Podcasts about Truman

A listener sent Dov a message.  He said he loved the podcast.  He also said he could not listen to it anymore. The writing had become unlistenable.  Dov wrote back six sentences with no framework and no protection.  Then he sat with what the listener had actually given him. This is the eighth episode of season two of The Polymathic Perspective.  It is not another AI take. Not the "AI will save us" version. Not the "AI will end us" version. Both are exhausting, and both are doing the exact thing this series has been examining for eight episodes. They are running their own code. Anchored in Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998). Christof was not a villain. He was a man who built the world Truman inhabited from his own unexamined code. That is what we are building now. At civilizational scale. In hiring algorithms. In visa flag systems. In performance review engines. In every mirror we build without first looking at the glass it is being built from.  Dov also names, on record, where he found the mechanism running in himself. In real time. In the making of this series. The question is not whether AI is dangerous.  The question is whether you can look at what the mirror is showing you.  Or whether you would rather argue about the quality of the glass.  IN THIS EPISODE00:00 Ego Punch Feedback 01:39 Why Talk AI 03:04 Show Intro Lenses 04:18 Truman Show Mirror 07:23 AI Human Problem 09:03 My Script Case Study 12:17 Assumption Of Correctness 12:38 Truman World At Scale 15:15 Fitting In Reward Loop 16:40 Counterarguments Answered 18:12 Quinn And Belonging 21:04 What Actually Helps 23:18 Series Mirror Montage 24:23 Carry The Question 25:11 Outro And Next Episode THE SERIES  What We Want But Refuse To Accept is a ten-episode arc. Next episode: Quantum Uncertainty and the Physics of Wanting.  Follow the show to receive each episode as it releases. ABOUT DOV BARON  Dov Baron has spent thirty-plus years inside the rooms where leaders, founders, and executives make the decisions that shape organizations.  He is the creator of the Emotional Source Code and Emotional Meaning Architecture frameworks. CONNECT WITH DOV: Website: https://dovbaron.com  Email: dov@dovbaron.com  Carry one question with you from this episode.  Where in your life are you looking at output that approximates the real thing and calling it the real thing? Sit with it.  If this episode resonated, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts and follow on Spotify. #EmotionalSourceCode #TrumanShow #TheMirrorProblem #AI  Connect with Dov Baron:https://DovBaron.comdov@dovbaron.comRate, review, and send this episode to the most thoughtful builder you know. That is how the algorithm finds the people who still ask why. 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, we explore Truman Capote's early years – from his tiny hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, and the cast of characters who live there. Here we are also introduced to Truman's first Swans, his mother Lillie Mae Faulk and his childhood bestie, Harper Lee. Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to ⁠⁠⁠info@amplitudemediapartners.com⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is time for a little summertime detour visiting the seven high society Swans of Truman Capote. Why would Dominick Dunne care about Truman Capote at all? What kind of mettle is Truman made of? And what defines a Swan anyway? The answer to all of these questions and more are included in today's episode! Truman Capote's Gathering of Swans (harpersbazaar.com) Surviving The Darkness (vanityfair.com) Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to ⁠⁠⁠info@amplitudemediapartners.com⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Truman reinstated the draft on this day in 1948. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Miguel Ángel González Suárez te presenta el Informativo de Primera Hora en 'El Remate', el programa matinal de La Diez Capital Radio que arranca tu día con: Las noticias más relevantes de Canarias, España y el mundo, analizadas con rigor y claridad. Hoy hace un año: Los residentes de Creta, en Grecia, dicen "no" a un nuevo centro de inmigrantes …y hoy hace 365 días: Sánchez apuesta en Mauritania por una migración "segura y legal" y recuerda que España fue un país de emigrantes. Hace un año: El abuso de pantallas y redes sociales tras la pandemia cuadruplica los trastornos mentales en menores. Hoy se cumplen 1.610 días de guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania. 4 años y 142 días. Hoy es viernes 17 de julio de 2026. Día Mundial de la Justicia Internacional. El 17 de julio se celebra el Día Mundial de la Justicia Internacional, celebrado en el mundo entero desde 1998 con motivo de la aprobación del Estatuto de Roma por parte de 120 países miembros de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas ONU. El estatuto de Roma permitió constituir la Corte Penal Internacional, un órgano judicial permanente encargado de juzgar los crímenes de genocidio y crímenes de guerra. El día mundial de la justicia internacional tiene dos objetivos fundamentales: En primer lugar, solidarizarse con las víctimas de crímenes de la humanidad, genocidio y crímenes de guerra en el mundo. Recordar la necesidad de asegurar un continuo apoyo al sistema de justicia internacional por parte de todos los Estados que se han comprometido a ello a través de la adhesión a este importante instrumento internacional. 1918.- Fusilados de madrugada el zar Nicolás II y la mayoría de la familia imperial rusa en la localidad de Ekaterimburgo por orden de las autoridades bolcheviques. 1928.- España, Francia y Gran Bretaña firman el nuevo Estatuto de Tánger. 1936.- Comienza en Melilla el golpe de Estado contra la República española. 1943.- En Feltre (Italia), Hitler convence a Mussolini para que continúe la guerra. 1945.- Inaugurada la Conferencia de Potsdam: Stalin, Truman y Churchill tratan cuestiones concernientes a la victoria aliada. Tal día como hoy, 17 de julio de 1955, se abre solo para invitados Disneyland en Anaheim, California . Más de 30,000 invitados se presentaron para participar en uno de los parques temáticos más grandes del mundo en ese momento. 1975.- La nave espacial soviética "Soyuz XIX" y la estadounidense "Apolo" coinciden en el espacio en la primera misión espacial conjunta entre EEUU y URSS. 1998.- Inhumación de los restos del zar Nicolás II y su familia en la catedral de San Petersburgo. 2002.- El Ejército español desaloja a los soldados marroquíes instalados en la isla de Perejil. 2006.- Al menos 660 personas mueren como consecuencia de la ola gigante ("tsunami") en la isla de Java, costa sureste de Indonesia, causada por un seísmo de 7,7 grados en la escala Richter. Patrocinio del santo de cada día por gentileza de la Casa de las Imágenes, en la calle Obispo Perez Cáceres, 17 en Candelaria. santos Alejo, León IV, Generoso y Jacinto; Nuestra Señora de la Humildad. Rodríguez se querella contra Aldama por injurias tras relacionarla con la presunta financiación irregular del PSOE. El Tribunal de la UE avala la ley de amnistía al no chocar con los intereses financieros ni la directiva sobre terrorismo. El PP expresa "respeto absoluto" a la sentencia de la ley de amnistía pero advierte que no es "el final del debate” La Audiencia de Madrid mantiene el juicio con jurado popular contra Begoña Gómez y ordena la devolución de su pasaporte. El DAO niega presiones a los agentes para ponerse "de perfil" en el caso de David Sánchez. Canarias exige más fondos estatales para menores migrantes tras aprobarse el reparto de 35 millones. Asimismo, la consejera Candelaria Delgado reclama que se mantenga la contingencia migratoria en el archipiélago. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria no recurrirá la nulidad de la tasa de basuras y devolverá lo ya cobrado. El Ayuntamiento volverá a regirse por su normativa previa, hasta que reformule la tasa para ajustarla a las exigencias legales. Un 17 de julio de 1993: en el Estadio Monumental de Núñez (Buenos Aires), la banda estadounidense Guns N' Roses, se presenta por última vez con la formación semi-clásica (conformada por Duff McKagan, Slash, Axl Rose, Gilby Clarke y Matt Sorum), ante 70.000 espectadores.

If there's anyone more entertaining than Adam Chester, please tell me so I can book them now! What a fabulous, fun, afternoon ride! Other than a tech glitch (lost internet for 5 min - which caused this to have a Part 1 and Part 2), this was as close to perfection as a sit-down could be. We got current events; he's on vocal rest due to a minor health issue, so Adam performed an instrumental with full virtuoso gusto and talked for a good hour and a quarter, also with total fervor. Shhh, don't tell his ENT. In Part 1, we got Adam's backstory, which manifested into his life's headlines. The author of S'Mother held up his mother (hysterical, dark sight gag), who started him on the keys at 3 and got him an upright at 5. Adam walked us into his son Truman's room to share his first instrument, which he's moved cross-country and from state to state. Nothing like a good show and tell. We got delicious juicy bits about Adam's year or so with Barry White, a decision Adam still questions, his piano teacher, Jeff, his manager, Paul, and his life-changing friend and mentor, Davey Johnstone, who opened the door to Sir Elton, a gig still in action, more than 20 years later, post Elton's retirement, filled with pinch moments and living the dream realities. Adam's stories about it all are precious, humble, moving, and hysterical. We get the beginning of his Joni Mitchell connection in Part 1, picked up and furthered to greater heights in Part 2, along with a fabulous Miley Cyrus story, and my s'mother nag for Adam to start doing his thing at his regular Georgian Hotel gig in Santa Monica on Wednesdays, 6-9 pm, where historically he plays, sans vocals and his ridiculously entertaining banter. Vocal rest be damned! You can't keep the unique genius that is Adam down. One shouldn't! I could not have had more fun, or loved this (both Parts) more! How dare my internet go down before we were through! Sorry, Adam, sorry, ya'll! Adam Chester Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, July 8, 3 pm PT, 6 pm ET Streamed Live on my FB, YouTube & LinkedIn

If there's anyone more entertaining than Adam Chester, please tell me so I can book them now! What a fabulous, fun, afternoon ride! Other than a tech glitch (lost internet for 5 min - which caused this to have a Part 1 and Part 2), this was as close to perfection as a sit-down could be. We got current events; he's on vocal rest due to a minor health issue, so Adam performed an instrumental with full virtuoso gusto and talked for a good hour and a quarter, also with total fervor. Shhh, don't tell his ENT. In Part 1, we got Adam's backstory, which manifested into his life's headlines. The author of S'Mother held up his mother (hysterical, dark sight gag), who started him on the keys at 3 and got him an upright at 5. Adam walked us into his son Truman's room to share his first instrument, which he's moved cross-country and from state to state. Nothing like a good show and tell. We got delicious juicy bits about Adam's year or so with Barry White, a decision Adam still questions, his piano teacher, Jeff, his manager, Paul, and his life-changing friend and mentor, Davey Johnstone, who opened the door to Sir Elton, a gig still in action, more than 20 years later, post Elton's retirement, filled with pinch moments and living the dream realities. Adam's stories about it all are precious, humble, moving, and hysterical. We get the beginning of his Joni Mitchell connection in Part 1, picked up and furthered to greater heights in Part 2, along with a fabulous Miley Cyrus story, and my s'mother nag for Adam to start doing his thing at his regular Georgian Hotel gig in Santa Monica on Wednesdays, 6-9 pm, where historically he plays, sans vocals and his ridiculously entertaining banter. Vocal rest be damned! You can't keep the unique genius that is Adam down. One shouldn't! I could not have had more fun, or loved this (both Parts) more! How dare my internet go down before we were through! Sorry, Adam, sorry, ya'll! Adam Chester Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, July 8, 3 pm PT, 6 pm ET Streamed Live on my FB, YouTube & LinkedIn

This week on "Out of Office: A Travel Podcast," Kiernan takes us through the history and artistry of Parkitecture—the architectural design of America's National Parks! Plus, Ryan researches the ideal number of days to go on vacation. Things We Talked About in This Episode: Colombia's Literary World Cup shirt https://sports.yahoo.com/article/magical-realism-colombia-unveil-world-155300778.html  Insight Guides https://www.insightguides.com/  Parkitecture https://www.nps.gov/subjects/architecture/parkitecture.htm  President Truman tickling those rustic ivories https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/63-1333  "Park and Recreation Structures" https://archive.org/details/parkrecreationst00good/page/n237/mode/2up  Ideal Vacation Length https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-012-9345-3  Conor Knighton is a Patriot https://www.instagram.com/conorknighton/reel/DaYM4m6OtQQ/?hl=en 

Truman's Post-Election Struggles and the Rise of Dean Acheson GUEST: Nick Bunker By Labor Day 1949, President Harry Truman's optimistic mood following his 1948 victory had soured as he was "overtaken by events." A post-election recession created a $5 billion budget deficit, stalling his "Fair Deal" liberal reforms. Simultaneously, the communist takeover of China provided a grim backdrop to his administration. Truman relied heavily on his Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, a competent and diligent official who shared Truman's "Wilsonian" internationalist philosophy. However, internal friction plagued the administration. Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, harboring presidential ambitions, aggressively cut military spending to appeal to fiscal conservatives, ultimately depleting American readiness. Meanwhile, powerful Southern Democrats like Senator Walter George and Sam Rayburn blocked civil rights legislation and remained skeptical of public spending and the newly formed NATO alliance. This political dissension undermined Democratic stability during the critical early months of the Cold War. (1)

Stalin's Strategic Shift and the Path to the Korean War GUEST: Nick Bunker Throughout 1949, Stalin was skeptical of Kim Il-sung's plan to invade South Korea, doubting North Korea's capability and the strategic rationale. However, in January 1950, Stalin abruptly authorized the planning of the attack. This shift was fueled by several factors: his newfound confidence in Mao as an ally and the perception that the United States would not intervene. Stalin interpreted Dean Acheson's "defensive perimeter" speech and the congressional defeat of the Korean aid bill as signals of American withdrawal from the peninsula. Furthermore, Stalin saw Korea as strategically vital for securing the Soviet Far East and strengthening communist states in Asia. While Washington remained largely oblivious to these plans, Stalin benefited from an abundance of intelligence gathered simply by reading American newspapers, which were filled with leaks about the "confusion" and "dissension" within the Truman administration. (6)

Truman's Rally and the Brave Dissent of Margaret Chase Smith GUEST: Nick Bunker In May 1950, a politically wounded Harry Truman embarked on a western tour to rebuild momentum and refocus the nation on his "Fair Deal." Despite a high-profile Chicago rally featuring stars like Elizabeth Taylor, his approval ratings continued to plummet amid the ongoing coal strike and corruption scandals in cities like New York. Within his own party, the "middle way" was failing to find traction. Amidst this polarization, Senator Margaret Chase Smith delivered her courageous "Declaration of Conscience" speech, calling out the Republican Party for using "fear, ignorance, bigotry, and smear" — her "Four Horsemen." She criticized both McCarthy's tactics and the Truman administration's perceived "bitterness" and lack of leadership. Though she was the first Republican to publicly challenge McCarthy, her message fell on "deaf ears" as the Senator's power grew. Only weeks later, the North Korean sneak attack on June 25 changed the world forever, ending the period of "shadow of fear" and beginning a hot war. (8)1952 STORK CLUB

This week I'm reading from Jonathan Caplan's book 'Not For Disclosure UFOS: The World's Best Kept Secret'. When former US intelligence officer David Grusch testified under oath to Congress in 2023 that the United States possessed crashed non-human craft, global attention shifted overnight. But the full story has been kept from the public. Until now. For over fifty years, Jonathan Caplan KC has gathered extraordinary testimony from scientists, intelligence officers, politicians and military insiders across the world – assembling what may be the most comprehensive body of evidence yet on the existence of UAPs (previously known as UFOs). Now in Not For Disclosure, Caplan reveals the truth behind a reality long denied, uncovering a pattern of secrecy stretching from covert Cold War programmes to alleged presidential briefings and clandestine recovery operations. He also presents significant material relating to President John F. Kennedy, secret meetings involving President Truman and Secretary Forrestal, and previously unpublished documents connected to the mysterious 'Majestic 12' group. Drawing on never-before-seen declassified documents, eyewitness testimony and insider claims, as well as sightings, encounters and abductions, Caplan pieces together a compelling account of the UAP phenomenon and the allegations of official secrecy that have surrounded it for decades. Some who came close to the truth, Caplan suggests, paid the ultimate price. Travelling across the United States and beyond in pursuit of answers, Caplan has spent decades meeting key figures connected to the phenomenon. The result is a detailed, up-to-date and thought-provoking examination of one of the most controversial subjects of our time. Meticulously researched, utterly gripping and impossible to ignore, Not For Disclosure is an essential read for anyone interested in UAPs and UFOs, presenting the most comprehensive case yet that the greatest mystery may not be the phenomenon itself, but the effort to conceal it. Bio Jonathan Caplan is a King's Counsel (KC) and one of the UK's premier barristers. Caplan has utilised his career experience to seek out the most reliable UAP evidence and to evaluate information from highly placed contacts. Caplan has studied the phenomenon for over fifty years and is a respected voice on the subject. For many years, he served on the editorial board of a leading international UFO journal with distinguished correspondents. Caplan has observed the subject evolve from the simple concept of visiting benevolent ETs to complex issues that cover not just deep space but folklore, the paranormal, consciousness and even our concepts of reality and of life and death. https://www.amazon.com/Not-Disclosure-UFOS-Worlds-Secret-ebook/dp/B0FKYD1YDW https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/https://www.patreon.com/alienufopodcasthttps://simonbown.com/My new book, Aspects of Alien Abduction https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRRPCT9YZen AI bit.ly/zenAI_bpp_ufo Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 9, 2026) – THIS IS AN ENCORE EPISODE. Schyler Simpson, PhD, is no stranger to the University of Kentucky. A three-degree UK alum, she has spent years serving students in a variety of roles across campus, including teaching, advising, recruiting, and retention and engagement work in the College of Communication and Information. In her new role as director of Nationally Competitive Awards, she now helps students explore prestigious opportunities such as the Rhodes, Fulbright, Goldwater, Marshall and Truman awards.  The University of Kentucky's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards helps students pursue major scholarships, fellowships and study-abroad opportunities that can shape academic careers and open doors around the world. Despite the large amount of national competition, Simpson believes UK students are just as prepared and motivated to achieve these opportunities, saying, "students should not think that maybe they're not prepared enough or not ready enough, because this office is definitely proof that they can compete on a national level and win."  On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Simpson reflects on the path that brought her to the role, explains how her office works directly with students on everything from identifying opportunities to refining essays and application materials, and discusses the life-changing impact these awards can have on students and why building awareness of those opportunities across campus is a major priority. 'Behind the Blue' is available via a variety of podcast providers, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to receive new episodes each week, featuring UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists, writers and the most important news impacting the university. 'Behind the Blue' is a production of the University of Kentucky. Transcripts for most episodes are now embedded in the audio file and can be accessed in many podcast apps during playback. Transcripts for older episodes remain available on the show's blog page.  To discover how the University of Kentucky is advancing our Commonwealth, click here. This interview has been edited for time and clarity.

