09/08/22 09/08/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> tells it like it is. any damage, whether intentional or not, europe's largest nuclear power plant zaporizhzhia or to any other nuclear facility in ukraine, catastrophe not only for the immediate but the region. amy: the united nations is calling on russia and ukraine to

create a demilitarized zone around zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in europe, to avoid a nuclear catastrophe. ukraine and russia have accused each other of shelling the plant which has been occupied by russia since march. ukraine is now considering shutting down the plant over safety concerns. we wilgo to ukraine for the latest. then to somalia. >> i have been shocked to my core these past few days by the level of pain and suffering we see so many somalis enduring. famine is at the door. and today we are receiving a final warning. amy: with somalia facing a looming famine, we will go mogadishu to speak with the u.n.'s humanitarian coordinator for somalia and to ethiopia where drought is devastating east africa.

finally, attack philanthropy. we look how right-wing billionaire barre seid has used his fortune to attack climate science, fight medicaid expansion, and remake the higher education system in a conservative mold. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in ukraine, there are fresh reports of heavy fighting around the russian-occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, where local residents have been urged to evacuate. earlier today, ukraine's top nuclear inspector said the deteriorating security situation may force officials to close the plant in order to help prevent a nuclear disaster. inyiv, volodymyr zelenskyy said wednesday a counteroffensive in the east has succeeded in pushing back russian forces from around the besieged city of kharkiv.

at the united nations, the u.s. and its allies accused moscow of forcibly moving up to 1.6 million ukrainians to russia. speaking to the u.n. secretive council wednesday, assistant secretary-general for human rights ilze brands kehris said some ukrainians have faced arbitrary detention, forcible deportation to russia, torture, and enforced disappearance. she also cited credible allegations of forced transfers of unaccompanied children to russian occupied territory, or to the russian federation itself. >> we are concerned the russian authorities have adopted a procedure to -- without parental care and these children would be eligible for adoption are russian families. under article 50 of the convention, the russian federationrohibited from changing these children's personal status, including nationality.

a mako u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has arrived in kyiv for meetings with u.s. embassy staff. the state department says he will announce $2 billion in new military financing ukraine and 18 other countries the ussr at risk of russian aggression. that is separate from $675 million military package blinken announced earlier today as part of an unprecedented $40 billion u.s. aid package for ukraine passed by congress in may. meanwhile, belarus has launched wargames along its border with poland. ella roos is a major ally of russia. the united states military has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads anywhere on earth. the air force says it successfully test-fired a minuteman iii missile early wednesday morning from

vandenberg space force base in california. a pentagon spokesperson said u.s. officials had notified russia about the test in advance in accordance with treaty obligations. >> the purpose of the test launch program is to demonstrate the readiness of u.s. nuclear forces and provide confidence and security and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent. amy: in texas, federal judge has ruled in favor of a group of christians who sued to overturn a federal requirement that employer-based health insurance plans cover the cost of drugs that prevent the spread of hiv. u.s. district judge reed o'connor ruled wednesday that the affordable care act's requirement that health insurers cover of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or prep, violated the religious freedom of christian-owned businesses. the plaintiffs argued the requirement forces them to provide coverage for drugs that "facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use."

clinical studies show prep reduces the risk of getting hiv from sex by about 99%. judge o'connor is a far-right george w. bush appointee who's previously called the affordable care act unconstitutional. his ruling threatens to cut off sexual and reproductive health care for more than 150 million u.s. residents who have employer-based health care plans. primary care and hiv physician, dr. oni blackstock, tweeted in response -- "this makes no sense and am assuming is being driven solely by homophobia and transphobia. disgusting and inhumane." a federal judge in washington, d.c., has rejected a bid by the founder of the far-right oath keepers militia to delay his trial on seditious conspiracy charges over his role in the january 6 assault on congress. prosecutors say 56-year-old -- 57-year-old former u.s. army

