The Intercept Briefing

Last week, the Justice Department sued the state of Arizona and its governor, Doug Ducey, for installing a shipping container wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. This week on Intercepted: Ryan Devereaux, an investigative reporter with The Intercept, breaks down Ducey’s makeshift, multimillion-dollar container wall. Devereaux tells the story of everyday people and community members who live along the border, and how they stood up to the governor and won. join.theintercept.com/donate/nowUpdate: December 21, 2022The state of Arizona has agreed to remove Gov. Doug Ducey’s container wall along the border, in response to the lawsuit filed by the federal government.Read the full story and watch the video here: HOW NEIGHBORS IN THE BORDERLANDS FOUGHT BACK AGAINST ARIZONA GOV. DOUG DUCEY’S ILLEGAL WALL — AND WON Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a month and a half, Iran has been rocked by protests. The sustained demonstration, which were kicked off after a young woman was killed by the notorious morality police, are the most serious challenge to the ruling regime in at least a dozen years — maybe since its inception. This week on Intercepted: Murtaza Hussain, a reporter at The Intercept, is joined by Neda Toloui-Semnani, a journalist and the author of “They Said They Wanted a Revolution: A Memoir of My Parents.” Toloui-Semnani discusses the recent trajectory of the protests in Iran and its parallels with the 1979 revolution. Then, Hussain is joined by Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, a longtime activist, an expert working on issues of women in conflicts, and the founder of the International Civil Society Action Network. Naraghi-Anderlini and Hussain discuss the West’s approach to the demonstrations and the future of the movement. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, Ajay Kumar, an asylum-seeker from India, began a hunger strike while in ICE detention to demand his release. In response, the U.S. government force-fed Kumar. The Intercept accessed footage of the force-feeding, a practice widely condemned by international organizations. This week on Intercepted, Travis Mannon, a video producer with The Intercept, breaks down what took place during the force-feeding and why this video is so significant: This is the first public video of a federally sanctioned force-feeding by the U.S. government. Mannon reports on Kumar’s time in ICE detention, the force-feeding he experienced, and the ethical questions surrounding the practice. Jose Olivares, lead producer for Intercepted, co-reported this story. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again, despite coming under scrutiny in recent months for its aggressive hikes to battle inflation. This week on Intercepted: Jon Schwarz, senior writer with The Intercept, talks all things Fed, the most powerful economic institution in the U.S. Schwarz is first joined by Intercept reporters Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw, who discuss how banks are lobbying the Fed, raising questions about the institution’s independence. Schwarz is then joined by former Fed economist Claudia Sahm to break down the Fed’s role in the economy and how its efforts to curb inflation are destabilizing the global economy and raising unemployment.Ken and Dan's story "The Fed Likes to Tout its Independence. So Why are Big Banks Lobbying It?": https://theintercept.com/2022/10/26/federal-reserve-bank-lobby/join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this week, Russia launched a new drone bombing spree in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This followed last week's attack, when Russian missiles struck the capital and other parts of the country. This week on Intercepted: reporter Alice Speri breaks down the different international investigations into Russia’s crimes in Ukraine and explains why none include the crime of aggression. She speaks with human rights investigators and international humanitarian law experts, who break down what they think needs to happen to achieve justice for the victims of Russia’s crimes and set a precedent to prevent future acts of aggression. But prosecuting Russian leaders for the invasion of Ukraine may be a challenge, for fear it may boomerang back on Western aggressors. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On October 6, 2022, University of British Columbia faculty members Mohammed Rafi Arefin and Naomi Klein from the new Centre for Climate Justice co-moderated a livestream discussion about the upcoming COP27 summit that will be held in Egypt, while the country’s most prominent pro-democracy activist, Alaa Abd El Fattah, remains in prison.As the world gets hotter, basic freedoms are under ever greater assault around the globe. These trends are about to collide in dramatic fashion at the upcoming United Nations climate summit, which this year takes place in Egypt, under the iron rule of Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Just a decade ago, Cairo’s Tahrir Square was synonymous with a hopeful, youth-led movement for liberation and democracy. Today, journalists are routinely arrested and thousands of political prisoners languish behind bars. With Egypt on the front lines of climate impacts and escalating repression, this panel discussion tackled tough questions about the relationship between meaningful climate action and political freedom. Is it possible to have one without the other? Are Egypt’s political prisoners being sacrificed in the name of climate urgency? What are the responsibilities of those choosing to attend the summit? What pressure can be brought to bear in this microcosm of the intersection of climate and justice? What pressure points exist for political action in Egypt’s debt negotiations and the government’s drive to attract foreign capital in areas like green energy?Hear from Sanaa Seif, sister of Alaa Abd El Fattah, as well as celebrated writers, journalists, and activists Omar Robert Hamilton, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Bill McKibben.Intercepted is publishing a lightly edited version of the livestream. