Robert Scheer
Former Co-founder & Editor in Chief (2005-2020)
Latest
Politics
Intelligent Ruling on Intelligent Design
Dec 21, 2005 It's good to know that some of our judges are standing up to the fundamentalists A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled today that a public school district can't require the inclusion of "intelligent design" in biology classes as an alternative to evolution See story.The Wonderful World of Outsourced Torture
Dec 14, 2005 The more we learn of the Bush administration's pervasive outsourcing of torture, the more sensible it seems as a policy. Evidently, our intelligence people, tainted as they are by the squeamish morality of Western civilization, are just not fully up to the task of getting prisoners to tell us what the administration wants us to hear.Propaganda? What Propaganda?
Dec 13, 2005 "There is no U.S. footprint" is the proud boast of one of the Pentagon's propaganda contractors, and it prompts the questions: Why not? What are they ashamed of? One thing is that most of us in this democracy did not know we were paying for this vast official propaganda operation until we read it in Jeff Gerth's excellent investigative piece in The New York Times. A truly free press is our most valuable export, and its reputation should not be undermined by the Bushies' addiction to government propaganda.An Agnostic for President — and a Woman at That
Dec 12, 2005 How refreshing that there is one democratic nation — Chile — where a leading candidate has the courage to suggest that the impact of the clergy has not always added to enlightenment, particularly as to the place of women in society. Jefferson lives.U.N. Agency That Found No WMD Gets Peace Prize
Dec 10, 2005 How telling that the Nobel Peace Prize has been granted to the United Nations agency that Bush kicked out of Iraq after it failed to find weapons of mass destruction that he just knew were there See BBC story Meanwhile, there are some Democrats who have some explaining to do.Tonto’s Revenge
Dec 7, 2005 The outrageous rip-off of Native American tribes by a top Republican lobbyist is leading inexorably to a reckoning for the allegedly morally superior religious and political right.Texas Roundup
Dec 6, 2005 No get-out-of-jail-free card for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay A Texas court upheld a felony indictment for DeLay on charges of money laundering in connection with a 2002 Texas election A separate indictment for criminal conspiracy was dismissed .Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Torture
Dec 4, 2005 Condi Rice is so tired of Old Europe and its human rights complaints. Big deal, so the CIA is using Soviet era torture camps in Eastern Europe to stash "war on terror" prisoners. Don't those fusspots in the EU understand that our use of torture is fundamentally different because we are the good guys and that Eastern Europe has been liberated? That outmoded European slogan of "friends don't let friends use torture" is so over.Congress Should Probe U.S. Propaganda in Iraqi Press
Dec 2, 2005 Now that the Pentagon has admitted to subverting the fragile efforts to build democracy in Iraq, will Congress begin an investigation of how this happened? The first question should be who in the Pentagon decided that he or she had the right to put words in the mouth of the Prophet Muhammad.Who Will Rule After Bush’s ‘Victory’?
Dec 2, 2005 The big winners in Iraq will be Iran's ayatollahs, sponsors of their fellow Shiite theocrats who are the main U.S. surrogates on the ground in Iraq. To make sure, they've arranged a double whammy:What Are They Teaching in Journalism Schools?
Dec 2, 2005 The news that a Time magazine reporter plotted with the attorney for Karl Rove is a window into the den of iniquity that is Washington journalism. As the late great Washington journalist I.F. Stone once put it, "Better to stay in your bathtub reading reports than to have that sort of corrupting access."
Another Christmas on Death Row
Dec 25, 2019 Efforts by the inmate's legal team and journalists lead California's governor to order a re-examination of the case. Cooper tells his story here.
Politics
Lawrence Ferlinghetti Is Still Revolutionary at Age 100
Mar 24, 2019 The legendary poet, who is now 100 years old, can be described by nearly enough epithets for every year he's been alive.
The Rise and Fall of Female Moviemakers in Hollywood (Audio)
Aug 10, 2018 Award-winning critic and historian Carrie Rickey debunks the most common rationalizations for women's underrepresentation behind the camera.
‘Do You Know Your Right of Publicity?’ (Audio and Transcript)
Jun 23, 2018 "Scheer Intelligence" podcast host Robert Scheer and guest Jennifer Rothman cover a topic that was once the concern of a relatively few famous and powerful people but has now become just about everybody's business.
‘We Live in a Golden Age of Surveillance’ (Audio and Transcript)
Jun 10, 2018 Robert Scheer talks with Nate Cardozo, the attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, on the struggle to protect free expression, privacy and innovation in a hyperconnected world.
The ‘Two Bobbys’: The Short, Complicated Political Life of RFK
Jun 5, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer was the last journalist to interview Robert Kennedy moments before the candidate was fatally wounded on this date 50 years ago.
Filmmaker Sara Driver on Jean-Michel Basquiat (Audio and Transcript)
Jun 2, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discusses the American artist with the director of a film titled “Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat."
We the Corporations (Audio and Transcript)
May 19, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer welcomes Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at UCLA's School of Law, to discuss the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.
Sasha Abramsky on the Decline of Empathy and the Future of Democracy (Audio and Transcript)
May 12, 2018 Robert Scheer speaks with the journalist and professor about his latest book, on how fear has contributed to demagoguery.
Robert Scheer: CIA ‘Gangster Element’ Is a Stain on America (Videos and Transcript)
May 11, 2018 "The CIA is an agency that is out of control, and they are not doing the job that they were created to do," Truthdig's editor in chief tells The Real News.
Filmmaker Kenneth Carlson on Meeting ‘Heart of Nuba’ Villain (Audio and Transcript)
Apr 29, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer and Carlson discuss what inspired the documentarian to make a film about the persecuted Nuba tribe and a heroic American doctor.
