COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

1) Chad Marlow, Senior Policy Counsel with the ACLU discusses takes a critical look at President Trump's late September national security presidential memorandum (NSPM-7) authorizing government-wide investigations into non-profits, activists, and their donors and funders using vague and over-broad labels of “terrorism” and “conspiracy against rights.” He'll also explore what pro-democracy groups and state governments can do to protect groups and individuals' right to dissent and free speech.

2) Peggy Bailey, Executive Vice President for Policy and Program Development with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, talks about to discuss her group's views on the major issues, and possible solutions to end the ongoing government shutdown, i.e.: extension of ACA subsidies, addressing the impending cut-off of SNAP benefits, and major budget cutbacks in other federal social safety net programs.

3) Andra Watkins, a New York Times best-selling author and Project 2025 dissector on her Substack online newsletter, "For Such a Time as This," discusses the current government shutdown, suspension of SNAP food and nutrition benefits that relate to her recent, timely discussion and article, "How Project 2025 Plans to Starve You into Faith" & "How to Starve Fascists And Cause Their Christian Nationalist Takeover of SNAP and Other Welfare Assistance to Backfire."

4) Maria J. Stephan, co-lead and chief organizer with the Horizons Project and author and editor of five books on authoritarianism and civil resistance, assesses the recent No Kings Day protests, Trump and the Republican Party's labeling anti-authoritarian protesters as "anti-American and terrorists," and what new strategies and tactics may be necessary to adopt in the face of Trump's deployment of heavily armed ICE agents and the US military to cities across the country.

5) Henry Burke Senior Researcher with the Revolving Door Project, examines Donald Trump's recent pardon of convicted money launderer Changpeng Zhao, that many observers link to Zhao's boost of the Trump family’s crypto business, and an “example of Trump’s Pay-to-Pardon scheme.” He'll also share his views of how Trump, unlike any other U.S. president, has exploited his office to accumulate what some estimate to be more than $3 billion added to his personal fortune during the first 9 months of his second term.

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint