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.
Trump Targets Venezuela's Oil, Intensifying Pressure on Maduro | Why Are Trump and Vance Trashing a "Decaying" Europe When They Have a Better Quality of Life Than We Do? | The Vexed Relationship Between the U.S. and Iran With a Hostility That Has Lasted Longer Than the Cold War backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
Will the Anti-Capitalist Gen Z Left Which Has Energized the Democrats Dominate American Politics in the Future? | The Bill Introduced Today for Rank Choice Voting in House and Senate Primaries and General Elections | Will the Release of Records From Maxwell and Epstein Trials Bring Us Closer to Justice For the Victims? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
Trump Says Maduro's Days Are Numbered at War Against Venezuela Could Break Out at Any Time | The Ellison's Have Promised Trump They Will Revamp CNN to Trump's Liking | Australia's Social Media Ban and How the "Tech Left" Can Mobilize Against Techno-Utopianism backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump's Billionaire Buddy Launches a Hostile Takeover To Create a Trump-Friendly Media Giant | Zelensky Meets with Europe's Leaders Alarmed by Trump's New National Security Strategy | How Do the Democrats Take Back the House in the Face of a Partisan Supreme Court, a Serial Coup-Plotter and a Craven GOP Willing to Sell Out American Democracy? backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
A Former JAG on Hegseth and Trump's Murder Spree Which Are Not War Crimes Because We are Not at War | The Supreme Court Just Gave Republicans 30 of the 38 House Seats in Texas Before a Vote is Cast in November | The Harvard Youth Pollster Who Finds 13% of Americans Between 18 and 29 Say the U.S. is Heading in the Right Direction With Only 39% Supporting Capitalism | The Naked Partisanship of John Roberts Should be Clear to All As His Gives Trump Unlimited Power and Moves Us Towards a One-Party State backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
France's Fifth Government in Three Years Collapses as the Far Right in Europe Rises | A Film That Takes You Inside the Battlefield Under Russian Fire as Ukrainian Soldiers Fight and Die Defending Their Land Putin Claims As His | Trump Breaks Records Pardoning Crooked Congressmen, Scammers, Embezzlers, Fraudsters and Fanatics backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
Trump and MAGA's Policies and Politics Are Driven By Sadism | Putin Warns of War With Europe After Which There Will Be No One Left to Negotiate With | In Spite Of the Ongoing Agony, A Plan For Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Secretary of Defense Hegseth Needs to Step Down Now! | Could the Democratic Underdog Win Today in Deep Red Tennessee? | With Affordability the Big Issue, Why Can We Afford Guns and Not Butter? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
Trump and His Team Meet on Going to War Against Venezuela | With the House Back in Session, the Fate of Affordable Healthcare Hangs by a Thread | How Much is Melania Mentioned in the Epstein Files Trump is Trying to Suppress? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
An Investigation Into the CIA-Run "Kill Or Capture" Zero Units the D.C. Shooter Worked With | As Trump Blames Biden, Who is Responsible For the Chaotic U.S. Withdrawal of 76,000 Afghans Including the Shooter? | With Many Trump Teams Negotiating While Putin Has No Interest in Peace, What Impact Will the Resignation of Ukraine's Negotiator Yermak Have? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
What We Can Be Thankful For in This Otherwise Bleak Time | Talking Turkey About the Turkey Industry and Its lobbying Clout | How Art in Activism Can Uplift Dissent and Inspire Community Organizing backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
Will the Shooting of 2 National Guardsmen in Washington D.C. Provide Trump With an Excuse to Invoke the Insurrection Act For Example? | A Warning to the American Press From the Filmmaker of a Powerful New Feature Documentary About Brave Young Russian Women Reporting the Truth as Putin Shuts Down Independent Media and Criminalizes Journalism backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
Will There Be Further Vindictiveness After the Dismissals of the Revenge Cases Against James Comey and Letitia James? | Bolsonaros Botched Escape Attempt and Possible Collusion With the Trump Administration | Why Are Trump, Hegseth, and Vance So Freaked Out Over the Video by Six Democratic Lawmakers Who Are Veterans backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
America's Morally Bankrupt, Corrupt and Anti-Democratic Power Elite as Revealed in the Epstein Emails | Trump's Treasonous Sellout of Ukraine Is As If Chamberlain Showed Up at Munich With Hitler's "Peace Plan" | Sasha Linden Cohen on How the "Socialist" Handled the "Fascist" backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump's Decades-Long Obsession With Getting On the Forbes 400 List and How Much Saudi Money Has Lined His Pockets | Musk's $Trillion Payday and How Billionaires Donated 1 in 13 Dollars Spent in the Last Election, Over 80% of Which Went to Republicans | Trump is Shoving Putin's Wish List Down Zelensky's Throat With a Thursday Deadline to Capitulate backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia linktr.ee/backgroundbriefing
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
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