paratrooper stewart rhodes ordered oath keepers under his command spread out in a military formation inside the capitol looking for house speaker nancy pelosi, while a heavily armed quick reaction force stood by at a hotel just outside of washington ready to take action. this comes as a new report reveals more than 370 law enforcement professionals appear to be linked to the oath keepers. the anti-defamation league found the names among some 38,000 listed as members in a leaked oath keepers membership list. they include police chiefs and sheriffs and more than 80 people who were running for office or already serving as elected officials. in haiti, thousands of people rallied in the capital port-au-prince and other cities on wednesday demanding safer streets, affordable food and medicine, and the resignation of prime minister ariel henry. >> i face hunger and inexpensive

life. i can't send my children to school. i can't paper my house. i can't go out because of the insecurity. >> he is a murderer, criminal, and perpetrator of the assassination of moise. amy: human rights groups estimate criminal gangs control over half of haiti's territory, filling a power vacuum left behind by the assassination of president moïse in july of 2021. earlier this year, investigators -- in the occupied west bank, israeli forces shot and killed a 20-year-old palestinian man during a raid on the al-faraa refugee camp early wednesday. family members say younis ghassan tayeh was shot in the chest from a distance of about 100 meters. this is his twin brother hussein, who witnessed the killing. >> i asked him not to cross the

street since a soldier might be taking aim. as soon as he crossed the street, a soldier immediately shot him. amy: it is the latest of what have become daily incursions by israel's military into the occupied palestinian territories. in china, the death toll from monday's earthquake in sichuan provinceas risen to 82. dozens more remain missing and rescue crews trying to reach remote areas have been hampered by rain, flash floods, and mudslides. the earthquake has also compounded china's efforts to combat covid-19. on wednesday, authorities extended a week-long lockdown of sichuan's capital city chengdu, home to 21 million people. china is reporting about 2000 coronavirus infections a day as it struggles to maintain its zero-covid strategy. in canada, the second suspect in a mass stabbing in saskatchewan has died, reportedly of self-inflicted wounds shortly after his arrest. myles sanderson and his brother damien were wanted in connection with the killing of 10 people

and the wounding of 18 others on sunday, all but one of them members of the james smith cree nation. damien sanderson was found dead the day after the attacks according to the police. many questions remain about the case, such as the brother's motivation for the mass killing and how myles sanderson was able to step himself to death while in police custody. in tennessee, a gunman went on a day-long rampage across the city of memphis on wednesday, shooting seven people -- four of them dead -- across eight different crime scenes before he was finally arrested late wednesda police say the 19-year-old suspect streamed t violence from his cell phone on facebook live. much of memphis remained shut down throughout the evening after residents were warned to shelter in place. meanwhile, a new report by reform austin news finds the number of mass shootings across texas rose by over 62% in the year after republican governor greg abbott signed a bill making it legal for anyone in texas

over the age of 21 to openly carry a gun in public without a permit or license. a las vegas public official has been arrested in connection with -- for the murder of investigative journalist jeff german. clark county public administrator robert telles was the subject of a series of reports uncovering claims of bullying and retaliation that german wrote for the las vegas review-journal. german was found dead with stab wounds outside his home saturday morning. this 69-year-old veteran journalist covered las vegas for over forty years and was "one of nevada's most accomplished and trusted journalists" according to the review-journal. and in seattle, washington, 6000 teachers and other public school workers went on strike wednesday morning just as classes were set to begin for some 50,000 students. the teachers' union is demanding smaller caseloads for both students and teachers, better salaries, and more resources for

special ed and english-language learners. >> we don't want to be out here. we want to be in our building with our students. we miss our kids. we were hoping for a great start to the year. >> not offer -- put the kids in what are called general education classes. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy no, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by co-host nermeen shaikh. hi, nermeen. nermeen: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: we begin today's show in ukraine, where residents near the russian-held zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are being urged to evacuate as fighting continues in the area. the international atomic energy agency is calling for a safety and security protection zone to be immediately set up around the facility in order to avoid a nuclear disaster at europe's

