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StocktonAfterClass

333 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 39 ratings

Ron Stockton was a professor of political science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn for 48 years. His specialty was non-western politics and political change. He taught classes on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Religion and Politics, the Politics of Revolution, Non-Western politics, and American politics. He also taught in the Honors Program, focusing upon foundational readings from the 18th and 19th centuries. He has an interest in religion and politics and in the role of religio-ethnic groups in the political system. The listener can anticipate talks on Arab-Americans, Jews, African-Americans, the Scots-Irish, and Evangelicals. He has lectured and written on American politics, public opinion, and voting behavior and on the role of religious organizations and ideologies in the political system. There will be occasional discussions of books and films that address serious issues. And he has lectured and published and even taught a class on gravestones, especially those of different ethnic and religious groups such as Muslims, African-Americans, Jews, and Native Americans. The goal of the podcast series is to provide analysis and commentary by a political scientist to explain and make accessible political, historical, and cultural developments in the United States and around the world, and to give the listener analytical tools to understand those developments. It is also to entertain the listener.

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Episodes

Ottoman Perspectives on Zionism (and on Jews). A reposting

March 19, 2024 21:00 - 21 minutes - 14.5 MB

This summarizes the main findings of a book on this topic.  The Ottomans had experts in Zionism who monitored writings and developments very carefully. This podcast has surprising  findings. Note:  This was recorded during covid times as a class lecture (when we were not allowed to go live).  

Evangeline. A Poem of Love and Loss by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

March 06, 2024 19:00 - 24 minutes - 16.8 MB

Evangeline was a standard assignment in the 8th grade when I was a kid.  It was long and had big words but we read it because it made us better people.  This is the story of this poem, and of my experience with it.    It is also the story of Longfellow, the most popular poet of his age, and of his poems.  The Village Smith, Paul Revere's Ride, Haiwatha, and the powerful Christmas poem/song, "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day."  Longfellow had a painful life, but he kept writing those wond...

Hamas Narrative on the events of October 7. What we did; Why we did it; What we want; What we did not do.

February 20, 2024 23:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MB

In January, 2024 Hamas published a paper called "Our Narrative . . .  Operation Al -Aqsa Flood."  It is an 18 page document discussing their perspective on the events of October 7.  I had not read any Hamas explanations, beyond short statements quoted by people not friendly to their side, so I immediately printed this out and read it.  More than once.  As I read this document, I realized I was not the only person who had never heard the Hamas perspective on those events.  I knew immediately...

High Court in The Hague Preliminary Ruling on the Genocide Case against Israel.

January 30, 2024 16:00 - 27 minutes - 18.8 MB

  This is a summary of the main points in the ICJ ruling. Below is a summary of other International Humanitarian Laws.  These definine various crimes that occur within the context of war.  They are distinct from genocide but could be a part of genocide.  They would be heard by the International Criminal Court rather than by the High Court of Justice.  The three most commonly discussed offenses are Ethnic Cleansing, Crimes Against Humanity, and War Crimes. Ethnic Cleansing "rendering an a...

Israel on Trial for Genocide. The South African Document

January 21, 2024 21:00 - 51 minutes - 35.5 MB

In December, 2023 South Africa filed a document before the High Court of Justice in the Hague accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza.  This was for its actions against Gaza in the wake of the blood-chilling Hamas attack on Israeli military positions, towns, and a music festival on October 7.  Those attacks killed nearly 1200 people.  There are three recent developments worth noting.  First, Mexico and Chile are preparing to charge Israel in the International...

Hard Right Jewish Religio-Ethnic Nationalism. Rabbi Meir Kahane. Reposting.

January 06, 2024 05:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MB

The Israeli election of November, 2022 brought into the Knesset some of the most extreme individuals in that country's history.  To bring himself back into office,  Netanyahu brought them into his cabinet.  (Smotrich and Bin Gvir get the most attention, but there are others).   These were people who had been brought up in the shadow  of Rabbi Meir Kahane.  Kahane had been banned from office and Netanyahu's new allies had also seen their party banned.  But they had reconstituted themselves in...

Genocide: A Reposting

December 22, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 53.5 MB

To destroy "in whole or in part" the ability of a people to function.   I delivered this talk in 2020  for a unit on Armenia.  It was well before the fall of 2023 and the horrible Gaza War.  As I am writing (December 2023) 20,000 Palestinians have been killed.  The Israelis say the number of Hamas combatants killed is around 1700+  Gaza is no longer functioning.  There have been several scholarly essays and discussions of whether this meets the standard for genocide.   Here is my  original ...

