Contributing Writers

Tennessee death row prisoner Tony Carruthers was issued a one-year stay of execution last Thursday after prison officials were unable to find a backup injection vein in a botched execution attempt that left Carruthers suffering and in pain for over an hour. Nashville reporter Steven Hale attended the execution and describes his and fellow witnesses’ confusion as they heard the sounds of what Carruthers’s attorneys are calling “torture.

We speak with political scientist Jeffrey Winters about his new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies. Winters argues that democracy’s failure to address wealth inequality is by design. While voters have a say on some issues, oligarchs, who succeed in maintaining economic inequality by fighting against wealth redistribution, have more power.

Two officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021, have filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the creation of a $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund. Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges are bringing the lawsuit because the fund could be used to compensate the Capitol rioters who attacked them and their colleagues. Both officers say they have faced continuous credible threats since that day.

Around 300 immigrants detained at the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark, New Jersey, have been on a hunger and work strike since Friday to protest inhumane conditions and due process violations. Delaney Hall is operated by the private prison company GEO Group. Since the hunger strike was launched, immigration advocates have been staging a solidarity protest outside Delaney Hall to promote the detainees’ demands for freedom.

A special broadcast: Highlights from Democracy Now!’s 30th anniversary celebration at the historic Riverside Church, featuring Angela Davis, Patti Smith, Mosab Abu Toha, Michael Stipe, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Amy Goodman, Juan González, Nermeen Shaikh and a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen.

Tennessee death row prisoner Tony Carruthers was issued a one-year stay of execution last Thursday after prison officials were unable to find a backup injection vein in a botched execution attempt that left Carruthers suffering and in pain for over an hour. Nashville reporter Steven Hale attended the execution and describes his and fellow witnesses’ confusion as they heard the sounds of what Carruthers’s attorneys are calling “torture.

“I could hear screaming the whole time.” Our guests Alex Colston and Haitham Arafat spent days in Israeli custody after being abducted from a humanitarian mission sailing to Gaza. They share accounts of violence, abuse and torture at the hands of Israeli soldiers. “The process that they have there in the jail was designed to break you as a human,” says Arafat, a Palestinian American activist born in Gaza who has taken part in multiple missions attempting to break Israel’s long-standing siege.

We get an update on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran from journalist Negar Mortazavi, following the Pentagon’s so-called self-defense strikes on two Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz Monday despite an official ceasefire and ongoing peace negotiations. The “chaotic” ceasefire “has been violated from day one,” says Mortazavi, who notes that Israel’s continuous attacks on southern Lebanon are delaying attempts to end the war — and that this is exactly the intention of the Israeli government.

We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration’s alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States.
“In 2025, these data center protests successfully stalled over $100 billion worth of these facilities,” says Hao. “It really does cut across political lines.

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has ended his 11-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS. His program’s cancellation removes one of President Trump’s most vocal critics from the airwaves and comes after the comedian criticized his own employer for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.

The deadly Ebola outbreak spreading across the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 177 people, with more than 750 suspected cases reported in the DRC and neighboring Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials believe the virus may have been spreading undetected for months before the outbreak was identified, raising concerns that the scale of transmission could be far greater than initially understood.

A special broadcast: Highlights from Democracy Now!’s 30th anniversary celebration at the historic Riverside Church, featuring Angela Davis, Patti Smith, Mosab Abu Toha, Michael Stipe, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Amy Goodman, Juan González, Nermeen Shaikh and a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen.

We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration’s alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States.
“In 2025, these data center protests successfully stalled over $100 billion worth of these facilities,” says Hao. “It really does cut across political lines.

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has ended his 11-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS. His program’s cancellation removes one of President Trump’s most vocal critics from the airwaves and comes after the comedian criticized his own employer for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.

The deadly Ebola outbreak spreading across the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 177 people, with more than 750 suspected cases reported in the DRC and neighboring Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials believe the virus may have been spreading undetected for months before the outbreak was identified, raising concerns that the scale of transmission could be far greater than initially understood.

