More summer fun on Backbeat this week, we never rest, we always bring you the best in vintage and vintage-sounding music every week and this week is no exception. You wanna hear blues? We got it with Howlin' Wolf, Lonnie Johnson and Baby Face Leroy. Jazz from Helen Humes and The Missourians, country from Merle Kilgore, Boots Faye and Idaho Call (who?), plus gospel, Latin and newer music from Brandon Isaac and Bill King. Its a unique music mix.

Today, we confront a claim that shakes the foundations of modern political discourse. A claim made by an Israeli scholar who argues that one of history’s greatest tragedies has been transformed into a political shield. A shield used not to protect the memory of victims, but to justify violence against another people. This is not an easy conversation. It is not comfortable. It is not meant to be. This is a clear discussion between Owen Jones, a British journalist and political commentator known for confronting power structures and exposing state sanctioned injustice, and his guest Omer Bartov, an Israeli American historian specializing in genocide studies and the manipulation of collective memory. Even though I believe that Omer Bartov takes the side of Israel, this discussion is very important because it reveals the Palestinian situation and their struggle against Israeli political narratives. Let’s try to understand how a historical trauma became a political instrument. The Holocaust stands as one of humanity’s darkest chapters. Millions murdered. Families erased. Communities destroyed. The world vowed “never again.” Never again to genocide. Never again to dehumanization. Never again to silence in the face of mass suffering. But today, some scholars argue that this vow has been twisted. That “never again” has been weaponized into “never question.” That the memory of Jewish suffering has been used to shield a state from accountability, even when its actions mirror the very horrors the world promised to prevent. Now, let’s see how this transformation happened. In the decades following World War II, Israel positioned itself as the inheritor of Jewish trauma. The state became synonymous with Jewish identity, Jewish survival, and Jewish memory. Any criticism of Israeli policy was framed as an attack on Jewish existence itself. The Holocaust became not only a historical event, but a political tool. A tool used to silence dissent, deflect scrutiny, and delegitimize anyone who spoke about Palestinian suffering. According to the scholar at the center of this discussion, this weaponisation did not happen overnight. It evolved through education systems, diplomatic strategies, media narratives, and global alliances. It evolved through the insistence that Israel must always be seen as a victim, even when it holds overwhelming military power. It evolved through the idea that Jewish trauma is eternal, while Palestinian trauma is negotiable, dismissible, or invisible. Let’s try to understand the consequences of this narrative. When Palestinian homes are demolished, the world is told it is security. When Palestinian children are killed, the world is told it is self defense. When entire neighborhoods are flattened, the world is told it is necessary. And when anyone questions these explanations, they are accused of hatred, extremism, or denial of Jewish suffering. The Holocaust becomes a rhetorical shield, raised not to honor the dead, but to silence the living. Today, we examine how this shield has shaped global politics. Governments hesitate to condemn Israeli actions because they fear being labeled antisemitic. Media outlets soften language to avoid backlash. Universities punish students who speak about Palestinian rights. Human rights organizations are attacked for documenting violations. The scholar argues that this climate of fear is not accidental. It is engineered. It is maintained. It is enforced. Let’s see what this enforcement looks like. A journalist publishes evidence of war crimes. Their career is threatened. A professor teaches about settler colonialism. Their contract is not renewed. A student group organizes a protest. Their funding is revoked. A survivor of violence speaks publicly. Their testimony is dismissed as propaganda. The Holocaust becomes a political firewall, blocking accountability and protecting power. But today, we confront a different truth. The scholar insists that honoring the Holocaust means preventing all genocide, not just the genocide of one people. Honoring the Holocaust means recognizing the humanity of all victims, not only those whose suffering fits political narratives. Honoring the Holocaust means refusing to allow its memory to justify new cycles of violence. Now, let’s try to understand the heart of this argument. The scholar is not denying the Holocaust. He is not diminishing Jewish suffering. He is not attacking Jewish identity. He is confronting the way trauma has been manipulated to justify oppression. He is confronting the way history has been turned into a weapon. He is confronting the way “never again” has been selectively applied. Today, we step into this uncomfortable space. Today, we examine the claim that the Holocaust has been weaponized. Today, we ask what happens when memory becomes a political tool. Today, we ask what happens when trauma becomes a shield for violence. Today, we ask what happens when truth becomes dangerous. Let’s see where this leads. Let’s try to understand what this scholar is revealing. Let’s listen carefully, because the implications reach far beyond Israel and Palestine. They reach into the very question of how societies remember, how they justify, and how they repeat the tragedies they claim to oppose. This is the battle over free speech. This is the battle over historical memory. This is the battle over truth. And today, we confront it head on. If you have thoughts, I want to hear them. Email me at TWIPpodcasts@gmail.com and tell me how you see it. This is This Week in Palestine.