Dahm That's Tru! Episode #306  In this episode Owen and Truman, go over the World Cup results, talk the future for USMNT, and list our top 5 USMNT rivals.  Missed it live? Check it out on twitch.tv/steehnmachine on Mondays at 8:00pm CT and go follow Owen and Truman on twitter at twitter.com/OWENgoshDAHMmit and twitter.com/steehnmachine. Also make sure to follow Open Disaster on twitter at twitter.com/DisasterOpen. Want to help support the show? Check out the patreon at Patreon.com/OpenDisaster Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro(00:07:00) - USMNT(00:07:58) - Where do we go from here?(00:20:36) - Does the future look bright?(00:33:50) - Was the World Cup a Net Positive or Negative?(00:36:36) - Does this news matter?(00:43:30) - Top 5 Rivals for USMNT(00:49:51) - Royals?(00:54:19) - Outro

This week I'm talking to Jonathan Caplan about his book 'Not For Disclosure UFOS: The World's Best Kept Secret'. When former US intelligence officer David Grusch testified under oath to Congress in 2023 that the United States possessed crashed non-human craft, global attention shifted overnight. But the full story has been kept from the public. Until now. For over fifty years, Jonathan Caplan KC has gathered extraordinary testimony from scientists, intelligence officers, politicians and military insiders across the world – assembling what may be the most comprehensive body of evidence yet on the existence of UAPs (previously known as UFOs). Now in Not For Disclosure, Caplan reveals the truth behind a reality long denied, uncovering a pattern of secrecy stretching from covert Cold War programmes to alleged presidential briefings and clandestine recovery operations. He also presents significant material relating to President John F. Kennedy, secret meetings involving President Truman and Secretary Forrestal, and previously unpublished documents connected to the mysterious 'Majestic 12' group. Drawing on never-before-seen declassified documents, eyewitness testimony and insider claims, as well as sightings, encounters and abductions, Caplan pieces together a compelling account of the UAP phenomenon and the allegations of official secrecy that have surrounded it for decades. Some who came close to the truth, Caplan suggests, paid the ultimate price. Travelling across the United States and beyond in pursuit of answers, Caplan has spent decades meeting key figures connected to the phenomenon. The result is a detailed, up-to-date and thought-provoking examination of one of the most controversial subjects of our time. Meticulously researched, utterly gripping and impossible to ignore, Not For Disclosure is an essential read for anyone interested in UAPs and UFOs, presenting the most comprehensive case yet that the greatest mystery may not be the phenomenon itself, but the effort to conceal it. Bio Jonathan Caplan is a King's Counsel (KC) and one of the UK's premier barristers. Caplan has utilised his career experience to seek out the most reliable UAP evidence and to evaluate information from highly placed contacts. Caplan has studied the phenomenon for over fifty years and is a respected voice on the subject. For many years, he served on the editorial board of a leading international UFO journal with distinguished correspondents. Caplan has observed the subject evolve from the simple concept of visiting benevolent ETs to complex issues that cover not just deep space but folklore, the paranormal, consciousness and even our concepts of reality and of life and death. https://www.amazon.com/Not-Disclosure-UFOS-Worlds-Secret-ebook/dp/B0FKYD1YDW https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/https://www.patreon.com/alienufopodcasthttps://simonbown.com/My new book, Aspects of Alien Abduction https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRRPCT9YZen AI bit.ly/zenAI_bpp_ufo Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On April 11, 2026, the MacArthur Memorial marked the 75th anniversary of President Truman's relief of General MacArthur with a half‑day symposium examining the event from both leaders' perspectives and its broader significance in American history. The program featured scholars from the MacArthur Memorial, the Truman Presidential Library and Museum, and Old Dominion University. This episode features an overview of civilian control of the U.S. military by Dr. Tim Orr, Association Professor of History at Old Dominion University. To watch the full event, visit the MacArthur Memorial's YouTube Channel.Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can only read the texts, we can't reply) Support the showFollow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org

Every time I take a drive on the South Island's Great Coast Road (SH6), between Westport and Greymouth, it never fails to cast me under its spell. It's like a heady, implausible mix of Hawai'i and Ireland; of Maui's Road to Hana and the Wild Atlantic Way. On one side, the raw, unbridled foam-flecking power of the ocean tempest; while across the road, fortress-like mountains piercing the sky, draped in thick, lush rainforest. It's a knock-out medley of elemental scenery to thrill all senses. Curiously, the winter months are arguably the best time to savour the Great Coast Road because visitor numbers are thinner yet the weather is typically better. Winter is often the West Coast's driest season with average winter temperatures generally higher than Christchurch and Queenstown. If you're launching your on-road exploratory from Westport, make a date with one of the Pounamu Pathway experience centres. Westport's revitalised Coaltown Museum has reopened as the Museum of Kawatiri, the second experience centre to open along the Pounamu Pathway. Designed and created by Wētā Workshop, it's a stirring celebration of the heritage and intrepid endeavour of the Buller people, underpinned by the lure of pounamu, coal and gold. As you'd expect from Wētā Workshop, there's a lot of tricked-up technological wizardry powering this immersive experience. Heading south along the Great Coast Road, four seasons in one day vividly powered proceedings, with forbidding storm clouds scudding across the sky before yielding to bright sunshine along the gloriously carved coastline, seemingly under assault from the pounding surf. The highway skirts the ancient limestone cliffs of Paparoa National Park and there's a feast of outdoorsy treats to pick and choose from, along the way. If you're up for some hikes, my first suggestion would be Fox River and the Inland Pack Track, starting from the car park at the mouth of the river. Built in 1867 during the gold rush to avoid dangerous coastal travel, the Inland Pack Track gives access to some of the finest features of Paparoa National Park. If the weather is behaving, a great sampler is the 4 hour return walk to the Ballroom Overhang, a colossal 100-metre-long limestone outcrop, that has provided a safe place to shelter for centuries. There are several river crossings along the way, only ankle-deep unless there's been heavy rain. But if the weather has been fine, it's a gem. Another salivating option that isn't so weather-dependent is the Pororari River Gorge loop walk. Doubling as the entry/exit point for the Paparoa Great Walk, the river track follows a spectacular limestone gorge with two main features – a river with huge rocks set amongst deep pools, and beautiful forest featuring subtle changes from subtropical to temperate. It's a two-hour walk, running the gamut across every shade of green. Even the gently flowing water resembles liquid jade. It's a drop-dead gorgeous walk. Keep an eye out for those famous giant snails, Powelliphanta. Their oversized shells come in an array of patterned colours, from reds and browns to yellow and black. (Hurricanes supporters.) They adore earthworms and suck them up through their mouth just like we do with spaghetti. Back on the highway, the karst-strewn landscape of Punakaiki is just five minutes away. Nestled at the base of the thickly forested Paparoa Ranges, the hillsides are thickly stitched in rimu, beech and matai trees, in addition to the striking nikau palms. The national park's visitor information centre is situated on the highway roadside – and after its $40m the monumental transformation, it's now home to the Paparoa Experience. Opened 18 months ago and operated by the local hapu, Ngāti Waewae, this magnificent multi-media exhibition centre was designed by Gibson International. Blending Māori culture with history and geology, it's beautifully crafted and thoroughly entertaining, thrusting you deep into the natural riches of the area, offering all manner of insights on the formation of the Paparoa range, the incredible fossil records like the 30 million year old whale backbone and the karst landscape beneath your feet. A great touch is the blowhole encounter, where you stand inside the surge chamber to feel the blast of wind and waves. But what I really loved is the 180-degree cinematic experience that transports you deep into the wild wonder of Paparoa National Park, celebrating the untouched beauty of the region and the conservation programmes underway to preserve it for future generations. Right across the road, the biggest blockbuster of all is of course an intimate encounter with nature's theatre at Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. remarkable geological formations, which resemble layer upon layer of pancakes, is the result of many centuries of weathering. The formal term for this fantastic tableau is stylobedding. When the tide is high, nature's inter-play of stone and sea is operatic, with the ocean surging into the caverns and booming ferociously through the blowholes. Even the showy waterworks of Las Vegas or Dubai struggle to match this multi-sensory spectacle. Once again, the winter months make this a far less peopled experience. Peckish? Head straight to the Pancake Rocks Café and whistle up their Pancake Stack. It would be rude not to. Freshly fuelled, there's more enchanting hiking options on offer in the area, but the one trail not to miss is the 30 minute Truman Track, which weaves its way through pristine native forest, taking you right to the edge of the Tasman Sea coastline, with a dramatic seascape. It's a banger of a bush walk starting off the highway in a thick forest of podocarp and rātā trees towering above thickets of vine and nīkau palms. The track then transitions through typical West Coast coastal flax flats before climaxing with that blow-your-hair-back seascape, with a sweeping viewing platform elevated above the cliff overhangs and booming ocean. Those overhangs are unstable sandstone bluffs. Previously topped with limestone, that has already been weathered away and now the sandstone remains under relentless attack. A stairway provides access to the beach at low tide, but do not trifle with the ocean at high tide or when the seas are rough. If you're wondering, the track is named in honour of Jim Truman who ran Truman's Department Store in Greymouth. He had a bach opposite the original track which he substantially enhanced. Just before Rapahoe and Runanga, on the approach to Greymouth, one of the money-shot lookout points on the Great Coast Road is the roadside stop by the Strongman Mine Memorial. The immense coastal vista is operatic, with the long sprawl of 9 Mile Beach unfurling before you. Look closely from this lookout and you'll spot a tucked away property, set back from the beach on a terrace, surrounded by ravishing nature's embrace. Best of all, you can stay here! Strung across two acres, Breakers Boutique Accommodation began life as Dr. Barry Dallas' house in the 1970s. He was a Greymouth doctor and also served as Mayor. The story goes that this was Harbour Board land and wasn't meant to have been built on. But hey, when you're the mayor….! Fast forward to today and after many renovations, Jan and Stephen Roberts are the owners of this dreamy property, with dress-circle views over the pounding ocean and the sublime canvas of 9 Mile Beach. There's a variety of accommodation offerings on-site, all very high-spec, stylish and homely, including in the main house, overlooking nature's pageantry. An adjacent wing includes the Nikau Sunset Room, boasting a supremely cosy super-king bed, luxurious bedding and linens and comfortable sitting area, perfectly-positioned for viewing splendour. The guestroom is decorated in warm neutral colourings, using native recycled timbers and beach stones. Be sure to make time to admire the rich trove of art on display around the property, showcasing some of the finest creatives in the area, including Shades of Jade in Greymouth. Their master carver is Jeremy Dalziel. Greymouth's Leftbank Gallery and Punakaiki Crafts are also prominent, as are Kotuku Pottery's exquisite pieces. Jan and Stephen are the most splendid hosts and environmental guardians, somehow managing to distil the essence of gold-standard West Coast hospitality, with a glorified art gallery of local works, including Stephen's magnificent photography; a profusion of first-hand tips on the best walking trails to explore; and on-site dining. Jan whipped me up the most divine homemade pizza for dinner and laid-on a generous breakfast offering, fortifying me for the day ahead. A private track leads down from the Breakers property to Nine Mile Beach. Nine Mile Creek flows down by the bottom of the track, which is backed by a fabulous waterfall. At low tide, dabble in the rock pools at Mussel Point, replete with colourful starfish and millions of mussels. There's also a little blue penguin colony on this beach, which Breakers actively supports through the West Coast Penguin Trust. In-the-know advanced surfers also adore this beach because it has a powerful left break. But I was quite content to remain languid, luxuriating and lounging above the beach, feasting on the ocean panorama as a famed fireball sunset set the Tasman Sea ablaze. Needless to say, it's a photographic feast. Bask in the brilliance of Breakers Beachfront Accommodation. It embodies the best of the West. You will never want to leave. www.breakers.co.nz Mike Yardley is Newstalk ZB's resident traveller and can be heard each week on Saturday Mornings with Jack Tame. LISTEN ABOVEGreat Coast Road SH6 Photo Tourism West CoastPhoto by Mike YardleySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drop us a note about the podcast. A nation can look “fine” on paper and still feel like it's grieving. We open with Lamentations and let the words land the way they were meant to: as a blunt inventory of disgrace, exhaustion, violence, and joy turned to mourning, paired with the stubborn confession that the Lord remains the same forever. We're not trying to play Bible bingo with the news. We're asking a harder question: when our culture feels hollowed out, do we have the courage to call it sin, name the loss, and actually return to God for restoration?From there we shift to Christian marriage and read 1 Corinthians 11:7–9, then talk about how rare it is to hear clear, unembarrassed teaching on what Scripture says about men, women, and purpose in marriage. A short clip online sparks a bigger point: sometimes a simple, honest statement about God's design cuts through more fog than years of vague church talk. Whether you agree or disagree, we challenge you to grapple with the text itself and consider what faithful love, service, and submission require in everyday life.We also touch current events and the way ideology shapes how people interpret crime, safety, and responsibility, then honor heroism by reading the Medal of Honor citation for Marine Hector Albert Cafferata Jr. Finally, we reflect on Truman's decision to recognize the State of Israel and quote modern public figures whose language about Jews and “Zionists” raises serious concerns. If you're hungry for a biblical worldview, Christian cultural commentary, and practical hope that doesn't flinch, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review where you listen.#AmericanPatriot#ChristianNation#KoreanWarSupport the showThe American Soul Podcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1791934/subscribeCountryside Book Serieshttps://www.amazon.com/Countryside-Book-J-T-Cope-IV-ebook/dp/B00MPIXOB2 America's Christian Heritage Podcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/2622483

