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

and today we're looking to a number of stories and issues in the news.

We begin with the government shutdown now in a record 40th day with 40 major airports cutting flights and cancelling reservations as 13,000 air traffic controllers and 55,000

TSA agents work without pay. We will assess air safety and what strategy Trump might be employing

as his transportation secretary raises the alarm with the possible purpose of putting political

pressure on the Democrats. Joining us is Jeff Wise, a science journalist specializing in aviation

and psychology, a licensed pilot of gliders and light aircraft.

He has served as an on-camera aviation analyst on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, and his articles have

appeared in the New York Magazine, The New York Times, Time, Businessweek, Esquire, and many others.

He is the author of the taking of MH370 and the host of the podcast finding MH370,

and he has an article at New York Magazine we will discuss, get ready for an air travel meltdown.

Then, sitting next to Hungary's kleptocratic dictator Orban, who gerrymandered himself into

permanent power with 45% of the vote

capturing 91% of the parliament. On Friday, Trump called on Senate Republicans to kill the filibuster

announcing, quote, if we do it, we will never lose the midterms and we'll never lose a general election.

Joining us to discuss how Trump plans to rig the

next election is David Graham, a staff writer at the Atlantic, where he covers politics and

national affairs. He won the toner prize for excellence in national political reporting

for his coverage of the 2020 presidential election, and his new book is The Project,

Our Project 2025, is Reshaping America.

His latest article at the Atlantic is The Anti-Maga Majority Reemerges, and his recent article,

Donald Trump's plan to subvert the midterms, is already underway, which has gained national

...