Brad & Desi are off enjoying the holidays, so you have me again, Nicole Sandler, guest hosting the BradCast.

My guest today is Jack Rice, an old colleague of mine from Air America radio. In addition to being a great radio host, he's a criminal defense attorney, and a former CIA agent. Contrary to Ray McGovern who was on with Brad last week, Jack does believe the hack was the work of Putin and Russia.

Jack also weighed in on Trump's tweeting about nukes, his cabinet and more.

And in my What's News? segment today, we remember some people who left us in 2016...

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, I shared a couple of interviews I conducted around the Miami International Book Fair a few weeks ago.

Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot joined me onsite at the Book Fair to discuss the 2016 elections --- the first in 50 years without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. He started our conversation with a bit of sarcasm when he proclaimed, "America will never be greater!"

I also spoke with another author at the Book Fair. He also happened to be the former Governor and former Senator from our state of Florida, Bob Graham. His book is a new edition of America, The Owner’s Manual: Making Government Work For You. Of course, I had to ask him about Saudi Arabia, the infamous 28 pages, and their involvement in 9-11.

Also today: The AP released its list of the Top 10 News Stories of 2016. I gave it the "What's News?" treatment.

Download MP3 or listen online below...

It was a busy day today on the BradCast. I was happy to return to guest host from my usual perch at nicolesandler.com where I host my own show with a couple of great guests.

First up was Jane McAlevey, a labor and environmental organizer, post-doctoral fellow in the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, and the author of No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age, who joined me for a fascinating discussion about organized labor's plight and its outlook during the Trump era.

We also heard from Vice News' Senior Investigative Reporter Jason Leopold, who has been labeled by our government at a "FOIA Terrorist" for his prolific and expert use of the Freedom of Information Act. Jason explains how his expedited FOIA requests dealing with issues related to the election went unanswered. In response, he and Ryan Shapiro filed a lawsuit against the FBI over their failure to comply with those requests, and they've now widened the scope of the documents and records they're asking for. You can read the complete complaint filed in court just three days ago, Dec 13, 2016, here [PDF].

Also today: I share with you my newest creation --- What's News? It's my (almost) daily unique look at the day's news. Today's edition is included inside today's show.

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio or Not takes a short break from the elections to see how North Carolina became the most anti-LGBT state in less than one day, with Zack Ford of Think Progress.

Then, it was back to the campaign madness and a battle of the delegates and hashtags. Gaius Publius checks in with the actual, accurate Democratic delegate counts, and a realistic assessment of the race moving forward.

And it’s Hashtag Wars, as Nicole tracks down Leslie Lee, @tokyovampires, who started the hashtag #BernieMadeMeWhite after the mischaracterization of Saturday’s caucus states. And a hashtag started trending while we were recording today’s show, #HillaryToneDeaf.

Is it November yet?

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, in honor of March Madness, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio or Not examines the remaining candidates in the presidential primary sweepstakes.

The remaining Republicans are a joke living in a surreal reality show, so on today’s show, we take another look at the adults in the race. Will Bunch writes the Attytood blog at the Philadelphia Daily News and is the author of The Bern Identity: A Search for Bernie Sanders and the New American Dream, and is a Bernie Sanders Supporter.

Joanne Bamberger, a Clinton supporter, is a journalist, founder and editor in chief of The Broad Side, and author/editor of Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox.

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio Or Not chats with Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, who explains that many of the problems voters experienced Tuesday in Arizona are traced directly back to the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act. He wrote about that at The Nation.

Of course, he didn’t absolve Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell for her decision to reduce the number of polling places from 211 to 60.

That action and the chaos that ensued prompted attorney Adrian Fontes to challenge her for that position, which happens to be up for election in November. Mr. Fontes tells us about his decision in his first interview as a candidate. Elections do have consequences.

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio or Not reconnected with radio legend Randi Rhodes.

The two Florida-based talkers recapped Thursday night's GOP debate, the 2016 election cycle, radio and Randi's plans to return to the airwaves online, beginning as soon as this June.

Download MP3 or listen online below...

Nicole Sandler of RadioOrNot here, your trusty guest host for this Friday edition of The BradCast!

Although Brad strives to objectivity regarding the Democratic candidates --- necessary to do the great reporting he does regarding voter suppression and other nefarious election-time practices --- I am not a journalist. I do a fact-based opinion show, and in that capacity, I support Bernie Sanders candidacy. But, I have noticed the level of vitriol rising among Democrats lately, and it worries me.

Democratic consultant and strategist Mike Lux wrote about some new polling data his firm commissioned, and it shows a great divide in the Democratic party. He wrote about it at Crooks and Liars, and joined me on today's BradCast to discuss the data and the implications.

Meanwhile, while watching the MSNBC Democratic town hall/forum on Thursday night, I noticed an ad attacking Bernie Sanders, the first one I've seen this election season. It was paid for by a SuperPAC called Future 45. A little sleuthing confirmed that one of the biggest contributors to this group is hedge-fund billionaire Paul "The Vulture" Singer. Investigative journalist Greg Palast has been writing about that guy's sleazy dealings for years now. The minute I saw his name, I knew I had to invite Palast to tell us what he knows about this vulture.

And, as you might imagine, Palast also had a few words about the death of Antonin Scalia...and they weren't "rest in peace."

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio or Not speaks with David Cobb from Move to Amend about their efforts to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

She also checks in with Tim O’Connor of the Environmental Defense Fund about the ongoing leak and toxic methane gas cloud hanging over Porter Ranch, just north of Los Angeles, and why this could be more dangerous than the Deepwater Horizon spill a few years back.

And the crazy militia people are at it again! (But Brad will finally be back tomorrow to discuss that and more!)

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, your faithful guest host decided to end the year on a positive note.

It's actually a year-end tradition that I'm joined by John Nichols of The Nation to discuss their annual Progressive Honor Roll. With so much to be negative about, it's important that we celebrate our progressive heroes.

And with that, it's a wrap. I wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous and democratic new year. And now, I'm going to get married. See you next year.

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's penultimate BradCast of 2015, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio or Not is joined by Cultural HERstorian Amy Simon of She's History for a look at women’s issues this year, including the ever-present war on women. Comedian Julianna Forlano brings the fun and some of the more absurd news stories of the year, and joins in for a game of 2015 Notable Quotables.
But first, a bit of news during the slowest news cycle of the year-- a shocker out of PA, where charges have been filed against Bill Cosby, and another one drops out of the GOP primary race!

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler continues her year-end look back at the year almost ended.

Today, Nicole is joined by Cliff Schecter who discussed the insanity that is this nation's obsession with guns. He also painted an optimistic picture of the possibility of beginning to change our gun culture in 2016. We'll see.

Also today: Brad and Desi return to bring us the Green News Report's year in review, and Nicole has a quick correction about something she got wrong yesterday. (It doesn't happen often, but when it does, she likes to correct the record quickly.)

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler begins her year-end review of the year almost gone by.

Nicole's guest is media & messaging trainer and strategist Joel Silberman who helped Nicole recap the big Media stories of the year. For Joel, the biggest one was the "death of facts".

Enjoy!...

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler finds out all about Kurdistan.

Nicole's guest is Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government's Representative to the US, who explained all about the Kurds and their unique situation in the Middle East.

Also today: the media begin pushing back against Donald Trump, and CAP21, the UN Conference on Climate Change gets underway in Paris...

Download MP3 or listen online below...

On today's BradCast, guest host Nicole Sandler of Radio or Not speaks with Howie Klein of Down with Tyranny and the Blue America PAC.

They spoke about just about everything - from Alan Grayson's endorsement of Hillary Clinton (and the reported strong-arm tactics her campaign is employing to gain those endorsements) to Trump's dangerous rhetoric to medical marijuana. And, as if we didn't already know, Bernie Sanders' constituents love him!

And since so many are embracing the 'F' word as it relates to the GOP's frontrunner, Nicole brought out "The 14 Characteristics of Fascism", just to review.

Download MP3 or listen online below...