BACKGROUND BRIEFING: A radio program featuring international and national news, expert guests, policy makers, and critics offering analysis and insight on national security, foreign and domestic policy, political, cultural, and social issues. Five days a week, Background Briefing asks knowledgeable…
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The Background Briefing with Ian Masters podcast is an excellent source of intelligent and informative discourse on current events. Ian Masters does a phenomenal job of presenting complex issues in a thoughtful and articulate manner. He brings on accomplished and authoritative commentators from around the world, providing a global perspective on the issues at hand. Compared to other news sources, this podcast stands out as being more comprehensive and insightful during chaotic and historic times. Even when Masters slips into "grumpy grandpa" mode, his incredulous questioning adds value to the discussion. Overall, this podcast has been highly educational and I am grateful for it.
One of the best aspects of The Background Briefing with Ian Masters podcast is the choice of interviewees. Masters consistently brings on knowledgeable experts who provide valuable insights into various topics. The questions and remarks by Ian Masters are insightful and well-informed, creating engaging conversations with his guests. The podcast avoids mindless trends and political bias, presenting a fair and unbiased analysis of current affairs. It's impressive how much thoughtful and timely programming is produced every week, showcasing Masters' dedication to delivering high-quality content.
While The Background Briefing with Ian Masters podcast has many strengths, there are a few potential drawbacks. Some listeners may find that the host's biased perspective leans towards what they would consider "reality." However, others may view this as a positive aspect that separates the show from mainstream media's surrender to radical talking points instead of factual analysis. Additionally, although the interviews are insightful, some individuals may prefer a more balanced range of opinions to form their own judgments.
In conclusion, The Background Briefing with Ian Masters podcast is an exceptional source of commentary and analysis on current events. Listeners can expect intelligent discussions with well-chosen guests that provide deeper analyses and insights into pressing issues. While there may be instances where personal biases come through, overall, this podcast offers valuable information for those seeking thoughtful analysis in today's world. Ian Masters' dedication to presenting critical issues with well-informed guests makes this podcast a gem in the media landscape.
A Dangerous and Demented Trump Calls For the Execution of Democratic Senators and Congressmen and Women Who Are Military and Intelligence Veterans | In the Service of His Billionaire Tech Bro Buddies, Trump Doubles Down on Stopping States From Regulating AI | How Ordinary Citizens Witness and Record ICE and CBP's Brutality and Cruelty backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
A Weakened Trump As a Split in MAGA Emerges With Tucker Carlson and J.D. Vance Jockeying to Succeed America's Most Corrupt and Disastrous President | Trump's Plan to Gut the Department of Education That Only Congress Has the Legal Right to Do | Trump is Pressuring a Weakened Zelensky to Accept a Sellout Peace Plan That is Putin's Wish List backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
The Loophole in the Epstein Files Bill Passed by the House Today 427 to 1 That Allows Trump to Classify What He Does Not Want the Public to See | The Former Pariah's Lavish White House Welcome With Trump Dismissing MBS's Murder and Dismemberment of a Critic as "Things Happen" | Meta Wins the Antitrust Case Against the Tech Giant on the Basis Facebook Has Lost So Much Market Share to TikTok and YouTube backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia youtube.com/@ianmastersnet instagram.com/ianmastersmedia
November 17, 2025 - Jonathan Larsen | Mietek Boduszynski | Ben Freeman by Ian Masters
Epstein's Ties to Foreign Leaders and How Much the CIA Has an Epstein Problem | In Targeting an Organization That Does Not Exist, Trump Can Now Target Anyone |Will AI be an Issue in the Next Election? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
One of the First Journalists to Reveal the Email Trove Linking Epstein With Israeli Intelligence | The Damaging Scandal of Zelensky's Former Media Partner on the Lam With $100 Million in Energy Repairs Stolen | Does the U.S. Need Trump's Security Pact With Saudi Arabia? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
