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271. Nature of the U.S. Military: Matthew Hoh
01:00:40||Season 12, Ep. 271For many of us, our country is walking a tightrope between democracy and autocracy.I am a US American civilian. I avoided serving in the US military during the Vietnam War. My father and son were in the military – one in WWII – the other a never-deployed Marine. Despite these secondary contact with our armed forces, I do not understand the US military mind and culture. I do know it is the most lethal force in human history.For this BCR series -- "Nature of the U.S. Military" -- I ask US Veterans to help me understand the nature of our armed forces. And ask them -- if push comes to shove -- will our military uphold this republic of and by the people – or follow the orders of a corrupt Commander-in-ChiefCaptain Matthew Hoh helped get me starte. Matthew Hoh is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy and a member of the Eisenhower Media Network.Matthew Hoh served nearly a dozen years as a US Marine with experiences in overseas wars in the American occupation of Iraq between 2004 and 2007 -- and Captain Hoh contributed to US policy and operations at the Pentagon and State Department. In 2009, Matthew Hoh resigned his position with the State Department in Afghanistan in protest of the escalation of that war.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com
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270. Steven Fechter: "The Big Breeze"
47:30||Season 12, Ep. 270I spoke with Steven Fechter about his newest novel -- "The Big Breeze" -- the story of Joseph Bye a phenom baseball pitcher who at the peak of his career was hit by a car and crippled. Eventually, he became a painter of baseball pitchers. Many years after the accident, he learned that he was run-over intentionally. In part this is the story of what Breeze will he do about it. But I did not want to ask Mr. Fechter about attempted murder but about baseball -- and an American culture obsessed with its heroes. “The Big Breeze” is a primer on the mind and spirit of the baseball pitcher – and how fame is treated in this country.Mr. Fechter also wrote the play «The Woodsman» which he adapted for the film starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.Fechter’s reputation was established when he won first prize in the 2001 Slamdance Screenwriting Competition for “The Woodsman.”His website states his goal is to “write daring stories that take audiences into unfamiliar emotional spaces.” Recorded at 5Napkins Burger on Broadway and W. 84th Street in Manhattan.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com
269. Choosing Humanism Over War
46:24||Season 12, Ep. 269Rebecca McKean and I started this program asking why so many U.S. Americans call Mayor Mamdani a "communist" and then explore the humanist idea that we all live in individual "landscapes" that form our perspectives and emotions -- and that those landscapes can be re-considered. We recorded at 5 Napkin Burger on Broadway and 84th Street in Manhattan -- speaking with David Andersson, the English-language editor of the Pressenza International Press Agency . We had talked with David in BCR #230 in June 2024 at the West Side Community Garden. And we invited N.J. high school honors student, Jeremy Maletzky -- who I had met at a talk at the Rosa Luxemburg Institute on ending the conflict in the Middle East a few weeks earlier -- to talk about "humanism" and the ideas of Mario Rodriguez Cobos -- an Argentinian, otherwise known as "Silo".Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com
268. 3 Witness Palestine Christians
55:45||Season 12, Ep. 268A conversation with three men who recently traveled to Palestine to witness the state of Palestinian Christian communities living in Israel-occupied West Bank. What they experiences was horrific and hopeful. Horrific in the brutality of the young Israeli settler gangs and hopeful in the readiness of the Palestinian Christians to be accepted into a peaceful, co-existence with their Israeli neighbors. Their sojourn was organized by the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center located in Jerusalem. Sabeel organizes "Witness Visits" to Israel and Palestine; participants experience life under occupation in the West Bank firsthand, engage with Palestinian Christians and other activists, and then share their experiences in order to motivate positive change.This BCR program was recorded at Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar.Alan Winson -- Hostbarcrawlradio@gmail.com
267. William Hartung: Stand-Up & U.S. Military War Machine
49:35||Season 12, Ep. 267William Hartung -- senior researcher at The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft -- reads from his new book "The Trillion Dollar War Machine" and talks about The Big Five -- the U.S. military industrial complex using American tax dollars to arm the world and make enormous profits.In the first half of the program Mr. Hartung talks about the insanity and stupidity of the U.S. arms policy. In the second half -- Bill shares a bit of the stand-up routine he will be delivering at the New York Comedy Club directly after our recording.Recorded Dec. 27, 2025 at Gebhard's Beer Culture Barbarcrawlradio@gmail.com
266. Anjali Mehta: Conquering the 7 Summits & Gender-Based Violence. Pt 2
33:05||Season 11, Ep. 266Anjali Mehta is a 31 year-old mountain climber challenging the "seven summits" to support international agencies fighting gender-based violence and to bring attention to the rights of transgender girl athletes. In the first part of this two-part BCR program, we asked Anjali about her mountain climbing experiences. See BCR #265. This program is the second part of our conversation; Anjali told us about her organization "What is the Power of We?" working to unite the efforts of the many agencies around the world working to end gender-based violence. For her next climb, Anjali will carry postcards with their stories to the summit of Mt Vinson -- the highest peak in Antarctica. If you would like to share your story or that of a loved one, you can use this form.Featured in this series is Nancy Kangas' rendition of Mary Oliver's "The Poet Dreams of the Mountain" and music from Wade Ripka's "Eastern Blokhedz" , "Four Celtic Voices" and "The Shrill Collective."Alan WinsonBCR Producer and Co-Hostbarcrawlradio@gmail.com
265. Anjali Mehta: Conquering the 7 Summits & Gender-Based Violence - Part 1
32:01||Season 11, Ep. 265Anjali Mehta is a 31 year-old mountain climber challenging the "seven summits" to support international agencies fighting gender-based violence and to bring attention to the rights of transgender girl athletes. In this first part of a two-part BCR program, we asked Anjali about her mountain climbing experiences. She told us about falling into a crevice and overcoming the challenges and the joy of reaching the summit.In the second part of our conversation Anjali told us about her organization "What is the Power of We?" working to pull unite the efforts of the many agencies around the world working to end gender-based violence. For her next climb, Anjali will carry postcards with their stories to the summit of Mt Vinson -- the highest peak in Antarctica. If you would like to share your story or that of a loved one, you can use this form.Featured in this series is Nancy Kangas' rendition of Mary Oliver's "The Poet Dreams of the Mountain" and music from Wade Ripka's "Eastern Blokhedz" , "Four Celtic Voices" and "The Shrill Collective."Alan WinsonBCR Producer and Co-Hostbarcrawlradio@gmail.com