July 8 – How Corporations Hide Political Donations; Infrastructure as a National Security Priority; More Scrutiny of Religion Needed

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Full Program	LISTEN TO FULL PROGRAM
Part 1	We begin with the New York Times investigation into tax-exempt 501C-4’s, designated for “social welfare” by the IRS, that are being used by some of America’s biggest corporations to shield voters and shareholders from knowing about corporate donations to political campaigns and candidates. Bruce Cain, a professor of Political Science at Stanford University who was up until recently the Executive Director of the University of California’s Washington Center, joins us.
Part 2	Then we look into the massive power failures in the east, with citizens sweltering in the dark for over a week without electricity to cool them and refrigerate food. A leading authority on the production, management and delivery of energy to large populations, David Freeman, the former head of the TVA, New York Power and the LA DWP, joins us to discuss the growing vulnerability of the grid to increasingly destructive weather from climate change, and what can be done to prevent future failures.
Part 3	Then finally we discuss the separation of church and state, and the extent to which religious groups have it both ways, enjoying tax-exempt status while demanding access to the public square and a greater voice in politics, while at the same time insisting their theological doctrines be kept secret and off-limits from enquiry by the press. Steven Pizzo, a Pulitzer-prize nominated investigative journalist joins us. He has an article at the Smirking Chimp, “Cultist? Crazy? or Both?”
	MUSIC: Kurt Vile – Puppet To The Man; Boards of Canada – Energy Warning; Modest Mouse – Classy Plastic Lumber; John Lennon – God