DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

•  Technically speaking, the police are a standing army as framed by the Founding Fathers and as such, they're unconstitutional... So where are all the "violation of my civil liberties" militia nutcakes now? And Roger Goodell and the NFL owners have George Floyd's blood on their hands. (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• Wrapping our heads around the fact our militarized police and institutional racism begats murder and violence by the hands who are supposed to "Protect and Serve". (Recorded Friday late-morning May 29th, 2020) 
• Trump's war with Twitter is yet another version of a SLAPP suit, and ultimately nothing more than a means to "legally" bully and intimidate all those who would oppose his sociopathic and racist self-interests.
• Looting and rioting can be replaced and repaired, murdering someone in cold blood cannot. (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:29:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s 'Best of Edition' Let Me Tell You A Story: “Little League Of Horrors" (begins around the 1:41:00 mark)
• Happy June 1st, 2020, the most blindly entitled and foolish of you can now have a wedding in Ohio with up to 300 people attendance!
• The MLB owners and their most recent attempt to divide et impera. Isn't it funny how trickle down zombie economics continues to feed billionaire team owners in this country, while at the same time these same owners propose the exact opposite economic plan to its millionaire workforce?
• Mollie’s Weekly Reports: Some positives of Twitter still exist (hard to believe, right? Well, it's true), PFUFA's Hall Of Fame ceremonies have been cancelled and we feel for all the fan-hobos effected by this (and plea for them to maybe expand their portfolios a bit), and have you heard about William Murray golf wear? (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:45:00 mark)
• Of course Ohio is eventually going to legalize gambling, it's just ironic that the closest they've been to getting it passed is at a time when there are no live sports in this country to bet on...
• Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! – Socially distancing with Mom, pleasantly shopping for books at the best book store franchise ever during a pandemic, and some (more) bananas ways Minor League Baseball Stadiums are attempting to drum up revenue.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is a 1965 album we've recommended before, and it's so sad its timelessness also includes its consistent relevance some 55 years later, please check out the self-titled release by Barbara Dane And The Chamber Brothers, you will be so glad you did.

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• ICU beds in this state are fuller than they have been at any other time during this crisis yet most people spent the holiday weekend treating it as if "the pandemic's over (no it is not!), so Merry Memorial Day everybody (we are clearly all doomed)!"  (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• Townhall is suing Scene magazine and we predicted all of this weeks ago, because the Defend Cleveland Show is the only spots talk program with any common sense left, apparently.
• Dune, the 1965 "sci-fi" book is way overhyped, and 1984 David Lynch film Dune is singularly one of the worst movies ever, so is there any hope for the newest adaptation to film being any good? (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:16:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story with a brand new offering: "Bill MacKinnon's Greatest Hits (begins around the 1:36:00 mark)
• Pinball is suing the state of Ohio right now... Well, sort of.
• Running like a landlocked walrus and getting beat in a race by someone who was walking instead of running.
• Of course the first university to make headlines from planning a way for having fans in the stands for football games in the fall is Thee Ohio State. 
• Mollie's Weekly Reports: A Bundesliga team creates a novel way for their season ticket holders to still be seen at the stadium during home games, Zach Bruell is going up and beyond in taking this pandemic serious at his restaurants, and Minor League baseball stadiums being listed on Air BnB?! (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:42:00 mark)
• The only competitive sports out there that's truly an escape from all of this right now.
• Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! – And yet another thing this show predicted is about to be approved, beef sheets, Elon Musk is giving out the wrong number, and the saddest thing about sports returning isn't that there won't be fans in the stands.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the newest collection of hits by Sleaford Mods called 'All That Glue' available via Rough Trade.