More Damaging Epstein Emails Emerge While the Real "Smoking Gun" Remains Epstein's Ties to Israeli Intelligence | Silicon Valley's Migration to Texas with Musk's Monarcho-Capitalism Embracing the Christian Nationalist of Petrobaptists | A New Poll That Finds GOP Voters See Trump as Tough, Intelligent or a Peacemaker While Democrats and Independents Say He's Destructive, Erratic or Reckless backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
November 11, 2025 - John Sweeney | Michael Mann | Olga Lautman by Ian Masters
November 10, 2025 - Jeet Heer | Joshua Landis | Jennifer Kavanagh by Ian Masters
An Assessment of Air Safety as Air Travel Melts Down | Following Orban's Example, Trump's Announces His Plan to Rig Election So That "We will never lose the midterms, and we will never lose a general election" | A Followup on Mamdani's Victory on How He Will Deal With the Affordability Crisis backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Mounting Evidence the MAGA Spell Has Been Broken | As a Blue Wave Looms, What Will Trump Do to Rig the Next Election? | Nancy Pelosi's Former Chief of Staff on Her Decision to Retire backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Having Shunned Mamdani, Will the Democratic Establishment Now Embrace Him? | California Governor Newsom's Warning That Trump Will Do Anything and Everything to Rig the Next Election | The Republicans Are the Real Radicals and They Have a Nazi Problem backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
After Offering to Half-Fund SNAP, Trump Turns Callousness Into Cruelty by Refusing to Fund It At All Until "Radical Left Democrats" Open Up the Government | The Billionaire-Funded Retention Election For the Pennsylvania Supreme Court That Is Going Under the Radar | The Mamdani race in NYC and Sherrill race in NJ as the Personification of the Struggle Within the Democratic Party backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump Wants to Take Out Maduro Without a War But Replacing Venezuela's Corrupt and Criminal Hierarchy Will Not Be So Easy | Trump Has Project 2025 But the Democrats Have No Plan and They Need to Go On the Offensive With One | Will SCOTUS Shred Its Last Vestige of Legitimacy and Side With Trump on Tariffs? backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Man With His Finger on the Button Doesn't Know What He is Talking About When it Comes to Nuclear Weapons | Trump Doesn't Need a Reichstag Fire, Mike Johnson Has Already Shut Down the Legislature | An Iranian Journalist Banned by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence on Her Book on the Third Anniversary of the Women, Life, Freedom Movement backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Today's Launch ofDEFIANCE.ORG to Help Americans Push Back Against Trump's Revenge | As Putin Behaves Like A Nazi Killing Ukrainian Civilians, Hitler's Murderousness Mobilized the Russians, 26 Million of Whom Died Defeating Nazism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
As Trump Rewards Billionaires and Mike Johnson Protects Pedophiles, Americans and Their Children Are About to Go Hungry | The CEO to Worker Pay Ratio Has Gone From 20 to 1 to 360 to 1 But Now Musk Expects a $1 Trillion Paycheck | Trump's Theatrical War on Drugs Has Key Ally Colombia Exiting the Stage;
Reality Versus Fiction in Trump's Asia Tour of Japan Then on to South Korea To Meet Xi | An assessment of Trump's Claim of a "New Golden Age of the U.S. Japan Alliance" backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Unbound Grandiosity of Trump's Ego and Its Frailty as the Most Powerful Man in the World Craves and Demands Praise and Flattery | Trump's Declaration of Economic War on Canada Over a Reagan TV Ad | An Assessment of What Was Achieved and What Was Not at the ASEAN Summit backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Dwarfing the White House, Trump's Monstrous Monument to His Ego Will be an Enduring Insult From the Worst President in Our History That Will Torment Us For the Ages | The Criminal Takeover of America as Trump Punishes His Enemies and Pardons His Friends While Rewarding Himself, His Family and His Cronies | Democrats Must Run With a Liberal/Populist Coalition to Improve the Lives of Americans Not Remind us How Bad Trump is backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
