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Virtually Speaking

651 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 7 years ago - ★★★★ - 14 ratings

Informal & informed conversations about politics, policy, economics, media, science and more. Sundays feature a panel of prominent members of the liberal blogosphere. Tuesdays, Jay Ackroyd talks public affairs, mostly with authors, mostly about progressive issues

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Episodes

Alan Boyle & Jennifer Ouellette: Searching for the Science of Self

March 06, 2014 03:30 - 1 hour - 15.3 MB

Alan Boyle talks with Jennifer Ouellette. In Me, Myself and Why: Searching for the Science of Self, she turns her attention to the mysteries of human identity and behavior; drawing on genetics, neuroscience & psychology—enlivened as always with her signature sense of humor and pop-culture references—to explore how we become who we are.

David Brin Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

February 21, 2014 02:00 - 1 hour - 13.8 MB

Author David Brin recently updated his essay Why Transparency will Save Privacy.  Jay and David discuss the implications of recent revelations of US government surveillance activities. Hugo, Nebula, Campbell and ALA award winning David Brin is also the author of the remarkably prescient The Transparent Society.   Awarded the ALA Freedom of  Speech award, in this book he argues that technological innovation makes surveillance impossible to stop, but that the ultimate response by civil liberta...

Peter Moskos: Drug Legalization

January 31, 2014 02:00 - 1 hour - 13.7 MB

Peter Moskos is an associate professor in the Department of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also on the faculty of CUNY's Doctoral Program in Sociology and teaches a class at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. His first book, Cop in the Hood, won the 2008 American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence, Best Book in Sociology. His second book, In Defense of Flogging, was listed as a "Favorite Book...

Stephanie Kelton & Gaius Publius Virtually Speaking

January 22, 2014 02:00 - 1 hour - 13.8 MB

Stephanie Kelton, Ph.D. is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the top-ranked blog New Economic Perspectives.  In this episode, she and  Gaius Publius discuss the basics of Modern Monetary Theory.  Also, at the bottom of the hour, Gaius Publius on the Unpeople of the World.  More information here. Also, help out the show by checking out Audible's free 30 day trial, or visit our virtual bookstore.

Tom Levenson & Deborah Blum: The Poisoner's Handbook

January 16, 2014 02:00 - 1 hour - 18.3 MB

Tom Levenson talks about The Poisoner's Handbook poison, the emergence of systematic chemistry as a tool, the issues we face of our ignorance of so much of the chemical universe — the West Virginia spill will be our proof text there — and more –  with Pulitzer Prize winning writer Deborah Blum. Follow @deborahblum @TomLevenson

Ian Welsh Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

January 10, 2014 02:00 - 1 hour - 13.5 MB

Jay and Ian Welsh continue the discussion rerun last week regarding the need to develop a new ideology in the face of the failure of our technocratic centrist elite to  deal with the consequences of the petroleum economy: A powerful ideology is a scary thing. If your ideology isn’t strong enough, doesn’t create enough fervent belief that people will die for it, then it won’t change the world.  But if it does create that level of fervent belief, then it will be misused, so the question is sim...

Stuart Zechman & Joseph White VS Counterpoints: Health Care System

January 08, 2014 02:00 - 57 minutes - 12.9 MB

Stuart Zechman discusses the policy framework that underlies the US health care system with Joseph White, Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy at Case Western Reserve University. Professor White is also the author of Competing Solutions: American Health Care Proposals and International Experience.    

Lizz Winstead & KC Boyd: Being Christian

December 18, 2013 03:00 - 1 hour - 13.6 MB

In this special edition, Lizz Winstead and  KC Boyd discuss KC's new novel novel Being Christian. The book tells the story of a larger-than-life, yet familiar, character from his crime-ridden beginnings to the peak of his political influence in post-9/11 America. Not since Elmer Gantry has a novel so exposed the religious flim-flammery and hypocrisy that threaten to tear apart the American social and political fabric. Being Christian is a quintessentially American story, based on the ideolo...

Kevin Murphy & Stuart Zechman • Defining Liberalism & Progressivism

December 12, 2013 02:00 - 7 minutes - 1.41 MB

Kevin C. Murphy & Stuart Zechman discuss the difference between modern ¨liberalism¨ and modern ¨progressivism.´ Five minutes excerpted from this longer conversation where Stuart Zechman and Kevin C. Murphy discuss Kevin's dissertation, Uphill All the Way: The Fortunes of Progressivism 1919-1929 Gaius Publius considers  it here. Listen to Kevin's Aug 2013 conversation about1920s progressive context, thought and action in which progressives became liberals... here.  

The Reid Rule: Filibuster Reform • Joan McCarter & David Waldman

November 23, 2013 00:00 - 17 minutes - 3.89 MB

Joan McCarter and David Waldman discusses the implications of the Reid Rule, and the future of the filibuster in the Senate. David (KagroX) has been working on this issue for at least 6 years, as reported today by CNN.    

Geoffrey Kabaservice VS with Jay Ackroyd

November 22, 2013 02:00 - 1 hour - 13.7 MB

The reality-challenged far right wing of the Republican Party coming to power is not a new development in American politics. Geoffrey Kabaservice discusses the post-war history of the conservative wing of the GOP, from Goldwater's Birchers to today's Tea Party in his book, Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party (Studies in Postwar American Political Development)    

Karen Ho Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

October 18, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 14.9 MB

Anthropologist Karen Ho comes by to talk about Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street, based on interviews with employees of Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and other firms. Follow @AmericanAnthro @JayAckroyd http://www.thelosangelespost.org/liquidated-ethnography-wall-street-karen-ho/ http://blog.aaanet.org/2009/07/24/karen-ho-discusses-liquidated-in-time/ More at VirtuallySpeaking.us  

David Kahn Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

October 11, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 13.6 MB

David Kahn – universally regarded as the dean of intelligence historians – recounts the desperate efforts to gather information during World War II and the Cold War. In  How I Discovered World War II's Greatest Spy and Other Stories of Intelligence and Code Kahn provides insight into the dark realm of intelligence and code. By revealing the past, this work helps guide present and future intelligence efforts. Kahn is the author of The Codebreakers and Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the ...

Bruce Schneier VIrtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

October 04, 2013 00:30 - 57 minutes - 13 MB

Security and crytography expert Bruce Schneier, author of Secrets and Lies and most recently, Liars and Outliers discusses the recent NSA revelations. Follow @schneierblog @jayackroyd Pre-recorded. No call-ins.

David Neiwert & Cliff Schecter Virtually Speaking

September 27, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15.3 MB

Cliff Schecter — nationally syndicated columnist and political commentator — talks with investigative journalist & author David Neiwert, about And Hell Followed With Her: Crossing the Dark Side of the American Border(NationBooks, March 2013),

What digby said: Deficit Fever

September 23, 2013 17:30 - 2 minutes - 382 KB

Excerpted from Sept 22 hour-long conversation with Susie Madrak and Stephanie Kelton. Listen here.

digby, Susie Madrak, Stephanie Kelton VSSundays

September 23, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15.8 MB

Political & social commentators digby and Susie Madrak, offer a counter point to the Sunday morning talk shows. They compare notes from their observations, investigations and considerations of the past week. Stephanie Kelton calls in mid-way through. Sherry Reson moderates. Chuck Todd- the relationship between gov't, citizens and media Grand bargain rising: Defunding Food Stamps, Obamacare Debt Ceiling Trainwreck Follow @digby56 @SusieMadrak @StephanieKelton @Sherry_Reson @Bobblespeak   ...

Tim Noah Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

September 20, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 13.6 MB

Journalist Tim Noah, author The Great  Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It talks with host Jay Ackroyd. Noah provides evidence of two inequality trends: between the colllege educated and those who are not, and between the 1% and everyone else. He calls the latter the great divergence. Follow @timothynoah1 @JayAckroyd More at VirtuallySpeaking.us   

Juan Cole: Syrian climate, economics and politics

September 14, 2013 00:00 - 8 minutes - 1.69 MB

In this excerpt from a Sept 12, 2013 hour long conversation with Jay Ackroyd, Juan Cole links the climate, economics and politics of the Middle East, Syria in particular.  

Juan Cole Virtually Speaking Jay Ackroyd

September 13, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 14.6 MB

Juan Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, where he specializes in the Middle East and South Asia. Juan talks with Jay Ackroyd about Egypt, Syria, Lebanon -- including the drought conditions leading to the popular uprising -- and the development of a coherent US foreign policy in the region. Follow @jricole @jayackroyd  

Richard Eskow, Jay Ackroyd: ObamaCare & Adverse Selection

September 11, 2013 01:00 - 6 minutes - 1.35 MB

In this 5 min clip, taken from Virtually Speaking Sundays — recorded live on Sept 8, 2013 — Richard — RJ — Eskow speaks with Jay Ackroyd about the quality of insurance under Obamacare. They make the point that deciding against a plan that requires you to pay $10–$15,000 out of pocket in the case of a medical emergency is a rational act. The full program is here.

