As Gaza smolders, Lebanon burns, and the world rightfully continues to demand Hamas release the remaining hostages it abducted during its heinous, heinous massacre on October 7th 2023, we illuminate the underreported plight of Palestinians held and abused throughout what one human rights group dubs Israel’s ‘network of torture camps,’ where men, wo…

“I'll answer that part first, that’s the easy one,” explains John Kiriakou, the former CIA intelligence officer who served 30 months in federal prison for exposing the agency’s torture program to the world, when asked whether he’d do it all again despite the personal and professional fallout from his disclosure. Those are just some of the many prof…

The occupied, blockaded, walled territories of Palestine have served as an incubator for some of Israel’s deadliest and most intrusive weapons and surveillance systems. Once tested and perfected on the captive population, they’ve been sold to some of the most oppressive, murderous autocracies—and democracies—in the world. These are some of the many…

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional orders in response to South Africa’s case charging Israel with committing genocide against Palestinians, ruling that Israel must refrain from genocidal acts, punish public incitement of genocide, facilitate humanitarian aid, and more. Our previous guest, international human rights attorney…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an important, alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of…

We follow up our preview episode about South Africa's genocide case against Israel with a breakdown of the two-day hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and discuss President Biden's bombing of Yemen -- seriously escalating the crisis in the Middle East. The joint US-UK operation came the same day, Jan. 11, 2014, when South Africa lai…

South Africa this week will go before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague and lay out its case of genocide against Israel for its brutal war against Palestinians. With more than 23,000 dead (nearly two-thirds of whom are women and children), countless others injured or maimed, and so many with mental scars that will never heal, th…

Democrats have long been accused of abandoning voters. Disillusionment with the Dems is particularly acute in the Rust Belt, where the long-cracking union wall has collapsed. In this episode, we interview Lainey Newman, the co-author of the book “Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party." The book, …

Amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, we delve into an important and oft-ignored question: Have we truly learned from the mistakes and abuses of the 'war on terror'? What began as a mission against al Qaeda evolved into something far more extensive, lethal, and consequential. From torture and rendition to indefinite detentions and extrajudicial killings,…

Consumers -- YOU -- are getting screwed! That’s right—Amazon and Google, the tech giants that have become so omnipresent in our lives, are facing accusations that the monopolies they’ve built in their respective industries are crushing consumers, and in Amazon’s case, the small businesses that are forced to comply with the retail giant’s rules in o…

With the climate clock mercilessly ticking down, communities are turning to the complex web of court systems throughout the U.S. as a tool to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in the worsening climate crisis. Across the country, states and municipalities are suing the likes of ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and other polluters for …

In this episode, Rashed and Chris speak to renowned journalist, activist, and author Norman Solomon, whose most recent book “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” breaks down the grossly underreported aspects of U.S.-led post-9/11 global wars and analyzes the mechanics perpetuating them. From the media’s vita…

"If our democracy is to survive, the empire must be dismantled.” That’s what Dr. Cornel West told us in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with News Beat, in which he talked about dismantling systems of oppression, uplifting the poor and working class, ending America’s military industrial complex, and abolishing poverty, homelessness, and prisons…

Before he pulled out a historic mayoral victory in April, Brandon Johnson was a virtual unknown in Chicago’s political scene. At the community level, however, Johnson’s star was on the rise. An unabashed progressive and union champion, Johnson played a critical role in the 2012 Chicago teachers’ strike—a seemingly radicalizing experience for him an…

In this episode, we feature insights from writer and activist Cory Doctorow, who along with Rebecca Giblin, a professor at Melbourne Law School, co-authored the book ‘Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We’ll Win Them Back.’ It's a story about the stranglehold megacorporations have on their re…

Despite publicly denying climate science, fossil fuel giants have long been aware of the catastrophic consequences of burning fossil fuels, and millions of people are dying each year as a result. Should these executives be held accountable for the deaths caused by their products—and their lies? Don Braman, associate professor at the law school at G…

