Bradley Smith, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Center for Competitive Politics, Adam Rappaport, Chief Counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and ProPublica’s Kim Barker discuss how social welfare nonprofit groups, known as 501(c)(4)s are avoid regulation to finance the campaigns. They’ve already spent more than $71 million on television ads, more than all super PACs combined, according to estimates from Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. Kim Barker has been reporting the series Revealing Dark Money and Big Data for ProPublica.

Pro Publica reporter, Kim Barker, talks about her reporting on the political activities of "social welfare" non-profits and how they're affecting the election.

All presidential campaigns have to report expenditures of $200 or more, and they'll all throw in some token small stuff, but no one takes campaign finance disclosures more seriously than the campaign of Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Every bank fee, refueling, and purchase of morning coffee is reported in the Paul campaign's FEC reports. How do the other major candidates compare to the Paul campaign? Kim Barker, reporter for ProPublica, explains what a campaign's transparency tells us about the candidate.

ProPublica’s Kim Barker and Al Shaw take a look at the role Super-PACs are playing in the 2012 election.

Since the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission case, 240 so-called Super PACs, or political action committees, have been registered with the FEC. Sixty of them alone have formed by Florida resident Josue Larose — a mysterious self-described millionaire and economist. Even his intentions are unclear. Larose has forms PACs such as Bloomingdale's Department Store Customers Super PAC, the NFL Sport Players Super PAC, and the Costco Store Customers Super PAC.

Longtime foreign correspondent Kim Barker gives an insider’s account of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2003, and captures the absurdities and tragedies of life in a war zone.  The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan talks about her evolution from an awkward newbie in Afghanistan to seasoned reporter with serious concerns about our ability to win hearts and minds in the region.