Indigenous in Music with Larry K and JD Crosstown in our Spotlight Interview (Folk) You’re tuned in to Indigenous in Music with Larry K, and today, from the deep shores of Ontario, JD Crosstown will be in our spotlight. His music is rooted in story, soul, and tradition. Blending folk, country, and blues. His debut album Takin’ My Time is a reflection of life, growth, and staying true to your path and it’s available now. JD is featured in our current issue of the SAY Magazine, read all about him at our place at our place on the web at www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org/past-shows/jd-crosstown. Enjoy music from JD Crosstown, The North Sound, Mike Paul Kuekuasheu, Aterciopleados, Teagan Littlechief, Maten, Shauit, Mexican Institute Of Sound, Burnstick, Catus Rose NYC, Melody McArthur, LILI, Diyet & the Love Soldiers, Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Chantil Dukart, Blue Moon Marquee, Pony Man, Donita Large, RematriNation, Sinematic, First Floor Highway, The City Lines, Eagle & Hawk, Shub, Sebastian Gaskin, Nicole Gatti, Sean1ne, Enokahe, Def-i, Ariano, Berk Jodoin and much more. Visit us at www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org to explore our programs, celebrate culture, and connect with powerful voices shaping our communities. Step inside our new Indigenous in Music Directory and meet the incredible Artists and Entrepreneurs who are making an impact today in the music industry.

Golden oldies (60s, 70s, 80s, 90s)

August is the only month without an official or unofficial holiday until now.

