Clearing the FOG with co-hosts Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese

On February 28, the Trump administration, in partnership with the Zionist state of Israel, launched an illegal attack on Iran that has broadened to involve the region. Prior to the attack, Iran notified the United Nations that they would view all US assets in the area as legitimate targets for their defense. US military bases and hotels where troops were staying have been bombed. Now, the administration is threatening a ground invasion and is mobilizing Marine Expeditionary Units. Clearing the FOG speaks with Mike Prysner of the Center on Conscience and War about the large increase in military members seeking conscientious objector status. And we bring back a portion of an earlier interview with James Branum of the Military Law Task Force about other options for active military members. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched an illegal attack on Iran that has ignited the Gulf Region and sent ripples throughout the world. Clearing the FOG speaks with military analyst Scott Ritter who argues that the US and Israel lost the war on the first day by targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and by throwing the rules of engagement out the window, as evidenced by the double bombing of a girl's school in Minab. Ritter explains that Pete Hegseth and others are guilty of war crimes. He describes the region as being at an existential crossroads that could weaken Israel and strengthen Iran in the end. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Trump Administration is supporting the development of privatized libertarian enclaves that are not subject to local or national laws where the wealthy can exploit land and peoples for profit. Known as the Network State Movement, many of these 'special economic free zones' already exist in the United States and around the world, but their backers, such as Peter Thiel of Palantir, are searching for a place to create the first private 'nation'. Clearing the FOG speaks with Dr. Beth Geglia, an anthropologist and documentarian who focuses on tech-futurist territorial movements, about the first zones, how Trump's Board of Peace is connected to the Network State Movement and the fight back. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Is the United States a fascist state? There is an authoritarian in the White House, systemic racism is rampant, our cities and towns are being militarized, concentration camps are under construction, and our politicians are controlled by corporations. Clearing the FOG speaks with longtime activist and lawyer, Michael Smith, host of Law and Disorder and editor of the new book, "From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style", about where the United States is on the path to fascism, what we can expect and what we can do to change course. Smith explains what socialism is and why it is the solution for those who believe in democracy. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

While there has been an ongoing expansion of immigrant detention centers in the United States for nearly two decades, the government recently allocated $38.3 billion to put that on hyperdrive in order to add the capacity to detain 92,000 more people. The government is purchasing warehouses in communities across the US and even considering using military bases. Clearing the FOG speaks with journalist Sam Carliner about the expansion, who is being detained, the appalling conditions in these prisons, who is profiting and how communities are organizing to stop what are essentially concentration camps. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

On January 29, which coincides with the twelfth anniversary of the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace (at the CELAC meeting in Havana, Cuba), the Trump administration designated Cuba as "an unusual and extraordinary threat... to the national security and foreign policy of the United States." As a result of this designation, the US is tightening the economic blockade on Cuba, with a particular emphasis on stopping fuel deliveries, and is threatening any nation that provides aid. Clearing the FOG speaks with Netfa Freeman of the Black Alliance for Peace about the impact of the blockade, the significance of Cuba's example of internationalism and defending its sovereignty, as well as assisting other nations in doing the same, and efforts to support the Cuban people. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Trump administration's 'Metro Surge' in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where 3,000 or more federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been deployed to terrorize residents and arrest thousands of people a day, has been met with fierce resistance both locally and through national and international solidarity. Clearing the FOG speaks with FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, who lives close to the cities, about the current situation there, the illegality of the tactics used by federal agents, and the fight back against them. Then, India McKinney of the Electronic Frontier Foundation speaks about the use of facial recognition technology, the need to abolish it, and people's rights to record law enforcement. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with Ajamu Baraka, a political analyst, activist, and internationally-recognized human rights defender. Baraka discusses the recent protests in Iran, including the media misinformation campaign, manipulation of Iran's currency to lower its value, and the US-Israeli attempt to create chaos and install the son of the brutal Shah, who was ousted in 1979. He also talks about the campaign to move the World Cup out of the US and the recent violent occupation of cities by ICE in the context of the US government building the apparatus to instill terror and suppress all dissent. Baraka explains the need to educate ourselves, organize, and take action on many fronts to stop the US-led rise of global fascism. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Last Fall, Italians turned out in massive numbers to support the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza and to stop weapons shipments to Israel. They held nationwide days of action to "Block Everything." The Unione Syndicale de Base (USB), a grassroots worker-led organization, supported those actions and is now building an international day of action on February 6 against militarization and for stronger social programs. Clearing the FOG speaks with Francesco Staccioli, who leads USB's international organizing, about the current conditions for workers in Italy, state repression, and the necessity of building a global movement against the rise of fascism. Staccioli describes fascism as a product of capitalism and warns that we must work in solidarity to stop fascism and build alternative structures. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The occupied islands of Okinawa, formerly the Ryukyu Kingdom, have been heavily militarized since the end of World War II. 70% of the US military bases in Japan are in Okinawa, which represents less that 1% of Japan's landmass. In preparation for a hot war on China, the US and it's client state, Japan, are building more bases, particularly on islands close to Taiwan. Clearing the FOG speaks with Japanese-American activist Rachel Clark about her recent tour of Okinawa where she visited the islands. Clark speaks about the history of the militarization of Japan, including forced changes to its pacifist Constitution, and the similarities between media propaganda in Japan and the US. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

