COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) US-Israeli War on Iran Escalates, as Erratic Trump Appears to Look for Exit

Raed Jarrar, Advocacy Director with the group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) founded by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi before his assassination, discusses the current state of the U.S., Israeli war on Iran, escalation of the regional conflict destroying fossil fuel infrastructure and disrupting energy supplies, the prospect of the deployment of U.S. troops to Iran, and the consequences for international law.

2) Heritage Foundation, Trump Regime's 'Project 2026' Targets Women's Rights

Katherine Spillar, Executive Director of the Feminist Majority Foundation, and Executive Editor, Ms. Magazine to discuss your Ms. Magazine article, "Project 2026 Declares Open War on Women's Rights," with a focus on Trump administration policies' impact on women, and voter suppression legislation designed to disenfranchise millions of women across the country in the 2026 midterm election.

3) Another US Oil War in Iran Spikes Energy Prices, Disrupts Supply Chains; Aggravates the Climate Crisis

Lois Parshley, Climate Research Director with Public Citizen’s Climate Program.… will examine the spike in energy prices, and interruption in the delivery of energy supplies due to Trump's Iran war, creating hardship for vulnerable populations, and strategies for the world escaping this cycle of endless oil wars that has caused so much violence and destruction — and the catastrophic contribution to the climate crisis!

4) Nuestra América Convoy Arrives in Cuba, Challenging Trump's Oil Blockade

Andy Shallal owner of the Busboys and Poets bookstores and progressive political cultural hub in Washington, D.C., talks about the Trump regime's blockade of oil to Cuba, the impact on the Cuban people, and the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba, the recently delivered a shipment of 6,300 pounds of critical humanitarian aid to the island nation by air and sea.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Steven Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies at Harvard University and co-author with Daniel Ziblatt, of "How Democracies Die," and "Tyranny of the Minority," talks about his recent article, "The Price of American Authoritarianism," assessing Donald Trump's first 12 months back in the White House and the threat he now poses to the 2026 midterm election, U.S. democracy and our republic.

2) Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York Office of the United Nation's High Commissioner for Human Rights until he resigned in protest due to the Gaza genocide, discusses the catastrophic war launched against Iran by Trump and Netanyahu, the further dismantling of international law, and the resulting death and economic chaos engulfing the region, addressed in his recent article, "Understanding the U.S. and Israel’s illegal war on Iran."

3) Justin Glawe, an independent journalist and editor of the American Doom newsletter, discusses his recent article, "Inside the FBI raid in Georgia — and what it really means," and his reports on the Trump regime plan to nationalize the 2026 midterm election, in a clear effort to employ voter suppression to prevent a Democratic Party takeover of the House and U.S. Senate.

4) Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat serving on the Federal Communications Commission, talks about her concerns regarding the concentration of media ownership, FCC censorship and interference in the exercise of First Amendment right to free speech, the future of public media and the expansion of broadband access.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1. Trump Has No Clear Objectives in his Lawless and Chaotic War with Iran

Mel Goodman, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University and a former CIA analyst, whose latest book is titled American Carnage: The Wars of Donald Trump, shares his views on the motivation and conduct of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, as well as the short and long term consequences for international law, the world economy and the American empire.

2. "It’s Time to Make Some Thunder:" Bishop William Barber Responds to Trump-GOP Midterm Election Gerrymandering Scheme!

Excerpt of speech by Bishop William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, president and senior lecturer at Repairers of the Breach, and founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. In this November 2, 2025 speech he talks about the Moral Mondays coalition response to President Trump’s effort to gerrymander the First Congressional district in North Carolina, and efforts to rig the 2026 midterm election nationwide.

3. Trump Follows Israel Into Catastrophic War on Iran, Netanyahu Calls the Shots

Branko Marcetic, a Jacobin staff writer and the author of "Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden" talks about his recent commentaries, "Trump Is in Way Over His Head in Iran," and "The US Is Fighting Israel’s War on Iran," and "US Military Aid to Israel Is a National Security Risk."

4. CT Working Families Party and Progressive Coalition Legislative Agenda Includes Immigrant Rights Bills and Increasing taxes on the Wealthy Sarah Ganong, State Director of the Connecticut Working Families Party, discusses WFP's CT legislative agenda, which includes standing up for immigrant rights, advocating for an equitable state budget with higher taxes on the wealthy, and demanding fair schedules for workers in hospitality, retail, and food service jobs. She'll also talk about statewide groups organizing for the March 28th anti-Trump, pro-democracy No Kings Day protests in CT and nationally.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Donald Trump Pursues Aggressive White Supremacist Agenda in Second Term

Amanda Hollowell, Chief of Campaigns with the group Color of Change, talks about her group's 20 years of critical work advocating for racial justice, and assesses the Trump administration's aggressive attack on America's long struggle to achieve a multi-racial democracy and implementation of discriminatory federal policies, underscored by President Trump's personal racism and bigotry that he regularly publicly displays in his speeches and on social media.

