Episodes

Wednesday Apr 16, 2025
Loyola Philosophy Professor Dr. Graham McAleer on "Tolkien, Philosopher of War"
Wednesday Apr 16, 2025
Wednesday Apr 16, 2025

Thursday Apr 17, 2025
"Paul Revere's Ride" performed for the 250th anniversary
Thursday Apr 17, 2025
Thursday Apr 17, 2025
April 18, 1775 Paul Revere as the lead rider with several carefuly-chosen other riders set out from Boston to spread the word that the British were coming to capture American stores of war materials in Concord and Lexington.
The Minute-Men were waiting when the British Regulars came.
Someone fired "the shot heard 'round the world".
The great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this poem as that nation birthed in 1775 was challenged by mounting division that eventually came to a civil war.
This is a reading of the poem for WTBF radio and this podcast. I hope you enjoy, and possibly are inspired by these majestic words.

Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Terry Heflin returns with "Desperate Odds" Book 4 in her Civil War spy series
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Post-Civil War agents for the Secret Service, Rebecca and Robert Harper, are on the trail of un-reconstructed Confederates one again in this latest spy thriller from a name familiar to my listeners! Dr. Terry Heflin is an expert researcher for her novels and a great storyteller as well. Her characters are reasonable, colorful, and occasionally lethal.
The time is 1866, a year after the War ended, and many disgruntled Rebels have headed West. Some came for a fresh uncomplicated start, but others (such as Ramsey McNeil) have much bigger and bolder plans. He is assembling a small army of ex-Confederates through the secret organization exposed in previous novels in the series. The Knights of the Golden Circle have chosen to move into the territories of the West, specifically Colorado, as there is great mineral wealth there and much territory. Their hopes: to build a rival nation to the USA!
Rebecca and Robert arrive in Denver separately: she poses as a Rebel with a family connection to great wealth which would interest McNeil, while he pretends to be a disgruntled Union deserter who wants to join the growing military forces of ex-Confederates. Rebecca is shocked to find her dear cousin Elise in Denver, engaged to the vulgar Ramsey McNeil! They have meet two other old friends, professional gambler John Ashburn and his partner in crime, Lily. They are also playing a very dangerous game in attempting to procure the deed to a large tract of land which Ramsey McNeil desperately wants. He is not a nice man, nor anyone to take lightly.
When the fix is in, the undercover Secret Service agents slowly tighten the noose around McNeil’s neck. But the threat on them all is very serious and could turn deadly at any false move.

Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Nat Segaloff returns with the Rambo Report!
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
The ultimate guide to the Rambo phenomenon-from bestselling novel to Hollywood blockbuster to all-American hero, legend, and icon-written with the full cooperation of Rambo's creator, bestselling author David Morrell . . From the beginning, Rambo was more than a character in a 1972 novel by David Morrell. He was the culmination of the author's personal encounters with veterans returning from the Vietnam War. The 1982 movie adaptation of First Blood reflected the novel's powerful insights into a troubled veteran's post-war experience. Then in 1985, the film's explosive sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II transformed the character into something shockingly different. With a focus on blood-and-guts action-and the beefed-up muscles of Sylvester Stallone-Rambo became an invincible one-man army. A new kind of hero for a new day in America. A full-blown pop-culture icon as controversial as he was crowd-pleasing-blasting his way through the most influential action film franchise in Hollywood history . . .
The Rambo legend was born.
Five feature films. Three novels. Seven video games. Countless comic books, action figures, and even an animated TV show for kids. The Rambo machine has been as unstoppable as Rambo himself. Now for the first time, Hollywood insider Nat Segaloff digs deep into the man, the myth, and the massive impact of the phenomenon known as "The Rambo Effect." Packed with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, sharp cultural insights, and ongoing debates about violence in the media, this is an explosive no-holds-barred report from the front lines of Hollywood myth-making. A must-read for Rambo fans, movies buffs, and anyone interested in American culture.
Nat Segaloff has been a movie publicist and film critic (not at the same time), TV producer, college teacher, reporter, and broadcaster. He has brought all those skills to over 30 books, most of them about film history and filmmakers. His print and TV biographies include those of John Belushi, Larry King, Arthur Penn, Harlan Ellison, William Friedkin, John Milius, Paul Mazursky, Stan Lee, Stirling Silliphant, Walon Green, and Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop. His Citadel books include The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear, Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Century of Scarface, and The Rambo Report: Five Films, Three Books, One Legend. Visit him online at www.NatSegaloff.com