On January 3, the Trump administration authorized a large-scale military invasion in Venezuela that killed one hundred people. The US bombed infrastructure in and around Caracas, and in other states, and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and First Combatant (aka First Lady) Cilia Flores. Outright lies are being reported in the corporate media on a massive scale to justify crimes committed by the US military and to mislead the public. Clearing the FOG speaks with activist and policy analyst Leonardo Flores. Flores addresses many of the common myths and provides the facts you need to understand that President Maduro is still the President of Venezuela, that the US-backed far-right opposition led by Maria Corinna Machado has little power within Venezuela, that the Venezuelan government and the Bolivarian Revolution remain strong and united and that gains claimed by the Trump administration are exaggerated. He also discusses what people in the US are doing to mobilize in support of President Maduro and First Lady Flores. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org

The new book, "Killing Democracy: Western Imperialism's Legacy of Regime Change and Media Manipulation," is a timely account of the West's efforts to control countries around the world through soft power and, when necessary, military power, and the critical role the media plays in forming popular opinion to support these efforts and view them as legitimate. Clearing the FOG speaks with two of the five co-authors, Finian Cunningham and K J Noh. They discuss the West's efforts not only to overthrow governments but also to go after and, in some cases, annihilate the Left. They also speak about current efforts, including the very recent kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a night raid. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a country in central Africa the size of Western Europe and rich in arable land and minerals, including those critical to the military industrial complex, such as cobalt and coltan. Since the CIA-backed assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1961, the DRC has been ruled by puppets who answer to the United States and its allies. 2025 has been a devastating year for the DRC. Clearing the FOG speaks with Maurice Carney, the executive director of Friends of the Congo, about the occupation by Rwandan forces, mass displacement of millions of people, and the recent 'peace agreements' that rob the DRC of its riches and sovereignty. He discusses this in the context of Kwame Nkrumah's work, "Neo-colonialism: The last stage of imperialism." For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

David Rovics is an activist musician who composes songs that educate about historical events, provide political analysis about current events, and raise up people from social movements. His solidarity with Palestinian liberation is deep, spanning his entire musical career. Recently, his entire 50-album catalog on YouTube Music was deleted. Clearing the FOG speaks with Rovics about the retaliation he has faced, some of his recent songs, how platforms like Spotify and YouTube are impacting the music industry, his artificial intelligence band, Ai Tsuno, and calls to boycott Spotify. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

On November 30, six million Hondurans voted in their presidential election. One week later, the outcome of the election has not yet been announced due to credible allegations of fraud and illegal interference by the Trump administration, which includes threats of ending remittances from the United States that account for 25% of Hondura's GDP. Clearing the FOG speaks with Camila Escalante of Press TV and a founder of Kawsachun News who has covered Latin America for nearly ten years. Escalante provides background to the current political crisis and explains what is known so far about the election. She describes similarities to the 2019 coup in Bolivia. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