Chuck Todd focuses this episode around a single, almost too-perfect metaphor: the reflecting pool Trump remade, where the paint is now visibly peeling off the concrete and the president is blaming vandals rather than his own shoddy work — a fitting symbol, Chuck argues, for a presidency defined by grandiose self-promotion and an inability to take responsibility for anything. He opens on the Iran fallout, where JD Vance is attending the latest round of negotiations while Marco Rubio is conspicuously MIA, MAGA is openly fracturing over the war and over support for Israel, and Trump's defenders are stuck trying to explain away an obvious capitulation.He warns that the Iranians have now learned to manipulate the markets the same way Trump does — opening and closing the Strait of Hormuz whenever they need cash — and that there will be no positives to come out of this war. From there Chuck pivots into one of his sharpest character indictments yet, arguing Trump is the worst role-model president in American history — a man who behaves like an elementary-school playground bully, and who constantly tries to steal other people's achievements.The contrast crystallized, Chuck says, in the split-screen of Obama's library dedication against Trump's UFC spectacle — the Obamas embodying the story of American meritocracy while Trump embodies inherited advantage squandered. That comparison leads Chuck into a genuinely nuanced reassessment of Obama's legacy: a successful president by traditional measures whose party nonetheless weakened badly on his watch, in part because there was no accountability for the financial crisis, no real effort to set up an heir apparent, and because Obama built a movement around himself rather than the party.He closes on Tuesday's pivotal New York primaries, where he argues the Democratic Socialists of America — led by Zohran Mamdani and AOC — are attempting a genuine takeover of New York Democratic politics, where the long-convenient "progressive" label is about to be torn apart to reveal the socialist faction underneath, and where the central question facing the entire party will be forced into the open: the socialist brand isn't automatically fatal, but it terrifies suburban voters, and a committed faction of supporters is all it takes to hijack a political party. Then, Paul Taylor — former executive vice president of the Pew Research Center and author of This Is Getting Old — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a sweeping, data-rich conversation about the generation that has dominated American political life longer than any other: the Baby Boomers. Taylor's framing is striking — voters keep electing presidents born in 1946, and no generation in American history has enjoyed the kind of political hegemony Boomers have held since becoming the largest voting bloc in the 1980s. He argues this dominance has had real consequences as America approaches its 250th birthday in a genuinely dark place: CEO pay has ballooned from a 20-to-1 ratio to 300-to-1 on the Boomers' watch, their decisions have fueled the very populist backlash now reshaping both parties, and — in a deep irony — they spent decades undermining public confidence in the very institutions that benefited them most, helping imprint Trump's "everything is rigged" worldview onto the broader public. Taylor offers a wealth of arresting data points: Jimmy Carter is the only Democrat to win a majority of the Boomer vote in the last 14 elections, and the United States is the only country on earth where a majority of citizens believe their fellow citizens are morally bad — a stunning measure of how thoroughly Americans have turned on one another. The conversation broadens into questions of national identity, demographics, and where the country goes from here. Taylor argues that America is fundamentally a creedal nation rather than a "blood and soil" one, that it has accepted far more immigrants than any other country (though he's candid that too much immigration too fast tends to produce political and cultural backlash, and that the shift toward majority non-white immigration over the past 60 years has been a profound change), and that today's young generation celebrates difference — but a mosaic, he cautions, still needs glue to hold it together. Boomers, he notes, are the last living generation to experience America as something close to a monoculture, and the last to remember segregated America firsthand, which shapes their politics in ways younger generations struggle to understand. Taylor doesn't shy away from the harder verdicts: the generalization that Boomers are a narcissistic generation, he says, is fair. He and Todd explore the demographic time bomb of declining birth rates and an inverting age pyramid (and whether AI and robotics might paradoxically reduce the need for a baby boom), and trace a fascinating through-line from Gary Hart to Graham Platner on how the television era forced politicians to perform their character for the public — and how both Platner and Trump ultimately channel the same anger at a broken system. Taylor closes on a cautiously hopeful note that the next wave of American politics could be a backlash against the current divisiveness, even as he braces for the possibility that his fellow Boomers may not love what they read in his book. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the Korean War and its lasting legacy on both American culture and geopolitics. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code CHUCKTODDCAST at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/chucktoddcast Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 01:30 The reflecting pool has become a metaphor for Trump’s presidency 05:30 JD Vance attending latest round of Iran negotiations, Rubio MIA 07:30 MAGA is divided over the Iran war and support for Israel 08:45 Trump’s defenders stuck trying to explain away capitulation to Iran 09:30 Administration threatening to purge any critics of the Iran deal 10:30 Much of the administration is more populist, less pro-Israel 13:00 Growing movement of isolationism in both parties 14:30 Iranians have learned from Trump how to manipulate the markets 15:15 Iran will open and close the Strait whenever they need money 16:00 There will be no positives coming out of the Iran war 17:15 Will Republicans pretend Trump won, or will they start to speak out? 18:30 Trump has been a terrible role model for young American boys/men 19:30 Trump is the worst role model president we’ve ever had 20:15 Trump’s behavior is like an elementary school bully 21:15 Crypto.com bribed Trump to get out of legal trouble 21:45 UAE bribed Trump get export controls for chips dropped 22:45 Trump pardoned J6 rioters, then tried to reward them with slush fund 24:00 At least 40 pardoned J6ers have reoffended & been arrested again 25:00 Trump sent troops into cities to intimidate them like a playground bully 26:00 Trump, like a kid, tries to steal other people’s achievements 27:00 Trump’s remake of the reflecting pool has been a disaster 27:45 Paint is peeling off the concrete from the pool, Trump blames vandals 29:00 It’s clear Trump wasn’t parented at all, not given character tests 29:45 Trump gets a pass for behavior we wouldn’t tolerate from a child 30:30 How do we assess Obama’s legacy when Trump was elected after him? 31:15 Obama library ceremony reminded us about what he did best 31:45 Obama library vs Trump’s UFC showed sharp contrast between the two 32:45 The Obamas embodied the story of American meritocracy 33:15 Trump was born on 3rd base, and always trying to steal home 33:45 Both Obama and Trump’s stories are American stories 35:00 As time passes it becomes harder to separate Obama from Trump 35:45 By traditional measures, Obama was a successful president 36:30 The Democratic party weakened during Obama’s presidency 37:00 Three things Obama could have done to strengthen his party 37:30 Public was upset there was no accountability for financial crisis 38:00 Obama didn’t help identify and set up an heir apparent for success 39:00 22nd amendment a mistake? Would the country be better with 3 Obama terms? 39:30 Obama built a movement around himself, leaving party weaker 40:30 New York holds its primary on Tuesday with major implications 41:30 The Democratic Socialists of America trying to shift the party left 42:00 The Democratic party is splitting into 3 camps 42:45 “Progressive” used to cover both progressives and socialists 43:15 Tuesday’s primaries will tear the cover off the socialism facade 44:15 Mamdani believes he’s leading a movement, challenging establishment 44:45 Mamdani and AOC trying to lead DSA takeover of NY Democratic politics 45:45 Mamdani trying to remake the Democratic party in his image 46:30 Can the DSA brand work in the suburbs and outside the 5 boroughs? 47:15 Dem leadership treated Mamdani like a liability, socialism only sells in cities 48:15 The socialist label isn’t automatically fatal, but it scares suburban voters 49:00 Tuesday will force Democratic candidates to fit into one of the boxes 49:45 A faction of supporters is enough to hijack a political party 58:45 Paul Taylor (This Is Getting Old) joins the Chuck ToddCast 59:45 Voters keep electing presidents born in 1946 01:00:30 No generation has had political hegemony like the Boomers 01:01:30 Since the 80s, boomers have been biggest voting bloc 01:02:15 America in a dark place as it prepares to celebrate 250 01:03:45 Disneyland opened in the 50s but has lost its egalitarian culture 01:04:30 CEO pay has gone from 20-1 to 300-1, boomers facilitated that 01:05:15 Boomers’ decisions have led to a major populist backlash 01:06:45 Boomers came of age during a period of deep division in America 01:08:45 During the 60s, people believed the system was built to do good 01:09:15 Trump’s “rigged” worldview has been imprinted on the public 01:10:30 Boomers undermined confidence in institutions that benefitted them 01:12:15 There’s always been a class distinction in the boomer generation 01:13:15 Carter is the only Democrat to win majority of boomer vote in past 14 elections 01:14:45 U.S. is the only country where majority thinks fellow citizens are morally bad 01:16:15 Boomers grew up with a sense of triumphalism after World War 2 01:17:15 American exceptionalism didn’t start with the boomers 01:18:15 America has accepted far more immigrants than any other country 01:19:15 Too much immigration leads to political and cultural backlash 01:20:15 In the last 60 years, most immigrants have been non-white, a big change 01:21:15 Today’s young generation celebrates differences, but a mosaic needs glue 01:22:45 Boomers are the last generation to experience America as a monoculture 01:25:00 American is a creedal nation, not a “blood and soil” nation 01:27:30 Americans are misinformed, but generally pragmatic and collaborative 01:28:45 Hopefully the next wave of politics is a backlash to our current, divisive politics 01:29:30 Boomers are the last living generation to experience segregated America 01:31:30 Despite current tensions, progress for women and minorities has happened 01:32:45 Expanding minority rights is a hard thing to pull off 01:33:30 Why has it taken so long to push boomers out of leadership? 01:34:45 Women’s liberation has led to declining birth rates 01:36:15 Inverted demographic chart is going to create problems 01:37:15 Will we need a baby boom if AI & robotics will perform many of the jobs? 01:39:15 The generalization that boomers are a narcissistic generation is fair 01:40:00 Is there a thru line between Gary Hart and Graham Platner’s character issues? 01:43:00 The television era forced politicians to present themselves to the public 01:44:30 Mainers will have to decide about Platner’s shortcomings 01:45:45 Platner & Trump channel anger at the system 01:49:15 Will your fellow boomers hate what they read in this book? 01:51:45 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with Paul Taylor 01:52:00 ToddCast Time Machine - June 25th, 1950 01:52:15 The Korean War never ended 01:53:00 The Korean War has a strange place in American history 01:53:30 The Korean War memorial in DC is haunting 01:54:45 The Korean War produced a world we’re still living in 01:55:15 America’s approach to foreign intervention began in Korea 01:56:00 Before the war, South Korea was third world and impoverished 01:57:00 North Korea has become a repressive military regime, more dangerous 01:58:00 The fighting ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty 01:58:30 The DNZ is one of the most heavily fortified borders on earth 01:59:00 The first fighting between US and China was in Korea 01:59:30 Truman didn’t rely on congress for a formal declaration of war 02:00:30 Korea was really America’s first true “forever war” 02:01:30 Korea taught America to live with a problem rather than fix it 02:02:15 Korea was not a clear victory or a clear defeat 02:03:15 Ask Chuck 02:03:30 Where’s the best place to go for civics education for kids? 02:06:30 Have you thought about creating an “election manifesto”? 02:10:30 Are there guardrails around presidential interference in elections? 02:14:45 If you could warn the founders about one blind spot, what would it be? 02:18:00 What happens behind the scenes during a TV news anchor walk-off? 02:21:15 What has actually changed on the ground in Venezuela post-Maduro?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd focuses this episode around a single, almost too-perfect metaphor: the reflecting pool Trump remade, where the paint is now visibly peeling off the concrete and the president is blaming vandals rather than his own shoddy work — a fitting symbol, Chuck argues, for a presidency defined by grandiose self-promotion and an inability to take responsibility for anything. He opens on the Iran fallout, where JD Vance is attending the latest round of negotiations while Marco Rubio is conspicuously MIA, MAGA is openly fracturing over the war and over support for Israel, and Trump's defenders are stuck trying to explain away an obvious capitulation.He warns that the Iranians have now learned to manipulate the markets the same way Trump does — opening and closing the Strait of Hormuz whenever they need cash — and that there will be no positives to come out of this war. From there Chuck pivots into one of his sharpest character indictments yet, arguing Trump is the worst role-model president in American history — a man who behaves like an elementary-school playground bully, and who constantly tries to steal other people's achievements.The contrast crystallized, Chuck says, in the split-screen of Obama's library dedication against Trump's UFC spectacle — the Obamas embodying the story of American meritocracy while Trump embodies inherited advantage squandered. That comparison leads Chuck into a genuinely nuanced reassessment of Obama's legacy: a successful president by traditional measures whose party nonetheless weakened badly on his watch, in part because there was no accountability for the financial crisis, no real effort to set up an heir apparent, and because Obama built a movement around himself rather than the party.He closes on Tuesday's pivotal New York primaries, where he argues the Democratic Socialists of America — led by Zohran Mamdani and AOC — are attempting a genuine takeover of New York Democratic politics, where the long-convenient "progressive" label is about to be torn apart to reveal the socialist faction underneath, and where the central question facing the entire party will be forced into the open: the socialist brand isn't automatically fatal, but it terrifies suburban voters, and a committed faction of supporters is all it takes to hijack a political party. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the Korean War and its lasting legacy on both American culture and geopolitics. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code CHUCKTODDCAST at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/chucktoddcast Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 01:30 The reflecting pool has become a metaphor for Trump’s presidency 05:30 JD Vance attending latest round of Iran negotiations, Rubio MIA 07:30 MAGA is divided over the Iran war and support for Israel 08:45 Trump’s defenders stuck trying to explain away capitulation to Iran 09:30 Administration threatening to purge any critics of the Iran deal 10:30 Much of the administration is more populist, less pro-Israel 13:00 Growing movement of isolationism in both parties 14:30 Iranians have learned from Trump how to manipulate the markets 15:15 Iran will open and close the Strait whenever they need money 16:00 There will be no positives coming out of the Iran war 17:15 Will Republicans pretend Trump won, or will they start to speak out? 18:30 Trump has been a terrible role model for young American boys/men 19:30 Trump is the worst role model president we’ve ever had 20:15 Trump’s behavior is like an elementary school bully 21:15 Crypto.com bribed Trump to get out of legal trouble 21:45 UAE bribed Trump get export controls for chips dropped 22:45 Trump pardoned J6 rioters, then tried to reward them with slush fund 24:00 At least 40 pardoned J6ers have reoffended & been arrested again 25:00 Trump sent troops into cities to intimidate them like a playground bully 26:00 Trump, like a kid, tries to steal other people’s achievements 27:00 Trump’s remake of the reflecting pool has been a disaster 27:45 Paint is peeling off the concrete from the pool, Trump blames vandals 29:00 It’s clear Trump wasn’t parented at all, not given character tests 29:45 Trump gets a pass for behavior we wouldn’t tolerate from a child 30:30 How do we assess Obama’s legacy when Trump was elected after him? 31:15 Obama library ceremony reminded us about what he did best 31:45 Obama library vs Trump’s UFC showed sharp contrast between the two 32:45 The Obamas embodied the story of American meritocracy 33:15 Trump was born on 3rd base, and always trying to steal home 33:45 Both Obama and Trump’s stories are American stories 35:00 As time passes it becomes harder to separate Obama from Trump 35:45 By traditional measures, Obama was a successful president 36:30 The Democratic party weakened during Obama’s presidency 37:00 Three things Obama could have done to strengthen his party 37:30 Public was upset there was no accountability for financial crisis 38:00 Obama didn’t help identify and set up an heir apparent for success 39:00 22nd amendment a mistake? Would the country be better with 3 Obama terms? 39:30 Obama built a movement around himself, leaving party weaker 40:30 New York holds its primary on Tuesday with major implications 41:30 The Democratic Socialists of America trying to shift the party left 42:00 The Democratic party is splitting into 3 camps 42:45 “Progressive” used to cover both progressives and socialists 43:15 Tuesday’s primaries will tear the cover off the socialism facade 44:15 Mamdani believes he’s leading a movement, challenging establishment 44:45 Mamdani and AOC trying to lead DSA takeover of NY Democratic politics 45:45 Mamdani trying to remake the Democratic party in his image 46:30 Can the DSA brand work in the suburbs and outside the 5 boroughs? 47:15 Dem leadership treated Mamdani like a liability, socialism only sells in cities 48:15 The socialist label isn’t automatically fatal, but it scares suburban voters 49:00 Tuesday will force Democratic candidates to fit into one of the boxes 49:45 A faction of supporters is enough to hijack a political party 57:30 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with Paul Taylor 57:45 ToddCast Time Machine - June 25th, 1950 58:00 The Korean War never ended 58:45 The Korean War has a strange place in American history 59:15 The Korean War memorial in DC is haunting 01:00:30 The Korean War produced a world we’re still living in 01:01:00 America’s approach to foreign intervention began in Korea 01:01:45 Before the war, South Korea was third world and impoverished 01:02:45 North Korea has become a repressive military regime, more dangerous 01:03:45 The fighting ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty 01:04:15 The DNZ is one of the most heavily fortified borders on earth 01:04:45 The first fighting between US and China was in Korea 01:05:15 Truman didn’t rely on congress for a formal declaration of war 01:06:15 Korea was really America’s first true “forever war” 01:07:15 Korea taught America to live with a problem rather than fix it 01:08:00 Korea was not a clear victory or a clear defeat 01:09:00 Ask Chuck 01:09:15 Where’s the best place to go for civics education for kids? 01:12:15 Have you thought about creating an “election manifesto”? 01:16:15 Are there guardrails around presidential interference in elections? 01:20:30 If you could warn the founders about one blind spot, what would it be? 01:23:45 What happens behind the scenes during a TV news anchor walk-off? 01:27:00 What has actually changed on the ground in Venezuela post-Maduro?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Great Britain track cyclist Joe Truman. Joe has spent nearly a decade as a full-time professional athlete with British Cycling, progressing through the pathway from a talent ID session at 15 to becoming a senior member of the GB sprint squad. After years of European, World Championship and Commonwealth medals, Joe recently claimed his first major individual title with European gold in the kilo, setting a British record in the process. In this episode, Joe gives a fascinating insight into the training methods, decision-making and performance science behind elite track sprinting. He explains how studying sport and exercise science changed the way he understood his own body, why he now has greater input into his own programming, and how that shift has helped drive a significant increase in performance. Richard and Joe also discuss the practical use of blood flow restriction training, how BFR moved from a rehab tool after back surgery to a staple part of Joe's training, and why lower-load, lower-volume methods can still create meaningful performance adaptations when used intelligently. In this episode you will learn How Joe Truman progressed from British Cycling talent ID to the senior GB podium squad. Why his first major individual gold medal felt like a weight off his shoulders after years of silver and bronze medals. How sport and exercise science changed the way Joe approaches his own training. Why understanding the “why” behind a session can be a major motivational tool for elite athletes. How Joe uses blood flow restriction training in the gym and on the bike. Why BFR became a key tool after back surgery and later evolved into a performance method. How Joe balances peak power, glycolytic capacity and race-specific cadence. Why tapering can determine whether an athlete reaches their true performance ceiling. How training quality, recovery and freshness influence maximal sprint output. Why athletes should trust their own knowledge and listen closely to their body. How Joe is preparing for the next phase of the Olympic cycle towards LA 2028. About Joe Truman Joe Truman is a Great Britain track cyclist and one of the senior members of the GB men's sprint squad. Originally from Portsmouth, Joe was identified by British Cycling at the age of 15 and has been part of the British Cycling pathway ever since. He progressed through the under-16, under-18 and under-23 squads before joining the podium programme full-time after his first World Championships in 2017. Across his career, Joe has competed in the team sprint, individual sprint, keirin and kilo, winning medals at European, World Championship, World Cup and Commonwealth level. In 2026, he claimed his first major individual senior title with European gold in the kilo, setting a British record and going under 58 seconds. Alongside his career as an elite athlete, Joe has studied sport and exercise science and now takes an active role in shaping his own training programme. His approach combines physiology, race-specific preparation, strength training, blood flow restriction training, recovery and athlete self-awareness. FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241 ​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively ​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery ​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In ​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese ​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More ​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance ​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes ​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research

HOUR 1: Should we build data centers at the Truman Sports Complex? full 2425 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:00:00 +0000 MjxyFgWqVhqfnAxaIImES2dCX5SZWqtZ news The Dana & Parks Podcast news HOUR 1: Should we build data centers at the Truman Sports Complex? You wanted it... Now here it is! Listen to each hour of the Dana & Parks Show whenever and wherever you want! © 2025 Audacy, Inc. News https://player.amperwavepodc

This was one of our most listened-to conversations of the past year. If you missed it the first time, here's your second chance. She moderated the fly debate. She interviewed Stephen Hawking. She covered 12 presidential campaigns and sat down with the last 10 presidents. And she spent years inside Queen Elizabeth's extraordinary vantage point on American democracy — one that no American journalist could ever fully replicate. Two minutes. Real impact. Leave a review: lovethepodcast.com/politicsandreligion Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief of USA TODAY, joins Corey to discuss her latest book, The Queen and Her Presidents: a sweeping account of Queen Elizabeth II's relationships with every American president from Truman to Biden. But this conversation goes well beyond the book. Susan reflects on a career that began in a converted car dealership on Long Island, the lessons she learned covering her first president (and how badly she blew it), what it really takes to develop sources across decades of political reporting, and why — from a Kansas girl's perspective — the people on both sides of our divide love America more than we give them credit for. Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey's Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen:  lovethepodcast.com/politicsandreligion ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion Key Takeaways Preparation is a framework, not a script. Susan goes into every major interview with a plan — what she wants to get, how to get it, what to do if the answer goes sideways. But the goal is to inform the conversation, not control it. The worst thing an interviewer can do, she says, is fail to listen to the answer. Great sourcing is built on respect and fairness, not on pulling punches. Rich Bond, the young Long Island operative she profiled in 1979, became a top Republican official and a reliable source for decades — not because she went easy on him, but because he trusted her to be fair. She would not have softened a story about him, and he knew it. Books and daily journalism use the same muscle, differently. The skills transfer directly — the sourcing, the curiosity, the nose for a good detail — but the bar is higher and the time horizon is longer. Writing a book means people are paying thirty dollars and spending real time. You owe them something they couldn't get from clicking a link. The best research rewards patience. Sifting through archival files at eight presidential libraries and the National Archives in Britain yielded moments that almost nobody else has read. The sarcastic cables British ambassadors sent back about LBJ as vice president confirmed everything LBJ already suspected they thought of him. They love America. Whether she's at a No Kings rally or a MAGA rally, Susan hears the same thing: people who care deeply, who revere the Constitution, who think they're fighting for the country. The polarization isn't about love of country — it's about a failure to extend basic respect across the divide. Queen Elizabeth perfected the art of getting people to talk. Her small talk strategy — chatter briefly, then turn the question back — was especially effective with men, who, as Susan notes diplomatically, tend to enjoy talking about themselves. Susan has consciously adopted the technique and credits it with making her better at navigating rooms full of strangers. About Our Guest Susan Page is the Washington Bureau Chief of USA TODAY and one of the most respected political journalists in America. She has covered 12 presidential campaigns and interviewed the last 10 presidents. She moderated the 2020 vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence — yes, the one with the fly — and is the bestselling author of biographies of Barbara Bush, Nancy Pelosi, and Barbara Walters. Her latest book, The Queen and Her Presidents, chronicles Queen Elizabeth II's relationships with every American president from Truman through Biden. Links and Resources The Queen and Her Presidents by Susan Page — susanpagedc.com Grateful to our friends at The Democracy Group: www.democracygroup.org Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials… Substack LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Threads Bluesky TikTok “Clarity, charity, and conviction can live in the same room.” Yes, really.

