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Bar Crawl Radio
Gale Brewer & Cal Snyder / Brooklyn Cumaná @ WSCG
Bar Crawl Radio podcast hosts sojourned back to the West Side Community Garden for a concert with the music duo, Brooklyn-Cumaná – Jorge Glem on the Venezuelan Cuatro and Sam Reider on the accordion. We start with a delightful conversation with former Manhattan Borough President and present UWS City Council member -- Gale Brewer. We also invited her husband Cal Snyder because our goal was not to talk local politics; rather, we wanted to know about the life of our ubiquitous, hard-working, perpetual resident of the UWS -- Gale Brewer. Up until this podcast Gale had hidden behind her prodigious local accomplishments. We learned about where Gale grew up, how she met Cal, her early influencers including Bela Abzug and Gloria Steinem, her and Cal's many foster children and adopted son -- Mo Sumbundu -- and her favorite NY baseball team.
And we talked with the musicians Sam Reider (accordion) and Jorge Glem (Venezuelan cuatro) about their synthesis of musical forms and their new album "Brooklyn Cumanå"
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235. Eli Northrup: Future of Politics and Justice
01:01:42||Season 10, Ep. 235Back in early Spring 2024 -- we net Bronx Public Defender Eli Northrup as he was beginning his run for NY State Assembly representative for the UWS. We were recording outside the Goddard Riverside Community Center at West 88th St and Columbus Avenue, talking to neighbors celebrating “Love Your Street Tree Day” – and Eli came up to our open mic.Eli placed second in the election for State Assembly. We invited Eli to talk about his experience of running for state office and his work as the “Policy Director for the Criminal Defense Practice at the Bronx Defenders” office. We began the conversation asking Eli about his NYU law school hip hop band “Pants Velour” and their quick hit “Charlie Sheen: Always Winning.” Eli shared his deep disappointment with losing the election and how his work as the policy director at the Bronx Public Defenders formed his political platform. At the midpoint of the conversation we talked about American citizens' looking for openness and honesty in a political scene rife with dishonesty.234. Harris OR Trump? Report from Mexico & Scotland
56:12||Season 10, Ep. 234BCR podcast traveled to Mexico and Scotland in August and asked what citizens of the world were feeling about the U.S. Presidential election. Nearly everyone I met was aware of the election and had significant and personal feelings about "Americans" and their limited choice for leadership. I talked with people from Puerta Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende, Edinburgh, and Aberfeldy -- tourists, a waiter, a van driver, teens from Belfast, couple of cooks, a photographer and painter, a teacher, an airline worker, Cambridge students, tour guides, Edinburgh Fringe Festival workers and artists, and the Fringe Financial Manager. Let me know what you think of this mix of human voices on the eve of a most important US Presidential election.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com233. Walk Thru Maloy Iowa with Brian Terrell
43:08||Season 10, Ep. 233Mid July, this year -- 2024 – Rebecca McKean and I flew into Chicago and then drove to Maloy Iowa – a few miles north of the Missouri border.We passed Joliet – Dekalk – Moline – Iowa City – Cedar Rapids - Ottunwa - Mt Ayr – then – Maloy, Iowa.At one time – not so long ago – Maloy had a small population. Its buildings remain: A medium sized Catholic Church – small Post Office – General Store – Dance Hall – City Hall. Now it is mostly empty – a husk of a town surrounded by massive corn fields.Becky and I were visiting two Catholic Worker friends who had been cultivating a small vegetable – goat and chicken farm since 1986. Their two children grew up in Maloy on the “Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Community Farm.”Over those years -- besides working the farm -- Betsy Kenan perfected the crafts of weaving and looming – and Brian Terrell travelled protesting war and the spread of U.S. military and nuclear bombs throughout the world._____________________________For the next three BCR programs – we talked with Brian – Betsy and their friends in Maloy and Creston IA to get a feel for life in this American state which overwhelmingly supports Donald Trump for president, bans abortions after six weeks -- and which -- we learned – might be considering alternative – diverse -- ways of being in mid-America.The opening sound was recorded on Betsy’s and Brian’s porch. Nate Jarrell on the violin – Nate is a young peace activist and musician and builder who was visiting Brian and Betsy on their Catholic Worker Farm – and Don Ray – a neighbor up the road was playing the guitar –232. History of the West Side Community Garden