largest nuclear power plant. the iaea issued a report tuesday on the dire conditions at the plant after investigators visited the site last week. russia and ukraine have accused each other of attacking the plant, which has been controlled by russia since march. iaea director general rafael grossi spoke on esday. >> the physical attack wittingly or unwitting, hits this facility haseceived and that i personally have en and assess together with my experts is simply unacceptable. they are playing with fire. and something very, very catastrophic could take place the specific recommendation in my report that the operator should be allowed to return to

its clear and routine line of responsibilities -- rk environment must be reestablished, including proper family support for the staff. amy: ukraine is now considering shutting down the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant over safety concerns. for more, we are joined by two guests. olexi pasyuk is the deputy director of the ukrainian ngo eco-action, where his focus is on energy and nuclear energy. and edwin lyman is director of nuclear power safety at the union of concerned scientists, co-author of the book "fukushima, the story of a nuclear disaster." he recently wrote an article headlined "can the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant avoid a major disaster?" we welcome you both to democracy now! let's go to washington, d.c., first. edwin lyman, your assessment of the iaea report, can a nuclear disaster be averted?

>> the iaea does not usually use such strong language, so i think it is important to take notice when they do. there warnings are pretty clear. unless the fighting stops, unless there shelling around and on the plant site stops and allows workers to restore the backup power systems that are now all disabled, than the plant is really skating on thin ice and it is very unstable. there is a great concern here. nermeen: olexi pasyuk, could you respond to the iaea report? your response to their assessment of the situation at the nuclear power plant? >> first of all, weeed to understand the nature of the iaea. there are a lot of expectations [indiscernible]

i personally did not expect much with the power plant because just the fact the russian army is enough to bring this concern. [indiscernible] this is what ukraine wanted to hear to get the confirmation that russia intervened and the idea that the only way to have it safe is to demilitarized the area. nermeen: give us some background. rush occupy this plant in march, very soon after their invasion of ukraine. were -- why do you think they occupy the plant? this plant provides something

like 20% of all of ukraine's electric supply. >> well, i think we must -- the sole fact they attacked the power plant is on the away already breaking geneva convention protocols. [indiscernible] it is in violation of a couple of decisions made by the iaea. why they did it?irst of all, [indiscernible] indeed, it is the biggest power plant in the region -- i mean in europe. this is the nature of nuclear power, unfortunately, that you

have this major power plant where generation is much concentrated. [indiscernible] russ at this moment uses the power plant as a kind of safe space because ukrainians are limited -- [indcernible] russia is using the side of nuclear power plants to basically attack ukraine. amy: can you explain the situation around zaporizhzhia? you have russia and ukraine accusing the other of the shelling. what do you understand is happening and how the plant is being used and how many of the

plants themselves -- there are six, this is the largest station in europe -- have been shut down already? >> look, let me start from the last one. i think this is one of the discussions which is happening as to why -- there were two units working. right after the attack when russia occupied the station, when their work shooting on site, there were two units that were operating that were shut down but were started again. this is because the power plant is important both for occupied territories or russia wants to also he electric supply and ukrainian controlled territories.

in terms of -- that area is under russian control in general , but there something which we cannot really -- happening all around. they were shooting from different sites, which is difficult to estimate. we have some evidence when the ukrainians were attacking russian soldiers, basically, just outside the power plant. but as to the attacks on site, it is difficult to say because there's also the question there are four electricity lines going out of the power plant. there could be different interests to putin.

