Clearing The Fog With Co-hosts Margaret Flowers And Kevin Zeese

On April 4, 2019, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers met in Washington, DC to celebrate its 70th anniversary. While both parties in Congress applauded NATO, peace and justice activists held a week of action in protest, disrupting meetings, shutting down an entrance to the State Department and taking the streets. Activists are trying to expose the truth about NATO as an institution founded to prevent the rise of left movements, protect capitalism and provide cover for illegal wars. We speak with Yves Engler, a Montreal-based author and activist, about the history of NATO and why it's time to abolish it. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

Julian Assange, the editor of Wikileaks, a media outlet for information provided by whistleblowers, has been in confinement in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for almost seven years and is experiencing increasingly harsh treatment. Chelsea Manning, who leaked information to Wikileaks and spent seven years in prison for it, is back in prison for her refusal to testify against Assange in a secret court. We speak with Joe Lauria of Consortium News about why Assange and Manning are sacrificing so much to protect our right to know what our governments are doing, the historical significance of their deeds and what we must do to support them. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The United States and its allies are waging a long term battle for Venezuela's abundant resources, which include oil, gas, gold, diamonds and minerals. The Venezuelan government, through the Bolivarian Process, is trying to use those resources to meet the needs of its people for housing, education, health care, food and more. We speak with Paul Dobson, a resident of Venezuela and journalist, about how Venezuelans are organized to resist the escalating attacks by the US and its allies and how US efforts are backfiring by consolidating support for the democratically-elected President, Nicolás Maduro. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

Through a series of mergers, pesticide companies are consolidating, taking over seed companies and pushing genetically-engineered foods. Companies such as Monsanto, now merged with Bayer, and Dow and Dupont, which have merged, are chemical companies with a long history of producing toxic chemicals, including chemical weapons used in warfare. We speak with Mitchel Cohen and Robin Esser, authors of "The fight Against Monsanto’s Roundup: The Politics of Pesticides," who spoke about the corruption and health impacts of pesticides as well as the connections to imperialism and colonialism. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

In a new report, "Dreams Deferred: How Enriching the 1% Widens the Racial Wealth Divide," researchers at the Institute for Policy Studies outline how the racial wealth gap has widened over the past thirty years and how this fits the long term pattern of systemic racism. We speak with one of the authors, Sabrina Terry, about the findings in the report and recommendations for closing the wealth divide. We report live from Caracas, Venezuela where the United States is continuing its aggressive efforts at regime change. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The United States has a long history of interfering in Iranian politics. Perhaps the most famous is the coup of the democratically-elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 followed by the re-installation of the US-friendly brutal shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Since the revolution in 1979, which overthrew the shah and put in place a representative theocratic government, the US has sanctioned Iran and both supported and threatened military attacks. Now, in addition to increased sanctions, Iranians are banned from traveling to the US and US citizens have great difficulty getting visas to visit Iran. We spent nine days in Iran and bring you this interview with Dr. Foad Izadi, a professor who teaches American Studies at the University of Tehran about the impacts of the sanctions, their state of democracy and how Iranian students view the US and Iran. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patre

After years of corruption and neglect of the Haitian people, a popular revolt is demanding the current president's resignation. The US-led attempted coup in Venezuela played a role in sparking the protests as the Haitian government sided with the US in voting to recognize Juan Guaido, the fake president over President Maduro, the democratically-elected president. Haiti and Venezuela share a history of interconnected revolution and mutual aid since 1804. We interview Kim Ives, an editor of Haiti Liberté, who has been covering Haiti for decades, about the protests and the bigger picture of imperialism. We also report live from Tehran, Iran where we are on a peace delegation. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

Progressives have been trying to make the Democratic Party move to the left and adopt their agenda since Senator Bernie Sanders started running for president in 2015. Like the many who have tried before them, they have failed. We speak with Nick Brana, the former national political outreach director for the Sanders campaign and a co-founder of Our Revolution who was on the inside of that effort, about what happened when they tried, where the party is now and what he sees as a path forward to build political power on the left. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The climate crisis is no longer an abstract concept, it is here and it is getting worse. Each new report finds the temperatures are getting hotter, the ice is melting faster and the seas are rising, not to mention the storms, fires and droughts. In his new book, "The End of Ice," Dahr Jamail takes us on  tour to the places where the impacts of climate disruption are evident. And he takes us on a tour of his personal journey through grief to acceptance and even hope. Jamail shows us the reality of the climate crisis and offers advice for how to relate to it in a meaningful way. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

On January 23 2019, Juan Guaidó, the current president of the defunct Venezuelan National Assembly, pronounced himself the president of the country. The United States, Canada, the European Union and a few Latin American countries immediately recognized him, while Russia, China, Mexico and many other countries support the democratically-elected current president, Nicolas Maduro. How did this relatively unknown man who barely won his race for the assembly rise to the position of fake president? We discuss that and more with Dan Cohen of The Grayzone Project. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn.

The Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) movement of workers in France just completed its eleventh act this past weekend. They are revolting against neoliberalism and austerity and rule by and for the wealthy. There are many similarities to the Yellow Vest movement and the Occupy movement. We speak with Lola Girerd, a post-doctoral student in Paris who is participating in and studying the Yellow Vests, about what the protests are like, what they are about and how the Macron government is responding to them. We also discuss recent news, including mass climate actions, strikes and the US-led coup in Venezuela. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The case of Mumia Abu Jamal, who was framed with the murder of a police officer, has had some important breakthroughs in the last month including allowing him appeal rights and the finding of six previously undisclosed boxes of evidence in his case. This could result in the dismissal of his case and release from prison after 37 years. We talk with Rachel Wolkenstein, who has served as an attorney and advocate for Mumia since 1990. Wolkenstein explains the significance of his case in the context of racist police enforcement, mass incarceration, the myths of US justice and legal lynching and describes evidence showing Mumia was framed because of his political activism. She argues that Mumia will only get justice if a mass movement demands it. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The Wet'suwet'en Nation, which has never ceded its territory, has been working to stop a number of pipelines that Canada wants to build through their territory for the past ten years. This struggle came to a head last week when Canadian police violated their agreement with the Gidumt'en Clan by using violence to remove their blockade and arrest fourteen members. We speak with Jennifer Wickham, who is a member of the Gidumt'en Clan, about what is happening in this pivotal fight to protect the land, water and earth and what can be done to support the Wet'suwet'en People. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The United States military is building another base on Okinawa in an environmentally-sensitive area, on top of the second most diverse coral reef in the world, against the will of Okinawans who have been protesting every day for over 1,600 days. There are many reasons why this base should not be built. We discuss those with Robert Kajiwara, a Hawaiian-Okinawan human rights activist, as well as why he traveled to Washington, DC and new developments in the struggle to regain Hawaiian sovereignty. And we cover news and upcoming actions. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

The Green New Deal, a plan to transform the economy to one based on clean, renewable energy sources and other measures to adapt to the climate crisis and protect human rights, gained widespread attention in 2018. We speak with Howie Hawkins from New York, who brought the concept of the Green New Deal to the United States, about what the plan involves, where it is now and what it will take to win it. Hawkins, a long time activist, unionist and political candidate, also puts this struggle in the context of political history and the role of third parties. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG. And visit the new Popular Resistance Podcast Network at www.PopularResistance.org/prpn/

As 2018 comes to a close, we bring back this interview with Kali Akuno from January, 2017, just prior to President Trump's inauguration. Akuno has been an organizer in the South for decades and is currently active with Cooperation Jackson in Mississippi. He started a movement called "Ungovernable" to encourage resistance to oppressive policies and the building of alternatives. Akuno brings a wealth of experience and wisdom when it comes to organizing, political analysis and the state of the movement in the US. This is a must listen as we prepare for 2019 and beyond. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG.

Sometimes the truth is painful to hear, but if we don't know what is going on or what we are up against, it's impossible to change it. We speak with political comedian Lee Camp about how he began using humor to tell people the truth and his current one-hour special, "Super Patriotic Very Uncle Sam Comedy Special Not Allowed on American TV." We also delve into his take on current issues and the state of resistance movements. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG.

The majority of people in the United States are in a position of wage slavery, in which they depend on their boss for the ability to survive, but it has been so normalized that many do not question this arrangement. We bring back an interview with John Curl, author of "For All the People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements and Communalism in America." He writes about the long history, that isn't often taught, of people who created cooperative structures to counter the power of industry and finance. Cooperative movements often parallel social movements. We discuss why this matters today. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG.

On November 30, leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada signed the revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the G20 in Argentina. The new NAFTA is an updated version of rigged corporate trade that sells out workers and endangers the environment for profits. We speak with Arthur Stamoulis of Citizens Trade about what is in the new NAFTA and the politics around it. We have an opportunity to stop this model of rigged corporate trade, which began in the 1990s with NAFTA, and replace it with a trade model that protects people and the planet. Learn what you can do. Subscribe to Clearing the FOG on Patreon and receive our bonus show, Thinking it Through, plus Clearing the FOG totes, water bottles and T shirts. Visit Patreon.com/ClearingtheFOG.

In his new book, "America: The Farewell Tour," based on his travels around the United States, Chris Hedges describes the decline of society and how that brought President Trump into power. Trump is a symptom of failing systems, and there will be more Trumps until things change. We speak with Hedges in depth about the basis for what is happening, what he has learned while covering other countries that went through similar transitions and what we must do if we are to weather the current crises.