Free Talk Live

Mariela Castro, Daughter of Cuban President, Helps Lead Struggle for LGBTQ Rights in Changing Cuba - Mariela Castro was recently granted a visa for a rare trip to the United States. Democracy Now! had a chance to sit down with her last week at the Cuban consulate here in New York City. We talked not only about her work combating homophobia, but also her thoughts on the Cuban Five and what’s happening in Cuba 50 years after the start of the U.S. embargo. She called on the United States to release five Cubans jailed for spying on violent anti-Cuban militants in exchange for U.S.

Fidel Castro no longer believes in communism. "The Cuban [economic] model doesn't even work for us anymore."

FRONTLINE investigates how Al Qaeda and affiliated militants have seized areas in southern Yemen — and are winning some popular support.

Academy Award-winning Oliver Stone has teamed up with historian Peter Kuznick to produce a 10-part Showtime series called "Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States." Drawing on archival findings and recently declassified documents, the filmmakers critically examine U.S. history, from the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War, to the fall of communism, and continuing all the way through to the Obama administration.

Cuba has no shortage of fertile farmland, but the country spends $1.5 billion a year importing about 70 percent of its food. The communist government's chronic struggle to get farmers to produce more is forcing authorities to grudgingly accept a greater role for market principles and the profit motive. Now authorities seem willing to go another step further, tolerating the rise of what might be described as Cuba's "free-est" market.

A new report on the secret U.S. drone war in Pakistan says the attacks have killed far more civilians than acknowledged, traumatized a nation and undermined international law. In "Living Under Drones," researchers conclude the drone strikes "terrorize men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities." The study concludes that most of the militants killed in the strikes have been low-level targets whose deaths have failed to make the United States any safer.

Just in case you weren't already, you might want to re-think joking about your future plans for a terrorist attack over Gchat or Xbox LIVE. That is, unless you'd like to get "intimately acquainted" with the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the agency has made real time spying on email platforms like GMail, and cloud computing services a "top priority."

CIA agent wins $2.8 billion lawsuit against Cuba. A Miami judge is ordering the country of Cuba to fork over $2.8 billion to the former CIA asset that helped authorities locate Che Guevara in 1967. Cubans don’t give a crap though.

My documentary on the history of the Appalachia folk and their Scottish and Irish roots lead to their anti authority spirit. How some simple hill folk from the southern mountains have been living free for over 200 years without the letting the government tell them how to live. We also examine the defiant history of Moonshine bootleggers and the legendary Marijuana Growers of the hills.