The BradCast w/ Brad Friedman Brad Friedman

On today's 'BradCast': Why we're taking sides for democracy in this year's election, and why all journalists should - - and why veteran reporter John Harwood says, 'Donald Trump's threat to democracy should be the biggest political story of 2024'. The Department of Homeland Security is ramping up its efforts to respond to election threats.  MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) failed spectacularly to remove the Republican House Speaker again, thanks to help from House Democrats. The cross-examination of adult film star Stormy Daniels in Trump's criminal hush money-election interference trial did not go well for Team Trump. President Biden finally cut off delivery of offensive weapons to Israel after far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a full ground invasion of southern Gaza. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

On today's 'BradCast':  In the Indiana primary, Nikki Haley racked up 22 percent of the Republican vote despite having dropped out of the GOP's presidential race months ago. In next week's West Virginia primary, Republican former coal baron and convicted criminal Don Blankenship is running as a Democrat for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. We also catch up on the latest in Donald Trump's criminal hush money-election interference trial in New York, in which several witnesses have delivered damning testimony - - including blockbuster, disturbing testimony from adult film star Stormy Daniels, the target of the hush money scheme. HEATHER DIGBY PARTON, award-winning columnist at Salon and Hullaballoo, and former attorney KEITH BARBER of Daily Kos discuss the witnesses and evidence revealed in the trial so far, along with the broader legal, political, and cultural ramifications of the trial's latest developments.

On today's 'BradCast':  Georgia's Republican former Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan endorsed Joe Biden for President 2024, and encouraged his fellow Republicans to do the same. Porn star Stormy Daniels testified in Donald Trump's criminal hush money-election interference trial. Election integrity and security expert Marilyn Marks, of the non-profit Coalition for Good Governance, explains shocking new revelations of a cyber-attack on the systems of Coffee County, Georgia - - the same county where Donald Trump operatives, in January 2021, unlawfully breached, copied and distributed Georgia's touchscreen voting system software. Marks also discusses new developments in her lawsuit seeking to require Georgia to ditch its unverifiable, breached voting system and switch to verifiable hand-marked paper ballots, the GA Sec. of State's refusal to apply recommended security patches to the compromised system, and much more. Plus Desi Doyen has our new 'Green News Report.'

On today's 'BradCast': In the UK, mayoral elections resulted in crushing defeats for the country's ruling Conservative Party. In Panama, voters elected another far-right, criminally-indicted authoritarian leader. In Israel's War on Gaza, far-right Prime Minister Netanyahu attacked press freedom by shutting down the local operations of news agency Al-Jazeera, and appeared to reject a ceasefire deal with Hamas, while striking new targets in the Gazan city of Rafah. The US Dept. of Justice indicted Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) on bribery and corruption charges. Donald Trump fined again for violating a gag order in his criminal election interference-hush money trial, and more. Brazil is reeling from historic flooding intensified by climate change. Relentless rains triggered widespread flooding and evacuations across Houston, Texas. Los Angeles County released sterile, irradiated male mosquitoes in a new pilot program aimed at stopping the spread of vector-borne diseases, as the pests' range expands thanks to man-made global warming.

Encore: original airdate 4-22-2024. On today's 'BradCast':  With assistance from House Democrats, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson finally allowed passage of critical military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan that has been blocked by far-right Republicans. Donald Trump's first criminal trial got underway in New York City, focused on allegations that he unlawfully falsified business records and violated campaign finance laws in paying hush money to a porn star before the 2016 election. Veteran labor journalist and author STEVEN GREENHOUSE discusses the landslide vote by non-union autoworkers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee to join the United Auto Workers union. Greenhouse explains why the historic vote succeeded where others have failed in the famously anti-union South, the UAW's ongoing organizing efforts to unionize other plants, the surge to restore labor rights in many sectors across the US, and much more.

On today's 'BradCast':  A surge of largely peaceful pro-Palestinian protests have sprung up on college campuses across the U.S., in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's punishing, ongoing assault of Gaza and the Biden Administration's facilitation of that effort. We focus on the response to those protests by counter protesters, media, politicians (including remarks by Joe Biden today), and the armed riot police who seem to be triggering the bulk of the violence, which is easy to show on television news whether it captures the truth of the moment or not. Congressional Democrats released a damning report exposing Big Oil's ongoing campaign of 'deception, disinformation, and doublespeak' to mislead the public about the role of fossil fuels in our accelerating climate crisis. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'