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

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

We'll begin with yesterday's indictments by the Department of Justice of two Russians who financed a right-wing influence operation in Tennessee,

run by two Americans who were lavishly paid to produce videos for TikTok and other social media

platforms pushing right-wing pro-Trump themes and Russian propaganda.

We'll discuss how the right-wing personalities they hired are now running away from their Russian paymasters

as Glenn Beck's company, Blaze TV, quickly fired the two content providers of right-wing and Russian propaganda.

Joining us is Jared Holt, a senior research manager

at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue where he researches hate and extremist movements in the

United States and their relationship to the internet. He specializes in alt-right and so-called

new right media in addition to the larger culture and influence of right-wing social media.

And we will discuss his latest article at his substack posting through it.

Russia made useful idiots of Magus' top influences. It was nearly effortless.

Then we'll look into yesterday's tragic school

shooting that should never have happened if red flag laws were in place and the police who were

tipped off by the FBI had acted on threats to shoot up his school by a 14-year-old Colt Gray who

acted on his threats killing two teachers and two students at his school in Georgia.

Joining us is Jonathan Metzell, Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee,

and director of its Center for Medicine, Health and Society.

A prominent expert on gun violence and mental illness.

He is the author of several books, including Dying of Whiteness,

How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland,

...