Another menagerie of music this week on Backbeat, recordings you wouldn't think would go together, do (I hope). The fast and the slow, smooth and rough, hits and obscurities, religious and secular, records in different languages and from different eras, but somehow all sound the same, just with a different accent.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the execution of convicted Fort Hood mass murderer Nidal Hasan livestreamed for the world to watch. Is this justice or a return to public executions as entertainment? In this sarcastic Elk Grove News Minute commentary, we travel from America's frontier hangings to the Roman Empire and ask: Why stop at a firing squad? Why not crucifixion? A pointed look at capital punishment, political spectacle and the meaning of civilization. More commentary at ElkGroveNews.net.

How did AIPAC begin in America, and why did it rise to become one of the most powerful political forces in Washington? Today, we open a chapter that many Americans have never been invited to read. It is a chapter that explains why our foreign policy looks the way it does, why the Middle East remains locked in perpetual crisis, and why the voice of the American public so often feels drowned out by interests that do not serve them. To understand the present, we must go back to the origins. AIPAC did not emerge from a grassroots movement. It did not rise from the voices of ordinary Jewish Americans seeking safety or dignity. It began as a strategic project, a political engine designed to secure unwavering United States support for Israel, regardless of the cost, regardless of the consequences, and regardless of the shifting tides of global politics. In the aftermath of World War II, as Israel was being established, a small network of activists and political operatives recognized something crucial. America was the key. Not Europe. Not the United Nations. America, the superpower with the money, the military, the influence, and the global reach. And so the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was born. Its mission was simple. Make support for Israel a permanent fixture of American politics. Make it bipartisan. Make it untouchable. Make it so deeply woven into the fabric of Washington that no president, no senator, and no representative could challenge it without risking their career. Over the decades, AIPAC mastered the art of influence. It built relationships with lawmakers. It funded campaigns. It shaped narratives. It crafted talking points. It trained young politicians. It created a political environment where questioning Israeli policy became synonymous with political suicide. And slowly, quietly, and methodically, AIPAC became one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the United States. Its reach extended far beyond foreign policy. It influenced military spending. It shaped intelligence cooperation. It guided diplomatic strategy. It pressured administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, to align with Israeli interests even when those interests contradicted American values, American priorities, and American security. Critics argue that AIPAC’s influence has helped sustain occupation, fuel conflict, and silence dissent. They argue that AIPAC has pushed the United States into wars, sanctions, and regional entanglements that serve Israel’s strategic goals while leaving Americans to bear the cost in taxes, in debt, in instability, and in global backlash. They argue that AIPAC has created a political environment where genocide can be excused, where occupation can be normalized, and where human rights violations can be dismissed as security concerns. They argue that AIPAC’s power has grown so immense that it now shapes not only foreign policy, but domestic politics as well. It influences media narratives, shapes public opinion, and determines which voices are amplified and which voices are silenced. Now, we speak directly to our listeners about this influence. Not to demonize. Not to sensationalize. But to understand. Understanding AIPAC is essential to understanding why the Middle East remains in chaos. Understanding AIPAC is essential to understanding why American presidents, including our current one, make decisions that seem to serve interests far beyond our borders. Understanding AIPAC is essential to understanding why the United States continues to fund wars, occupations, and military operations that do not benefit the American people. This is not a story about Judaism. This is not a story about Jewish identity. This is a story about political power, power wielded by a lobbying organization that has shaped American policy for generations. And now, we open that story. We examine its origins. We explore its rise. We confront its consequences. And we ask the question that many fear to ask. Who truly shapes America’s decisions in the Middle East? Who benefits from the chaos? Who profits from the conflict? Who writes the script our leaders follow? This is This Week in Palestine. This is where truth does not hesitate. This is where clarity does not bend. And this is where we begin. 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.