Kevin Murphy Virtually Speaking w/ Jay Ackroyd

August 23, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15 MB

Kevin Murphy - speechwriter, ghostwriter, researcher, editor, and advisor to progressive campaigns and political organizations, talks wth host Jay Ackroyd. They talk about 1920s progressve context, thought and action and how progressives became liberals. Kevin blogs at Ghost in the Machine. Follow @KCM74 Uphill All the Way < Study

Lynn Stout: The Shareholder Value Myth

August 09, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 13.9 MB

Lynn Stout joins Jay Ackroyd to discuss her book, The Shareholder Value Myth. The idea that a public corporation has one, and only objective--to maximize shareholder value is such a widely held idea that it's deeply implicit in much current business writing. What else is a corporation to do, but to maximize shareholder value? More at virtuallyspeaking.us

Alan Boyle: Curiousity on Mars

August 08, 2013 02:00 - 1 hour - 14.1 MB

Alan Boyle hosts a free-wheeling conversation about the first year of Curiousity on Mars, with reminiscences of what the landing was like, how the mission has been going, and what lies ahead. Alan is joined by Science Fiction writer Doug Turnbull and Mars Science Lab (MSL) Deptuty Project Scientist, Dr. Joy Crisp from JPL. Background from @b0yle Follow @dturnbull2 #1yearonMars Doug on Smashword link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DougTurnbull

Avedon Carol & Dave Waldman Virtually Speaking Sundays

August 05, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 13.5 MB

Political & social commentators Avedon Carol & David Waldman compare notes from their observations, investigations and considerations of the past week: captured media, captured government, boring scandals and #gunfail. Avedon posted background reading. Jay Ackroyd moderates. Follow @Avedon_Says @KagroX @JayAckroyd  

A-Z: John Harwood 'Centrist Political Memo'

August 03, 2013 21:30 - 1 hour - 15.2 MB

Jay Ackroyd & Stuart Zechman take a close look at a July 26, 2013 New York Times 'Political Memo' by John Harwood. They consider what Harwood says and seems to say in Fed Chairman’s Departure Casts a New Light on the Bush Legacy. More at virtuallyspeaking.us.

David Cay Johnston: Chief Justice RobertsIdeological Radical

June 30, 2013 00:00 - 2 minutes - 247 KB

Clipped from a June 27 hour-long conversation with Jay Ackroyd. Listen here http://www.blogtalkradio.com/virtuallyspeaking/2013/06/28/david-cay-johnston-virtually-speaking-with-jay-ackroyd

Dan Ellsberg & Glenn Greenwald: Circe's Potion

June 28, 2013 04:00 - 10 minutes - 2.18 MB

Dan Ellsberg relates a conversation with Henry Kissenger in which he — Ellsberg — describes what happens to people as they become privy to closely held and sensitive government information. The year was 1969 and Kissinger had made his first presentation to the National Security Council. Glenn Greenwald brings it forward in time and reflects on WikiLeaks. Recorded in 2011 with Jay Ackroyd.

David Cay Johnston Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

June 28, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15.1 MB

American investigative journalist — economics and tax issues — and author David Cay Johnston talks with host Jay Ackroyd about debt peonage and neo feudalism. Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With The Bill, is about hidden subsidies, rigged markets, and corporate socialism. Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—and Cheat Everybody Else, a New York Times bestselleron the U.S. tax syste...

Peter Moskos Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

June 14, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 19 MB

Militarization of the police. A former Baltimore Police Dep't officer Peter Moskos teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center in the Department of Sociology. He is the author of Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District Follow @PeterMoskos

David Brin Virtually Speaking w/ Jay Ackroyd

June 07, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 13.7 MB

David Brin explores transparency, security, privacy & openness inThe Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? (Winner of the Freedom of Speech Award of the American Library Association).  Links and more This is their second conversation about The Transparent Society, and its implications in the 21st century, as well as the pros and cons of alien contact. Listen to them in Sept 2010.  