Exploring the lives of three Jewish doctors. Living in very different settings, yet linked by a common thread: compassion. They left a lasting mark on medicine and Jewish history and were dedicated to the strong belief that every fragile life matters. In New York, Dr Martin Couney helped save thousands of babies. His sideshow displays were controversial, but at a time when incubator technology was widely doubted, his exhibits brought life-saving technology into the public eye. Dr Mary Gordon was born in Lithuania and her trailblazing career as a pioneering female physician who was deeply connected to Jewish life, allowed her to carry her medical calling into some of the hardest moments of the twentieth century, in Palestine, in detention camps in Cyprus and through world wars. Dr Shlomo Adler's reputation in London as a beloved doctor and trusted medical confidant to Gedolim and Torah leaders as well as to thousands of patients, rested on his complete commitment to care, innovation and halacha. We also hear from his son Dr Yossi Adler - who has continued a 3 generational family legacy - about AI and other issues confronting medicine today   Timestamps: - **0:00:00 – 0:01:13** – Podcast intro, series context (Medicine Part 2), and mention of guests (Rabbi Tatz & Dr. Yossi Adler) - **0:01:13 – 0:02:16** – Introduction of Mary Gordon; granddaughter of Reb Eliezer Gordon; name changes (Miriam → Mary, Sara → Sylvia)   - **0:02:16 – 0:03:49** – Background on the Gordon family, Telshe Yeshiva, and Reb Eliezer Gordon's leadership and social conscience (matzah bakeries)   - **0:03:49 – 0:06:21** – Fire in Telshe (1908), Reb Eliezer Gordon's fundraising trip to England, his death, funeral, and Mary receiving apology from the Chief Rabbi   - **0:06:21 – 0:09:00** – Mary's struggle to enter university, re-doing exams in England, brilliance and speed of study, financial help from Rabbi Moishe Hirsh Siegel, graduation as a physician   - **0:09:00 – 0:10:27** – Status of women doctors in England; WWI, shortage of male doctors; Mary becomes first female medical student allowed to practice in the army   - **0:10:27 – 0:12:57** – Move to South Africa; reuniting with family; pioneering practice in Johannesburg General Hospital; treating rich and poor, all races; miners' strike of 1922   - **0:12:57 – 0:15:30** – Plans to move to Palestine; WWII intervenes; army medical role, rank of captain then lieutenant colonel; final move to Palestine (1946)   - **0:15:30 – 0:18:18** – Postwar DP situation; Anglo-American committee, Truman's proposal for 100,000 DPs; British refusal; Cyprus detention policy and harsh camp conditions   - **0:18:18 – 0:21:06** – Mary chosen by the Jewish Agency to serve in Cyprus; tiny medical team; overwhelming numbers, disease, births; her legendary dedication; quote about measuring temperature vs pain   - **0:21:06 – 0:22:28** – New Year's 1948 story (two big ships arrive, many pregnant women and newborns); Mary persuades nurses to stay; later work in Israel with Yemenite immigrants; return to South Africa, work in Soweto clinics, death and legacy   - **0:22:28 – 0:24:04** – Introduction of Dr. Yossi Adler; recognition that “Dr. Adler” was a global communal institution   - **0:24:04 – 0:26:24** – Growing up in a house that doubled as a practice; constant stream of patients; balancing family meals with emergencies, especially before Hatzalah   - **0:26:24 – 0:28:18** – What made Dr. Adler's practice unique: long-term relationships, personalized care, deep sense of responsibility, readiness to innovate   - **0:28:18 – 0:32:24** – Early roots of his father's connection to Gedolim (Gerrer Rebbe, Imrei Emes); later relationships with Gedolim and Rebbes (Stipler, R' Shach, Satmar, Klausenburger, etc.)   - **0:32:24 – 0:36:24** – Stories illustrating kavod from Rebbes (“Malach Refael goes with Dr. Adler”), and equal importance of all patients; how he handled treating Gedolim without intimidation   - **0:36:24 – 0:40:21** – Lessons Dr. Yossi learned: time use, achrayus (responsibility), integrating halacha and derech eretz into medicine; a few character-defining stories   - **0:40:21 – 0:44:04** – Role of a frum doctor today: giving clear medical facts for Rabbanim, especially in end-of-life, surgery, fasting, and shidduch situations; why doctor ≠ posek   - **0:44:04 – 0:49:05** – Community health issues:   - Vaccine hesitancy and mistrust of authorities     - Halachic support for following broadly accepted medical guidance     - SIDS reduction through “back to sleep” and risk of complacency   - **0:49:05 – 0:53:59** – Discussion on modern weight-loss medications (semaglutide, tirzepatide): when benefits outweigh risks (severe obesity) vs mainly cosmetic use   - **0:53:59 – 0:56:51** – Google and patient information: opportunities and dangers; importance of joint doctor–patient interpretation rather than self-treatment   - **0:56:51 – 0:57:40** – Rabbi Tatz introduction, playful comment about trying to “one up” Rabbi Hirsch with an unknown medical figure   - **0:57:40 – 0:59:37** – Background of Dr. Cooney (Mikhail Kohn): Jewish origins in Prussia, medical studies, interest in premature infants and early incubators   - **0:59:37 – 1:03:10** – Move to America; transformation into “Dr. Cooney”; sideshow incubator exhibits at fairs and Coney Island; hospitals giving up on babies, parents bringing infants in shoeboxes; high survival rates   - **1:03:10 – 1:05:00** – Framing ethical and halachic questions: doing something risky to save life; early incubators as both spectacle and lifesaving tool   - **1:05:00 – 1:08:32** – Classic halachic scenario: terminal/“Ha'ei Sha'ah” patient offered high-risk procedure with chance of cure vs certain shorter-term survival; introduction to “Lo chosheshin lechayei sha'ah” in this context   - **1:08:32 – 1:12:08** – Majority view:     - If chance of success >50%, patient *should* generally accept.     - If