nermeen: edwin lyman, one of the things the iaea report concluded is that there is no indication, at least at the moment, of elevated radiation levels at the plant so ukrainian nuclear state company has said that radiation monitoring sensors have been damaged so it is not really possible to measure radiation levels so accurately. could you comment on that and what you think is going on? >> by all accounts, there haven't been enough damage to any of the safety that compromised the nuclear -- the spent fuel. there was damage to a building that houses low-level radioactive waste, and that could have led to release of

contamation but probably something you would not detect far from the site. this important to note it is impossible to measure low levels of radioactivity far away from the actual release. if there were larger release of activity, it could be detected in western europe and other stations around the wod. so there is no way we be concealed for very long if -- at the ant. however, the situation is unstable. right now there is a partly no off-site power zone to the plant. my understanding is only one reactor is operating at a low power itself and the other reactors which it shut down. this one reactor is holding the sofa by its bootstraps. that is an unusual and unstable configuration for nuclear power plants, and that is of great concern. unless the off-site power is

restored rapidly, then the plant should be shut down. amy: can respond, edwin lyman, to the european union set to donate 5.5 million tablets to ukraine to deal with the possibility of radiation around zaporizhzhia? explain what that means. >> yes, well, in a nuclear reactor accident, what if the major releases of radioactivity is our radioactive isotope of iodine. because the thyroid takes up iodine preferentially, that radioactive iodine can concentrate in the thyroid and deliver radiation to small areas and significant increase the risk of cancer. after the chernobyl accident in 1986, 1 of the most obvious consequences was an epidemic of thyroid cancer among children,

ordinarily a very unusual disease. there are many thousands, possibly tens of thousands of thyroid cancers associated with that accident. if you take stable iodine within six hours of exposure, it will prevent the uptick of the radioactive iodine. so that is one measure for addressing that one consequence of a nuclear accident. but hundreds of different isotopes in the all and direct with the body in different ways. stable iodine can only address -- nermeen: edwin lyman, one of the issues the iaea report raised is the situation for workers at the plant who have been working now for several months under conditions of extreme stress on top of which some of the operating staff at the facility don't have unrestricted access to some areas, that is no staff

have access to some areas in the facility. so could you talk about that, the concerns about workers being exhausted and working under stressful conditions and also what it means what the risks are of workers not being granted access -- unrestricted access to certain areas of the plant? >> yes, you can't really understate the importance of the personnel in the operation of a nuclear power plant, both under normal conditions. my understanding is the staffing at the plant is perhaps less that it was before the invasion. that itself was a concern, putting undue burden on those that are left. but you compod that with the pressure of the russian military putting on the sff may influence their ability to carry out their activities in an

unrestricted fashion. it is also important to have clear lines demands as the iaea director pointed out if there is an accident, of tonow o is in charge. there may be a matter of a few hours to respond before you prevent a meltdown was up so it is very important the staff be well rested, not be under stress, know who is in command, and be able to do what they need to do and go where they need to go. if they can't, if there is any indication of those restrictions, then it raises questions about the ability of the personnel to respond effectively to an accident. another issue is the fire brigade. a fire in a nuclear power plant is a very severe event and could lead to widespread damage to safety systems and lead to multiple meltdowns from the fire brigade at the zaporizhzhia h to be relocated showing damage to the fire station on the site, meaning they will have a longer time to respond if something

doesappen at the plant. all of these are of grave concern. amy: edwin, i want to ask you about the nuclear power plant not only in ukraine, but all over, related to climate change. this catastrophe that is being experienced around the world. when we were at the u.n. plummet summit a few years ago from afterwards i flew to ukraine. in so many towns and cities, there are monuments to those who died at chernobyl. that was a different situation, but explain the crisis of climate change and nuclear power , when water levels go down that cool the fuel rods. >> yes, will nuclear power plants are often touted as a solution to climate change because when they operate, they don't release greenhouse gases.

but you have to consider that in the context of the risks compared to renewable energy sources that don't have the potential for a catastrophic accident. what you're referring to is the impact of climate change on nuclear power and the fact nuclear power plant's require a consistent steady supply of cool water to remove heat from the course when operating. if climate chae stresses nuear power plant site, by reducing water levels, lakes and rirs and by increasing temperature, that puts constraints on the operation of nuclear plants because they can't operate if the cooling water is to water. so when you see heat waves -- and we've seen this in france but also occasionally in the united states, when war levels