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

— Greens vote to classify Zionism as racist anti – Jude English, Bristol Green Party councillor, joins Tony and Martin. — Jude has been allowed to rejoin Green Party, after women’s spaces row. Zionism is Racism policy voted in at Conference. — Green leader Zack Polanski dodged the vote. What about Judaism and religious Zionism? — Green party votes to adopt policy that equates Zionism with racism Motion calling for single Palestinian state — Greens vote to classify Zionism as racist, Pro-Tony Greensten The Green Party Is the First Major Political Party in Europe, to tell the truth about Zionism – That it is a Racist, Genocidal, Ethnic Cleansing Ideology — South African Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize – Chair of UN Commission that called Gaza genocide — Navi Pillay, former UN human rights chief, wins Nobel Peace Prize Pillay was told of the award in Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice — Green Party Conference – how it’s changing. No opposition to nuclear power at conference. — Biomass power plants – Drax. Green Party abandons opposition to nuclear power A major shift in policy — ITV News – Gloucester Docks silted up as Bristol Water extracts too much water after dry summer. — Privatised Bristol Water shareholder oligarchs sucking out the pure water – leaving the silt in dock and canal — Green Party vote for policy on mass UK job creation and reining in the financial banksters: — The first and most fundamental duty of a civilised state is the safety of its people. — Not just safety from overseas adversaries, or crime in the street. Economic security. — A bill you can pay without going overdrawn. A house you can afford before your children have children of their own. — A job that lasts long enough to plan around. Britain guarantees none of these — Tucker Confronts Britain’s Most Pro-War Advocate Tucker Carlson — Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg explains how Britain, which has a combat ready military force about half the size of New York’s police department, must prepare for war with Russia — Cost of living crisis – how to get outgoings down. — Typical family £2,900 worse off due to cost of living crisis, think tank finds — Journalist Ian Proud , aka Peacemonger, detained at airport on return from Valdai conference in Russia — Why has West given up on diplomacy with Russia – diplomacy is compromise. Why war with Russia is inevitable — Police investigate after two men arrested on suspicion of breaching RAF Molesworth fence in Cambridgeshire – — US B-1 bombers planes return home from RAF Fairford, to jubilation all round — Uwe Alschner on evidence pointing to Hitler being in UK pre WW2, and having connections with Russell family who lived near The Tavistock Institute, known for psychological warfare — Uncover History blog – was Hitler being backed by West to stop Communism? — Reunification of Germany – NATO broke promises. — The Bankers Who Funded Hitler — And Were Never Punished — Putin on diplomacy not war. Assassination of Herrhausen. Putin on economic warfare in Europe. President Putin Remarks at Valdai Forum 2026 — 20 British Diplomats expelled from Israel after Labour put sanctions on them. UK Foreign Secretary helps Netanyahu toward election victory: BBC World at 1 — Live streaming of US death penalty.‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation — Tony’s two WWII Bomber Command uncles were Lancaster aircrew bombing Germany in WW2 — With the older brother dying after only 7 bombing raids. 40% of all heavy bomber crews died. — Tony has been in Lancashire and Lincolnshire this week visiting museums and airfields, with a newly discovered cousin, Gordon, relating to his uncles. International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln — Did the bombing help us win the war or was the killing of so many civilians a misuse of valuable resources? — Bishop George Bell opposing the bombing in the House of Lords in 1944. The Area Bombing Directive — Baron Cherwell’s ‘policy of ‘Dehousing’, a military strategy to bomb German civilians which ended up having little effect on either morale or the war — Inside a Lancaster bomber at the Avro museum in Stockport. BBC Virtual Reality experience with a Lancaster bomber crew on a mission to Berlin — Avro Lancaster (Type 683) Legendary World War II heavy bomber. Delivered two-thirds of all bombs dropped over Europe by the RAF — Barf is restoring a former RAF Lightning jet fighter at the former RAF Binbrook airfield — There is also a WWII memorial garden to 460 Sqn RAAF and others who served there — London writer Vera Brittain believed RAF Bomber Command to be committing war crimes by killing so many civilians — In 1944 she published her book ‘Seed of Chaos: What Mass Bombing Really Means’ — She provided eye-witness reports of its effects. She vividly pressed home her argument — There was no evidence that the war would be shortened by such destruction – in fact its victims were more likely to want revenge. — Sergei Lavrov – Japan says Putin can’t visit a part of Russia. Japan ‘crossed line of decency’ with protest over Putin’s Kuril Islands visit: — UN report on damage to children in Gaza. Israel continues to commit genocide, atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting Palestinian children, — UN independent commission finds Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide — EU’s decadent insult to Donald Trump: Golden naked Trump statue in EU building. — Naked statue of Trump named ‘Orange Plague’ unveiled at European Parliament — Does Netanyahu think: If WWII RAF’s ‘Bomber’ Harris could do it, so can we’? — Were Israel’s Massacres of Gaza civilians pioneered by RAF Bomber Command in WWII? — Vera Brittain poem ‘Sleep No More’. Patricia Opulenza poem. — AUGUST 1914 God said, “Men have forgotten Me; The souls that sleep shall wake again, And blinded eyes must learn to see.” — The Bristol Politics Show, presented by Tony Gosling

Sonic Café, like pictures from the past, this time we’re taking a look back to celebrate a huge milestone — episode 500 of the Sonic Café. I’m your host, Scott Clark, and yes, we’ve officially gone the distance — 500 episodes of eclectic music, comedy and pop culture, and most importantly, connection with you. To mark the occasion, we’ll rewind to our first 50 shows — the music that started it all. We don’t usually repeat songs here at the Café, but for this milestone, we’re making an exception. Why 50? Because 50 times 10 equals 500 — it just fits. You’ll hear Everclear’s AM Radio (a perfect flashback track), plus Dirty Vegas, Roxy Music, Smash Mouth, the legendary Johnny Cash, Jet, The Who, and more. Then near the bottom of the hour, another Sonic Café mash-up — We’ll spin Pomplamoose blending The Police with The Proclaimers’ 500-mile walking wonder I’m Gonna Be. How could we not? We’ve also got laughs for you from Jim Gaffigan, who’s going the distance, for fried bread, and Key & Peele, capture that sweet rush of being in boarding group one. Oh — and a big Sonic Café shout-out to our first returning sponsor: Race to Pluto, the new reality show following billionaires as they race to be first to the ninth planet. Appointment TV for sure. So let’s kick it off. From 1964, here’s James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. We’re still here, still going the distance — and as always, we’re the Sonic Café.