Guest host Joe Cirincione interviews nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein about his book The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age, revisiting the run-up to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the postwar fight between nuclear hawks and doves over who should control nuclear weapons. Wellerstein argues there was no single “decision” to use the bomb—plans were already underway under military control, Truman was largely excluded and poorly briefed, and he may not have known a second bomb was coming. After Nagasaki, Truman asserted presidential control to halt further use, motivated by horror at civilian casualties. They discuss debates over whether the bombings ended the war and Truman's moral framing of nuclear weapons. The events of the past have clear echoes in today's nuclear policy debates, and the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and who is telling the truth about Iran's nuclear ambitions.You can check out his Nuke Map at nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you know that a young Princess Elizabeth once spent time with a twenty-something John F. Kennedy? Or that Richard Nixon hoped to marry one of his daughters into the British royal family? In this episode, I speak with bestselling author Susan Page about her new book, The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History. We explore Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkable relationships with American presidents from Truman to Biden, her quiet influence on world affairs, and some of the most fascinating stories to emerge from the royal archives—including whether the rumored rivalry between the Queen and Jacqueline Kennedy, famously depicted in The Crown, was actually real. The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Her-Presidents-Hidden-History/dp/0063397390 JOIN PREMIUM Listen ad-free for only $5/month at www.bit.ly/TAPpremium BUY US A COFFEE buymeacoffee.com/thisamericanpresident FOLLOW US:www.thisamericanpresident.com/ CREDITSHost: Richard LimProducer: Michael NealCover Art: Nip Rogers, www.NipRogers.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with former criminal and prison minister Bill Corum for one of the most unusual conversations ever featured on Gangland Wire. Bill Corum recounts his journey from car theft and prison escapes in the early 1960s to his deep involvement in Kansas City's criminal underworld in the 1970s and early 1980s. He describes his work around pornography, prostitution, stolen property, cocaine trafficking, and his connections to notorious Kansas City underworld figures. Gary and Bill discuss legendary Kansas City mob fence Sol Landi and his murder by assassins sent by the mob, the River Quay era, Junior Bradley, corrupt influences in local politics and the courts, and the explosive cocaine culture that swept through Kansas City during the 1980s. Bill also shares stories involving Weld Wheels founder Kenny Weld, cocaine trafficking operations, and the dangerous atmosphere surrounding organized crime in Kansas City. The conversation dives into: Bill's prison escape and stolen car career The prostitution business in Independence, Missouri Mob-connected fences and stolen property rings Cocaine trafficking in Kansas City during the early 1980s The murder of Saul Landy River Quay nightlife and mob influence Corrupt officials and criminal networks Kansas City organized crime personalities Prison life and criminal culture Bill Corum's dramatic religious conversion in 1983 His decades-long prison ministry work across America Bill also explains how he transformed his life after addiction, violence, and years in the criminal world, eventually dedicating his life to prison outreach and ministry programs throughout the United States. You can learn more about Bill Corum and his book at either The Ultimate Pardon or Bill Corum Official Website If you're interested in true crime, mafia history, and real law enforcement stories, this is an episode you don't want to miss. Subscribe for more mafia history and true crime stories every week. Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. [00:00:00] hey, all you wiretappers. Gary Jenkins here, retired Kansas City police detective in the intelligence unit. Turned podcaster and author and documentary filmmaker. If you want to see any of my stuff, go to my website and look in the show notes or look in the I think the donate page. Of course, if you’re in the donate page, you might want to hit the donate button. We always use a little, can use a little support. And I have a guy that I’d heard of and I’d seen on YouTube and I have mu- we have mutual friends, but I had never actually met him. And I, so I g- I… Some people he knows asked me to be on their show. And so I was on their show, and Bill was on that show at the same time. So we started talking. We had lunch and we had all these… We were running in the same circles, but separate circles that then overlapped every once in a while. He was on one side of the law and I was on the other. So Bill Corum. Welcome, Bill. Thank you, Gary. Thank you so much. And we were running in opposite… We were running real close- … but I was careful. When [00:01:00] I got out of prison, it- You were. When I got out of prison in 1964, I had two goals. Yeah. Never go back, and never get caught. And I started breaking the law the day I got out of prison, and I broke the law for almost 19 years and didn’t get caught. I got caught a couple times at little things, and I got… I hired a high-powered criminal attorney that came out of Alex Peebles’ office who’s now a judge. I won’t even mention his name. He’s now a judge. I think I told you who it was. But and Alex got me out of a couple deals way back when. But little things. And I was still, doing everything. And I went for almost 19 years and didn’t get caught. Unlike many of my friends, I’ve been in prison ministry for 40 years now, and I run around with a lot of guys that did a lot of time. 25 years, 40 years. Li- they had double life without parole, now they’re out But I never got caught. Yeah. And I was speaking at a women’s prison just recently, and I was talking to the women, and I was telling that story, and I said, “I got out and I [00:02:00] went for 19 years.” She said, “You must have been awful smart.” I said I wa- I wasn’t too smart or I wouldn’t have been doing that stuff.” But I did know ways and one thing was ’cause I didn’t talk to people. I didn’t have a lot of… Kinda like the trench coat robbers. They robbed banks for 15 years- Yeah … and never got caught because they didn’t email, text, phone calls, none of that. Yeah. They would, they would- And they moved away too. Oh, yeah. Kinda moved away from their home territory, so they- Yeah y- they weren’t having their buddies come up to them say, “Hey, what are you doing? Where you been?” “I haven’t seen you for a while.” And then they turn around and tell some cop that they know, “Hey, I can’t remember the guy’s name now. Billy Kirkpatrick. Billy Kirkpatrick. He’s been out of town. He just got back.” And, you know- Yeah … then they put… Suddenly they get this notice about these bank robbers somewhere else. They… He didn’t do that. He stayed- … out of town. So Bill, let’s- No, that was me. Go ahead. Go, let’s go back and start you from the beginning. Introduce to who you are to my guys, ’cause they don’t know you. I didn’t know you, ’cause you were such a low profile in this world. You said you got out of prison. Why don’t we [00:03:00] start with that? Where, what were you in the joint for originally? I was originally in there for Dyer Act, which is, in the feds, that’s interstate transportation- Yeah of stolen motor vehicles. I was in the Marine Corps. I went AWOL. I got caught. I went back. I got back AWOL again. I went back. They put me on restrictions, said I couldn’t leave the base. I was at that point in my life where nobody could tell me what to do. And so I’s “I’m leaving the base,” and I left and I think I stole 10, 12 cars while I was out. And then I got put in the… When I got back the next time, they put me in the brig, and I escaped from the brig. And and I stole a car off the base back in tho- in the ’60s, early ’60s, ’62, 3. People left their keys in their car. Yeah. And I went out. I was in the parachute locker painting. When the guard came in to check on me, I hit him in the back of the head with a full bucket of paint, a full gallon of paint, and I went out the window and I got a car, and I actually had a guy with me. He said, “I’m going with you.” And so we got in the car, and when we got to [00:04:00] the gate, I said, “Now, if that guard steps out at the gate, I’m running over him.” And he’s “No, don’t do…” I said “Just shut up. I’m running over him.” And I got to the gate, and the guard stepped out and saluted me. And I’m like, “What in the world?” I drove into town, run out of gas, Gary. Got out and stole… I don’t know how I remember this. I stole a ’62 maroon Bonneville. And when I was walking away from the car, my buddy looked back and started laughing. I said, “What are you laughing about?” He said, “I see why they saluted us. That car had a colonel sticker on the bumper.” So then I stole that car, that Bonneville, drove into Mississippi. Because I always ask guys in prisons, “How many of you know when you escape from prison you need some different clothes?” Yeah. So I drove into a little town called Leland, Mississippi, and I was breaking in a clothing store to get me some clothes. It was 11:00 at night, and I looked down, I was climbing up on some boxes to get to the roof to go in the skylight, ’cause they had analog alarms, they were easy to beat. [00:05:00] And I looked down and I saw a flashlight coming down the alley. So I dropped down, ran the other way, and I turned the corner and ran into the biggest, fattest Mississippi sheriff you ever seen. And he had a gun, he had a gun about this long. And he stuck it right here, and he goes, “Where are you going, boy?” And I said, “With you, sir.” That’s what I said. And that was the end of the Marine Corps. So now I’ve taken a car across the state line, and the feds step in. And I went to… I got a six-year sentence. I got what they call a zip six. And back then, before ’86, now in ’86 they passed it to 85%. Yeah. But prior to 80- prior to ’86, you could get out of the feds at one-third of your sentence. And so I got this six-year sentence. I got out in two years, and when I got out, I said, “I’m never getting caught again. I’m never going back to prison.” And I went for ni- and I just started right then. And everything from then on was like, I got involved with pornography. I was promoting [00:06:00] pornography and prostitution. There’s a story in my book about me being a… I was a bodyguard and a chauffeur for a lady that had a cat house over in Independence. You know where Inglewood was in Independence? And guys- You know where- … In- Independence is a suburb of Kansas City, but it’s like whole, decently large city for a suburb- Yeah … but it’s connected to it. Yeah. That’s where Harry Truman was from- That’s right … and retired back to. Yeah. So y- you were over there probably on the east side of Independence. Inglewood’s kinda closer to Kansas City, over there- Yes … by Dogpatch, in what we call Dogpatch. That’s- The- … kinda totally lawless area. And so there was a guy there that I was friends with that had a record store. He was the first guy in Kan- his name was Tony Marino. He’s in my book. He’s dead now. He was the first guy ever in Kansas City to sell paraphernalia in a record store. And he was making 25,000 a month- Wow … back in the… Yeah, when it started. That was a lot of money. And he, right next to him was a [00:07:00] store, it’s still there. I go by it all the time, ’cause we eat at the Englewood Cafe all the time. It’s the only one on that little s- first strip there that’s got steps going up. And a lady up there had a cathouse for 12 years, prostitutes. And her main customers were executives from Ford Motor Company- … from General Motors, and from Hallmark Cards. And the reason, Gary, was because she knew if she had executives, they weren’t gonna talk. Yeah. And she had beautiful women. She didn’t have ladies like up on Main and Troost and Prospect. Yeah. The- these women had all their teeth, and they were- … and they were good-looking. Yeah. And so the first guy, a- actually, who got me the job was Sal Rello, that o- that owned he owned that deluxe deli down on 430, where the Erotic City is now. Oh, yeah. He owned that- Yeah … he owned that bar. Heard about him, yeah. And I told him for years, I said, “You need to open an adult bookstore here,” because Gary, he was the only bar in Kansas City, the only bar [00:08:00] in Kansas City that was open on Election Day. You know why? ‘Cause he was in the county. He was in the county. He wasn’t in- Wasn’t in the city, yeah … he wasn’t in the city. And he was open on Election Day. And I told him, I said, “Man, if you’d open an adult bookstore, you could make a lot of money.” He never did, of course. Yeah. And then they put Erotic City in there, and it went good for a few years and stuff, yeah. But so he’s the one that told me about her. I went to interview with her, and she said, “I just have one question. Do you carry a gun?” I said, “No, ma’am, I carry two guns.” And she said, “You’re hired.” And so G- Gary, I picked her up every day on the Plaza. She lived in a $2,000 a month apartment on the Plaza in 1976. Yeah. That was a lot of money. That’s five today. And, yeah, and I took her to get her facial every Tuesday. I took her to the beauty shop every Thursday, and read about her in my book. She was 80 years old. The name of that chapter in my book is 80-Year-Old Hooker. She was 80, 80 years old, and she [00:09:00] ran it like a business. I had, I, she opened at 9:00 in the morning and closed at 5:00 at night, and ran it just five days a week, just like a business. And I wouldn’t be surprised she didn’t pay taxes. She was legit, man. Yeah. And I knew you can’t operate something like that for 12 years in Independence, Missouri, and not have the police know about it. No, they knew about it. Oh, yeah. It’s that upper echelon, they were, they just steered people away from each other. Oh, yeah. Don’t worry about that. Oh, yeah. That’s right. So that was- So Bill, y- you, you moved from that- Into the drug business now, how did you, how’d you even get started in that? Where like 1960s, ’60, by the late ’60s, drugs are starting to, become more popular and there becomes a real market for it that’s among- Yeah a much larger constituency than ever before. So now, how did you- I re- … move into that? I, oh, I really, for years and years, Gary, years, I didn’t have a partner [00:10:00] because I knew if I had to run, I didn’t want somebody… I didn’t know if my partner would tell on me, so I did everything by myself. I did one thing one time and I had to have a partner, and I stole a computer out of a crane at General Motors down in Leeds. And I, and my fence, the chapter in my book, They Killed My Fence, that was Saul Andy. Yeah. And when Saul got killed, like they killed my fence, because anything I took to Saul, he’d buy it. Didn’t matter if it was guns or it didn’t matter what it was. And I didn’t never keep anything except cash. If I had money, I’d keep it, but I’d never keep anything. I didn’t keep diamond rings or… I got rid of all that stuff, ’cause I never wanted anything to be able to identify me and tie me to a crime. And Saul, when he got killed, of course, then I started dealing with another guy. But Saul was taking all that and selling it to Junior Bradley, most of it, the stuff that Junior- And, and- … would be interested in. And guys- But, J- Junior Bradley, I gotta explain who Junior Bradley was. Junior Bradley was the mob fence in Kansas City. He was probably the biggest fence in Kansas City I got a [00:11:00] feeling. He, and what he started doing was trading Dilaudid especially for stolen property, and he had a little deli right across from police headquarters and City Hall, and everybody knew Junior. Everybody loved Junior. Everybody liked Junior. He’s always doing favors for people. If you went in the penitentiary, you’d go talk to Junior and say, “Okay, what, what’s gonna happen when I get here? Can you help me out?” And he’ll say, “I’ll make some calls.” Or I, we had, we overheard him on a wiretap once saying- a, a father called him and said, my son’s got to report up here to Leavenworth to the camp.” He said, “Okay, I’ll take care of it. I’ll be somebody there to meet him there.” And I’ve had many other reports but Junior was the main mob fence. So go ahead- Yeah … and we’ll talk what you were dealing with- Yeah Junior Bradley. Yeah be- let’s back up. So you asked me about how I got into drugs. So all those years when I was married, I didn’t drink and I didn’t do drugs. I thought if you did dope, you were a d- I thought that’s why they call it dope, ’cause you were a dope if you did it. Yeah. So I didn’t do it, and I didn’t drink because I knew I had to always be able to think and make [00:12:00] decisions and… ‘Cause I cheated on my wife every day for 10 years, and I did crime every day for 10 years, and she never knew it till I wrote this book. And I gave her the first book actually. And so- When I got divorced and started smoking pot and doing stuff, hanging out with those people, and I started smoking weed, then the first time I bought an ounce of weed it was 40 bucks. And I’m like, “Okay, how much is how much is more if you buy more? You can buy a half pound for this or you can buy…” So I said then I’ll… Give me a half a pound and I’m gonna sell,” yeah. So I started buying pounds and selling ounces, and man, all of a sudden I’m, now I’m smoking free and I’m making some money. Yeah. And then I started sell- And by the time I ended, even when I was selling cocaine, I was selling 100 pounds of pot a week. I had one guy that would buy 100 pounds of pot from me every week. Yeah. And I’d just take him 100 pounds and he’d just bring my… Every day he’d stop by my house [00:13:00] with sacks of money, and that was, the way I got started in the drug world then. And everything. It was from pot, it was, meth. We called it crank back then, not meth. And then I never did get real addicted to crank, but I got real addicted to cocaine. And of course, I was doing a drug class the other day. I teach a drug class, my wife and I, addictions class at our church. And I said, when I started, I was only gonna sell it and not do it.” And because one guy said I was only gonna do it and never sell it.” And I said, “No, not me. I was gonna sell it and never do it.” But that didn’t last very long. And once you start doing it you’re in there, and, Yeah, really … and then, when I got arrested September 5th of ’82 the guy that I beat up I put 100 stitches in the back of his head with a ball bat, and it was in an active enforcement really. But he turned states. He’s the one, when Kenny… You remember Kenny Weld? I remember the name. Was you still on the force when Kenny got busted in ’83? [00:14:00] Yeah. ’80- Yeah, I would’ve been. Okay. So- I have some vague memory, I don’t remember the, all the details. At the time it was the biggest drug bust, it was the biggest just drug bust in, I know in Kansas City, maybe. They caught him out there in Blue Springs with 29 pounds of cocaine, and we were selling- Yeah … cocaine to the people that were selling cocaine to Kenny. And so the guy that I beat up gave a 20-page, which is like reading a book, 20 typewritten pages. Yeah. 20 typewritten pages, and he named every name involved in the circle that he knew, and that implicated us as being some of the leading cocaine dealers in Kansas City. Yeah. Now, when I go speak in churches and a pastor gets up and says, “Folks, today we’ve got the biggest cocaine dealer that ever lived.” I get up and say, “You know what? I don’t mean to correct your pastor.” But I was implicated as being one of the leading cocaine- I was not the leading cocaine dealer. There was a lot of people bigger than me. But that’s that’s how it all started and [00:15:00] of course my case, I never did… the drugs never came in. The lawyers that I had, because when I got busted it was on a Sunday, and that’s part of my story. I always ask inmates, “How many of you have been arrested on a weekend?” And every hand goes up. Yeah. And I say, and then I say, “What happens when you get arrested on a weekend?” They all yell, “Nothing.” ‘Cause you’re not going anywhere till Monday morning, at the very least. I got arrested 2:00 Sunday afternoon. By that time, Gary, I had three goals. When I was about 30, I got nicknamed by one of the key mafia figures Crazy Bill, ’cause I did some crazy things. Like I ran through a bar. You know where the old Club Royal was on Main? Oh yeah. There was a bar right ac- I’ve drunk there many times. Okay. There was a bar across the street that I had a girlfriend working in, and we got in a fight, and I was gonna cut the bar in half with a chainsaw. And I had my buddy drop me at the back parking lot. I fired the chainsaw up, I opened the door, and when the door… When I stepped inside, the door [00:16:00] closed with the closer, and the dar- the bar was totally dark. It was not a bar where you could even buy a bag of potato chips. It was strictly alcohol. And when you get- Yeah … in a bar like that, they’re dark. And that door shut, and I thought, “I’m gonna bend over and start cutting this bar, and somebody just shoot me in the back.” So I just wa- I just walked through the bar with the chainsaw running and went out the front door, and Kenny picked me up in the front, and off we went. And so because of that, I got nicknamed Crazy Bill. Yeah. By 30 years old, I had three goals: money, power, and influence. Now, I told you as we were selling a lot of cocaine. So I stayed in $500 a night hotels. I ride in limousines. I bought $20,000 worth of cocaine for a one-night party. So I had money, and I had enough power to make a phone call and have somebody killed, so I had power. And I had enough influence that when I got arrested Sunday afternoon, now I love telling this to a police officer. I was on a show in Texas with a cop, and we called it the Con and the Cop. [00:17:00] But I love telling this story. I got arrested September 5th. 2:00, 2:00 PM is when they booked us into the jail, and I made a phone call back to Kansas City to somebody who was in politics, and I said, “You know who to call.” And that person called the judge we were selling cocaine to. And I ask this question in prisons, “How many of you know when you’re selling cocaine to a judge, he don’t want you in jail?” And I walked out of that jail, Gary, at 1:30 Monday morning. Wow. I got arrest- less than 12 hours after I got arrested on a weekend. And when I walked out of that jail, I said, “Bill Corum, you’ve arrived. You got money.” “You got power, and you got influence.” But the one thing I didn’t have was peace. Yeah. I didn’t have any peace, man. No peace. Yeah. If I was in a restaurant eating and a cop walked in, I’d put money on the table and go out the door. If I saw a UPS driver, I got nervous ’cause he had a uniform on. I didn’t have any peace. And then after I became a Christian, I was reading in the Bible [00:18:00] one day, and it said, “A wicked man runs when no one’s chasing him.” And I went, “Oh my gosh, I left a lot of steak dinners sitting on the table.” And wasn’t anybody chasing you. Nobody. That cop didn’t even know I was in there. He probably didn’t even know who I was. Really? He just come in… He just came in there to eat, and I thought he was after me. So Bill, I always like to go into the, the nuts and bolts of some of these things. And we kinda left one thing hanging, is the Saul Landy story. Now guys, Saul Landy was a big sports bettor. And Saul Landy had a, wasn’t it a metal- Square Deal Junk- Square Deal Junkyard. Square… He had a junkyard. Square Deal. He bought a lot of scrap metal and dealt in scrap metal, but he also would buy most anything from, from- Yeah … thieves, from boosters- Yeah … and burglars and people like that. That’s where Bill met him. But he’s a huge sports gambler, and they thought he might testify against our boss, Nick Civella, because he had been allowed to bet down at The Trap, down with Frankie Tusa, who was the underling [00:19:00] that handled all the sports gambling for Nick Civella. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that the way that went down? Oh, yeah, and Bobby Maroon was running The Trap at the time. And- yeah … so do you remember the guy that, that paid for his murder? Remember that guy, Johnny Franks, Johnny Frank Avella? That’s what they said, yep. Yeah. Yep. He had, he had- That’s what they said. He had some connections. But he got… But Johnny Franks got the order from somebody else. Yeah. Yeah … the bug, the buck stopped with Johnny Franks now, didn’t it? Yes. ‘Cause he hired another guy, who then he hired a Black guy, which was- That’s right … truly unusual. Who then- That’s right … hired a couple of young Black street kids and that was even more unusual, and they killed this Saul Landy and his wife. So they keep a f- And then they sang and then they sang like The Temptations. Exactly, yeah. That, and that’s that w- some claim that Johnny Franks did that just on his own, trying to impress Nick Civella. Some people say that somebody else told him to do it. I don’t… It never, he never talked, so it never came about. Yeah. [00:20:00] Did you ever hear anything about that? I never heard anything except what you just said, that he- Okay … he never talked, and Nick, Nick never got convicted. He never- Yeah … but here’s the thing that, what you said. The guys that they hired to do it, because back in those days as y- you’d go to… i’d go to the electric chair before somebody, before I’d tell on somebody. Yeah. I’m not gonna tell on anybody. Go ahead and put me in the gas chamber, I’m not telling on nobody. But those guys would, they’d sing like The Temptations. They weren’t gonna, they- Yeah … they wouldn’t- Those street kids If they offered them a day in jail, they wouldn’t take it. If you’ll tell us, we won’t, we’re only gonna put you in jail for a week if you’ll tell. Yeah. They wouldn’t tell. So how did that work with you and Saul Landy? You weren’t a sports bettor you didn’t have anything to do with that. You were a thief. Yeah, and I don’t know- And- I honestly, you know what? Gary, I don’t remember who even told me to go to Saul with stolen merchandise, ’cause I was hitting a lot of construction jobs back then. [00:21:00] Ah. I worked construction, and I was in the union, and I was stealing off these jobs all the time. Big- Ah, yeah … big amounts of stuff. Like they’d start a brand-new job, and they’d have all brand-new tools, and I’d go over there and take everything they had. And then I’d take it all to Saul. And matter of fact, one time I did a job over in, it was a eight-story high-rise over in Kansas City, Kansas, down around Argentine, in the Argentine area. And I was on the job, I was working on the job, and we just started. And we had all this trailer, a whole trailer load of tools. And I went over and got all the tools, and the last thing I took out was the cutting torch. I cut the lock off the door, ’cause I had a key to get in. And so when I got to work the next morning, I had everything in my truck. I had a tonneau cover over my truck and had all these tools in the back of my truck, and parked in the parking lot. I got there and I called Johnny Myers, who was running the job, and Johnny’s been dead for years. I said, “Hey, Johnny, somebody hit our job last night.” He’s “What?” I said, “Yeah, they cut the lock off. They got everything.” [00:22:00] And he said call the police and I’ll be out there in just a few minutes.” And so the cops come, couple detectives and he was telling what they, what was going on. I’m standing there listening to the whole thing. And there was a generator, a big generator, and I was real strong back then, Gary. I was 6’3″ and weighed 275 and I carried this generator down the steps and this… and Johnny said, or the cop said that, how much that generator weigh?” And he told him, and he said it had to be at least two guys, if not three. But no, no one guy could carry that down them steps.” And Johnny turned around and he said, “Except Superman,” ’cause that’s what they called me on the job. And they laughed, and he laughed, and I laughed. Yeah. And then that night after I got off work, I took it all down to Square Deal and sold it all to Saul. Yeah. Interesting. So- All right. Thanks so much … and I did that stuff all, yeah, I did that stuff all the time. But I honestly do not remember who introduced me to Saul Landy. Yeah. But I know that for years and years we were buddies. And when I first met him, I used a, I had an alias that I always went by. I had two a- two aliases. One of them was a guy I [00:23:00] was in prison with that was from East St. Louis, and I knew everything about him, ’cause we were real good friends. I knew his middle name, I knew his mom and dad’s name. I knew everything about him, so I’d use his name. So if anybody ever asked me a question, I knew. The other guy was a cousin of mine that I hadn’t seen for y- I used his name, ’cause I knew everything about him. So what, the, when I first met my wife, we went to a dance one night. We weren’t married yet, and we were walking up the steps, and this guy walking down said, “Hey, Jim. How you doing, Jim?” And I said, “Good.” We got in, sat down. My wife looked at me and she said, “I thought your name was Bill.” I s- said, “It is. It is Bill.” I said, “He probably just had me mixed up with somebody else.” ‘Cause there was a lot of people in the inner circles, yeah. So when I met Saul Andy, something inside of me told me to… Because I met Saul, and I told him my name was Jim Gardner. Yeah. And he’s we did a couple deals, and then something inside of me told me to b- be honest with Saul. And so I sat him down one day, I said, “I wanna tell you something. I use that name as an alias. My [00:24:00] real name is Bill Corum,” and da. And I was so glad I did, because later I would be in the River Key in a restaurant or a bar with Saul, and some of the guys were in there, and I thought if I’d have used the… If he’d introduced me as Jim Gardner- Yeah … and then later they find out who I am, I might not be here. Yeah. You know what I mean? You might- So I- They might think you’re undercover cop or a- Exactly. Exactly. So I just- Informant or something, yeah … it, a- and that, I think that’s in my book. I told that story because I just, I felt like being upfront with him, and I, because I trusted him, yeah. I actually, in, in the book I think I said if Nick Civella trusted him, I thought I could trust him. Yeah. But a- apparently, apparently- Bet he didn’t trust him all that much … no. Yeah. Because right there, out there on Pennsylvania, or let’s see, where’d they… They lived right off 75th, right behind the what was that restaurant on 75th? The Italian place? Yeah … I starts with a G, I think. Yeah, I know. Just north of Ward Parkway Shopping Center. Yeah. Yeah. I know the neighborhood, yeah. Oh, Cat- was it Cat? [00:25:00] No. C- it doesn’t matter. But he lived right down that str- he lived on Washington. Yeah. Right there. Yeah. About 77th or 8th and Washington, in Washington, yeah. I remember that. Yeah. But that’s how I met Saul. And what, and guys, what those guys did that night, they tried to make it look like a home invasion robbery, but ended up killing him and his w- and I think they raped his wife too. But, They didn’t kill her. They left her alive they, they left her alive. But- Yeah … they really m- tried to make it look like a home invasion robbery, not a hit, which was, at least they were that smart. They just weren’t- Yeah … couldn’t keep their mouth shut, and they couldn’t, weren’t smart enough to not tell their friends, so they got caught. Good, good thing there wasn’t no Facebook back then, Gary. Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. Crazy world you live in, so- these kids- Bill … yeah. What happened? What happened? You had all this going. You had money, power, influence. Yeah, I- You caught a cocaine case. Now the thing about that cocaine case, that you said, I thought you said Wells. It’s Kenny Weld, isn’t it? The race car driver? W-E-L-D. Kenny Weld. W-E-L-D. Yeah. He was a race [00:26:00] car driver at that time. I, I- Kinda well-known, and he had a whole set of… He had a big company that sold wheels … Weld Wheels … fancy wheels. He was really doing well, and then he got involved with a b- huge, big cocaine thing. I didn’t know, remember you were part of that, but I remember that. A multi-million dollar- Yeah … wheel business. Yeah. I still am a big… I was a dirt track guy. I grew up on dirt. Yeah. I love dirt. I actually took his brother, Greg, who actually owned the company, I took Greg to his first… the first race that Greg ever raced in, I drove him to the races. And then Kenny and I and Greg, and they won the Knoxville Nationals. Greg raced in the Indianapolis 500 four times. Yeah. They were a big name in the country, the Welds. And making millions of dollars, Gary. Even back then, they were making millions of dollars. Yeah. And then Kenny got caught up in the cocaine and started messing with it, and next thing you know… he was making a lot of money in the cocaine too, but- Yeah … he got caught with 29 pounds, which was a large amount. But that statement that guy [00:27:00] made on me, ’cause I always felt guilty because Kenny got busted because the statement that he made, he named Kenny Weld in that statement, and it wasn’t long after that they arrested Kenny. But I’m sure they were already watching him, for sure. But then I, and I don’t know, Kenny got eight year, Kenny got 25 years. He went to Sandstone first up in Minnesota. Yeah. And he only did 52 months, so I’m not sure, because back then a third would’ve been eight, eight and a half years or something, right? Yeah. And he only did 52 months, so I don’t know how that, maybe it was money or whatever. I don’t know. Yeah. But he turned his life around in prison, but then what’s the sad deal, when I turned my life around, I tried to get in touch with Kenny Weld, and he wouldn’t talk to me. He- Yeah … he was avoid- I think he was afraid that I was gonna come after him because the guy I beat up was the guy that was… We were all involved in the cocaine world together. Joker John, I don’t know if you knew who Joker John Agrusa was. I [00:28:00] don’t remember that n- I don’t remember that name now. Was he- They had a bar out on, they had a bar on, out on 23rd Street. No, I don’t, I don’t- Joker John’s. John, his last name was Agrusa. He had a brother- Agrusa, yeah … named Nick Agrus. New- Nick Agrusa’s brother. Yeah, I co- do kinda remember that. He went down- Yeah … with that whole thing. See, I was- That was ’83. I was I was off into something else during those years. Okay. No- That was early in the coke, crack cocaine thing … no, John, w- after I beat up Pink Mike, John Agrusa left town. He moved to Arizona, ’cause he was scared of me. A l- a lot of people- ’cause I was crazy. I did some crazy things, and people were scared. And so when I got arrested on that deal, he left town. He went to Arizona. And then Kenny got busted, Kenny Weld. And the, some of the people in that… My dad read that 20-page statement, and my dad said… And my dad was an old guy. He was born in 1909, but he read that statement, and he said, “This guy’s worth, life ain’t worth a nickel, is it?” And I [00:29:00] said, “No.” ‘Cause the guy that wrote the statement. Then I got arrest- you knew Jim Smart was a judge? Yeah, I remember the name. I didn’t know him. Okay. Jim… back then, Jim was a lawyer, and then later became appellate court judge. Yeah. And he’s retired now, but a real good friend of mine. So when I, that happened, I got… My case ended in May of ’84. Started September 5th of ’82, and ended in May of ’84. And in June of ’85, 13 months later, I got sued by the guy I beat up. Me and the other couple guy. One of the guys that was with me is dead, Charlie Elmer. I don’t know if you ever heard that name, but he was a- No, don’t know that name … cocaine dealer. But anyway I was just gonna forget about it, and I showed that to my dad, that indict- or not indictment, the notice that I need to appear in court. Statement. Yeah. Yeah, and my dad s- no, not the statement, when he sued me. [00:30:00] Oh, the oh, okay. Then they filed charges. Yeah, the counter-suit. And I showed it to my dad one day and I wasn’t even gonna go. I said, “Oh, God will take care of it.” And my dad read it, and he’s “Bill, you gotta get a lawyer.” Yeah. You’re being charged, and so I went and got a lawyer, and I got Jim Smart. And and Jim tried to go and do a deposition on that guy, on Pink Mike. Could never find him. Ah. And I di- I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. I know I didn’t have nothing to do with… But nobody’s ever been able to find him. But I’m suspecting, ’cause my dad said when he read that 20 pa- he said his life isn’t worth a nickel. Because he named judge in there, a judge in there. He named Kenny Weld in there. He named a lot of other big-name guys, and he’s disappeared, so nobody know. I haven’t seen him since the day in court in 1982. So who knows where he’s at. Yeah. If he’s around. I don’t know. But- Interesting. What did you finally cop? Did you have a full trial, or did you go ahead and cop a plea in the end? That’s interesting you’d [00:31:00] ask because when we first, when we got out of jail at 1:30 Monday morning, the 3rd of the 6th of September, he wal- the lawyer came and walked us out with, we… we had left, we were staying in the Embassy Suites downtown. You know where that was at? Oh, yeah. It was 500 bucks a night, and we had left two s- two s- brief- briefcases there with one had cocaine in it uncut, and the other one had about $60,000 in it. And so we went down. We actually called… he’s dead now, so I can tell you who it was. Jerry Schanzer that owned Napoleon Bakery. And Jerry was a big… i’m surprised that you didn’t, you talk about bookmakers. Jerry was a big bookmaker. Yeah. Exactly. And Schanzer- I remember him, yeah … Schanzer owned Mother’s down on 18th and Baltimore. Not Mother’s. Granny’s. Granny’s, yeah. He owned Granny’s at 18th and Baltimore. Yeah, a lot of mob guys used- And then he- … to go down there and eat. Oh, every time I went in there I saw [00:32:00] somebody. Yeah. And then later he opened up one over in Mission shopping center there on Mission Road. And then they then they ended up opening up Napoleon, him and his brother Larry. And then they’re both dead now. But we, this is how much we trusted Jerry. We told Jerry, “Go…” We called Jerry from the jail and said, “Go down to the Embassy and get our, get a briefcase.” And Jerry went down and he drove halfway to Warrensburg and ha- something told him to open it- Oh, wow … and he opened the one, he opened the one that had the cocaine in it. Oh, shit. And he called us and said, “I got the wrong briefcase.” And it… No, he said, “I can’t come and get you with this.” And so he went back to the Embassy and got the right one. Came down, and we made bond that night. Then the next morning was… Okay, that was we got busted on Sunday the 5th. Monday we got out. The lawyer [00:33:00] said, Mike, I don’t know if you ever knew Mike and what was his dad’s name? The Fi- it was Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald was the name of the firm in, down in Warrensburg. Warensburg, yeah. I don’t know them. Yeah. And Mike and Charlie Fitzgerald. So ’cause I called People’s Office and said, “Hey, this happened.” And they said, “Stick with those guys. Those guys are the best in the county. They know the county. They know the prosecutor, the judges and everything. Stick with them.” So we went in. He told us, “Don’t come in tomorrow morning,” ’cause it was 1:30 in the morning Monday morning. He said, “Come and see me Wednesday.” Yeah. And so we went… no, he said, “Come and see me Tuesday,” ’cause that was 1:30 in the morning. And we walked in there that morning and he said, “Come and see me tomorrow morning, Tuesday morning.” And bring me $10,000 apiece. And I wish I had a video of it, because it can be on America’s Funniest Home Videos. I walked into his office with a white bank bag and dumped out $30,000 on his desk in cash, and he opened [00:34:00] his drawer like this and scooped it into the drawer. And I said, “Mike, there’s a lot more where that came from.” He said, “Bill, I can’t. It’s… I gotta do everything legitimately.” Yeah. And I said, “Okay.” So the first meeting, his dad was in there and he was in there, and the three of us, and he said, “Guys, Dad and I have talked, and you guys might wanna think about getting separate attorneys.” And I said, “For what?” He said, “Because if one of you take a plea.” Yeah. I almost jumped over the desk. I said, “There’ll be no plea. There will be no plea. We’re not guilty. We’re not gonna admit we’re guilty. They can send us to the electric chair. We didn’t do it.” Now, Gary, they took us out of the house at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon in broad daylight. First, they s- we sent the guy out the back. He was totally naked when we got there. He was laying in bed. He’d been doing Dilaudids and Quaaludes all night, and he was [00:35:00] blood from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. His whole back was red. We walked him out the door in- totally naked in front of the whole world and told him, “Go out there and tell them there’s nobody else in the house.” We were so jacked up. And here’s the thing, I have to tell you this. All those years that I got away with stuff is because I was smart, and now I’m snow blind. There was a song years ago by Styx called Snow Blind- Yeah … and it’s about cocaine. It’s about… And I’d been up for 86 hours when we went down to Holden. I had not- Okay … closed my eyes for 86 hours, so I was in m- I wasn’t in my right mind. Anyway, that was… So when we we said, “No plea bargain. There’ll be no plea bargains.” And for seven months… No, I’m sorry, for four months. That was October, November, December, January, February, March, April. No, seven months. For seven months. For seven months [00:36:00] we went to court multiple times. The whole police department, I don’t know if we can- I guess we’ll say it, because it’s done. It’s history. But I had a, I had two grocery sacks, the old brown grocery sacks on the couch that I’d inventoried. I had $62,000 in cash. I had… Because it was in envelopes, and I- they were $10,000. I was throwing them in there. 62,000 in cash, about four pounds of pot, three gallon Ziploc bags full of precious jewels. Er emeralds, rubies, and stuff like that. Some hash- a 12-gauge shotgun. I think that was all. Maybe maybe it… Whatever. When they, when… The first time we ever went to court and my partner had, the one that’s dead, Charlie, he had a leather Gucci bag that we always had with us, and it had four or five grams of cocaine in it. He took his diamond rings off, put them in there. His watch, he had a Rolex [00:37:00] watch he put in there, and about 3,000 in cash. That was in the car. That was never mentioned in court. No guns were ever mentioned in court. No guns were ever mentioned in court. I had a brand new, I had a brand new fif- not- model 59 nine millimeter. That was never mentioned in court. That 12-gauge shotgun was never mentioned in court. They said that they found a couple envelopes of cash, and they found a gram. Now, there was about, I think there was about probably a half a, maybe eight, eight grams or no more than that. It was ounces. Four or five ounces of cocaine. Oh, yeah. They said they found one, they said they found one gram of a, approximately one gram of a substance believed to be cocaine. Yeah. And my lawyer said… And they said they’d send it to Jeff City for analysis. And my lawyer said, “And what were the analysis of that?” They said they haven’t come [00:38:00] back yet. This is two months after they arrested us. They did- And they found approximately one gram, and there was ounces of cocaine in there. They found a couple envelopes with approximately $2,000 in cash. There was $62,000. The car I was driving, so when I got arrested, I had the keys in my pocket. So when they booked us into jail, when we walked out at 1:30 Monday morning, they gave us back our property. I had the keys in my pocket. So the car’s… Now, this is a brand new ’80, this was a ’82. This was an ’81 Trans Am. The car’s in Holden. The police chi- And they said they were gonna confiscate the car because it had Kansas tags on it, that they wanted to go through the car da. The police chief changed the ignition and was driving that car for his personal car. It cost my buddy, because it was a friend of mine, T- Ronnie M- Ron McGee, it was his car. It cost him $10,000 and an attorney to get his car back from them. So bottom line, every time we [00:39:00] went to court, several ti- my lawyer would say, “I’d like to call Officer Gary Jenkins up.” Gary Jenkins is not on the force anymore. He moved to Arizona.” “I’d like to call so-and-so up next time we go in.” He’s not here anymore. He moved to wherever.” So all the money and all the guns and all the drugs, they split it up and no, nobody ever… So the thing was so dirty. So what happens is we’d been going to court for that seven months, And then I become a Christian. I walk into his offi- and we’re adamant, we’re not plea bargain. We don’t want separate lawyers. We want you two guys to represent us. We’re gonna beat this thing. And, oh, and I told, because when that guy gave that 20-page statement after he got out of the hospital, this was a month later or something, he called us all in. We went in. He sh- hands each one of us 20-page statement. He said, “Guys, let me tell you something. I’m defending you on an assault with intent to kill charge. I’m gonna get that reduced, but if you get busted [00:40:00] dealing cocaine, you’ve got to stop dealing cocaine, ’cause if you get busted dealing cocaine while I’m on this case, it’s gonna complicate the case.” Yeah. “You gotta stop.” And I said, “Mike, I don’t tell you how to practice law, and you don’t tell me how to make money. You just keep doing what you do, and I’ll keep doing what I do, and I’ll keep bringing you money.” And he never said another word. Three or four months later, I become a Christian. I walk into his office by myself. And when I walked in the door, he said, “What happened to you?” If you look at that book on the picture of my, on the back of my book, that was four months before I became a Christian. And the Bible says the eyes are the windows of the soul. I had a very dark soul. Yeah, I can see. I had a very dark soul. Yeah. And so he goes, “What happened to you?” And I said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “You don’t look the same.” And I said, “I’m not the same.” And I told him what happened. And he said… And I said, “We’ve got a problem.” And he goes, “What’s our [00:41:00] problem, Bill?” I said, “I can’t lie anymore.” He said, “You’re right. We’ve got a problem.” ‘Cause we’d been lying for seven months. We told… He knew the story. He said, “I just need to know this. I’ll defend you guys. I’ll beat this case, but I need to know.” So we told… And at this point now, seven months later, he said, “There’s no way out of this thing. You guys are going to prison.” He said, “I can help you figure out a way to get to the good prison, but you’re going to prison.” So when I go in that day and he goes, “What’s wrong? What what happened?” And I told him, and he said, “You don’t look the same.” I said, “I’m not the same.” I said, “We got a problem.” He goes, “What?” I said, “We can’t lie. I can’t lie anymore.” And he said I’ve got an idea.” And I said, “What?” He said if I enter a plea bargain, I think we can do this.” And he said, “You guys won’t go to prison.” And he said, “Talk to Mike and Charlie and see what they say.” So I called them. We went down, met with him. And this time they looked at me and said, “What do you think we should do, Bill?” [00:42:00] I said, “I think we ought to take the plea bargain.” We got five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine. Now, the crazy thing- that was on the assault. Yeah, they- That was on the assault. But you still got a cocaine case out here pending with the feds. No. No. No. That, if, that, that- 20-page statement that implicated me was never, he never got it out of his office. It never went out of Fitzgerald’s office. So it, he didn’t tell it to… He told it to whoever he told it to, but to the police, and the police were all crooks anyway . Yeah. So I don’t know who he told. I just know that our lawyer said if this cocaine thing comes up, it’s gonna complicate our case. It never came up. Oh. And so maybe it was the mercy of God, I don’t know. Because it was a 20-page typewritten statement naming judges, Kenny Weld, all these guys, and all these people started falling after that. And so anyway, we ended up getting a $5,000 fine and five-year probation. Now, the crazy thing, if you read my book, Charlie and Mike both went, they got called and they [00:43:00] went and reported. I never got a call. 13 months later, I had a nephew getting married up in in Wisconsin, and I wanted to go to that wedding, and I knew I couldn’t leave without permission, but I didn’t have anybody to ask permission from. And when that guy sued me, G- Gary, when that guy sued me and I went and got the lawyer that I told you I went and got, I said, “By the way…” He said, “I wanna take this case.” I said, “Great.” I said, “By the way, I got arrested September 5th of ’82. The case ended in May. I was placed on five-year probation, a $5,000 fine. I’ve never heard from anybody. What do you think I sh- should do?” He said, “Bill, you need to write a letter.” And I put the letter in the book. I wrote a letter and said da. I’d like to be supervised. Please contact me.” 13 months, and they, within two days they were knocking on my front door. And that’s when I started reporting. And Kay King was my first pr- [00:44:00] probation officer, and she asked me all the whole story, and I had sat with her for two hours and told her the whole story. She asked me how many drugs I did, what I did. I said, “I’ve done everything there is, from, marijuana to heroin to… I’ve done it all.” And I did massive amounts of everything. And I was drinking two quarts of whiskey at the end every day. And people are like, “You can’t drink two quarts of whiskey.” I said, “You never did cocaine, did you?” ‘Cause when you’re doing, ’cause when you’re doing cocaine, you can’t get drunk. And so anyway that… And I asked her when I left her office, I said, “So does my probation start now, or does it start back then?” She said, “No, Bill, it starts today.” Oh, really? I said- Wow. I said, “For 13 months I’ve been going to churches and schools and telling people how bad drugs are and how bad alcohol is and how bad this is.” And I said, “I’ve not had a traffic ticket. I haven’t had a traffic ticket.” The only ticket I’ve got in the last 43 years, I had a bad car wreck where I got T-boned at 70 miles an [00:45:00] hour. I pulled out in front of a guy. It was my fault. And that’s the only ticket I’ve had in 43 years. I haven’t been stopped by the police. And she said, “I’m sorry, Bill, it starts today.” Guess what? I did the whole five year. I went from then, I got off in ’89 or something, I th- it was almost five years I did. My partners, they only did a year and a half, and they let them off. And they were still dealing cocaine. They were still dealing. They were still dealing. Matter of fact, one of them’s brother his mama died, and the funeral was at Passantino Brothers over there on the avenue. And I went to the funeral, and I was sorry, and we were hugging. And me and him sat down and were talking, and he had a little leather Gucci bag. And he said, “Hey, I’m go- now listen.” He said, “I’m going to the bathroom. You wanna go with me?” I said, “No, brother.” Yeah. And I got up and left. He wanted to go do some cocaine. Damn. And that was years after, he’d been… Anyway. Yeah. But I’m glad I had to do the whole five years because I got to speak [00:46:00] in some… She called me once and said, “I got a friend that teaches a criminal justice class at a college, and they’ve had detectives and they’ve had police officers, they’ve had lawyers, they’ve had parole officers, but they’ve never had a criminal. Would you come and speak?” And I said, “I’d be glad to.” And I f- and then I called the professor and I said, “I’ve been asked to come.” And he said, “Yeah, we’re looking forward.” And I said I have to tell you one thing. I cannot come in there and speak and not tell your class that my life was radically changed April 15th, 1983, when I came into encounter with God through his son, Jesus Christ.” He said, “That’s okay.” And I went and told them, so I was glad I got to stay on parole for five years. So- So Bill what are you doing now? I know you- I’m just- you’ve got a prison ministry. Do you speak- Yeah … at prisons and, and- That’s all I do, Garrett. 40 years just- How does one get into that? Do you have an agent that booked you into different prisons- No … or how does that work? No. No. I started going in 1986 with [00:47:00] a guy named Bill Glass, who was a NFL player. Played for the Cleveland Browns. He was an All-Pro. Actually started… He got, he retired from football in 1968, so that’s how old he was. Started the ministry in ’72, and was the biggest prison ministry in the nation, had 30,000 volunteers. And I started going in as just a volunteer, and then he asked me to be a platform speaker, and I was a platform speaker for him for 30 years. And went to, I’ve been in over 500 different prisons in my life, and I do prisons almost every day, a prison or a jail almost every day. We’re getting ready to do, this will be our 17th car show up at Crossroads in Cameron, and this will be the biggest car show ever in a US prison, in history. Last year was the biggest. We had 80 cars last year, but this year we’re planning on- by car sh- car show, what do you mean? Like guys bring their classic cars up and…? And drive them in on the prison yard. Oh, wow. And the inmates get to come out, walk around and look at them. And last year we had 80 cars and bikes. [00:48:00] This year we’re gonna have 250 motorcycles and cars. Wow. And we’re gonna feed 2,000 people. We’ve got… W- we’re gonna have 2,000 meals that day for the inmates and the staff, all the staff. So that’s what I’ve been doing for all these years, and will keep doing it as long as I can, wow. But as far as… I was gonna ask you about old Joey Rags. I knew Joe Ragusa. Did you ever deal with that guy? Did you? Not directly. I followed him a lot and almo- we almost caught him too, in a hit one time. And then they saw us and they had boogied on out. But I know one story- That would have been a- … about him. He was, He needed to go… I heard this later. He needed to go to a meeting downtown, down to City Market with the other mob guys, ’cause, he was right next to Charlie Martina, and he went on several hits with these guys during the Spiro-Savella war. So he’s out at the plumbing place where he was working, so he… Guy comes in- Where was he at? Was he at St. John Plumbing? I don’t remember the name of it. It was over there by N- Jackson, Ninth and Jackson, or Truman and Jackson, somewhere over there [00:49:00] on the east side. I can’t remember the name of it now. And so he need… said… told this guy, he said, “Hey,” he said, “I need to go down to the market.” He said, “Can you give me a ride down there?” And the guy said you got your car here.” He said no, you give me a ride.” So he gets in, lays down in the back seat. So the guy takes him down there, then he gets out. No, he was a real deal. Boy, that old market was something, wasn’t it? Yeah. That old City Market. Oh, man. Yeah, heard mob guys out there. Yeah they had a pretty big… Hey, what about, I was gonna ask you about a couple guys that were big heroin kingpins, Sam Haley and Aaron Gant. Was you involved when they were really big in Kansas City? Y- I was a young policeman, ’72, ’73, ’74, and Aaron Gant and Sam Haley were like the big ducks. And they had this war going between the two little heroin organizations. And Gant was, he was in with some guys, and Aaron Gant called him Junebug. He was in with the God, there was a whole family, the Denmans. He was in with [00:50:00] these guys. And so they… And Sam Haley was… I never did understand the difference, but they had two different organizations and they hated each other is my understanding. Oh, they did. Yeah. How about Ramseys? Did you know who the Ramseys were? I don’t see. The Ramsey brothers? I remember that na- Huh? I know that name. I think one of those crime families that, that stole- they were- … money in the neighborhood and- They were the- … everyone else … they were killers, all of them. Yeah. I think there was eight boys, and at one time seven or eight of them were in Missouri for murder. And I was seeing… I was in Potosi. And Rambo, R- Roy Rambo Ramsey they called him, and he’s the one that they got a… Remember when the la- what’d they call them that you put on the roof of your car? Oh, Landau top. Landau top, yeah. Yeah. That wasn’t the word I’m looking for, though. Whatever it was, th- you could have them tops put on. Yeah. They got one put on in a poster shop over on Prospect. Oh. And [00:51:00] when they called and said, “Your car’s ready,” they went up there and killed everybody in the shop and took their car and left. And then they went out to Belton or Grandview, and there was an old couple that had a bunch of old coins and stuff, and they knew one of the people. They knew one of the brothers, and I think it was Roy. And they went out there and knocked on the door, and of course, they let them in. They told their girlfriend to stay in the car, and they went in and they shot them They were 65 and 66 years old. The little old lady was 65 and the old man was… They shot each one of them three times, and just for a few dollars worth of coins, man. They were murderers. They were killers. But I was up in Potosi and Roy asked me, he said, “Would you go see my dad?” And I was… I said… He said, “He’s in a nursing home.” And Gary, his father, was a hardworking man, had never committed a crime in his life, and he was in this nursing home. And I went and saw him and prayed for him and stuff. But here are these… He [00:52:00] had these eight sons that were murderers. They were killers. And the old man was in a nursing home dying. And, Roy asked me if I’d go see him, so I went and saw him, prayed for him. But yeah, they were something else, them guys. Interesting. You you mentioned Sam Haley. There w- we had, here just in your area, was a guy named Michael Cantu, who used to be a fire captain. Had… Was a, a big time cocaine dealer. During those years, he got into- Yeah … cocaine. He and his brother Joe and Joe Maggio, and they had a cocaine deal going, and he got back out. He had a body shop over on Independence Avenue, and two Black guys came in and executed him, basically. Left the employee there. There wasn’t anything to steal, and executed him. And the drawings, one of them we… There was a lot of speculation it looked like Sam Haley. So I think he was- Might’ve been … I think he was supplying Black dealers with cocaine I believe. I saw him meeting with some guys once that that- Yeah, they were- … I didn’t know who they were, but they all looked like Black cocaine dealers they were killers, all them guys. Haley and Gant and those guys. Did you, I asked you about, Yeah, heavy idea. [00:53:00] I- here’s a question. I just got an inquiry from one of Gant’s relatives of… They were wanting to know more about Aaron Gant getting killed. See, he got out of the joint. He went to Missouri State Penitentiary, I think it was for drugs. Yep. And he went to a club that night, and somebody walked in, was walked in, shot him, and walked out right away. Another Black dude. So this relative was asking me if I knew any more about it. I didn’t know any more about it. You remember that deal at all? I don’t remember that. Okay. I di- I actually, I was thinking that Aaron Gant and Sam Haley had been dead for years, but, that was- this was years ago. This was quite a while ago. Okay. This was probably- Yeah, I thought he might have died in prison or something, ’cause I knew they both had a lot of time. They did a lot of- Yeah … time in Missouri. Yeah. Yeah, they did. So did you- But they were kingpins. Their names are really well-known, feared names on the East Side in Kansas City. Oh, yeah. Really feared names. Absolutely. Did you ever go around Vic Fontana’s place when he opened up Fanny’s? Oh, yeah. I went in and out of several. He had several different places. He had Fanny’s. [00:54:00] He had one down on the Southwest Trafficway a little bit after your time, I think oh, God, I forgot the name of it. But yeah, the, all the mob guys went into his joints. He was mob friendly. Yeah. I was really s- I met him when he had when he had the one up on Main next to Butch’s, next to Mother’s. Oh, yeah. Yeah. He had that place yeah what was, Walter Midy. Must have been Walter Midy’s. Walter Midy. Yeah, that’s where I met Vic. And then I actually plumbed that Fanny’s when he opened up Fa

