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.
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
Putin Tests the NATO Alliance With a Drone Incursion Into Poland | Why Are Democratic Leaders Avoiding Popular And Promising Candidates Like Mamdani and Maine's Oysterman? | Qatar Was Not Warned About the Israeli Attack Which Happened at 3.46 Because the US Told Them About it 10 Minutes Later at 3.56 backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The US Tells the Europeans We Will No Longer Work With Them Against Disinformation Warfare by Ian Masters
Did the US Allow Israel to Strike an Allied Country That Hosts the Biggest US Base in the ME? by Ian Masters
With a Sept. 30 Gov Shutdown Looming, Do the Dems Get Blamed or Do They Let the Republicans Own it? by Ian Masters
With a September 30 Government Shutdown Looming, Do the Democrats Get Blamed or Do They Walk Away and Let the Republicans Own it Since They Don't Negotiate in Good Faith? | Did the US Allow Israel to Strike an Allied Country That Hosts the Biggest US Base in the Middle East? | The US Tells the Europeans We Will No Longer Work With Them Against Russian, Chinese and Iranian Disinformation Warfare backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
A Major TV Network Caves Again, Censoring Trump Protests at the US Open Men's Tennis Final | The Growing Rift Between the Supreme Court and the Lower Courts | A Chicagoan Manning the Barricades Ahead of Trump's "Invasion" in His War on Chicago backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump Escalates Threats Against Venezuela as Rubio Calls For a Regional Latin American Campaign of Extrajudicial Killings | The Weak and Cynical Trump Plans For Defending Ukraine In a Possible Deal With Putin | The Consequence of DHS Violence Prevention Funding Cuts to Minnesota Just Ahead of the Minneapolis Mass Shooting of Kids on Their First Day of School backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
September 4, 2025 - Jonathan Guyer backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
RFK Jr. Grilled by Senate Democrats Who Want him Fired and Republicans He Lied To | A Congressional Reporter on the Women Abused And Trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell as Trump, the Doj and the House Speaker Fight to Keep the Epstein Files From the Public | The Moral and Strategic Collapse of US Policy in the Middle East backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
With Trump's DoJ and House Republicans on the Side of a Depraved Socialite Instead of the Victims of Her Sex Trafficking, Maxwell's Survivors Had to Speak in Front of the Capitol Today | Is Trump Cooking Up a Nice Little War to Take Out Maduro as a Distraction From Epstein? | ICE's Shameful Deportation of Asylum Seekers Back to Russian Torture and Imprisonment backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
A Federal Court Rules That Trump and Hegseth Violated the Posse Comitatus Act and That Trump is Creating a National Police Force With Him As Its Chief | Does Xi Jinping Command the World Stage Because of His Diplomatic Skills or Because of Trump's Blundering Lack of Diplomacy? | A Mayor Mamdani Will Need A Mass Movement Behind Him To Overcome an Establishment Out to Crush Him backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The State of Working America Under Assault From Trump and Project 2025 | How Trump and Project 2025 Have Turbocharged the Plutocratic Takeover of American Democracy | The History of Labor Day As Opposed to May Day That Others Celebrate backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump, Hegseth, Ratcliffe, Gabbard, Patel, Bongino and Noem Might as Well be Working For Putin and Xi as They Destroy Our National Security | How the Conspiratorial Mindset of an Entitled Wastrel From a Famous American Political Dynasty is Collapsing America's Public Health | The Blowback at Home From America's Killing Machine in the War on Terror backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Another Mass Murder of Children, This Time While They Were Praying in Church on Their First Day at School | The Sadistic Absurdity of Trump, Miller, Noem, Lewandowsky and Homan | Democrats Can Learn From Our Best President's Strategic Shift in the Civil War to Save Our Democracy From America's Worst President backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The U.S. is Caught Spying on a NATO Ally in Support of Trump's Plot to Steal Greenland | Trump's Antisemitic Conspiratorial Rant Threatening George Soros and His Son | Having Survived a Coup Attempt, Can We Endure Dictatorial Creep? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Another Governor, Illinois' Pritzker, Stands up to Trump While Democratic Leaders in the House and Senate are MIA | After Trying to Terminate the Fed Chair, Trump Fires the First and Only Black Woman on the Fed, But She is Staying Put | How the U.S. Should Deal With the Way the World is, Not How We Wish It To Be backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Since Oval Office Flattery is Required, South Korea's President Praises Trump's Garish Redecoration Only to Have Trump Heap Praise on the North Korean Dictator Who Wants to Annihilate South Korea | A Directionless DNC Meets Today With Coffers Empty and a Growing Split Between Younger Activists and Older Centrists While Trump's GOP Moves to Wipe Out the Opposition and Install a Dictator | 5 More Palestinian Journalists Killed Today as Starvation Takes Hold in Gaza backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump Rewrites His Epstein/Maxwell History as He Has Done With "Russiagate" and "Stop the Steal" But This Time Are the American People That Stupid? | Joining the Residents of Washington DC As They Demonstrate Against the Military Occupation of Our Nation's Capital | Among the First to Warn About Global Warming, Bill McKibbon on His New Book Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump Patrols the Streets of the Nation's Capital as He Wages War on the Truth | A Case For a Real Democracy in the U.S.A. backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Protestors at DC's Union Station Yell at Vance, Hegseth and Miller Who Calls Them "Crazy Communists" as They Bring Cheeseburgers to National Guard Troops | Texas Gerrymanders 5 Seats For Trump Who is Trying Everything to Stop the Democrats From Taking the House in 2026 | Can Ukraine Hold the Front Against a Russian Offensive Which is Why Putin Doesn't Want a Ceasefire? backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump's Pathetic Idea of Diplomacy and the Art of the Giveaway | After Sunday's Massive Demonstrations, Can Israel's Opposition Stop the War on Gaza? | The Fascistic Thuggery of Republican Legislators in Texas backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Damage Control at the White House to Prevent Trump's Sellout of Ukraine to Putin | Trump Wants to Get Rid of Mail-in Ballots and Undo the Constitution's Bedrock of States Controlling Elections | Trump's Burgeoning War Chest to Buy theNext Election Just as Musk Bought the Last backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The Shameful Amateurism of Trump's Reality TV Diplomacy as He Sells Out Ukraine While Fawning Over a Wanted War Criminal | A Specialist on Russian Media on the Summit the Russian Public Saw on Putin-Controlled State Media | The Possibility of Crypto-Corruption Greasing the Skids to the Summit backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Trump's Performative Takeover of the Street of Washington DC as Its Residents Cry "Fascists", "Pigs" and "Go Home" | What Can Democrats Do To Be Proactive, Not Reactive to Trump | California Governor Newsom's Announcement of a November 4 Special Election to Counter the Texas Gerrymander backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
How Ukrainians Feel About the Upcoming Summit to Which They Are Not Invited | The 31 Years-Long Dictatorship That Served as a Backchannel For the Putin/Trump Summit | Trump and Hegseth Have Captured the Generals Who Will Show Loyalty Over Legality and Not Rescue us From Trump as Milley, Mattis and Kelly Did Last Time backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
The UN's Palestinian Representative's Call For a UN Peacekeeping Protection Force in Gaza | What a Peace Plan to End Russia's War on Ukraine Could Look Like | Trump Moves to Use the Military for Domestic Law Enforcement as the Pentagon Plans For Rapid Reaction Forces to Put Down Civil Dissent backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Like a Tinpot Dictator, Trump Takes Over the Nation's Capital, Sending Troops Into the Streets as a Show of Force | The Growing Rift Between IDF Generals and Netanyahu as More of Israel's Allies Call For a Palestinian State | The Possibility of a New War Erupting Soon Between Israel and Iran backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Yet Another Sellout by Trump to His Handler Putin | Since Zelensky Will Have to Reject Trump's Phony Peace Deal, Will That Be Trump's Excuse to Abandon Ukraine? | Gabbard's Ridiculous Revisionist History Aimed to Please the Liar-in-Chief backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Low Expectations Among Experts For the Upcoming Putin/Trump Summit in the UAE | Decades of US Efforts to Woo India Away From Russia and Forge a Strategic Partnership Against China Blown Up Overnight By Trump | The Dark Side of A.I. as Silicon Valley Techno-Utopians Oversell Their Products Again backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
Will the Lawless Trump Regime Have the FBI Arrest the Democratic Lawmakers Who Fled Texas to Stop Trump's Power Grab? | As Trump Tries to Persuade Putin Ahead of Friday's Deadline, Can Putin End His War on Ukraine? | An Authoritative Analysis on the Economy and Where Trump is Taking it backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia
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