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Of course the worst douchebag bars and restaurants were the first to not follow the rules required for reopening. (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• What reopening now really means for businesses in Ohio, and how all the things that were outlined as necessary to safely do so just aren't being done.
• The MLB's 67 page plan to begin plan requires implementing protocols that if they're even feasible are still wholly unjustifiable. (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:25:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story ‘Best Of Edition’: “Family Heirloom” (begins around the 1:45:00 mark)
• Danny "Kiss From A" Rose, our favorite soccer player gets it, and Blake Snell doesn't.
• Let's make one thing implicitly clear here, baseball owners are (and forever will be) far greedier than the players, regardless of how greedy they players are.
• Ratings for our sporting events in this country look pretty good, but they don't even come close to Geisterspeile! And Mollie has a damn good reason for not having any podcast Weekly Reports to report on... (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:48:00 mark)
• In Germany where they have a leader who's handled this pandemic by following the advice of science experts they now get to watch the most popular sport in the world, in the United States where we have Trump all that's returned so far are the white trash sports only. Go figure.
• There's a KKK Hair Salon in Wisconsin and it may not be what you think, but it's certainly almost just as bad.
• Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! – Free condoms! And whenever you need a pick-me-up, Minor-League Baseball stories always deliver.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the new album 'A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip' by the band Sparks

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• There's nothing quite like ending an unexpected burger fast with a Swenson's Galley Boy. (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• Forget wondering about what's inside your butt(fart), what we really should be wondering is why it is we still can't say "butt(fart)" on radio?!
• Pondering what would have happened if Freaks & Geeks, instead of being cancelled. went on to be a hit series. The UFC is going to hold its fights no matter who gets sick from Covid19. And calling the Health Department to report restaurants and bars who aren't following the mandated safety procedures simply isn't going to work. (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:16:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story ‘Best Of Edition’: “I'm Going To Hell” (begins around the 1:40:00 mark)
• Holding Michael Jordan more to the standard set by his contemporaries and the era of his playing days, and not to an entirely different standard set by athletes in totally different eras.
• Speaking of different eras, remember when MTV used to actually be "Music Television"? Well, now you don't have to remember it because you can straight up re-watch that shit, commercials and all!
• Mixed messages from our government causes chaos and havoc, because of course it does, and the notion of people "policing themselves" as they move to open restaurants and bars is a dangerously bad idea, because of course it is. 
• (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:41:00 mark)
• Moving to Denmark and working at a McDonald's seems like a really, really, really good idea right now. Seriously.
• The Browns schedule was released and (if this season even happens) it really looks like our team could finally win enough games to end their 18 year playoff drought... But you just know something Brownsy is going to ruin that fun. For sure.
• FOCO and the fine print they don't want you to read about their officially licensed team logo facial coverings.
• More of Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! – Llamas to the pandemic rescue! Minor-League baseball teams are doing curbside service, and marinara is apparently illegal in Altoona, PA (or so their dumb 420 promotion gimmick would have you believe).

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the legendary 1966 album by The Monks 'Black Monk Time'

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Crazed extremists and white supremacists (two peas in a pod) are being given too much attention, and unfortunately all the coverage is making them and their nutcake beliefs all the more dangerous. (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• Can the pandemic qualify as a midlife crisis, or will you still have to buy that red European sports car after it's all over?
• Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has been continuing to tax city taxpayers for a recycling program that doesn't even exist anymore, and Cleveland.com was nowhere to be found with the headline.
• Some of the good and bad in all the novel ways there is to get high on THC these days, and "murder hornets" are probably the most appropriately scary named creature you've ever heard of, and they've arrived in America... As if shit wasn't already scary enough. (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:19:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story ‘Best Of Edition’: “Hearing Impaired” (begins around the 1:40:00 mark)
• Ask An Expert – Part 5: A conversation with Defend Cleveland's own Greg Miller, a 20 year veteran of the television industry, about network TV and how it's been changed by the pandemic, how much broadcasting is shifting to streaming and what it all means for local channels, and since Greg's also the show's beatwriter covering the Browns, we get his take on the 2020 Draft and the chances of Cleveland having a winning season. ~Special Defend Cleveland Feature~
• Good old world wines are the absolutely best but you just can't get around how cost prohibitive the stuff can be if you're on a tight income, Mollie's Weekly Reports, and with businesses set to open here's our last pandemic recommendations for you (and you're going to love Mike's recommendation if you're a fan of hot wings!) (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:40:00 mark)
• Turns out there's more than one N.R.A., and they're both unsafe for society.
• More of Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! – Wrong Tito, Mexican Wrestling Masks are scary, and getting licked by a zebra and animal cameos are open for business in the outerrim.
• Rest In Peace, Nick Amster, one of Cleveland's biggest champions of music, and one of the city's coolest true weirdo's ever.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the newest album from the group Horse Lords 'The Common Task' available on Northern Spy Records

