The Truth

When it comes to selling weapons, the United States is in a league of its own: more than 40 percent of all arms sold worldwide come from US companies. Five corporations, known as the "big five", dominate that trade – and since the start of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, their revenues have soared. But selling weapons overseas is only part of their business. At home, they enjoy an almost guaranteed windfall every year, from a US military budget worth roughly a trillion dollars.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a US-brokered peace agreement during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that would boost bilateral economic ties after decades of conflict. The deal between the South Caucasus rivals - assuming it holds - would be a significant accomplishment for the Trump administration that is sure to rattle Moscow, which sees the region as within its sphere of influence.

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a constitutional rights attorney and Co-Founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, joins the show to discuss Trump’s unlawful federal takeover of D.C., declaring a “crime emergency” despite a 30-year decline in violent crimes. Verheyden-Hilliard explains how this manufactured crisis is a prototype for martial law that he has threatened to take to Chicago and NYC next.

Glenn Diesen, Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway and author of The Ukraine War and the Eurasian World Order, discusses the upcoming Trump-Putin talks on Ukraine in Alaska – a meeting Ukrainian President Zelensky was not invited to. Trump recently acknowledged NATO’s role in starting the proxy war, and Diesen says this “reflects the power struggle within the US and the political West itself.” Will Trump's admission of the roots of the proxy war impact peace negotiations after three years of a war that’s killed over a million people?

Watch the livestream of the Mass "March for Humanity, Stop Starving Gaza" rally and demonstration in New York City. Thousands of protesters are mobilizing to demand an immediate end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and an end to US military aid to Israel.

Journalist and co-host of Breaking Points Krystal Ball joins Rania Khalek on Dispatches for a raw conversation about Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Democratic Party’s moral bankruptcy, Republican hypocrisy, and the media’s role in selling lies. From grilling Rep. Elissa Slotkin to confronting corporate media censorship, Krystal unpacks the political shifts, propaganda, and double standards defining U.S. politics today.

Trump has declared a police state in D.C., announcing a federal military takeover. Despite recent violent crime rates in D.C. at a 30-year low, he cited “crime” as the reason—but professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss his real goals. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Zoe Alexandra, editor at Peoples Dispatch, joins the show to discuss Brazil’s Supreme Court placing former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest, just days after Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian products and accused the government of persecuting him. Alexandra says the tariffs are about more than Bolsonaro, they’re an attempt to “undermine Brazil as a major player on the world stage and Lula’s commitment to building structures that don’t favor the US.” She explains how Lula is pushing back against Trump’s bullying while deepening BRICS ties, strengthening global solidarity with Palestine, and pushing forward efforts to hol...

Dr. Jemima Pierre, professor of Global Race at the University of British Columbia and member of Black Alliance for Peace, joins the show to discuss the role of private mercenaries like Erik Prince, the founder Blackwater, in escalating violence in Haiti. As Prince funnels weapons and armed drones into Haiti, Pierre warns the real goal isn’t security, but profit and imperialist control, using militarized violence against Haitians to serve US geopolitical interests.

Protesters will mobilize at the New York Times HQ to condemn Israel’s invasion of Gaza City and its systematic killing of Gaza’s journalists— including the assassination of five Al Jazeera journalists.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s latest attack on Los Angeles called Operation Trojan Horse as Trump directs Ice Agents to invade worksites in Los Angeles once again.

The summer economic data releases have been a disaster under Trump. Downward revisions on prior jobs reports on top of soft hiring for July. Inflation is rearing its ugly head in various parts of the economy. A growing housing affordability crisis. Loss of confidence in long-term treasuries. The only reason the stock market continues to perform is because foreign investors and U.S. corporations are propping up share prices because there are fewer and fewer places to find a return on investment. All the while, the GOP continues forward with plans to hurt the impoverished and middle class citizens of...

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Canada continuing to stick the dagger in Trump after refusing to make a bad deal with the United States as Prime Minister Carney senses Trump’s weakness.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s past and the cabal he hung out with as he now covers up his dark past.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s horrors in the street, in the courts, and in our homes by ICE agents as their evil acts are caught on camera and with survivors coming forward to tell their tragic stories.

