Hello and welcome to Background Briefing available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin on this anniversary of the January 6th coup attempt by Donald Trump and look into how Trump has subjugated the legislative branch of Craven Republican lawmakers,

turning them into yapping lapdogs eager to please their master, like Stalin's lackeys spewed alternative realities

while waging a war on truth.

Joining us is Spencer Sunshine, who holds a PhD in sociology and has written extensively on the US far right,

exposing the right and fighting for democracy.

He's also written for the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Daily Beast,

and is the author of Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Counterculture Fascism,

The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason's Siege.

We'll discuss his article,

At the New Republic, the far right is quietly building power under Trump.

Then with Venezuela's brutal interior minister cracking down on dissent, arresting journalists and unleashing the armed vigilante collectivos,

we'll assess how Trump's removal of Maduro has already made life more miserable for Venezuelans who will soon

feel the pain of increased poverty from the US naval blockade of the country's oil exports.

Joining us is Miguel Tinkasalis, a professor and chair of Latin American history and

Chicana-Datina Studies at Pomona College.

An authority on political and social

issues confronting Latin America.

He's the author of Venezuela, what everyone needs to know, the enduring legacy, oil, culture,

and society in Venezuela, and co-author with Steve Elner of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and

the decline of an exceptional democracy.

...