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Janda recaps night one of Rush's Fifty Something tour in Chicago on July 16, 2026— a show few fans thought they'd ever see after Neil Peart's passing in 2020. The episode covers drummer Anika Nilles winning over skeptics with a show-stopping "Tom Sawyer," the emotional Peart tributes, a full 2112 suite, a surprise nod to founding drummer John Rutsey, and the joy of watching Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson carry the band's legacy forward.Part concert review, part love letter to five decades of Rush fandom — a reminder of why live music still hits like magic.Spoiler alert: full setlist and show details discussed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. This Thursday APEX Express proudly presents “South Asians and The Labor Justice Movement.” This episode highlights Sandhya Jha, a pastor, founder and former Executive Director of the Oakland Peace Center, and racial, housing, and labor justice activist. In the first half of the episode, we discuss Sandhya's life, their path into organizing, and what they're up to now. The second half is dedicated to their recent project with the South Asian American Digital Archive's Archival Creators Fellowship Program. This episode was interviewed, produced, and edited by Swati Rayasam Follow @Sandhya Jha on Facebook and check out Sandhya's website https://sandhyajha.com/ APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Listen to the episode live on KPFA 94.1 in San Francisco, 89.3 in Berkeley, and online at KPFA.org. References throughout the Show and Links: Without Fear Consulting Interfaith Alliance Oakland Peace Center Book – Blueprint for a Revolution Book – The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad Podcast – Bending Toward Justice: Avatar the Last Airbender for the Global Majority The Alliance of South Asians Taking Action – ASATA Bay Area Solidarity Summer South Asian American Digital Archive Archival Creators Fellowship Program Sandhya Jha's project, you can listen to all of the oral histories here. Solidarity Forever Online Exhibit Arab Resource and Organizing Center Block the Boat No Tech for Apartheid University of California Labor Center Equality Labs California Trade Justice Coalition NAFCON – National Alliance for Filipino Concerns Filipino Community Center Madhvi Trivedi Patak Transcript [00:00:00] Miata Tan: Hello and welcome! You are tuning in to APEX Express—a weekly radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. I'm your host, Miata Tan. Tonight we're revisiting an episode from our archives, first aired January 5th, 2023. We're bringing it back this week in honor of South Asian American Heritage Month. This one centers Sandhya Jha — a pastor, organizer, and founder of the Oakland Peace Center — in conversation with APEX producer Swati Rayasam. The first half traces Sandhya's path into organizing, from a labor campaign at Johns Hopkins to two decades of interfaith and racial justice work. The second half digs into Sandhya's project with the South Asian American Digital Archive, where she spent a year interviewing South Asian workers inside the labor movement — collecting stories that don't usually make it into the archive. Here's Swati Rayasam in conversation with Sandhya Jha. [00:01:00] Swati Rayasam: I'm really excited actually today to talk to Sandhya Jha, who is a really close friend of mine. Hi Sandhya. Hi there. Sandhya is, a Pastor is a consultant and has been working on this really amazing project with the South Asian American Digital Archive that will get into later in the episode. But yeah, Sandhya I'm just really excited to learn more about you and to hear more of your story and, let's just dive in. [00:01:26] Swati Rayasam: Absolutely. [00:01:27] Swati Rayasam: We should first talk a little bit about how we know each other, you have this long organizing background. I've been in the Bay Area for the past seven years and I would be totally lying if I said I have not historically been, or I'm not even currently an active fangirl of yours. You are literally a pastor. You are a movement worker, how did you get involved in organizing? [00:01:53] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. So I am the product of my parents who were generous, compassionate [00:02:00] people who thought about the world beyond themselves, but were never involved in organizing or activism or anything like that. I think for anybody who comes from immigrant backgrounds, it's hard to tell our stories without naming who we come from. Right. And so my father was Sunil Kumar Jha from the village of Tildanga in West Bengal. My mother, who is still alive is Jeanette Campbell Jha. She is from Glasgow. So I come from a mixed religion and mixed race home. My parents chose not to name me Sandhya Campbell Jha not to give me that kind of grounding, but I was called Sandhya Rani Jha, which is a lot to live up to, well, yes, Rani does mean Queen. But it was actually handed down to me, part of the reason they wanted that middle name was it was my aunt's name, Durga Rani Upadhyay and she was the one who really [00:03:00] brokered my mother's acceptance into the Indian family and I think that there was something about being accepted on the Indian side of the family and not for many, many years on the Scottish side. That caused my parents and particularly my mother to double down on making sure I knew who I came from and who I came from was my people in the village of Tildanga. [00:03:23] Sandhya Jha: I grew up in Akron, Ohio, so we immigrated to this country when I was a toddler, in the late 1970s, which was a complicated time for Asian immigrants to be in the Midwest because it was a time that the rust belt was rusting and there was a growing sense that we were the reason. But also I grew up alongside folks who were trying to figure out how to put food on the table. So I think that landscape shaped me in a lot of ways. And I also come from people who grew up in poor working communities. And[00:04:00] when I went off to college, there was an organizing campaign. The board of directors of the university had created a for-profit corporation with the exact same board. [00:04:15] Swati Rayasam: Oh wow. [00:04:16] Sandhya Jha: So that the universities could subcontract all of their catering, all of their custodial work to this… basically Shell corporation. [00:04:28] Swati Rayasam: Are we telling on the university? [00:04:29] Sandhya Jha: Mm, Yeah. Why not? It was Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and I think that's relevant because the tension between Black communities next to Johns Hopkins Medical School and the school itself were very real because this was part of a very long history of exploiting community members. So the workers were organizing, and you know, I had read about activism, I cared about it. I paid as much attention as I could for a high school student. But when I got to college, this organizing [00:05:00] campaign was going, and the workers were really clear, Hey, college kids who are excited about this, we do have a role for you. It's to fill the crowd. It's to cheer us on. It's to when we ask you communicate to the university that our well-being matters to you because they will listen to you in different ways. But the campaign centered the workers and was really clear with us about what our role was because we were the folks with all the privilege by getting to be there, right? We had tons of privilege and it was a really good lesson for me. I am so grateful. The first organizing campaign I was a part of was a labor campaign that understood what it meant to center the people who were the most impacted by injustice and I think that shaped the rest of my career. [00:05:46] Swati Rayasam: And that's so special too because I think for many people who come into organizing, and I will definitely cop to this myself, like coming up and organizing through high school and college level organizing. When you are a student, nobody ever [00:06:00] tells you that actually you are the least useful kind of organizer that exists. Right. You are in this incredibly enclaved community. Your oppressor, the university, all they have to do is wait for you to graduate institutional memory will not keep you. Yeah. Right. And I think that it is, it's this perfect storm of, you have actually sometimes cool ideas, sometimes very rudimentary ideas, but you also have this turnover issue and you have this sense of self import, which often comes with your teens, early twenties. Yep. As you're just figuring all of that out. So Yeah, self differentiation, right? It's a narcissistic phase in our development. . [00:06:46] Swati Rayasam: It absolutely is and I think that's so important, and I can't imagine how my life would be shaped if I didn't have to spend a lot of time unlearning the self import and narcissism that I had gained through student [00:07:00] organizing. [00:07:00] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. No, I am really, really grateful for it. [00:07:02] Sandhya Jha: My first job outta college was working for a member of Congress, which sounds super fancy and pretentious, but, a member of congress from Akron, Ohio. So put that all in perspective. His name, believe it or not, was Tom Sawyer. Oh, wow. What I loved about Tom was back in those days, he believed very strongly that 80% of legislation was nonpartisan and that was the part that he spent most of his time on. He would weigh in with his party, when they were dealing with that 20% pretty consistently. But he was more interested in the stuff that everybody could agree on and I remember for about 15 years after I worked for him, I looked back and found myself thinking that was so naive. How did he not understand where we were about to head with the divisions between the political parties? But at this point in my life, I realize the people I respect most in organizing work keep pointing out that the binary of [00:08:00] left and right actually doesn't serve us very well. One of my biggest heroes in the movement right now is the Reverend Dr. William Barber, [00:08:07] Swati Rayasam: Hometown hero of mine. Yes. [00:08:09] Sandhya Jha: Poor People's campaign from North Carolina. And he always talks about how it's not about right and left. It's about right and wrong. And it turns out that when we engage in organizing with the awareness that there are huge swaths of things that most of us are well served by, we can do better organizing. And that was actually how Tom was legislating. And at a certain point I realized that my deep passion was around racial justice, but the distinct experience I had in a multi religious household was an awareness of how religion was being used as a weapon. I had an obsession. Every paper in college I wrote was about the Christian coalition, this right wing, organizing body in the nineties. So a friend of mine [00:09:00] said, You know, there's an interfaith organization working against the Christian Coalition. And it was called the Interfaith Alliance. Her mom had been a superintendent in Washington state in eastern Washington and was a pretty conservative person by my standards. [00:09:18] Sandhya Jha: But, Dr. Chow believed in multiculturalism and believed in teaching evolution. And the Christian coalition had organized to push her out of her position as superintendent and the Interfaith Alliance of Washington State had supported her in that time. [00:09:38] Sandhya Jha: And so Liz said, you know, they've got a national chapter, a national office. And that's where I ended up, cutting my adult organizing teeth which was great because talk about learning lessons for our current moment where religion is being weaponized in ways that are anti-trans, that are anti-queer, that are anti-women, that [00:10:00] are anti reproductive rights, that are anti-immigrant and refugee. I am really grateful to have experienced the power of multi-faith organizing, around a lot of those same issues. So that was what I did in the early two thousands and then I went to seminary and public policy school, and then I ended up out here pastoring a congregation of 10 people in a building of 40,000 square feet. [00:10:29] Sandhya Jha: And long story short, that's how the Oakland Peace Center was born, was out of this dream of cultivating deeper collaboration among nonprofits who were dedicated to a shared cause. The Oakland Peace Center, which is a collective of 40 different nonprofits committed to dismantling the root causes of violence in our community. I was the founder of that organization and it was when I was pastoring First Christian Church of Oakland that I asked the handful of folks who were members of that church, what they wanted to [00:11:00] contribute to the community, and they said they wanted to contribute peace in the midst of violence. And for a dozen folks to have given birth to a space that in non pandemic years, saw over a hundred thousand people do things like the Lawyers for Black Lives Conference and to do Kingian non-violence training and to be a part of food and clothing distribution, to participate in all the very diverse ways that we can create peace is pretty impressive. [00:11:30] Sandhya Jha: And a couple of years ago, I left the Oakland Peace Center because a colleague of mine said, Anybody can run a non-profit. We need you to do what you're actually good at, and what she meant by that was we need more people of color doing diversity, equity, and inclusion work that is actually grounded in power analysis. That isn't just how do we be nicer to each other in the workplace, but how do we recognize the ways that systems of white supremacy [00:12:00] unconsciously often shape the culture of our workplaces? And what do we do to dismantle that white supremacy culture so that we can be building nonprofits and institutions of higher education and faith organizations, and even corporations that are dedicated to our full liberation, our liberation, the lands liberation. [00:12:23] Swati Rayasam: I mean coming, especially from the place that you come in grassroots organizing and in faith based organizing, what is it actually to transition into this kind of consulting space around racial justice and really interface with a lot of people that I feel like as organizers, we don't really talk to? [00:12:42] Sandhya Jha: One of my favorite things about this shift in my work is I love getting to work with folks who don't think of themselves as organizers, who, it turns out are organizers, Right. I think we sometimes create a cult of here's what an organizer looks like, you [00:13:00] have to be a Martin Luther King or a Cesar Chavez and what I love is getting to work with moms and with teenagers and with folks who think of themselves as caring, compassionate, individuals, and when I go into an organization and work with their handful of folks who care about this issue, the DEI team, I get to teach them how to strategically organize. I get to teach them how do you create culture shift over time? I get to teach them how do you figure out who your allies are? How do you figure out how to move people who are neutral? It turns out that there are a lot more organizers out there than we realize if we don't create one definition of what an organizer needs to look like. [00:13:45] Swati Rayasam: I have been reading this political scholar Eqbal Ahmed, who really talks about the way the burden is on those of us who are deeply committed to movement work, narrow definition people, the burden is really on us to try and [00:14:00] create a liberatory future that feels both achievable. Mm-hmm. and safe for everybody. Because when people engage in mass struggle and in revolution, there are people who are a hundred percent willing to put their lives on the line. People who are willing to die for the cause. And we absolutely need those people. And there are many people along the spectrum who, if you can create a future that feels like it's within their grasp, they will come with you. [00:14:30] Sandhya Jha: Yep. I teach a lot of organizing classes and have gotten a chance to teach alongside my beloved colleague BK Woodson at Allen Temple Baptist Church, they have a leadership institute there. And one of the books we use is Blueprint for a Revolution by Srđa Popović. And I feel like I learned a lot as we read that book together and thought about how to apply it to the work we're doing in Oakland. They talked about how by engaging in nonviolent direct action, [00:15:00] they created space for elders to be a part of their work and youth to be a part of their work and families to be a part of their work. By making the movement playful. They gave people hope and gave people courage because dictators are terrified of being mocked. [00:15:17] Swati Rayasam: Yeah, exactly. And I think by being really restrictive or narrow about who we view as actually valuable organizers. And I think labor movements teach us this a lot, right? We really cut ourselves off at the knees on our ability to build a network or to be in touch with the general population, many of whom are more connected than we ever give them credit for. [00:15:41] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. Yep. it's part of why I love labor organizing. I talk with a lot of people who are disenchanted with organizing who ask me how I can have stayed involved for the past 25 years. And why I've been able to stay in it is cuz I'm organizing alongside workers and they have [00:16:00] full lives. And the work that they're doing in the movement is so that they can live their full lives. And there's something about having that perspective and recognizing the why all the time instead of getting lost in the weeds of the what. Is so important in this work. I think that has been a big theme of my organizing life is how do we build to the greatest common denominator? As my friend BK often says how do we build towards those shared values that often get erased when we are engaged in the right versus left debate. [00:16:39] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. I think that it is so important and I also think that it's really hard in this moment of what feels like constant trauma and re trauma. [00:16:51] Swati Rayasam: And to some extent especially when we're talking about the left right dichotomy there are real concerns [00:17:00] about safety. Yep. And there are real concerns about security and who you are in community with and who you can find even the smallest level of acceptance from to ensure that you won't have violence visited upon you. And I think that these conversations of united front organizing, Right. trying to bridge across difference mm-hmm. for a shared goal, for a shared liberatory future Yep. Are really important. And they feel kind of impossible to achieve right now. [00:17:31] Sandhya Jha: It's interesting cuz I think that in many ways that is true. There are a lot of conversations that I think people with privilege expect, people who are marginalized to engage in. And those expectations are unfair, what I found very frustrating was the number of