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It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know the media is struggling to meet this moment in our nation and world’s history. Time and time again we see them follow unimportant stories, fail to explain complex issues, and shrink in the face of financial and government pressure. It’s not new. As long as we have had a nation, we have had a battle between the free press and the powers that are fighting to preserve their power and wealth. Today we are watching the collapse of media institutions like the Washington Post and CBS News as billionaires decide what we will see and watch with algorithms and massive amounts of money. Back in 1976 Project Censored was founded in the wake of the Watergate scandal and they are now celebrating 50 years of speaking truth to power and highlighting the organizations and people leading that charge. Fred is joined this week by MICKEY HUFF, the third director of Project Censored and the president of the nonprofit Media Freedom Foundation to discuss this dangerous moment for our democracy as the media struggles to maintain their freedom. Huff joined Ithaca College in New York in the fall of 2024, where he now also serves as the Distinguished Director of the Park Center for Independent Media and Professor of Journalism. Since 2009, he has co-edited the annual volume of the Censored book series. His most recent books include Project Censored’s State of the Free Press 2025, co-edited with Shealeigh Voitl and Andy Lee Roth); The Media and Me: A Guide to Critical Media Literacy for Young People , as well as Let’s Agree to Disagree: A Critical Thinking Guide to Communication, Conflict Management, and Critical Media Literacy and United States of Distraction: Media Manipulation in Post-Truth America (and what we can do about it), both co-authored with Nolan Higdon. Huff is co-editor of the recently released STATE OF THE FREE PRESS 2026 (The Censored Press, November 11, 2025, paperback).Learn more about Project Censored at projectcensored.org Sponsor: Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at: shopify.com/FRED

Beyond the outrageous behavior of ICE and CBP agents in the streets we are also seeing the complete collapse of the Department of Justice. Every day we see more examples that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel believe their jobs are to work for Donald Trump and not the American people. From political prosecutions to ignoring corruption we are not seeing anyone acting in the best interests of the American people. It’s even worse in Texas where outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton has turned his office into a corrupt power base for his personal power and enrichment. He’s now running for governor and the Republicans running to replace him have all said they will “continue his legacy” which doesn’t bode well. There is a great Democrat in the race and one with an even crazier resume than Fred’s. He sit’s down this week with Tony Box who is a former Army officer, FBI Special Agent, SWAT team leader, and federal prosecutor, now an attorney in private practice in Dallas, Texas. After surviving a shooting at just 16, while intervening in an armed robbery in Chicago, he dedicated his life to public service – serving in the Army Reserves as an Airborne paratrooper and tank platoon commander, spending nine years as an FBI agent handling white collar and violent crimes (including deploying to New York City after 9/11), and serving on the Bureau's elite SWAT team where he was often the first one through the door on high-risk operations. Tony served a second tour in the Army, deploying to Iraq as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer (2009-2010), and helped uncover over $30 billion in waste and fraud as an investigator with the Congressional Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He later became a DOJ prosecutor (2018-2022) under both the Trump and Biden Administrations, handling everything from civil rights cases to wrongful convictions. Now he is running for Attorney General of Texas. Don’t miss this episode.   Sponsor Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at: shopify.com/fred

Yet another killing by masked federal agents in Minnesota this week has sent shock waves across the country. It’s becoming clearer by the day that ICE and CBP have become out of control. Even the professional law enforcement community is condemning the behavior of these government forces from shooting protestors to literally macing people in the face on the side of the road. The divide between the people and their federal government is growing and it only becomes more dangerous. Law enforcement officials across the nation are stepping up to condemn the behavior and ensure their citizens they will act in their best interests. Fred is speaking to one of those key voices this week. Wellman is joined by Genessee County Michigan Sheriff, and candidate for Governor, Chris Swanson. For over three decades, Sheriff Swanson has dedicated himself to his local community in various roles, including as a police officer, paramedic, business owner, and professor. His strong ties to Genesee County further solidified through his election as Sheriff in 2020, a position he was re-elected to in 2024. Today, he oversees the 5th largest Sheriff’s Office in Michigan, leading with experience and a deep connection to the people he serves. He was a breakout star at the Democratic National Convention when he spoke during prime time and now has gone viral with his pointed take on what is happening in his neighboring state. Don’t miss this entire conversation.Learn more about Chris’ race for Governor at SwansonforMichigan.com.

