Project Censored

This week's Project Censored Show again focuses on the Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip. To open the program, Eleanor's guest, Jacqueline Luqman, notes that the Black liberation struggle in the US has always supported the Palestinian cause as well, and explains the common ground between the two; she also debunks some Zionist talking points. Then in the second half-hour, Eleanor and Mickey analyze corporate media coverage of the Middle East, and the contextual information that isn't mentioned.

For the first half of this week's show, Mickey brings on three guests to discuss the upcoming 2022 Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival in Washington, DC (www.whistleblowersummit.com). They also make the case for a broader public understanding of what whistleblowing is, and who is a whistleblower. Then in the second half-hour, Eleanor Goldfield and her guest look at the recent election in Colombia, which saw leftist candidate Gustavo Petro winning the presidency and Afro-Colombian environmental activist Francia Marquez the vice-presidency. Notes: Michael McCray and Marcel Reid are the co-founders of the International Association of Whistleblowers. McCray is also General Counsel for the Federally Employed Women Legal Education Fund. Reid is a former member of the Pacifica Radio National Board. Marsha Warfield is a nationally-known comedian and actress, and will be hosting some events at the Whistleblower Summit. Gimena Sanchez is a staff member at the Washington Office on Latin America (www.wola.org).

Program Summary: New co-host Eleanor Goldfield speaks first with Benjamin Norton, to learn how President Biden is "out-Trumping Trump" on immigration. Norton also offers an update on political conditions in Latin America. In the second half of the show, Eugene Puryear explains racism's deep roots in US history, and how it cannot be defeated by superficial actions. He also looks at the significance of Black History Month. Benjamin Norton is an independent journalist who focuses on Latin America; he's also the founder of the news web site www.multipolarista.com. Eugene Puryear has been a peace-and-justice organizer since his high-school days; he's the author of "Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America," and he writes at www.breakthroughnews.org Notes:

Program Summary: Mickey spends the hour with historian Peter Kuznick, who examines the current U.S. confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, summarizes the recent history of Ukraine, and emphasizes the urgency of settling the crisis peacefully. Notes: Peter Kuznick is Professor of History at American University in Washington DC, and also directs the Nuclear Studies Program at that institution. He and Oliver Stone wrote the groundbreaking book The Untold History of the United States, and also produced a Showtime documentary series based on the book. More information can be found at www.untoldhistory.com.

Program Summary: After several visits as a guest, Eleanor Goldfield joins the program as co-host with Mickey Huff. In the first segment of this week's show, Kevin Gosztola delivers a brief update about Julian Assange's case. Then Jayeesha Dutta speaks with Eleanor about a possible future for the Gulf of Mexico that doesn't include hazardous offshore oil drilling. In the final segment, Alan MacLeod looks at a purported fake-news watchdog, Graphika, which actually is staffed by numerous retired military, CIA and NATO personnel, and dismisses many domestic alternative media organizations as tools of foreign "enemies." Notes: Kevin Gosztola is the managing editor of the news web site www.Shadowproof.com He has covered the Julian Assange legal proceedings in the UK from the beginning, as well as other press-freedom and whistleblower cases. Jayeesha Dutta is co-founder of AnotherGulf.com; she also works with the Climate Justice Alliance. Alan MacLeod is a media scholar and a senior staff writer at Mint Press News.

Program Summary: Eleanor Goldfield returns to the program to address several topics in media and world events, including the ongoing scandal of Julian Assange's imprisonment, the folly of threatening Russia, and the shallowness of commercial media. Then media scholar Nolan Higdon revisits the program to explain how tech giants are infiltrating the classroom by sponsoring carefully-tailored "media-literacy" course materials. Eleanor Goldfield is a journalist, artist, and organizer; her web site is www.artkillingapathy.com She also produced a documentary, Hard Road of Hope, about West Virginia communities confronting pollution from fracking (www.hardroadofhope.com). The Craig Murray article she mentions (about Julian Assange) can be found at consortiumnews.com/2022/01/25/craig-murray-your-man-in-the-courtroom-is-there-an-exit Nolan Higdon is a lecturer in education at the University of California Santa Cruz campus. He's also the author of the book "The Anatomy of Fake News." His recent article (co-written with Allison Butler) is titled "Time to Put Your Marketing Cap On." It appears in the Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies.