Suppressing Dissent. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. A Reposting

December 10, 2023 20:00 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MB

In December, 2023  House Republicans summoned the Presidents of Harvard, MIT and University of Pennsylvania to a hearing about Anti-Semitism on their campuses.  They were asked if calling for Genocide against Jews would be an offense.  Knowing that Republicans consider the word “intifada” (“shaking off”) and the phrase “from the river to the sea” to be genocidal, not to mention that Israel should be a state for all its people rather than a “Jewish” state, there was no way to win with that qu...

Three Narratives on Israel. Evangelical Christian, Jewish Nationalist, Arab Nationalist. A Reposting.

December 05, 2023 18:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MB

Are you getting frustrated with argumentation?  Does it irritate you that so many people just seem to repeat tired old arguments that any reasonable person can see are not true?  Well, maybe you need to listen to this podcast.  Each of us carries around a narrative of logical and irrefutable arguments on this topic.  Except for the fact that people outside of our group have trouble accepting it.   I like this podcast.  My students also liked it.  I would pass it out at the beginnig of the s...

Sabra and Shatilla Massacre and Kahan Commission Report. A Reposting

November 30, 2023 18:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MB

For those of you watching the mass killings in Gaza (nearly 14,000 dead in seven weeks, over 2/3 of them women and children) you might find it helpful to think back to an earlier time when Israel was once again implicated in a mass killing.  This was what happened in September, 1982 during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.  The Israelis are quick to point out that they did not themseslves do the killing, but neither were they free of  responsibility.  This podcast has two purposes:  to descri...

Shall we Chat on Zoom: How About December 2 at 2:00 Eastern Standard Time.

November 25, 2023 15:00 - 1 minute - 1.06 MB

Would anyone out there like to have a chat on Zoom?  It is now the end of November, 2023 and I just passed 50,000 total downloads so I am thinking I should do something to honor that event.  What beter thing than to talk to those of you who helped make that number possible.  And I almost never get feedback from you so I really don't know who you are.  We could talk about whatever you want.  The War in Gaza, American Politics, Politics in your country, podcasts that you particularly liked, o...

Shall we Chat on Zoom? How About December 2 at 2:00 Eastern Standard Time.

November 25, 2023 15:00 - 1 minute - 1.06 MB

Would anyone out there like to have a chat on Zoom?  It is now the end of November, 2023 and I just passed 50,000 total downloads so I am thinking I should do something to honor that event.  What beter thing than to talk to those of you who helped make that number possible.  And I almost never get feedback from you so I really don't know who you are.  We could talk about whatever you want.  The War in Gaza, American Politics, Politics in your country, podcasts that you particularly liked, o...

The Palestinians After 1948 (Reposting of an Earlier Podcast)

November 25, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 43.2 MB

What happened after the armistice in January of 1949?   Of course, the major consequence was the Palestinian refugees.  Thinking only of what we consider the internationally recognized boundaries of Israel, probably 80% or more of all the Palestinians inside of that area  on January 1, 1948 were gone by December 31, 1948.  This is the real “catastrophe,” or nakhba,  as the Palestinians call it.  The Israelis were insistent that none of these refugees would be allowed to return.   I am very...

The Palestinian Refugees of 1948: Reposting of an Earlier Podcast

November 21, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 43 MB

It has occurred to me that there is great interest in the background to the current conflict.  Here is a discussion of the Palestinian Refugees of 1948. This is an extremely important topic surrounded by false narratives and inflammatory rhetoric.  I have put off preparing a podcast for some time, but not because it is sensitive.  I deal with quite a few sensitive topics.  It goes with the territory.  But in this case, a reason for my hesitation is that I have a written briefing document t...

Israel-Gaza War. Podcast 2. Israel Invades Gaza

November 05, 2023 11:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MB

This is the second podcast on this war.  I have posted it a second time because Buzzsprout had technical problems andthe first posting may not have reached everyone.  It was written November 1.  It is written in the early stages of the Israeli invasion.  Much of it has to do with implications and reactions.  As I post this update on November 5, there are close to 10,000 Palestinian fatalities.  Perhaps 40% of them are children. 

Israel-Gaza War. Israel Invades. Podcast Two

November 02, 2023 19:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MB

This was written November 1.   Much of it deals with the reaction to the war and the implications of the war.  Note:  There are approximatley 10,000 casualties.  40% are children. 

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Hamas-Israel War of 2023

October 11, 2023 16:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MB

On October 7, 2023, the anniversary of the 1973 War, Hamas began a massive missile barrage at key Israeli cities.  Hamas soldiers crashed through the barriers that enclosed Gaza and struck at 22 different Israeli cities.  They also attacked a Music Festival going on just near the Gaza border.  By the time they were driven back, over a thousand Israelis had been killed.  Perhaps a hundred and fifty were taken into Gaza as captives.  This was the sixth Hamas-Israel combat.  Most had left larg...

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. 1973 October War. The Fiftieth Anniversary. Egypt, Syria, and Israel. (Also the US and USSR)

October 05, 2023 22:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MB

1973 October War, 50th anniversary October 6.   October 6, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the 1973 October War.  This war lasted three long weeks and took the great powers (the US and the USSR) to the brink of  nuclear war.  It also cleared the sinuses, so to speak.   Nixon and Kissinger realized that unless there was progress in working out some kind of resolution of the 1967 war, the US was going to get dragged into a major war.   Let me clarify the term “The Year of Decision.”  My lect...

1973 October War. The Fiftieth Anniversary. Egypt, Syria, and Israel. (Also the US and USSR)

October 05, 2023 22:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MB

1973 October War, 50th anniversary October 6.   October 6, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the 1973 October War.  This war lasted three long weeks and took the great powers (the US and the USSR) to the brink of  nuclear war.  It also cleared the sinuses, so to speak.   Nixon and Kissinger realized that unless there was progress in working out some kind of resolution of the 1967 war, the US was going to get dragged into a major war.   Let me clarify the term “The Year of Decision.”  My lect...

Understanding Impeachment (On the first day of the impeachment "investigation" of Joe Biden) What our founders meant by the concept. A reposting.

September 28, 2023 23:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MB

Today (September 28) I watched the first hearing of the impeachment investigation (or whatever they are calling it) of Joe Biden.  Not that this podcast  on what the Founders meant by impeachment  will be of much use to the Republican Caucus  Even their three  expert witnesses told them there were no grounds for their investigation.  Unless they just wanted to investigate for the sake of investigation.  Which I suspect is their purpose.  Fox News had two experts  discuss what they had just s...

Understanding Impeachment (On the first day of the impeachment investigation of Joe Biden) What our founders meant by the concept. A reposting.

September 28, 2023 23:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MB

Today (September 28) I watched the first hearing of the impeachment investigation (or whatever they are calling it) of Joe Biden.  Not that this podcast  on what the Founders meant by impeachment  will be of much use to the Republican Caucus  Even their three  expert witnesses told them there were no grounds for their investigation.  Unless they just wanted to investigate for the sake of investigation.  Which I suspect is their purpose.  Fox News had two experts  discuss what they had just s...

Why I Killed Gandhi. The Public Statement of his Assassin

September 24, 2023 13:00 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MB

Why I Killed Gandhi  by Nathuram Godse  Gandhi was assassinated in 1948.  In most movies, the assassin is portrayed as a deranged bearded scary-looking fanatic. (In one, Horst Buchholz played the role.  His character was closer to the real assassin).  Some of those words might well be justified, but we are never told that the assassin was an exceptionally well educated, well-read reformer, someone who hated the caste system and looked forward to a modern India.  His name was Nathuram Godse....

Falling Man. An Iconic Story About September 11

September 07, 2023 16:00 - 13 minutes - 8.99 MB

Falling Man:  A story of September 11 Let me be a Time Traveler and take you back to that terrible day.   For those of us who remember September 11, the image of the “Falling Man” is iconic.  As the flames engulfed the upper stories of the towers, there were several people who decided they would not wait to be burned alive.  They jumped to their deaths.  Some even held hands with friends as they fell.  One person on the ground was killed when hit by a falling body.  The noted American nov...

Biden Will Be a One-Term President.

August 30, 2023 16:00 - 8 minutes - 6.13 MB

Biden Will Be a One Term President I came up with this insight nearly three years ago.  If I had posted it back then, you could have thought about it all this time and looked for little signs here and there.  With Joe creating a campaign structure, it may look a bit different in late 2023.   Still, it is only 8 minutes or so long so you will not sacrifice a lot of time listening to it.  And if you haven't listened to the podcasts on the three indictments (Mara-Lago Documents, January 6 In...

Trump On Trial. The Georgia Indictments. A Briefing.

August 21, 2023 20:00 - 32 minutes - 22.7 MB

This is the third indictment of Donald Trump relevant to the election of 2020.  I have done podcasts on each of these.   The Mara-Lago Documents case The January 6 indictments.  Now the Atlanta/Fulton County, Georgia Indictments.  I also did a podcast on the Dominion Voting Machine defamation case against Fox News, which was settled out of court.  If you listen to these four podcasts, you will know more than any other kid on your block. 

The January 6 Indictments. Trump On Trial. A Briefing

August 12, 2023 20:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MB

This is a discussion of the January 6 Indictment for Insurrection handed down in early August.  There is an earlier podcast on the Mara-Lago stolen documents case, and one on the Dominion Voting Machine defamation lawsuit against Fox News.  There were some glitches in this podcast. The Vice President is President of the Senate, not Speaker.  Giuliani showed the Georgia committee an edited video, not an edited photo.  There is a "crime-fraud" exception, not exemption.  But Rudy Giuliani ...

The January 6 Indictment. Trump On Trial. A Briefing

August 12, 2023 20:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MB

This is a discussion of the January 6 Indictment for Insurrection handed down in early August.  There is an earlier podcast on the Mara-Lago stolen documents case, and one on the Dominion Voting Machine defamation lawsuit against Fox News.  There were some glitches in this podcast. The Vice President is President of the Senate, not Speaker.  Giuliani showed the Georgia committee an edited video, not an edited photo.  There is a "crime-fraud" exception, not exemption.  But Rudy Giuliani ...

Israel Seriously Polarized, and in Trouble, 2023

August 10, 2023 15:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MB

This is the kind of podcast I try to avoid. a discussion of an issue that is ongoing.  The problem is that it might evolve in a different direction and I would be exposed as someone who had seriously misunderstood the issues or missed key points.  I remember writing a podcast on the Ukraine-Russia controversy.  The next morning when I went into my office to record it, I realized that Russia had invaded Ukraine as I slept.  (Darn you, Putin.  He had said he was not going to invade.  Liar, Lia...

In Praise of the Ku Klux Klan. The Clansman (1903). A Book that Shaped American Thinking, Then and Maybe Even Now

July 28, 2023 22:00 - 30 minutes - 20.9 MB

Let's start with a Trigger Warning:  Not only am I going to tell you about this book, and about its impact on American society.  I am also going to read excerpts to you.  You will not find these passages easy to hear.   This is about Reconstruction in South Carolina where the author (Thomas Dixon Jr.) lived.  He was a prominent minister, actor, author, and local hero.  He was also a racist. But he was not unique.   He had a lot of fans.  His book sold 100,000 copies and the play he wrote on...

Gandhi's Concept of Non-Violent Resistance, a. k. a. Satyagraha.

July 17, 2023 16:00 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MB

I have  a two-part podcast on Gandhi.  This is Part I. It focuses on  Gandhi's concept or strategy of Satyagraha.  He invented that term himself.  It means Soul  Force.  We might say non-violent resistance.  It is pacifist, but not passive.  it is definitely confrontational.  It was rooted in deep moral concepts, but also in Indian culture and history.  Maybe this podcast will make you want to read the book by Rudolph and Rudolph which discusses those cultural traditions in depth.  Gandhi a...

Gandhi's Concept of Non-Violent Resistance, a. k. a. Satyagraha or Soul Force

July 17, 2023 16:00 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MB

I have  a two-part podcast on Gandhi.  This is Part I. It focuses on  Gandhi's concept or strategy of Satyagraha.  He invented that term himself.  It means Soul  Force.  We might say non-violent resistance.  It is pacifist, but not passive.  it is definitely confrontational.  It was rooted in deep moral concepts, but also in Indian culture and history.  Maybe this podcast will make you want to read the book by Rudolph and Rudolph which discusses those cultural traditions in depth.  Gandhi a...

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Black Swan. An alternate Ending . A Reposting.

July 03, 2023 19:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MB

This was the final lecture in my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the last time I taught that class.    The thesis is that none of the main political science models for how this conflict will end are correct.  But History (capital H) does not like intractable conflicts.  SOMETHING will happen.  And History (capital H) will not ask us what we think.  Most likely, History (capital H) will choose something we don't like and something we cannot anticipate.  This is called The Black Sw...

The Black Swan. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as it Might Evolve and How it May End. Sort of. A Reposting.

July 03, 2023 19:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MB

This was the final lecture in my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the last time I taught that class.    The thesis is that none of the main political science models for how this conflict will end are correct.  But History (capital H) does not like intractable conflicts.  SOMETHING will happen.  And History (capital H) will not ask us what we think.  Most likely, History (capital H) will choose something we don't like and something we cannot anticipate.  This is called The Black Sw...