-- when water temperatures get too hot, plants have two even shut down. something to keep in mind when you think about increasing nuclear power as a climate option. nermeen: you have raised concerns also about what the impact of this might be on agricultural lands around the plant and will beyond it. ukraine is considered one of the bread baskets of the world. what do you think -- what are your concerns about that? and did you have similar concerns -- you also co-authored a book on fukushima, what happened following that disaster as well as chernobyl? >> when you consider all of the impacts of a large release of radioactivity from nuclear plant accident, have to consider both the direct impac of exposure on the public but also you have to look at the contamination of

water supplies and the contamination of agricultural lands. certainly, in fukushima, there was widespread contamination that not only led to the need to sample and occasionally interdict food supies, both agricultural products and of course fish because the fishing industry was critical. but even when the detected radiation levels were lower, there was still this psychological stigma associated with foodstuffs that come from the vicinity of the accident. in the case of ukraine, zaporizhzhia is located near veryertile agricultural lands. and even if radiological release did not travel that far across international borders, it could still have a big impact on

agriculture there and potentially taint the exports that are so important to the rest of the world. amy: edwin lyman, thank you for being with us director of , nuclear power safety at the union of concerned scientists. co-author of "fukushima, the story of a nuclear disaster." we will into your piece "can the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant avoid a major disaster?" and we want to thank olexi pasyuk with the ukrainian ngo eco-action. next up, somalia is facing a looming famine. we will go to a good issue to speak with a u.n. mediterranean coordinator and we will go to ethiopia where drought is devastating east africa. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. the united nations is warning of a looming famine in somalia, where a searing drought fueled by the climate crisis has withered crops, killed livestock, and left nearly 8 million people, half of somalia's population. in need of humanitarian assistance. the u.n.'s humatarian chi martin griffiths spoken the capil mogadishafter tourg camps fointernallyisplaced people and visiting hospitals treating malnourished children. griffiths said afterwards hundreds of thousands of people are at imminent risk of death. >> shocked to my core these past

few days by the level of pain and suffering we see so many somalis enduring. famine is at the door. and today we are receiving a final warning. the failure of four consecutive rainy seasons, decades of conflict, mass displacement, severe economic issues are pushing many people to that, the brink of famine. amy: according to the united nations, 730omali chdren died this year at food and nutrition centers between januarand july. the centers were set up to help children with severe acute malnutrition. audrey crawford of the danish refugee council is warning the crisis may soon get even worse. >> famine is on our doorsteps

and we are going to be witnessing the death of children in unimaginable scale if we don't act fast. 30,000 people have been arriving to canr each week over the past weeks, which is an increase of 135% in recent months. over one lung people are displaced internally this year so far. most have walked up to days in search of food d water, writing with literally -- arriving with literally nothing with mounted chair -- malnutrition or children have died. amy: to talk more about the looming famine in somalia and what is happening right now, we are joined by two guests. million belay, general coordinator of the alliance for food sovereignty in africa. also a member of the international panel of experts on sustainable food systems. and you mogadishu, somalia, adam

abdelmoula, deputy special representative of the united nations secretary-general and u.n. humanitarian coordinator for somalia. doctor, we will begin with you. can you describe more what is happening? we keep using words like "looming," but in fact, the crisis is there now and you have this number of children come imagine adults, who are already dying. >> thank you for having me. as you rightly said, the current unprecedented drought that is a result of four consecutive failed seasons, the fifth and sixth projected, causing a hug food insecurity.