Prof. Aviva Chomsky joined Mickey for a Zoom lecture in April 2021, an event presented by Project Censored and KPFA radio. The occasion was the release of her new book, which revisits Central American history, especially the wars of the 1980s and their ongoing consequences. This week's program presents excerpts from that event. Notes: This is a rebroadcast of a previously-aired Project Censored Show. Aviva Chomsky, eldest daughter of Noam Chomsky, is professor of history at Salem State University in Massachusetts; her field is Latin American studies. She's written extensively about immigration, and also has been involved in Latin American solidarity work for over a quarter-century. Her book, Central America's Forgotten History, is published by Beacon Press. Music-break information: 1) "Marwa Blues" by George Harrison 2) "Ride Across the River" by Dire Straits 3) "Phoenix" by Wishbone Ash

Program Summary: Project Censored's new annual volume will soon be available. "State of the Free Press 2022" includes the well-known 'Top 25' censored stories of the preceding year, as well as many more chapters of media analysis. Andy Lee Roth and Steve Macek of Project Censored spend the hour with Mickey to discuss the new book, and also explain Project Censored's procedures for identifying and compiling under-reported stories. Notes: Andy Lee Roth is associate director of Project Censored; he holds a PhD in Sociology from UCLA and has published widely on media issues. Steve Macek teaches Communications and Media Studies at North Central College in Illinois. Roth and Macek are co-coordinators of Project Censored's Campus Affiliates Program.

Program Summary: Author Chris Hedges also teaches college-level courses for New Jersey state prison inmates. His new book, “Our Class,” explains what happened when Hedges taught a dramatic-literature course to inmates, then helped them write a play of their own – “Caged” – based on their personal life events. As well, the inmates' stories illustrate the many cruelties of life in an American prison. Chris Hedges spoke at a KPFA / Project Censored Zoom event on November 18; this week's program presents excerpts from that talk. Notes: Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist with a long career as a war correspondent around the world. He hosts the program "On Contact" for RT Television, and writes online at www.scheerpost.com. His previous books include "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," "Death of the Liberal Class," and "America: The Farewell Tour."

This week we present a rebroadcast of a speech delivered one year ago by journalist Chris Hedges. In a Zoom speech shortly after the 2020 election, Hedges spoke about the deeper forces of political and economic decay afflicting the US. This episode contains Hedges' complete speech, titled "The Culture of Despair." Notes: Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist with a long career as a foreign correspondent around the world. He hosts the program "On Contact" for RT Television, and writes online at www.scheerpost.com His books include War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, Death of the Liberal Class, and most recently, America: The Farewell Tour.

Online journalist Kevin Gosztola returns to the program to deliver an update about the Julian Assange extradition case in the UK, and its disturbing impacts for press freedom. Then in the second half, Eleanor Goldfield tells about the remarkable range of issues in which Wikileaks has obtained and published secret documents. Kevin Gosztola is the managing editor of the news web site www.Shadowproof.com He has covered the Julian Assange legal proceedings in the UK from the beginning, as well as other press-freedom and whistleblower cases. Eleanor Goldfield is a journalist, artist and organizer; her web site is www.artkillingapathy.com She also produced a documentary, Hard Road of Hope, about West Virginia communities confronting pollution from fracking.

Mickey's guest for the full hour is media scholar Victor Pickard of the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss Pickard's 2019 book, "Democracy Without Journalism?" Pickard describes the dimensions of recent years' precipitous drop in the employment of reporters, and its likely consequences for society. He explains the historical roots of this new crisis, and offers remedies that center on building publicly-supported journalism institutions that aren't coupled to commercial values.

