Note: The first episode shown during the First Quarter 2016 was a rerun of #335 on December 21, 2015.
Episode #720: Do A Thing
First Attempted Broadcast: 12/28/14 MNN showed Episode #335 instead.
First Actual Broadcast: 1/4/16
We talk about Christmas, and how lately it feels different from Christmas in the past. We talk about New Year's Eve, and how lately it feels different from New Year's Eve in the past. We talk about Donald Trump, and how he just makes my head hurt. And, we talk about Bernie Sanders, and how I hope he wins the Presidential election in 2016. Happy New Year, I hope!
Episode #721: Fundamentalists Aren't Fun
First Broadcast: 1/11/16
Charles Schulz's biography, feeling crowded, crowds at movies, art from conflict, George Lucas, Van Gogh, the awfulness of fundamentalism, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens all compete for our attention this week, some more successfully than others. Maybe we'll continue these ramblings next week!
Episode #722: Concrete Savagery
First Broadcast: 1/18/16
This week, we talk about the late David Bowie, who passed away only a few days before we taped this episode. In his 69 years on Earth, Bowie had an extraordinarily prolific and innovative career in music, film, and theater. He was always willing to try new directions, new styles, and new ways of creating his work, proving that he was an artist more than anything else. Bowie's last album was released on his birthday, two days before he died, prompting its producer, Tony Visconti, to declare, "His death was no different from his life – a work of art.” Not surprisingly, I've been listening to a lot of Bowie songs since his death, and the one that's stuck with me the most lately has been ""Heroes"", and specifically these lyrics:
We could be heroes
Just for one day
So much meaning in so few words. Told you he was an artist.
Episode #723: Did Not Help The Movie
First Broadcast: 1/25/16
I agree with The Dude, so there are no Glenn Frey tributes in this episode. Instead, we talk about The Metrograph cinema, some of their upcoming schedule, The Student Nurses, director Stephanie Rothman--and how she IS NOT appearing in person at The Metrograph (or at least, not to our knowledge), the soon-to-be-closed Ziegfeld Theatre, and the mysteries of who is supposed to benefit from Mayor de Blasio's plan to move the Central Park carriage horse stables out of Midtown and into Central Park. A lot packed into 28 minutes!
Episode #724: Voter Friendly State
First Broadcast: 2/8/16
Repeated: 2/29/16
So-called "voter fraud" is a myth! The election fraud in Ohio in 2004 is not a myth! Neither are the numerous voter suppression laws that have been passed since the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act in 2013! Did Ted Cruz's campaign commit fraud in this year's Iowa Caucuses? Is Bernie Sanders the future of the Democratic Party, since he received a solid majority of votes from people under 40 in Iowa? A lot of questions!
Episode #725: Hole In The Mattress
First Broadcast: 2/15/16
Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary! (Yay!) So did Donald Trump! (Yikes!) And one of the things I like about Sanders' platform is how he wants to save the post office. How can one save the post office? Postal banking is one idea. It's worked before. It could work again. Why do so many politicians want to hurt the post office in the first place? The reasons aren't pretty. Here's hoping Bernie's success continues all the way to the convention!
Episode #726: Firewall of Health
First Broadcast: 2/22/16
The Democratic Nevada caucuses came and went, and Bernie narrowed a considerable gap with Hillary in the process. Too bad he didn't come in first, but as they say: It's a marathon, not a sprint. But it could turn into a mosh pit if former Mayor Michael Bloomberg decides to run for President as an independent. A CNN poll seems to indicate that Bloomberg would peel more votes away from Bernie Sanders than from Donald Trump, if they were all on the ballot in November. However, I think this may be due more to Bloomberg's name recognition than to any support for what his policies might be--and we don't know what they are because he has yet to even officially announce his candidacy, let alone a platform. If Bloomberg did announce a platform, and if it resembled the pro-gentrification, pro-billionaire, pro-illegal spying, and pro-unconstitutional policing policies he pursued as Mayor, I think a lot more voters would stick with Bernie instead of gentrification on a national scale. More to come!
Episode #727: Racing to the Bottom
First Broadcast: 3/7/16
Repeated: 5/16/16
The 2016 Presidential Primaries (and Caucuses) are chugging along, and Bernie is still in it! On the Republican side, however, Donald Trump, fueled by his rabid fans, is en route to his party's nomination, regardless of what everyone else in the GOP has to say about it. Shouldn't we all be more disturbed how similar Trump's campaign is to George Wallace's of 1968? Is it time to move to Canada? More questions next week, I suspect.