With FIFA World Cup returning to North America for the first time in more than three decades, Martha sits down with her grandson Truman Stewart, an avid and knowledgeable fan of the game, to preview the tournament's biggest teams, stars, storylines, and surprises. Together, they explore what makes the World Cup such a global phenomenon—and what they're most excited to watch in 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the history of the United States, 31 of 45 presidents have served in the military, with two dozen of them serving during wartime. Yet only one president was a combat veteran of World War I: Harry S. Truman. The war shaped an entire generation of leaders, and Truman often said his service profoundly influenced his life and leadership. To explore Truman's World War I service and its impact, the World War I Podcast hosted Mark Adams, Director of the Truman Presidential Library and Museum. To listen to a presentation by Mark Adams about President Truman's relief of General MacArthur in 1951, please visit the MacArthur Memorial Podcast.Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can read texts, but we cannot respond.) Follow us:Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter:  @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org 

Send us Fan MailThis week on Please Don't Spoil The Movie, we're spoiling the 1998 sci-fi comedy-drama The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey. Truman has no idea that his entire life is actually a reality TV show, but as he slowly begins to question the world around him, he must decide whether he's ready to escape the lie he's been living. Tune in as we discuss Zendaya's acting skills, living in a simulation, and some truly shameless product placement.

Truman's song 'Joel Roberts' blew me away the moment I first heard it. Behind the chords and lyrics is something much deeper, and it makes sense hearing the way he talks about the music and the joy he gets from it. He's been touring with Courtney Barnett and his latest EP Rivers of Sugar and Blood is out now. Get in touch giles@mightymoonmedia.com Thanks The Miller for having us. Get yourself some top class Shure microphone gear: https://shu.re/3YhV7p2 Set up Your Band's merch store, for free at Distrokid Direct: https://distrokid.com/direct/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Memorial Day, a new interview on its history, and some recent favorites: Kenneth C. Davis, author of the "Don't Know Much About History" series and most recently, The World in Books: 52 Works of Great Short Nonfiction (Scribner, 2024), shares the history of how Americans have observed Memorial Day and its history Jodi Kantor, New York Times investigative reporter, co-author of She Said (Penguin, 2019) and author of How to Start: Discovering Your Life's Work (Hachette, 2026), expands on her Columbia University commencement address where she tried to answer the question, “How, in this environment, is anyone supposed to find and start their life's work?”. Queen Elizabeth II interacted with American presidents from Truman through Trump.  Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of The Queen and Her Presidents (HarperCollins, 2026),  relates her history with U.S. leaders throughout her reign. Michael Valdovinos, a clinical psychologist, veteran, trauma expert and the author of Moral Injuries: When Good Conscience Suffers in a World of Hurt (Harper, 2026), talks about recognizing and healing "moral injuries" that occur not from physical trauma, but from acts that violate the conscience, and are now understood to affect those on the battlefield, and in all walks of life. A.M. Gittlitz, an organizer and writer and the author of Metropolitans: New York Baseball, Class Struggle, and the People's Team (Astra House, 2026),  looks at the way class and politics and baseball intersect with the story of the Mets baseball franchise.   The first interview was recorded for today.  The others were lightly edited for time and clarity; the original web versions are available here: Advice for Finding Your Life's Work (April 22, 2026) The Queen & the Presidents (April 14, 2026) Moral Injuries on the Battlefield and Beyond (April 24, 2026) A 'People's History' of the Mets (March 31, 2026)   photo: Spring Time at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia on April 9, 2024 (Arlington National Cemetery, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

“There is a pretty powerful strain in America today in which men feel some need to be violent and domineering to sort of prove their masculinity. And there's sort of less intense but still prevalent strains that infect many other types of men.” — Jasper Craven Today is Memorial Day — America's annual celebration of its warriors and military ethic. But for Jasper Craven, author of God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood, it should be a day of muted self-reflection rather than bellicose celebration. Especially in May 2026 with America involved in another ludicrous overseas war. Craven's argument is that from George Washington onwards, America has fused military manliness with a self-destructive masculine identity. Thus young men are trained at top military academies like West Point to be unthinkingly domineering and violent. But for Craven, America — a continent surrounded by oceans to the east and west and by friendly neighbours to the north and south — has no need for the unreflective militarism fetishised by its military academies and culture. So what has West Point wrought? A nation of Pete Hegseths, Jasper Craven implies. Happy (ie: peaceful) Memorial Day everyone. Five Takeaways •       Military Manliness and American Identity: From Washington to Hegseth: From the Founding Fathers — most of whom were Revolutionary War veterans — America has explicitly fused military manliness with core masculine identity. Boys who want to define themselves as Americans have felt a need to be strong, to serve, to defend. The archetype has only been beefed up over time: through the steroid era and into the world of Navy SEALs and special operators. The result is a culture where men feel the need to be violent and domineering to prove their masculinity, from carrying AK-47s to protests to becoming ICE agents. The problem: the archetype has no relationship to actual national security needs. •       West Point and the Civil War: A Fuse, Not a Remedy: West Point was created to produce a well-schooled officer class. What Craven argues: when you allocate massive resources to building a military, you will feel the consequences. Before the Civil War, West Point was segregated into northern and southern companies — which exacerbated tensions rather than building union. When war broke out, many West Point officers defected to the Confederacy, including Robert E. Lee, who had been superintendent. West Point officers on opposite sides then killed each other in their thousands. Many lawmakers called for West Point to be abolished. They were not heeded. •       Race, Integration, and the Military's Complex Legacy: Craven acknowledges the military's partial role in racial integration: Truman's executive order in 1948 desegregated the armed forces, which was a genuine milestone ahead of civilian institutions. But he is careful about what this means. Integration at the institutional level did not eliminate racism within the culture. And the same military that desegregated also produced the culture of violence, dehumanisation of the other, and misogyny and homophobia that Craven chronicles throughout the book. Partial credit is still only partial credit. •       January 6th and the Politicisation of the Officer Class: In Trump's first term, General Mattis and General Kelly and others demonstrated real courage in reining in Trump's worst impulses. By the end of that term, they had all been replaced by loyalists. During the transition to Biden, Trump's military cronies at the Pentagon went dark. January 6th was largely carried out by military veterans. More than 100 senior retired military officers penned an op-ed supporting what Trump had done. In Trump's second term, the politicisation of the officer class has only accelerated. The non-political professional officer class is now divided. •       ROTC, Not West Point: Craven's Prescription: Craven's preferred model: ROTC — military training supplemental to traditional liberal arts education. Survey data shows ROTC officers, because of exposure to Plato, Shakespeare, and the rest, are more well-rounded and better thinkers than West Point graduates. At West Point, it is essentially all STEM. Craven's prescription: introduce the humanities, expose cadets to civilians, break the silos. Ideally, West Point could become a national university that includes military programmes alongside the training of doctors and aid workers. The military-civilian divide is as much the military's creation as the civilian's. About the Guest Jasper Craven is a freelance reporter covering the military and veterans' issues. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper's Magazine, Politico, The Baffler, and the New Republic. He is the author of God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood (Atria/One Signal Publishers, May 19, 2026) and the co-author, with Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early, of Our Veterans. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. References: •       God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood by Jasper Craven (Atria/One Signal Publishers, May 19, 2026). •       Sebastian Junger, Tribe — referenced in the publishers' framing as a companion text. •       Chris Hedges, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning — referenced as a companion text. •       Episode 2907: Brandon Webb on Puddle Jumpers — the companion episode referenced at the opening; the pro-military counterpart to Craven's critique. •       Episode 2909: Adrian Goldsworthy on Athens vs Sparta — also referenced at the opening. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple Podcasts

Luis Elizondo, former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program(AATIP), discusses his decision to resign from the Pentagon in 2017. Frustrated by the bureaucracy's refusal to acknowledge unusual aerial systems interfering with military platforms, he wrote a final appeal to Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Elizondo details his transition from a counterintelligence career to leading a secret program focused on UAPs. Initially skeptical, he was recruited by Dr. Jim Lacatski, who warned him not to let analytic bias hinder his understanding of these real, national security-threatening phenomena. (1/4)Luis Elizondo explains that the Roswell incident of 1947 was not a joke but a serious event involving recovered biological evidence and crash materials. He notes a significant uptick in UAP activity coinciding with the dawn of the atomic age, particularly near sensitive military installations and nuclear carrier groups. Despite historical briefings to presidents like Truman and Eisenhower, a counternarrative was established to stigmatize the topic. Elizondo argues that the data from multiple sensors places the reality of these objects beyond reasonable doubt, debunking the "mass delusion" theory. (2/4)Luis Elizondo explores the "legacy program," a term for historic efforts by the government and defense contractors to exploit recovered UAP technology. He confirms the existence of material artifacts from non-conventional crashes, though specific locations remain classified. He mentions "DIRDs"—Defense Intelligence Reference Documents—written to investigate how to replicate UAP performance. Elizondo emphasizes that his book, Imminent, is just the beginning. He urges the American public to demand transparency and accountability from their elected officials to overcome the systemic corruption and secrecy surrounding the phenomenon. (3/4)Luis Elizondo credits journalists and Chris Mellon for bringing the UAP issue into the public eye through The New York Times. He describes Mellon as a "national treasure" who pushed for congressional oversight after discovering the Pentagon was withholding data. Despite bipartisan legislative efforts, "pockets" within the Pentagon—often termed "weebies" who outlast political appointees—continue to use propaganda and classification to hide malfeasance. Elizondo highlights the danger of these objects splitting combat air formations and stresses that the military-industrial complex often operates unilaterally, ignoring the chain of command. (4/4)Note: corrected "durs" → "DIRDs" (Defense Intelligence Reference Documents). Flag if you want the phonetic spelling kept.