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Cleveland's weather has been typically bad almost all throughout this pandemic, however, it might be the first time ever that's been literally a good thing. Oh, and we cover the entirety of the Browns 2020 Draft, all the positives (and negatives) about the team and our hopes for a winner. (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• Say what you want to say, feel what you want to feel, believe what you want to believe, watching the NFL Draft even in a world devoid of sports is still a hard sell when it comes to real entertainment value.
• The NFL is a copycat league in all areas except equality, and this year in the Draft one player more so than any other defines this sad fact of the game.
• Trying to eat healthy in a pandemic is proving more and more difficult, and something a fat man in Cleveland should never have happen has happened. (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:22:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story ‘Best Of Edition’: “The Alias” (begins around the 1:50:00 mark)
• The new Browns slogan might be the same as a bad acronym but it is still smarter than the last Browns slogan.
• Ask An Expert – Part 4: A conversation with Peter Pattakos of Pattakos Law Firm LLC and the creator and main contributor to the Cleveland Frowns blog, discussing the closure of the Plain Dealer and what it really means for the city and its news coverage, and what people need to know if they're forced back to work during this pandemic before its safe to do so. ~Special Defend Cleveland Feature~
• Our recommended (and one anti-recommended) businesses of the week, and Mollie’s Weekly Report(s): Summit Racing has a change of heart, or rather the decision to open up wasn't an option, and some of the things that will end up having to change once the pandemic is over. (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:50:00 mark)
• We only talk about the 2020 NFL Draft enough to talk about how we are not going to talk about the 2020 NFL Draft. Go Browns.
• A film that's even more sad than Old Yeller, that is if you're a fan of independent music.
• More of Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! – The Insane Clown Posse demonstrate more concern for humans than our President, we might not have baseball right now but there's still a really great way to hear Tom Hamilton, and not all of the outer-rim police forces out there lack a sense of humor.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the new album 'Shortly After Takeoff' by BC Camplight available via Bella Union.

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Back to being ashamed about Ohio yet remaining quite proud of the city of Cleveland.  (Part 1 of 3 of the Podcast only content)
• Dalgano whipped coffee, seriously, give it a try.
• Ask An Expert - Part 3: A conversation with the owner, operator and found of Melt Bar & Grilled Restaurant, Matt Fish, about the restaurant industry, the changes that have already taken place adapting to the pandemic, and what the industry might look like in the future. ~Special Defend Cleveland Feature~
• Mollie has a bone to pick with Michael, plus how to thaw, cook, cool and store food (huge thank you to Chef Tim Birkley for all the great advice and information!).  And our Recommended Businesses of the Week are Perfect Imperfect Produce and Master Mechanical Car Maintenance And Repairs. (Part 2 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:32:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story ‘Best Of Edition’: “The Super  Donut” (begins around the 2:04:00 mark)
• Facts you probably never really knew about the state of Florida...
• Another Fact: Vince McMahon is truly a monster, and he's gone out of his way to prove as much, time and time again. And this time he's definitely gone too far.
• NASCAR has a racism issue that appears like it can never overcome, and Mollie's Weekly Report(s): Other lies our parents told us, and Land O' Lakes improves its imagine and better clarifies its brand. (Part 3 of 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 3:07:00 mark)
• We only talk about the 2020 NFL Draft enough to talk about how we are not going to talk about the 2020 NFL Draft. Go Browns.
• Turns out the game of H-O-R-S-E in basketball is exactly how you remember it; no fun to watch.
• Stop saying ports being played with no fans will bring some normalcy to life as if watching sports with no fans in the seats is normal, and the idea of some form of baseball returning in the summer and what it would actually take.
• More of Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! - MLB's incredible Covid-19 antibody study, and Summit Racing has lost their damn mind.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the new album 'Kindred' by the Finnish group Hexvessel available via Svart Records

