational picket at Microsoft’s global headquarters in Redmond, WA, demanding that Microsoft cancel all contracts that provide technological support for Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and ICE’s campaign of terror in the US. We speak with Ibtihal, a former software engineer at Microsoft and an organizer with the NOAA campaign. Additional links/info: No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and LinktreeHarry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, “ICE reliance on Microsoft technology surged amid immigration crackdown, documents show”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “‘Microsoft workers refuse to be complicit in the genocide’”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “Microsoft cancels Israeli spy unit access after tech worker revolt”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “The biggest labor story in the US right now is happening at Microsoft”Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

With President Trump marshaling the largest buildup of US military forces in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the threat of an imminent conflict—or even a major war—between the US and Iran is ever present. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with journalist Jeremy Scahill of DropSite news about where things stand now, the fragile state of this week’s talks between the US and Iran, and all that hangs in the balance. Guest: Jeremy Scahill is an independent journalist, author and filmmaker. He is co-founder of the investigative news organization Drop Site News. Scahill is author of the international best-selling books Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield. His film, Dirty Wars, won widespread acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2013 for Best Documentary Feature.Additional links/info: Jeremy Scahill & Murtaza Hussain, DropSite News, “Iranian officials to Drop Site: Tehran is showing “unbelievable level of flexibility" in talks to prevent US war”Credits:Audio Post-Production: Alina NehlichBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Bending to economic coercion and political pressure from the Trump administration, once-venerable institutions like Columbia University have compliantly become third-party collaborators in the assault on our constitutional rights. In this episode of the Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Amy E. Greer and Zal K. Shroff, two members of former Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team, about how the persecution of Khalil and other Palestine solidarity protestors is reshaping the future of free speech in America.Guests:Amy E. Greer is an associate attorney at Dratel & Lewis, and a member of Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team. Greer is a lawyer and archivist by training, and an advocate and storyteller by nature. As an attorney at Dratel & Lewis, she works on a variety of cases, including international extradition, RICO, terrorism, and drug trafficking. She previously served as an assistant public defender on a remote island in Alaska, defending people charged with misdemeanors, and as a research and writing attorney on capital habeas cases with clients who have been sentenced to death.Zal K. Shroff is an assistant professor at CUNY School of Law and director of the Equality & Justice In-House & Practice Clinic. Shroff is a civil rights lawyer and has been a lead attorney in more than two dozen impact cases across the United States spanning police and prosecutorial accountability, voting rights, First Amendment protest/political speech, race and religious discrimination, conditions of confinement, and poverty discrimination.Additional links/info:Marc Steiner, The Marc Steiner Show / TRNN, “Trump’s government hasn’t won its case against Mahmoud Khalil—yet”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “‘Call Amy!’: Lawyer for Mahmoud Khalil reveals how he won his freedom”Credits:Producer: Rosette SewaliStudio Production: David HebdenAudio Post-Production: Stephen FrankBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In this episode of Inequality Watch, investigative journalists Taya Graham and Stephen Janis are joined by renowned economist Dr. Richard Wolff to break down how extreme wealth inequality is reshaping politics, economics, and democracy itself. First, Dr. Wolff explains how extractive economies concentrate wealth, fuel authoritarianism, and lock societies into destructive systems that benefit the ultra-rich while leaving working people behind. He then examines questions about the future of AI—can an economy still survive when millions are displaced from work? Who benefits and who pays the price?Credits:Written by: Stephen JanisProduced by: Taya Graham, Stephen JanisPost-Production: David HebdenBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Hundreds of children are currently incarcerated at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, TX, and the stories leaking out to the public about the conditions inside are shocking. We speak with Stephanie Koithan, journalist and Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. Additional links/info:Stephanie Koithan, San Antonio Current, “Two-month-old baby ‘choking on his own vomit’ while detained in Dilley”Stephanie Koithan, San Antonio Current, “Staff at Dilley raiding cells to confiscate kids’ letters and drawings detailing conditions inside”Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica, “The children of Dilley”Austin Kocher, Substack, “Dilley Family Detention Center triples in size amid growing controversy over conditions”Credits:Audio Post-Production: Alina NehlichBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Since the beginning of 2026, US forces have killed people in Caracas, Venezuela, on boat strikes in the Pacific, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is a new era, where US law enforcement kill people in plain sight and then blame it on the victims, accusing them of being agitators or terrorists — domestic or foreign — whether they are in fishing boats in the Caribbean and Pacific or protesting on the streets of Minneapolis.Today's episode turns the lens back on the United States. Because the shadow of the United States itself is hanging dangerously over US cities and communities like never before.This is episode 6 of Under the Shadow, Season 2.Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Theme music by Michael Fox’s band, Monte Perdido. Monte Perdido's 2024 album Ofrenda is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.Guests: Nikhil SinghAlexander AvinaSarah LazareGreg WilpertScript editing by Heather Gies. Hosted, written, produced, mixed and edited by Michael Fox.Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There, you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.Resources: Notes From The Palestine-Mexico Border | NACLAThe 13th Largest Army in World Is Unleashing Violence in Chicago | In These Times“You Could Be Arrested,” ICE Agent Confronts Minneapolis Resident as ICE Continues Arrest | AC1NFrom Minneapolis To Baltimore, Anti-Ice Protests Explode | TRNNU.S. Citizens Describe Surviving Violent Attacks by Immigration Agents | Democracy Now!De-ICEing The Big Easy (Documentary Report) | TRNNUNSEEN VIDEO: ICE Agents SURROUNDED by Furious Crowd After Stopping Man in Minneapolis | AC1GTrump Seizes Control of DC Police, Activates National Guard | TODAYTrump declares D.C. ‘Liberation Day’ as he orders National Guard takeover | ABC10Governor Walz Addresses Ongoing Federal Presence in Minnesota"Homeland Empire" by Nikhil Singh | EquatorUnder the Shadow, Season 1:You can check out the first season of Under the Shadow by clicking hereThe Beginning: Monroe and migration | Under the Shadow, Episode 1Panama. US Invasion. | Under the Shadow, Episode 13The legacy of Monroe | Under the Shadow, Bonus Episode 4 Michael Fox’s recent reporting on the boat strikes and the ramp-up for war in Venezuela: With the strike on a ‘drug-carrying boat,’ Trump returns to a dangerous US policy for Latin AmericaCaribbean leaders call for unified Latin American resistance to US attacksTrump’s Monroe Doctrine 2.0 outlines imperial intentions for Latin AmericaYou can check out Michael’s recent episode of Stories of Resistance about the protests against US intervention in Venezuela.NACLA’s Curated Guide to the US Attack on Venezuela Truthout’s ongoing reporting on War and Peace and the US invasion of VenezuelaVisit TRNN for all of TRNN’s coverage on this and so much moreBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

On Nov. 24, 2025, in a major and hardwon victory, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members finally returned to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after more than three years on strike. Then, on Jan. 7, 2026, workers were notified that Block Communications Inc.—the company that owns the Post-Gazette as well as the Toledo Blade, the Buckeye Sports Network, and a number of TV stations in Ohio and Kentucky—said that it will be ceasing operations at the Post-Gazette on May 3 of this year. We speak with Steve Mellon, a veteran photographer and writer who was on strike for over three years at the Post-Gazette, about how workers are processing this devastating news, and about their push to launch a new news source by and for working people. Additional links/info: Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting (PAPER) websiteNewspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and InstagramNewspaper Guild of Pittsburgh “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette owners couldn’t bust the union, so they shut down the paper”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won”Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Post-Gazette to publish final edition and cease operations on May 3”Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The Trump administration is deliberately plunging Cuba into a national and humanitarian crisis, and the US-imposed blockade of oil imports is wreaking havoc on daily life for Cubans. In this urgent episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Cuban journalist and documentary filmmaker Liz Oliva Fernández about the unfolding nightmare in Cuba and what the international community can do to stop it.Guest:Liz Oliva Fernández is a Cuban journalist with the outlet Belly of the Beast, and she is the presenter of documentary series The War on Cuba, for which she won a Gracie Award. Apart from her journalism and filmmaking, Oliva Fernández is a dedicated anti-racist and feminist activist.Additional links/info:Belly of the Beast website, Facebook page, Instagram, and YouTube channelBelly of the Beast, The War on CubaAl Jazeera Staff & Reuters, Al Jazeera, “Waste piles up in Cuba as US-imposed fuel blockade halts collection trucks”Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, ““Policy of aggression”: Cuba’s U.N. ambassador denounces U.S. oil blockade, push to topple government”Credits:Producer: Rosette SewaliStudio Production: Cameron GranadinoAudio Post-Production: Stephen FrankBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!