– Ex-Bristol mayor demands jail time over ‘appalling’ Temple Island deal with council which leaves public picking up tab for empty offices where there should have been a public events arena – George Ferguson, architect and former Mayor of Bristol, joins Tony and Martin. Temple Island housing plan under Mayor Marvin Rees – post Arena plan. – How big housing developers always get their way, and money talks, leading to taller buildings, smaller flats, and no social housing – Former Bristol mayor George Ferguson has demanded jail time for whoever agreed to an ‘appalling deal’ over the proposed Temple Island redevelopment. – As reported this week, the local authority is set to approve a much worse agreement with developers Legal & General than the one it signed in 2022 – Mr Ferguson posted: “Someone should go to prison for this appalling deal – a criminal waste of public land and money. – “We acquired Arena Island for the Bristol region’s benefit – not for a hastily stitched-up deal in aid of misplaced political ambition. “Local politics at its very worst..” – Israeli company behind new Bear Pit high rise – Joe Banks article front page of Middle East Eye. Gulf capital, Israel and the Kushner family – These networks are part of a wider web of investment, diplomacy and political connections centred on Israel and the Middle East. – Cain and Menora Menora Mivtachim, both of which did not respond to MEE’s questions, are part of this. So too is the Kushner family real estate empire – Trump speaks in 2001 – on 9/11, ‘bombs’ in buildings? Architects and Engineers for 9/11 truth. – Bombs in the World Trade Centre: Donald Trump gives his opinion on the 9/11 attack on 9/11 itself: – “I happen to think that they had not only a plane but they had bombs that exploded almost simultaneously” – Matt Campbell opening 9/11 inquest for his brother Jeff who died in twin towers. – Jimmy Dore and Roger Waters talk UK Inquest for Geoff Campbell 9/11 Death – Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, once again on The Jimmy Dore Show, voiced his full-throated emotional and financial support for Matt Campbell’s historic legal effort to secure a new inquest into the death of his brother, Geoff – New Green politicians play it too safe, need to be brave to bring change. Extensive expensive consultations. – Who is Bristol’s Chief Planner working for? by Joe Banks – Chief Planner, Simone Wilding, raised the stakes further in the meeting by saying that the council would be likely to lose around £750,000 in appeal costs, plus a further £250,000 through the expense of defending the case – She made the false claim that it was “a much higher density” than the proposal before them. In reality, the reverse is true – GLC Fares Fare: cheap or free publicly owned transport. Thames News Bromley Council & GLC Rates Increase 1981 Interview Ken Livingstone, Leader of GLC – Lord Dennings ruling in the Appeal Court in favour of Bromley Council etc. Dave Wetzel, GLC Transport Committee Chairman – Peter Bowness’s neighbour, Dennis Barkway, and Bromley Council’s Tories, thought they might stop the GLC in the courts – Matt Roberts, artist, joins Tony and Martin. His artwork is about the dangers of Palantir. Palantir is being used for NHS data, Home Office, Police and the ICE deportation of illegal immigrants in US – Palantir: How a US spy-tech firm with links to Israel’s genocide infiltrated the British state – Palantir is a huge US technology corporation, headquartered in Colorado. It was founded in 2003 by a Silicon Valley billionaire called Peter Thiel – Six years after founding Palantir, Thiel wrote: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” – Palantir: How a US spy-tech firm with links to Israel’s genocide infiltrated the British state – MPs and advocacy groups warn UK government’s £670m worth of contracts with Palantir is an ‘unacceptable point of weakness’ – Palantir, the controversial US data surveillance firm with links to Israeli abuses in occupied Palestine – Over £670m in contracts with British civil and defence industries, raising both ethical and national-security concerns among politicians and campaigners – “Clutching at straws” and “FOI Avoidance” The Audit Committee meeting held on 28th July – Public Forum consisted of a devastating dissection of the failures related to Freedom of Information Requests eloquently and passionately delivered by Dan Ackroyd – Perhaps they should be officially recognised as the “External Audit Team”. – Mandelson and Palantir. No to Palantir campaign. Link to Matt’s website – Palantir is not a health company. It specialises in supporting government agencies to use surveillance and big data technology to identify and target people in conflict zones, at our borders, or for policing – Palantir is used to working with soldiers, spies and police officers – not doctors, nurses or other health professionals – Part Two: International news review, Accelerationist, Armageddonist reports and investigations – Iran war ceasefire again. Iran declares RAF base in England a ‘legitimate target’ – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has named RAF Fairford as a legitimate target, after American B-1 bombers flew missions against Iran from the Gloucestershire airfield – 25k Moroccans spontaneously arriving in a North African Spanish enclave. International Criminal Court – Chief Prosecutor sacked on trumped up charges after issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Is Spain being punished? – In the months leading up to the crisis in Ceuta, pro-Israel voices conspicuously raised the issue of the enclave. – Max Blumenthal: Netanyahus visit to Trump. Trump in Epstein Files? 1/3 still kept back. The Pentagon’s Strategic Calculus – A central argument in Blumenthal’s interview is that the Pentagon is becoming increasingly concerned about the sustainability of current military commitments. – American stockpiles of precision-guided munitions, interceptor missiles, and other advanced weapon systems are under pressure after years of supplying Ukraine and Israel. – From this perspective, military planners are less concerned with political messaging than with operational readiness. – The Pentagon’s questions are fundamentally strategic: Can the United States sustain simultaneous conflicts? – Daniel Siad, model scout linked to Epstein, died last week near Paris, just before trial. Epstein case: French model scout and alleged recruiter found dead Daniel Siad, 69, was found dead in his Paris suburban home. – Siad was under investigation in France over accusations that he had helped sex offender Jeffrey Epstein find women to abuse, as well as rape allegations – ‘Stop bombing Iran’ Sophie Bolt, GS of CND, on nuclear weapons, the health dangers of living near nuclear, and how it’s not a good solution to climate change – – CND national demonstration at RAF Fairford protest outside 1pm Fairford Saturday 15th August. – With the US illegal war on Iran escalating yet again, join CND, Stop the War, and Fairford Action at RAF Fairford, to protest against the bombing of Iran – Calling on new Prime Minister Andy Burham to stop his support for British bases in Trump’s deadly war – General Richard Barrons from Chatham House and Co-author of UK Strategic Defence Review (SDR) is grilled by the BBC – UK weapons procurement and on vested interests in weapons manufacture. Richard Barrons part of Defence and Resilience Group – joins with The City UK for big bank funding – Oil majors work first for Western banks, second for shareholders and not for the rest of society at all – Alex Krainer, on how policies of banks are driving the energy war. Who banks choose to fund changes our society. AI bubble. – Alex Krainer: Energy Wars, Dollar Endgame & Banking Crisis Glenn Diesen – Krainer discusses the West’s energy wars, the destruction of the U.S. dollar, and the collapse of the banking system – Dr Fauci won’t answer questions in court. Anthony Fauci refuses to answer questions during tense US Senate hearing about Covid origins Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in showdown with Republican lawmakers – Marianne Birkby, Radiation Free Lakeland, on Japanese nuclear waste being processed in Cumbria, thought to be good as brings 20 jobs! – Plan to Bring Failed Japanese Fast Breeder Reactor’s Contaminated Sodium to Workington – Marianne Birkby Japan is looking to get shot of nuclear waste from its failed experimental “fast breeder” Monju reactor – Cumberland Council and MP are fizzingly saying that Japan’s failure will be Workington’s gain as they scramble to accept the unacceptable, radioactively contaminated sodium coolant aka nuclear waste from yet another failed nuclear experiment and this time its not even our own – Tim Norman’s article in Piers Robinson’s Propaganda in Focus – did UK intelligence stage Salisbury novichok attack – Dawn Sturgess, a British woman who died four months after the Russian state allegedly attempted to assassinate the former spy Sergei Skripal in 2018 – Retired Supreme Court judge Lord Anthony Hughes, decided that he was “sure” such staging had not occurred. But how did Hughes arrive at this certainty? – Dawn’s boyfriend Charlie Rowley, an alcoholic heroin addict and convicted criminal who was in the habit of going through bins looking for items to sell. – Rowley then apparently gave the bottle to Dawn as a gift, believing the bottle actually contained perfume even though he said the liquid in it “didn’t smell of perfume”. – COINTELPRO UK? Aisling O’Loughlin – Manchester Arena Bombing. Richard D. Hall nonsense – Co-Intel Pro chaff in alternative media muddies the water for good journalism. – COVID lab leak comes out eventually – viruses don’t exist nonsense co-intel pro. – COINTELPRO UK? Why have Iain Davis and David A. Hughes distanced themselves from Nick Kollerstrom on the Manchester Arena bombing? – Using legal language the pair stated clearly in the comments section that they ‘neither authorised nor encouraged’ the piece. – Iain Davis’ book on the event also seems to be out of circulation – 1956 USAF plane crashes in a ball of flames and skids right into a nuclear bomb store at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk – First Tuesday 1980s ITV documentary a ‘miracle’ the area ‘was not turned into a radioactive wasteland’. – This highly embarrassing nuclear accident is kept secret for over 25 years – A nuclear near-accident at Lakenheath occurred on 27 July 1956, when a B-47 bomber belonging to the United States Air Force crashed into a storage igloo beside the runway containing three Mark-6 nuclear weapons. – The igloo was ripped apart and the aircraft exploded, showering the stored bombs with burning aviation fuel – The Bristol Politics Show, presented by Tony Gosling https://politicsthisweek.gn.apc.org/2026/07/the-bristol-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-33/