people with a lot of privilege who would be like, Ugh, I just can't talk to those people. And I'm like, Then who's going to? Exactly. and so I do think that some of this is about being willing to have [00:18:00] hard conversations in the places where we have privilege and recognizing who's at actual risk and showing up in ways that are protective of who is at risk. But that doesn't mean walking away from people who aren't where we are. Right. Because the fact of the matter is everybody's on a journey. And I have watched at the same time some of the disposability culture in movements write off people without giving them any way to address harm, repair harm, and find a pathway back into community. [00:18:41] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. And I think that's why, at least I am feeling really hopeful about, what I've seen over the past couple of years, this really important track into transformative justice and restorative justice, to acknowledge that there is harm that has happened, there are harms that happen every day between people. [00:19:00] And also we are all on our own journey to unlearn the things that we have been taught either directly or indirectly by our upbringing, by our environment and that you cannot easily dispose of people and that people are able to come back into community. Now that comes with a very important caveat that like they recognize the harm. Mm-hmm. that. They have done or how they've been party to it, that they acknowledge that there is healing work that needs to be done both with the person that they harmed and also probably in internally. [00:19:35] Sandhya Jha: Well, and the community, folks who don't do RJ on a regular basis tend to skip the community aspect. Yeah. That there is actually repair that needs to be done with community and there's work community needs to do to figure out how to re-embrace reabsorb people who have done harm in ways that still protect the person who's been harmed. [00:19:55] Swati Rayasam: Exactly. In ways that do not erase the harm that has happened, but [00:20:00] acknowledge, contextualize it and say, Okay, we are patching this and we are working to move forward in step with each other. Absolutely. [00:20:09] Sandhya Jha: Can I just say that one of the other things that I think you and I have in common is a real passion for bringing joy back into the work of Justice I quote Fabiana Rodriguez a lot on this particular thing, because I was at an event she was doing eons ago, and she looked out at us and most of us were activists and she said, Listen, y ‘all you keep inviting people to a struggle. I'm on your side and I don't wanna join a struggle. I want to join a party. And that was like a call to arms for me when I heard her say that. I was like, Oh my gosh, you're right. We are so much more fun. Like, I've hung out with people who are anti-trans and anti queer and anti-immigrant and anti refugee. They are not fun people. No, no. We have all of the best parties. So I don't know why we don't [00:21:00] capitalize on that more. So I think the role of joy and justice is so important. And this is why I was so excited to have you on the podcast that I launched recently. [00:21:11] Sandhya Jha: Right. Bending Towards Justice Avatar the last Airbender for the Global Majority. [00:21:15] Swati Rayasam: So literally like bringing it together. Two of my favorite things right, is like TV shows, wholesome TV shows like Avatar, The Last Airbender that I deeply love and organizing. Yes. All the work that I love. And I think it's true You know, what is actually really the important work is to work to build toward a future that is desirable Yep. That people want to be a part of. Yeah. That people can see happen. Yeah. And I think that is a lot of the difficulty that I have seen in some organizing circles. We are so well versed in what we are against and all of the things that are bad that so many people have a really hard time seeing or visioning or communicating [00:22:00] what it is that we are fighting for. Yeah. Right. And it's not enough to say, I'm fighting for a world where we can all be safe. Right. Yeah. I'm not, I'm fighting for a world where we can all take long naps in the middle of the day if we'd like to do that. Right. Yeah. But like really building and visioning that future of like, in this world in which we are all safe, there will be harm that happens. How do we deal with that? Yeah. What do we do with that? How do we make sure that it is able to keep everybody safe and also able to account for the times in which it is not able to keep everybody safe. [00:22:38] Sandhya Jha: Visionary does not have to mean naive. And we need it to be visionary. And sometimes I forget to do the visionary stuff. I've got a colleague, Dave Bell, he's a farmer who is also an anti-racism trainer and we do a lot of work together. He's a white guy who lives in White Swan, Washington, on the reservation and I remember being at a training with him and I [00:23:00] was all fired up and I was so excited about the conversations we were having and the people were really ready to do the hard work and roll up their sleeves. And Dave says to them, I would like to not have to do this work. And I'm like, What is he talking about? This is amazing. We're doing such good work. And he says, I would like for us not to have to talk about racism all the time. I would rather be farming. I would rather be, taking care of the cows in my field. [00:23:26] Sandhya Jha: I would rather be talking about my pottery work that I'm doing badly but learning how to do, I would rather be doing anything than have this conversation. But I don't get to be on the farm with the wheat, with the cows, with my bad pottery until we figured out how to do this anti-racism work. And it was a really humbling moment for me because I also get into that like I'm an organizer, that's my identity space. And it was this reminder of Dave's doing this. So he gets to live in a world where he gets to hang out in the fields and he [00:24:00] gets to, love on the cows. There's something about being reminded that we're doing this so that eventually we don't have to do it. That I think is actually visionary in its own way and it's important. [00:24:12] Swati Rayasam: Moving into a little bit more of the grit of like why I asked you to be on the show today. I met you originally when I moved to the Bay Area when you were the executive director of the Oakland Peace Center because At that time I was doing organizing work with the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, which is a 20 year old bay area based organization, that was really founded around the Laki Reddy Bali Reddy sex trafficking. Yep. Caste and labor exploitation case that happened in Berkeley in 1999. And I was just so thrilled to be around and have in community so many rad desis. And you also did work with ASATA, right. Historically and are actively doing work with us. [00:24:56] Sandhya Jha: Absolutely. One of the places I think I invested the most [00:25:00] energy in where we got to spend a lot of quality time in the kitchen was one of the projects, Bay Area Solidarity Summer, an organizing institute, camp, however you wanna refer to it. [00:25:10] Swati Rayasam: Political education, Summer camp. [00:25:12] Swati Rayasam: Yeah, exactly. For young South Asian Americans who are committed to activism. What I think was the most beautiful part of that program when I was involved in it, and it's still the case today, is for young South Asians who think that they're the only ones who care about justice issues, who haven't met other people, who are South Asian, and identify as justice seekers first to meet each other and realize that there are people just like them. Then to look around and realize that those of us who are usually 10, 15, 20 years older than them are also committed to the work and have been doing it for decades. And then for them to get exposed to the long history of radical visionary organizing and activism of South [00:26:00] Asians here in the US and also in the homelands of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and diasporic countries all over the world. [00:26:13] Sandhya Jha: There's something about realizing, Oh, you have contemporaries, oh, you have elders, oh, you have ancestors. Mm-hmm. Especially in the face of the model minority lie that so many of us have had imposed on us, this lie that all we are all we're supposed to be is cogs in this larger capitalist machine that are non disruptive, which is why we're allowed to survive. And if we are non disruptive enough, we might even be able to be comfortable. And to discover that there's more to our story than that is so exciting and I love, love, love being a part of that. [00:26:52] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. I think that is like fundamentally one of the most important kind of activities that [00:27:00] happens in the ASATA universe, I was a kid who also grew up thinking that there were no other South Asians like me, or there were no other folks who were interested in justice. I spent a lot of time doing, reproductive and queer justice in the south; I always think about what would it have meant if I came in, BASS for 18 to 24 year olds. Yep. what would it have meant if I had come in at a fresh 18 and been able to basically be apprised of the fact that I have this history Yeah. That it's not just me. And that actually, immigration and white supremacy and neo-colonial culture has created this project of assimilation that all of our parents have been in on, in a way to survive Yeah. And to be safe. And I tell my, I tell my mom that a lot because she's always a little surprised about the organizing work that I do. And I was just like, Your job was to survive. My job is to liberate. Yeah. [00:28:00] You know? Yeah. And I could not do that if you were not so focused on creating that environment for me. [00:28:07] Swati Rayasam: I love that. [00:28:07] Swati Rayasam: we'll drop in the show notes, but, BASS – Bay Area Solidarity Summer is solidaritysummer.org. So we'll put that in the show notes as well as ASATA, the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action is ASATA.org. And yeah, I think that is a really good segue into how we got involved in this amazing project. [00:28:31] Swati Rayasam: You're tuned in to APEX express at 94.1 KPFA and 89.3, KPFB in Berkeley. And online@kpfa.org. [00:28:43] Swati Rayasam: I think it was Fall 2021 that you and I were talking. Yep. And you were telling me that you were involved in this amazing archival fellowship project. Is run by the South Asian American Digital Archive and [00:29:00] that you were going to do your project about labor. Mm-hmm. and South Asians. Yep. And my immediate, incredibly naive response was, how many South Asians are there in labor? [00:29:12] Sandhya Jha: Exactly. And it's not naive. It's interesting cuz I think that this project actually emerged out of my favorite part of BASS, which was when the young adults would ask what their opportunities were in the world of justice. And I would say, you know, there's a place for us in labor justice. It had never crossed most of their minds. Right. We don't think of ourselves as having a role especially in formalized unions. And so SAADA, the South Asian American Digital Archives has an archival fellows project. And the whole purpose of it is to diversify their archives and collect the stories that are usually overlooked in the telling of South Asian American stories. [00:29:56] Sandhya Jha: And they have done a great job over the years of collecting the [00:30:00] stories of informal organizing, like the Punjabi Taxi Drivers campaign, the Bangladeshi Nail Workers Campaign. Those were informal labor organizing campaigns. That have been really well archived and they're amazing stories. I wanted to make sure that the next generation of South Asian activists knew about the South Asians who were actually part of the formal organized labor movement. [00:30:30] Sandhya Jha: And so I spent this past year interviewing, maybe a half a dozen or so South Asian American workers. Generally, not always, but mostly what would be classified as low wage workers who found a pathway into formal organizing bodies, unite here or the building trades or any number of the formal unions that keep [00:31:00] the labor movement alive across the country today. And I'm really proud of the fact that we do have South Asian workers who have moved up the ranks to be official organizers or to be at negotiating tables. And so that's part of the story I thought it was worth us telling. [00:31:19] Swati Rayasam: And I am, I'm so excited that we get to dive deeper into this project and I really love your framing too, around the three large bins that you have, solidarity, spirit and struggle. [00:31:34] Swati Rayasam: Right? Yeah. Yeah. [00:31:35] Sandhya Jha: I started out with certain assumptions about what I was going to learn, partly because I've been doing labor solidarity work for 25 years at this point. I really thought I knew what I was gonna hear. And what I discovered was there were these consistent themes across, the interviews. that there were these notions of, Oh, what's meaningful to me is [00:32:00] getting to organize across cultures, getting to organize with people who, on the surface and even deep down are very different than me, but we share this vision of what our lives can be. And so that solidarity message I found really powerful. Also, and admittedly because I come out of a spiritual background, was probably looking for it. I was really struck by how many of the interviews ended up talking about the role of spirituality and shaping people's values. And in a couple of instances, organizers said, what my religion taught me was that religion needs to be challenged. And building up that muscle was what helped me challenge systems of injustice in other places. But others said that their journey with their faith tradition was what guided them into the work of labor organizing. [00:32:52] Sandhya Jha: And then that third bucket of struggle, I think is the lived experience of how [00:33:00] hard it is to take on oppressive systems of capitalism, how hard it is to take on decks that are stacked against us and what it means to have somewhere to turn in the midst of those struggles. I will say there were also a couple of lessons I was surprised by because my South Asian identity is so central to my organizing work, I was expecting to collect stories of people who were proud South Asians, who were also proud to be involved in the labor movement. And I assumed that they would see connections between those things because I certainly do. But what I discovered is for the most part, they were like, Yeah, I'm South Asian. I'm not saying that doesn't matter, but it's not super relevant to my organizing work. My organizing work is about [00:34:00] our cross-cultural solidarity. And that was something I hadn't been expecting that emerged as I did those interviews. Interesting. And I'm really grateful that the South Asian American Digital Archives likes telling all of the stories because I think I promised them that what they were going to get was, we're proud to be South Asian organizers. And what I got was, yeah, we're South Asian, we're proud to be organizers. And the that SAADA is like, yeah, that's part of our story too. [00:34:28] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. And I think that's, that I think is incredibly important. We have this really, amazing series of audio clips from your SAADA interviews that really represent a lot of the themes that you were highlighting about solidarity, spirit, and struggle. And I'm just really excited to play them as we talk through these larger themes in your larger project and the experience of South Asian labor organizers. [00:34:55] Swati Rayasam: This clip is from somebody that you and I both know, which [00:35:00] is Prem Pariyar. I was so thrilled that Prem was a part of your project. I think Prem is an incredible organizer, so yeah tell our listeners a little bit about Prem. Prem [00:35:09] Sandhya Jha: It was pretty exciting to get to work with him you know, he moved here from Nepal and in Nepal he had been a Dalit activist and he came to the United States and had this notion that in the United States there is no caste and he was disabused of that notion very quickly as a restaurant worker dealing with anti Nepali bias in Indian restaurants, dealing with caste bias in Nepali restaurants, well dealing with Caste bias in all the restaurants. [00:35:35] Swati Rayasam: Hey, everyone, Narrator Swati here, I just wanted to put in an explanatory comma, a la W Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu to talk about some terms you just heard. Sandhya referenced that Prem was a Dalit activist and also talked about Caste bias. For those of you who don't know, Caste is a violent system of oppression and exclusion, which governs social status in many south Asian countries, although it is [00:36:00] most commonly associated with India. It works on an axis of purity and pollution, and it's hereditary. At the top of the caste system are Brahmins, by the way Sandhya and I are both Brahmin, and not even at the bottom, but completely outside of the system are Dalits who were previously referred to by the slur untouchable and Adivasis who are indigenous to South Asia. [00:36:25] Swati Rayasam: Despite being “illegal” Caste bias, Caste Oppression, Caste apartheid, are still prevalent, both in South Asia and as Sandhya references, in the United States. It manifests in many ways that people experience racial injustice, via socioeconomic inequality, systemic and interpersonal violence, occupation, and through the determination of marriage and other relationships. You can learn more at EqualityLabs.org and APEX currently has a show in the works that delves into this more deeply. Now. Back to Sandhya [00:36:58] Sandhya Jha: What is [00:37:00] delightful to me is Prem went on to get an MSW and is building out amazing mental health resources for Dalit communities for the Nepali community. Seeking to build out a program where there are more and more people in Nepal who are trained with MSW skills. [00:37:21] Sandhya Jha: I met with one of his professors from CSU East Bay where he got his degree and she said, You know, that the entire Cal State system is adding caste to its anti-discrimination policies thanks to the work he started at CSU East Bay. And it was really beautiful to hear that because the focus of my conversations with him were more around how his experiences in the restaurants led him into the solidarity work with nail salon workers. [00:37:53] Swati Rayasam: To just, kick back to the caste abolition work that Prem has been doing, that caste abolition work [00:38:00] at CSU East Bay has been such critical work in these ongoing conversations around caste that have been in the South Asian community primarily, but have been percolating elsewhere. [00:38:13] Swati Rayasam: You know, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Cisco