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 with Russia intensifying its attacks on Ukrainian lines as they move to try to recapture the city of Hakev near the Russian border

and get an analysis of the possibility of Ukraine holding the line in what could be a long war

with the U.S. unlikely to be able to deliver

another arms package like the $61 billion in aid that was held up by Trump and the Republicans

for six months. Joining us is Joshua Schifrensen, a professor of the Center for International

Security Studies at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on U.S. grand strategy, the durability of NATO,

U.S. relations with its allies during and after the Cold War, and the rise of China.

He's the author of Rising Titans, Falling Giants, How Great Powers Exploed Power Shifts,

and Co-Editor of evaluating NATO enlargement from Cold War

victory to the Russia-Ukraine War. And we'll discuss his article at foreign policy with

Emma Ashford and Stephen Wirtime, What Does America Want in Ukraine? Then we'll look into moves

underway by the Federal Trade Commission to highlight

corporate greed and what could even be considered treason as American corporations and oil and gas

giants drive the rise in inflation, while the Biden administration tries to take credit for an

improving economy that average folks aren't buying because of the impact of inflation as prices of groceries and gas continue to go up.

Joining us to discuss these unpatriotic profiteers and the role of APEC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee's targeting of progressive Democrats in primaries like Harry Dunn,

the popular black capital policeman who protected the Congress from the January 6 mob,

is Luke Goldstein.

A writing fellow at the American Prospect, he previously worked as a reporter and research

associate at the Open Markets Institute and was a reporter at the Washington Monthly.

...