Ralph Nader Radio Hour

The (Un)stable Genius

We are joined once again by Dr. Bandy Lee, forensic and social psychiatrist and violence expert, who edited the 2017 New York Times bestselling book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.” We get her latest take on whether someone with Trump’s psychological profile should have the nuclear football and whether he would actually leave office peacefully. Plus, Ralph assesses the latest No Kings rally. Dr. Bandy Lee [https://bandylee.com/bio-for-dr-bandy-lee/] is a forensic and social psychiatrist, violence expert, president of the World Mental Health Coalition [https://worldmhc.org/] and New York Times bestselling author of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump-bandy-x-lee/1129801084].” Her new book is “The Psychology of Trump Contagion [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214129703-the-psychology-of-trump-contagion],” also available as a podcast [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyut-9AYJvSOaExzW_c0iGaxohCfxB482]. And her four-part series on Substack is “The Serious and Imminent Threat of Donald Trump [https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/the-serious-and-imminent-threat-of].” I have often said that every accusation is a confession; that whatever he (Trump) says of others will quite accurately portray what is happening in him because of the level of symptomatology and projection. Dr. Bandy Lee He will react (to impeachment) very belligerently, as violently as possible, as we’ve seen from his loss of the first attempt to be reelected. But it also depends on how we handle him. We’ve seen from how dictators of the world – who understand his psychology much better because it’s similar to theirs – can manipulate him and cause him to do all kinds of things that ordinary presidents would never do. And so, I would say that he’s still very malleable, and it depends on how we handle him and manage him. And that’s why mental health consultants would be very important. Dr. Bandy Lee Let me suggest why the progressive media is avoiding your type of elaboration and explanation. They do not want to be accused of what the communist regime in the Soviet Union did to dissenters. Stalin and his cohorts would basically say that dissenters are insane. They have mental impairment, and they should be sent to prisons in Siberia. And progressives throughout the decades have been very fearful of being tainted with that accusation about dissent in American society. Ralph Nader News 10/24/25 * On October 15th, investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein published a report [https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/inside-the-war-on-antifa] on the Trump administration’s attempts to implement the new National Security Presidential Memorandum targeting “Antifa” known as NSPM-7. According to this report, the federal government has so far begun “collecting intelligence on Antifa ‘affinity’ groups, canvassing the FBI’s vast informant network for tips about Antifa, and scrutinizing financial records.” What this will mean in practice remains murky. A senior career homeland security official is quoted saying that “no one should doubt the orders that have come down from on high to destroy Antifa,” and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem recently stated “Antifa is just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of em.” However, as this simply is not the case – former FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that Antifa is “not a group or an organization…[instead]...a movement or an ideology,” – the door is open for the Trump administration to pursue a wide-ranging and ill-defined crusade against any groups or individuals it determines to be antifascist. So far the response to this campaign has been muted, perhaps out of fear of reprisal from the federal government. But with infinitely moveable goalposts, this “war on antifa” as Klippenstein defines it, could have grave consequences for civil society and civil liberties for years to come. * In more federal news, POLITICO [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/23/states-snap-food-aid-benefits-government-shutdown-00619117] reports that if the government shutdown continues through November 1st, residents of 25 states – including California, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, D.C. and New Jersey – will lose access to SNAP benefits. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, helps over 42 million low-income Americans avoid hunger. The loss of SNAP benefits will be acutely felt as the nation enters the holiday, and specifically Thanksgiving, season. It remains to be seen whether this will force either side to blink, and many expect the shutdown to drag on until the November elections. * Even with the government shut down, things are happening in Congress. This week, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit to force Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to swear in Adelita Grijalva. Johnson has blocked Grijalva, who won the special election in Arizona’s seventh congressional district a month ago, from taking her seat in Congress. Mayes argues that Johnson’s obstinance has left 800,000 Arizonans without representation and is requesting that federal judges, or others authorized to administer the oath of office swear in Grijalva if Johnson refuses to do so. Johnson claims he cannot administer the oath until the House is back in session, yet he used a special pro forma session to swear in Republican Representatives Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine less than 24 hours after they won their respective special elections. Many contend that he is blocking Grijalva because she has vowed to vote in favor of the discharge petition to force the release of the Epstein files. This from AP [https://apnews.com/article/adelita-grijalva-swearin-congress-epstein-files-adeb9e704220b65c9ae139e557c72381]. * Meanwhile, in the Senate, a breach seems to be widening between President Trump and Kentucky libertarian Senator Rand Paul on the issue of the strikes on Venezuelan boats. In an interview [https://x.com/SenRandPaul/status/1980778628305625589] with Piers Morgan, Senator Paul said “We can’t just kill indiscriminately because we are not at war. It’s summary execution!...Everyone gets a trial because sometimes, the system gets it wrong. Even the worst of the worst in our country get due process. The bottom line is that execution without process is not justice, and blowing up foreign ships is a recipe for chaos.” At another point in this interview, Paul disputed the Venezuelan narcotrafficker narrative, emphasizing that “There is no fentanyl made in Venezuela. Not just a little bit, there’s none being made... These are outboard boats that, in order for them to get to Miami, would have to stop and refuel 20 times.” That same day, the Hill [https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5565899-rand-paul-trump-lunch/] reported Trump hosted a lunch with all Republican Senators at the White House Rose Garden – with the sole exception of Rand Paul. Paul brushed this off, saying he was instead having lunch with Congressman Thomas Massie, an ideological ally who also bucks President Trump’s direction on a number of issues. * On the other side of the aisle, Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding answers related to the Argentina bailout. Specifically, Warren is concerned about “revelations that the United States government may be purchasing Argentine pesos,” as part of this bailout, and pressing for disclosure as to “whether such purchases have occurred and how much taxpayer money has already been spent.” This from MediasNews [https://meidasnews.com/news/warren-probes-treasury-over-u-s-peso-purchases-in-argentina-bailout]. This letter alleges that the deal includes “a $20 billion currency-swap agreement with Argentina’s central bank, efforts to arrange a $20 billion private investment vehicle, and ‘the apparent purchase of at least hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Argentine pesos directly using taxpayer dollars.” The administration seems unusually invested in propping up the government of Argentinian President Javier Milei, a staunch Trump ally in the region. In addition to this bailout, on Wednesday, Trump angered the American cattle industry and their Republican allies in Congress by announcing plans for large-scale purchases of Argentinian beef, which will undercut American producers, per Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/argentina-donald-trump-beef-money-bailout-cattle-ranchers-10922051]. * In Massachusetts, a complex political dynamic is emerging in that state’s Democratic Senate primary. Longtime progressive incumbent Ed Markey, who fended off a primary challenge from the Right launched by Joe Kennedy in 2020, is now facing a new rightward challenge from Congressman Seth Moulton. Many see Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a “Squad” member, as Markey’s chosen successor, but he has made no indication of stepping aside, despite the fact that he would be 80 years old if he were to be reelected in 2026. Moulton is 46, Pressley is 51. Moreover, in an indication of where the party is ideologically, Moulton made one of his first campaign moves “returning campaign donations that he received from individuals affiliated with…[AIPAC]...and [vowing] he would no longer accept campaign support from the group,” per the New Republic [https://newrepublic.com/article/202020/democratic-politicians-running-away-aipac]. Moulton is by no means an antizionist, he followed up this announcement by saying “I’m a friend of Israel,” according to JNS [https://www.jns.org/massachusetts-democrat-gears-up-for-senate-race-by-rejecting-aipac/], but the fact that even a centrist to center-right Democrat has to reject AIPAC money is a sign of just how toxic the group has become to the Democratic Party rank and file. * Our next two stories are on bills responding to the challenges of AI. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a bill updating the state’s antitrust laws to ban landlords from using AI algorithms to “artificially inflate New Yorkers’ rents,” according to Gothamist [https://gothamist.com/news/hochul-signs-bill-banning-ny-landlords-from-using-algorithm-software-to-set-rents]. This bill comes in the context of a Justice Department lawsuit against RealPage, a company that uses algorithms to analyze data such as vacancies and lease renewal rates to give landlords price recommendations – which many see as collusive price-fixing. According to a Council of Economic Advisors study, such algorithms cost renters nationwide 3.8 billion additional dollars in inflated rents in 2023. California enacted a similar law earlier this month. Hopefully other states and municipalities, particularly those with hot rental markets, will follow suit. * And in New Jersey, Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/new-jersey-pushes-bill-to-make-data-centers-pay-for-electricity-they-use-10906181] reports Assemblywoman Andrea Katz is pushing a bill to impose a surcharge on AI data centers to help offset the rising power costs caused by the massive amounts of energy these data centers consume. This tax would be used to modernize New Jersey’s power grid. According to the data, “the average price of residential electricity increased 6.5 percent from 16.41 cents per kilowatt-hour to 17.47 cents between May 2024 and May 2025.” This issue is particularly salient in New Jersey right now, as the state gubernatorial elections are rapidly approaching. In this same context, Democratic Virginia state delegate Shelly Simonds is quoted saying “Voters are mad as hell about energy prices increasing…anybody who ignores these issues does so at their peril.” * Turning to foreign affairs, earlier this week the BBC [https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cvgw31y75ywt] reported that Prince Andrew would be “giving up his titles, including the Duke of York, following a ‘discussion with the King.’” This announcement raised alarm bells. Prince Andrew has been deeply implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and has been out of public view for years already. This new severing of his ties to the royal family implied there was more yet to come. Indeed, just days later an excerpt from the late Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl included an account of the former Duke of York engaging in an orgy with Giuffre and “approximately eight other young girls” at Epstein’s Little St. James island estate. In this memoir, Giuffre also recounts a brutal rape at the hands of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. * Finally, in some positive news, Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-cypriots-vote-leader-peace-talks-hang-balance-2025-10-19/] reports that elections in Turkish-dominated Northern Cyprus this week brought to power Centre-left politician Tufan Erhurman. Erhurman, who won with nearly two-thirds of the vote, has pledged to revive reunification talks with the Greek-dominated portion of the island. Various peace plans and reunification efforts over the years have failed, and talks have largely ceased since 2017. This victory proves one thing: it is never too late for a people to move toward peace. We wish the Cypriots on both sides of the partition luck in the negotiations to come. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. 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The Era of the Bully

Ralph welcomes Professor Roddey Reid to break down his book “Confronting Political Intimidation and Public Bullying: A Handbook for the Trump Era and Beyond.” Then, we are joined by the original Nader’s Raider, Professor Robert Fellmeth, who enlightens us on how online anonymity and Artificial Intelligence are harming children. Roddey Reid is Professor Emeritus [https://literature.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/emeriti-rreid.html] at the University of California, San Diego where he taught classes on modern cultures and societies in the US, France, and Japan. Since 2008 he has researched and published on trauma, daily life, and political intimidation in the US and Europe. He is a member of Indivisible.org San Francisco, and he hosts the blog UnSafe Thoughts [https://roddeyreid.squarespace.com/] https://roddeyreid.squarespace.com/on the fluidity of politics in dangerous times. He is also the author of Confronting Political Intimidation and Public Bullying: A Handbook for the Trump Era and Beyond [https://roddeyreid.squarespace.com/new-book-1]. I think we still have trouble acknowledging what’s actually happening. Particularly our established institutions that are supposed to protect us and safeguard us—many of their leaders are struggling with the sheer verbal and physical violence that’s been unfurling in front of our very eyes. Many people are exhausted by it all. And it’s transformed our daily life to the point that I think one of the goals is (quite clearly) to disenfranchise people such that they don’t want to go out and participate in civic life. Roddey Reid What’s broken down is…a collective response, organized group response. Now, in the absence of that, this is where No King’s Day and other activities come to the fore. They’re trying to restore collective action. They’re trying to restore the public realm as a place for politics, dignity, safety, and shared purpose. And that’s been lost. And so this is where the activists and civically engaged citizens and residents come in. They’re having to supplement or even replace what these institutions traditionally have been understood to do. It’s exhilarating, but it’s also a sad moment. Roddey Reid Robert Fellmeth [https://www.cerescourier.com/opinion/editorial/ai-is-already-harming-our-children-are-california-lawmakers-going-to-do-something-about-it/] worked as a Nader’s Raider from 1968 to 1973 in the early days of the consumer movement. He went on to become the Price Professor of Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego (where he taught for 47 years until his retirement [https://www.sandiego.edu/news/detail.php?_focus=95315] early this year) and he founded their Children’s Advocacy Institute [https://www.sandiego.edu/cai/about/] in 1983. Since then, the Institute has sponsored 100 statutes and 35 appellate cases involving child rights, and today it has offices in Sacramento and DC. He is also the co-author of the leading law textbook Child Rights and Remedies [https://digital.sandiego.edu/law_fac_books/20/]. I think an easy remedy—it doesn’t solve the problem totally—but simply require the AI to identify itself when it’s being used. I mean, to me, that’s something that should always be the case. You have a right to know. Again, free speech extends not only to the speaker, but also to the audience. The audience has a right to look at the information, to look at the speech, and to judge something about it, to be able to evaluate it. That’s part of free speech. Robert Fellmeth News 10/17/25 * In Gaza, the Trump administration claims to have brokered a ceasefire. However, this peace – predicated on an exchange of prisoners – is extremely fragile. On Tuesday, Palestinians attempting to return to their homes were fired upon by Israeli soldiers. Defense Minister Israel Katz [https://x.com/Israel_katz/status/1978435964755210379] claimed those shot were “terrorists” whose attempts to “approach and cross [the Yellow Line] were thwarted.” Al Jazeera [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/15/live-israel-restricts-aid-into-gaza-hamas-releases-bodies-of-4-captives] quotes Lorenzo Kamel, a professor of international history at Italy’s University of Turin, who calls the ceasefire a “facade” and that the “structural violence will remain there precisely as it was – and perhaps even worse.” We can only hope that peace prevails and the Palestinians in Gaza are able to return to their land. Whatever is left of it. * Despite this ceasefire, Trump was denied in his bid for a Nobel Peace Prize. The prize instead went to right-wing Venezuelan dissident María Corina Machado. Democracy Now! [https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/10/headlines/2024_nobel_peace_prize_awarded_to_venezuelan_opposition_leader_maria_corina_machado] reports Machado ran against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in 2023, but was “barred from running after the government accused her of corruption and cited her support for U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.” If elected Machado has promised to privatize Venezuela’s state oil industry and move Venezuela’s Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and in 2020, her party, Vente Venezuela, “signed a pact formalizing strategic ties with Israel’s Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” Machado has also showered praise on right-wing Latin American leaders like Javier Milei of Argentina and following her victory, praised Trump’s “decisive support,” even telling Fox News that