29:09||Season 10, Ep. 232For the past three years BCR podcast has recorded on Sundays in June from the West Side Community Garden, As usual, we talked with neighbors doing amazing work for their community and featured the music of local artists performing in the Garden during the month. For this BCR program we invited three leaders of the WSCG to talk about its history. By a miraculous convergence of urban decay and sheer will, this former trash heap abides as a garden oasis on the Upper West Sider – all thanks to dedicated gardners and volunteers. This place exemplifies the strength of local communities.Ensconced in a corner of the garden we talked with three women who nurture and are nurtured by a garden: Judy Robinson is a gardener and the President of the WSCG’s Board of Directors. Until this summer, Randa Kirshbaum organized the Garden’s Summer Music concerts. And joining us on our bench was Jackie Bukowski -- an early organizer of the WSCG.Later in the program we featured the music of the Scott Munson Jazz Quintet. The complete performance can be heard at BCR #233.233. Scott Munson Jazz Quintet @ the West Side Community Garden / June 2024
52:17||Season 10, Ep. 233Complete performance of the Scott Munson Jazz Quintet at the West Side Community Garden on June 16, 2024.CONTACT: barcrawlradio@gmail.com231. La Manga @ West Side Community Garden - Full Concert - June 2024
01:03:08||Season 10, Ep. 231A full length presentation of a performance by La Manga in the West Side Community Garden in June 2024. For a conversation with La Manga founder, Daniela Serna, go to BCR #230.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com230. David Andersson of Pressenza @ the WSCG
42:52||Season 10, Ep. 230For the fourth time this summer Bar Crawl Radio podcast is not at a bar. But we are continuing to have conversations with neighbors doing positive work for their community. We will be talking with a citizen journalists who works in the field of peace activism and whose writing is published in Pressenza – an international news agency pushing ideas of peace, non-violence, and human rightsFor this BCR recording we were ensconced in our mobile studio in the southeast corner of the West Side Community Garden observing Upper West Siders choose their favorite spots to listen to La Manga, who perform Bullerengue, music from the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Later in the program, I will be talking with Daniela Serna about La Manga and we’ll listen to selections from tonight’s performance.But first Rebecca McKean and I talked with David Andersson, a citizen journalist, photographer and publisher. In the 80’s Mr. Andersson published a neighborhood newspaper in Paris. Today, David is the coordinator of the NYC bureau for Pressenza and the host of Face 2 Face, a podcast talking with activists for peace from all over the world.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com229. Walking for Peace in Inwood Park
29:13||Season 10, Ep. 229For this BCR conversation we were not at a bar having a conversation with people working positively for their communities – but at Inwood Park – in upper Manhattan – former home of the Lenape People. Catholic Worker, Anthony Donovan, opens this program as he talks to a group of about 20 people who had joined the Veteran's for Peace "2024 Peace Walk" -- for the day. The VFP Walk started in Ogunquit Maine on May 5th and will arrive in Washington, DC July 5th – a nearly 600 mile trek. Some walk for a day – others longer – and one former military person has walked nearly the entire length.As we moved through the densely forested hills of Inwood Park, I spoke with Tarak Kauf of the VFP and organizer of the Walk and asked him about the link between walking and peace. I then walked beside two former members of the U.S. military who explained their reasons for participating in an anti-war peace walk -- Eric Waseleski and James Williams. Alan Winson barcrawlradio@gmail.com228. Chance & Choice @ the West Side Community Garden
41:32||Season 10, Ep. 228For this BCR conversation at the West Side Community Garden we investigated the stories of two ladies--one affected by chance--the other by choice. The first story is about a chance phone call that led to instant and fleeting fame – and the other -- a choice to help recently arrived neighbors which will lead to – what?Rebecca McKean and I were set-up in the southeast corner of the West Side Community Garden. As our UWS neighbors sought their favorite spots to listen to the Cassatt String Quartet, we talked with Marilyn O’Day – a high school junior who started a study hangout at the Newton Hotel for recent migrants from South America as part of the Open Hearts Initiative -- and -- Meg Parsont, a publicist for publishers, gardener, and contributor to the West Side Rag newspaper. Meg was once famous – appearing over 30 times in the early 1990s on Late Night with David Letterman.Later in this program, we spoke with cellist Gwen Krosnick of the Cassatt String Quartet about the evenings musical offerings.Alan Winsonbarcrawlradio@gmail.com