2) Trump Regime's Massive Buildout of Immigrant Concentration Camps Meets Resistance

Journalist Andrea Pitzer, author of the book, "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps," examines Donald Trump's current violent mass deportation campaign, and the haunting similarities to Germany's rounding up, brutalizing and imprisoning immigrants, Jews and other minority groups - in concentration camps in the 1930s.

3) States Push for New Taxes on Rich to Replace Trump-GOP Budget Cuts to Vital Social Safety Net Programs

Kamolika Das, Local Policy Director with the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, talks about a current nationwide effort to raise revenue in states to replace billions of dollars in vital local and state funding for social safety net programs that were lost in last year's Trump-GOP budget mega-bill that dramatically cut social programs while giving away huge tax cuts for profitable corporations and the rich.

4) Student Stage National Anti-Ice Walkout, Launch 'Spring Surge to Melt Ice'

Lily, a Connecticut activist with National Student Walkout Against ICE, talks about anti-ICE school protests that took place across the U.S. on Friday, Feb. 13th -- and the organizing going on now among national student groups for the 'Spring Surge to Melt Ice' campaign.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Trump's Fascist Threat to Democracy Enters New, Violent Phase

Christopher Vials, Professor in the English Dept. at the University of Connecticut at Storrs where he studies the cultural impact of the US far right, is the author of “Haunted by Hitler: Liberals, the Left and the Fight against Fascism in the U.S.,” and co-editor of “The US Antifascism Reader.” He'll assess Donald Trump's first 12 months back in the White House of his 2nd term, and the threat he now clearly poses to the 2026 midterm election, democracy and our republic, touching on some of the issues examined in a recent commentary he co-authored with Bill Mullen, "Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement’s Aspirational Fascism."

2) Trump asks Republican Congress to "Nationalize" the 2026 Midterm Election

David Daley, Senior Fellow in Communications at the group FairVote, is the author of the national best-seller "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count." He'll examine Donald Trump's recent threats to "nationalize" this November's midterm elections, Steve Bannon's recent warning that ICE agents will surround polling places --- all driven by MAGA's false claims of massive voter fraud. He'll share his views on what steps could and should be taken now to implement safeguards to protect the nation from these threats, and ensure we have a free and fair election.

3) Trump Blocks Oil Supplies From Reaching Cuba, Contributing to Looming Humanitarian Crisis

Alianza Americas Deputy Director Helena Olea, discusses concern re: the growing humanitarian crisis impacting the Cuban people resulting from Donald Trump's recent Executive Order blocking oil shipments to the island, shutting down their energy generating capacity while threatening secondary sanctions on any nation that provides Cuba oil supplies.

4) FBI Spies on, Then Raids WAPO Journalist's Home in Major Attack on Press Freedom

Kevin Gosztola, publisher of the Dissenter Newsletter and author of "Guilty of Journalism: The Political Case Against Julian Assange," talks about his recent Dissenter article, "FBI Spied on Washington Post Reporter Prior To Raiding Their Home,"the related Trump regime attacks on the First Amendment with the recent arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, and the mass layoff of 1/3 of the staff at the Washington Post.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Minnesota Shows the Country How Effective Resistance to ICE Violence Can Work

Pastor Doug Pagitt, executive director of the Minneapolis-based organization Vote Common Good, talks about the extraordinary courage and resilience the nation has witnessed among his city’s ordinary citizens standing up to the brutal and cruel ICE secret police force that engages in lethal violence. He'll discuss what people across the country can learn from the incredible grassroots organizing going on in Minneapolis to meet the current crisis, and how Americans can adapt those skills, tactics and logistics to their own local efforts in defense of the rule of law and democracy.

2) National Coalition of Local Prosecutors to Target Federal Lawbreakers for Accountability

Fairfax County Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, co-founder of the new group, Fight Against Federal Overreach, talks about the mission of the "FAFO" national coalition of District Attorneys collaborating to ensure federal officials are held accountable when they exceed their lawful authority, violate the U.S. Constitution, ignore the Bill of Rights, the rule of law, and basic human decency. The group's goal is to hold all federal officials, including ICE and CBP agents and their commanders, accountable for illegal actions.