The residents of East Palestine, Ohio have been at the epicenter of one of the country’s largest environmental disasters in living memory. On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals, including the human carcinogen vinyl chloride, derailed, contaminating the soil and surrounding waterways and erupting into a fireball and mu…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an important, alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of…

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demanded justice and equality—two essential truths which still have not been achieved, more than 50 years since his murder on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Year after year, without fail, politicians, pundits, and corporations bastardize his image and legacy to their own capitalistic agendas—capit…

In this episode, we take you to Arizona, where lawmakers passed a law that would make it a crime to record police within eight feet. While it has since been blocked by a federal court, its passage ignites serious questions about our First Amendment rights and how far people in power will go to limit police accountability and dissent. News Beat is a…

AKA "Corporate Profiteering During Record Inflation" As the media obsessed over record inflation for much of the year, major corporations were publicly celebrating their recent rise in profits and admitting in earnings calls that they were raising prices on consumers—effectively price gouging Americans. This boon to corporate coffers also comes ami…

Republicans, who have long used crime to win elections, are now determined to remove democratically elected progressive prosecutors from office. These are effectively modern day coups meant to crush reform policies that voters supported in response to decades of mass incarceration and punitive policing measures. News Beat is a multi-award-winning p…

In a follow up to our “Big Lie” episode, we report on the congressional hearings on fossil fuel disinformation that you likely didn’t see in the corporate media. Investigators publicly released internal Big Oil documents that further exposed how the industry utilizes propaganda and disinformation to further investments in oil and gas, while claimin…

What did the fossil fuel industry know about climate change and when did it know it? Turns out, these giant corporations were aware of the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions for DECADES and instead of combatting the crisis they’ve engaged in obfuscation and manipulative marketing campaigns to sow confusion and mistrust of science. At the s…

Bernadette Smith scours the depths of the Red River in Manitoba for her missing sister and other women and children murdered and dumped in its murky waters. Duana Johnson comforts families of those who’ve vanished from reservations throughout the U.S. Northwest. Mary Kathryn Nagle battles for justice on behalf of the mothers, daughters, sisters, au…

Ukraine is at the center of a proxy war between decades-long rivals and two competing economic systems, and opportunistic weapons manufacturers are cashing in. We provide a much-needed historical perspective about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, elements of which have gone under-reported, if not ignored entirely, by the corporate media. Our guests…

A staggering percentage of those locked up in America’s mass incarceration crisis—upwards of 20%, or 200,000 folks (!!)—were homeless or in marginal housing leading up to their imprisonment. Forty percent were on welfare. Even more were jobless, especially among the Black community. And far too many were in public housing or foster care prior to ev…

On May 14, an 18-year-old white supremacist armed with an assault rifle and wearing body armor livestreamed his massacre of 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Ten days later, another 18-year-old slaughtered 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. While investigators scramble for motivations be…

Devised in the wake of the September 11th Terror Attacks and subsequent 9/11 Commission casting much of the blame on the lack of interjurisdictional communication between law enforcement, fusion centers have continued to operate in the shadows and outside the realms of the public eye, and even elected officials, ever since. Yet instead of foreign a…

In 2017, shortly after the deadly "Unite The Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, we released an episode titled ‘Misunderstanding Terrorism: Exposing Radical Caucasian Extremism’ calling out what the vast majority of mainstream news outlets and then-President Trump wouldn’t, yet what study after study had been warning about for quite some tim…

Long time listeners will certainly recognize LiKWUiD who, as one of News Beat's "Artist in Residence," has been featured on several important episodes delivering compelling, often heart wrenching lyrics that compliment our social justice reporting in a truly powerful way. Find out a little bit more about this prolific Hip-Hop artist, DJ, educator a…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an important, alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of…

When disaster strikes, who profits? That’s the question Australian-based reporter Antony Loewenstein has been investigating for years. “Disaster capitalism” was first coined by renowned journalist and author Naomi Klein in her 2007 best-selling book “Shock Doctrine.” Loewenstein digs deeper with on-the-ground reporting to show how companies around …