The images coming out of Minneapolis became even more shocking this week with the shocking pictures of little Liam Ramos being used as bait to get access to his family home. Meanwhile millions of Americans had their health insurance rates explode this month and tens of thousands losing their coverage completely. There are solutions including a bill for Medicare for All and important reforms to Medicare Advantage. This week Fred is joined by Dr. Ed Weisbart, the national board secretary and MO chapter chair of Physicians for a National Health Program, a non-profit non-partisan organization of more than 25,000 physicians and other health care advocates in support of a publicly financed, nonprofit, single-payer national health insurance program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans. After practicing family medicine for 20 years at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, he moved to St. Louis in 2003 to serve as chief medical officer of Express Scripts until retiring in 2010. He volunteered as an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Washington University in St. Louis from 2004 until retiring clinically in 2021. He also serves as president of the Consumers Council of Missouri, a nonprofit organization that works to build a more inclusive and equitable community through advocacy, coalition building, collaboration, and community education. Dr. Weisbart received his medical degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1979 and completed his family medicine residency and a fellowship in family medicine education at Michigan State University in 1982. Learn more about Physicians for a National Health Program at https://pnhp.org   Sponsors: Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at : shopify.com/FRED Mack Weldon: Go To MackWeldon.com and get 20% off your first order of $125 or more, with promo code: FRED

We have seen weeks of chaos and now there is violence in Minnesota and Steven Miller’s evil machinations coming to fruition. It’s easy to forget that it has only been just two weeks since the attack on Venezuela on January 3rd.  Now federal agents are running amok in Minneapolis, Trump is threatening Iran, Mexico and Columbia, and more while the news leaked that he has quietly sold $500 million in Venezuelan oil and stored the funds in a bank in Qatar. It’s easy to forget that the original justification story for all of it was the threat of Venezuela and Maduro as major drug traffickers to the U.S. As usual the truth, and corruption, has gotten lost in the chaos. This week Fred peels back the onion on the justification for the attack which is as important as ever since Trump is also now threatening more attacks and reports leaked this week that he is demanding Mexico allow U.S. troops in to fight drug cartels. The drug war we are losing has nothing to do with our southern border as much as the actions of RFK Jr. and Trump himself since taking office. Fred is joined by Charles LeBaron, MD, the author of Greed to Do Good: The Untold Story of CDC’s Disastrous War on Opioids to discuss the real drug epidemic and how Trump’s Administration, RFK Jr., and the useless Republican Congress are making it worse instead of fighting it at all. For more than twenty-eight years, Dr. LeBaron worked as a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While there, he was the author of more than fifty scientific studies published in peer-reviewed journals, including first- or senior- author papers in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He was co-recipient of CDC’s Charles C. Shepard Science.     Sponsors: Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trail period at: Shopify.com/FRED

It has been an absolutely catastrophic week in the United States from the raid on Venezuela and Trump’s continuing absured claims on their oil, threats against Denmark, and even worse the killing of an innocent civilian in Minneapolis by an ICE agent. Increasingly we are seeing the fallout of an out of control Executive branch with no oversight or pushback from the Republican Doormat Congress at all. This Congress has all but walked away from their Constitutional duty and act like they are simply spokespeople and influencers for Donald Trump and not representatives of their constituents. Well, we are finally in the midterms election years and it’s time to rally Democrats and democracy lovers to flip the Congress. Fred is joined by Kelly Dietrich who is the founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee, which is not affiliated with the DNC, an independent organization providing guidance for anyone to run, staff, or support a campaign at any level. They will discuss how Democrats should approach these thorny issues, where the fight will unfold, and how folks can step up in this moment. If you find yourself asking…what can I do? Well…this is the place to start. Learn more at https://traindems.org.