The Black Swan. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. An alternate Ending . A Reposting.

July 03, 2023 19:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MB

This was the final lecture in my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the last time I taught that class.    The thesis is that none of the main political science models for how this conflict will end are correct.  But History (capital H) does not like intractable conflicts.  SOMETHING will happen.  And History (capital H) will not ask us what we think.  Most likely, History (capital H) will choose something we don't like and something we cannot anticipate.  This is called The Black Sw...

The Black Swan. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as it Might Evolve and How it May End. A Reposting.

July 03, 2023 19:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MB

This was the final lecture in my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the last time I taught that class.    The thesis is that none of the main political science models for how this conflict will end are correct.  But History (capital H) does not like intractable conflicts.  SOMETHING will happen.  And History (capital H) will not ask us what we think.  Most likely, History (capital H) will choose something we don't like and something we cannot anticipate.  This is called The Black Sw...

Rape and Repentence. A Wrongful Conviction. A 28 Year Sentence. A Story that Will Chill Your Bones and Challenge your Soul. At least it did mine.

July 01, 2023 20:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MB

How can a totally innocent man be unequivocally identified as a rapist?   And be sentenced to 28 years in prison?  And when the false conviction is exposed and the case thrown out, is there any way for the person who made the false identification to find peace?   This is the story of Alice Sebold, whose famous books, The Lovely Bones, and Lucky tell the stories of a young girl and a college freshman who get raped.  And what happens next.    

Rape. A Wrongful Conviction. A 28 Year Sentence. A Story Filled with Moral Ambiguity that Will Chill Your Bones and Challenge your Soul. At least it did mine.

July 01, 2023 20:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MB

How can a totally innocent man be unequivocally identified as a rapist?   And be sentenced to 28 years in prison?  And when the false conviction is exposed and the case thrown out, is there any way for the person who made the false identification to find peace?     

Rape. A Wrongful Conviction. A 28 Year Sentence. A Story that Will Chill Your Bones and Challenge your Soul. At least it did mine.

July 01, 2023 20:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MB

How can a totally innocent man be unequivocally identified as a rapist?   And be sentenced to 28 years in prison?  And when the false conviction is exposed and the case thrown out, is there any way for the person who made the false identification to find peace?   This is the story of Alice Sebold, whose famous books, The Lovely Bones, and Lucky tell the stories of a young girl and a college freshman who get raped.  And what happens next.    

Rape. A Wrongful Conviction. A Story Filled with Moral Ambiguity that Will Chill Your Bones and Challenge your Soul. At least it did mine.

July 01, 2023 20:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MB

How can a totally innocent man be unequivocally identified as a rapist?   And be sentenced to 28 years in prison?  And when the false conviction is exposed and the case thrown out, what is the moral obligation (if any) of the accuser and the innocent person to interact?  

The Mara-Lago Indictments. Trump On Trial. A Briefing

June 17, 2023 02:00 - 43 minutes - 29.7 MB

This is a discussion of the indictments in the Mara-Lago documents case.  If you are confused, and don't want to read the 60 page indictment with its 37 counts, this may be a short cut for you.  It addresses some context, some points of law, some background issues.   There are a couple of glitches in this podcast.   A fine would be $250,000, not $250.  And a name in a string of names is wrong.  And for those who are careful listeners, those two rulings by Judge Cannon were so closely link...

Waco. Not the City in Texas. The Waco of the Mind. The Call for a New Civil War

May 31, 2023 17:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MB

In 1993, 30 years ago on April 19, the totalitarian government in Washington, the New Babylon, the entity that must be destroyed, exposed its true nature.  What happened on that day became an inflection point, a call to action.  This podcast is a followup on my earlier podcast on Violent White Nationalism.  It explains the logic of those who agree with that opening paragraph.  Don't expect to fell good at the end of this podcast. 

Legacy Lecture: My Life, My Career, My Classes, My Research, My Projects, My Students.

May 17, 2023 14:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MB

On March 30, 2023 I delivered my farewell Legacy Lecture to the UM-Dearborn community.  There were  70 plus people present.   The event had four stages.  First, two colleagues (Don Anderson and Elias Baumgarten) reflected on my career and their interactions with me;  then I delivered my talk; then five memorable students were on a panel to discuss their work with me; then there was an Open Mike.  The full event was about two hours.   The full video event is available on the College of Arts, ...