America's longest war has one clear winner: Corporations. Has the war in Afghanistan become the biggest scam of our lifetime? News Beat is a multi-award-winning podcast brought to you by Morey Creative Studios and Manny Faces Media. Subscribe for free to our Substack newsletter. Audio Editor/Sound Designer/Producer/Host: Manny Faces Editor-In-Chief…

Surprise, surprise. Modern day citizen’s arrest laws across the United States have their roots in Civil War-era laws designed to punish slaves. In this episode, one of the foremost experts on citizen’s arrest laws traces the history of these archaic laws from the colonial period to today—exposing yet another disturbing aspect of America’s “justice”…

Beware the false messiahs of meaningful criminal justice reform, the so-called bipartisan coalition championing initiatives that purport to make a difference yet do absolutely nothing to incite true change, and in fact, further tighten the historical and ongoing noose of neoliberalism and structural racism within the world’s largest prison state. O…

Since last spring, politicians, right-wing pundits, the media, and so-called “centrist” Democrats have weaponized the rise in violent crimes, including murders, to demonize police reform efforts and blame progressives. Sure enough, they conveniently neglect to mention that crime is up across the country—in cities run by Democrats and Republicans. W…

Long time listeners know Silent Knight, his voice and his profound work -- not only as News Beat's "Artist in Residence," but as a solo artist, frontperson for our good friends and co-award-winning collaborators, The Band Called FUSE, and as an Innocence Ambassador for the renowned organization, The Innocence Project. Find out a little bit more abo…

Law enforcement is increasingly using facial recognition, AI and other technologies despite numerous studies and real world examples of such tech falsely identifying criminal suspects. Along with concerns over how this tech will disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities, experts are raising concerns over First Amendment implications and…

This episode was honored as Best Podcast at the 2021 New York Press Club Journalism Awards. We dedicate the win to the many voices -- both heard, and unheard -- represented in this episode. The 2020 rebellions sparked renewed discussions surrounding a host of racial issues, including police brutality toward black men. Advocates argue that black wom…

If you pay attention to mainstream media, you’d notice that many outlets are recognizing June 17, 2021 as the 50th anniversary of the “war on drugs.” Actually, the racist and deadly drug war goes back much further than conventional wisdom suggests, and was originally waged by an authoritarian bureaucrat that most people likely have never heard of. …

Guilty pleas have become the dominant way in which prosecutors in America secure convictions. In some cases, 99 percent of cases in various jurisdictions end in a plea bargain. While plea bargaining has been a function of the American justice system for nearly a century, the practice started taking hold in the 1970s following various Supreme Court …

Reform candidates are increasingly winning district attorney elections in the United States. The movement represents a direct challenge to the decades-long tough-on-crime era, characterized by punitive sentencing laws, significant investments in police forces and prisons, and the criminalization of mental health—culminating in the highest incarcera…

As we work to deliver you more compelling social-justice-meets-music-and-lyrics episodes of News Beat proper, we want to put you on to another incredible podcast in our production universe, Unf*cking the Republic. This brilliant show is all about exposing political f*ckery -- from all sides -- while informing and entertaining along the way. It's al…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove,…

January 6, 2021 was a dark day in the history of this nation. What we all witnessed at the U.S. Capitol was a full-on assault on democracy, incited by President Donald Trump and carried out by right-wing extremists—or simply, domestic terrorists. Tragically, these events, although deeply unsettling, shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Experts have bee…

This is a special episode in collaboration with Color Of Change, the largest online racial justice organization in the country. With uprisings rivaling those of the 1960s, Americans this year took to the streets in massive numbers to declare Black Lives Matter and demand systemic change. These rebellions have underscored the desperate need for chan…

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively gutted the historic Voting Rights Act, making it easier for states to suppress the vote by enacting voter ID laws, eliminating early voting, closing polling stations and aggressively purging voter rolls. Voter ID laws, specifically, didn’t exist prior to 2006—now about three-dozen states have some form of…

Symbols of pride for Italian Americans, painful reminders of historical injustices and brutal atrocities for indigenous peoples—statues of controversial 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus have been decapitated, toppled or taken down in cities and towns across the United States amid the ongoing protests against racial injustice and police br…