Trump “deserves” the prize for his anti-Maduro campaign, per the Nation [https://www.thenation.com/article/world/trump-nobel-peace-prize-maria-corina-machado/]. * Machado’s prize comes within the context of Trump’s escalating attacks on Venezuela. In addition to a fifth deadly strike on a Venezuelan boat, which killed six, the New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/us/politics/trump-venezuela-maduro.html] reports Trump has ordered his envoy to the country Richard Grenell to cease all diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, including talks with President Maduro. According to this report, “Trump has grown frustrated with…Maduro’s failure to accede to American demands to give up power voluntarily and the continued insistence by Venezuelan officials that they have no part in drug trafficking.” Grenell had been trying to strike a deal with the Bolivarian Republic to “avoid a larger conflict and give American companies access to Venezuelan oil,” but these efforts were obviously undercut by the attacks on the boats – which Democrats contend are illegal under U.S. and international law – as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeling Maduro a “fugitive from American justice,” and placing a $50 million bounty on his head. With this situation escalating rapidly, many now fear direct U.S. military deployment into Venezuela. * Meanwhile, Trump has already deployed National Guard troops to terrorize immigrants in Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times [https://chicago.suntimes.com/religion/2025/10/09/pope-meets-with-chicago-union-leaders-urges-migrant-welcome-as-crackdown-underway-in-hometown?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow-cst&utm_source=twitter] reports Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope and a Chicago native, met with Chicago union leaders in Rome last week and urged them to take action to protect immigrants in the city. Defending poor immigrants is rapidly becoming a top priority for the Catholic Church. Pope Leo has urged American bishops to “speak with one voice” on the issue and this story related that “El Paso bishop Mark Seitz brought Leo letters from desperate immigrant families.” Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, also at the meeting with Leo and the union leaders, said that the Pope “wants us to make sure, as bishops, that we speak out on behalf of the undocumented or anybody who’s vulnerable to preserve their dignity…We all have to remember that we all share a common dignity as human beings.” * David Ellison, the newly-minted CEO of Paramount, is ploughing ahead with a planned expansion of his media empire. His next target: Warner Bros. Discovery. According to the Hollywood Reporter [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-paramount-offer-rejects-david-ellison-zaslav-1236399106/], Ellison already pitched a deal to WB CEO David Zaslav, but the $20 per share offer was rejected. However, Ellison is likely to offer a new deal “possibly…backed by his father Larry Ellison or a third party like Apollo [Global Management].” There is also talk that he could go directly to the WBD shareholders if the corporate leadership proves unresponsive. If Ellison is intent on this acquisition, he will need to move fast. Zaslav is planning to split the company into a “studios and HBO business,” and a Discovery business, which would include CNN. Ellison is clearly interested in acquiring CNN to help shape newsroom perspectives, as his recent appointment of Bari Weiss as “editor-in-chief” of CBS News demonstrates, so this split would make an acquisition far less of an attractive prospect. We will be watching this space. * In another Ellison-related media story, Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/barron-trump-tiktok-board-10870318] reports Barron Trump, President Trump’s 19-year-old son, is being eyed for a board seat at the newly reorganized Tik-Tok. According to this story, “Trump’s former social media manager Jack Advent proposed the role at the social media giant, as it comes into U.S. ownership, arguing that the younger Trump’s appointment could broaden TikTok’s appeal among young users.” Barron is currently enrolled in New York University’s Stern School of Business and serves as an “ambassador” for World Liberty Financial, the “Trump family’s crypto venture.” TikTok U.S., formerly owned and operated by the Chinese company ByteDance, is being taken over by a “consortium of American investors [including Larry Ellison’s] Oracle and investment firm Silver Lake Partners,” among others. * As the government shutdown drags on, the Trump administration is taking the opportunity to further gut the federal government, seeming to specifically target the offices protecting the most vulnerable. According to NPR [https://www.npr.org/2025/10/13/nx-s1-5572489/trump-special-education-department-funding-layoffs-disabilities], “all staff in the [Department of Education] Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), with the exception of a handful of top officials and support staff, were cut,” in a reduction-in-force or RIF order issued Friday. One employee is quoted saying “This is decimating the office responsible for safeguarding the rights of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.” Per this report, OSERS is “responsible for roughly $15 billion in special education funding and for making sure states provide special education services to the nation’s 7.5 million children with disabilities.” Just why exactly the administration is seeking to undercut federal support for disabled children is unclear. Over at the Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS sent out an RIF to “approximately 1,760 employees last Friday — instead of the intended 982,” as a “result of data discrepancies and processing errors,” NOTUS [https://www.notus.org/health-science/trump-administration-hhs-health-cdc-rfk-jr-layoffs-cuts-rif] reports. The agency admitted the error in a court filing in response to a suit brought by the employees’ unions. Even still, the cuts are staggering and include 596 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 125 at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to name just a few. This report notes that other agencies, including the Departments of Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security all sent out inaccurately high RIFs as well. * The Lever [https://www.levernews.com/airlines-say-fixing-broken-boeing-planes-is-bad-for-business/] reports Boeing, the troubled airline manufacturer, is fighting a new Federal Aviation Administration rule demanding additional inspections for older 737 series planes after regulators discovered cracks in their fuselages. The rule “would revise the inspection standards…through a regulatory action called an ‘airworthiness directive.’...akin to a product recall if inspectors find a defective piece of equipment on the plane…in [this case] cracks along the body of the plane’s main cabin.” The lobbying group Airlines for America is seeking to weaken the rule by arguing that the maintenance checks would be too “costly” for the airline industry, who would ultimately have to bear the financial brunt of these inspections. Boeing is fighting them too because such a rule would make airlines less likely to buy Boeing’s decaying airplanes. As this report notes, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy – who oversees the FAA – “previously worked as an airline lobbyist…[and] Airlines for America recently selected the former Republican Governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu to be their chief executive officer.” * In more consumer-related news, Consumer Reports [https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein-powders-and-shakes-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a4206364640/] has been conducting a series of studies on lead levels in various consumer products. Most recently, a survey of protein powders and shakes found “troubling levels of toxic heavy metals,” in many of the most popular brands. They write, “For more than two-thirds of the products we analyzed, a single serving contained more lead than CR’s food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day—some by more than 10 times.” Some of these products have massively increased in heavy metal content just over the last several years. CR reports “Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer powder, the product with the highest lead levels, had nearly twice as much lead per serving as the worst product we analyzed in 2010.” The experts quoted in this piece advise against daily use of these products, instead limiting them to just once per week. * Finally, in a new piece in Rolling Stone [https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/jd-vance-right-plan-billionaires-elections-1235445122/], David Sirota and Jared Jacang Maher lay out how conservatives are waging new legal campaigns to strip away the last remaining fig leaves of campaign finance regulation – and what states are doing to fight back. One angle of attack is a lawsuit targeting the restrictions on coordination between parties and individual campaigns, with House Republicans arguing that, “because parties pool money from many contributors, that ‘significantly dilutes the potential for any particular donor to exercise a corrupting influence over any particular candidate’ who ultimately benefits from their cash.” Another angle is a lawsuit brought by P.G. Sittenfeld, the former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati – who has already been pardoned by Trump for accepting bribes – but is seeking to establish that “pay-to-play culture is now so pervasive that it should no longer be considered prosecutable.” However, the authors do throw out one ray of hope from an unlikely source: Montana. The authors write, “Thirteen years after the Supreme Court gutted the state’s century-old anti-corruption law, Montana luminaries of both parties are now spearheading a ballot initiative circumventing Citizens United jurisprudence and instead focusing on changing state incorporation laws that the high court rarely meddles with.The measure’s proponents note that Citizens United is predicated on state laws giving corporations the same powers as actual human beings, including the power to spend on politics. But they point out that in past eras, state laws granted corporations more limited powers — and states never relinquished their authority to redefine what corporations can and cannot do. The Montana initiative proposes to simply use that authority to change the law — in this case, to no longer grant corporations the power to spend on elections.” Who knows if this initiative will move forward in Montana, but it does provide states a blueprint for combatting the pernicious influence of Citizens United. States should and must act on it. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe [https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Busboys and Poets / Big Business

Ralph welcomes Andy Shallal of Busboys and Poets to discuss his new memoir, “A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets.” Then, Ralph speaks to business consultant and activist Bennett Freeman about why Big Business isn’t standing up to the Trump Administration. Andy Shallal [https://www.busboysandpoets.com/about/] is an activist, artist and social entrepreneur. Mr. Shallal is the founder and proprietor of Busboys and Poets restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area, which feature prominent speakers, poets and authors and provide a venue for social and political activism. He is also co-founder of The Peace Cafe and a member of the board of trustees for The Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author of the new book A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets [https://orbooks.com/catalog/A-seat-at-the-table/]. I’ve called Andy Shallal “democracy’s restaurateur”, and he really fits the bill. Ralph Nader Activism is the best antidote to depression. It’s really hard to be able to sit back—and especially now with social media and everything else that’s right at your fingertips, to be able to watch the little babies being snipered and their limbs being chopped up. And it just feels so, so horrific. And the only way you can really be able to make sense of it—if there’s any way to make sense of it—is to continue to fight for a better world. Andy Shallal Since, of course, October 7th opened up a whole new thing for activists and really exposed in a very stark way the myth of “Western civilization,” the idea of how obvious the lies and the deceit that’s been happening, and the power of the military industrial complex that we’ve been warned about over the years I think [a new understanding is] taking shape right now, and we’re starting to understand it more and more. And as I think we are trying to free Gaza and free Palestine, at the same time I think Gaza and Palestine are freeing us to be able to understand our system better. Andy Shallal One of the things that I find is necessary for movements to be sustained is to have joy. You’ve got to have opportunities for joy. You got to have opportunities for people to actually have fun together, really feel like they’re part of a community. Because a lot of times, the work we do isn’t—well, it’s soul-sucking work, you know, and you need to have those opportunities to be able to refuel and re-energize. Andy Shallal Bennett Freeman [https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/bennett-freeman-on-the-failure-of-big-business-to-stand-up-to-trump/] is principal of Bennett Freeman Associates, where he advises multinational corporations, international institutions, and NGOs on policy and strategy related to human rights and labour rights. Mr. Freeman was founding chair of the advisory board for Global Witness (an investigative, campaigning organisation that challenges the power of climate-wrecking companies). He was also founding trustee of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, co-founder of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, and co-founder of the Global Network Initiative. He served on the governing board of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, as well as the board of Oxfam America. Mr. Freeman was the lead author of “Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders [https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/fdfe07e3d812cfcfed4235fbbf820a3d77599b13.pdf].” [Ralph,] you correctly characterize the silence and obeisance of much of corporate America (not least the tech CEOs) so far this year. I would use another pair of words as well to characterize their stance, which I think during the campaign last year in 2024 was: complacency, [and] I think the complacency now has become complicity in a dramatic, historic, democratic backsliding in the United States with the erosion of rule of law and our constitutional democracy. Bennett Freeman At the end of the day, I’m much more interested in democratic governance based on rule of law and fair elections than I am in what corporate America has to say. But they have a stake now. And I think that those of us who have tried to promote corporate responsibility (and in Ralph’s case and many others, to impose corporate accountability) have to continue this work. And we’ve got to engage corporate America without illusions, but with still aspirations to try to get them back to support—in a nonpartisan or bipartisan way—the fundamentals of what our country is supposed to be about. Bennett Freeman News 10/10/25 * Two polls came out this past week which reveal key data points about Americans’ views on Israel. First, a Washington Post poll [https://www.washingtonpost.com/tablet/2025/10/06/sept-2-9-2025-washington-post-jewish-americans-poll/] of American Jews, published October 6th and covering September 2-9th, shows that 61% say Israel has committed “war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.” This nearly two-thirds majority should put the lie to the canard that American Jews monolithically support Israel’s actions in Gaza. They don’t. Furthermore, 39% say Israel has committed “Genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.” Some contend these numbers might be higher if the question was worded slightly differently, for example asking in the present tense whether Israel is committing genocide, rather than in the past tense. Regardless, while this result is slightly less than a majority, it certainly proves that a substantial share of American Jews do believe that Isreal is guilty of the crime of genocide. Astute politicians should take note. * Another survey that shrewd pols should consider is the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project (IMEU) poll [https://www.imeupolicyproject.org/polls/democrats-sanctions-israel] released October 3rd. In this poll, 43% of respondents identified “U.S. foreign policy and relations with Israel” as an issue that will play a role in their 2026 Democratic primary vote. As for more ambitious Democrats, 71% said they would be more likely to vote for “A candidate for president who voted to withhold weapons to Israel,” compared to just 10% who said the same about “A candidate who voted against withholding weapons to Israel.” The numbers are cut and dried. * Last week, CBS [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/netanyahu-drone-attacks-gaza-aid-boats-tunisia/] confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “directly approved military operations on two vessels,” in the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. According to this report, Netanyahu ordered Israeli forces to “[launch] drones from a submarine and [drop] incendiary devices onto the boats that were moored outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said.” As this report notes, “Under international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict, the use of incendiary weapons against a civilian population or civilian objects is prohibited in all circumstances.” Put simply, this attack amounted to a war crime. In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla wrote “Confirmation of Israeli involvement…simply lay[s] bare a pattern of arrogance and impunity so grotesque that it cannot escape eventual reckoning.” The flotilla was intercepted off the coast of Gaza last week and over 400 activists were detained in Israeli custody. Many have alleged mistreatment, with Turkish activist Ersin Çelik claiming guards “dragged [Greta Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag.” * Unfortunately, this is the last news critical of Israel we can expect to see from CBS for a long time. On October 6th, CNN [https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/media/bari-weiss-cbs-free-press-paramount-sale] reported that Paramount will officially acquire The Free Press for $150 million and appoint its founder, Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News. This position was created specifically for Weiss. According to Paramount, in this