Hole in the Air

This episode is actually a full recording of a February 20 press conference having to do with the U.S. Congress finally acknowledging, late in 2019, that what was inflicted on Armenians a century ago was a genocide: the Trump administration's failed to follow suit. In January, 2020, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party unanimously adopted a resolution thanking Congress for formally memorializing that a genocide had occurred, but the resolution also decried the Trump administration's continued resistance to acknowledging that what happened was, indeed, a genocide. In March, the California Democratic Party will be considering whether to adopt the resolution at the state party level. Those who took part in the press conference echoed the resolution's sentiments while also urging the state party to adopt the resolution in March. Taking part were the resolution's three co-authors -- Caro Avanessian, Renee Nahum and Paul Neuman -- along with many elected officials, including State Senator Anthony Portantino and Assemblymember Laura Friedman, and community activists and leaders. Unfortunately, the audio quality is poor: the recording was made by a kind person who didn't have a good recording set-up, sorry. Still, this is being posted because of the topic's transcendent importance to many people.

Hole in the Air chats with TV great Sonny Fox, the legendary host of Wonderama, about his pioneering achievements in creating top quality entertainment for young people and others throughout his long and meritorious career. Also discussed is his growing up in Brooklyn, and his experiences as a Jewish prisoner of war after being captured at the start of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Sonny Fox's valuable autobiography -- But You Made the Front Page! Wonderama, Wars and a Whole Bunch of Life -- helps shape the conversation Joining in the conversation is his granddaughter Rachel, who is a field deputy in a Los Angeles City Council office, and the two talk about how each seeks to help people and benefit society.

The Hole in the Air podcast team meets with Nicholas Schultz, president of Democrats for Neighborhood Action, and they discuss the club and its ongoing efforts and activism in the Greater Los Angeles area as well as Nick's own personal involvement in politics and government.

Hole in the Air chats with Caro Avanessian, the president of the Glendale Democratic Club, and discusses the club's grassroots activism and how Glendale, California has experienced great demographic and political change.

In this episode, Hole in the Air focuses on the border crisis by learning about the insights and experiences of one agency, the Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund (SALEF). SALEF Executive Director Jocelyn Duarte, M.A., and SALEF Vice President David Giron describe efforts to help migrants in dire circumstances, many of whom have fled life-threatening situations only to be stuck in an inhumane political and legal purgatory not of their making. SALEF is a much-acclaimed non-profit that for more than 20 years has helped many people and communities in Los Angeles and elsewhere; in addition to such work, during the current, heightened border crisis, SALEF personnel and additional volunteers have been traveling to the border area, particularly Tijuana, on their own time, providing much needed assistance -- food, supplies, medicine, clothing, friendship and guidance -- to very vulnerable people who remain in harm's way kept in what are often quite harsh and inadequate settings Those helped by SALEF include people from the Northern Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador), Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua, as well as internally displaced Mexicans from Southern Mexico. Also participating in this discussion are Hole in the Air's Renee Nahum and Paul Michael Neuman. The episode was recorded on September 15, 2019.

Political and demographic changes in the Greater L.A. area have reshaped not just local & state ways of life but also present & future national trends. Southern California has evolved dramatically over the past quarter century. This podcast episode is a lecture/discussion mix, led by Vivek Swaroop Sharma, Vivek is a scholar of political order, conflict, violence, religion and societies near and far; is or has been associated with such esteemed places of learning as Columbia and Yale Universities; Pitzer and Pomona Colleges; the University of Copenhagen; and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Those joining in this conversation include Renee Nahum, Paul Michael Neuman and Erik Sanchez.

Vivek Swaroop Sharma heads this Hole in the Air conversation -- part lecture, part discussion -- about Gandhi and moral leadership. He details with great precision Gandhi's life, principles, challenges and endeavors, in turn providing illuminating insights into issues facing all of us today. Vivek is a scholar of political order, conflict, violence, religion and societies near and far; is or has been associated with such esteemed places of learning as Columbia and Yale Universities; Pitzer and Pomona Colleges; the University of Copenhagen; and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. In this podcast episode of Hole in the Air (recorded in mid-May, 2019), he is joined by Paul Michael Neuman and Gary De La Rosa. Their wide-ranging conversation touches on many things, including Gandhi's evolution on key issues and strategies; his stays in London and South Africa; Gandhi on the British Empire; non-violence; the caste system; Hindu-Muslim relations and violence; group identity and liberal politics; religion and pluralism; Nehru; Gandhi on race; Gandhi on Hitler; and possible lessons and legacies for today, including for people in the United States.

The Hole in the Air team talks with curator/artist/musician Anthony Ausgang about the late artist Victor Hayden AKA The Mascara Snake (of "Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band" fame). They discuss Hayden and a recent exhibition, curated by Ausgang, of Hayden's works, made available by Pamela Des Barres; Captain Beefheart, the Magic Band, and Trout Mask Replica; the curating of individual and group art shows; the City of Lancaster and the Antelope Valley; the City of Vernon and a beef-pork mural that once was there, and various other matters of art, music and culture. Right when the podcast episode is wrapping up, it starts up again for a final portion, with the participants sucking on atomic fireballs. In retrospect, Paul of the podcast team feels quite apologetic for his meandering pontificating, which he maintains was a product of his nervous uncertainty about whether the audience might be largely Beefheart aficionados, or those who might know nothing about that music and scene. Also, making the episode available to the public, months after it was recorded, took longer than expected, oops. The Hole in the Air Interlocutor and the sounds of Fingers DelRey are heard.

L.A. City Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell chairs the City's Homelessness and Poverty Committee. In this August 2019 discussion with Hole in the Air, he details how the City of Los Angeles is meeting the challenges of addressing homelessness, with a potentially increased State of California tie-in.

Discussing the invaluable Stonewall Democratic Club and its progressive efforts and historic accomplishments are club president Lester Aponte and political vice president Jane Wishon, along with Renee Nahum and Paul Michael Neuman of Hole in the Air.

Chicken Boy is a beloved art/advertising icon in the tradition of roadside attractions. He stands atop Amy Inouye's Future Studio, in the Los Angeles community of Highland Park. Amy tells the Hole in the Air podcast team of Renee and Paul about the decades-long effort that saved Chicken Boy.

Photographer Ed Freeman discusses his portraits of people who are homeless in Los Angeles. Paul Michael Neuman, Renee Nahum and Gary De La Rosa participate and also chat with Ed about other photo projects.

Tosh Berman chats with Hole in the Air's Gabrielle Neuman, Paul M. Neuman and Renee Nahum about his book, Tosh: Growing up in Wallace Berman's World, as well as about many other famous and not so famous folks, music, L.A.,and even the TV Show The Rifleman.

Pilipino Workers Center's Executive Director Aquilina Soriano-Versoza and Community Organizer Ian Kamus discuss L.A.'s extraordinary Filipino community and its history, accomplishments and challenges being met, and highlight the Filipino Voter Empower Project. Hole in the Air's Renee Nahum and Paul Michael Neuman participate.