The Israeli government says it's going to seize control of Gaza City, install a different administration, and try to eliminate Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Israel planned to take over the entire Strip. The Israeli military already controls around 80% of Gaza. The more than two million people living there have been bombed, starved, repeatedly displaced, and forced into temporary shelters. So, why did Israel make this announcement now? Is the prime minister trying to appease the right-wing members of his cabinet? Or is he trying to detract international condemnation of the man-made hunger crisis?

Brazil’s former president is under house arrest after its Supreme Court found Jair Bolsonaro had violated social media and political messaging rules. Now on trial for an alleged coup attempt, President Trump has called Bolsonaro’s prosecution a “witch hunt” and hit Brazil with 50% tariffs, an interference President Lula calls a breach to national sovereignty.

US President Donald Trump is intensifying his efforts to end the war in Ukraine -- and is expected to meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Western sanctions against Russia and military support for Ukraine have failed to bring peace. Could an end to the war be nearing?

Donald Trump aims to rebalance the global trading system. The president has announced a new round of tariffs on many nations. Trump’s trade experiment seems to be paying off better than most had expected, at least for now. He got his biggest trading partners to make deals that are closer to his demands than theirs. Financial markets have shrugged off higher duties, and tariff revenues are pouring in. But economists say Americans will pay more for many goods they consume when the tariffs take effect. What's the impact of tariffs on Asia's manufacturing hubs?

What is the threat of nuclear war today? With tensions on the rise, a new telling of firsthand accounts of the creation of the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project shows the echoes of those decisions today. 80 years after the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we hear an oral history of the people who built the bomb in secrecy to those who suffered its consequences.

In 2024, Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei launched an economic overhaul that slashed public spending, gutted state institutions and triggered massive protests. The government dubbed it “chainsaw economics”. Critics say it’s deepening poverty and pushing the country into chaos, while Milei continues to make headlines for bizarre behaviour, including claims he takes political advice from his dead dog’s clones. So who is really running Argentina – and at what cost?

Leopard sharks were once abundant in the waters of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago. However, commercial fishing and the lucrative shark trade have nearly wiped out the population, leaving only 20 adults in these pristine waters. Now, marine biologists are leading a unique project to rewild leopard sharks. Pup sharks are carefully raised in captivity, taught how to hunt and closely monitored before being released into their native waters.

French political analyst Francois Burgat was charged with supporting terrorism over a social media post he shared, which included a statement by Hamas. He was later acquitted. Burgat joins Centre Stage to unpack the case, the politics behind it and what he believes it reveals about free speech and support for Palestine in the West.

Brazil, India, China and Russia remain firmly in Donald Trump's sights as targets for his tariffs. Others like the EU have caved and negotiated deals. But for those haven't, could the US president's confrontational stance forge new alliances against him?

In an age of constant connection, why do we feel so isolated? Connected and Alone dives into the hidden costs of our digital lives, revealing how social media hijacks our attention and emotions. What promises to bring us closer often leaves us emotionally empty and endlessly distracted.

Are US tariffs about to end the ‘add to cart’ era? President Donald Trump’s move to end the de minimis exemption closes a loophole used by Shein, Temu, and others to ship duty-free. With costs likely passed to shoppers, consumers are starting to rethink the real price of ultra-cheap clothing.

We explore how Bangladesh is navigating political uncertainty one year after youth-led protests ended Sheikh Hasina’s long rule. In 2024, young Bangladeshis took to the streets, demanding change and forcing a political reckoning. A year later, the country sits in a delicate balance. We examine what the future looks like through the eyes of its young people.

A student uprising shook Bangladesh, toppling its most powerful leader. After 15 years in office, Sheikh Hasina’s grip on power broke under the pressure of a movement that began with a dispute over government jobs, and ended with her fleeing the country. To mark the anniversary, here’s the first episode of 36 July: Uprising in Bangladesh.