7.1 million somalis are acutely food insecure. among them, 1.5 million children below the age of five. within this category, there are 300 62 5000 who are severely malnourished and may not make it by the end of october. -- 365,000 who are severely malnourished, not make it by the end of october. in the countryside, the numbers are much greater at the risk of

death among children are much higher. [indiscernible] so we are looking at a perfect storm. as the emergency relief coordinator said, the famine review committee assessed that famine will hit somalia sometime between mid-october and decembe unless we manage- [indiscernible] that is by all accounts a very big if given the current level of resources we have. rmeen: doctor, you have spent time visiting these hospitals. could you describe what you saw

as well as these feeding centers? what kind of resources exist to take care of children who are already suffering from severe malnutrition? >> the case of conflict and access of government -- very fragile. heal centers are suffering from shortages of medicines, supplies -- nutrition supplies in particular. also adequate [indiscernible] what we see, especially in the feeding centers and hospitals, are truly gutwrenching.

i have pictures on my twitter account. imagine those in outreach areas. the situation is much, much worse in those areas. the supplies, we been suffering from shortages, supply chain disruptions up until june of this year. [indiscernible]

august, our funding levels jumped to over 60% -- the plan has bee outpaced by the growing need. since last year, the numbers have been steadily growing. nermeen: million belay, could you describe what the situation is in ethiopia? also elaborate on what the causes of this crisis are across east africa. >> food shortage and are part of the world. -- in our part of the world. 3.5 people are suffering.

my brother can correct me, about 20 million. the drought is very, very serious. the big question for me, weiss is happening? [indiscernible] every time this happens, we extend our thoughts to the others. you know? i think that is very important question. semi-a, for example, my brother said, before the war -- now they're producing half of what they were producing before. so i think the first would be climate. the climate change. this is a predictn for the future --

climate change. the frequency of the droughts, the severity of the droughts increasing and it climate change. what is the response, the global response? i think it is growing but the government is astoundingly -- is short. for example, i mean, the u.k. has n a new prime minister. what is her plan? who has she assigned as energy minister? there is a huge injustice into the system.

all of africa we are suffering because of the problems that are causing. [indiscernible] before colonialism, well documented that africa has a very conflict social economic and political system in terms of trade and aiculture and now usually during maritime trade and colonialism and even postindependence. that kind of influence has continued. [indiscernible] coming with their own solution to africa. we could mention -- created an

institution in africa basically promoting [indiscernible] with the drought -- these are all exacerbated by [indiscernible] amy: million belay, how exacerbated are these issues by the war in ukraine? every week we are reading about the millions and billions of dollars that are going into the war in ukraine that can be used

elsewhere. but number two, ukraine and russia, among the largest exporter of grain also russia of fertilizer. how does this affect africa? >> hugely. fossil fuel increase is of great significance because of the price of commodities. commodities rise in response to the cost of fuel. fertilizer. [indiscernible] from russia mainly.

[indiscernible] this is bringing som very questionable agenda. we can't be depending on other countries. i think that is very clear now. nermeen: doctor, finally, if you could also respond to this, talk about the impact of the war, of russia's invasion of ukraine and the fact not just the provision of russia and ukraine providing food for east africa and large parts of the world, grains, fuel, fertilizer, but also the

world food program depended for 75% of its food came from russia and ukraine. >> yes. if you allow me to comment on what my other just said, the real goal of the crisis in somalia right now [indiscernible] dying in drugs because of the drought. -- dying in drovesecause of the drought. [indiscernible] in the countryside lack of water. the lack of climate adaptation, the answer is to not keep dumping [indiscernible]

climate change is here to stay. for now we are much more focused on lifesaving activities and trying to save as many as we can. but the impact of ukraine, the war in ukraine, there are several things to be said. not only the fact some of the wheat imports that used to come from somalia come from russia and uaine, th issue of being 6% from ukraine -- all of that has come to complete halt. also the disruption of the supply chain. that leads to increase in the price of cmodities here by his

high as 141 -- also there is a fuel shortage. this is mostly formal economy. that continues to suffer from the global disruption as well as the effects of covid-19. amy: we just have 30 seconds. if you could say what is most important to happen right now? >> the most importt thing is we have a very short windoof opportunity and that would've is closing fastly. -- and that window is closing fastly. amy: dr. adam abdelmoula speaking to us from mogadishu and million belay, speaking to us from ethiopia.