A right-wing, billionaire-backed and violent demonstration was held in Mexico City on November 15 against President Claudia Sheinbaum. Corporate media in the United States portrayed the protests as Gen Z taking a stand against corruption, but the march had all the makings of a US-backed destabilization effort. Clearing the FOG speaks with Jose Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth, co-hosts of the public TV program Sin Muros and the podcast Soberania, about the protests, who is behind them, the achievements of the Fourth Transformation and the risks of US aggression in the region. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United States was scheduled for its regular review of its human rights violations by the United Nations Human Rights Council on November 7, but it refused to cooperate. As part of the process, activists in the US submitted a shadow report last April called "The Rights to Life and Health: How financing affects the right to health care in the US." Clearing the FOG speaks with Martha "Marti" Schmidt, a human rights expert and activist, about the findings in the shadow report, the legal basis supporting the human right to health care, the problems with the current healthcare system in the United States and what type of system would honor our right to health care. Schmidt also discusses successful healthcare systems in other countries and the importance of showing solidarity with countries that are targeted by the United States. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) is holding its annual meeting in Brazil this year for the 30th time. Despite the creation of the Paris Climate Agreement nearly ten years ago, carbon emissions continue to rise, and the world is now experiencing the impacts of the 1.5° Celsius rise in temperature we sought to avoid. The time has come to shift our thinking and actions to what we can do locally to prepare for and protect our communities from the dangers of the climate crisis. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ed Jarvis, the leader of the Climate Majority Project's SAFER (Strategic Adaptation for Emergency Resilience) campaign. Jarvis discusses the campaign's efforts to bring greater awareness to the need for adaptation and shares what people are doing with a focus on climate justice. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Syrian government under Bashar Al-Assad was so successfully demonized by Western imperialist media and governments that many celebrated when Assad was overthrown last December, even though the new puppet government was led by the extremist Al Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda terrorist group. Now, Syria is balkanized and the government is implementing forced displacement and ethnic cleansing. Clearing the FOG speaks with Dan Kovalik, co-author with Jeremy Kuzmarov of "Syria: Anatomy of Regime Change," about the long history of US interference in Syria, dating back to the 1946 coup, how the recent coup appeared to happen so rapidly and the current situation in Syria, as well as the impact of these events on the region. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The US military is the greatest threat to the planet, not just for the violence that it commits but also for its carbon emissions and environmental destruction. Clearing the FOG speaks with Abby Martin about her new documentary, Earth's Greatest Enemy, which exposes the harm caused by the military. Martin and her spouse, Mike Prysner, traveled around the world to cover the damage caused by the military, the failure to hold the US military accountable, and the people resisting US foreign military bases. Martin also discusses the military's greenwashing efforts. This program includes a portion of a previous interview with Mike Prysner recorded at the beginning of this project. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

There are more than 5,400 data centers in the United States, which is almost half of the number of data centers worldwide. In the past four years, there has been a surge in data center construction, particularly in poor communities in the South. Clearing the FOG speaks with Jai Dulani of Media Justice, who authored a new report: The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South, and Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson, about the harms that these centers are causing in local communities, particularly in their enormous consumption of water and energy, and the risk they pose to the US economy. Akuno also addresses the bigger picture of the deleterious impact of artificial intelligence on our lives. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United States has been escalating its attacks on Venezuela and has been positioning itself this year for a military invasion. The Venezuelan government recently requested action by the United Nations because it has good reason to believe that an attack is imminent. To understand the current threats and how Venezuela is preparing to defend itself, Clearing the FOG speaks with Roger Harris, a co-founder of the Venezuela Solidarity Network and member of the board of the Task Force of the Americas, as well as other Latin American solidarity organizations. Harris explains how the US has been trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government for decades, why Venezuela is a target of Washington and what people can do to try to stop an invasion. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

This week marks two years since the launch of Al Aqsa Flood and the beginning of the Israeli Occupying Forces' escalated genocide of Palestinians and forced displacement throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Clearing the FOG speaks with former senior United Nations official, human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber, about the United Nations leadership's recent efforts to suppress criticism of Israel, which led to his resignation, and the failure to take effective action to stop Israel's crimes. Mokhiber discusses the history of the United Nations, what the General Assembly can do to hold Israel accountable and, given the failures of the UN to uphold international law, what people are doing to support Palestinian liberation. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

On September 8, the Trump Administration launched 'Operation Midway Blitz to increase the number ICE raids on immigrant communities in Chicagoland. As director of the Casa DuPage Workers Center, Cristobal Cavazos, explains to Clearing the FOG, this initially led to widespread feelings of fear by residents, but organizers turned that into power by creating rapid response teams throughout the region to alert people when ICE comes to their neighborhoods and confront the ICE agents. The teams also do outreach and hand out Know Your Rights information to community members. A growing coalition of immigrants' rights, faith, and other groups is holding protests daily, including at the Broadview detention center, despite the officers attacking demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets. Cavazos describes how activists throughout the country are sharing information and resources and why it is critical to be in the streets right now. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

From September 21 (International Peace Day) to October 2 (International Day of Nonviolence), there will be more than five thousand nonviolent actions happening around the world coordinated by Campaign Nonviolence. The focus this year is promoting nonviolence toward self, others, world and earth. Clearing the FOG speaks with author and activist Rivera Sun, who assists in organizing the actions, about the many types of violence people experience every day and how to move from a culture steeped in war to one of peace. Sun discusses the power of nonviolence, the growing interest in how to practice it and the global shift that is occurring to build a more peaceful society. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The situation with respect to the climate crisis is developing rapidly. Each new study seems to bring worse news. In addition, the media is rife with climate denial and misinformation. To help us understand what is happening on this planet, Clearing the FOG speaks with environmental journalist Robert Hunziker. Hunziker follows climate studies published in scientific journals and translates them into a language the average person can understand. He reports that top scientists are saying there has been a fundamental shift in the climate. Rainforests and tundras are now spewing carbon instead of sequestering it, and the oceans have reached their capacity for storing the planet's heat. Cascading weather events are making areas of the world uninhabitable. For More information, visit PopularResistance.org.