It’s finally here! Election year 2026 has arrived. We have the midterms in just 11 months now and it’s time to take a hard look at what the Republican Doormat Congress is doing for working Americans. The answer is pretty obvious…not just nothing but they are actually hurting working people. From failing to pass laws that make our lives better, providing no oversight for obvious failures by the Trump Administration, to outright disrespecting and hating the people they are supposed to represent. We have a disconnect from the people who are supposed to lead us and the people. But, you can change it this year. The entire House is up for election. Fred is solo this week to discuss the stakes we face and why you must get involved now before it’s too late.    Follow Fred at his Substack https://fpwellman.substack.com   Sponsors: Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at: Shopify.com/FRED

Just a week before Christmas the Department of Veterans Affairs was caught deleting over 35,000 positions across the country that they had left unfilled for the last year. VA Secretary Doug Collins is scrambling to spin the cuts as nothing but we know it now adds up to over 70,000 lost positions that are already hurting veterans healthcare. Why are they doing it? You already know…money. Privatizing VA and veterans support to the tune of a TRILLION dollars is in the works. Fred shows how VA is the canary in the colemine for our entire government under Trump and Project 2025. He sits down with long time veteran and veterans advocate Paul Sullivan. In 2025, Paul retired after more than three decades of successful Veteran advocacy, starting from the grassroots with fellow Gulf War Veterans in 1992 before reaching the senior levels of government and non-profit organizations. Paul's advocacy background focuses heavily on improving access to VA care and benefits, especially especially Gulf War illnesses and PTSD. He most recently worked as the Director of Veteran Outreach at Bergmann & Moore, a national law firm managed by VA-accredited attorneys providing training and appellate litigation support to Veterans and advocates. Paul's government advocacy experience includes his appointment by California Governor Brown to be a Deputy Secretary at CalVet in Sacramento plus his federal civil service career as a GS-14 project manager at VA central office in Washington, DC. His non-profit advocacy leadership includes the National Gulf War Resource Center, Veterans for Common Sense, and the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute.Learn more about the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute at veteranspolicy.orgSponsors:Dup: For a limited time, the first 10,000 people who go to Dupe.com/FRED will instantly get 500 dupe points!

One thing Fred learned in 22-years in the Army and four combat tours is that you don’t just fight alone. It takes a coalition, multiple services, and many different teams to fight a war. The battle against the creeping authoritarianism, corruption, and economic destruction of the Trump Administration and the Republican Doormat Congress is the same. Fred sits down with two different leaders battling in this moment for fascinating conversations on how we can win. First, Representative Brad Schneider, (D-IL) joins to discuss his work as the leader of the New Democrats Coalition and the battle for America's healthcare and the affordability crisis. Then we are joined by Jack Inacker the Executive Director of FUBAR PAC which is creating hard hitting, and informative, short videos to show the damage being done by Trump and his allies. Both of these men are leading important fronts in our battle to preserve our democracy. Don’t miss this one.   Learn more about Rep. Schneider at: https://schneider.house.gov Learn more about FUBAR PAC at https://www.fubarpac.org/   Sponsors Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at: shopify.com/FRED

We are being lied to by the Republican Doormat Congress. They want us to think everything is going great here at home and that the real issue is the dangerous “narcoterrorists” in Venezuela. On one hand we have Trump saying the “affordability crisis” is a scam and that the economy is awesome and on the other speed boats over a thousand miles away are an imminent danger. No. The imminent danger is millions of Americans losing their healthcare and going broke. Fred Wellman addresses both issues in his own unique way tonight. First, he goes into depth on what it really means to send our sons and daughters to war from his own experience. Then he sits down with A. Mechele Dickerson the Arthur L. Moller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and author of Homeownership and America’s Financial Underclass to discuss her upcoming book The Middle-Class New Deal and how we need leaders willing to do the hard things to stop this unfolding catastrophe before it's too late. Don’t miss this episode.   Pre-order Mechele’s book at ucpress.edu/books/the-middle-class-new-deal/ and use UCPSAVE30 to get 30% off     SPONSORS Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at: Shopify.com/FRED

We are facing a crisis in America that has been unfolding for decades. Working Americans cannot afford to live and nothing is being done to fix it. While prices have constantly increased wages have failed to keep pace for working Americans. Meanwhile the rich have gotten richer and used that money to increase their power. This week’s show includes two unique voices fighting for our power in different but significant ways. First, Bradley Tusk is a former political operative and Deputy Governor of Illinois who is now a Venture Capitalist using his money to invest in mobile voting to increase participation in our democracy for all Americans. Then Fred Wellman sits down with NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson to discuss what lessons we can learn from this week's elections and what we must do for working Americans heading into the midterms. This is a must watch episode you cannot skip.Learn more about Bradley’s efforts at MobileVoting.org and the NAACP at NAACP.orgSPONSORS:Dupe: For a limited time, the first 10,000 people who go to Dupe.com/FRED will instantly get 500 Dupe Points PDS Debt: Start planning today. Get a free debt analysis right now at PDSDEBT.com/FRED it only takes thirty seconds!