next up, attack philanthropy. we learn more about details on how secretive right-wing billionaire barre seid has used his fortune to attack climate science, fight medicaid expansion, and more. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "why" by chat pile. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. we end today's show with new revelations about the secretive right-wing billionaire barre seid conducts what he calls attack philanthropy. last month, the lever and propublica and the new york times exposed how seid used his electronics fortune to pack the supreme court with a conservative supermajority. now details from emails released through open records requests show seid also backed the heartland institute, which has spent decades attacking mainstream climate science. he also secretly funded groups that fight medicaid expansion and work to reshape the education system in a dutch the education system. for more, we're joined by andrew perez, senior editor and reporter at the lever.

he co-reported this new exposé with propublica's andy kroll and justin elliott, headlined, "how a billionaire's 'attack philanthropy' secretly funded climate denialism and right-wing causes." welcome back to democracy now! as you break as each chapter of this new investigation, again, this is the man, barre seid, who people know will about come has committed $1.6 million to a new right-wing group to reshape america. tell us the latest you have learned. >> that's right. we recently reported how barre seid converted his electronic company into $1.6 billion donation for leonard leo, the right-wing supreme court architect. what we reported now is we spoke to people who know seid, reviewed emails through public record requests, and got a sense of what his philanthropic approach looks like and what he

called that is attack philanthropy. the idea is making financial beds that have the power to make transformative change on politics and society and that is clearly what we saw happen with his giant donation to letter leo's new nonprofit. -- leonard leo's new nonprofit. nermeen: could you explain what is the heartland institute, what are its origins and what is its principal work? >> sure. barre seid, we understand is considered to be the major patron for the heartland institute. the heartland institute has long been a high pet of climate denial, pushing the idea the sun and solar cycles are responsible for changing planetary temperatures not human activities. they also have a history of questioning the health impacts and risks of smoking. nermeen: what most surprised you

over the course of this investigation? what have you been most surprised by? >> i mean, so people -- some campaign-finance reporters were loosely aware of barre seid, but what we learned is he has become fabulously wealthy between 1996 and 2018, he took in $1.7 billion in income. in that time, he donated at least $775 million to nonprofits. so he is a giant, giant donor, probably one of the largest donors in the u.s. and very, very little-known. amy: andrew perez, you keep learning more. you talked to a close friend of barre seid. he said that seid described

himself as prone to anonymity paranoia. so this leads to the issue of dark money. this is changing the landscape of politics in the united states. can you talk about what he wants to do with education, with medicaid, and of course the denial of climate science? >> so he is funny groups like the heartland institute that are hotbeds of climate denial. he is funny groups like state policy networks that push -- have opposed medicaid expansion, pushed deregulation and tax cuts at the state level, pushed voting restrictions. now he is giving money to leonard leo, who we understand seid considers himself a libertarian but letter leo is a staunch social conservative who has built the supreme court to tear down abortion rights in this country. we see he is funding a very radical right-wing program.

amy: and education? >> well, so he has funded a lot of -- we believe some universities. he appears to be the donor gave 0 million to rename george mason university's law school after antonin scalia of. we see he was frequently i mailing with professors -- emailing with professors come a one he was particularly frilly with as well as the dean. you can see they were quite eager to please him. he has also been, we believe, a donor to hillsdale college, which has come up in recent years and has helped undermine the idea or undermine the science related to covid. it has also served as a sort of feeder for the trumpet administration -- trump administration jobs. nermeen: why these universities in particular? >> so with hillsdale, we

understand that barre is quite interested in the great books curriculum, these western classics. with george mason, it is a university that is politically influential, right outside the nation's capital, and it has become this sort of supreme court university. the law school is named after antonin scalia of. we see judges such as lance thomas, neil gorsuch have taught there in recent years as well. amy: we want to thank you, andrew perez, for being with us. we will link to your article "how a billionaire's 'attack philanthropy' secretly funded climate denialism and right-wing causes." that does it for our show. democracy now! is currently accepting applications for a people and culture manager. if you are or know some and who

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