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chinese government forcibly collects biometric markers like fingerprints, facial images, and DNA of Xinjiang residents, where 12 million Uyghurs live. In recent years, the country has expanded and improved its surveillance capabilities. This week on Intercepted: investigative reporter Mara Hvistendahl speaks with Josh Chin and Liza Lin, reporters for the Wall Street Journal, about their new book, “Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.” In their book, Chin and Lin break down the international implications of the Chinese government’s adoption of surveillance technology. Hvistendahl, Chin, and Lin discuss techno-dystopia in the pandemic era, what happens when there are no checks on algorithms, and how Western companies helped the Chinese government build the surveillance state from day one. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marked as enemies of the new Taliban regime by his work with Westerners and his family’s Hazara ethnicity, Hamid, his wife, their 8-year-old daughter, and their new baby move furtively from place to place, living under assumed names. Their year in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan echoes Hamid’s own war-torn childhood as he tries to guarantee his daughter’s future. Suddenly, an escape route opens: Will they finally make it out?Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “No Way Home” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maryam Barak, an Afghan journalist, made it to Italy with her family last summer. In Rome, she met Qader Kazimizada, another newly arrived Afghan who is helping refugees find community in an alien place.Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “No Way Home” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Taliban claimed territory last summer, Mir Abdullah Miri and his cousin Aziz both planned to flee their homes in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan. Mir, an educational researcher, made it to the Afghan capital and tried to get on a flight, while Aziz, a cellphone programmer, decided to cross into Iran on foot with his wife and two young children, hoping to reach relatives in Germany. After Aziz and his family set off through Afghanistan’s southern desert, Mir was left to untangle the mystery of what really happened to them in that desolate wilderness, where thousands of Afghans have risked their lives in search of a way out.Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “No Way Home” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the Afghan government collapsed last summer, Summia Tora, Afghanistan’s first Rhodes scholar, used her connections to get her father out. But when she tried to evacuate a longtime NGO worker named Hamid, his pregnant wife, and their young daughter, a suicide bomber intervened.Created by Afghans forced into exile when the Taliban took over last year, “No Way Home” tells of the perilous exodus born of two decades of broken promises in the U.S. war on terror. Through the stories of four Afghans who tried to leave when the U.S. military pulled out of Afghanistan last summer, these Afghan storytellers use their own experiences of departure, loss, and resilience to illuminate the dark end of America’s longest war. A production of The Intercept and New America, “No Way Home” is a four-part series available on the Intercepted podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. government’s long-lasting occupation of Iraq led to “many killings, disintegrating the country, and opening old, previous wounds,” according to former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. This week on Intercepted, reporter Murtaza Hussain is joined by Abadi, who led Iraq from 2014 to 2018. During that time he waged war against the Islamic State and eventually retook control of the country from the group. Abadi discusses his role as prime minister, his fight against ISIS, the U.S. government’s lasting legacy in Iraq, and Iranian influence in the country. Abadi has a new book out titled “Impossible Victory: How Iraq Defeated ISIS.” join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Sunday, after months of negotiation, the Senate passed a budget reconciliation bill called the Inflation Reduction Act. This week on Intercepted, we go behind the bill to look at the dynamics driving inflation, scrutinize the solutions being pushed by fiscal hawks, and demystify the economic jargon being used to sideline worker interests in pursuit of profit. Intercept Deputy Editor Nausicaa Renner is joined by investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein and senior writer Jon Schwarz to discuss their latest story about Bank of America executives’ concerns about low unemployment and a tight labor market, how that sentiment is echoed throughout the media, and the cost of engineering a recession. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the FBI has dedicated huge resources to recruiting informants, particularly targeting Muslim Americans or immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. Saying no can carry serious consequences. This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain tells the story of one man who rejected the FBI’s request. Aswad Khan was visiting his family in Connecticut when the FBI tried to recruit him to spy on mosques, but he wouldn’t spy on people in prayer. That’s when Khan’s life was turned upside down. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four women who were detained in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail are alleging that a nurse at the facility sexually assaulted them. This week on Intercepted, the four women, who were detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, share their stories with lead producer José Olivares and Intercept contributor John Washington. Olivares and Washington examined internal Homeland Security records, public reports, sheriff’s department documents, emergency call records, and interviewed nearly a dozen sources. They found alarming allegations of sexual assault and harassment and myriad problems, including medical neglect, and unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Olivares and Washington break down the facility’s history, the allegations by the women, and what conditions inside Stewart have been like for the past year and a half, since women began to be detained there. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When people shifted to working from home in 2020, many renovated their homes to add offices. Influencers showed viewers how to easily install vinyl flooring from stores around the U.S., and sales of such flooring surged. But what these influencers didn’t know is that much of the vinyl flooring sold in the U.S. is made with PVC or plastic produced with forced Uyghur labor. This week on Intercepted, Mara Hvistendahl, a senior reporter for The Intercept, breaks down the supply chain from the Chinese factories to U.S. stores. She is joined by researchers Laura Murphy and Nyrola Elimä, who recently wrote a report highlighting the working conditions in the factories, their grave environmental impact, and the human consequences for Uyghur people forced to work in the facilities. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we bring you a special episode in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. First, The Intercept’s Washington Editor, Nausicaa Renner takes us to the protests in front of SCOTUS that formed after the radical decision to end the right to abortion. Then we turn to a livestream conversation The Intercept hosted on Friday discussing what can be done to minimize the impact on the most vulnerable people. The Intercept’s Natasha Lennard talks with professor Rachel Rebouché, interim dean of Temple Law School and author of a new report titled “The New Abortion Battleground,” which looks at the legal issues that will arise across state borders and between the state and federal government; Dani McClain, a Puffin fellow at Type Media Center and the author of “We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood”; and Hayley McMahon, an abortion access researcher and doctoral student at Emory University.Livestream: The New Fight for Reproductive FreedomMore from The Intercept: In Overturning Roe, Radical Supreme Court Declares War on the 14th AmendmentWith the Corpse of Roe Still Warm, Far Right Plots Fascistic Anti-Abortion EnforcementMore People Will Die Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, siege of the Capitol began public hearings to disclose its findings. During the hearings, the committee alleged that former President Donald Trump led and encouraged the attack on the Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results. This week on Intercepted, investigative reporter Trevor Aaronson is joined by Margot Williams, research editor for The Intercept, and Michael Loadenthal, founder and executive director of the Prosecution Project, to discuss the ongoing arrests and prosecutions of those linked to the January 6 assault. Aaronson, Williams, and Loadenthal discuss their findings from the prosecutions, along with how the legal actions against Capitol rioters contrast with people arrested during the racial justice demonstrations in 2020 and those arrested for terror-related crimes. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2014, the FBI worked with an attorney-turned-informant to try to stop a meeting between journalist James Risen and a source. This week on Intercepted: Risen, national security correspondent for The Intercept, reveals how the FBI used his reporting to try to catch a person they secretly called "the second Snowden." Recordings of conversations between an FBI agent and the attorney expose the government's efforts to prevent Risen from obtaining documents that they feared could expose new details about U.S. government spying. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two weeks ago, Politico obtained a leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old ruling that acknowledged the constitutional right to abortion. Although this is the most egregious attack on reproductive rights, it only follows the anti-abortion momentum that has been building for years around the country. This week on Intercepted, Intercept investigative reporter Jordan Smith discusses the aggressive, irrational, and dangerous Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Smith is joined by Melissa Murray, the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at New York University and co-host of “Strict Scrutiny,” a podcast about the Supreme Court. Smith and Murray talk through the draft decision, its implications, and the future of reproductive rights. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Smartphone apps constantly harvest your location data. That information is shared with advertisers, typically without your knowledge or informed consent. There are no laws in the U.S. prohibiting the sale or resale of that private data. And companies like phone-tracking firm Anomaly Six exploit that. So do government agencies.This week on Intercepted, Intercept reporter Sam Biddle and Tech Inquiry’s Jack Poulson discuss their reporting on Anomaly Six and the company's pitch to a social media monitoring company, Zignal Labs. Anomaly Six proposed that their joint efforts would permit the U.S. government to effortlessly spy on its adversaries. To show off its vast surveillance capabilities, Anomaly Six demo'd its software by spying on the CIA and NSA. Biddle and Poulson talk about the Wild West of personal data brokers, how the advertising industry feeds the surveillance industry, and just why the apps on your phone made it easy for Anomaly Six to build a tool it claims can spy on billions of devices. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Murderville, Texas just ended its nine-episode season, casting significant doubt on whether a man on death row for the 1992 murder of a Houston grandmother is actually guilty. This week on Intercepted: Intercept Senior Editor Andrea Jones speaks with Jordan Smith and Liliana Segura, the reporters behind the investigative podcast, about what happened after the murder of 72-year-old Edna Franklin.Relying on a hunch from one of her grandsons, police had a suspect — and an arrest warrant — within 24 hours: a family friend named Charles Raby, 22, who had been released from prison two months earlier. Raby was prosecuted on the basis of a single powerful piece of evidence: a confession he gave to police four days after the murder. After a brief trial in which his attorneys called no witnesses, Raby was found guilty by a Harris County jury. He was sentenced to death. Today Raby maintains his innocence. Smith and Segura break down shoddy police work, questionable confessions, and whether the state went after the wrong man. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talks with Iran to revive the nuclear deal appear to be progressing, but in recent weeks, the United States’s designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, as a terror group has emerged as a major obstacle. The listing isn’t just about nuclear diplomacy: Countless Iranians who served in the IRGC are now labeled as terrorists — including hundreds of thousands who were conscripted without a choice. This week on Intercepted, senior news editor Ali Gharib and reporter Murtaza Hussain examine the effects the terrorist designation has had on former conscripts who have lived for decades in the West. These dual nationals have been banned from the U.S., lost jobs, and separated from family as a result of the policy. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, President Joe Biden is visiting European nations — including Poland — as the war in Ukraine rages on. This follows on the heels of Biden pledging to send $800 million worth of weapons to Ukraine, on top of an additional $13.8 billion approved by Congress. This week on Intercepted: associate editor Maia Hibbett discusses the details behind the U.S. support for Ukraine with investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein and associate reporter Sara Sirota. As Klippenstein and Sirota explain, the U.S. has been sending ISR — or intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance — assistance to Ukraine, without being fully involved in the conflict. The aid, however, could be seen as an escalation to the conflict, despite major news organizations and think tanks pushing for an even more aggressive stance. Klippenstein and Sirota explain that the way out of the conflict is to assist in diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia — not add fuel to the fire. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

U.S.-trained officers have led seven coups and coup attempts in Africa over the last year and a half. This week on Intercepted: Investigative reporter Nick Turse details the U.S. involvement on the African continent. U.S.-trained officers have attempted coups in five West African countries alone: three times in Burkina Faso, three times in Mali, and once each in Guinea, Mauritania, and Gambia. Turse offers the stories behind the coups, details about clandestine training efforts, and a look at the sordid history of the U.S. military’s involvement on the continent. He examines why most Americans have no idea what their tax dollars have wrought in Africa and the broader implications of failed U.S. counterterrorism policies being implemented repeatedly, in country after country. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Smoke-filled cells. Triple-digit temperatures. Chest-deep water. People trapped behind bars when climate disasters strike. This week on Intercepted: Ali Gharib, a senior editor, speaks to his colleagues, reporter Alleen Brown and senior research engineer Akil Harris, about the intersection of climate risks and mass incarceration. For more than a year, Brown and Harris analyzed climate risks to more than 6,500 carceral facilities throughout the U.S. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The number of people experiencing homelessness decreased by 8 percent between 2020 and 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD suggests that the decrease could be attributed to Covid-19 pandemic relief efforts. However, many relief efforts have expired or will soon, from eviction moratoriums to expanded unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, the U.S. housing market has continued unabated, with rents rising and housing prices soaring.This week on Intercepted: Akela Lacy, an Intercept politics reporter, talks to Stephanie Sena, the founder and executive director of the Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit in Philadelphia, about the housing choices low-income families and people face and how the recent deadly residential fires in the Bronx and Philadelphia illustrate how dire the housing crisis is. We also hear from organizers and tenants who are fighting back. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Murderville, an investigative podcast hosted by senior Intercept reporters Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith, examines the systemic failures that lead to wrongful convictions. Season Two takes Segura and Smith to the death penalty capital of the country, Harris County, Texas, where they investigate a disturbing crime, a startling confession, and a story that doesn’t add up. To follow the series, subscribe to Murderville at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more at https://theintercept.com/podcasts/murderville/If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/donate — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just how strong are the forces arrayed against police reform — and how far are they willing to go? In April 2019, Keith Humphrey was appointed police chief in Little Rock, Arkansas, a Southern city with a fraught history of racial division. Among the growing number of Black police chiefs, Humphrey came in with a mandate from the new mayor to implement reforms and curtail abuses. Almost as quickly as he set about to do that work, the city’s “old guard,” the police union, and even cops under Humphrey’s own command struck back. The aim, to many observers, was simple: to oust Humphrey.This week on Intercepted: Radley Balko joins The Intercept's Ali Gharib to talk about Humphrey’s ordeal. Then Balko speaks to Little Rock civil rights attorney Mike Laux and former LRPD Lieut. Johnny Gilbert Jr. Balko, an award-winning journalist and columnist at the Washington Post, is the author of “Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces” and co-author, with Tucker Carrington, of “The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South.”If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/join — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2022 begins, the world continues to see the effects of the climate crisis — from the severe drought in East Africa to the odd snowfall in British Columbia. But since December 5, a new film has been sounding the alarm. In Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” an allegory about the impending climate disaster, scientists discover an approaching comet that will destroy Earth. But the media, politicians, and elite in the U.S. fail at every opportunity to prevent the impending doom. The Intercept’s senior correspondent Naomi Klein joins senior writer Jon Schwarz to discuss the film, how present-day elites are failing to address the climate crisis, and the future of the climate justice movement. Klein is a professor of climate justice at the University of British Columbia and the author of many books on climate change, including her latest, “How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other.” join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, with 39 men remaining at Guantánamo Bay, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on closing the infamous military prison. This week on Intercepted: Intercept photo editor Elise Swain breaks down the horrifying story of one Yemeni man after being released from Guantánamo. After 20 years in arbitrary detention, former Guantánamo detainee Abdulqadir al Madhfari was released from a United Arab Emirates prison to his family’s care in Yemen. His freedom lasted less than a week. Suffering the mental impact of long-term detention and torture, al Madhfari fled from his own family and was captured and detained by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Swain discusses the consequences of life after Guantanamo with Mansoor Adayfi, a former detainee and author of the memoir “Don't Forget Us Here.” Mansoor calls for accountability and reparations to the men detained and tortured, describing how his life and those of others now resemble "Guantánamo 2.0." join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past year, Intercepted has been bringing you more stories from the people behind The Intercept’s reporting. For Giving Tuesday, we’re asking you to contribute to The Intercept so that we can continue to provide hard-hitting investigative journalism. Your help allows us to report on abuses of power and serve as an independent source of news. Please visit theintercept.com/join. Thank you for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jurors in the trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery began deliberations Tuesday. Last week, a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges, including two counts of homicide. This week on Intercepted: We discuss the details of these two cases, how they differ, and the questions they raise about the normalization of violence in the U.S. On Friday, Rittenhouse, the teenager who killed two protesters and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest, was found not guilty on all charges. Meanwhile, the trial for three men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery — Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan — was wrapping up. The Intercept's Washington Editor Nausicaa Renner is joined by George Chidi, a writer for the Atlanta Objective and contributor to The Intercept, and Robert Mackey, a senior writer for The Intercept. Renner, Chidi, and Mackey break down the Rittenhouse verdict, the video evidence presented during the trial, and bigger questions about what this means for the future of protesting, the far right, and racism in the U.S. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since January, there have been nearly 300 strikes throughout the U.S. This week on Intercepted: a look at the labor movement in 2021. Last week, tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente health care workers announced that they will go on strike on November 15 if a collective bargaining agreement is not reached. If they take to the picket line, they will join hundreds of thousands of other workers nationwide who have used their labor power to demand better wages and working conditions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. We hear from Kaiser Permanente workers, and then Labor Notes’ Jonah Furman joins The Intercept’s Washington Editor Nausicaa Renner to discuss this year’s strike wave, the continued strike at John Deere, and the political implications of 2021’s rise in labor activism. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month, the Democratic-controlled House voted in favor of appropriating $768 billion for the 2022 defense budget. This week on Intercepted: Senior writer for The Intercept Jon Schwarz talks with Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine, longtime national security journalist, and author of “The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine.” Cockburn and Schwarz discuss the legacy of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and how private defense companies have historically maximized profits from horrific wars. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the national push to vaccinate people against Covid-19 continues, hundreds of thousands of hacked documents show how a group of doctors is explicitly pushing unproven and potentially dangerous alternatives on people hesitant to follow public health authorities’ recommendations to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and socially distance. This week on Intercepted: Nausicaa Renner, The Intercept’s Washington editor, and Micah Lee, director of information security for The Intercept, discuss how a network of right-wing health care companies have been charging millions from people around the U.S. by promoting, prescribing, and selling unproven and ineffective medications for Covid-19. Lee, who received a trove of records from an anonymous hacker, was able to break down the complex network of organizations and companies involved in the operation. At the heart of it is America’s Frontline Doctors, a group of far-right doctors led anti-vaccine physician Simone Gold that promotes and prescribes unproven medications like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. The data Lee received not only shows how profitable the operation is, but also how wide the falsehoods pushed by this organization have spread. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In late September, the World Health Organization announced that it had assembled a new team of scientists to revive its investigation into the origins of the virus that causes Covid-19. The new group will be tasked with examining whether the virus could have originated in a lab, months after its predecessor deemed the possibility too unlikely for serious consideration.This week on Intercepted: Intercept investigative reporters Sharon Lerner and Mara Hvistendahl join editor Maia Hibbett to discuss the competing theories on the origins of Covid-19. The Intercept obtained documents that shed new light on controversial lab experiments, raising questions about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. With neither of the main theories -- natural spillover versus a lab leak -- yet proved true, the Intercept is seeking answers as to how much officials knew about proposed behind-the-scenes experiments. As Georgetown virologist Angela Rasmussen, a staunch critic of the lab-leak theory, said after the first WHO investigation, “There are still major stones that need to be unturned.” join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than 4,600 Haitian migrants were expelled by the U.S. government in little over a week. This week on Intercepted: Recent images of Border Patrol agents on horseback pushing back Haitians along the U.S.-Mexico border led to renewed anger at the United States’ immigration enforcement methods. Investigative reporter Ryan Devereaux explains how the U.S. immigration enforcement apparatus grew to the scale that it is today, stemming from the war on terror. Since the Department of Homeland Security’s messy beginnings, the number of Border Patrol agents has more than doubled; immigrants detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails have denounced mistreatment and unsafe conditions; and the number of deportations has dramatically risen. As Devereaux outlines, since Homeland Security’s creation, this trend has continued throughout the Bush, Obama, Trump, and now Biden administrations. join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The war on terror has killed nearly 1 million people and cost more than $8 trillion, according to a report by Brown University’s Costs of War Project. This week on Intercepted: Journalists Murtaza Hussain and Rozina Ali break down how the 9/11 attacks reshaped U.S. foreign and domestic policies. In the last two decades, the U.S. launched two wars, leading to millions dead and wounded. There was also a rise in unmanned drones killing innocent civilians, the use of widespread domestic and international surveillance, innocent people imprisoned, and perpetual human rights abuses and war crimes. And recently, there was a turning point in the war in Afghanistan, with the Taliban retaking the country. Hussain and Ali walk through the systematic failures across institutions — whether it be the government, military leadership, or the press — and the lack of accountability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States flew its last military flight out of Afghanistan, ending the 20-year war in the country — the longest in U.S. history. This week on Intercepted: Journalist Spencer Ackerman discusses his new book, "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump." In 2001, the George W. Bush administration used the 9/11 attacks to launch the war on terror — an era that led to two massive wars, countless lives lost, mass domestic surveillance, the rounding up of immigrants and people of color, a strengthened security state, drone assassinations, and human rights abuses. And it's far from over, says Ackerman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, forcing the U.S.-backed Afghan government out. This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain guides us through how the two-decade-long U.S. War in Afghanistan has concluded. With the U.S. having suffered what appears to be a stunning defeat, national security editor for The Intercept Vanessa Gezari, who also reported from Afghanistan for years after the U.S. war began, breaks down the historical trajectory that led to this moment. In the weeks leading up to the Taliban takeover, lines at the country's only passport office grew longer as fears of instability and violence increased. Andrew Quilty, a photographer and journalist based in Kabul, talked to people at the passport office who were trying to leave. He later describes scenes from the country, only a day after it fell to the Taliban. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leaked audio reveals how chemicals hazardous to human health and the environment are fast-tracked and approved at the Environmental Protection Agency. This week on Intercepted, investigative journalist Sharon Lerner reports on how the chemical industry pressures the EPA to approve chemicals and pesticides that are dangerous to public health. Lerner speaks with whistleblowers from the agency, scientists who say their research has been manipulated by EPA managers to downplay the dangers of chemicals, including extreme cases that fall under the category of "hair on fire." Lerner also discusses how the agency has approved chemicals and pesticides — at the behest of companies — without proper research into their toxicity, or worse, even though scientists point to the chemicals’ dangers. But this is not new; it follows the long, historical trajectory of the EPA, including the “revolving door” between the agency and the chemical industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For more than six months, The Intercept’s Trevor Aaronson communicated with Russell Dennison, an American man who traveled to Syria and joined the Islamic State. This week on Intercepted: Aaronson, an investigative reporter, discusses American ISIS, the newest Audible Original podcast documentary from The Intercept and Topic Studios, in which he chronicles the story of Russell Dennison, one of the first American citizens to join ISIS and fight with the group in Syria. Almost daily, Dennison communicated with Aaronson, sending him hours of audio chronicling his conversion to Islam, his turn to extremism, and his journey to Syria. Aaronson talks with Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain about his reporting and what he learned from Dennison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Water protectors are traveling in growing numbers to stand with the Anishinaabe-led movement to stop the construction of Line 3, a tar sands oil pipeline.This week on Intercepted: Intercept reporter Alleen Brown takes us to northern Minnesota, a flashpoint in the fight to halt the expansion of the fossil fuel industry as the climate crisis deepens. Direct actions and other protests against Line 3 are just heating up and more than 500 people have already been arrested or issued citations. Opponents of the Line 3 pipeline are urging the Biden administration to intervene to stop construction, but his administration recently moved to defend the pipeline. Water protectors are being greeted by an intensifying police response and what scholars are calling a corporate counterinsurgency campaign led by the pipeline company, Enbridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Domestic workers — nannies, house cleaners, and care workers — are one of the fastest-growing labor groups in the U.S. They are also some of the most undervalued and least-protected workers, a factor further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.This week on Intercepted: Vanessa Bee and Murtaza Hussain interview Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, about the impact of Covid-19 on these vulnerable yet essential workers. They also discuss how the exclusion of labor protections for domestic workers has roots in slavery and how President Joe Biden’s jobs plan could ensure historically denied rights. And we hear stories from domestic workers themselves as they organize for their rights on International Domestic Workers Day in New York City. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation uncovered a mass grave of 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school in British Columbia, Canada. This week on Intercepted: Naomi Klein speaks with residential school survivor Doreen Manuel and her niece Kanahus Manuel about the horrors of residential schools and the relationship between stolen children and stolen land. Doreen’s father, George Manuel, was a survivor of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, where unmarked graves of children as young as 3 years old were found. Kanahus’s father, Arthur Manuel, was also a survivor of the Kamloops residential school. This intergenerational conversation goes deep on how the evils of the Kamloops school, and others like it, have reverberated through a century of Manuels, an experience shared by so many Indigenous families, and the Manuel family’s decades long fight to reclaim stolen land.Warning: This episode contains highly distressing details about the killing, rape, and torture of children. If you are a survivor and need to talk, there is contact information in the show notes. If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.  Show notes:Doreen Manuel can be found @DoreenManuel1 and www.runningwolf.ca Kanahus can be found at @kanahusfreedom and www.tinyhousewarriors.com“Unsettling Canada: A National Wake Up Call,” by Arthur Manuel“The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy,” by Arthur Manuel“From Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the Making of the Modern Indian Movement,” by Peter McFarlane with Doreen Manuel, afterword by Kanahus Manuel“The Fourth World: An Indian Reality,” by George Manuel and Michael Posluns“These Walls” directed by Doreen Manuel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a police officer shoots and kills someone — and there aren’t any witnesses — can we trust the police to investigate themselves?This week on Intercepted: Antoine and Tammy Bufford's son, Cortez, was shot and killed by a St. Louis police officer in 2019. Nearly two years later, the city is still investigating Cortez’s case. No charges have been filed. And the Bufford family is still looking for answers. The police kill more people per capita in St. Louis than in any other American city. Seventy-two percent of these people are Black, like Cortez.The Chicago-based Invisible Institute recently partnered with The Intercept to examine the circumstances of Cortez’s death. Their resulting investigation, reported by Alison Flowers and Sam Stecklow, sheds new light in the search for truth about this police killing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the year since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the mass mobilization of protest that followed — the largest collective gesture against police violence in this country’s history — there’s been a constant and energized call to defund or outright abolish policing as we know it in the U.S. This week on Intercepted: The U.S. has been grappling with this same cycle of violence for more than nearly a century: A Black person is killed by police, and protests follow. In 1968, the U.S. tried to find out why this kept happening in cities and small towns across the country with an unprecedented frequency. President Lyndon B. Johnson assembled the Kerner Commission to study the extraordinary violence and destruction of uprisings in cities like Newark, New Jersey, and Detroit the year prior. Their findings should surprise no one. Systemic and institutionalized racism was to blame. Structural white supremacy maintained two societies: “One Black, one white. Separate and unequal.”Historian Elizabeth Hinton, author of “America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion since the 1960s,” argues that protestors were not rioters but rather political participants in rebellion against their own poverty, inequality, and constant surveillance and brutality by the police. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A week ago, the Biden administration announced support for waiving intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines. In response, Bio, a trade association representing biotechnology companies, issued a statement saying, "The United States has unfortunately chosen to set a dangerous precedent with these actions.” This week on Intercepted: Intercept investigative journalists Sharon Lerner and Lee Fang discuss how the pharmaceutical industry has ruthlessly fought to maintain IP protection from the beginning of the pandemic despite global calls to share knowledge and know-how to end the crisis as quickly as possible. By claiming the same monopoly IP rights on Covid-19 therapeutics and vaccines as other drugs, the industry has perpetuated a market of scarcity and profiteering when a collaborative global response is needed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you went back and looked at every foreign policy decision Joe Biden made — every single one — would you be any closer to understanding him? This week on Intercepted: Our editor-at-large and senior correspondent Jeremy Scahill and reporter Murtaza Hussain examined the past 50 years of Biden’s decisions, poring over hundreds of pages of archival copies of the congressional record and reviewing declassified CIA documents for mentions of Biden. The investigation is called “Empire Politician,” and it’s the result of this painstaking research into Biden’s historical record. Jeremy and Murtaza also analyze Biden’s recent pledge to withdraw forces from Afghanistan by September this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.