The BradCast w/ Brad Friedman Brad Friedman

On today's 'BradCast':  It turns out Donald Trump was not 'arrested on Tuesday,' as he lied to his easily-duped followers that he would be. Indicting Trump on hush-money payments to a sex worker and the subsequent coverup that helped him win the 2016 Presidential election are not 'minor crimes.' No U.S. president has ever been indicted, so no one knows how the process will play out. Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, says charges for Trump are 'baby steps' to begin undoing decades of gross injustice in the failure to hold U.S. presidents accountable for unlawful actions since 1968. Congressional Republicans launched an unprecedented intimidation campaign against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, demanding he testify and turn over documents in his active, open criminal investigation into Trump's alleged crimes. Few MAGA supporters seem to be answering Trump's call for massive protests, potentially because his supporters reportedly believe it's a trap by the feds!  A Fox 'News' employee is suing the company, alleging she was coerced into giving false testimony in Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion dollar defamation lawsuit against the network. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

On today's 'BradCast':  Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. As we and progressive media have been reporting for 20 years since, Americans were lied into war under false premises.  No weapons of mass destruction were ever found, but hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and about 5,000 Americans lost their lives. No one was ever held accountable for the pointless war or the Bush/Cheney Administration's lies. New polling shows 61 percent of Americans now think the Iraq War was a mistake. Florida's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis may have played a key role in the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of abductions of thousands of Ukrainian children. The Oscar-winning documentary on Putin's opposition leader, Alexy Navalny, is a must-see.  The Manhattan District Attorney is said to be on the verge of indicting Donald Trump on state criminal charges this week, related to hush money payments to a porn star, the first criminal indictment of a U.S. President in our nation's history. We explain potential charges and potential fallout, but there is no playbook for what is about to happen. Callers weigh in with their thoughts on all of the above.

Encore: original air-date 3/8/2023. On today's 'BradCast':  Much of U.S. politics these days warrants more mockery and less outrage, but some areas warrant more concern than Americans may yet appreciate. House Republicans' trumped-up 'investigations' are going very poorly, and have been quickly debunked by House Democrats. Mockery is effective in countering Fox News host Tucker Carlson's silly, cherry-picked videos falsely portraying the January 6 Capitol Insurrection, which have been so ridiculous that even top elected Republicans and other Fox News hosts are pushing back. But a fascinating new study finds significant proportions of Americans, across the entire political spectrum, are increasingly supportive of authoritarianism and anti-democratic actions like crackdowns on political opponents and shutting down news organizations. Allegheny College political science professor TARAH WILLIAMS and ANDREW BLOESER, Director of the college's Center for Political Participation, explain their surprising new research, the concept of 'stealth democracy', what it all means going forward, and actions that can help protect our democracy and strengthen democratic values in America.

On today's 'BradCast':  It's as if Republicans say one thing but do the exact opposite - - especially when it comes to freedom, the First Amendment, personal responsibility, parental rights, Big Government regulations, activist judges, etc.  Wingnut children's book author Bethany Mandel hilariously fails in the GOP's silly and desperate Anti-'Woke' Chronicles. In the GOP's Anti-Freedom Crusade, a Trump-appointed, far-right activist judge is legislating from the bench, on the verge of banning the FDA-approved abortion drug mifepristone on specious grounds. Gov. Ron DeSantis revoked the Hyatt Regency Miami's liquor license in retaliation for hosting a drag show; parents in Florida are increasingly forced into having DeSantis' Big Government co-parent with them. CNN reports that at least two dozen staffers at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago beach resort have been subpoenaed to testify to Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal grand jury criminal probe into the former president's 'mishandling' of classified documents. Stunning details emerge from the Atlanta Journal Constitution interview with five members of a special grand jury in Georgia probing Trump's conspiracy to steal the 2020 election, with one declaring, 'It's gonna be massive.'  Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

On today's 'BradCast':  Hundreds of farmers and climate activists last week rallied at the U.S. Capitol for climate provisions in this year's federal farm bill, now under negotiation in Congress. The Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats are trying to boost funding for farmers who are grappling with extreme weather disasters, while Republicans are intent on slashing funding and assistance to farmers across the board. But there's a very disturbing campaign across multiple states to harass and intimidate farmers and elected officials in America's heartland who support wind and solar projects on their lands and in their small towns.  Journalist PETER SINCLAIR, award-winning climate videographer from Yale Climate Communications, has documented the well-coordinated, under-the-radar campaign to block all clean renewable energy projects in rural areas. In on-the-ground reporting and interviews with farmers, Sinclair explains who is behind the coordinated attacks, how they use disinformation, intimidation and threats to block wind and solar projects on private property, and how renewable energy provides a lifeline to struggling farmers and rural areas trying to boost their economies and fight off real estate developers. Also today: Michigan's state legislature has repealed the state's so-called 'right to work' (for less!) legislation adopted by the GOP-controlled legislature in 2012, a victory for workers made possible by voters who adopted a statewide ballot initiative to end gerrymandering in Michigan.

On today's 'BradCast':  After Republicans' fear-mongering and lies about crime failed to result in a 'red wave' in the 2022 midterm elections, perhaps lying to Americans about 'woke' banks will do the trick in 2024!  In the wake of several bank failures in recent days, Moody's is considering downgrading the US banking sector. Sen. Elizabeth Warren accurately predicted in 2018 that Trump/GOP rollbacks of banking regulations would lead to risky behavior, which in turn led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks. The collapse of SVB is a textbook case of preventable failure caused directly by loosening oversight and restrictions, but Republicans and rightwing media instead are trying to blame 'wokeness.' New poll shows Americans like the term 'woke' and consider it to mean being informed and educated, and they really don't like book bans. We hope Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) fully recovers from a recent concussion because he may be the only force holding Congressional Republicans together in support of Ukraine against Russia's vicious invasion. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used to be in favor of U.S. support for Ukraine's defense, but now that he is a likely contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, he is suddenly against it. New Mexico enacts new legislation expanding voting rights and ballot access. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'