role, Weiss will “shape editorial priorities, champion core values across platforms, and lead innovation in how the organization reports and delivers the news.” In an interview with Democracy Now! [https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/8/bari_weiss_david_klion_cbs_paramount], journalist David Klion of the Nation and Jewish Currents, said Weiss, “has presented herself as a champion of free speech…But in reality, she has a 20-year history of suppressing speech that she finds objectionable, especially when it’s speech championing the rights of Palestinians and criticizing the state of Israel.” * Meanwhile in Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum called for the immediate repatriation of the six Mexican nationals among the Gaza aid flotilla participants following their detention by Israeli forces, per Mexico News Daily [https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/sheinbaum-mexicans-detained-israel/]. Following a speech [https://x.com/PamphletsY/status/1973871394422505580] by the Mexican president, the foreign ministry wrote that Mexican Embassy officials had gone to Ashdod, where the activists were being held, to “directly verify the conditions on the ground, request consular access, and ensure that … [the] safety and integrity [of the Mexicans] is respected, in accordance with applicable international law.” Notably, President Trump has made no such moves to publicly demand the return of, or even lawful treatment of, the Americans on board these vessels. Perhaps this is a contributing factor to Sheinbaum’s stunning 78% approval in a recent El País [https://elpais.com/mexico/2025-10-01/claudia-sheinbaum-es-la-presidenta-mejor-valorada-en-mexico-en-dos-decadas-tras-su-primer-ano-en-el-cargo.html?outputType=amp] poll, which shows her not just overwhelmingly popular among her own party’s base but even among those registered to competing parties. According to this poll, 73% of PAN members, 72% of PRI members, 70% of MC members, and 59% of voters with no party preference approve of her performance in office. These numbers are frankly unimaginable in America, but so are the achievements Sheinbaum has delivered in her short time in power. * Turning to Congress, Representatives Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal and Jared Huffman have authored a letter expressing “grave concerns,” regarding President Trump’s executive order designating “Antifa” as a Domestic Terrorist Organization, calling for the order and accompanying memorandum, known as NSPM-7 to be “immediately rescinded,” according to the related press release [https://pocan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pocan-huffman-jayapal-lead-letter-trump-slamming-executive-order]. In the letter, the members warn “the sweeping language and broad authority in these directives pose serious constitutional, statutory, and civil liberties risks, especially if used to target political dissent, protest, or ideological speech.” The members also note that the memo “characterizes ‘anti-capitalism’ as a hallmark of violent behavior without explaining the term…[allowing] officials to potentially treat Americans as domestic terrorists for something as routine as organizing a local boycott or operating an employee-owned business.” Perhaps most critically, they write “These actions are illegal, and…We stand ready to take legislative action should you fail,” to rescind the order. * In St. Louis, former Congresswoman Cori Bush is running to take back her seat. Bush, who came to prominence as an activist during the 2014 Ferguson protests and eventually primaried 10-term incumbent Congressman Lacy Clay, was ousted in a close 2024 primary by prosecutor Wesley Bell. According to POLITICO [https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/03/congress/cori-bushs-comeback-00592723], Bell received $8 million dollars from AIPAC during that campaign; the pro-Israel PAC had identified Bush, along with former Congressman Jamaal Bowman, as key targets because of their pro-Palestine positions. * Of course, for the time being, Congressional deadlock is keeping the federal government in a shutdown. One symptom of this shutdown surfaced in Los Angeles this week, when dozens of flights into and out of Hollywood Burbank Airport were delayed or canceled because its air traffic control tower was temporarily unstaffed, the LA Times [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-06/burbank-airport-air-traffic-control-tower-temporarily-unmanned-amid-government-shutdown] reports. Staffing shortages also caused delays at Newark Liberty International Airport, Denver International Airport and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. This report added that the Federal Aviation Administration “warned of more disruption at airports due to staff shortages as a result of the government shutdown.” Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a joint press conference with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, “We need to bring this shutdown to a close, so that the [FAA] and the committed aviation safety professionals can put this distraction behind us and completely focus on their vital work…We do not have the luxury of time.” * More troubling signs are emerging in the economy as well. For months now, analysts have warned that the U.S. is not just on the brink of a recession, but rather already in one – it is just being masked by the massive speculative bubble of AI. Back in August, Axios [https://www.axios.com/2025/09/15/ai-stocks-recession] reported that “excitement over artificial intelligence…is clouding recessionary signals in more cyclical corners of the market,” citing longer lengths of unemployment and slower hiring. Now, the AI bubble is reaching epic proportions. According to the Financial Times [https://ig.ft.com/ai-personal-assistant/], “AI spending by companies now accounts for a 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year,” while the Financial Post [https://financialpost.com/financial-times/america-is-now-one-big-bet-on-ai] reports AI companies have accounted for 80 per cent of the gains in U.S. stocks so far in 2025. Given the market’s reliance on AI speculation, the economic damage if that bubble bursts whilst the economy is on such unstable footing could be catastrophic. * Finally, for some good news, a new California law is aiming to regulate the noise level of advertisements on streaming services. The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/06/california-bans-loud-ads-streaming-netflix-hulu-disney] reports the new legislation, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, “forces the powerful streaming platforms to comply with existing regulations that have barred television broadcasters from bombarding the eardrums of viewers with overly loud commercials since 2010.” According to this story, the bill was sponsored by State Senator Tom Umberg, whose newborn child was consistently awoken by overloud ads. As the Guardian notes, “Since so many of the streaming platforms are based in California, the new state bill could set a national standard and lower volumes across the country.” Rest assured industry will strike back at this law somehow, but it remains to be seen how they will argue for their right to blast ads at consumers at outrageous volumes. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe [https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World

Ralph welcomes Michael Mann, Professor in the “Department of Earth and Environmental Science” at the University of Pennsylvania and author along with Dr. Peter Hotez of “Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World.” Then we are joined by Martin O’Malley, former governor of Maryland and one time Commissioner of the Social Security Administration to refute all the lies being told about the state of Social Security. Dr. Michael E. Mann [https://earth.sas.upenn.edu/people/michael-mann] is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the “Department of Earth and Environmental Science” at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a co-founder of the award-winning science website RealClimate.org [http://realclimate.org/], and the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, numerous op-eds and commentaries, and seven books, including “Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-e-mann/science-under-siege/9781541705494/]” (co-authored with Dr. Peter Hotez [https://peterhotez.org/]). It’s the five actors that we talk about, the five forces that threaten our world: the Plutocrats, the Petro States, the Polluters, the Propagandists, and yes, the Press, not all media outlets, but many of them, including even what we used to think of as legacy. Objective news outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post too often engage in what we call performative neutrality, where anti-science positions are placed on an equal footing with the overwhelming consensus of the world’s scientists. Dr. Michael Mann People like to finger point at China, which currently is the largest emitter (of greenhouse gases) because they industrialized much later than the United States, more than a century later. But their trajectory is actually a downward trajectory. They’ve contributed far less carbon pollution to the atmosphere than we have, and they’re taking greater action. Dr. Michael Mann The United States doesn’t get to determine the future course of human civilization at this point. It’s going to be the rest of the world. All the United States gets to determine