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Singing Pandemic Easter Christmas Carols, and a drastically diminished libido due to this crisis is both normal and healthy.  (Part 1 of the Podcast only content)
• Turns out Mike James would make a damn fine United States Senator, either that or Sherrod Brown is a Defend Cleveland fan.
• The alt-right and racists have ruined V for Vendetta.
• Infectious Disease specialist Michelle Nerandzic answers a few more questions for us about the pandemic.
• We may not be at "Reefer Madness" levels of crazy anymore but weed prejudices are still obvious, especially when reading the headlines.  (Part 2 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:11:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story 'Best Of Edition': “Never Forget The Golden State Warriors Blew It” (begins around the 1:27:00 mark)
• Taking advantage of having to wear a mask all the time, and wondering about long term relationships during the pandemic.
• The best pandemic restricted birthday surprise, and recommending Sweet Berry Fresh Market in Wickliffe and Ohio City Provisions on Lorain Avenue in Ohio City. (Part 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:18:00 mark)
• At least one poll suggests there's no way most people are going to feel safe going to see games again unless there's a vaccine.
• Turns out UFC meatball head Dana White is even more greedy, power mad and unethical than Disney.
• Mollie’s Weekly Report(s): "Don't put that in your mouth!" and other wisdoms Mollie's mother has taught us. (Part 4 of the Podcast only content, begins at the 3:05:00 mark)
• Watching a documentary about the infamous 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival and realizing how ridiculously over-inflated the sense of entitlement has always been the case for the baby boomer generation.
• More of Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition!

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the new album '925' by the UK band Sorry available via Domino Recordings

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Reminding people that sports are classified as entirely non-essential; in a pandemic or no pandemic.  (Part 1 of the Podcast only content)
• Ask An Expert: In Week 2 of this segment we're asking Cleveland Chef Jason Molinari of Molinari's Culinary what advice he has to offer in how best to safely shop, clean, cook, eat and store food during this pandemic.
• . (Part 2 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:00:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story: “The Breaks” (begins around the 1:16:00 mark)
• Asking "How come?" to some of life's grander mysteries during this pandemic and finding out each question has the same answer.
• A couple broken arm stories eerily similar to Lachlan's. (Part 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:54:00 mark)
• A few more "How come?" questions (and still getting the same answer).
• Mollie’s Weekly Report(s): Playing guess that Minor League Baseball Promotional Night for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. (Part 4 of the Podcast only content, begins at the 2:40:00 mark)
• More of Mollie’s Weekly Reports, terrestrial edition! Stretching exercises to better groom oneself, needing an Ad Blocker more than ever, pandemic ingenuity is definitely a thing, and apparently Brownie The Elf needs some sensitivity training.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the new album 'Gingerbread House Explosion' by Euros Childs available via National Elf Records. 

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• If Cheesecake Factory isn't paying rent during the pandemic, then neither should you. (Part 1 of the Podcast only content)
• An interview with Michelle Nerandzic, a real life infectious disease scientist. Seriously, a sports talk show with a legit connection to a professional in the world of infectious disease at a time when such networking couldn't be more valuable. 
• The broken balance of precariously perched modern comforts also means missing the cathartic exercise of shouting obscenities at sports. (Part 2 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 1:07:00 mark)
• Lachlan MacKinnon’s Let Me Tell You A Story: “Collinwood SVU” (begins around the 1:18:00 mark)
• Wash your feet! And, of course, you have to take care of your hands, too.
• Turns out all people who own tigers love sequins, and defining how many episodes must be watched of a show to be considered "binge watching".
• Gas prices being cheap, and other apparent signs of the freakin' apocalypse. (Part 3 of the Podcast only content, begins around the 2:17:00 mark)
• Mollie’s Weekly Report(s): Mollie is wearing some crazy ass shit during this pandemic, the sports that held out as long as possible before cancelling, and the few that are actually left. (Part 4 of the Podcast only content, begins at the 2:32:00 mark)
• Movies and TV were the first to introduce the fantastic futuristic idea of became face-time technology, but it took the pandemic to make the use of it more popular than it's ever been.
• Mollie's Weekly Reports... first ever terrestrial version!

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

To contribute to this 100% listener supported show please go to our Patreon page by clicking here.

Check out Lachlan MacKinnon’s best selling book, ‘Let Me Tell You A Story: Small Stories Of A Large Family’!

Thank yous to  91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your recommended listening for the week is the new album by Magic Sword called "Endless" that's available via Joyful Noise Recordings

The intro and outro to Lachlan’s segment is the song “My Summer In Traction” by the band Ohio Civil War , and it’s used with permission.