Day: April 16, 2026

Briefings

Background Briefing: April 16, 2026

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A Reality Check on Trump’s Claims He’s Stopping His 10th War in Lebanon

We begin with Trump’s announcement today that he “just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST…It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!” Joining us for a reality check is Habib Battah, a Beirut-based independent investigative journalist, filmmaker and founder of beirutreport.com. A contributor to The Guardian, BBC World, Al Jazeera, Lebanon’s The Daily Star newspaper, and others, he has covered Lebanon and the Middle East for over 20 years and previously taught journalism and media studies at the American University of Beirut and now is a Professor of Digital Media at St. Lawrence University in New York.

 

How Big Oil is Making an Extra $30 Million an Hour Out of the Iran War

Then we examine how Big Oil is making $30 million an hour in extra profits from the war on Iran and speak with Basav Sen, the Climate Justice Project Director at the Institute for Policy Studies. Previously he worked for about 11 years as a strategic corporate campaign researcher at the United Food and Commercial Workers and also had experience as a campaigner on the World Bank and international Monetary Fund. We discuss his article at Common Dreams, “We Must Fight Fossil Fuel Oligarchs to Save Democracy.”

 

The Average Taxpayer Shelled Out Over $4,000 For War and Weapons Last Year

Then we speak with Lindsay Koshgarian, the Program Director of the National Priorities Project, where she oversees NationalPriorities.org. Her work on the federal budget includes analysis of the federal budget process and politics, military spending, and specifically how federal budget choices for different spending priorities and taxation interact. She has an article at Common Dreams we discuss “The Average Taxpayer Shelled Out Over $4,000 for War and Weapons Last Year.”

 

Amy Goodman on the New Film About Her STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!

Then finally we speak with Amy Goodman, an award-winning investigative journalist, author, and host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, which airs on more than 1,500 public television and radio stations worldwide. She is the author of six New York Times bestsellers including Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America and The Silenced Majority: Stories of Uprisings, Occupations, Resistance, and Hope. She is the subject of the new documentary from Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, Steal This Story, Please! which debuts tomorrow exclusively at the Laemmle Royal Cinema in West LA  with a national rollout to follow.

We are offering tickets for 1:10 and 7:10 screenings tomorrow, Friday, in support of KPFK. There will also be a post-screening Q&A with and Alan Minsky in conversation with Amy and Carl as well as a reception and dinner at a nearby restaurant. Tickets and more info are available at KPFK.org