is whether it’s going to be on the front line of the clean energy transition, the great economic development of this century, whether they’re going to be on board or left behind. Dr. Michael Mann Martin O’Malley [https://www.martinomalley.com/] served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration from December 20, 2023 to November 29, 2024. He previously served as Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015, following two terms as Mayor of the City of Baltimore. Once they (the Trump Administration) got rid of the heads of all of the offices of Inspectors General, they started launching these big lies, like the lie that there are 12 million dead people that continue to receive checks. And as Trump said himself to Congress, some of them are as much as 300 years old, which would have had them here for the founding of Jamestown. Martin O’Malley They (Republicans) are trying to wreck it (Social Security), wreck its reputation, wreck its customer service, so then they can rob it. Martin O’Malley News 10/3/25 * Our top story this week is President Trump’s chilling speech to the military high command, in which he proclaimed that “America is under invasion from within,” per PBS [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/at-gathering-of-military-leaders-trump-hints-at-deployment-in-u-s-cities]. Trump went on to say that he plans to use American cities – citing Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland – as “training grounds for our military.” Warning against conscientious objections by the military to this weaponization against domestic opponents, Trump added “I’m going to be meeting with generals and with admirals and with leaders. And if I don’t like somebody, I’m going to fire them right on this spot.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has recently styled himself Secretary of War, reiterated this message, saying “if the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign.” In terms of actual policy, a new draft National Defense Strategy calls for prioritizing defense of the “homeland,” over potential foreign threats, such as from China, per POLITICO [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/05/pentagon-national-defense-strategy-china-homeland-western-hemisphere-00546310?campaign_id=346&emc=edit_wor_20250929&instance_id=163447&nl=the-world®i_id=158058369&segment_id=206795&user_id=23d931c2923c8bfc0bb010eaf7ed9be1]. The administration followed up this declaration with a dystopian deployment in Chicago, where federal agents rappelled down from helicopters to raid a South Side apartment building, arresting Venezuelan migrants and Black American citizens alike. In a statement given to ABC7 Chicago [https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-federal-agents-surround-south-shore-apartment-building-dhs-requests-military-deployment-illinois/17908911/], one man detained by feds stated “They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another.” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker decried the presence of “jackbooted thugs roaming around a peaceful downtown,” and demanded federal troops “Get out of Chicago...You are not helping us,” per the New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/us/trump-chicago-immigration-national-gu]. * Speaking of conflicts abroad, this week Trump unveiled his proposal for a peace deal in Gaza. According to CNN [https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/middleeast/trump-gaza-plan-what-comes-next-intl], “The plan calls for Israel to release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, as well as 1,700 Palestinians detained since the start of the war, in exchange for Hamas freeing 48 hostages.” Once these exchanges have been completed, Israel is to gradually withdraw from Gaza and turn over administration of the enclave to a “Board of Peace,” which will include Trump himself along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a bizarre historical echo of the British mandatory rule over Palestine. If this process proceeds, it will supposedly create “a path for a just peace on the basis of a two-state solution.” The odds of success however are slim. * In more Gaza news, the Global Sumud Flotilla has been intercepted off the coast of Gaza and Israel has detained the activists on board. Video [https://x.com/Seamus_Malek/status/1973481168994705610] evidence shows the IDF detaining activist Greta Thunberg specifically. According to Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib [https://x.com/RepRashida/status/1974127069270258121], “The Israeli government has illegally abducted over 450 participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla, including nearly two dozen U.S. citizens…We must demand their immediate release and their protection from abuse and torture in Israeli detention. End the siege and genocide of Gaza now.” According to the Flotilla organizers [https://x.com/GlobalSumudF/status/1973631935231803581], one of the ships – the Mikeno – got as close as 9.3 miles from the coast, within Gaza’s territorial waters, before they lost its signal. While disappointing, given that this is the largest aid flotilla to Gaza in history and came so close to the shore, it seems [https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/1974053554940756182] that at least the flotilla gave fishermen in Gaza the opportunity to go out on the water without interference from the Israeli navy – a crack in the all-encompassing blockade. * Meanwhile, Fox News [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/netanyahu-broadcasts-united-nations-message-gaza-accusing-world-leaders-appeasing-evil] reports that Israeli intelligence hijacked all cellphones in Gaza in order to forcibly broadcast Prime Minister Netanyahu’s United Nations General Assembly speech last week, in which he accused the leaders of western nations who recently recognized the state of Palestine – France, Australia, and the U.K. among others – of being “Leaders who appease evil rather than support a nation whose brave soldiers guard you from the barbarians at the gate,” adding, “They’re already penetrating your gates. When will you learn?” Netanyahu’s speech was also blasted into Gaza via loudspeakers on the Israeli side of the border. The families of the hostages still held in Gaza released a statement decrying this provocative action, writing “We know from our children…that the loudspeakers were placed inside Gaza. This action endangers their lives, all for the sake of a so-called public diplomacy campaign to preserve [Netanyahu’s] rule…He is doing PR at the expense of our children’s lives and security. Today we lost the last shred of trust we had in the political echelon and in the army leaders who approved this scandalous operation.” * In Latin America, Trump is planning to bailout Argentina, which has suffered tremendous economic shocks under the stewardship of radical Libertarian President Javier Milei. According to Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-argentina-bailout-sparks-fury-among-farmers-republicans-10809559], Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has offered Argentina a, “$20 billion swap line and other forms of assistance to help stabilize the Argentine peso, and said the U.S. remained ‘prepared to do what is necessary’ to sustain the ‘important strides’ taken by Milei.” This kind of ideologically driven foreign assistance flies in the face of Trump’s supposed “America First” policies, but beyond that it has infuriated domestic interests, especially in the agricultural sector. American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland posted a statement reading, “The frustration is overwhelming…U.S. soybean prices are falling, harvest is underway, and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. is extending…economic support to Argentina.” This is a particular twist of the knife because following Trump’s offer, Argentina lowered export restrictions and sent “20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans to China in just two days.” Republicans representing agricultural interests share this fury. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wrote “Why would [America] help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market???...We should use leverage at every turn to help [the] hurting farm economy. Family farmers should be top of mind in negotiations by representatives of [the] USA.” North Dakota Representative Julie Fedorchak added “This is a bitter pill for North Dakota soybean farmers to swallow.” * Moving on from foreign affairs, this week saw the release of a new batch of Epstein files, demanded by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and turned over by the Jeffrey Epstein Estate. These files include “phone message logs, copies of flight logs and manifests for aircraft,” along with “copies of financial ledgers and Epstein’s daily schedule.” These new releases implicate many big names, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, and well-documented Epstein associate, Prince Andrew of the British royal family, per the BBC [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyl8j1we0lo]. The release of these files is the latest victory in the campaign to expose everyone involved with Epstein’s underage sex ring, a campaign Republicans in government – led by President Trump – have resisted. According to the Hill [https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5529055-republicans-grijalva-swearing-in-house/], Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to allow the swearing-in of Adelita Grijalva, who was elected last week in a special election to fill the seat vacated by her father’s death. In this move, many see an attempt by Speaker Johnson to stave off the discharge petition to release the Epstein files. Grijalva has already committed to signing the petition. * In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, Republicans have hammered the left for what they see as violent rhetoric, with the White House [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence/] going so far as to classify certain ideas – among them anti-fascism, anti-capitalism and “extremism on migration, race, and gender” – as potentially punishable under domestic terrorism laws. Meanwhile, however, the Arizona Mirror [https://azmirror.com/2025/09/25/john-gillette-gop-lawmaker-calls-for-democratic-congresswoman-to-be-executed-for-urging-trump-protests/] reports a Republican lawmaker in the state has called for the Washington Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal to be “tried convicted and hanged.” The lawmaker, state Representative John Gillette, was responding to a video in which Jayapal counseled protestors on “non-violent resistance” to Trump’s policies. Gillette on the other hand has vocally supported the January 6th insurrectionaries, labeling them “political prisoners” and calling for their release. Asked for comment, Gillette said “The comment is what it is.” For her part, Congresswoman Jayapal [https://x.com/RepJayapal/status/1971682863352631669] has called for “All political leaders, of all parties, [to] denounce” these comments. * Turning to local news, incumbent New York City Mayor Eric Adams has dropped his bid for reelection, Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-mayor-adams-drops-re-election-bid-2025-09-28/] reports. Adams has been mired in scandal of all kinds, including a federal indictment for bribery. Speculation abounds as to why he chose to suspend his campaign now. It is too late to take his name off of the ballot and he declined to endorse any other candidate, making it unlikely that he did so to bolster the chances of disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is still continuing his independent bid for the mayoralty despite lagging behind Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani by a substantial margin. On the other hand, Adams has previously been offered incentives by President Trump to drop out of the race, including potential protection from prosecution and an ambassadorial post in Saudi Arabia. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, claims “Seven different people,” have offered him a “total of $10 million,” to withdraw from the race, but he adamantly refuses to do so, saying “you can’t bribe me, buy me, lease me, I’m not for sale.” This from the New York Post [https://nypost.com/2025/09/29/us-news/curtis-sliwas-f-you-response-over-alleged-10m-bribes-for-him-to-exit-nyc-mayoral-race-like-eric-adams/]. * Next, on September 25th, Black liberation activist Assata Shakur passed away at the age of 78, per Democracy Now! [https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/29/death_legacy_assata_shakur]. Shakur had been convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, though serious doubts remain about her role in the death. She escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba, where she received asylum in 1984 and continued to maintain her innocence until her death. In 1998, Pope John Paul II visited Cuba and faced calls to demand Assata’s extradition to the United States to “face justice” for the murder. In a highly-publicized letter, Assata wrote “The New Jersey State Police and other law enforcement officials say they want to see me brought to ‘justice.’ But I would like to know what they mean by ‘justice.’ Is torture justice?... When my people receive justice, I am sure that I will receive it, too.” Rest in power, Assata. * Our final story comes to us from, where else, but Hollywood. Variety [https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sag-aftra-tilly-norwood-ai-actress-1236534779/] reports, AI production studio Particle6 has created an AI “actress” who is “named” Tilly Norwood and thereby created a firestorm within the entertainment industry. Tilly’s creator, Eline Van der Velden argues that she sees, “AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool…Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting…nothing – certainly not an AI character – can take away the craft or joy of human performance.” However, SAG-AFTRA – the union representing screen actors – has issued a blistering statement, writing “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation…It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.” The statement continues, “It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.” This episode is simply the latest clash within the entertainment industry between workers and the rising tide of AI. It will not be the last. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe [https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Listener Questions & Feedback

Ralph answers some of your recent questions about the genocide in Gaza, how to jumpstart civic engagement, and more! Your feedback is very important. And the more detailed and factual it is, the better off the impact will be by your initiative and getting back to us. You have to be active in a program like this. Because we’re not just talking to the choir here. We want the choir to sing back—in affirmation or dissent. Ralph Nader I was astonished…how disinterested the American people are in empowering themselves. That’s the problem we have. The lack of civic motivation, the lack of saying, “Look, we’ve given our power to only 535 people in the Congress, and they’ve turned it against us on behalf of some 1,500 corporations. We’re going to turn it around. We’re the sovereign power.” As I’ve said a hundred times, the Constitution starts with “We the people,” not “We the Congress” or “We the corporations.” And the people don’t seem to want to focus on that. If they had anyone in their neighborhood and community who were treating them the way Congress is treating them—as voters, as workers, as consumers, as parents, as children, as taxpayers—they would never allow it. Ralph Nader You get more and more voters vulnerable to just what comes out of a politician’s mouth. Remember, everything Trump has achieved politically has come out of his mouth—not out of his deeds, just out of his mouth. Repeatedly, unrebutted largely over the mass media, and faithfully relayed to the American people by a supine media which points out his mistakes once in a while, but it was too little, too late. Ralph Nader News 9/26/25 * This week, the campaign for Palestinian statehood notched major victories. According to the BBC [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9ykqw22zlo], the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia and Portugal all announced on Sunday that they would recognize the state of Palestine. They are expected to be joined by a number of smaller states, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra and San Marino. These countries, all traditionally close allies of the United States and Israel, join the 140 countries that already recognize the State of Palestine. A statement [https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/australia-recognises-state-palestine] by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explains that this move is “part of a co-ordinated international effort to build new momentum for a two-state solution, starting with a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages.” These heads of state are pursuing this policy despite a thinly veiled threat from Congressional Republicans, a group of whom – including Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Elise Stefanik – sent a letter to President Macron and Prime Ministers Starmer, Carney and Albanese warning them of possible “punitive measures in response,” and urging them to “reconsider,” per the Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/21/republicans-warn-australia-of-punitive-measures-over-recognition-of-palestinian-state]. * In more Palestine news, as the Global Sumud Flotilla draws near to the coast of Gaza, they are apparently under low-level attack. Al Jazeera [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/9/2/live-geta-thunberg-once-more-on-board-sumud-flotilla-sailing-for-gaza] reports the flotilla, “has reported explosions and communications jamming as drones hovered overhead.” In response, the United Nations has called for a probe, with UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan stating, “There must be an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attacks and harassment by drones and other objects.” In response to this harassment, Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/italy-sends-navy-ship-help-gaza-aid-flotilla-after-drone-attack-2025-09-24/] reports Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto expressed the “strongest condemnation” and ordered the “Italian multi-purpose frigate Fasan, previously sailing north of Crete, to head towards the flotilla ‘for possible rescue operations’, focusing primarily on Italian citizens.” The strong response by the Italian government is likely related to the labor unrest the targeting of the flotilla has engendered within the country. ANSA [https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2025/09/24/usb-says-new-general-strike-and-100-protests-for-gaza_ad4597ac-1dfe-4520-8de6-dfc8f5024d25.html], a leading Italian news outlet, reports the Unione Sindacale di Base or USB “would proclaim a wildcat general strike and protests in 100 Italian cities for Gaza after the success of Monday’s stoppage and protests involving an estimated 500,000 people in 80 cities.” The union has organized these massive protests under the slogan “let’s block everything.” * In more foreign policy news, following on the heels of the protests in Nepal, anti-corruption protestors took to the streets in the Philippines this week, Time [https://time.com/7319164/philippines-flood-control-projects-corruption/] reports. The acute cause of these protests was a recent audit which found widespread corruption in the country’s flood control projects. The Philippines has invested around $9.5 billion on such projects since 2022, but these have been plagued by kickback schemes, resulting in shoddy work and even deaths. Even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., aka “Bongbong,” sympathized with the protestors, saying “Do you blame them for going out into the streets? If I wasn’t President, I might be out in the streets with them…Of course, they are enraged. Of course, they are angry. I’m angry. We should all be angry. Because what’s happening is not right.” The potency of these protests is likely to grow as the Philippines was hit this week by Typhoon Ragasa, which is reported to have killed three Filipinos this week, per NBC [https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/typhoon-ragasa-slams-hong-kong-killing-least-17-taiwan-philippines-rcna233352]. * For our final foreign policy update, just days after the dubiously-legal strikes that killed 11 Venezuelans on a boat the U.S. claims was being used to transport drugs, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent a letter to American special envoy Richard Grenell, per CNN [https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/21/americas/maduro-letter-trump-venezuela-intl-latam]. In this letter, Maduro denies any involvement with narco-trafficking, calling the allegations “fake news, propagated through various media channels,” and calling for Trump to “promote peace through constructive dialogue and mutual understanding throughout the hemisphere.” Trump brushed off Maduro, saying “We’ll see what happens with Venezuela,” perhaps implying a renewed attempt to remove the Venezuelan president. Since then, the U.S. has conducted more of these lethal strikes, with no conclusive proof of the victims’ criminality. The U.S. government is offering a $50 million bounty for Maduro’s arrest. * Moving northward, a disturbing story comes to us from Florida. The Miami Herald [https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article312042943.html] reports, “As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined.” Speaking to the paper, attorneys characterized entering the facility as entering “an alternate [immigration] system where the normal rules don’t apply.” This story cites one case of a man “accidentally deported to Guatemala before a scheduled bond hearing,” similar to the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, and a Cuban man supposedly transferred to a facility in California but who could not be located there. This kind of disappearing of migrants adds fuel to the fire of the worst suspicions about the administration’s immigration policies. The Florida facility was forced to halt operations after a court ruling in August, but an appeals court has now overruled that ruling. The future of the site and its detainees remains uncertain. * In another instance of what appears to be a cover-up by the Trump administration, NPR [https://www.npr.org/2025/09/22/nx-s1-5549115/usda-food-insecurity-survey-hunger] reports the Department of Agriculture will “end a longstanding annual food insecurity survey.” In a statement, the USDA [https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/09/20/usda-terminates-redundant-food-insecurity-survey] called the report “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous.” This removes another crucial data tool, following the discontinuation of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report Trump ended just weeks ago. The signature legislation of Trump’s second term thus far, the One Big Beautiful Bill, expanded work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is estimated to cut food aid to 2.4 million Americans. That will surely add to the 47.4 million food insecure households recorded in 2023. Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), told NPR “The national food insecurity survey is a critical, reliable data source that shows how many families in America struggle to put food on the table…Without that data, we are flying blind.” * And in another assault on the regulatory state, the Supreme Court this week allowed Trump to keep Rebecca Slaughter – the last remaining Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission – out of her post for another three months. POLITICO [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/22/supreme-court-ftc-trump-firing-00575714] reports the high court is reviewing a 90-year-old law which “limit[s] the president’s power to fire…officials for political reasons.” According to this report, many expect the conservative majority on the court will rule that that law “unconstitutionally interferes with the president’s ability to control the executive branch.” If so, Trump will be able to remove Slaughter permanently – along with any other remaining Democrats within the regulatory apparatus. * On the media front, ABC – and its parent company, Disney – have balked, reinstating Jimmy Kimmel’s late night television program after abruptly suspending the show last week. Kimmel, in his return, clarified that “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” but excoriated the ABC affiliates who took his show off the air, calling the move “un-American.” This from AP [https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-returns-suspension-charlie-kirk-a29db3adb762b9b148d56ce88c24485c]. Theories abound as to why exactly ABC and/or Disney walked back what seemed like a cancellation; these include a potential costly lawsuit due to wrongful termination of Kimmel’s contract, as well as a coordinated boycott campaign targeting Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. For his part, President Trump washed his hands of the fiasco, writing that Kimmel can “rot in his bad Ratings,” per New York Magazine [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-and-carr-retreat-after-jimmy-kimmels-return.html]. * In tech news, Axios [https://www.axios.com/2025/09/25/trump-elon-musk-grok-ai-chatbot] reports the Trump administration has approved Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, for official use by every government agency. This news comes via a press release [https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-xai-partner-to-accelerate-federal-ai-adoption-09252025] from the General Services Administration. This release quotes Musk, who says “We look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and his team to rapidly deploy AI throughout the government for the benefit of the country.” This comes after an August 25th letter [https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26077196/grok-omb-final-letter-82225.pdf] in which a coalition of over 30 consumer groups – such as Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America, and the Center for AI and Digital Policy – urged the Office of Management and Budget, led by Russell Vought, to “take immediate action to block the deployment or procurement of Grok.” Among the concerns cited in this letter are Grok’s penchant for generating “conspiratorial and inflammatory content, including accusations that South Africans were committing a ‘white genocide’...Expressing ‘skepticism’ about historical consensus of the Holocaust death toll and espousing Holocaust denial talking points…[and] Referring to itself as ‘MechaHitler’.” It remains to be seen what, if any, next steps opponents can take to halt the incorporation of Grok into the daily functions of the federal government. * Finally, Adelita Grijalva has won the Arizona 7th congressional district special election in a landslide. According to preliminary reports, she swamped her Republican opponent Daniel Butierez by nearly 40 points, according to Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/democrat-outperforms-kamala-harris-in-swing-state-special-election-10481694]. This is a substantially larger margin than that won by Kamala Harris in 2024, who won the district by 23 points, which itself was a 10-point decline from Joe Biden, who won the district by 33 points in 2020. Grijalva’s ascension to the House will further winnow away the Republicans’ razor-thin majority in that chamber, bringing the margin to 219-214. She could also prove to be the critical 218th vote in favor of releasing the Epstein files. Adelita is the daughter of Raúl Grijalva, who passed away earlier this year. The elder Grijalva was widely considered one of the most progressive House Democrats, being the first member of Congress to endorse Bernie Sanders in his 2016 campaign and the second to call for Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. Hopefully, the new Representative Grijalva will fill those big shoes. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe [https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]