systems Yep. For caste discrimination in their workplace and there have been all these conversations around caste and tech work and interplay that with the no tech for apartheid work. Right. That has been happening in Palestinian liberation circles. Yeah. And really building that solidarity movement. So I think that Prem is an absolute powerhouse Yeah. In that regard. But yeah, let's listen to this clip. [00:38:42] Prem: During that time, I got connected with other community organizer, like workers group. I got connected and so I was connected with nail salon workers, who were exploited at their workplace and with them, [00:39:00] I got to go to the capital in Sacramento. And so I thought I need to advocate for the restaurant workers. that was my first experience, like working with other workers and with the assembly members and like other other policy makers I shared what is happening what kinds of discrimination happening at the workplace. So I advocated for the restaurant workers at that time. I shared my stories and I supported the rights of nail salon workers. I was there to support them and they supported me as well, and it was wonderful. And finally that advocacy worked. And the bill was drafted and it was passed finally. And so it was huge achievement at that time. [00:39:49] Swati Rayasam: I love that. I think that is such a perfect story of when you win, we all win. [00:39:56] Sandhya Jha: And what I also love about it is he goes on [00:40:00] to talk about how he has remained in relationship with those nail salon workers. That they show up for each other, that they take each other food, that they show up to each other's baby showers and birthday parties, and there's this sense of community that emerges out of this shared struggle. And so that's a cross-cultural campaign. They were mostly Vietnamese. There were some Bangladeshi nail salon workers, but it was mostly people from a different culture than his. [00:40:27] Sandhya Jha: But somebody at the Asian Health Services program that he was at, saw his gifts, saw his passion, and he really responded to that in exactly, the most powerful way. I can imagine. [00:40:38] Swati Rayasam: And I think one of the nice things as well about that is that person at Asian Health Services connected Prem in and the Nail Salon Worker group, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Prem came from Nepal, I'm not sure, but the extent to which his organizing background and how comfortable he was in the US organizing space around labor [00:41:00] issues was probably significantly less that worker group took it upon themselves when they saw Prem come in to say, Oh, you are advocating on behalf of restaurant workers. Great. Why don't you join us? Let's help support and so the nail salon workers saw Prem, saw solidarity with Prem and said, It is our responsibility mm-hmm to bring you into this space to connect you in and to move in, struggle together. Yeah. Toward our shared goals of safety, of health, of rights. Yep. [00:41:35] Sandhya Jha: Exactly. [00:41:36] Swati Rayasam: So, we have this clip from Daljit, tell me a little bit about Daljit. Daljit [00:41:42] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. Daljit was an attorney who now reads tarot for people because she needed a break from the toxicity of that career and how it was taking her away from her family. Daljit is a deeply spiritual person and, [00:42:00] as I mentioned before, this theme of spirit showed up in some really beautiful ways in some of the interviews. I loved the way she understood her Sikh tradition as foundationally being connected with the land and foundationally connected with the people who work the land. [00:42:15] Daljit: Agriculture is our culture and the religion that I was born into, Siki, the founder of that faith was a farmer. And so a lot of the scripture, the analogies, the metaphors, the poetry, the music, the songs, the boon, the traditional folk songs, that can be taunting and teasing banter, all that stuff the land is the framework for that. And my most favorite line from the Guru Granth Sahib, our holy book, is, [speaks Punjabi] and that basically means that, the waters our guru, the airs our father, but our mother is Earth. And that's the greatest of all , and that's adherence to ecosystem. That's the [00:43:00] indigenous Cosmo vision that should be paramount. And that's what I try to teach my children. And so I think that's what I was taught as a kid without necessarily being able to pinpoint it, but it was just infused throughout our songs, our music, our food, the Harvest, there's two times a year that our celebrations, whether it Baisakhi or Lohri. It's so connected to the harvest and what is coming out of the soil or not. And you're connected to the cycles of nature. [00:43:28] Swati Rayasam: The connection between nature land, spirituality the way that it shows up in so many faith backgrounds and so many faith organizers, I think is really, really beautiful. [00:43:41] Sandhya Jha: And I love that Daljit Kaursoni who was raised in this tradition, has found her way to Buddhism and is raising her kids with those connections, but without ever losing this grounding in the liberation of the land, the liberation of the [00:44:00] people. [00:44:00] Sandhya Jha: And for that to be a key element of her spirituality, even as her spirituality evolves, I think it's pretty powerful. Tafadar [00:44:08] Sandhya Jha: One of the other people I got to interview ,Tafadar, he's a Bangladeshi American in the building trades and is a deeply committed Marxist. For me, this was a particularly exciting interview because I'm Bengali, so from West Bengal, before partition, Bangladesh and what's now West Bengal, were one state. And so it was fun to get to talk with him and to say, Hey, this is our legacy as Bengalis is radical worker organizing. [00:44:40] Sandhya Jha: And I remember saying to him, Some people in the building trades are not super excited to be working with brown people. And some people in the building trades are a little biased against women. And as a very, very progressive South Asian? How do you navigate that [00:45:00] space? [00:45:00] Sandhya Jha: And he said, Here's the thing is, yeah, I organize alongside some moderate to conservative white folks from New Jersey and he said, but in the building trades, if that moderate to conservative white guy from New Jersey decides he doesn't like my feminist politics, or he doesn't like my brown skin, if he decides that's a reason not to train me, he might die. And it was really interesting because even though I've been doing labor justice work for a long time, it was one of those moments I was like, Oh, right. Your work is very dangerous and you all have to rely on each other whether you like each other or not. That is the magic of organizing that no one ever talks about. This is why we can do cross class, cross-cultural work because literally you have to trust each other with your lives. Right. That was a really clarifying moment for me. And it was one of those interesting moments where I was like, [00:46:00] Solidarity is not a romantic thing. Uh, it is very much a matter of life and death. [00:46:05] Sandhya Jha: And I think that is really important and that exact thing that you brought up, you don't even have to necessarily trust somebody. Right. But you do need them. Yep. Right. And like that really clear understanding that like your fates are intertwined and it is truly in everybody's best interest. If you are trained well, irrespective of whether or not at lunch, I'm interested in sitting anywhere near you. I think that's really great. [00:46:32] Sandhya Jha: One of the things that was really exciting about talking with Tafadar was the reminder that labor organizing and formal union organizing at its best can be in solidarity with other movements really worker justice and housing justice and racial justice are inseparable, on some level. And so, one of the most inspiring stories I got to hear across all of these interviews [00:47:00] was a campaign that brought together folks across the anti- gentrification, the immigrant rights, and the labor justice movement. [00:47:14] Tafadar: It's ironic, building affordable housing with deadly exploitation. And, um, to do this, the de blassio administration, they embark on massive major rezonings of poor areas to relax the local zoning laws to be able to bring in these developments. And a couple of years ago, my, my union in local 79's. Took a very sharp turn towards a community organizing approach because labor can't win on our own, and that's the perspective that all of labor should adopt. In order to fight against the sweatshops in our industry. We united with a lot of community organizations in the South Bronx. [00:47:53] Tafadar: We formed the South Bronx, Safe Southern Boulevard Coalition. And along with these groups, we [00:48:00] protested and did a whole lot of activism, lobbying, community organizing to stop the rezoning of Southern Boulevard, which is a massive stretch in the South Bronx, while the De Blassio administration had succeeded in another part of the Bronx where there's like massive displacement still underway right now. And we were determined to stop it there. And it was a beautiful thing that we can unite because on our end as labor, we had to prevent all these trash companies from coming in and exploiting workers. And we were working with these tenants who are afraid of being displaced. And people generally, we do need revitalization of our neighborhoods. We do need investment. We do need things to be changed and made better. For us. If it's not for us, if it's done without us, then eventually we're not even gonna be here anymore. So we had that alliance going on and not only did we manage to stop that rezoning, we also educated the local city councilman on why his position was wrong and supporting the rezoning. And he eventually completely flipped this [00:49:00] position. And now chairs the land use committee of the city council from the perspective that we educated him on, which it's just been a very interesting dynamic. But, there's a lot of rezoning battles all over the city that's like the main front of anti gentrification struggles. And I've been watching those kinds of campaigns go on since I began organizing about 15, 16. I've seen very different approaches to them, but I've never seen any model really work until that one kicked in where Labor and the community came together. So that was one of my favorite campaigns because of that lesson that we were able to concretely put into practice and set as an example for not only for community movements all over New York City, but also for Labor. [00:49:43] Sandhya Jha: I think this hit me in particular because I've done so much work around antis displacement in Oakland, and my experience has been. [00:49:53] Sandhya Jha: That while for most of us on the ground, the connection between housing justice and labor justice is really clear. When you [00:50:00] start getting into the technical policy issues and the funding issues, the folks who are running labor and housing justice or affordable housing, struggle to find ways to collaborate. And it's been one of my consistent heartbreaks for at least a decade at this point because I work at the intersection of those things and sometimes I despair of us being able to find ways to move forward together. And so to hear a story like this one and to be reminded at core, those justice issues can and must be we already knew, must be, but actually can function together to build a better community. That was actually really life giving for me to hear. [00:50:45] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. I a hundred percent agree. And I think the point that Tafadar as well brings in the clip of just saying we knew that we could do this, but we knew we couldn't do this without community organizing. Right? Yeah. That labor couldn't do this alone. Yeah. [00:51:00] And I think that is a lot of what, when we talk about solidarity politics, it's not just a backdoor way of inclusion for inclusion's sake, we have to all do this. Actually, it is integral that all of us are involved in any of these campaigns because it impacts all of us. And because we are not going to win with only a single constituency and in the very same way that, Tafadar was identifying that labor couldn't do that alone. in community organizing spaces that you and I have been in mm-hmm. , like we are constantly talking about how we cannot do any of this without labor. Yep. And I think a beautiful example of that is the Block the Boat campaign yeah that the Arab Resource Organizing Center, started back in 2014 and then again during 2021 to block the Zim ship from the port of Oakland. And like this community organization [00:52:00] AROC could not do that without working with the longshoreman to collaborate with the port workers. And I think that when we see the marriage of community organizing and labor organizing, that is when we get the power of grassroots organizing. [00:52:16] Sandhya Jha: Something I wanna mention about the SAADA Fellowship that I was really grateful for: two things. First off, they did a really good job of making sure we got trained in grassroots oral history. So they took really seriously what it meant for this to be justice work. And they made sure we had exposure to methodology that was gonna lift up and honor and foster the voices of people whose stories don't get heard often enough. And that was a really big deal to me. The other thing is they made sure that we had an advisory board, people who are in this [00:53:00] work who could help us, figure out who to talk with, who could help us build out an event strategy. And you helped me build out my advisory committee. Anibel Ferris-Comelo who is with the University of California Labor Center, [00:53:14] Swati Rayasam: Prem Pariyar, a Nepali Dalit restaurant worker, organizer pushing for Caste as a protected category with Equality Labs, a Dalit feminist organization, and a social worker supporting the mental health needs of his and many other South Asian communities in Alameda county. [00:53:31] Swati Rayasam: Will Jamil Wiltchko with the California Trade Justice Coalition, Terry Valen who I did a lot of organizing with at the beginning of the pandemic, around the struggles that seafarers were facing with the onset of COVID-19. And he's the organizational director of the Filipino Community Center in San Francisco. The president of NAFCON which is the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns and just an all in all amazing organizer [00:53:57] Sandhya Jha: the last thing I wanna mention [00:54:00] is SAADA also helped me set up a digital exhibit with Art by Madhvi Trivedi Patak and I wanted to give them a shoutout because they're an incredible artist, but also they grew up in a working class family and didn't get exposed to what it looks like to do labor justice. And so as they developed the artwork to go with the digital exhibit, they got to experience the possibilities of labor solidarity that they hadn't gotten to experience as a child. And so I really loved that Madhvi was a part of this project as well [00:54:38] Swati Rayasam: All of the clips that you shared really identifying, again, these like huge fundamental pillars of solidarity and spirit and struggle. these clips were amazing. They are so rich and so layered with all of these people's varying and different experiences. Really showing in [00:55:00] all of these different walks of life at all of these ages with all of these experiences, that all of these people have this unified and shared identity in struggle, in spirit, and in solidarity for liberation. [00:55:14] Sandhya Jha: And one of the things that I think is worth celebrating is whether they see it as part of their South Asian identity or not. People who do identify as South Asian now have this resource that says there's a home for you in the labor movement. Yes, there are. There is a value to your voice. There is a value to your wisdom, there's a value to your experience in the labor movement. [00:55:36] Swati Rayasam: I think it's a beautiful project. Sandhya, I think it has been an amazing amount of work I've watched you do over the past year. These stories are so wonderful. I really encourage people to check it out. Where can they find your project? [00:55:49] Sandhya Jha: The website's www.saada.org/acfp [00:56:00] /exhibit/solidarity-forever. We'll put that in the notes. We'll definitely put that in the show notes. [00:56:05] Swati Rayasam: I just wanna make sure that we replug your podcast Bending Toward Justice Avatar, The Last Air Bender for the Global Majority and you can find that at tinyurl.com slash ATLA podcast, Capital P (tinyurl.com/ATLAPodcast). And then the last thing that I also wanna make sure that we plug is Without Fear Consulting. [00:56:27] Sandhya Jha: I love working with folks who know that their organization could be a little more liberative, and are, just not quite sure where to start. I love working with a team of folks who want to be about the work of incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into the DNA of their organization and I love setting them up so that they can keep doing that long after I'm working with them. So please do find me withoutfearconsulting.com. If you're interested in that. [00:56:58] Swati Rayasam: Amazing. Sandhya [00:57:00] Jha, Pastor, Racial Justice consultant, podcast host, archivist, singer songwriter, amazing cook. You can do it all. I think you deserve a nap. it has been amazing talking to you. I am so glad to be able to hear about your project and also to hear a lot more about your life. [00:57:23] Sandhya Jha: Yay. Thank you so much. [00:57:25] Miata Tan: That was Swati Rayasam in conversation with Sandhya Jha. As Swati mentioned, you can learn more about her work in the show notes at kpfa.org/program/apex-express. Speaking of Swati — she's currently working on an episode marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, out in early September. It'll cover the work of the South Asian Coalition, a national network of organizations working together on South Asian American movement building. Keep an eye out for that one. This episode originally aired January 5th, 2023 — we're re-airing it this week in honor of South Asian American Heritage Month. This is APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA, airing every Thursday evening at 7pm. Thank you for tuning in tonight. APEX Express is a proud member of Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality. A network focused on long-term movement building, capacity infrastructure, and leadership support for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Learn more at AACRE.org This program produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preeti Mangala Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's episode was produced by Swati Rayasam. Get some rest y'all. The post APEX Express – 7.16.26 – South Asians and The Labor Justice Movement appeared first on KPFA.
