Journalist Chris Hedges warns that President Trump and his allies are “weaponizing” the shocking assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to crush dissent.
“We’ve reached a very frightening turning point,” says Hedges. “We’ve already seen an assault on civil liberties, on institutions, universities, the media, that are tasked with maintaining an open society. That will now be accelerated.
As Israel continues its campaign to erase Gaza City by systematically bombing residential buildings, schools, homes and tent encampments, we speak with Dr. Mohammed Saqr, the director of nursing at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. He says medical workers, who are starving like the rest of the population, have nothing left to give amid hundreds of deaths and injuries each day.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Following massive, youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations in Nepal, the country’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks set to become interim prime minister. This week, protesters set fire to the Parliament and other government buildings, and at least 21 people were killed in a police crackdown. The protests continued even after the government lifted its ban on social media platforms and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup and seeking to “annihilate” democracy in Brazil following his election defeat in 2022. The sentencing marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state is brought to trial and convicted for attempting to overthrow the government.
Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, about Israel’s recent move to expand settlements in the West Bank in an effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state. “They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a two-state solution can never happen,” says Hasan.
Hasan also comments on the deadly U.S. attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. “There’s no scenario in which you can say it was an imminent threat to the U.S.,” he says.
President Trump announced on Friday that a suspect was in custody for the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Although the motive has not yet been established, Trump has escalated his attacks on the political left, saying, “We just have to beat the hell out of them.” Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, who says that the right is using Kirk’s killing to smear the left.
“There’s a real rewriting of history going on.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Following massive, youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations in Nepal, the country’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks set to become interim prime minister. This week, protesters set fire to the Parliament and other government buildings, and at least 21 people were killed in a police crackdown. The protests continued even after the government lifted its ban on social media platforms and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup and seeking to “annihilate” democracy in Brazil following his election defeat in 2022. The sentencing marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state is brought to trial and convicted for attempting to overthrow the government.
Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, about Israel’s recent move to expand settlements in the West Bank in an effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state. “They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a two-state solution can never happen,” says Hasan.
Hasan also comments on the deadly U.S. attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. “There’s no scenario in which you can say it was an imminent threat to the U.S.,” he says.
President Trump announced on Friday that a suspect was in custody for the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Although the motive has not yet been established, Trump has escalated his attacks on the political left, saying, “We just have to beat the hell out of them.” Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, who says that the right is using Kirk’s killing to smear the left.
“There’s a real rewriting of history going on.
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings, watch full episodes here, or listen to the weekly podcast here.
Within hours of the reports of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in Utah this week, people took to social media to respond.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Following massive, youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations in Nepal, the country’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks set to become interim prime minister. This week, protesters set fire to the Parliament and other government buildings, and at least 21 people were killed in a police crackdown. The protests continued even after the government lifted its ban on social media platforms and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup and seeking to “annihilate” democracy in Brazil following his election defeat in 2022. The sentencing marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state is brought to trial and convicted for attempting to overthrow the government.
Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, about Israel’s recent move to expand settlements in the West Bank in an effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state. “They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a two-state solution can never happen,” says Hasan.
Hasan also comments on the deadly U.S. attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. “There’s no scenario in which you can say it was an imminent threat to the U.S.,” he says.
President Trump announced on Friday that a suspect was in custody for the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Although the motive has not yet been established, Trump has escalated his attacks on the political left, saying, “We just have to beat the hell out of them.” Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, who says that the right is using Kirk’s killing to smear the left.
“There’s a real rewriting of history going on.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
As the Trump administration grows increasingly hostile to renewable energy, we speak with acclaimed environmentalist Bill McKibben about his new book, Here Comes the Sun, in which he lays out a hopeful vision for the future that includes avoiding climate catastrophe, reshaping the economy and saving democracy. He says the key to unlock that future is fully embracing renewable energy over the fierce opposition of the fossil fuel industry and its political enablers.
We speak to two activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla as it prepares to set sail for Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. In recent days, two drone attacks on the flotilla ships, which are docked in Tunisia, have been reported. “We know who has interest in stopping these flotillas,” says Mariana Mortágua, a Portuguese parliamentarian who has joined the Global Sumud Flotilla and suspects the strikes were the work of the Israeli military.
Is President Trump working to build his own personal army? Investigative reporter Radley Balko responds to Trump’s new executive order for a “standing National Guard quick reaction force” that the president can deploy at will.
The conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of right-wing student organization Turning Point USA, was assassinated Wednesday as he spoke before a crowd at Utah Valley University as part of a fall campus tour. Kirk was 31 years old and founded Turning Point when he was just 18. A major cheerleader for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, he was killed by a single shot fired from a roof as he was responding to a question from an audience member about mass shootings.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Just days after President Trump threatened to wage war on the city of Chicago, ICE launched what it called “Operation Midway Blitz,” and President Trump claimed the city was “about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR” — a reference to his order to rename the Department of Defense. On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to resume indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles.
As the Trump administration grows increasingly hostile to renewable energy, we speak with acclaimed environmentalist Bill McKibben about his new book, Here Comes the Sun, in which he lays out a hopeful vision for the future that includes avoiding climate catastrophe, reshaping the economy and saving democracy. He says the key to unlock that future is fully embracing renewable energy over the fierce opposition of the fossil fuel industry and its political enablers.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reportedly ordered authorities to reexamine the case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah and six others on humanitarian grounds. Abd El-Fattah, who came to national prominence during the so-called Arab Spring protests of 2011, has been imprisoned for years on charges of “spreading false news,” but his family and supporters say he has been targeted for his pro-democracy activism.
Global condemnation is mounting after Israel bombed Qatar’s capital Doha, attempting to take out senior Hamas leaders who had gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. Hamas leadership survived the strike, which killed six. We speak with Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of Drop Site News, who has reported extensively on Gaza ceasefire negotiations and is one of the few Western journalists to be in regular contact with senior members of Hamas.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
The celebrated psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton has died at the age of 99. His studies on the effects of nuclear war, terrorism and genocide, including the books Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima and The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide, shaped psychological understandings of the effects of mass violence. He appeared on Democracy Now! several times, including in 2017 to discuss Trump during his first term.