June | 2026 | Forthright Radio

What if your spouse has severe food allergies? You planned your trip to Disney World to find restaurants that prioritize patrons with such allergies. You asked your waiter several times, if your meal could be prepared without your allergens. Your waiter reassured you each time that it would be. When your food arrived without the labels marking them as safe, you expressed concern and the waiter again tells you that it is fine to eat. So you enjoy your meal. An hour later, your spouse drops to the ground struggling to breathe, and dies. You sue Disney and the company that owns the restaurant for negligence. Disney immediately moves to remove your suit from open court, to the shadows of forced arbitration, a private system of so-called justice that favors corporate defendants. Because you had signed up for the Disney + streaming service 4 years before, and had bought tickets to Disney World, and one of Disney’s lawyers was a former justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Disney had the law on its side.

This is just one scenario our guest, Brendan Ballou, cites in his latest book, WHEN COMPANIES RUN THE COURTS: HOW FORCED ARBITRATION BECAME AMERICA’S SECRET JUSTICE SYSTEM, published by Public Affairs. Perhaps you recall our 2023 interview with Brendan Ballou, when his earlier book, PLUNDER: PRIVATE EQUITY’S PLAN TO PILLAGE AMERICA, came out. https://forthright.media/2023/06/06/brendan-ballou-plunder-private-equitys-plan-to-pillage-america/

He served in the Department of Justice in the first Trump administration, and resigned because of Trump’s immigration bans. In the Biden administration, he was a Special Counsel for private equity at the DOJ’s Anti-trust Division, from 2020 – 2025. As a federal prosecutor, he prosecuted rioters, who had attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He also served in the National Security Division of the DOJ. So, he has a thorough knowledge of justice and injustice; how we got to this point; and what can be done.

We spoke with Brendan Ballou on June 22, 2026 via Zoom.

We end this edition of Forthright Radio with an analysis of the appeals prospects for the Texas anti-ICE Prairieland protestors, who were sentenced to between 30 and 100 years in prison.

Articles, etc. pertinent to this episode:

He Signed Away His Right to Sue by Subscribing to Disney+ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/opinion/arbitration.html?searchResultPosition=1

One Man Stole $660 Million. He’ll Never Pay It Back. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/opinion/corruption-trump-accountability.html?searchResultPosition=2

Why are US consumers so angry? It’s not just high prices https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/04/us-consumer-rage-prices-economy

US supreme court backs FCC in clash with wireless carriers over fines https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/04/verizon-att-supreme-court-decision

The States Should Override Trump’s Indefensible Pardons https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/opinion/trump-presidential-pardons.html

Exclusive: FBI Files Counter Government Argument in Texas “Antifa” Trial https://inthesetimes.com/article/prairieland-antifa-trial-protest-repression-fbi

Judge blocks defense attorneys from arguing Texas ICE shooting was justified https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article314874894.html read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article314874894.html#storylink=cpy

‘This is injustice’: how leftist zines were used to sentence anti-ICE protesters to decades in prison https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/24/prairieland-texas-ice-protests-zines

Claiming an Antifa Plot, U.S. Charges 15 in Minneapolis With Conspiracy https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/us/minnesota-immigration-charges-antifa.html

The spectacular collapse of a case against ICE protesters: ‘It’s not justice, but it is a win’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/chicago-broadview-six-trump-administration

Federal jury finds army veteran and two other ICE protesters guilty of conspiracy https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/ice-protesters-conspiracy-charges

“A new administration must screen out those who regard Government service as the door to power or wealth, those who cannot distinguish between private gains and public trust, and those who believe that old-fashioned honesty with the public’s money is both old and out of fashion.”
John F. Kennedy, 1960

Returning to be our guest again is internationally renowned public intellectual, writer, and cultural and political critic, McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest, & The Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy – Professor Henry Giroux.

He has authored, or co-authored over 65 books, written several hundred scholarly articles, delivered more than 250 public lectures, been a regular contributor to print, television, and radio news media outlets, and is one of the most cited academics working in any area of Humanities research. His books have been translated into many languages.

Henery Giroux is on the editorial and advisory boards of numerous national and international scholarly journals, and he co-edited a series on education and cultural studies with Paulo Freire for a decade. He is on the Board of Directors for Truthout. He is interviewed regularly on a number of different media including Democracy Now! Despite these illustrious credentials, he is never dull in conversation, and he certainly isn’t in this one, which was recorded via Zoom on June 5, 2026.

Liz Helenchild from the 2018 Mendocino Poetry Celebration Photo by Dan Roberts

This edition of Forthright Radio ends with a poem by Mendocino poet and radio colleague, Liz Helenchild‘s, poem: SLICE. Thanks to Dan Roberts for broadcasting it on Rhythm Running River (6-7-26) and for permission to include it. It was recorded at the 2026 Mendocino Poetry Celebration.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

GANGSTER CAPITALISM AND CORRUPTION IN TRUMP’S AMERICA https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/05/29/gangster-capitalism-and-corruption-in-trumps-america/

Never again in the age of historical amnesia https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2PAID9HDNCTR7EKQXXBR/full?target=10.1080/00131857.2026.2671081

We Must Resist the Collapse of Conscience in the Age of Trump https://truthout.org/articles/we-must-resist-the-collapse-of-conscience-in-the-age-of-trump/

War Becomes Spectacle in Trump’s Horrific Propaganda Promoting War in Iran https://truthout.org/articles/war-becomes-spectacle-in-trumps-horrific-propaganda-promoting-war-in-iran/

The Myth of the Apolitical University: Education, Power and the Lie of Neutrality https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/24/the-myth-of-the-apolitical-university-education-power-and-the-lie-of-neutrality/

War on DEI’s Aim: Normalizing White Nationalism https://flaglerlive.com/dei-war/

Donald Trump’s apocalyptic and profane threats against Iran expose the unhinged language of war https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-apocalyptic-and-profane-threats-against-iran-expose-the-unhinged-language-of-war-279801

Trump’s Crusade: Christian Nationalism and the Making of a Holy War https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/03/20/trumps-crusade-christian-nationalism-and-the-making-of-a-holy-war/

MAGA Aesthetics and Fascist Power: Spectacles of White Supremacy https://socialistproject.ca/2026/03/maga-aesthetics-and-fascist-power/

He’s Very Unwell” – Marsh Family parody of Chuck Berry’s “Never Can Tell” from Pulp Fiction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2WWjjVlr7M&list=RD2J95CTmZUUM&index=2

Welcome to ‘the Claw’: the White House fighting cage captures Trump era rot https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/12/trump-ufc-fighting-cage

‘We call it the P-word’: Chicago professor suspended after assignment mentions Palestinians https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/05/professor-suspended-assignment-mentions-palestinians

‘We were attacked as bad Jews’: Columbia faculty who supported Gaza protests file claims with Trump’s antisemitism fund https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/03/columbia-jewish-faculty-protests-settlement-fund

Police want to decide which journalists can cover the Delaney Hall protests. That’s not their job https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/03/delaney-hall-new-jersey-protests-police

Trump’s UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-ufc-fight-white-house-combines-punches-politics-2026-06-05/

Judge Orders Restoration of National Park Plaques Removed Under Trump Directive https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/12/judge-national-park-trump-displays