Send us Fan MailWelcome to Guess the Year: 80s Edition! This is an interactive, competitive podcast series where you will be able to play along and compete against your fellow listeners. Here is how the scoring works:10 points: Get the year dead on!7 points: 1 year off6 points: Call bluff correctly4 points: 2 years off1 point: 3 years off0 point: 4 or more years offGuesses can be emailed to drandrewmay@gmail.com or texted using the link at the top of the show notes (please leave your name).I will read your scores out before the next episode, along with the scores of your fellow listeners! Please email your guesses to Andrew no later than 12pm EST on the day the next episode posts if you want them read out on the episode (e.g., if an episode releases on Monday, then I need your guesses by 12pm EST on Wednesday; if an episode releases on Friday, then I need your guesses by 12 pm EST on Monday). Note: If you don't get your scores in on time, they will still be added to the overall scores I am keeping. So they will count for the final scores - in other words, you can catch up if you get behind, you just won't have your scores read out on the released episode. All I need is your guesses (e.g., Song 1 - 198x, Song 2 - call bluff, Song 3 - 198x, etc.). Please be honest with your guesses! Best of luck!!The answers to today's ten songs can be found below. If you are playing along, don't scroll down until you have made your guesses. .....Have you made your guesses yet? If so, you can scroll down and look at the answers......Okay, answers coming. Don't peek if you haven't made your guesses yet!.....Intro song: Roll With It by Steve WinwoodSong 1: The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll by Huey Lewis & the News (1983)Song 2: Lean On Me by Club Nouveau (1986)Song 3: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (1982)Song 4: Roll With the Punches by Young MC (1989)Song 5: Magic Dance by David Bowie (1986)Song 6: Untouchable by Above the Law (1990)Song 7: The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks (1990)Song 8: Fade to Black by Metallica (1984)Song 9: Tom Sawyer by Rush (1981)Song 10: I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (1981)
On a JKL Media Podcast one-off special, Lou introduces Canadian prog-rock/metal trio Rush and asks Karen and Jesse for reactions, starting with a yes/no on Geddy Lee's voice (Karen yes, Jesse no). Lou frames Rush as a technically revered “musician's band,” outlines the members' roles, and compares their music to headphone-focused listening like Pink Floyd. Karen and Jesse discuss songs from Lou's list—both like “The Spirit of Radio,” Karen names “Tom Sawyer” as her favorite and relates to “Subdivisions,” while Jesse says many tracks sound similar but appreciates the lyrics and openness to the experience. They praise the 2010 documentary for its celebrity supporters and for revealing the band's low-drama, nerdy camaraderie, highlighting Alex Lifeson's humor and Neil Peart's tragedy and return to music, and they note interest in a needed “chapter two” and the band's later-era touring and new drummer Anika Nilles. 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:39 Geddy Voice Debate 01:23 Rush Primer 03:04 Song List Reactions 04:03 Rush Recognition Talk 07:56 Karen Favorites 10:22 Documentary Overview 11:53 Karen Doc Impressions 15:14 Jesse Doc Takeaways 18:36 Toronto Roots and Memories 20:04 Rick Moranis Connection 20:55 Neil Peart Tragedy 21:26 Band Reunites Again 21:43 Neil Peart Cancer Secret 22:50 Annika Nilles Joins Tour 24:48 Why Rush Endures 26:48 Comedy And Early Memories 29:10 Musicianship Deep Dive 32:09 Low Drama Band Culture 34:25 Canada Love And Fandom 37:33 Live Videos And Wrap Up 40:13 Where To Find Everyone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this JKL Media Podcast one-off special, the hosts discuss Canadian progressive rock band Rush, starting with divided reactions to Geddy Lee's voice, then sharing favorite tracks like "Tom Sawyer," "Spirit of Radio," and "Subdivisions." They use the 2010 Rush documentary as a springboard to explore the band's power-trio lineup (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart), technical musicianship, and reputation as a "musician's band," plus the many celebrity artists featured praising Rush. Karen and Jesse both enjoyed the documentary for its backstory, humor (especially from Alex), and the band's unusually low drama and long friendships, while also noting how Rush's music can be an acquired taste. The conversation touches on Neil Peart's personal tragedies, the need for a documentary "chapter two," and the band's later-era touring with a new drummer.
This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaudhttps://Plaud.ai/twistShopifyhttps://shopify.com/twistLinkedIn Jobshttps://LinkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agenthttps://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistToday's show:*It's another All Star Summer, as we welcome back some of our favorite guests from throughout “This Week in Startups” history.Chamath Palihapitiya's development platform 8090 just raised $135 million, and he's using it to go after a $4 trillion market: the software maintenance, migration, and middleware spending that's currently “pure waste” for enterprises.Find out why the All-In Podcast bestie says every company should use AI to build custom software the way that Google, Facebook, and Meta already do, then go inside Software Factory, the “system on a chip” organizational model, and why Chamath believes AI will allow every human on Earth to start their own company.Guest:Chamath on X: https://x.com/chamath8090: https://www.8090.ai/Learn With Me on Substack: https://chamath.substack.com/p/learn-with-meDrink With Me: https://www.drinkwithme.com/age-verify.htmlAll-In Podcast: https://allin.com/Social Capital: https://www.socialcapital.com/Relevant Links:8090 Series A announcement: https://x.com/chamath/status/2071571183665881515Salesforce Ventures: https://salesforceventures.com/Craft Ventures: https://www.craftventures.com/The Production Board: https://www.tpb.co/WNDR: https://www.wndr.vc/LAUNCH: https://www.launch.coCoatue Management: https://www.coatue.com/Jack Dorsey: “From Hierarchy to Intelligence”: https://block.xyz/inside/from-hierarchy-to-intelligenceThomas Keller's The French Laundry: https://thomaskeller.com/tfl/Timestamps:0:00 It's TWiST All-Star Summer!0:44 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:21 Chamath's origin story7:54 Tom Sawyer entrepreneurship11:29 Shopify - Turn those What If's into sales with the ecommerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist16:25 The $5 trillion software market21:06 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist25:00 Building "a co-founder for every human"31:51 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist35:00 How product development lost its way45:00 Regulated industries are the beachhead50:00 Raising the $135M Series A55:00 8090's "System on a Chip" model1:04:44 What to tell your kids about AISubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com
What makes stealth games appealing? What makes them suck? Kirk, Jason, and Maddy talk about their favorite and least favorite aspects of the sneakiest drama, from 007 First Light to Dishonored and much more. One More Thing: Kirk: Rush Maddy: Broomgate: A Curling Scandal Jason: Gentoo Rescue LINKS: Rick Beato's interview with Anika Nilles, and their performance of “Tom Sawyer” with Rush in LA An overheard guard conversation in No One Lives Forever, which is much, much longer than the snippet in the episode Strong Songs Live! July 11, Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland. Livestream Tickets HERE Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/jointripleclick
Tom Sawyer | Tullian TchividjianB-Side, Part 10 | Psalm 51:1-17 NLT
Welcome back to "Disney, Eh?", the Disney travel podcast from a Canadian perspective. Join us - Brandon and Krysta - for a "Deep Dive" episode. This week in honour of all the construction going on around the former Rivers of America in Disneyworld, we are chatting about Tom Sawyer's Island - the pirates, the accidents, the highlights, and the words that we hesitate to say but does anyway. Plus we catch up on some of the Disney news catching our attention this week. Follow us on Facebook @disneyeh, on Instagram at @disneyeh.podcast, Youtube @Adventures, Eh? or contact us via email: mail.disneyeh@gmail.com or through our website: https://disneyeh.wixsite.com/podcast Please follow, share, rate, and let us know if Tom Sawyer's Island is always a "must" on your list! Thanks to El Mule for our custom theme song! https://www.facebook.com/el.mule.music/
Reaching for the Sky by Tom Sawyer https://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Sky-Tom-Sawyer/dp/B0H381DRN6 Reaching for the Sky is a powerful and inspiring memoir that chronicles the life and career of Tom Storey from his early childhood shaped by World War II influences to his adventurous years in the U.S. Navy, and ultimately to a remarkable career in broadcasting. Through vivid storytelling, the author shares first-hand experiences of serving aboard aircraft carriers during the Vietnam era, navigating dangerous flight deck operations, and witnessing history unfold. The journey continues into civilian life, where persistence, timing, and resilience lead him into the competitive world of radio and television broadcasting in Los Angeles. From humble beginnings and career setbacks to becoming an airborne news reporter covering major events from above, this memoir captures the highs and lows of a life driven by courage and opportunity. Along the way, it reflects on family, love, personal growth, and the importance of seizing life’s “sliding door” moments that can change everything. Rich with real-life stories, historical moments, and behind-the-scenes insights into media and military life, this book is both a personal legacy and an प्रेरational account of chasing dreams against the odds.
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" introduced readers to characters inspired by the childhood of its author Mark Twain. June 9 is the 150th anniversary of the book's publication in 1876. Multiple events are planned in Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, marking the book's real-life setting and literary impact. Mark Schneider, development and marketing manager at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, talks about the history of Twain's book, its unique place in American culture and history, and why its language, characters and lessons remain relevant today – and hotly debated.
In 2024, the Atlantic ran a splashy feature titled "The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books." Professors at the Ivy League and at other elite universities reported that their students, among the most credentialed young people in the country, could no longer make their way through a whole book. One Columbia professor described his bewilderment when a student told him she had never once been assigned a full book in high school. At Tikvah we work with hundreds of educators, and they have observed that it's not only the skill of reading that is in decline; it's also the culture around reading, the patience and attention and habits of the mind that really important books demand. That is where Rabbi Mark Gottlieb begins the conversation you are about to hear. Rabbi Gottlieb has been a guest on the Tikvah Podcast before. He is a senior adviser and treasured colleague at Tikvah, and the head of school at the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the most recent Marom conference, the annual Tikvah gathering of Jewish day-school leaders, he sat down with Shilo Brooks for a session called "A Republic of Readers: Why Great Books Make Good Citizens." Dr. Brooks runs the George W. Bush Presidential Center and hosts the Free Press podcast Old School. He is also living proof of the stakes. As he tells it, the great books did not merely educate him. They saved his life. Tikvah does not want simply want to air complaints about how the culture of reading has eroded, but to do something about it. This summer, Tikvah Online Academy is running a series of book-clubs for rising sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, live over Zoom. They will tackle The Hobbit, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Phantom Tollbooth, Tom Sawyer, The Life of Frederick Douglass, and more. Applications are open now at Tikvah.org/TOA. This episode of The Tikvah Podcast is generously sponsored by Ilene and David Siscovick and family. If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of The Tikvah Podcast, we invite you to join the Tikvah Ideas Circle. Visit tikvah.org/circle to learn more and join.
Brian Copeland is joined by Cathy Sorbo, Tony Camin, and Kevin Avery for a lively conversation that spans politics, media, technology, and entertainment. The panel dives into the controversy surrounding presidential pardon powers, debates a shocking proposed North Carolina abortion bill, and examines growing concerns about the future of journalism amid major changes at CBS News and 60 Minutes. The discussion also explores cultural shifts in branding and representation, the rise of YouTube creators as Hollywood power players, and the impact of AI on writers, artists, and the future of creative work. Plus, the crew shares summer movie picks, and weighs in on the myth of “superhero fatigue". -- Connect with our Guests... #CathySorbo - CathySorbo.com and @CathySorbo on IG #KevinAvery - @KevinAveryComedy on Instagram and his Maximum Film! Podcast #TonyCamin - Website: TonyCamin.com and on Instagram @Tony.Camin -- #PresidentialPardons #PoliticalComedy #GeorgeSantos #AbortionRights #JournalismMatters #60Minutes #MediaIntegrity #CBSNews #ArtificialIntelligence #AICopyright #CreativeRights #FutureOfEntertainment #YouTubeCreators #Hollywood #SummerMovies #Supergirl #SpiderMan #PodcastDiscussion #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast#ComedyNewsShow #CurrentEventsComedy #NewsCommentaryShow#WeeklyComedyTalk #BayAreaTalkShow #ComedyPodcastInterviews #ComedyPodcastHost Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
On this week's episode of Copeland's Corner, Brian is joined by Tom Sawyer, Cathy Ladman, and Jim Vallely. The panel begins with a discussion of Texas politics, examining Ken Paxton's primary victory, the influence of Trump endorsements, voter behavior, and whether shifting political dynamics could create opportunities for Democrats in traditionally Republican strongholds. They also explore the role of religion in modern political messaging and how cultural identity shapes electoral outcomes. The conversation then turns personal as the guests reflect on their religious upbringings, experiences questioning faith, and the ways family expectations can influence personal beliefs. Cathy shares stories about growing up Jewish and navigating family reactions to her rejection of religious traditions, while the group discusses the broader purpose religion serves in people's lives. Comedy takes center stage as the panel debates the evolution of roast culture, comparing today's headline-generating celebrity roasts to the classic Dean Martin and Friars Club era. The discussion explores changing social norms, workplace sensitivity, and how comedians balance humor with shifting audience expectations. Later, the group examines celebrity relocations, political polarization, media consolidation, and the challenges facing Los Angeles following recent wildfires. They also discuss the growing impact of AI on entertainment, the realities of aging as performers, and why adapting creatively remains essential in a changing industry. -- Connect with our Guests... #CathyLadman - Website and @CathyLadman1 on Instagram #JimVallely - Wiki Bio #TomSawyer - TomSawyerVoices.com -- #TexasPolitics #KenPaxton #FaithAndPolitics #RoastComedy #AIInEntertainment #HollywoodTalk #PoliticalCommentary #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast#ComedyNewsShow #CurrentEventsComedy #NewsCommentaryShow#WeeklyComedyTalk #BayAreaTalkShow #ComedyPodcastInterviews #ComedyPodcastHost Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Brian is joined alongside Maureen Langan, Johnny Steele, and Johnny Corn for a wide-ranging discussion on America's political climate, international reputation, comedy culture, religion, and social issues. The panel opened with reflections on how the United States is viewed internationally in the Trump era, with Maureen Langan sharing experiences performing abroad where audiences expressed disappointment and concern about American politics and policies. The conversation explored whether America is experiencing a decline in global credibility, especially regarding foreign policy decisions and tensions involving Iran. The comedians also discussed how the political environment has changed stand-up comedy, particularly around sensitive topics including religion, anti-Semitism, and political humor. Johnny Steele spoke about adapting material to fit shifting audience reactions and cultural tensions. Later in the episode, the panel debated what priorities Democrats should focus on moving forward — economic concerns versus investigations into Trump-related controversies. The conversation included discussions about presidential immunity, political extremism, and concerns about the long-term effects of division and violence in American politics. The episode also took a more personal turn with stories about Catholic school experiences, religious upbringing, and differing perspectives on sexuality education. The final segment focused on pornography statistics, societal expectations around sexuality, and the impact of online content on relationships and younger generations. -- Connect with our Guests... #JohnnyCorn - JohnnyCorn.net and @ComicJohnnyCorn on Instagram #MaureenLangan - MaureenLangan.com & @MaureenLangan on Instagram. #JohnnySteele : JohnnySteele.com -- #PoliticalComedy #TrumpEra #AmericanPolitics #GlobalPolitics #IranNuclearDeal #DemocraticStrategy #PresidentialImmunity #January6 #PoliticalSatire #StandUpComedy #ComedyPanel #BayAreaComedy #FreeSpeech #ReligionAndPolitics #CatholicSchoolStories #SexEducation #PornCulture #SocialCommentary #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast#ComedyNewsShow #CurrentEventsComedy #NewsCommentaryShow#WeeklyComedyTalk #BayAreaTalkShow #ComedyPodcastInterviews #ComedyPodcastHost Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Brian Copeland is joined by comedian and activist Hal Sparks to break down the White House's $millions prayer festival pushing Christian nationalism — and what the Founders actually said. Then, Yayne Abeba weighs in on America's 250th birthday: is there anything left to celebrate? And comedian Jackie Kashian on whether RFK Jr. can dodge his dangerous vaccine agenda before the midterms. News. Comedy. No spin. -- Connect with our Guests... #HalSparks - HalSparks.com & @HalSparks on Instagram #YayneAbeba - Link Tree #JackieKashian - JackieKashian.com -- #ChristianNationalism #AmericaAt250 #Semiquincentennial #RFKJr #Vaccines #WhiteHouse #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #MikeJohnson #PodcastInterview #NewsComedy #Politics #BayAreaPodcast #weeklypodcast #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast#ComedyNewsShow #CurrentEventsComedy #NewsCommentaryShow#WeeklyComedyTalk #BayAreaTalkShow #ComedyPodcastInterviews #ComedyPodcastHost Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Nouveaux pilotes, un brin déjantés, à bord de la Libre Antenne sur RMC ! Jean-Christophe Drouet et Julien Cazarre prennent le relais. Après les grands matchs, quand la lumière reste allumée pour les vrais passionnés, place à la Libre Antenne : un espace à part, entre passion, humour et dérision, débats enflammés, franc-parler et second degré. Un rendez-vous nocturne à la Cazarre, où l'on parle foot bien sûr, mais aussi mauvaise foi, vannes, imitations et grands moments de radio imprévisibles !