Israel at 75. The Palestine War of 1948. Liberation or Catastrophe, or both?

May 12, 2023 20:00 - 58 minutes - 40.5 MB

On May 14, 1948  (on the American calendar) the Zionist forces in Palestine declared the arrival of the state of Israel.  2023 is the 75th anniversary of that event.  Israelis and Jewish nationalists in general consider this to be a day of liberation.  To Palestinians it is a day of catastrophe (Nakba) when they lost not only their farms and homes and quarries and orchards and professions  and bank accounts but their homeland.  The inflammatory rhetoric in our own country around these events...

Les Miserables. Why I swore I would never read this novel. And why it is now one of my top two favorites.

May 04, 2023 15:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MB

In 1862 Victor Hugo wrote what may be the greatest novel of the 19th century.  He wrote this masterpiece in 14 months, while he was in exile.  It is about Jean Valjean who was sentenced to the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his widowed sister and her chidren.  Many people have seen the film or stage version of this novel, but the written text is stunning.  Was it divinely inspired? I don't know.  Did the hand of God reach down and direct the hand of the author?  I don't know.  ...

Dominion Defeats Fox. The Parties Settled Today. What Happened, and Why? An 8 minute summary.

April 19, 2023 03:00 - 8 minutes - 6.09 MB

The Dominion Lawsuit Against Fox News, April 18, 2023 As a part of the Big Lie conspiracy theory, that Donald Trump had won the 2020 Presidential election but it had been stolen from him, Fox News began to feature attacks on Dominion Voting Machines.  They said that Dominion machines had “flipped” millions of votes from Trump to Biden, thus stealing the election.  Needless to say, this would destroy Dominion’s credibility, especially in Red States.   Dominion sued for $1.6 billion.  Legal...

A Palestinian Reflects on His Life in Ramallah, and His Life in Ann Arbor. A New Memoir.

April 15, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour - 42.5 MB

A Palestinian Reflects on life in Ramallah and Life in Ann Arbor Last year, Ramsey Hanhan published a slightly fictionalized memoir of his life.  It was called Fugitive Dreams:  A Personal Memoir.  Ramsey grew up in Ramallah, nine miles north of Jerusalem.  His parents were 1948 refugees.  In those days Ramallah was predominately a Christian town.  Today it is a bustling city.    Ramsey grew up under the Israeli occupation.  His textbooks had to have an Israeli stamp certifying that they ...

Christopher Robin Poems: A Delightful Selection

April 06, 2023 16:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MB

Almost everyone knows about Winnie the Pooh, but not as many know about the Christopher Robin Poems.  There were two collections of these poems, later gathered into a single book, The World of Christopher Robin.  These are poems that my sons and my grandkids know very well because Jane and I read them over and over.  (Recently we mentioned this collectin to my grandson and he began to recite the one that he liked the most).   Kids love to hear things like this over and over but for parents,...

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Why there will be no negotiated solution. The Perspectives of Ian Lustick. A Reposting.

March 19, 2023 19:00 - 38 minutes - 26.6 MB

With Israel being led by the most extreme government in its history, and with violence escalating on the West Bank, I thought it might be useful to repost this podcast.  Ian Lustick is a significant political scientist.  He specializes in intractable ethnic and colonial conflicts, and how they end.  This is his discussion of why Israel is incapable to addressing its occupation, and why the U.S. is incapable to pressuring them.  I have another podcast on possible outcomes, including the Blac...

Why there will be no negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The Perspectives of Ian Lustick. A Reposting.

March 19, 2023 19:00 - 38 minutes - 26.6 MB

With Israel being led by the most extreme government in its history, and with violence escalating on the West Bank, I thought it might be useful to repost this podcast.  Ian Lustick is a significant political scientist.  He specializes in intractable ethnic and colonial conflicts, and how they end.  This is his discussion of why Israel is incapable to addressing its occupation, and why the U.S. is incapable to pressuring them.  I have another podcast on possible outcomes, including the Blac...

Jimmy Carter. A Great American. A Great Christian. He Never Gave Up

March 05, 2023 16:00 - 24 minutes - 17 MB

Jane and I met Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter once, but I think we, and other Americans, knew him long before that.  These are my reflections on the life of a great American.  This includes his election as governor, Camp David, Panama Canal, his personality, and especially issues of race and racism.  It also includes his books, and especially An Hour Before Sunrise, his book on growing up in small town Georgia, and the nature of racial issues.