Program Summary: With British courts nearing a possible decision on whether to extradite Julian Assange to the U.S., Jeff Mackler speaks to Mickey about the campaign to free Assange (the founder of the Wikileaks web site). Then we hear a conversation with online journalist Kevin Gosztola about the Assange case, as well as cases of several U.S. whistleblowers. Jeff Mackler is a member of www.AssangeDefense.org and a co-organizer of a Oct. 23 free-Assange demonstration in Oakland, CA. He's also on the board of the United National Antiwar Coalition. Kevin Gosztola is the managing editor of the news web site www.Shadowproof.com He has covered the Julian Assange legal proceedings in the UK from the beginning, as well as other press-freedom and whistleblower cases. Mickey's conversation with Kevin Gosztola is a rebroadcast from a Project Censored Show of this past August

Program Summary: September 17, 2021 was the tenth anniversary of the start of Occupy Wall Street. Journalist Michael Levitin was there at its beginning, and, among other roles, edited the Occupy Wall Street Journal. His new book Generation Occupy, chronicles the history of the Occupy movement and its ongoing influence. He and Mickey Huff spoke in a Zoom event presented by Diablo Valley College on October 14. Michael Levitin is a widely-published journalist who in 2011 started the Occupy Wall Street Journal. Prior to taking part in Occupy, he wrote for publications such as the Financial Times and Los Angeles Times. He now teaches journalism at Diablo Valley College. His web site is www.michaellevitin.com

Program Summary: In the aftermath of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony to Congress, Mickey and his guests look at the ongoing issues of social media's social responsibility, or lack of responsibility. Were most of Haugen's disclosures already known? And what actions should be taken to reduce the harm caused by the behavior of Facebook and the other digital media giants? Alan MacLeod is a media critic, a staff writer at Mint Press News, and a contributor to many other publications. He's also the author of "Bad News From Venezuela." Nolan Higdon teaches history and media studies at California State University, East Bay. He's also the author of "The Anatomy of Fake News"

Program Summary: On the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Code Pink, Massachusetts Peace Action, Project Censored and other organizations held an online seminar on the worldwide toll of the US "War On Terror," and strategies for resisting militarism in the years to come. This week's Project Censored Show presents excerpts from some of the speeches at that event. This is the second half of a two-part series; the first was aired in the Project Censored Show of 9-20-21. Notes: Some of the participants' presentations have been edited due to time constraints or audio quality issues. The original webinar is over three hours long, and can be viewed in its entirety at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwa2c2txI0A

Program Summary: This week is Banned-Books Week 2021, an annual affirmation of Americans' right to read. In the first half of the program, Mickey and his guests look at some recent efforts to restrict students' choice of books in Ohio and Texas. September 2021 is also the tenth anniversary of the start of Occupy Wall Street. Author Michael Levitin joins Mickey to look at Occupy's origins and its ongoing influence. Nora Pelizzari is Director of Communications at the National Coalition Against Censorship (www.ncac.org). Jackie Farmer is Senior Program Officer at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (www.thefire.org). Michael Levitin is a widely-published journalist who in 2011 started the Occupy Wall Street Journal. His new book is Generation Occupy: Reawakening American Democracy. His web site is www.michaellevitin.com Other web sites mentioned on this program: www.bannedbooksweek.org www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif

Program Summary: On the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Code Pink, Massachusetts Peace Action, Project Censored and other organizations held an online seminar on the worldwide toll of the US "War On Terror," and strategies for resisting militarism in the years to come. This week's Project Censored Show presents excerpts from some of the speeches at that event. Notes: The original webinar is over three hours long, and can be viewed in its entirety at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwa2c2txI0A

Program Summary: For the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Mickey and his guests examine some still-unanswered questions about the attacks and the events that preceded them, notably why several already-identified terror suspects were not taken into custody by US authorities. Peter Dale Scott is the author of dozens of books of poetry and prose, including Coming to Jakarta, The Road to 9/11, and American War Machine. Aaron Good is Covert Action Magazine's Editor-at-Large, and author of the forthcoming book American Exception: Empire and the Deep State. Ben Howard is an independent researcher based in Boston. The three have written a forthcoming article for Covert Action Magazine for the Sept. 11 anniversary.

Program Summary: As the nation marks 20 years since the Sept 11 attacks, Mickey interviews Ray McGinnis, the author of a new book that looks at numerous questions that remain unanswered by official authorities, and were not even asked by the 9/11 Commission. Then long-time 9/11 researcher Ken Jenkins explains why activists must be on the lookout for logical fallacies in their own thinking, especially on controversial issues such as 9/11. Ray McGinnis is the author of the new book "Unanswered Questions: What the September Eleventh Families Asked and the 9/11 Commission Ignored." He is a freelance writer and writing instructor. Ken Jenkins is an independent video producer and long-time Sept 11 researcher. He holds a degree in electrical engineering, and has also studied psychology.