Israel's war on Gaza has injured more than 150,000 Palestinians. Many with life-changing injuries need specialist long-term care - but face devastation and blockade by Israel. What's the impact of all this on Gaza's people now - and into the future?

Labor activist Chris Smalls is back in the US after imprisonment and abuse by Israeli forces for joining the Handala Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. He tells us about his time in detention, the silence from the US, and what the flotilla movement means for worldwide solidarity with Palestinians facing genocide.

The US has imposed a punitive 25% tariff on India. President Trump warns that more could follow. It's a spectacular change from six months ago - when the leaders of the two nations declared their friendship at the White House. So what went wrong - and what's next?

Shurina is a 15-year-old high school student in Hita in southwestern Japan. Her world shifts when she’s cast as a kamikaze pilot in a play about World War II directed by her piano teacher and performed alongside her best friend, Yua. Tasked with reciting the pilot's farewell letter and portraying the brutal realities of war, Shurina is overwhelmed by the emotional weight of her role. To prepare, Shurina and Yua travel across Japan to visit World War II memorial sites, culminating in Okinawa, the site of their final performance. As the performance nears, can Shurina find the strength to ho...

Almost two years in, the war in Gaza is the deadliest conflict for journalists ever. With no foreign journalists allowed in, Palestinian reporters on the ground are the only ones who can tell the story to the world. But they face death threats, attacks, and now even starvation. How are reporters in Gaza doing their jobs amid such challenges?

US President Donald Trump says he's ordered two nuclear submarines to be repositioned to what he's called the 'appropriate regions'. It comes after a social media war of words between Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Trump is getting increasingly frustrated with Russia. His August 8 deadline, to end the fighting in Ukraine, has been mostly ignored by Vladimir Putin. And threats of US sanctions against Moscow and countries that buy its oil have so far landed flat. So, is this all about political theatre? Or can it add pressure for a ceasefire deal in Ukraine? So, is this all...

Starvation. Mass death. Children wasting away on camera. And still, no consequences. Rania Khalek is joined by Abby Martin to expose the full horror of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the complicity of liberals who stay silent or worse, and the surreal reality in which Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candice Owens and Tucker Carlson speak out. They also dig into the renewed media focus on Jeffrey Epstein, and what the mainstream won’t say about his ties to Israeli intelligence and elite blackmail.

Despite some pushback from his party to deal with the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza - especially Israel’s starvation policy - the US governing Republican Party remains unmoved. Republicans overwhelmingly support Israel’s tactics against the Palestinians, as support for Israel plummets among Independent and Democratic voters. Trump says he wants more food to reach Gaza via the militarised distribution mechanism, the GHF. But he criticised Western countries that spoke of diplomatic moves, such as recognising Palestinian statehood.

Around the world, countries are scrambling to cope with the latest wave of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. More than 60 countries are on the list, some with levies as high as 50 percent. The move has unleashed shock, confusion, and financial volatility. The US stock market took a hit, and a jobs report revealed slower than expected economic growth. Trump didn't take the news well...he promptly fired the head of the US Labour Statistics agency. But beyond that, how will these tariffs affect the global economy? And will this controversial foreign policy tool backfire on Trump?

India is expelling Bengali Muslims - stripping citizenship, detaining and deporting them to Bangladesh. The crackdown has spread nationwide, prompted by years of BJP propaganda and a news media all too willing to sell the story of a Muslim "enemy within".

The US arrested two Chinese researchers on National security-related charges for “smuggling” research materials into the US. But are these researchers really “agro-terrorists” posing a serious threat to US security, or are they the scapegoats in a rising cold war witch hunt against China? Join Linda Wan of Code Pink, Bob McMurray, and Judge Julie Tang to discuss what’s really happening here.

Chris Smalls, Founder of the Amazon Labor Union, joins the show after being beaten, arrested, and detained by Israeli forces for attempting to bring aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza. As the only Black person onboard the aid flotilla and the only one assaulted by Israel, Smalls describes his experience with the racist brutality of the apartheid state and the urgent need for the labor movement to take action for Gaza.