3) With Looming Threats from Nuclear Weapons, AI and Climate Crisis, Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight

Jon B. Wolfsthal, Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists discusses the Bulletin of American Scientists' announcement that their Doomsday Clock was recently set at 85 seconds to midnight, "the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight in its history, while calling for urgent action to limit nuclear arsenals, create international guidelines on the use of AI, and form multilateral agreements to address global biological threats."

4) Veterans Group Tells US soldiers It's their Duty to Disobey Illegal Orders

Mike Tork, Veterans for Peace treasurer, and Anthony Aguilar a retired US special forces officer who resigned in protest from his work with US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centers, talk about the Veterans For Peace education campaign, including billboards, reaching out to active-duty U.S. soldiers and National Guard troops urging them to “follow the law and their conscience” and refuse to obey illegal orders. This veterans campaign comes in the face of Donald Trump's ordering the U.S. military to attack civilian boats, and seize oil tankers in international waters, kidnap Venezuela's president, threats to occupy Greenland, and deployment of the ICE secret police force to U.S. cities, while warning of a future invocation of the Insurrection Act that could send the US Army or Marines to states across the country.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) The world revolts against Trump's irrational, deadly domestic & foreign policy

Melvin Goodman is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, and a former CIA analyst. Goodman, whose most recent book is titled, “American Carnage: The Wars of Donald Trump,” talks about Pres. Trump's disastrous foreign policy including his attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of its president, threats to takeover Greenland and breakup NATO, and his irrational imposition of tariffs around the world, the subject of his recent columns, "Donald Trump, Poster Child for Megalomania," and "Nazi Germany 1933 and MAGA America 2025."

2) ICE Killing of 2 Minneapolis Residents Provokes Angry Protests and General Strike

Madison McVan, is a reporter with the Minnesota Reformer, an independent, nonprofit news organization, where she covers the impact of the Trump administration in Minnesota. She talks about state residents’ response to Trump's deployment of a flood of ICE agents to the state, the federal agent killing of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, the earlier ICE agent killing of Renee Good, and the Jan. 23rd statewide general strike. She'll also discuss Trump's threat to invoke the Insurrection Act and send in potentially thousands of active-duty U.S. military to Minnesota.

3) Oil is the Total Focus of Trump's Venezuela Policy that also Benefits his Big Donor

Filmmaker and journalist Greg Palast, author of several New York Times bestsellers including "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," talks about his recent investigation, "How New Venezuela President Will Save Us from Trump’s Crazy: The Radical Pragmatist versus Rubio’s Vulture," explaining how billionaire and Trump donor Paul Singer is one of the prime beneficiaries of the U.S. military attack and abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as Singer is about to take over CITGO, the crown jewel of Venezuela's oil empire.

4) New Book, "Anthropause" Advocates 'Degrowth' as a Path to Prevent Climate Collapse

Stan Cox, a research scholar in Ecosphere Studies at the Land Institute, where he formerly served as Lead Scientist for 20 years, talks about his new book "Anthropause: The Beauty of Degrowth," which indicts our obsession with endless expansion and poses a new model of degrowth for protecting the Earth from climate collapse. Stan is the author of 8 books, including, "The Path to a Livable Future," "Sick Planet," and "How the World Breaks."

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) As Trump Escalates Attack on Democracy Resistance Grows

Yint Hmu of Public Citizen's democracy campaign discusses the work her group is doing to challenge and resist the Trump authoritarian agenda both at home and abroad, including their many lawsuits and national protest organizing. They'll also talk about the explosive situation in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the ICE shooting death of Renee Good, as Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act and declare martial law.

2) Religious Leaders Step Up to Resist ICE Violence

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights talks about her group's condemnation of the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, and a call for accountability, justice and an end to ICE brutality nationwide.

3) 'Walk Out' Protest Actions Respond to Rising State Violence in Minnesota

Tamika Middleton, Chief Political and Strategy Officer with Women's March, talks about the January 20th Free America Walkout protest, and other important work Women's March is prioritizing. Student leader

Saniyah Yoland of the group Get Free, a youth-led progressive activist movement, talks about the work they're doing organizing students for the Friday, Jan. 23rd school walkout protest.

4) FCC Commissioner Decries Government Assault on Free Press

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat serving on the Federal Communications Commission talks about her concerns re: the concentration of media ownership, FCC censorship and interference in the exercise of First Amendment right to free speech, the future of public media and the expansion of broadband access.