Jeremy Scahill, contributor and writer to The Nation and correspondent for the national radio and TV program, Democracy Now!, discusses his bestselling book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, the history of Blackwater, its impact on the war in Iraq, Eric Prince, the president of Blackwater, the political impact of having private contractors serve in Iraq, the death count of private contractors in Iraq, the lawless nature of Blackwater and other private contractors, the deaths of the four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah, Iraq in February 2004, the Iraqis complaining about private contractors’ behavior and tactics, the U.S. military’s outrage at Blackwater, how the U.S. military is compensated compared to private contractors serving in Iraq, their presence in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Blackwater’s tactics in New Orleans, global reach, possible future operations in Latin America and competition with other private contracting companies.

MP3 here. (20:50)

YouTube here.

Jeremy Scahill is a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine and a correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now! He is currently a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Scahill has won numerous awards for his reporting, including the prestigious George Polk Award, which he won twice. While a correspondent for Democracy Now!, Scahill reported extensively from Iraq through both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Traveling around the hurricane zone in the wake of Katrina, Scahill exposed the presence of Blackwater forces in New Orleans and his reporting sparked a Congressional inquiry and an internal Department of Homeland Security investigation. He has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, MSNBC, PBS’s The NewsHour, Bill Moyers Journal and is a frequent guest on other radio and TV programs nationwide. Scahill also serves as an election correspondent for HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Matt Taibbi, writer for Rolling Stone, discusses his new book, The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire, the American press’s priorities on news coverage, Congress’s inner workings on writing legislation, his investigation of Pastor John Hagee, John McCain seeking an endorsement from Hagee, Hagee’s vision of the end of the world, the Reverend Wright controversy and its coverage in the press, Taibbi’s coverage for Rolling Stone of Iraq from Baghdad, his embedded assignment with troops from Camp Liberty and a car bombing, the similar approach to managing Congress between the Republicans and the Democrats, the American people’s disfranchisement and cynicism towards government and politics, the rise of conspiratorial movements in America, the possibility of Barack Obama being any different than other American politicians, and Obama’s potential disappointment among the American people should he become president.

MP3 here. (18:36)

YouTube here.

Matt Taibbi is an American journalist and political writer. He currently works at Rolling Stone where he authors a column called “Road Rage” for the print version, and an additional weekly online-only column called “The Low Post”. He is best known for his coverage of the 2004 US presidential election, and for his former editorial positions at newspapers the eXile, the New York Press, and the Beast. Recently, Taibbi has been a regular contributor to Real Time with Bill Maher. His new book is, The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire.