Dead Presidents

Assassinating the president is a crime under federal statute 18 U.S. Code § 1751. The same law forbids assassinating, kidnapping or assaulting the Vice-President or anyone in line to become president following the office holder’s death or incapacity. There is also a law, 18 U.S. Code § 871, that protects the president, vice-president, etc., against threats of death, kidnapping or other bodily harm. These laws are in addition to other state and federal or state laws against murder, kidnapping, assault, threats of violence and all the rest. In sum, it’s safe to say, assassinating, assaulting or threatening a U.S. president is and always has been, everywhere illegal. More

Vampire Planet: Cyanide Bombs and a “Shark Tank” Data Center

BY Joshua Frank

Let’s start with the bad. Carbon dioxide levels just hit a new record of 431 parts per million. Some of you may remember that 350 was the safe upper limit for atmospheric carbon. Oh, how times have changed. What does this mean for the planet? We’re already seeing the consequences. Corpus Christi, Texas (population 317,000), may be the first major city in the country to run out of drinking water entirely, possibly before the end of the year. Climate-induced drought is the culprit. More

The Resistance Fights On, as the Cowardly Crusaders Flounder

BY Stan Cox

In March, with the US and Israel having launched their unprovoked war on Iran, Wissam Charafeddine of Dearborn Blog wrote against the kind of “realism” that pundits always use to justify the initiation of such illegal military conflict—lame arguments that, he wrote, go something like this: “Yes, there is aggression, but what about Iran? Yes, there is an illegal war, but what about the regime?” Of course, he noted, this illogic is routinely applied to Israel’s long history of aggression against the Palestinians: More

Roaming Charges: Pity, the Poor Billionaire

BY Jeffrey St. Clair

One day, I got a call from Peter Bahouth, a former Greenpeace honcho whom Ted Turner had swiped to run his grant-making operation. Peter said, “Jeff, can you hold for a sec? My boss wants to talk to you.” I was going to say, “No,” to Ted Turner? I waited longer than “a sec,” more like two or three minutes. Billionaires must be busy managing their billions, I thought. I was expecting to hear Ted’s southern drawl. Instead, it was Jane, who babbled on for about 20 seconds, thanking me for mentioning the foundation [it was new then] in a piece I’d written with Alex Cockburn for The Nation, and then hung up without allowing me to say as much as “Hello” or “Damn, you had the greatest hair in Klute!” More

No Option But Sabotage w/ Thomas Zietzoff

May 8, 2026

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg are joined by Thomas Zietzoff to talk about his new book, No Option But Sabotage
The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis.

No Option But Sabotage explores how far activists are willing to go to defend the planet in the face of repression and the escalating climate crisis.

Thomas Zeitzoff is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. His research focuses on political violence, social media, and political psychology. He is also the author of Nasty Politics: The Logic of Insults, Threats, and Incitement.

You can find the debate between Murray Bookchin and Dave Foreman discussed in this episode here.

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An Image of Total Liberation w/ Dr. Shahd Abusalama

May 1, 2026

On this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Dr. Shahd Abusalama, Palestinian academic, writer, and artist, born and raised in Jabalia Refugee Camp, in northern Gaza. Shahd discusses her book, Between Reality and Documentary: A Historical Representation of Gaza Refugees in Colonial, Humanitarian and Palestinian Documentary Film, published in 2025 by Bloomsbury and SOAS Palestine Studies, and reflects on her recent book and film tour in Japan. Recorded during the opening days of the recent War on Iran, Shahd reflects on the ramifications of the war for Gaza, historical lessons from her time in Hiroshima, and her image of what true liberation could look like for the Palestinian people.

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Before the Flood: A Tale From Gaza w/ Ramzy Baroud

April 23, 2026

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome back Ramzy Baroud to discuss his new book, Before the Flood, a profound exploration of Palestinian history and resilience through the personal stories of his family—the al-Badrasawis. Beginning with intimate details of village life in Beit Daras prior to the Nakba. They also talk about the ongoing war in Iran and Israel’s larger strategy for the region.

You can catch Ramzy Baroud on the road this spring and summer. He’ll be at Chicago’s Pilsen Community Books on Sunday, May 3, at 5 PM.

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