Talk Show with Harper Simon
Episode 35
Senator Al Franken on ISIS, Iraq, Hillary Clinton’s Campaign, Edward Snowden, & the History of SNL
Al Franken discusses ISIS, Iraq, the USA Freedom Act, Edward Snowden and Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency in this far reaching uncensored interview, released just after his celebrated Daily Show appearance. The ways that the Koch brothers and Citizens United are damaging the environment, the ongoing crisis in Syria and Iraq, and the reasons he doesn’t want to be president are shared with Harper Simon. Franken also discusses his SNL history, and stops to remember Tom Davis on this episode of TALK SHOW, direct from Washington D.C.
Episode Breakdown
00:01 Welcoming Sen. Al Franken to TALK SHOW.
00:20 Senate vote on the USA Freedom Act, and added NSA transparency for the public.
02:51 Email provisions for NSA spying, and the concern over corporate data brokers (like Google Glass).
05:55 How much access does the NSA have to private data?
09:40 Is Edward Snowden either a whistleblower or a traitor?
12:01 Climate change, the California drought, almond milk and the congressional climate caucus.
14:47 How Citizens United has stalled environmental action in Congress.
20:20 Supporting Hillary Clinton and why the Presidency is not for Al.
23:00 Clashes with the Iraqi forces and the troop withdrawal.
24:25 Possible future military action against ISIS.
25:19 SNL connections taking over Congress & remembering Tom Davis.
29:38 Baseball injuries-thanks and goodbye.
Guest Bio
U.S. Senator Al Franken was born on May 21, 1951, and grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. In 1973, he graduated from Harvard, where he met his wife Franni. They’ve been married for 39 years, and have two grown children, Thomasin and Joe. The couple’s first grandchild, Joe, was born to Thomasin and her husband Brody in May 2013. Before running for the Senate, Al spent 37 years as a comedy writer, author, and radio talk show host and has taken part in seven USO tours, visiting our troops overseas in Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Uzbekistan-as well as visiting Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait four times.
First elected to the Senate in 2008, and re-elected in 2014, he currently sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Committee on Indian Affairs.
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