How Blue States Can Defend Themselves Against the Divisive Partisan Warfare Trump is Waging Against Them | The White House is Being Trashed to Build a Massive Monument to the Worst President in Our History | A Report From Kyiv on Whether Europe's Tough Talk on Russia Will Translate Into Action backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Although the Oysterman in Maine is Imploding and Senator Fetterman is a Disappointment, Authentic Populist Democratic Candidates Are Emerging on the Left | Disturbing Similarities With Today's Wall Street Bubble and the 1929 Crash | A Wakeup Call as the People's House is Torn Down to Build a Gilded Palace backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump Tears Down the East Wing For a Gilded Ballroom While Washington's Government Workers Aren't Getting Paid | Trump's Judges Overturn District Court Rulings For Troops to Intimidate Portland and Chicago | Will Trump Attack Venezuela to Please Little Marco? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump's Outlandish Vulgarity Has Support in the GOP and Deep Roots in American Politics | Witkoff and Kushner in Israel to Plug Holes in the israel/Hamas Peace Plan With VP Vance Arriving tomorrow For More Damage Control | The Contentious Trump/Zelensky Meeting at Which Trump Parroted Putin's Talking Points and Russian Propaganda backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Resistance to Trump is Growing With 2,600 No Kings Protests Across America | In Spite of JD Vance's Craven Lies, Group Chat Reveals Trump's Appeal to Young Republican Racists, Misogynists and Even Incels | Signs that Trump and Rubio's Plan To Use Military Force Against Venezuela Are Behind the Head of Southcom Stepping Down backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump and Putin to Meet in Budapest Soon For Another Summit After the Alaska Fiasco | Trump Authorizes CIA Covert Action Against Venezuela Announcing "We Are Looking at Land Now" | Friends and Relatives of Our Political Leaders Cash in on Dirty Money From Disreputable Despots backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
SCOTUS Appears Poised To Gut the Voting Rights Act Again to Give Republicans 10 to 12 New House Seats at the Expense of Black Voters Before Votes Are Cast in the Midterms | Younger Candidates Challenging the Gerontocracy Ruling Our Politics | The Weak and Vindictive Case Trump Has Ginned Up Against Leticia James backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Hamas Moves to Assert Control Over Gaza Making the Prospect of an Arab/Muslim Police Force Taking Over Dubious While Trump, Miller and Vance's Demonization of the American Left is Ludicrous, We Look Into Rifts Between the Fundis and the Realos | How Far Will the Country Sink Into the Trump Abyss of Corruption, Venality, Malevolence and Vulgarity? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
A Veteran Middle East Negotiator on the Gaza Peace Deal and Trump's Middle East Peace Plan | The Absence of Palestinian Representatives in the Peace Deal and Reconstruction Plans Underway | So Far So Good But Can All the Benchmarks Be Met? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
And the Nobel Peace Prize Goes to...Maria Corina Machado Not Donald J. Trump | The Latest Moves by the Shadowy Power Broker Who Owns J.D. Vance, Peter Thiel | Thom Hartmann on His Latest Book The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party and a World on the Brink backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Peace Deal Underway With Trump In Israel on Monday to Greet the Hostages | Not If But When Trump and Miller Will Invoke the Insurrection Act | Liberals With Attitude in the Past Needed Now in the Present backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The James Comey Show Trial by Trump and Bondi Gets Underway | Trump's "War Within" is Underway and It Will Be a Long One | America's Sea Change of Views on Israel Two Years After October 7 backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
On the Second Anniversary of the October 7 Massacre: The Role of $21.7 Billion in U.S. Military Aid | The Trump Judge Who Blocked His Deployment to Portland Saying "This is a Nation of Constitutional Law, Not Martial Law" | Cory Doctorow on How the Digital World Has Turned to S**T backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Is Trump Crazier Than Ever Or Has He Always Been Crazy? | Trump Moves To Bail Out American Soybean Farmers Who Lost the Chinese Market Because of Trump and Now Trump is Bailing Out Argentina's Milei Who Has Opened His Soybean Market to China | 905 U.S. Billionaires (Up From 66 in 1989) Now Own $7.8 Trillion Compared to the $4.1 Trillion of 66 Million American Households backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Will Peace Happen in Gaza and Trump Get His Nobel Prize? | The Second Trump Coup Is Underway and Will We Have an Election Next November? | What Happens After This Long, Cruel Is Over? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
October 2, 2025 - Elizabeth Goitein | Lisa Graves by Ian Masters
