Kabul Attacks and Biden’s Speech; Cybersecurity and Future Risks; Eviction Moratorium Struck Down

Laith Marouf, international affairs analyst and media law consultant, talks to us about the aftermath of the deadly bombing attack at the Kabul airport that left 170 civilians dead and 13 US service members by the latest count, and hundreds injured. We also talk about Biden’s remarks after the attack and whether we will see continued military intervention in the country after the troops withdraw, the origin and rise of Daesh* (ISIS) Khorasan, their connections to the powers vying for control in the region, the potential of future conflict between them and the Taliban, and the prospects for peace in Afghanistan.  

Bill Mew, leading digital ethics campaigner and CEO of cyber incident firm The Crisis Team, joins us in a conversation about cybersecurity and what the future holds for efforts to protect ourselves from hacking and cyberattacks. We talk about the Bidens administration's new cybersecurity proposals under a fact sheet released this week, the intersection of the State and Big Tech in cybersecurity efforts, and whether establishing a cozy relationship with for-profit tech giants is the best approach to take in providing cybersecurity to our citizens considering the spotty record of these companies regarding data privacy. We also talk about the US agreeing to begin cybersecurity consultations with Russia, what could come out of them, and the interconnectivity of security in the U.S with the rest of the world. 

Mónica Cruz, producer, host and labor reporter for BreakThrough News, joins hosts Michelle Witte and Bob Schlehuber in a conversation about the news of the Supreme Court striking down the CDC eviction moratorium and how this will affect millions of people in the country who will now face the threat of homelessness in the middle of the Delta variant surge. We also talk about the Poor People’s Campaign and the rally held outside of Senator Joe Manchin’s (D) office in West Virginia, public protests in Colombia, the links between labor organizing, political and social organizing, and resistance, and why we don’t see them depicted much in reporting on Colombia.