We've liked Kimiko Glenn in a bunch of things, so when we saw she was promoting her debut EP Modern Dance (coming soon!!!), we said we gotta have her on the pod! Now, you know Kimiko from Orange is the New Black, the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse films, Hazbin Hotel and of course, if you're a parent, as the voice of Baby Shark, but on today's episode, you're gonna get to know the woman behind those characters. And oh boy, we learn about how Kimiko's desire to make music was a way of processing the shitty men she's dated, we learn about some of those shitty men - and boy are they shitty - we talk about 21st century dating, songwriting as therapy and about the guy who tried to Tom Sawyer her... and SO MUCH MORE! PLUS, obvi, we answer YOUR advice questions! If you'd like to ask your own advice questions, call 323-524-7839 and leave a VM or just DM us on IG or Twitter!Get tickets to Naomi's Bell House show in New York on Thursday May 14th! Andy's latest essay can be found here! Also, we're in culture critic and Vulture writer Sean Malin's book The Podcast Pantheon: 101 Podcasts That Changed How We Listen!ALSO BUY A SUPER CUTE "Open Your Hearts, Loosen Your Butts" mug! And:Support the show on Patreon (two extra exclusive episodes a month!) or gift someone a Patreon subscription! Or get yourself a t-shirt or a discounted Quarantine Crew shirt! And why not leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts? Or Spotify? It takes less than a minute! Follow the show on Instagram! Check out CT clips on YouTube!Plus some other stuff! Watch Naomi's Netflix half hour or Mythic Quest! Check out Andy's old casiopop band's lost album or his other podcast Beginnings!Theme song by the great Sammus! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, Jeff welcomes frequent co-host Julia back to the show to discuss a recent talk about the development of Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure by Disney Legend Tony Baxter at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Tony led the project and tells stories about interactivity, Harrison Ford, and dealing with hungry rats. Then, we review Disney books - "The Art of Hoppers" and "From Disneyland's Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend: The Adventures of Tom Nabbe" (and we include a bonus interview with Tom himself!) Plus - an extensive and possibly confusing discussion about Topps' new Disneyland 70 trading card set - and more.
This week's Copeland's Corner featured a full slate of political analysis, pop culture commentary, and candid personal stories. The panel—comedians Brian Mallow, Ronn Vigh, and Mike Larsen joined Brian for a sharp and often emotional roundtable spanning conspiracy theories, science, comedy, and culture. Discussion Highlights 1. Trump Assassination Attempt Conspiracies The group dissected widespread disbelief in the Trump assassination attempt, noting that even educated progressives were circulating skepticism online. Debate ranged from Secret Service failures to the administration's handling of messaging, with humor but also concern about erosion of public trust. 2. Jimmy Kimmel, Free Speech & Media Pressure The panel tackled Melania Trump's outrage over Kimmel's White House Correspondents' Dinner joke. Topics included First Amendment limits, Disney's possible response to cancellation threats, and hypocrisy in political outrage. The consensus: Disney will likely stand by Kimmel given his strong ratings and audience loyalty. 3. Trump's Science Board Firings A major portion covered the Trump administration's dismissal of all 22 members of the National Science Board. Mallow and Larsen discussed fears of politicization of science and potential long-term damage to U.S. research leadership. Ronn Vai connected the issue to personal loss, recounting his father's death from COVID-19 and frustrations with misinformation. 4. Personal & Emotional Moments Ronn's story of losing his father to COVID-19 provided a heartfelt segment about grief, misinformation, and performing through trauma. The comedians discussed using humor for healing and shared how the pandemic reshaped their outlook on family and science. 5. Cultural Commentary — Michael Jackson Biopic Debate The panel debated whether watching the Michael Jackson film equates to endorsing alleged abuse. Copeland defended separating art from artist, while Larsen cautioned against whitewashing history. Discussion extended to Cosby's legacy, cancel culture, and how Black audiences uniquely relate to Jackson's cultural impact. 6. Government Integrity & Leadership Conversation touched on government chaos—Secret Service competence, unqualified appointees, and renaming ICE to “NICE.” Mallow highlighted the pattern of replacing experts with loyalists and the cultural “war on expertise.” 7. Closing Humor & Projects The show ended on a lighter note with plugs for upcoming performances: Brian Mallow at STEAM Fest, Saratoga (May 16) Mike Larsen's writing work and San Quentin projects Brian Copeland's continued appearances on the History Channel's “The Unbelievable” -- Connect with our Guests... #RonnVigh - On Instagram @RonnRonnRonn #BrianMalow - ScienceComedian.com #MikeLarsen - @WriteMikeLarsen on Instagram -- #TrumpAssassinationAttempt #ConspiracyTheories #SecretService #WhiteHouseCorrespondentsDinner #FreeSpeech #MediaAccountability #FCC #DisneyPolitics #NationalScienceBoard #ScienceMatters #TrustInScience #Misinformation #COVID19Lessons #PublicHealth #JimmyKimmel #LateNightComedy #MichaelJacksonBiopic #CancelCulture #ArtVsArtist #BillCosby #PopCultureDebate #GriefAndComedy #COVIDLoss #HealingThroughHumor #RelationshipsAndRecovery #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast#ComedyNewsShow #CurrentEventsComedy #NewsCommentaryShow#WeeklyComedyTalk #BayAreaTalkShow #ComedyPodcastInterviews #ComedyPodcastHost Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
ONE. HUNDRED. EPISODES!!!!!! Literally Books has officially reached its hundredth episode, so Magda and Lindsay spend this episode freaking out, crying, and wallowing in nostalgia and gratitude. Listen in as they take listener questions, provide rapid-fire books recs (how many books CAN they recommend in 50 seconds?), revel in some of their favorite memories, and manifest what they want for the next 100 episodes. LASTLY, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!! Books mentioned in the episode: “Reel“ by Kennedy Ryan “Score“ by Kennedy Ryan “The Knockout Queen“ by Rufi Thorpe “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone“ by J.K. Rowling “El Renacuajo Paseador“ by Rafael Pombo “James and the Giant Peach“ by Roald Dahl “The Correspondent“ by Virginia Evans “Legendborn“ by Tracy Deonn “People We Meet on Vacation“ by Emily Henry “Project Hail Mary“ by Andy Weir “The Shadow of the Wind“ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer“ by Mark Twain “The Lord of the Rings“ by J.R.R. Tolkien “Wuthering Heights“ by Emily Brontë “Bullet in the Brain“ by Tobias Wolff “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay“ by Michael Chabon “This Could Be Us“ by Kennedy Ryan “Station Eleven“ by Emily St. John Mandel “An Untamed State“ by Roxane Gay “Saga“ by Brian K. Vaughan “All the Women in My Brain“ by Betty Gilpin “The Poppy War“ by R.F. Kuang “I Shouldn't Be Telling You This“ by Chelsea Devantez “All Systems Red“ by Martha Wells “Bull Moon Rising“ by Ruby Dixon “Alias Emma“ by Ava Glass “Deep End“ by Ali Hazelwood “Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert“ by Bob the Drag Queen “My Lady Jane“ by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows “Clytemnestra“ by Costanza Casati “Mickey7“ by Edward Ashton “Butcher and Blackbird“ by Brynne Weaver “I Shouldn't Be Telling You This“ by Chelsea Devantez “Lady Tan's Circle of Women“ by Lisa See “Nice Work, Nora November“ by Julia London “Everything is Probably Fine“ by Julia London “Legendborn“ by Tracy Deonn “They Both Die at the End“ by Adam Silvera “The Trouble with Love and Ink“ by Harriet Ashford “The Trouble with Love and Coaches“ by Harriet Ashford Email us! Literally Books Website Literally Books Instagram Magda's Instagram Lindsay's Instagram Literally Books YouTube Literally Books TikTok Intro & Outro Song: "Would it Kill You," courtesy of The Solder Thread
Welcome to the existential wormhole that IS [indistinct chatter]...a new regular Friday drop covering topical and episodic ephemera. THIS WEEK: "Judgement" at Nuremberg indeed; the Hershey biopic you knew you didn't need or want; despite reviews the Michael Jackson biopic will make billions; what do we think about when we think about songs and musicians that we love; Benn Jordan & Rick Beato; Jacob Collier and the collective humanity of improvisation and connection; the Redd Kross documentary and me learning that Redd Kross wasn't a metal band; Detective Hole on Netflix is pronounced 'Detective Hoo-leh' you dumb Americans; more Phil Collins-inspired wormholes; drummer's perspective mixing versus audience perspective mixing; ABACAB, Tom Sawyer, Mean Street, Rush and Van Halen; Michael Omartian and 'Aja'; limitations are what makes a genius artist truly original; and next week on the podcast: Micheal Mann's Miami Vice film reappraised. THANK YOU!