Donald Trump decided to use the turkey pardoning ceremony as an opportunity to polish his own ego bragging that thanks to him religion and prayer were back again. That is not true at all but worse it represents how he is using Christian Nationalism and their leaders to attack our democracy, institutions, and freedoms. They have found that wrapping things in a story of Christian persecution allows them to roll over opposition to many barriers meant to protect our freedoms. Fred Wellman sits down with Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist minister and the President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance to discuss the attacks on our democracy, hidden agenda in Project 2025, and the Interfaith Alliance’s work fighting back. Rev. Raushenbush is a longtime interfaith leader and renowned advocate for civil rights and religious freedom. He works with affiliates, networks and leaders across the country to forge powerful alliances among people of diverse faiths and beliefs to build a resilient, inclusive multi-faith democracy. Rev.  Raushenbush also hosts the weekly podcast and radio show “The State of Belief,” in partnership with Religion News Service. Notable guests have included Timothy Snyder, Skye Perryman, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Katherine Stewart, Bishop William Barber, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Najeeba Sayeed, E.J. Dionne and Rob Reiner.Learn more at InterfaithAlliance.org

After the government shutdown over extending Affordable Care Act tax subsidies, Donald Trump and the Republican Doormat Congress have suddenly decided they care about healthcare costs. He has floated a series of insane ideas from just giving the money to individuals so we can "negotiate prices' to revisiting Health Savings Account. All that is old is new again and all that is stupid is still stupid. Healthcare is the foundation of nearly everything in the United States. It costs people their livelihoods, drives the ability to open businesses, and whether one should stay in a bad job or not. That’s before we talk about the devastating failures leaving us with sicker Americans. Fred Wellman sits down with Dr. Rob Davidson, ER Physician, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Health Care, and the podcast Paging America, to break down why these moves are so dangerous and how it will really cost Americans. Dr. Rob has been vocal about the real challenges to our health system and lays it all out in this must watch episode.SPONSOR:DUPE: For a limited time, the first 10,000 people who go to Dupe.com/FRED will instantly get 500 Dupe Points PDS Debt: Start planning today. Get a free debt analysis right now at PDSDEBT.com/FRED It will only take thirty seconds!

Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are continuing their desperate attempt to save their power from the impending blue tidal wave coming their way. Their favorite tactic recently was pressuring red states to illegally redistrict before the midterms. Texas quickly leaped and so did Missouri’s Republicans. But Missouri isn’t Texas and the state has a robust petition initiative process that allows voters to veto laws they don’t agree with. In the states history they have done it 27 times and repealed the laws 25 of them. Now they are fighting it again. Fred Wellman sits down Richard von Glahn the Executive Director of People NOT Politicians to discuss his organizations efforts to repeal this illegal redistricting and offer perspective on how we are fighting back in a deeply red state. Richard started his career as a labor organizer in 2004 with SEIU since 2012 he has worked at MO Jobs With Justice as an organizing director and political director. He has worked on 10 ballot initiatives in Missouri including playing leading roles in the right to work initiative, three increases in minimum wage, expansion of Medicaid and an anti-gerrymandering initiative. In his time as an organizer in Missouri, he's knocked on tens of thousands of doors, gathering signatures to ensure Missourians voices are heard. SPONSORS: DUPE - For a limited time, the first 10,000 people who go to Dupe.com/FRED will instantly get 500 Dupe Points Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-a-month trial period at: shopify.com/FRED

Donald Trump continues to fight paying SNAP benefits as the shutdown continues. Not only are average Americans in the crosshairs but as we go into Veterans Day weekend over 1 million veterans are going without food aid and millions of government employees are unpaid or being illegally fired. This is what the Republican Doormat Congress has allowed. Fred Wellman sits down with American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley to discuss it all and how they are fighting back. Everett Kelley is the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which is the largest union representing federal and D.C. government employees. He began his first term of service as national president in February 2020, was elected to another term during the 42nd National Convention in June 2022, and was reelected during the 43rd National Convention in August 2024. Everett Kelley has been a member of AFGE since 1981. He worked at Anniston Army Depot and retired from there after 30 years of service.   SPONSOR: DUPE - For a limited time, the first 10,000 people who go to Dupe.com/FRED will instantly get 500 Dupe Points