Wednesday May 07, 2025
Chris Whipple Analyzes the Wldest Presidential Race Ever-2024
Wednesday May 07, 2025
Wednesday May 07, 2025
UNCHARTED: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History (Harper Influence)
Chris Whipple, the New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers and The Spymasters, now turns his sharp eye towards the historic 2024 presidential race, providing the definitive, insider account of the most dramatic and significant political showdown in modern American history..In minute-by-minute detail, UNCHARTED: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History chronicles the unprecedented drama as it unfolded, documenting the true story of the Harris and Trump campaigns and the difficult, urgent decisions made in the back rooms of power. Alternating between the Biden/Harris/Walz and the Trump/Vance camps, Whipple draws on his unique access to exclusive sources on both sides, including Jen O'Malley Dillon, Susie Wiles and Ron Klain.
Some of the news revelations in UNCHARTED includes:
*The details of Biden's disastrous debate prep session at Camp David. One source in UNCHARTED said the president was "out of it, disengaged and befuddled."
*Former Obama Chief of Staff Bill Daley's private efforts to get Biden to step aside and his conversations with Biden's chief of staff, Jeff Zients. Biden's first chief of staff, Ron Klain, accused Zients of enabling an "avoidable tragedy."
*What really caused Joe Biden to go blank during the debate.
*Inside a secret meeting between Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden at the White House residence on July 11, 2024.
*How Biden's inner circle convinced themselves that the president should run again despite his obvious cognitive decline.
*How the Biden White House strong-armed democrats from getting into a primary race against the president.
*What Joe Biden and his close aides Steve Riccetti and Mile Donilon talked about during that fateful July 2024 weekend at Biden's Delaware beach house.
* The specific thing that caused Joe Biden to feel Barack Obama betrayed him.
*How Harris and her aides secretly directed Democratic operatives to lay the groundwork for her nomination - even before Biden withdrew. Operatives looked at rules governing a possible swap at the top of the ticket and pressured prominent Democratic senators to call on Biden to step down.
*How Susie Wiles became Trump's most trusted adviser and how taking care of her alcoholic father helps her deal with the president.
* What Trump's campaign co-chairs, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, really think of the president.
*Why Harris failed to effectively answer Trump's infamous "trans" ad.
* Why Harris whiffed on a question during her appearance on "The View" about how her presidency would differ from Biden's.
*Why, despite their own internal polling showing otherwise, the Harris campaign boasted that it was winning.
*What Harris said to Trump during her concession phone call.
A disastrous debate, a would-be assassin's bullet, an electrifying eleventh hour candidate swap, dramatic and surprising VP selections, betrayals behind closed doors, charges of a stolen election, game-changing blunders-the history-making 2024 presidential election is a political saga of Shakespearean proportions. In minute-by-minute detail, esteemed White House historian and political analyst Chris Whipple chronicles the unprecedented drama as it unfolds, documenting the true story of the Harris and Trump campaigns and the difficult, urgent decisions made in the back rooms of power, with the future of American democracy at stake.
Alternating between the Biden/Harris/Walz and the Trump/Vance camps, Whipple tells the fly-on-the-wall story of campaign 2024, drawing on his unique access to exclusive sources on both sides, including conversations with members of the candidates' inner circles. Whipple goes behind the scenes of every headline-making moment to reveal how a post-debate intra-party rebellion forced Biden to step aside, how the nomination of Vice President Harris at a thrilling convention reshaped the race, how Harris rallied excited voters across generations and demographics, but ultimately could not overcome the underlying weaknesses of her campaign. Whipple also burrows inside Donald Trump's campaign to reveal startling new insights into how he overcame primary opponents and multiple prosecutions, rebranded his base to appeal to Gen Z voters, and forged powerful alliances with Silicon Valley CEOs like Elon Musk.
An intimate portrait of American politics on the edge, filled with previously untold stories, anecdotes, and insights, Uncharted is the authoritative account of this pivotal chapter in American politics. As he brings to life the most dramatic and important presidential campaign of the modern age and puts it into historical perspective, Whipple exposes how ambition, conviction, and resilience collide at the highest echelons of power, offering a deeper understanding of the forces that define a divided nation.