For our 250th episode, we're stepping into the Limelight to revisit Rush! In Ep. 121, we discovered how 2112 earned the trio creative control with their sci-fi rock opera gamble... Now we're back to learn about Moving Pictures, the band's most commercially successful album and home to enduring hits like Tom Sawyer and YYZ! The band aims to strike the perfect balance between unique identity and mass appeal. With the addition of more synth undertones and a shift in Neil Peart's lyricism, Moving Pictures was able to punch up and future-proof their ever-changing style, and sunset their lengthy prog epics with The Camera Eye. How will this record move US? Can it live up to its counterpart episode (pun intended)?James & Connor revel in the unexpected Year Of Redemption for Geddy and Alex in the form of their 50-Something reunion tour. We walk through the eras since our last episode and trace their evolution, and talk about why this might be a more Connor-friendly pick. The Mixtaper is back on a Witch Hunt, with dastardly (and suspicious) facts about youth crime, rusty coconuts, and frozen follies. Are biographies and past knowledge enough to save James from defeat? Connor learns about the triple pun on the album cover, we learn limited Morse Code, and we definitely don't repeat any jokes in this major milestone episode!What do you consider to be Rush's magnum opus? What's our signature work? Do you agree that everybody needs to deviate from the norm? Do you get your hockey arenas mixed up? (Me too.) Let us know in the comments and on socials! We'll be back with a surprise recommendation next week. Follow for more! Keep Spinning at www.SpinItPod.com!Thanks for listening!0:00 Intro0:27 Last Time: 21124:25 About Rush12:10 About Moving Pictures24:11 The 50-Something Tour26:13 Awards & Accolades26:55 Fact Or Spin29:03 They Are Officers34:25 Geddy Lee Is A Rusty Coconut39:41 Neil Peart Went Back To School42:47 Alex Lifeson Made A Chilly Mistake47:32 Album Art50:30 Tom Sawyer54:45 Red Barchetta57:30 YYZ1:00:21 Limelight1:03:48 The Camera Eye1:07:20 Witch Hunt1:11:12 Vital Signs1:13:00 Final Spin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian welcomes back Yayne Abeba, Sue Kalinsky, and Nicole Boxer to the podcast. The panel unpacked the latest allegations against Eric Swalwell, weaving in personal insight, political parallels, and reflections on gender and accountability across politics and entertainment. Discussion ranged from the persistence of sexual misconduct in power structures to how women in comedy still face systemic double standards. Hot Talk Topics- Swalwell Scandal & Political Culture: The panel examined sexual misconduct in politics, referencing a Mother Jones piece that highlighted hundreds of state-level cases. Nicole Boxer compared the environment to her mother Barbara Boxer's Senate experience, emphasizing lack of reporting mechanisms and “plausible deniability” in Congress. Women in Comedy: Sue and Yayne detailed how female comedians have historically battled exclusion, sexism, and being undervalued compared to men. Sue's experiences in the 1980s comedy circuit illustrated how women were often sexualized or denied opportunities after one woman “bombed.” Sexual Power & Narcissism in Politics: Yayne called Swalwell's alleged behavior unsurprising, describing it as part of a narcissistic power dynamic seen in both political and entertainment worlds. Uneven Consequences in Cancel Culture: The group contrasted Louis C.K.'s comeback with Kathy Griffin's continued industry exile, concluding that gender, fame, and financial viability heavily influence public forgiveness. Yayne also noted recent attempts to “cancel” comedians like Dave Chappelle, questioning society's selective outrage. Marriage, Infidelity & Public Figures: Using examples from Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, and others, the conversation explored why women often bear the fallout of male misconduct—both in personal and public life. Trumpism & Republican Fear: The panel dissected the GOP's internal fractures—why figures such as Lindsey Graham, Matt Gaetz, and Mike Johnson maintain loyalty despite moral compromise—and how media personalities like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Joe Rogan appear to be rebranding as Trump's popularity declines. Conspiracy Theories & the “Assassination Attempt”: A provocative segment debated whether the alleged attempted assassination of Donald Trump was staged. Yayne and Sue pointed to inconsistencies and lack of trauma among witnesses, while Nicole tied the event to broader distrust of political narratives and potential manipulation through AI and media. Looking Ahead to the 2028 Election: Nicole argued for using investigations to “educate the public” rather than purely retaliate politically. The guests expressed hope for a “blue wave” restoring democratic transparency, though tempered by fears of extremist influence and voter suppression. Cultural Sidebar- The show closed with lighter topics: Discussion of the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, its selective timeline, and how family-controlled narratives often sanitize controversy. Reflections on how biographical films distort truth for entertainment. Sue announced her contribution to the new anthology “Comedians Talking Baseball.” Conversation drifted to upcoming women's professional baseball league launching August 1 in Springfield, Illinois, drawing inspiration from A League of Their Own. -- Connect with our Guests... #NicoleBoxer - @NicBoxer on Instagram #YayneAbeba - @YayneAbebaComedy on TikTok #SueKolinsky - @Sue.Kolinsky on Instagram and co-host of CulturePopPodcast -- #EricSwalwell #PoliticalAccountability #CapitolHill #MeTooMovement #EthicsInPolitics #CongressCulture #WomenInComedy #SexismInEntertainment #DoubleStandards #CancelCulture #ComedyIndustry #KathyGriffin #LouisCK #PowerAndAbuse #NarcissismInPolitics #SystemicMisconduct #MediaAccountability #BlueWave #ElectionIntegrity #VoterEmpowerment #DemocracyMatters #FollowTheMoney #CancelCultureDebate #TuckerCarlson #CandaceOwens #JoeRogan #TrumpEra #MAGA #MichaelJacksonBiopic #BiopicDebate #HollywoodNarratives #BehindTheScenes #ComediansTalkingBaseball #WomenInSports #ProWomensBaseball #PodcastCommunity #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast#ComedyNewsShow #CurrentEventsComedy #NewsCommentaryShow#WeeklyComedyTalk #BayAreaTalkShow #ComedyPodcastInterviews #ComedyPodcastHost Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Guests David Spark, Robert Mac, and Tony Camin join Brian for a lively and wide-ranging discussion of current events, politics, and pop culture. The episode centered on the Eric Swalwell scandal and his resignation from Congress, branching into debates about accountability, gender perspectives, and media influence. The panel also tackled the Iran war, Confederate tax exemptions, and the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, blending serious commentary with humor and personal anecdotes. Hot Talk Topics Eric Swalwell Scandal & Political Accountability The panel examined Swalwell's resignation following misconduct allegations. Brian shared his personal connection with Swalwell and expressed disappointment. Discussion covered due process, party differences in handling scandals, and the tension between “believe women” and ensuring fair investigations. The group reflected on how media and culture have shaped attitudes toward consent and misconduct. Broader Political Misconduct & Media Influence The conversation expanded to other political figures, including Tony Gonzalez and Marjorie Taylor Greene. The panel debated Republican vs. Democratic responses to scandals and the normalization of inappropriate behavior. They also discussed Jesse Watters' controversial comments and how older films and sitcoms perpetuated problematic gender norms. The Iran War & U.S. Global Image David Spark described the war as a “mistake” that damaged America's international standing. The group questioned whether the U.S. is now perceived as the “bad guy” and discussed the dangers of authoritarian leadership and illegal military orders. Reflections included historical parallels such as Hiroshima and the psychological toll on soldiers. Confederate Tax Exemption Law in Virginia The panel supported Governor Abigail Spanberger's decision to end tax exemptions for Confederate organizations. They discussed education reform, the “Lost Cause” narrative, and how misinformation sustains outdated ideologies. Robert Mac emphasized the importance of accurate historical education and combating disinformation. Marjorie Taylor Greene's “Tax Strike” Call The group debated whether Greene's call for a tax boycott was irresponsible or illegal speech. They concluded it was reckless but protected speech, highlighting the blurred lines between free expression and incitement. Michael Jackson Biopic & Cultural Rehabilitation Tony Camin led a discussion on the new Michael Jackson biopic, questioning whether it's an attempt to whitewash his legacy. The panel compared it to other artists' controversies and debated separating art from the artist. They also reminisced about classic albums like Thriller, Rumours, and Hotel California, and discussed the enduring power of music. -- Connect with our Guests... #DavidSpark - CisoSeries.com #TonyCamin - Website: TonyCamin.com and on Instagram @Tony.Camin #RobertMac - RobertMac.com and @RobertMac_Comedy on Instagram -- #EricSwalwell #PoliticalAccountability #CongressScandal #BelieveWomen #DueProcess #IranWar #USForeignPolicy #GlobalReputation #MarjorieTaylorGreene #TaxStrike #MediaInfluence #ConsentCulture #RapeCultureDiscussion #GenderPerspectives #HistoricalEducation #ConfederateHistory #LostCauseMyth #EducationReform #MichaelJacksonBiopic #ArtVsArtist #ThrillerLegacy #MusicHistory #PopCultureDebate #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Broadcasting live from "The Hive" tech accelerator in Grand Forks, host Scott Hennen dives deep into the rapidly shifting landscape of national defense and cultural identity. This "America 250 Countdown" edition tackles the sobering reality of modern warfare—where $1,000 drones can take out million-dollar military assets—and explores the "Point Defense Battle Lab" newly unveiled at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The conversation shifts from the "tip of the spear" in North Dakota to the spiritual revival happening among Gen Z with guest Nick Hall. Later, Scott unpacks the psychological roots of "woke" ideology with Dr. John Mills, discussing how social justice has transformed from a push for fairness into a tool for identity politics. From impeachment talks in Minnesota to "fancy like" date nights at Applebee's, this episode covers the heavy, the holy, and the hopeful. Standout Moments [00:01] The Death of Big Military Scott discusses his visit to the Grand Forks Air Force Base, explaining how the era of "big, heavy things" like massive planes is being replaced by the nanosecond precision of drone warfare. [00:08] The Modern Billy Graham Evangelist Nick Hall joins the show to discuss the "Pack the Shack" event in Fargo, noting a historic shift where young men are now outpacing young women in religious passion. [00:16] Radio Graffiti: The Gas Tax Holiday The phones open for "Radio Graffiti," where a listener proposes that North Dakota follow Indiana's lead by suspending the gas tax to provide relief for those living paycheck to paycheck. [00:19] Impeaching the "St. Paul Cabal" A breakdown of the newly introduced impeachment articles against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations of corrupt conduct. [00:32] Inside the Battle Lab Grand Sky founder Tom Sawyer explains how North Dakota was chosen to manage the world's drone defense procedures, moving at the "speed of necessity" to counter threats seen in Ukraine and Iran. [00:36] Unpacking the Woke Ideology Dr. John Mills provides a scholarly critique of social justice, defining "woke" as a "binary logic" that splits society into oppressors and victims based on identity. [00:41] Hypocrisy or Integrity? Scott responds to a listener's jab about Donald Trump using mail-in ballots while simultaneously criticizing the system's integrity.
Matt just turned 49, and instead of doing a normal birthday playlist, we turned it into a rule: only songs from the years he hit perfect-square ages. That one idea creates a timeline you can actually hear, jumping from 1978 to 1981 to 1986, then into 1993, 2002, and 2013, with two tracks per year and a lot of life packed in between.We talk through why each pick makes the cut and what it carries with it. Kenny Rogers' “The Gambler” becomes a family story about risk, immigration, and gratitude. The Who's “Who Are You” turns into a birthday question that never stops being useful, while Rush's “Tom Sawyer” and Journey's “Don't Stop Believin'” bring the pure classic rock adrenaline. Later, Paul Simon and Van Halen hit the sweet spot of memory and ambition, then Tony! Toni! Tone! and Prince add sharp lessons about money, attention, and the weirdly perfect connections you only notice looking backward.The mix gets heavier and more honest too. We get into Bruce Springsteen's “The Rising” and its 9/11-era weight, and Matt shares the personal story behind Eminem's “Without Me” and how a song can show up at the exact moment you need it. We close with Macklemore's “Can't Hold Us” tied to a daughter's dance solo, and Fun.'s “Carry On” as a message for anyone in a long season of parenting, grief, or rebuilding.https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/matt-2026-birthday-mix/pl.u-MzBDtNqbr81. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers2. Who Are You? - The Who3. Tom Sawyer - Rush4. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey5. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon6. Dreams - Van Halen7. If I Had No Loot - Toni! Tony! Tone!8. 7 - Prince & The New Power Generation9. The Rising - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band10. Without Me - Eminem11. Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis12. Carry On - funGo to My.SuperAwesomeMix.com and start using our new app on any device - mobile or laptop. Copy and paste a link to your playlist then turn it into an old school mixtape in minutes! Support the showVisit us at https://www.superawesomemix.com to learn more about our app, our merchandise, our cards, and more!
In this week's Copeland's Corner, Brian is joined by Tom Sawyer, Laura House, and Ngaio Bealum for a lively and wide-ranging conversation that blends political commentary, comedy industry insights, and cultural reflection. The panel dives into the Iran ceasefire controversy, analyzing President Trump's concessions and the administration's chaotic foreign policy approach. They debate the 25th Amendment, impeachment limits, and the political paralysis surrounding presidential accountability. The group also explores the radicalization of Trump's base, the role of social media algorithms in spreading misinformation, and the normalization of incivility in American politics. Beyond politics, the comedians share personal stories from the stand-up circuit, including memories of San Francisco's comedy scene, the evolution of crowd work culture, and how social media metrics now drive bookings. They discuss the decline of nuanced humor, the challenges of “punching up” versus “punching down,” and why conservative comedy often struggles to connect with mainstream audiences. The episode closes with reflections on technology's impact on human behavior, the changing nature of satire, and the enduring need for humor as a coping mechanism in turbulent times. Highlights... Trump's Iran ceasefire and the illusion of victory The 25th Amendment's limits and political gridlock Online radicalization and the shrinking MAGA base Media ethics: interviewing controversial figures like Weinstein Comedy's evolution from crafted material to viral crowd work The cultural divide in humor and political satire Remembering comedian Jim Short and the post-9/11 comedy era -- Connect with our Guests... #LauraHouse - LauraHouse.com and @ImLauraHouse on Instagram #NgaioBealum - @Ngaio420 on Instagram #TomSawyer - TomSawyerVoices.com -- #IranCeasefire #ForeignPolicy #TrumpAdministration #25thAmendment #PoliticalAccountability #USPolitics #PresidentialPower #MAGA #OnlineRadicalization #SocialMediaAlgorithms #MediaEthics #WeinsteinInterview #CancelCulture #CulturalDoubleStandards #SocialMediaInfluence #EchoChambers #AlgorithmEffect #PublicDiscourse #TechAndSociety #DigitalCulture #AttentionEconomy #SocialChange #CulturalShift #OnlineBehavior #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this week's Copeland's Corner, Brian welcomes comedians Natasha Muse, Monique Marvez, and Carlos Alazraqui. The panel delivered a lively, politically charged and comedic discussion covering everything from Trump's record-low approval ratings to cultural identity and representation in entertainment. Highlights: Political Pulse: The group analyzed new polling showing Trump's approval at 33%, with deep disapproval on inflation, gas prices, and the economy. They debated whether his base is fracturing, referencing the surprising turnout at “No Kings” rallies in red states. Foreign Policy & War in Iran: The comics questioned U.S. motives for military action in Iran, suggesting it's a distraction from domestic issues. They discussed NATO tensions and the global response to U.S. policy. Mandatory Military Service Debate: Sparked by Rob Schneider's comments, the panel explored the idea of reinstating the draft. Carlos and Monique shared personal and generational perspectives on military service, while Brian recalled performing for troops abroad. Immigration & Birthright Citizenship: The Supreme Court's hearing on Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship led to a passionate exchange about immigration, open borders, and the fear of America's demographic shift. Cultural Identity & Representation: Carlos reflected on assimilation pressures growing up Latino in California, while Monique and Brian discussed Hollywood's history of whitewashing and evolving attitudes toward ethnic casting. Political Scandals & Relationships: The group dissected the Christy Noem story, kink-shaming in politics, and parallels to past scandals involving public figures. They debated authenticity, hypocrisy, and the cost of maintaining appearances. Environmental Racism & Inequality: The conversation turned to systemic inequities, from freeway zoning in Oakland to pollution in low-income communities, highlighting how environmental and racial justice intersect. Comedy & Career Reflections: The panel reminisced about Rob Schneider's career, the evolution of comedy, and how performers adapt to stay relevant. Upcoming Gigs: Carlos Alazraqui: Performing in a live reading of Fern Gully on April 22 at Dynasty Typewriter (benefit for rainforest and climate causes). Monique Marvez: Headlining Hermosa Comedy & Magic Club (April 30) and Throckmorton Theatre (May 12). Brian: Hosting Comedy in the Plaza in San Leandro on July 18, benefiting the Davis Street Family Resource Center. -- Connect with our Guests... #CarlosAlazraqui - CarlosAlazraqui.com #MoniqueMarvez - MoniqueMarvez.com & @MoniqueMarvez on Instagram #NatashaMuse - NatashaMuse.com -- #TrumpPolls #NoKingsRallies #BirthrightCitizenship #ImmigrationDebate #USPolitics #EnvironmentalJustice #RepresentationMatters #TrumpApprovalRatings #Election2026 #PoliticalSatire #IranConflict #NATO #ForeignPolicyDebate #Project2025 #ReligiousRight #MandatoryService #MilitaryDraft #RobSchneiderComments #VeteransVoices #USOMemories #ComedyForTheTroops #BirthrightCitizenship #ImmigrationDebate #OpenBorders #SupremeCourt #AmericanIdentity #DemographicShift #EnvironmentalJustice #RacialInequality #NIMBY #OaklandFreeways #ClimateAwareness #RepresentationMatters #LatinoVoices #HollywoodCasting #AssimilationStories #CulturalIdentity #ComedyAndDiversity #ChristyNoem #PoliticalScandals #KinkShaming #PublicImage #MediaControversy #ComedyPodcast #FernGullyLive #ThrockmortonTheatre #HermosaComedyClub #SanLeandroEvents #DavisStreetCenter #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Nouveaux pilotes, un brin déjantés, à bord de la Libre Antenne sur RMC ! Jean-Christophe Drouet et Julien Cazarre prennent le relais. Après les grands matchs, quand la lumière reste allumée pour les vrais passionnés, place à la Libre Antenne : un espace à part, entre passion, humour et dérision, débats enflammés, franc-parler et second degré. Un rendez-vous nocturne à la Cazarre, où l'on parle foot bien sûr, mais aussi mauvaise foi, vannes, imitations et grands moments de radio imprévisibles !