Former UN human rights official and lawyer Craig Mokhiber speaks with hosts Nora Barrows-Friedman and Ali Abunimah about the International Criminal Court’s dismissal of Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, and explains why any state, let alone Israel, has no inherent legal right to exist. After a pause in fighting, combat operations continue between the U.S. and Iran. This week on the Resistance Report, Jon Elmer questions the American’s ability to carry out this war. In Lebanon, Israeli attacks continue on the south. Electronic Intifada contributor Roqayah Chameseddine explains that this reality on the ground clashes with the Lebanese state’s PR campaign. On the Electronic Intifada Newscast, Israel expands extermination zone in Gaza. Nora Barrows-Friedman brings us the latest headline news from Palestine.

Sonic Café where we keep the revolution of radio alive, from 2024 that was sombr with his breakout alternative track Back to Being Friends, so welcome to the little coastal radio café, bringing you a weekly mix of eclectic music, comedy and pop culture. It’s a thing we call the Sonic Café. I’m your host Scott Clark and this is episode 494. This time the Sonic Café explores the chicken or the egg concept with a classic movie moment from 1987’s Secret of My Success, where actor Michael J. Fox learns that he can’t get a job because he doesn't have experience, and he can’t get experience because he doesn’t have a job. Sound familiar? We’ll also flashback to the 1980’s to capture that quintessential 80’s sound with Oingo Boingo. Listen for Dead Man’s Party. We’ll also mix in Scary Pockets with a cool cover of Kiss, the Prince classic. That plus the Breakers, Out of Control from Dave Allen and the Guilty Ones, a truly bluesy version of Gallows Pole from Alvin Youngblood Hart, a Jazz Club classic from the late tenor man Tina Brooks and of course more. Also playing basketball to delay death, a comedy short from Sheng Wang, plus Chevy Chase beats the Lamb Fry eating record. All that plus some other neat stuff thrown in along the way. So let’s get to it, from 2014, She’s A Beast, this is Lenny Kravitz, and we’re the Sonic Café.