Trump and Miller's National Security Directive NSPM-7 Outlaws the Common Beliefs of Over Half of the Country | Trump Is More the Latin American Caudillo Than the European Fascists of the 1930's | Trump and Vought Use the Government Shutdown to Gleefully Inflict Trauma on Public Service Workers and Their Families backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
How Trump Will Take Advantage of the Government Shutdown | Trump Tells Our Admirals and Generals That the Enemy is Within and Democratic U.S. Cities Should be Military Training Grounds | Ignorance is the Key Ingredient That Keeps MAGAworld Believing Trump's Lies and Absurdities backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump Promises Eternal Peace in the Middle East With a Peace Plan Hamas Has Yet to Sign | Trump Meets With Democratic Leaders to Avoid a Shutdown Making it Clear He Won't Compromise | Can Democratic Senators Convince the Public You Can't Make Deals With Republicans Acting in Bad Faith backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Consiglieres Running Trump's Private Law Firm, the DoJ as Junkyard Dogs Unleashed to Hound, Harass, Bankrupt and Jail the Mob Boss's Enemies | An Activist on a Boat in a Flotilla Heading to Gaza That the Israelis Have Attacked With Drones | A Senior Middle East Negotiator for Clinton, Obama and Biden on the Pursuit of Israel/Palestine Peace and the Horrors of Today backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Leninists and Stalinist at the Head of MAGA and the Trump White House | Trump Trashes the UN Leaving China to Fill the Void After the US Withdraws From the World Body | Silicon Valley's Merging of Techno-Fascism and Christo-Fascism as Musk Merges X with xAI is His Latest Grift backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Could Our Democracy Be Over Before We Get to Vote in 2026? | Zelensky Warns the World is "in the Most Destructive Arms Race in History" | Harris' Book Reminds Us That Biden's Inner Circle Are Responsible For the Catastrophic Return of Trump backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
September 23, 2025 - Dulcie Leimbach | Arthur Caplan | Maha Nassar Trump Trashes the Countries of the World at the UN in Front of the World's Leaders | The Deadly Consequences of Trump's Lies and Quackery As He Announces a "Cure" For Autism | At the UN Today Trump's Call to End the Wars in Ukraine and Gaza Repeats an Empty Promise backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Does Recognizing Palestine Create an Illusion of Action to End the Agony in Gaza? | Massive Demonstrations Across Brazil Against Pardoning Bolsonaro and How We Should Have Jailed Trump After His Coup Attempt | Trump Spews Hatred at Charlie Kirk's Memorial After Kirk's Widow Invokes Her Christian Faith To Forgive Her Husband's Murderer backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Trump Coup Underway and His Assault on the First Amendment | The Real Epstein Files Story in the 7,000 + SARS Files at Treasury and the Central Role of Robert Maxwell and His Depraved Daughter backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Richest Man in the World, Trump's Buddy Larry Ellison, Will Soon Own Most of the Media and We Will Have Government TV and Wall-to-Wall Fox News | Trump's MAGA Apparatchik Brendon Carr Uses Charlie Kirk to Kill Free Speech | Time For Jimmy Kimmel to Sue the Trump Administration backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
September 17, 2025 - Dean Baker | Ben Freeman | Jonathan Alter by Ian Masters
Peter Thiel's Obsession With the Antichrist Brings Techno-Fascism and Christo-Fascism Together | The Senate Grills the Unqualified and Incompetent Kash Patel as the FBI's Top Talent is Purged | Israel Invades Gaza City as a UN Report Concludes Israel is Commititng Genocide in Gaza backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Ben Burgis Who Debated Charlie Kirk on "Democratic Socialism vs. Conservative Populism" | Echoes of the 60's and 70's From Protest Songs Against Trump and MAGA Fascism | An Assessment of the Military Standoff Between Russia and Ukraine backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump and His Co-President Stephen Miller Declare War on the Democratic Party Which Miller Calls "A Domestic Terrorism Organization" | Charlie Kirk's Christian Nationalism is Embraced by the Shadow Rulers J.D. Vance, Mike Johnson and Russ Vought | Reality Winner Got 5 Years in Prison While Trump Got a Free Pass From a Judge he Owns For Far, Far Worse Breaches of the Espionage Act of 1917 backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
September 11, 2025 - Barbara F. Walter | Thomas Mockaitis | Bruce Cumings by Ian Masters
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