As colleges hold graduation ceremonies across the country, many schools are attempting to silence pro-Palestine speech at the commemorations, including canceling speakers and eliminating live speeches by students altogether. There will be no live student speakers at the City University of New York’s School of Law or at New York University’s school-specific ceremonies after former students gave speeches that included expressing support for Palestine and criticism of Israel.

We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration’s alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States.
“In 2025, these data center protests successfully stalled over $100 billion worth of these facilities,” says Hao. “It really does cut across political lines.

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has ended his 11-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS. His program’s cancellation removes one of President Trump’s most vocal critics from the airwaves and comes after the comedian criticized his own employer for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.

The deadly Ebola outbreak spreading across the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 177 people, with more than 750 suspected cases reported in the DRC and neighboring Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials believe the virus may have been spreading undetected for months before the outbreak was identified, raising concerns that the scale of transmission could be far greater than initially understood.

As colleges hold graduation ceremonies across the country, many schools are attempting to silence pro-Palestine speech at the commemorations, including canceling speakers and eliminating live speeches by students altogether. There will be no live student speakers at the City University of New York’s School of Law or at New York University’s school-specific ceremonies after former students gave speeches that included expressing support for Palestine and criticism of Israel.

As colleges hold graduation ceremonies across the country, many schools are attempting to silence pro-Palestine speech at the commemorations, including canceling speakers and eliminating live speeches by students altogether. There will be no live student speakers at the City University of New York’s School of Law or at New York University’s school-specific ceremonies after former students gave speeches that included expressing support for Palestine and criticism of Israel.

We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration’s alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States.
“In 2025, these data center protests successfully stalled over $100 billion worth of these facilities,” says Hao. “It really does cut across political lines.

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has ended his 11-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS. His program’s cancellation removes one of President Trump’s most vocal critics from the airwaves and comes after the comedian criticized his own employer for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.

The deadly Ebola outbreak spreading across the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 177 people, with more than 750 suspected cases reported in the DRC and neighboring Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials believe the virus may have been spreading undetected for months before the outbreak was identified, raising concerns that the scale of transmission could be far greater than initially understood.

Amnesty International’s 2025 report on the global use of the death penalty finds that executions have surged to their highest recorded number in over 40 years, driven largely by the expanded use of political executions in Iran to “create a climate of fear and intimidation in the society and deter dissent.” Amnesty recorded 2,707 executions in 2025. But the data excludes China, believed to be the world’s top executioner, because its government does not release any public data on executions.

As colleges hold graduation ceremonies across the country, many schools are attempting to silence pro-Palestine speech at the commemorations, including canceling speakers and eliminating live speeches by students altogether. There will be no live student speakers at the City University of New York’s School of Law or at New York University’s school-specific ceremonies after former students gave speeches that included expressing support for Palestine and criticism of Israel.

The decades-old U.S. humanitarian aid agency USAID was largely dismantled in the early days of President Trump’s second term by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The authors of a new study in the journal Science conclude, “The abrupt withdrawal of USAID led to a significant and sustained increase in conflict across Africa’s most USAID-dependent regions.

The Trump administration is advancing plans to resettle an additional 10,000 white South Africans in the United States as refugees. Under President Trump’s proposal, which was submitted to Congress on Monday, the U.S. would lift its record-low refugee admissions figure from 7,500 to 17,500, with the additional openings reserved for Afrikaners. This comes as the administration continues to block the entry of refugees from other countries. The U.S.

Amnesty International’s 2025 report on the global use of the death penalty finds that executions have surged to their highest recorded number in over 40 years, driven largely by the expanded use of political executions in Iran to “create a climate of fear and intimidation in the society and deter dissent.” Amnesty recorded 2,707 executions in 2025. But the data excludes China, believed to be the world’s top executioner, because its government does not release any public data on executions.