The normally reserved International Committee of the Red Cross recently made a surprisingly direct statement about the unfolding economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. They said, “Can the international community” — meaning the U.S. — “hold 39 million people hostage to the fact that they do not want to recognise the authorities that are now in place in Kabul and in Afghanistan?”Masood Shnizai is a journalist based in Kabul, Afghanistan. He joins Ryan Grim to discuss the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/01/09/afghanistan-sanctions-human-rights-hawks/">devastating effects</a> of the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/12/28/afghanistan-economy-collapse-us-sanctions/">ongoing U.S. sanctions</a>, and why the calls for help seem to be falling on deaf ears in the Biden administration.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former senate majority leader Harry Reid died on December 28th at the age of 82. Reid, who was born into extreme poverty in Nevada in 1939, rose to become one of the most influential politicians in the modern Democratic party. Three of his former aides, Kristen Orthman, Faiz Shakir, and Ari Rabin-Havt, join Ryan Grim to discuss Reid’s life and impact on American politics.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Introduced during the Trump administration, “direct contracting” is a Medicare payment model that allows private medical practices and insurance companies to arrange set payments from Medicare for the year, rather than bill the administration for services. But critics warn that the system, which has continued under the Biden administration, is being exploited by venture capitalists. Merrill Goozner is a health care reporter who has spent decades covering the slow-moving crisis of American healthcare, and he joins to Ryan Grim to discuss the present and possible future of Medicare.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week the senate voted down a resolution that would have blocked a defensive weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. The measure attracted support from senators of both parties for its potential to pressure the Saudis to end the war in Yemen. Intercept reporters Sara Sirota and Ken Klippenstein join Ryan Grim to discuss what the politics surrounding Saudi Arabia look like with a democrat back in the White House.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Build Back Better Act is one of the biggest and most complicated pieces of spending legislation in American history. If it becomes law, it will be (among other things) the biggest investment in climate mitigation ever made. So what does it actually do on the climate front? Eric Deeble from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition joins Ryan Grim to discuss the bill’s climate and agriculture provisions.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.