KPFA - Behind the News

Two views from BtN regulars on the US–Iran negotiations: Anatol Lieven and Mouin Rabbani The post What’s going on with the Iran negotiations? appeared first on KPFA.

Stuart Schrader, author of Blue Power, on how the political heft of cops allows them to get away with murder • Angela Jones, author of Sex in Public, on how the social and political shape our sexual lives (and vice versa)     The post Cop power, sex and the social appeared first on KPFA.

J.W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev, authors of Against Money, explain that curious stuff and enumerate its problems • Moira Weigel explains why the right hates Theory (October article here) The post Against money, hating theory appeared first on KPFA.

David Austin Walsh, author of Taking America Back, on the relationship between the kooks and respectables on the right • Laura Field, author of Furious Minds, on the intellectual wing of Trumpism [rebroadcast of a January 29, 2026, show] The post Two views of the right: the sordid side of “respectable,” and Trump’s court intellectuals appeared first on KPFA.

Greg Grandin, author of this article, on how his time in Peru shaped Pope Leo • AJA Woods, author of The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy, on how the right sees the Frankfurt School as the root of modern decay The post Latin America’s influence on Pope Leo • the Cultural Marxist conspiracy appeared first on KPFA.

Jake Werner analyzes the Trump–Xi summit and US–China relations generally • Gareth Gore, author of Opus, talks about Opus Dei, a secretive, cult-like Catholic organization involved in right-wing politics around the world (and very much in the US) The post fundraising special: the Xi–Trump summit, the dark doings of Opus Dei appeared first on KPFA.

Two views of the US–Israeli war on Iran: Laleh Khalili and Mouin Rabbani The post Fundraising special: two views on the Iran war appeared first on KPFA.

Excerpts from an event sponsored by the NYC DSA’s Academy for Socialist Education on the domestic and foreign aspects of Trumpism, featuring historians Nikhil Pal Singh and Greg Grandin, moderated by the Academy’s Gaya Sriskanthan The post fundraising special: imperialism and the homeland appeared first on KPFA.

Dylan Gottlieb, author of Yuppies, on that often risible but pioneering social formation • Ervand Abrahamian looks at the politics of Iran, a country under siege The post A look back at yuppies • Iran: politics and war appeared first on KPFA.

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, on Elon’s world and what he wants to do to ours The post Muskism: the world of Elon appeared first on KPFA.

Hungary’s long-serving authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orban was defeated in an April 12 election. Two views of what that means: historian Kyle Shybunko and independent scholar Anita Zsurzsán. The post Two views of Hungary’s election, a global blow to the authoritarian right appeared first on KPFA.

Andrew Cockburn, author of Washington Is Burning, on “the spectacular greed at the heart of the nation’s political system” • Hadas Thier, author of this article, on crypto in the age of Trump The post Corruption in the capital, crypto in the age of Trump appeared first on KPFA.

Gabriel Hetland on what’s been happening in Venezuela since the kidnapping of Maduro (Intercept article here) • David Griscom, author of The Myth of Red Texas, on that state’s forgotten radical history The post Venezuela after Maduro • the forgotten radical history of Texas appeared first on KPFA.

Mouin Rabbani talks about the Iran war and its many complications • Helen Yaffe talks about Trump’s oil embargo on Cuba—its effects and how Cubans are reacting The post Iran crisis, Cuba crisis appeared first on KPFA.

Nancy Fraser goes beyond the class/identity disputes • Natalie Y. Moore on the effects of federal layoffs on black women (article here) The post beyond the class/identity dead end • effect of federal layoffs on black women appeared first on KPFA.

Historian Nikhil Pal Singh, author of this article, talks about how the Trump regime weaves foreign and domestic policy into a single domain of impunity, Homeland Empire The post Trump’s unified domain of impunity appeared first on KPFA.

Behrooz Ghamari, author of The Long War on Iran, on the politics and culture of the country • Anatol Lieven on the effects of the war on Iran on the region and world The post Fundraising special: two views of Iran appeared first on KPFA.

David Harvey, author of The Story of Capital, looks at the political economy of the present through a Marxist lens The post Fundraising special: David Harvey on capital appeared first on KPFA.

Naomi Hossain on politics in Bangladesh generally and the recent election specifically • Stuart Schrader on “authoritarianism from below”—the role of local cops in the Trump crackdowns (article here) The post Fundraising special: politics in Bangladesh, local cops and the Trump crackdowns appeared first on KPFA.

Stacy Horn, author of The Killing Fields of East New York, on the damage mortgage fraud did to that neighborhood • David Backer, author of As Public as Possible, on how we finance schools and how we could do better The post Wrecking East New York, financing schools appeared first on KPFA.

David Harvey on his new book, The Story of Capital • excerpt from Mark Carney’s Davos speech • Adam Federman on Trump’s Greenland obsession The post Behind the News – February 5, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

David Austin Walsh, author of Taking America Back, on the relationship between the kooks and respectables on the right • Laura Field, author of Furious Minds, on the intellectual wing of Trumpism The post Two views of the right: the sordid side of “respectable,” and Trump’s court intellectuals appeared first on KPFA.

David Bier of the Cato Institute on what’s behind Trump’s war on immigrants • Aurélie Daher on the state of Hezbollah and why Israel is bombing Lebanon The post Trump’s war on immigrants, Israel’s war on Lebanon appeared first on KPFA.

Forrest Hylton on Venezuela, past, present, and future The post Venezuela, again appeared first on KPFA.

Alejandro Velasco on Venezuela • Eric Blanc defends Victor Berger, Milwaukee’s sewer socialist, against charges of racism The post Venezuela and setting Victor Berger’s record straight appeared first on KPFA.

Host Doug Henwood covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. The post Behind the News – January 1, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Highlights of 2025: Emile Torres on the posthumanists • Quinn Slobodian on eugenics and neoliberalism • Femi Taiwo on DEI and the war on it • Kristin Du Mez on white Christian nationalism • Anatol Lieven on the Trumpian worldview • Laleh Khalili on the relationship between the Pentagon and US capitalism • and Susannah Glickman on similar The post Year-end roundup: some of the best of BtN 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Thea Riofrancos, author of Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism, on the complications of using lithium batteries to green our future (think tank here) The post Fundraising special: the problem with lithium appeared first on KPFA.

Anatol Lieven analyzes the Trump national security strategy • Susannah Glickman on the transformation of the US government into a private equity firm (NYRB interview here) The post Fundraising special: Trump’s natsec strategy, the US gov as private equity firm appeared first on KPFA.

David Adler and Matt Kirkegaard of the Progressive International on the Honduran elections • Elfadil Ibrahim on the Sudanese civil war • Eric Blanc on the lessons of Milwaukee’s decades of “sewer socialism” for Mamdani and Wilson The post Honduras, Sudan, sewer socialism appeared first on KPFA.

Host Doug Henwood covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. The post Behind the News – November 27, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Paul Heideman, author of Rogue Elephant, on how the Republican party went from a staid vehicle of American business to the frothy lunacy of today The post Republicans: how did they go from Eisenhower to Trump? appeared first on KPFA.

Mosaab Baba, author of this article, on what’s behind the horrendous civil war in Sudan • Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who’s been living in Japan for almost 40 years, on that country’s reactionary new Prime Minister The post Sudan, and Japan’s new PM appeared first on KPFA.