Contributing Writers

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the U.S.-backed coup in Chile 50 years ago, when General Augusto Pinochet deposed socialist President Salvador Allende, left a lasting scar across Latin America. Many progressives took up arms against corrupt governments, often led by “Nazis,” Petro says, fueling decades of conflict that is only now beginning to fade.

Fears are growing of another U.S. government shutdown as soon as October 1, with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unable to overcome opposition from far-right lawmakers in his own party to pass spending measures to keep the government funded. For more on what’s happening on Capitol Hill, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California, who says the chaos of a shutdown will hurt many ordinary people as federal workers go unpaid and public services suffer.

President Biden has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House later this year after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations this week. The invitation is a major victory for Netanyahu and comes as his far-right government guts the power of the judiciary and moves closer to full annexation of the West Bank, with Israeli forces killing hundreds of Palestinians so far this year.

As billionaire Rupert Murdoch announces he will resign as head of his media empire, we speak with Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of the watchdog group Media Matters for America, about the right-wing mogul’s influence on journalism and politics over the last seven decades.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the U.S.-backed coup in Chile 50 years ago, when General Augusto Pinochet deposed socialist President Salvador Allende, left a lasting scar across Latin America. Many progressives took up arms against corrupt governments, often led by “Nazis,” Petro says, fueling decades of conflict that is only now beginning to fade.

In Part 3 of our interview with leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro, he describes how hard-line U.S. policies are preventing the Americas from addressing issues like migration, calling on the Biden administration to “open up a plural dialogue” to bring the region closer together. He notes many people moving through Latin America to seek asylum in the United States are from Venezuela, a country that has been devastated by U.S. sanctions.

In Part 2 of our interview with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, he says climate change is a “vital matter” the world must address collectively. But unlike world trade, which is governed by a set of common rules, there is no organizing rubric for decarbonizing the world economy in time to prevent catastrophe. “There’s no courts for this. There’s no justice. So everybody can just slip by,” Petro says.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro joins Democracy Now! for an exclusive broadcast interview after his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he spoke of the need to end wars and stop the climate crisis. Petro is the first leftist to ever govern Colombia. He was elected in 2022 after campaigning to fight inequality and poverty, increase taxes on the wealthy, expand social programs, restore peace and end Colombia’s dependence on fossil fuels.

A Minnesota judge has dismissed criminal charges against three Indigenous water protectors who were arrested for protesting oil extraction on treaty-ceded Anishinaabe land. Winona LaDuke, Tania Aubid and Dawn Goodwin were arrested in January 2021 after police saw video shared on social media of the three women singing, dancing and praying near construction crews for Canadian energy company Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline.

A delegation of Australian lawmakers has arrived in Washington, D.C., to urge the Biden administration to halt its prosecution of WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange. More than 60 members of Australia’s Parliament from across the political spectrum have called for Assange’s release.