One TV host with a stiff posture and a sharp instinct helped rewrite the map of American pop culture. We're talking about The Ed Sullivan Show, the variety powerhouse that ran from 1948 to March 28, 1971 and acted like a weekly national stage for music, comedy, Broadway, and everything in between. When Ed thought you had talent, he put you in front of the country, and millions of people trusted his taste because there weren't a hundred other places to look. We walk through why that kind of platform mattered, including how the show opened doors for artists who couldn't get booked elsewhere, and how a single appearance could change record sales and career trajectories overnight. Then we hit the seismic moment: the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, the audience size, and the “I want to start a band” shockwave that followed. We also get into the messier side of live TV, where censorship and control collide with artists who refuse to play along, with stories that bring The Doors, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan into the same conversation. From there we shift into pure music history joy: why Beatles Anthology 2 is such a rewarding listen, how “Real Love” landed, and what demos, takes, and studio chatter reveal about the band's growth. We keep the momentum going with Jethro Tull's Aqualung era, then jump through chart-tied milestones from Blondie's “Rapture” to Rush's “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight,” plus Joan Jett's “I Love Rock and Roll.” Jimmy's segment spotlights Guided by Voices and the art of making a big studio sound intentionally lo-fi, before we cap things off with more '90s rock favorites. Learn Something New orRemember Something OldPlease like and follow the Music in My Shoes Facebook and Instagram pagesReach out to us at musicinmyshoes@gmail.comSend us a one-way message. We can't answer you back directly, but it could be part of a future Music In My Shoes Mailbag!!!
Générique Cazarre - TOM SAWYER
Wanna hear the FULL Episode? Sign up for the Grad Program today! In an engaging interview, industry expert David Biggers discusses firearm innovations, industry trends, and the impact of social media on gun development. Gain insights into the evolution of firearm technology, market dynamics, and the importance of innovation versus tradition. We have an announcement about the latest book from Nicholas Orr, "Book of Five Rings Study Guide" now available as a pre-order on kindle with a paperback coming soon. For our Tech Talk from EOTech Inc. this week, we consider optics versus iron sights for your shooting experience. The Professor just reviewed the Beretta ARX 100 with the HWS optic. During our Coffee Corner, from Blackout Coffee (Code: STUDT20) Paul and Jarrad discuss the western canon in literature. Paul a recommended reading suggestion for you. This episode features a deep dive into the concepts of virtuosity, enlightenment, and mastery, with insights from Prof Paul and Jarrad Markel. They discuss the importance of deliberate practice, overcoming distractions, and the role of innate talent versus learned skill in achieving excellence. TOPICS COVERED THIS EPISODE Huge thanks to our Partners: EOTech | Blackout Coffee EOTech Talk - EOTechInc.com TOPIC: Iron Sights VS HWS recent review of ARX 100 shootingnewsweekly.com Coffee Corner - studentofthegun.com/blackout [Use Code: STUDT20] TOPIC: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain https://amzn.to/4smDVN4 Adventures of Tom Sawyer https://amzn.to/4c1anPd Special Guest: Dave Biggers - Talking Guns, where we are now versus where we were Want to hear the Full Interview? Join The Grad Program!
EPISODE 385 - AIRDATE 07/28/2025 REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY In this solo episode, Jennifer explores the subtle art of reverse psychology, how telling someone not to do something can be the very thing that makes them want to do it. From classic moments in literature like Tom Sawyer's fence-painting scheme to examples throughout history, we take a look at how this tactic works,.
This week's Copeland's Corner tackled a wide range of political, social, and cultural issues when Brian is joined by Dana Gould, Blaine Capatch, and Cathy Sorbo. The panel opened with a discussion on social media censorship and shadow banning, as Dana and Brian shared personal experiences of reduced reach on TikTok and Facebook for political content. This led into a deeper conversation about media consolidation, tracing its roots to the 1996 Telecommunications Act and the growing concern over a new merger that could give one company control of nearly 90% of U.S. broadcast coverage. The group then analyzed Trump's Iran ceasefire proposal, with Dana and Blaine describing it as political theater and market manipulation. They debated Iran's distrust of U.S. negotiations, the economic fallout of rising gas prices, and the moral implications of voters prioritizing cheap goods over ethical governance. Later, the conversation turned to political corruption, insider trading, and Trump's family's Middle East dealings, followed by a spirited exchange about voter responsibility and the consequences of apathy. The panel also discussed Jesse Ventura's challenge to Barron Trump to enlist in the military, using it as a springboard to critique class privilege and the lack of accountability among political elites. In a powerful segment, Cathy led a discussion on the Cesar Chavez sexual assault allegations, arguing that removing his name from public spaces is appropriate and long overdue. The group compared liberal and conservative responses to disgraced historical figures, noting how liberals tend to remove problematic symbols while conservatives often double down. -- Connect with our Guests... #DanaGould - DanaGould.com #BlaineCapatch - Nerd Poker Podcast. #CathySorbo - CathySorbo.com and @CathySorbo on IG -- #PoliticalComedy #MediaConsolidation #SocialMediaCensorship #IranPolicy #CesarChavez #ComedyPodcast #TheGreatAmericanShitshow #TrumpIranPolicy #IranCeasefire #MarketManipulation #PoliticalCorruption #VoterResponsibility #USPolitics #MediaConsolidation #SocialMediaCensorship #ShadowBanning #LegacyReevaluation #Accountability #HistoricalFigures #CancelCultureDebate #EthicalLeadership #PublicMemory #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This week's edition of Copeland's Corner, Brian welcomes back panelists Tom Sawyer, Yayne Abeba, and Jim Vallely, as they discuss current political and social issues. The main topics covered included concerns about Trump's handling of the war in the Middle East, particularly regarding Iran and the situation with Israel, as well as discussions about media censorship and the chilling effect on independent journalism. The panel also addressed the recent New York Times investigation into Cesar Chavez's alleged sexual abuse of young girls, debating whether to "cancel" his legacy and potentially rename streets and institutions bearing his name. Additional topics included discussions about political engagement, the role of non-violent protest, and observations about how success can change people's behavior and attitudes. -- Connect with our Guests... #JimVallely - Wiki Bio #TomSawyer - TomSawyerVoices.com #YayneAbeba - @YayneAbebaComedy on TikTok #CivilRights #CesarChavez #AmericanPolitics #NonviolentProtest #CulturalDiscussion #MiddleEastWar #Trump #TheOscars #WillSmith #RyanCoogler #MichaelBJordan #CopelandsCorner #PoliticalCommentary #MediaCensorship #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Alec Gillis stops by to have a heartfelt conversation about his fatherhood journey. He and I have an honest conversation about the influence his dad had on him to make his own choice on how to be a dad. He shares the life lessons he learned from his four daughters. After that we blend family and his career by talking about working with his daughter, Camille. We go into his fantastic career in the film industry and how his craft has evolved over the years. Lastly, we finish the interview with the Fatherhood Quick Five. About Alec Gillis Alec Gillis grew up in Orange County, California within sight of the Disneyland fireworks show. As a kid he roamed the mean streets of Main Street Disneyland, sometimes summering on Tom Sawyer's Island. It was here he gained a lifelong appreciation of animatronics, but it was in the local movie theaters that he fell in love with genre films. At age 20 Gillis began working for Roger Corman on a film called Battle Beyond The Stars. This was along with James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd. It wasn't long before Alec dropped out of UCLA Film School in favor of the education Corman offered. Gillis was recommended by James Cameron to Stan Winston, where Gillis worked on effects for classic films such as Aliens and Predator. In 1988 he co-founded Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) with Tom Woodruff, Jr. Tremors was the company's first feature, and the film's giant subterranean worms gained notoriety for Gillis. As of 2022, Gillis is now a solo Creature FX Designer, founding his new company, Studio Gillis. His mission is to continue the tradition of creating high quality practical characters and to promote the art of Practical FX. To that end, his production company, Pro Machina, produces modest budget genre films as well as creating miniature effects for films such as Alien: Romulus. Make sure you follow Alec on Instagram at @alec_gillis. Plus go to studiogillis.com to learn more about Alec and his work. About The Art of Fatherhood Podcast The Art of Fatherhood Podcast follows the journey of fatherhood. Your host, Art Eddy talks with fantastic dads from all around the world where they share their thoughts on fatherhood. You get a unique perspective on fatherhood from guests like Bob Odenkirk, Hank Azaria, Joe Montana, Kevin Smith, Danny Trejo, Jerry Rice, Jeff Foxworthy, Patrick Warburton, Jeff Kinney, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kyle Busch, Dennis Quaid, Dwight Freeney and many more.
The defining song for an all-time-great band that defies definition, a cover that reimagines as hard as any cover has, and another that brings its own world to the song. Tom Sawyer, originally by Rush, covered by Emmerson Nogueira, and by The Lost Fingers. Outro music is Owner of a Lonely Heart, another cover by Emmerson Nogueira.
This week's edition of Copeland's Corner, with featured Headliners . Brian is joined by comedians Greg Proops, Dan St. Paul, and Gini Sikes to discuss the current political landscape. The panel dives deep into the U.S. war with Iran — comparing it to Vietnam, debating four possible outcomes (withdrawal, ground invasion, nuclear escalation, or Trump's removal), and expressing concern over the lack of an exit strategy and the administration's shifting rationale. They discuss Russia's role in aiding Iran, the gutting of the FBI's counterterrorism divisions, and the real threat of domestic terrorism. The conversation shifts to the Epstein scandal and whether the war has successfully pushed it out of the headlines, propaganda's effect on both educated and uneducated voters, and the psychology behind single-issue and grievance-based voting. Greg Proops delivers a passionate argument about white responsibility in right-wing electoral trends and the danger of political apathy. The group also explores the Tig Notaro/Cheryl Hines friendship fallout over RFK Jr., the resurgence of measles due to anti-vaccine policies, Gen Z's nostalgia for the 1990s, the potential for left-wing radicalism, and the rising threat of antisemitism. The episode wraps with upcoming show plugs and a reminder to get vaccinated. -- Connect with our Guests... #GiniSikes - GiniSikesComedy.com and @GiniSikes on Instagram #GregProops - @ProopDog on Instagram #DanStPaul - DanStPaulComedy.com and @DanStPaul on Instagram #CopelandsCorner #Podcast #Politics #PoliticalComedy #IranWar #Trump #Epstein #Propaganda #Voting #Midterms #Antisemitism #RFKJr #Measles #Vaccines #FreeSpeech #Resistance #Democracy #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this Episode of Copeland's Corner, with Brian welcomes back comedians Jann Karam, Brian Malow, and Ritch Shydner. Topics on Tap: Iran conflict & "Operation Epic Fury": Analysis of Trump's military actions in the Middle East, including strikes on Iranian leadership and resulting retaliatory attacks on U.S. installations The "Epstein War" theory: Discussion of whether the conflict is a distraction from Epstein files and Trump's legal troubles Christian nationalism in the military: Reports of officers framing combat operations in biblical apocalyptic terms, pushing end-times prophecy during briefings War Powers Act: Congressional efforts to rein in executive military action and concerns about constitutional accountability Political parallels: Comparisons to previous GOP administrations' patterns of economic damage and Middle East wars MAGA disillusionment: Signs of Trump supporters turning away over broken promises about avoiding foreign wars Parental accountability: Discussion of parents being held criminally responsible for their children's mass shootings -- Connect with our Guests... #BrianMalow - ScienceComedian.com #JannKaram: JannKaram.com and @JannKaramComedian on Instagram #RitchShydner - RitchShydner.com #EpisodeSpecific CopelandsCorner #PoliticalComedy #IranConflict #OperationEpicFury #EpsteinWar #TrumpAdministration #MiddleEastWar #ChristianNationalism #WarPowersAct #StandUpComedy #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Jay Franze Show: Your backstage pass to the entertainment industry
What happens when you feel too rock for country and too country for rock? We put that identity to the test with a rapid-fire breakdown of 35 tracks that blur the lines, from Hardy and The Cadillac Three to CCR, Eric Church, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. We wrestle with what truly makes a crossover—songwriting grit, backbeat, guitar tone, or that undeniable chorus—and call out the picks that earned their place, plus a few that surprised us.Then we hit the headlines shaping the scene. Jason Aldean announces a 2026 Songs About Us Summer Tour and drops fresh tracks. CMA Fest lines up rising voices like Ella Langley and Shaboozey, while big festivals keep the season packed from Panama City Beach to Florida's Gulf Coast. Kane Brown builds a four-story Broadway hub, and Dolly Parton tips her hat to Son of Jolene, proving legacies grow when new artists answer the canon. A Ronnie Milsap tribute reminds us why the Opry remains a North Star.We open the floor to you with a walk-up song throwdown—Jukebox Hero to Tom Sawyer, the Rocky theme to One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer—and share our own entrance anthems. Expect a practical mini-masterclass on intros, tempo, and how to build energy before a first lyric. Charts get their due as we compare mainstream risers and indie breakthroughs, showing why a sticky hook can outlast any hype cycle.The mailbag pulls no punches: are record deals still worth it for mid-level artists, is radio failing because it won't take risks, and what gets more valuable as AI music improves? We make a strong case for live performance, brand voice, and community as the true moat. We also talk long game—the “ten-year town” reality—and how to measure progress without losing heart.If you're chasing better playlists, smarter career moves, or just need a gateway between steel strings and power chords, this one's for you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and drop your walk-up song in the comments—what track announces you to the world?Episode LinksDalila Mya: https://jayfranze.com/episode102/Send a text Support the showLinks Jay Franze: https://jayfranze.com/ JFS Country Countdown: https://jayfranze.com/countdown/ Contact Contact: https://jayfranze.com/contact/ Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfranze TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jayfranze X: https://x.com/jayfranze YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jayfranze Services Services: https://jayfranze.com/services/ Books Books: https://jayfranze.com/books/ Merchandise Merchandise: https://jayfranze.com/merchandise/ Support Support: https://jayfranze.com/support/ Sponsor the Show: https://jayfranze.com/sponsor/
