David Rovics has been writing songs and performing for almost 30 years, during which he has produced 30 albums of songs with topical lyrics that express a critical view of American foreign and domestic policies. He talks with us from his home in Portland, Oregon.

David's website:

https://www.davidrovics.com/

David's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/drovics

Here's the name and web address for Ethem & Petra's film festival:

Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary

http://bifed.org/en/home/

And check out the documentaries they mentioned, here on Ethem's website:

http://ethemozguven.com/?fbclid=IwAR2-Xc-L2GxQc3JHHD4ea2UcVSsFrr6jlVffQfpRM_hfgeEfTzGWUoXhRIM

Professor Sireen Al-Adeimi was born in Yemen. Today she teaches at Michigan State University, and she speaks and writes about the US-backed Saudi war and blockade waged against Yemen. The humanitarian crisis rages on in Yemen, now exacerbated further by COVID-19. Meanwhile, US commercial media rarely even mentions this ongoing attack on Yemen's 30,000,000 people.

Host: Tom Jackson

Music: "Here Comes the Shutdown", Kevin Healey (khealey.bandcamp.com)

Ross Gelbspan, journalist, and author of "The Heat Is On", and "Boiling Point", two 1990s-era books on anthropogenic climate change, talks with us about the mishandling of the climate change issue by mainstream media. "Follow the money", as usual, reveals why so many commercial media outlets continued to treat the issue as though "opinion", and therefore debate, were merited, long after scientists had concluded that we have a major problem on our hands. Think the coverage is better now -- now that California is burning down? It's somewhat better, as Ross acknowledges, but still not commensurate to the problem, and what needs to be done to address it -- to the extent that it's still possible.

Music: "Here Comes the Shutdown"; Kevin Healey (khealey.bandcamp.com)

Danny talks about his work in progress, "The Last Strike", which focuses on the "true story of the '81 PATCO strike when Ronald Reagan fired 11,345  Air Traffic Controllers, changing the American workplace forever". The Kindling Group, led by Danny, is about to go into post-production on the documentary, and they currently have a Kickstarter fundraising campaign at ---

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kindlinggroup/the-last-strike-a-feature-length-documentary

Danny tells us about a couple of other Kindling Group productions, and the group's work on "impact campaigns to inspire, entertain, and ignite change". See more at www.kindlinggroup.org

From the early 1980s to 2007, Maggie Dubris worked as an EMT out of the Hell's Kitchen hospital, St. Clare's. Her new book, "Brokedown Palace" chronicles those years in a very personal, and present, honest way. She talks about some of the stories from those years, including the impact of AIDS on communities throughout NYC, and, of course, 9-11. During the interview, Maggie reads a few of her poems from the book. 

We end the podcast with new music from Maggie, and Lisa Gutkin from the Klezmatics (klezmatics.com). The song is called "Rise". Along with Maggie and Lisa, Sara Wendt does vocals on this recording. Check out the video for "Rise" on YouTube at https://youtu.be/qBEVJ2qlxLE

Learn more about Maggie's work at https://www.maggiedubris.com/

Greg Allen has been writing rock tunes and touring for years, with bands such as Blue Ruin, and his current group, Greg Allen's Fringe Religion. He and the band are currently recording new music, and Joe Public Speaking has the pleasure of including a demo of one of the new songs on this episode! Don't miss this interview with Greg -- not just because of the stories about playing and recording with ex-Dolls drummer, Jerry Nolan, or guitar great, Johnny Rao, or getting punked by Keith Richards, but also because his gonzo sense of humor hasn't exactly "mellowed" over the years. And that, IMO, is a good thing.

Greg Allen is a songwriter, guitar player, and frontman for Greg Allen's Fringe Religion, and his personal history of making music goes back to the seventies. Greg talks about his past bands, such as Blue Ruin, which played major clubs around Providence, RI, Boston, and NYC. While in New York, Greg played and recorded with former New York Dolls drummer, Jerry Nolan. He and his band are now recording new material, and this episode of Joe Public Speaking features one of those new tracks, called, "I Need A Facelift". *One added note, the song that ends the podcast is, indeed, a Greg Allen song, and it is called "Trouble on the Way", but IFU on which version it is -- it's not the Jerry Nolan & the Profilers version, it is The Greg Allen Group, featuring Johnny Rao. 

Massimo Pigliucci, Prof. of Philosophy at City College, evolutionary biologist, student of Stoicism, and critic of pseudoscience, joins us today on Joe Public Speaking! Massimo is also the author of the forthcoming book "A Field Guide to a Happy Life" (release date, September 15, 2020)!

What is stoicism? How does a stoic respond to a pandemic? What is pseudoscience (given that both sides accuse the other of practicing pseudoscience)? How is pseudoscience infesting the response to COVID-19? All this and more, on this edition of Joe Public Speaking!

Mike Boudreau has been working for Compas de Nicaragua for over twenty years. The group focuses on Nicaraguan culture and social justice issues. Tune in to hear Mike describe how the organization has developed over the years, and where it stands today. 

Their website:   https://www.compas1.org/

Their Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100018317593034

Music: "Here Comes the Shutdown", Kevin Healey (khealey.bandcamp.com)

Host: Tom Jackson