Dean Baker Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

May 24, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15.5 MB

Economist Dean Baker and Jay Ackroyd discuss the current state of the economics profession. More here: Center for Economic Policy & Research http://www.cepr.net/ Follow @deanbaker13 @jayackroyd @ceprdc

Ian Welsh Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

May 17, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 14.4 MB

Engaging the surveillance state, good news and bad. Editor, writer & social media consultant Ian Welsh - "The horizon is not so far as we can see, but as far as we can imagine" - comes by to continue his extended conversation with host Jay Ackroyd. Read Ian here  Follow @IWelsh @JayAckroyd More at VirtuallySpeaking.us

Glenn W. Smith Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

May 10, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15.2 MB

Veteran campaign strategist, journalist & author Glenn W. Smith stops by to talk with host Jay Ackroyd about Texas as harbinger for the nation. Follow @GlennWSmith @JayAckroyd Read Glenn at Progressive Voices & Firedoglake More at http://virtuallyspeaking.us/virtually-speaking-with-jay-ackroyd/2013/5/7/glenn-smith-virtually-speaking-with-jay-ackroyd  

Ian Welsh Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

April 26, 2013 01:00 - 58 minutes - 13.1 MB

Toronto based social media consultant, editor and writer Ian Welsh writes at IanWelsh.com. Formerly the Managing Editor of FireDogLake and the Agonist, his work has also appeared at Huffington Post, Alternet, and Truthout, as well as the now defunct Blogging of the President (BOPNews). In Canada his work has appeared in Pogge.ca and BlogsCanada. Ian and Jay talk about how the events in Boston illuminate the intelligence and military apparatus now operating in the US,  in support of an incre...

Jay Rosen, Stuart Zechman, Jay Ackroyd VS Sundays

April 09, 2013 16:00 - 1 hour - 25.7 MB

Prof. Jay Rosen — Twitter mindcaster extraordinary, NYU J-school Prof and  Studio 20 program Director at NYU, media critic and student of new media — talks with Stuart Zechman about the ideology of the press, the 'church of the savvy,' the David Broder brand and Third Way Democratic constructs about social safety net programs. Jay Ackroyd joins Stuart just before the end of the hour. Follow @JayRosen_NYU @Stuart_Zechman @JayAckroyd Links & more https://virtually-speaking.squarespace.com/virt...

Alan Boyle & George Djorgovski VS Science

April 05, 2013 04:00 - 1 hour - 15 MB

Recorded April 3. Cosmic Log's Alan Boyle and CalTech astrophysicist George Djorgovski discuss education in cyberspace: the challenges, opportunities and value.   http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/03/17588730-internet-takes-education-to-new-level-will-universities-make-the-grade?lite Djorgovski is Professor of Astronomy; Co-Director of the Center for Advanced Computing Research at Caltech; Director of the Meta-Institute for Computational Astrophysics; a founder of the Virtual O...

Stuart Zechman Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

April 05, 2013 01:00 - 56 minutes - 12.7 MB

Stuart Zechman talks with Jay Ackroyd about trust funds as instruments of infrastructure development, e.g.: the roads we drive on. He considers possible redirection of the Highway Trust Fund to general federal revenues presages and what similar actions might mean for Social Security.  Follow @StuartZechman @JayAckroyd Avedon Carol summarizes a previous convo with Stuart: http://avedoncarol.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/our-infrastructure-is-paid-for-by.html

Digby & Stuart Zechman Virtually Speaking Sundays

April 01, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15 MB

Two members of our media panel - Avedon Carol, Cliff Schecter, David Dayen, Dave Johnson, David Waldman, digby, Gaius Publius, Joan McCarter, Marcy Wheeler, Stuart Zechman - discuss developments of the week. They counter the narratives and highlight issues neglected or misrepresented by the legacy media. Informed, lively and informal. This week: digby -  An American political writer and founder of the liberal blog Hullabaloo, Digby has contributed to Campaign For America's Future's blog The...

Dave Weigel Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

March 29, 2013 01:00 - 59 minutes - 13.4 MB

Jay Ackroyd chats with American journalist Dave Weigel —   Slate political reporter and MSNBC contributor. They'll talk about the factions of the US convervative movement, their role and influences on US policy and the US Congress. Follow @daveweigel @jayackroyd Links: http://www.slate.com/authors.david_weigel.html http://daveweigel.com/

Culture of Truth: Paranoia

March 25, 2013 04:00 - 5 minutes - 1.12 MB

Political satirist Culture of Truth bases The Bobblespeak Translations - What They're Really Saying When They're Saying What They're Saying - on the Sunday morning major network 'news' shows, then creates the 'most ridiculous moment' for Virtually Speaking Sundays. We post a podcast and the copy. Follow @Bobblespeak  Text: https://virtually-speaking.squarespace.com/culture-of-truth-ridiculous/2013/3/24/culture-of-truth Bobblespeak:http://moonshinepatriot.blogspot.com/2013/03/meet-press-march...

Cliff Schecter & Gaius Publius Virtually Speaking Sundays

March 25, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 13.7 MB

Two members of our media panel discuss developments of the week, countering the narratives of the traditional media, highlighting issues neglected or misrepresented or otherwise messed with on the Sunday morning broadcasts. This week Cliff Schecter & Gaius Publius • The sequester and benefit cuts: where we stand • Gun legislation and recent action in the Senate • Harry Reid, filibuster reform and progressive senators (the collegiality problem and how to solve it) Plus media satire from...

Stephanie Kelton Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

March 22, 2013 01:00 - 2 hours - 27.4 MB

Seriously good stuff. An accessible master's class in economics. In this combined and lightly edited rerun of conversations recorded June 2012 and Feb 2013, Jay Ackroyd and Stephanie Kelton, Professor of Economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City discuss Modern Monetary Theory. In a far ranging conversation, they consider the differences between the budgets of households and sovereign states, both domestic and foreign, the platinum coin concept and the nature of fiat currency. Follow @...

Stephanie Kelton Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd

March 22, 2013 01:00 - 2 hours - 27.4 MB

Seriously good stuff. An accessible master's class in economics. In this combined and lightly edited rerun of conversations recorded June 2012 and Feb 2013, Jay Ackroyd and Stephanie Kelton, Professor of Economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City discuss Modern Monetary Theory. In a far ranging conversation, they consider the differences between the budgets of households and sovereign states, both domestic and foreign, the platinum coin concept and the nature of fiat currency. Follow @...

Tom Levenson & Emily Anthes: VS Science

March 21, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15.6 MB

Recorded earlier today. Tom Levenson - filmmaker and Prof of Science Writing at MIT - hosts Emily Anthes. author of Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts. They'll discuss animals and biotechnology.   In her just released book -  Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts - Emily explore's how genetic engineering, cloning, prosthetics, neural implants, and other technologies are shaping the future of the world's wild things. Along the way, she inv...

Culture of Truth: Clueless

March 18, 2013 04:00 - 6 minutes - 1.32 MB

Political Satirist Culture of Truth offers "Clueless!" - commentary on today's most ridiculous moment from the Sunday morning talk shows. Read the full Bobblespeak Translation here. Read today's Most Ridiculous Moment here.   Follow @Bobblespeak http://moonshinepatriot.blogspot.com/2013/03/meet-press-march-17-2013.html

Michael Hiltzik Virtually Speaking w/ Jay Ackroyd

March 15, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 14 MB

Host Jay Ackroyd chats with LA Times Business Columnist Michael Hiltzik about his book "The New Deal: A Modern History" and the public understanding of  Social Security and /Medicare as 'safety net' for US citizens most in need, when they were intended to set citizen funds aside in a safe place where they can't be "lost" by private sector institutions in "panics" or "bank failures" or "bubbles" or "depressions."   Follow @LATimesHiltzik @JayAckroyd   Links http://www.latimes.com/news/columnis...

Jennifer Ouellette & Janna Levin Virtually Speaking Science

March 14, 2013 01:00 - 51 minutes - 11.5 MB

Jennifer Ouellette hosts  theoretical astrophysicist Janna Levin. They chat about the latest on black holes, the sounds of the early universe, Alan Turing and Kurt Godel, how writing fiction is different from nonfiction science writing, her unusual career trajectory (including how she met her musician husband), and so forth. Janna Levin (http://www.jannalevin.com) studies black holes, chaos, and the early universe; is the author of "How The Universe Got Its Spots" and "A Madman Dreams of Tur...

Culture of Truth: Feelings!

March 11, 2013 04:00 - 4 minutes - 907 KB

Political Satirist Culture of Truth offers "Feelings!" - commentary on today's most ridiculous moment from Meet the Press. Read the full Bobblespeak Translation here.   Follow @Bobblespeak http://moonshinepatriot.blogspot.com/2013/03/meet-press-march-10-2012.html

David Dayen & Dave Waldman Virtually Speaking Sundays

March 11, 2013 01:00 - 1 hour - 15 MB

Two writers from our media panel discuss developments of the week, countering the narratives of the traditional media, highlighting issues neglected or misrepresented or otherwise messed with on the Sunday morning broadcasts. David Dayen writes about state and national issues at Salon.com. Since 2004, his work has been cited by the LA Times, the New York Times and the Washington Post and he has been a guest on NPR, Pacifica Radio and Air America. Follow @ddayen David Waldman scrutinizes t...

Guests

Cathy O'Neil
1 Episode

Books

Decline and Fall
1 Episode

Twitter Mentions

@aaronsw 2 Episodes
@lizzwinstead 1 Episode
@jayackroyd 1 Episode