Three years since October 7th, Columbia University professor Joseph Massad joins hosts Nora Barrows-Friedman and Ali Abunimah to discuss what this period has revealed about Israel, the powers that sustain it and the Palestinian struggle for liberation. He explains why Israel, unlike the English settler colonies of Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand, has never secured world recognition. He argues that, having lost the demographic war, Israel is left with genocide or a radical new attempt at ethnic cleansing as its remaining strategy. He also takes on the so-called liberal pro-Palestinian position, which shows solidarity with Palestinians as victims but condemns them for resisting. On the Resistance Report, Jon Elmer follows Ansarallah and the Yemeni Armed Forces as they push to cut off the city of Taiz from Saudi-held Aden, capturing Saudi, American and Canadian-made weapons and armoured vehicles along the way. Yemeni forces are also taking the fight into Saudi Arabia itself, with missile and drone strikes on Aramco oil facilities and the main international airport in Riyadh. Electronic Intifada contributor Roqayah Chamseddine reports that Israeli shelling, airstrikes and demolitions continue to destroy border villages across southern Lebanon. And marking the anniversary of October 7th, Hezbollah issued a statement saying Israel has failed to break the resolve of the Palestinian people.

Between 1892 and 1956 about 12 million people immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, in the harbor of New York City. Who were these immigrants? Where did they come from? What was the experience of getting to Ellis Island and what happened to them once they arrived? In this archive edition of Radio Curious, we visited with Andrew Weiss, who I met in 1992 when he was a tour guide at Ellis Island, working for the City of New York. I spoke with Andrew Weiss in November of 1992, when he was a doctoral candidate at Columbia University and a teacher at Barnard College in New York City. I asked him to begin by telling us about the history of Ellis Island. Originally Broadcast: November 23, 1992

With just over three weeks until voting ends, the race for California’s 7th Congressional District is heating up. The race features two Democratic Party candidates. Sacramento City Council member Mai Vang, is challenging 10-term incumbent Representative Doris Matsui In this edition of Elk Grove News podcasts, we talk with the upstart challenger and learn more about her beyond the campaign rhetoric. Representative Matsui was invited for an interview on September 23, but as of October 8th, has not responded. The invitation remains open

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. Japan, France, and Cuba.

Beoga are Back In the Lab after dropping out of Ed Sheeran’s tour. Finnish folk metalists, Ritva Nero drop Bombschottische, more new music from NYC’s Celtic Cross, Edinburgh’s Sisken Green, Breton Bourrees from Trouz Bras, and Shooglenifty pour out some compassion for the Bairns (Babies) Of Gaza. Music the wells up with heart and conscience from Celt In A Twist!

We skim the cream off our new Top 30, serving up a rich mix of our favourite global rhythms. Check into BaBa ZuLa’a Otel Kaliforniya, Tiger Is Coming with new sounds from Leenalchi, Mexican Institute of Sound, Meridian Brothers & Beck collab on Ritmo Babilonia PLUS into the Laboratorio Tropical with Empanadas Illegales and new Conexiones from Los Bitchos. Bon Appetit from World Beat Canada!

Nora Barrows-Friedman brings us a recap of Palestinian news for the week of October 1st to the 8th, 2026.

This week an potential "Cheezy Collectible" album profile recorded by a woman who makes it all about her, torturous sounding songs from a 1950s kids album, and an "Instant Cheeze" by a parody artist that's truly a sign of the times.

The homes in north-central Wisconsin where I grew up had basements. Ours was dark and dank. Two dim lightbulbs hanging from the basement rafters were all the illumination available at night when no sun entered the small rectangular windows perched atop the brick basement walls. As a child, I was deathly afraid to go alone down into our basement at night. Because of its darkness, I was sure some dangerous boogeyman lurked, waiting to do me harm. This describes California's Proposition 39.

Johnny and Jay go deep into the AA fourth step.

FROM THE VAULT: On Bob Avakian's social media post: REVOLUTION # 114. What do you say to people who argue that there aren't really splits among the rulers, that they're "just all the same, and all no good"? Noche Diaz and Joe Veale take on bogus B.S. from Black social media "influencers" and hustlers telling Black people to stand down, and stay out of the streets during the April 5 national "Hands Off" protests. What's Behind the U.S.–Backed Genocide in Gaza?

House Hearing Launches Latest GOP Effort to Cut Social Security Benefits; Growing Resistance to the Nationwide Push to Revive the Nuclear Power Industry; Left Rising Alongside Far Right in Recent German Elections.

Ramses returns to the show from his trip to Palestine and is interviewed by Q Ward. He discusses Palestinian activism, solidarity across different groups of marginalized peoples, and the daily struggle of Palestinians.