Norman Finkelstein on His Book ‘Gaza: An Inquest Into Its Martyrdom’ (Audio and Transcript)
Apr 13, 2018 The author and critic of the "Holocaust industry" believes the younger generation of American Jews is growing estranged from Israel because of its treatment of Palestinians.
The Legacy of Gov. Culbert Levy Olson, Pioneer of California Progressivism (Audio & Transcript)
Feb 23, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer talks with Debra Deanne Olson, granddaughter of Culbert Levy Olson and co-author of a new book about his progressive political life.
Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black on Risking Career for LGBT Rights
Feb 16, 2018 The Academy Award-winning screenwriter, producer and activist speaks to Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer about the risky but necessary decision to pause his career in pursuit of LGBT equality.
Police Violence Against Women of Color (Audio)
Feb 2, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer interviews attorney Andrea J. Ritchie, an advocate for the LGBTQ community and an expert on race, gender and criminal justice, about "invisible" police violence against vulnerable communities.
Robert Scheer, Trita Parsi on U.S. Iran Policy
Jan 26, 2018 Truthdig's editor in chief interviews the founder of the National Iranian American Council about how Israel and Saudi Arabia are seriously jeopardizing prospects for peace in the Middle East.
#MeToo Creating a Slow but Steady Sea Change (Audio)
Jan 19, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer sits down with professor and media expert Mary Murphy to discuss the #MeToo movement and her thoughts on the future of journalism.
California as a Progressive Model for the Democratic Party
Jan 12, 2018 In Part Two of a "Scheer Intelligence" interview, Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer and Georgetown Law professor Peter Edelman discuss how Democrats have moved to the right in recent decades and how California may revitalize the party.
President Clinton Betrayed the Poor (Audio & Transcript)
Jan 5, 2018 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer sits down with Peter Edelman, a former adviser in Bill Clinton's administration, to discuss poverty and welfare reform. [Transcript added.]
Robert Scheer’s Top 10 Interviews of 2017
Dec 29, 2017 The Truthdig editor in chief spoke with former intelligence officials, filmmakers, activists and others for his provocative podcast "Scheer Intelligence."
Norman Lear on the State of America (Audio)
Dec 26, 2017 The television writer and producer discusses politics, history and culture in a spirited interview with Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer.
Fighting Nazis in the U.S., Then and Now (Audio & Transcript)
Dec 22, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer interviews Steven J. Ross, whose new book follows a small group that fought Nazi efforts in America in the 1930s and ’40s. [Transcript added.]
Living With the Pirates of Somalia (Audio & Transcript)
Dec 15, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer sits down with director Bryan Buckley, whose latest film portrays Canadian journalist Jay Bahadur's experience in living with Somali pirates and reporting on their lives. [Transcript added.]
How Afghanistan Went From Hippie Haven to Battleground (Audio and Transcript)
Dec 8, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer and journalist-author Jere Van Dyk discuss Van Dyk's time in the beleaguered country as a reporter and as a hostage. [Transcript added.]
A ‘Rogue’ Police Department Attempts Reform (Audio and Transcript)
Dec 1, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer interviews director Peter Nicks, whose new documentary "The Force" chronicles changes within the Oakland, Calif., law enforcement agency.
Tiana Alexandra-Silliphant Wants to Make Vietnam Great Again (Audio)
Nov 17, 2017 The director chats with Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer about her newest film, "The General and Me," which explores her 25-year relationship with Vietnamese Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap.
Security Pro Peter Kornbluh: What Government Has Been Hiding (Audio and Transcript)
Nov 10, 2017 In a conversation with Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer, the National Security Archive analyst reveals what recently declassified documents tell us about Cuba, JFK and Che Guevara. [Transcript added.]
Daniel Ellsberg: Why There Aren’t More Whistleblowers (Audio and Transcript)
Nov 3, 2017 The former military analyst shares his thoughts on the future of U.S. intelligence with Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer. [Transcript added.]
Erwin Chemerinsky: What Students Don’t Get About Free Speech (Audio, Transcript)
Oct 27, 2017 The constitutional law expert and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer discuss freedom of expression and the history of First Amendment rights.
Viet Thanh Nguyen: What We Got Wrong About Vietnam (Audio, Transcript)
Oct 20, 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen and Truthdig's Robert Scheer discuss U.S. foreign policy and ignorance of Vietnamese culture.
Director Brett Morgen’s New Take on Jane Goodall
Oct 13, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer interviews Morgen about his new documentary, "Jane," which shares never-before-seen footage of the legendary primatologist. [Transcript added.]
Norman Lear: Self-Described ‘Bleeding-Heart Conservative’ (Audio & Transcript)
Oct 6, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer talks with the television icon in the second installment of a two-part interview. [Transcript added.]
From Killing Germans in WWII to Revolutionizing TV, Norman Lear Reflects on His Life
Sep 29, 2017 Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer talks with the television icon in the first installment of a two-part interview. [Transcript added.]
Ensuring Catastrophe: Climate Denial’s Price
Sep 14, 2017 As climate change-fueled disasters ravaged the U.S., Trump—who called climate change a hoax—was doing all he could to ensure future catastrophes.
Robert Scheer: Filmmakers Look at the Myths of Racism
Aug 25, 2017 On KCRW's "Scheer Intelligence" podcast, Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis dispel the notion that racism was isolated in the South.
Robert Scheer: Trump’s Style, Not Substance, Sets Him Apart
Aug 24, 2017 On issues like the Afghanistan war, the journalist suggests, the differences between the president and the D.C. establishment are mostly superficial.