This Day in Legal History: Truman DoctrineOn May 22, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed legislation authorizing American aid to Greece and Turkey, giving legal force to what became known as the Truman Doctrine. The law provided economic and military assistance to both countries at a moment when U.S. leaders feared that instability in the eastern Mediterranean could expand Soviet influence. Greece was in the middle of a civil war, while Turkey faced pressure over control of strategic territory and access between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Britain had previously played the leading role in supporting Greece and Turkey, but after World War II it told the United States it could no longer bear that burden.Truman responded by asking Congress to approve aid, arguing that the United States had to support “free peoples” resisting outside pressure or armed minority movements. By signing the bill, Truman transformed that broad statement of foreign policy into statutory authority backed by federal money. Legally, the act mattered because it showed how Cold War policy would often be made: the president would identify a global threat, and Congress would authorize funds and tools to respond. It also helped normalize large peacetime commitments abroad, a sharp change from earlier American reluctance to enter long-term foreign entanglements. The statute became an early foundation for the national security state that grew through later aid programs, alliances, intelligence activities, and military commitments.The Truman Doctrine also raised enduring questions about the balance of power between Congress and the president in foreign affairs. Congress approved the aid, but the broader doctrine gave presidents a flexible language for intervention that could be invoked well beyond Greece and Turkey. In that sense, May 22, 1947, was not just a date in diplomatic history; it was a legal turning point in how the United States authorized, funded, and justified its Cold War role in the world.A Ninth Circuit panel appeared uncertain about whether Jack Daniel's proved enough to win its trademark dilution-by-tarnishment claim against VIP Products over the “Bad Spaniels” dog toy. The judges focused especially on whether Jack Daniel's had shown that anything beyond the words “Jack Daniel's” was famous enough to qualify for dilution protection. Judge Andrew Hurwitz pressed Jack Daniel's counsel on whether the company could rely on the fame of its name to protect broader elements of its label and bottle design. Jack Daniel's argued that the court should consider the full context of the toy, including its bottle-like appearance and bathroom-humor references. VIP, by contrast, argued that the analysis should be limited to the famous mark itself and the allegedly diluting mark, not the entire product presentation.The case began after VIP made a dog toy parodying a Jack Daniel's bottle with poop-themed jokes, prompting years of litigation over trademark infringement, dilution, parody, and free speech. The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled that VIP could not use the Rogers test because the toy used another company's trademark-like features to identify VIP's own product. On remand, the district court rejected Jack Daniel's infringement claim but again found dilution by tarnishment, which VIP appealed. VIP also raised a First Amendment challenge to the federal tarnishment law, though both VIP and the federal government suggested the Ninth Circuit could decide the case without reaching that constitutional issue. The Justice Department intervened to defend the law's constitutionality while also acknowledging that waiver or insufficient proof could let the panel avoid the First Amendment question.9th Circ. Questions Jack Daniel's' TM Win Over ‘Bad Spaniels' - Law360Meta has settled a closely watched lawsuit brought by Breathitt County School District in Kentucky over costs allegedly tied to youth mental health harms from social media. The case was important because it was the first school-district case against social media companies scheduled for trial on these claims. Breathitt had accused Meta, YouTube, Snap, and TikTok of designing platforms that kept young users engaged in harmful ways and contributed to anxiety, depression, self-harm, and other student mental health problems. The district sought more than $60 million, including money for a 15-year mental health program and an order requiring changes to allegedly addictive platform features. Meta's settlement follows earlier settlements by YouTube, Snap, and TikTok, meaning Breathitt's case is now fully resolved.The case was a bellwether, meaning it was chosen as a test case to help courts and parties evaluate similar lawsuits. About 1,200 school districts are pursuing related claims, and thousands of other social-media addiction lawsuits are pending in California state and federal courts. Meta said it resolved the case amicably and pointed to teen-safety tools such as Teen Accounts and parental controls. Lawyers for the school district said they remain focused on claims brought by the other districts. The settlement avoids a June 15 trial that could have shaped settlement talks and strategy across the broader litigation. Other major school systems, including Los Angeles and New York City, have filed similar lawsuits, while DeKalb County, Georgia, has claimed billions in future mental health costs.Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health, court filing shows | ReutersOpenAI has expanded its group of outside law firms as it faces major litigation, complex business deals, and a possible future IPO. Reuters reports that the company, recently valued at $852 billion, now works with more than a dozen large U.S. law firms. OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and lawyers from Wachtell Lipton and Morrison & Foerster recently defeated Elon Musk's lawsuit claiming that OpenAI had departed from its original nonprofit mission. That ruling removed one potential obstacle to a possible IPO, which sources have said could happen as soon as September. Wachtell has also handled major OpenAI transactions since ChatGPT launched, including large fundraising deals involving Microsoft, Nvidia, and other investors.Wachtell is a central player for OpenAI in both deal work and litigation. The firm is defending OpenAI in a lawsuit from Musk's xAI alleging that OpenAI and Apple monopolized markets involving smartphones and generative AI chatbots. In a separate xAI trade secrets case, OpenAI hired Munger, Tolles & Olson. Latham & Watkins has worked on OpenAI deals, including a $4 billion credit line, and is also helping defend the company in copyright lawsuits brought by authors, comedians, and news organizations. OpenAI is arguing in those copyright cases that using material to train AI systems is protected by fair use. Wilson Sonsini is defending OpenAI in a case claiming ChatGPT engaged in unauthorized practice of law, an allegation OpenAI rejects by arguing that ChatGPT is not a lawyer and does not practice law.OpenAI grows stable of law firms for high-stakes lawsuits, deals | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Bill Press interviews USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page about her book, "The Queen and Her Presidents," exploring how Queen Elizabeth II helped sustain the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship” through soft power over her 70-year reign. Page recounts the Queen's meetings with 13 sitting U.S. presidents (plus Herbert Hoover and pre-presidency LBJ), including Truman steadying a nervous young Princess Elizabeth; her reverence for Eisenhower; a complicated early dynamic with the Kennedys; LBJ's refusal to visit amid Vietnam tensions; Nixon's fascination with royal pageantry and his thwarted desire for a state dinner during Watergate; Reagan's bond with her over horses and later knighthood; the “talking hat” mishap with George H.W. Bush; Clinton-era distrust over British file searches; George W. Bush's teasing cowboy-boot moment; the Obama-Michelle protocol “touch” incident; and Trump pressing her about her favorite president. Page argues the Queen, highly briefed and shrewd, quietly smoothed crises (Suez, Ghana, Falklands) and preserved long-term ties.Get "The Queen and Her Presidents" book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-queen-and-her-presidents-the-hidden-hand-that-shaped-history-susan-page/065fc3604a68c142?ean=9780063397392&next=tSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On May 2nd, the Truman Charities Derby Party raised $42,720 for the National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation. Like Truman Charities, it's a 100% volunteer-run organization and every dollar goes straight to research and patient care. In this episode, learn more about this year's cause and the amazing sponsors that made the event possible. Jamie also shares what's next for Truman Charities in 2026 and how you can be a part of the mission. Get more information on how you can show up, give back, and get involved in the community at trumancharities.com.Connect with Jamie at Truman Charities:FacebookInstagramLinkedInWebsiteYouTubeEmail: info@trumancharities.comThis episode was post produced by Podcast Boutique https://podcastboutique.com/

Culture Friday on preserving mail-order abortion pills, Top Gun celebrates forty years, and Carl Truman on books that helped shape his understanding. Plus, the Friday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donateAdditional support comes from St. Dunstan's, inviting young men into the building arts and the adventure of holiness on a Blue Ridge Mountains farm... stdunstansacademy.orgFrom WatersEdge. Most churches aren't ready if their bookkeeper left tomorrow. WatersEdge Ministry Accounting is. Watersedge.com/accounting WatersEdge securities are subject to certain risk factors as described in our Offering Circular and are not FDIC or SIPC insured. This is not an offer to sell or solicit securities. WatersEdge offers and sells securities only where authorized; this offering is made solely by our Offering Circular.And from Dordt University, whose online MBA and MPA programs prepare leaders for lasting impact. Dordt University. Until All Is Made New. The World and Everything in It now available on YouTube!

SPONSORS: 1) BLUEPRINT: For a limited time only, our listeners get 20% off + free shipping at https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com by using code JULIAN at checkout. #Blueprint #ad JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey CLIPPERS DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8QmWEKJ3BT (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Stu Wexler is an author and researcher. Stu's investigative journalism work over the years includes the JFK Assassination, MLK Assassination, RFK Assassination, and CIA Covert Operations. STU's LINKS BOOK: https://a.co/d/0ego1NzP FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY IG: https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://x.com/juliandorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 0:00 - JFK Assassination Investigation, MLK & JFK similarity, Grassy Knoll 6:26 - Sewer Shooting Theory, Stu's history with case, Devil's Chessboard 18:31 - Case Complications, “Cut the head off the dog,” Stu's father's theory 27:58 - Castro & JFK, Lyndon Johnson, the Soviets, hijacked autopsy, JFK bombshell 38:58 - How JFK Case falls apart, Curtis LeMay, Felilx Rodriguez, Truman & JFK 48:08 - CIA Cloak & Dagger Ops, Alan Dulles, 1954 Guatemalan Coup d'etat 58:54 - CIA's mask off moment, Carl Jenkins, Iran Contra, JFK vs. Castro plans 1:10:41 - Danny Jones Felix Rodriguez Sitdown, Kiki Camarena 1:24:15 - Nuclear War Threat, Harold Malmgren, Bay of Pigs 1:37:35 - New JFK Files, Why Bobby Kennedy disliked, William Harvey, Rome & the Mafia 1:47:06 - Gap in Joannides Records, David Morales 2:01:31 - Daniel Pearl, Why Bobby Kennedy taken out 2:11:07 - Lyndon B. Johnson & JFK, American Revolution post JFK & MLK, James Earl Ray 2:23:14 - MLK Assassin James Earl Ray & the gov, MLK & Charlie Kirk, Extremist Groups 2:35:31 - Extremist influence, FBI & MLK, Donald Nissin 2:46:52 - FBI Investigation, Kathy Ainsworth, Stu's take on conspiracy 2:56:35 - What was Ray supposed to do, Ray's attorneys, “Dancing on streets” after MLK 3:05:34 - Fred Hampton, FBI War, Informant knew King was going to be shot, Tommy Terrance 3:15:37 - Stu's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 422 - Stu Wexler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intro: Life updates: touring, gardens, chickens, JR's bald again, update on injured house chicken.13:35: Ben Sasse's podcast, Not Dead Yet20:54: AI and degradation of humanity, The Way of Medicine, and conversations around difficult conversations.24:20: Observations on difficult conversations with those of other generations.28:00: Everyone has to wrestle with what it means to be human.33:01: The Desecration of Man and What We Can't Not Talk About36:50: The spiritual side of desecration and abortion as a sacrament.39:36: Consecration, liturgies and church practices44:26: Things in our lives that shape our worship, cathedrals of consumerism and You Are What You Worship.47:20: Truman on the attraction of tradition and orthodoxy49:37: Holy Spirit leading people in heresy. “That's modalism Patrick!”52:37: LISTENER REQUEST!55:56: The Abolition of Man and other edifying historical documents to understand the historical roots of the Christian faith.59:01: Musings about the value of university and higher education and one of our kids is a natural academic.1:06:17: IQ vs. EQ 1:03:55: Show Close Get full access to Too Busy to Flush at www.toobusytoflush.com/subscribe

Political Scientist Steve Knott has a new book that focuses on conspiracy theories within the American presidency and often promulgated by the president himself. This is not, per se, a book about conspiracy theories in general, but about the narratives that presidents have used—that constitutes a kind of conspiracy thinking—to engage voters and push for particular policy ideas and outcomes. Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency (UP Kansas, 2025) spans the entire history of the United States, paying close attention to presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and finally Donald Trump. These particular presidents, both during their administrations and after, made use of conspiracies and/or demagogic rhetoric to encourage their supporters and to appeal to public fears. As Knott notes, Alexander Hamilton warns against this in both Federalist #1 and Federalist #85, wrapping the discussion of the new Constitution in concerns with regard to demagoguery. So many of the conspiracies that are pushed by presidents have at their base racism and an effort to fan the flames of racial fear and resentment. Jefferson, Jackson, Johnson, and Wilson all made use of racism as a part of their conspiracies. Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency also mines the deep vein of conspiracy theories around moneyed and elite interests, since many presidents cast these interests as predatory and “out to get” the average citizen. This is another constant approach among the presidents from the early days of the republic through to our contemporary “conspirator in chief” Donald Trump. Part of the way that presidents use these kinds of conspiracies is to set up a dichotomy of those who are with the president and those who are against the president, and this latter group is, inevitably, also opposed to the country as a whole and the way of life in the United States. Knott explains that this was the kind of rhetoric that both FDR and Truman used in their implementation of this kind of conspiratorial rhetoric. This also leans on national security as a point of contention, and that those in opposition to the president or the president's policies are also potential threats to the republic. This is another dimension that Trump builds on in his use of this kind of rhetoric and division. In the final part of Conspirator in Chief, Knott sketches out those presidents who go far in standing against this kind of language and these kinds of attacks. Included in this grouping are John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, William Howard Taft, and John F. Kennedy, among others. These individuals leaned into reason more than rumormongering, examining their own biases, and also pointing to the conspiracies that others were advocating. While we learn a great deal about demagogic presidents who stirred up conspiracies based in racism, fear, antisemitism, and classism, we also learn about those who operated differently, who tried to protect the country from such divisive rhetoric. Lilly J. Goren is a professor of political science at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. She is co-host of the New Books in Political Science channel at the New Books Network. She is co-editor of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume I: The Infinity Saga (University Press of Kansas, 2022), and of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume II: Into the Multiverse (University Press of Kansas, 2025) as well as co-editor of the award winning book, Women and the White House: Gender, Popular Culture, and Presidential Politics (University Press of Kentucky, 2012). She can be reached @gorenlj.bsky.social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Political Scientist Steve Knott has a new book that focuses on conspiracy theories within the American presidency and often promulgated by the president himself. This is not, per se, a book about conspiracy theories in general, but about the narratives that presidents have used—that constitutes a kind of conspiracy thinking—to engage voters and push for particular policy ideas and outcomes. Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency (UP Kansas, 2025) spans the entire history of the United States, paying close attention to presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and finally Donald Trump. These particular presidents, both during their administrations and after, made use of conspiracies and/or demagogic rhetoric to encourage their supporters and to appeal to public fears. As Knott notes, Alexander Hamilton warns against this in both Federalist #1 and Federalist #85, wrapping the discussion of the new Constitution in concerns with regard to demagoguery. So many of the conspiracies that are pushed by presidents have at their base racism and an effort to fan the flames of racial fear and resentment. Jefferson, Jackson, Johnson, and Wilson all made use of racism as a part of their conspiracies. Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency also mines the deep vein of conspiracy theories around moneyed and elite interests, since many presidents cast these interests as predatory and “out to get” the average citizen. This is another constant approach among the presidents from the early days of the republic through to our contemporary “conspirator in chief” Donald Trump. Part of the way that presidents use these kinds of conspiracies is to set up a dichotomy of those who are with the president and those who are against the president, and this latter group is, inevitably, also opposed to the country as a whole and the way of life in the United States. Knott explains that this was the kind of rhetoric that both FDR and Truman used in their implementation of this kind of conspiratorial rhetoric. This also leans on national security as a point of contention, and that those in opposition to the president or the president's policies are also potential threats to the republic. This is another dimension that Trump builds on in his use of this kind of rhetoric and division. In the final part of Conspirator in Chief, Knott sketches out those presidents who go far in standing against this kind of language and these kinds of attacks. Included in this grouping are John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, William Howard Taft, and John F. Kennedy, among others. These individuals leaned into reason more than rumormongering, examining their own biases, and also pointing to the conspiracies that others were advocating. While we learn a great deal about demagogic presidents who stirred up conspiracies based in racism, fear, antisemitism, and classism, we also learn about those who operated differently, who tried to protect the country from such divisive rhetoric. Lilly J. Goren is a professor of political science at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. She is co-host of the New Books in Political Science channel at the New Books Network. She is co-editor of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume I: The Infinity Saga (University Press of Kansas, 2022), and of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume II: Into the Multiverse (University Press of Kansas, 2025) as well as co-editor of the award winning book, Women and the White House: Gender, Popular Culture, and Presidential Politics (University Press of Kentucky, 2012). She can be reached @gorenlj.bsky.social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Eisenhower introduced three big nuclear changes which overturned Truman's policies on presidential sole authority. To get ad-free access, plus extra episodes, consider joining my Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo Thank you,Julie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The island-hopping and Second-front hoping after Pearl Harbor did not bring FDR a reverse of the traditional midterm curse or a victory for his party. The GOP and anti FDR Democratic winners of this midterm would ensure there would be scrutiny of the war effort and that New Deal programs domestically would be ended. They would lay the seeds for Truman's difficult Presidency and the eventual GOP recapture of Congress and the White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly Lynn Anders, Truman Library's Deputy Director, joins Pete Mundo in studio for a Feature Friday segment on President Harry S. Truman's birthday! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 4, 1952 - Jack Fixes the Phonograph. Jack and Mary go to a Los Angeles vs Seattle baseball game. References include president Truman's televised tour of the white house, Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, songs "Slow Poke", "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", "Dardanella", "The Sheik of Araby", "Keep the Home Fires Burning", "K-k-k-Katy", and "After the Ball id Over".

More on Truman and sole presidential authority, and why did Curtis LeMay say he would refuse to be 'fat, dumb and happy' if America got nuked?As with last week's episode on Truman, I must acknowledge the brilliant new book by Alex Wellerstein called The Most Awful Responsibility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four presidents were killed while in office:• Abraham Lincoln (1865)Shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre just days after the Civil War effectively ended. The timing alone makes it feel like history couldn't wait to pivot. • James A. Garfield (1881)Shot by Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield didn't die immediately. He lingered for weeks, and many historians believe poor medical treatment contributed to his death as much as the bullet did. • William McKinley (1901)Shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition. Another delayed death, another moment where medicine lagged behind the crisis. • John F. Kennedy (1963)Shot in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. This is the one that never really settled into history. It still hums in the background of American culture like an unresolved chord. ________________________________________Presidents Who Survived Assassination AttemptsA longer list, and in some ways, a more revealing one.• Andrew Jackson (1835)The first attempted assassination of a sitting president. The attacker's guns misfired. Jackson reportedly responded by beating the man with his cane. Not exactly a Secret Service moment. • Theodore Roosevelt (1912, while campaigning)Shot in the chest, then delivered a speech anyway. The bullet was slowed by a folded speech manuscript and a glasses case in his pocket. A literal case of paperwork saving a life. • Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933, president-elect)Shot at in Miami. He wasn't hit, but Chicago mayor Anton Cermak was killed. A reminder that these events rarely stay contained. • Harry S. Truman (1950)Puerto Rican nationalists attacked Blair House, where Truman was staying. A White House police officer was killed in the firefight. • Gerald Ford (1975, twice in one month)Two separate attempts in California, both by women, both failing. Statistically bizarre, historically overlooked. • Ronald Reagan (1981)Shot by John Hinckley Jr.. Reagan survived, but the bullet came terrifyingly close to killing him. The incident reshaped modern presidential security. • Bill Clinton (1994)Shots fired at the White House by Francisco Martin Duran. Clinton wasn't harmed. • George W. Bush (2005)A grenade was thrown during a speech in Georgia (the country). It failed to detonate. One of those moments where history hinges on a mechanical malfunction. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Queen Elizabeth II interacted with American presidents from Truman through Trump. Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of The Queen and Her Presidents (HarperCollins, 2026), relates her history with U.S. leaders throughout her reign.Photo: Queen Elizabeth II (L) arrives with U.S. President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (R) in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace ahead of a State Banquet on May 24, 2011 in London, England. Credit: Photo by Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images