Gaza Corner started on KALW.org (91.7fm) in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010. It is produced in two formats: a long version (15-30 minutes) and a 6 minute version that airs on NPR affiliate KALW during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. This short version Gaza Corner leans into a late May +972 podcast, that features Israeli scholar Nurit Peled-Elhanan, the author of Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and propaganda in education. Nurit opens by discussing how Palestinians are depicted in Israeli education.

A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. France, Cuba, and Germany.

Nora Barrows-Friedman brings us a recap of Palestinian news from July 23rd to the 30th, 2026.

Denise and Johnny talk about loss and grief.

In this edition of Radio Curious we honor and pay tribute to folk singer Ronnie Gilbert, who died on June 6, 2015 at the age of 88. She is well known for her powerful contralto voice as a member of the Weavers, the extraordinarily popular folk music quartet that in 1950s and 1960s. She also had careers as an actor and a psychologist. From the Radio Curious archives, recorded in September 1996, Ronnie Gilbert describes her introduction to music and dance, how the Weavers came together; their blacklist experience; her thoughts about turning 70 years old when this program was recorded in 1996; and her friendship and work with Holly Near. We conclude with Holly Near recalling her friendship with Ronnie Gilbert. The books Ronnie Gilbert recommends are “The Moors Last Sigh” by Salman Rushdie, “Making Movies” by Sidney Lumet and “Eyewitness: A Personal Account of the Unraveling of the Soviet Union” by Vladimir Pozner.

In the first half of the episode, we discuss 5 tactics MAGA uses to avoid healthy discourse in conversations and ways you can identify and steer the conversation in a healthier direction. In the second half of the episode, we discuss an essay by Stacy Muhammad entitled ‘The Politics of Consequence’ and connect Hollywood’s influence on culture to the division we are seeing in American life today.

Upstart Radio's Midwalk is a short stroll through the theater of the mind.

A Limburger Lounge spotlight delving into a world from a bygone era and you might be glad it's gone after you come back from it, Ukelele's make fun teaching instruments, and a Celebrity Slip up with a song about smiling, which celebs know how to do far too well, much like used car salesmen in this case.

On December 6, 2023, an Israel airstrike murdered Refaat Alareer, a poet, writer, editor and teacher. This show is a memorial to his life and work. We present an interview with Refaat Alareer and Laila El-Haddad, co-editors of “Gaza Unsilenced. Written in the aftermath of the 2014 Israeli pogrom. Many of their statements bear directly on the situation today. In an excerpt from the talk “Revolution, Nothing Less,” Bob Avakian speaks to the importance of Internationalism, The Whole World Comes First.

Without a Rational Strategy Trump’s Iran War Continues with No End in Sight; US–Israel to Integrate their Military Budgets To Shield Funding from Congressional Opposition; New IPS Progressive Blueprint: 'Forging a Democracy that Works for All'

If you’re a parent trying to decide where your child should go to school, you’d prefer to have a choice, right? After all, everyone likes to have options. But the appealing rhetoric of school choice is being used by the right-wing to undermine and underfund public schools, while allocating public subsidies to wealthy families. Today on Sea Change Radio we are talking about school vouchers. Currently, eighteen states have a universal private school choice program, and more are likely on the way. But the expansion of the school voucher system has been made with minimal oversight and has led to waste, fraud, and abuse. The cost to public education is tremendous, as public revenue that would otherwise support public schools (which still educate roughly 90 percent of American students) is redirected to private, religious, and largely unregulated institutions. Our guest this week is ProPublica reporter Jennifer Smith Richards who is here to tell us what she has learned about the damaging effects of school vouchers across the country. We look at the history of the concept in the US, examine issues of abuse and discrimination in Arkansas and Florida, and discuss the very powerful messaging tool embedded in the term “school choice.”