In this explosive Tuesday edition of What's On Your Mind, host Scott Hennen takes listeners inside the Oval Office and the front lines of a rapidly shifting global landscape. As Operation Epic Fury enters its fourth day, President Donald Trump delivers a fireside briefing alongside the German Chancellor, detailing the decimation of Iran's military infrastructure and the "colossal threat" that was narrowly averted. The episode pulls back the curtain on the "4-D chess" being played—from choking off oil supplies to China and Russia to the high-tech logistics of drone warfare being developed right in North Dakota. With expert analysis from Grand Sky's Tom Sawyer on the future of air defense and Senator John Hoeven on the legislative battle for the SAVE Act, this show breaks down why the "yapping chihuahuas" in the mainstream media are missing the forest for the trees. Standout Moments & Timestamps [00:01:28] – Fireside in the Oval Office President Trump addresses the media, explaining that Israel didn't force his hand—he may have forced theirs. He details the "stunning level of evil" that led Iran to strike neutral countries and civilian hotels before their air protections were obliterated. [00:08:16] – The $4 Million Missile Problem Tom Sawyer, CEO of Grand Sky, joins the show to discuss the logistical nightmare of "asymmetric warfare." He explains the unsustainable cost of using $4 million missiles to shoot down $25,000 mass-produced Iranian drones and how Grand Forks is becoming the epicenter for a solution. [00:14:58] – Choking the Octopus Global security expert Michael Letts breaks down the strategic "checkmate" against China. By liberating Venezuela and striking Iran, the U.S. has effectively choked off China's primary oil reserves, forcing a global economic realignment. [00:20:29] – The 118-Year Game A deep-dive analysis into the "British financial architecture" in the Middle East. Scott explores how the current strikes are not just about nukes, but about dismantling a century-old system of managed regional chaos profitable to the City of London. [00:25:25] – The Masterclass in Resentment Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provides a surprising "masterclass" on dealing with critics, recounting a gym confrontation where he viewed a screaming protester as a "gift" from God to keep him humble. [00:31:11] – Kristi Noem's DHS Bombshell Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate, revealing that the government under the previous administration was paying sponsors who were knowingly trafficking and abusing migrant…
Welcome to our deep dive into Mark Twain's literary masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In this discussion, we unravel the layers of comedy, satire, and profound social commentary that make this novel not only a cornerstone of American literature but also an enduring tale that resonates with readers today. We are joined by Dr Kerry Soper, a professor at Brigham Young University, who writes a humor column for Utah Life magazine, and has a deep appreciation for comedy in all kinds of art forms. We reference the introduction to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the Penguin Random House UK printing edition, which was written by Peter Coveney in 1966. 1. Understanding Mark Twain: Mark Twain, born Samuel LANGhorne Clemens (not Longhorne), was a complex figure who blended humor with serious social issues. His early life in Hannibal, Missouri, filled with adventure and mischief, heavily influenced his writing. Twain's pen name, meaning "two fathoms deep," reflects his ability to delve into deeper societal issues beneath a humorous exterior. 2. The Setting of Huckleberry Finn: The novel is set along the Mississippi River, a backdrop that symbolizes freedom and adventure. Huck Finn, the protagonist, is an outsider, shaped by a turbulent family life, especially with his father being the town drunk. His decision to fake his own death to escape this life is a pivotal moment that sets the stage for his adventures with Jim, a runaway slave. 3. The Journey of Huck and Jim: Huck and Jim's journey down the river is filled with comedic and dramatic encounters. Their friendship evolves through various trials, highlighting themes of friendship, loyalty, and the moral complexities surrounding slavery. The humor in their adventures often contrasts sharply with the serious issues they face, showcasing Twain's unique ability to blend comedy with critical social commentary. 4. The Role of Comedy and Satire: Professor Kerry Soper emphasizes how Twain uses humor not just for entertainment but as a vehicle for satire. The comedic escapades of Huck and Jim serve to critique societal norms and racism. This stealth satire engages readers, making them laugh while prompting them to reflect on deeper moral truths. 5. Contrasting Characters: The contrasting characters of Huck and Tom Sawyer further illustrate Twain's commentary on morality and heroism. While Tom embodies a romanticized view of adventure, Huck represents genuine moral integrity, often prioritizing Jim's humanity over societal expectations. This contrast enriches the narrative and invites readers to question the nature of heroism. Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is more than just a story about a boy's adventures. It is a profound exploration of friendship, freedom, and the moral dilemmas that define humanity. The blend of humor and serious themes makes it a timeless classic that continues to resonate with readers. As we reflect on Huck's journey, we are reminded of the importance of empathy and moral courage in our own lives. Key Takeaways: 1. The novel showcases Twain's mastery of blending humor with serious social issues. 2. Huck's character highlights the importance of personal integrity over societal norms. 3. The journey down the Mississippi River serves as a metaphor for freedom and self-discovery. 4. Twain's use of satire prompts readers to reflect on moral complexities in society. Tags: #HuckleberryFinn #MarkTwain #AmericanLiterature #LiteraryAnalysis #ComedyAndSatire #Friendship #MoralDilemmas #ClassicNovels
This week's edition Copeland's Corner, Brian is joined by comedians Hal Sparks, Cathy Ladman, and producer Tom Sawyer to discuss the controversial State of the Union address and current political landscape. The panel debates Democratic lawmakers' decision to boycott the speech, with Sparks arguing that diverse responses from Democrats reflect their broad coalition rather than disrespect. The conversation explores Trump's historically low approval ratings (26% with independents), mass deportation policies, immigration lies, and the disconnect between campaign promises and reality. They discuss the recently released Epstein files, congressional settlement disclosure proposals, and growing accountability movements both domestically and internationally. The panel also touches on Republican hypocrisy, MAGA's fracturing base, the role of propaganda machines, and predictions for the 2026 midterms. They debate potential 2028 matchups and what a Democratic Congress should prioritize. The episode concludes with lighter discussions about celebrity GoFundMe controversies and personal plugs for the panelists' upcoming shows. -- Connect with our Guests... #HalSparks - HalSparks.com & @HalSparks on Instagram #CathyLadman - Website and @CathyLadman1 on Instagram #TomSawyer - TomSawyerVoices.com #StateOfTheUnion #PoliticalPodcast #Trump2025 #DemocraticResponse #EpsteinFiles #MAGA #Midterms2026 #Immigration #Resist #Democracy #PoliticalDiscussion #BlueWave2026 #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Johnny Whitaker became one of the most recognizable child actors of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Best known for playing Jody Davis on the hit CBS sitcom Family Affair, Whitaker captured hearts alongside Brian Keith, Anissa Jones, Kathy Garver, and Sebastian Cabot. But his career started even earlier — originating the role of Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital and starring in Hallmark's The Littlest Angel. From The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming to Tom Sawyer, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and multiple Disney classics like Snowball Express, The Biscuit Eater, and Napoleon and Samantha, Whitaker's childhood résumé is stacked with iconic performances. In this episode of the Too Opinionated Podcast, we dive into: • The impact of Family Affair on 1960s television • His connection to Brian Keith • Classic appearances on Bewitched, Green Acres, and Gunsmoke • His Disney film era • The legacy of one of Hollywood's most memorable redheaded child stars If you love classic TV, vintage Hollywood, and behind-the-scenes stories from television's golden era, this episode is for you. Subscribe for more deep dives into legendary actors, cult favorites, and pop culture icons.
"Was it a drone, or did the Pentagon just lose the remote to their giant laser?"Today on the show, we are joined by the legendary Tony Camin (The Marijuana-Logues), Emmy-winning filmmaker Nicole Boxer (The Invisible War), and the ultimate geek authority Blaine Capatch (Beat the Geeks) for a deep dive into the absolute circus that is February 2026.In this episode:• The Bondi Blowup: AG Pam Bondi testified today and it was… a lot. Between calling Jamie Raskin a "loser lawyer" and pivoting to the Stock Market when asked about the Epstein files, we break down why the DOJ is acting more like a PR firm for the Dow Jones than a law enforcement agency.• Super Bowl Saltiness: Why is the Right still in a tailspin over Bad Bunny? From Megyn Kelly's "Meatloaf Manifesto" to the TPUSA "All-American" halftime show fail, we look at why speaking Spanish in a US territory is the new front line of the culture war.• The El Paso "Laser" Mystery: Was the airport really shut down by cartel drones, or was it a Pentagon laser test gone rogue? We discuss the "distraction" theory and why the government promised a 10-day shutdown but opened the gates in four hours.• The Seditious Six Win: A DC Grand Jury just refused to indict Sens. Kelly and Slotkin for quoting the Constitution. Why does this administration keep taking massive "L's" in court, and is the "bullying" strategy finally hitting a wall of actual citizens?• Where is the Outrage? With the DOJ targeting veterans and the AG dodging Epstein survivors, we ask the panel: Why aren't Americans taking to the streets? Is it fear, or just extreme "outrage fatigue"?--Connect with our Guests...#BlaineCapatch - Nerd Poker Podcast#NicoleBoxer - @NicBoxer on Instagram#TonyCamin - Website: TonyCamin.com and on Instagram @Tony.Camin#YayneAbeba - https://linktr.ee/yayneabeba#PamBondi #EpsteinFiles #BadBunny #SuperBowlLX #MarkKelly #ElPaso e#reaction #commentary #politicalcomedy #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This week's edition of Copeland's Corner, with featured Headliners Dana Gould, Robert Mac, and Maureen Langan discussing the week's major news stories.Main Topics Covered:Epstein Files Release: Discussion of the 3 million documents released (with 3 million more pending), Trump's 38,000 mentions, and notable names including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Prince Andrew, and others. The panel debates whether anyone will face accountability.Trump's Second Term: Exhaustion over constant news cycles, concerns about federalizing elections in blue states, and fears about the upcoming March 28th protestsHistorical Parallels: Comparisons to Reconstruction era, Holocaust buildup, and how incremental changes lead to major shiftsMedia & Accountability: Jeff Bezos and Washington Post, corporate media complicity, lack of consequences for powerful figuresInternational Perception: How America's reputation has declined globally, with comedians being promoted as Irish rather than American abroadMidterm Elections: Hope that 2026 midterms can provide accountability and checks on power--Connect with our Guests...#DanaGould - DanaGould.com#RobertMac - RobertMac.com and @RobertMac_Comedy on Instagram#MaureenLangan - MaureenLangan.com & @MaureenLangan on Instagram. #EpsteinFiles #TrumpsSecondTerm #MidtermElections #MediaAccountability #BrianCopeland #CopelandsCorner #HeadlinersOnTheHeadlines#CopelandUnfiltered #ComedyCommentary #PodcastersOfYouTube #ComicsOnAir #TalkPodcast#PoliticalHumor #PoliticalPodcast #HotTalkTopicsPodcast Hosted by the Bay Area's own Brian Copeland, a longtime Actor, Comedian, Author, Playwright, Television and Radio Personality. Brian and The Copeland's Corner Network of content creators provide a weekly mashup of news, interviews and comedy.--For more from Brian...Visit his website: www.BrianCopeland.comFollow on Social Media: Instagram - @CopelandsCorner & @BrianCopieEmail: BrianCopelandShow@Gmail.com --Copeland's Corner is Created, Hosted, & Executive Produced by Brian Copeland. This Show is Recorded & Mixed by Charlene Goto with Go-To Productions. Visit Go-To Productions for all your Podcast & Media needs.Our Booking Producer is Tom Sawyer. For any show inquiries, please email CopelandsCornerPodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Why do smart people keep making predictably bad decisions? Behavioral economist Alex Imas joins us to unpack The Winner's Curse, loss aversion, and the persistent biases that shape markets, policy, and everyday choices. We explore why classic economic models fall short and what behavioral economics reveals about how humans really decide. Topics [0:00] Introduction and speed round with Alex Imas [11:55] The Winner's Curse and its implications [21:13] Behavioral economics and standard economic matters [28:01] Loss aversion and decision-making [35:04] Behavioral economics in policy and law [41:00] Tom Sawyer economics [47:30] Social media, attention, and exploitation of bias [56:38] The importance of cooperation and social systems [58:40] New music in 2026 [1:07:53] Grooving session: framing, preferences, and happiness ©2026 Behavioral Grooves Links The Winner's Curse by Richard Thaler and Alex Imas About Alex Join us on Substack! Join the Behavioral Grooves community Subscribe to Behavioral Grooves on YouTube Support Behavioral Grooves Musical Links Fontaines DC - I Love You ALEXSUCKS - The Gutter
We take a deep dive into the world of AI and music with artists Dylan Heidt and Jeff Dayton.Jeff Dayton is an American musician, singer, producer and songwriter best known as being the bandleader for Glen Campbell and the Jeff Dayton Band for 15 years, plus touring with Kenny Chesney and Lee Greenwood.Dayton performed with club bands in the upper Midwest, including a year with the KO Band, which was fronted by Bob Dylan studio musician Kevin Odegard. Their producer was David Z and their drummer a young Bobby "Z" Rivkin.Dayton moved to Fountain Hills, Arizona and formed the Dayton-Privett Band with Mark Prentice, Tom Sawyer and Ron Privett. After 2 years, Privett left the band, and was replaced with Dave Watson; the band was renamed High Noon Band and continued until the band went their separate ways. Dayton then formed the Jeff Dayton Band, and over time about 100 different musicians performed under that name with Dayton, notably steel guitarist Ed Black, guitarist Bob "Willard" Henke, Grammy award winner producer Michael B (aka Mike Broening), drummer Mickey McGee, banjo player Bruce Leland, drummer Merel Bregante, bassist Doug Haywood, etc.[1][15]High Noon won the Wrangler Country Showdown and the Jeff Dayton Band won the Marlboro Talent Roundup. The JDB was named New Times' Best of the Decade's Best Award.[4] In addition, Dayton wrote and recorded That Lady Can Love which became his first #1 record at KNIX-FM and another song earned a platinum songwriting award for George Strait with "Any Old Time." The song was also released as the "B" side of Strait's single "The Cowboy Rides Away."Dayton and band opened for Merle Haggard, The Judds and Alabama in 1987. After a chance meeting with Glen Campbell that evening and an impromptu jam session at the grand opening of Jack Nicklaus' Desert Mountain golf course, Dayton and his group were hired to tour with Campbell.[5][6]For the next 15 years the Jeff Dayton band performed on worldwide tours, TV and record dates, celebrity events and many concerts.[7][8] While Glen Campbell's' musical director, he conducted many symphony orchestras and even Les Brown and His Band of Renown. Highlights included shows at the White House, NBC's The Today Show and the Grand Ole Opry stage. Campbell and the Jeff Dayton Band also played with Gene Autry, Willie Nelson, Bob Hope, Vince Gill and dozens more."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.