KunstlerCast - Conversations: Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century

James Howard Kunstler speaks about his annual forecast for 2011. Although there are a lot of people out there cheerleading for a "recovery," JHK believes it's time for a reset. He foresees food shortages, financial strain and political troubles ahead.

James Howard Kunstler is joined in the studio by author Matt Dellinger to discuss his new book, INTERSTATE 69. Also known as "The NAFTA Highway," I-69 is a proposed 1,400-mile mega-highway linking Canada to Mexico via the American heartland. This special one-hour conversation covers the economic development schemes, history, culture, conspiracy theories and colorful characters behind the story of what might be the last great American highway. Matt Dellinger has written for The New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Oxford American, the Wall Street Journal magazine, and the The New York Times. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and blogs for public radio's TransportationNation.org. His website is http://www.mattdellinger.com/

JHK reacts to the tragic shooting in Arizona. He reflects on gun ownership debate in the U.S. and his own conflicting thoughts about owning a gun himself. He discusses the power of violent rhetoric in our public discourse and evalutes his own use of strong language. He also muses on the built environment in Tuscon Arizona and what role it might have played in the tragedy.

James Howard Kunstler talks about his literary influences, including H.L. Mencken, Tom Wolfe and Samuel Beckett. He also explains the role of the social critic and how he separates his critic persona from his own personality. Lastly he muses on what he might like his legacy to be. This conversation, all about writing, is background information for a forthcoming KunstlerCast book.

James Howard Kunstler discusses and reads from his novella, A Christmas Orphan -- the story of a young boy from the big city who runs away on Christmas Eve to small-town Vermont. JHK explains how this story deals with many of the issues he writes about in his nonfiction commentary on our living arrangements of the late 20th and 21st centuries. A Christmas Orphan is available for purchase at http://Northshire.com. Music used by permission of IODA Promonet.

JHK shares his thoughts on a recent visit to the San Francisco Bay Area and the greater Los Angeles region in the final chapter in his Witch of Hebron book tour.

James Howard Kunstler reports on his recent trip to Perth, Australia. He joins host Duncan Crary by telephone during a long layover at the LAX aiport on the return trip. Kunstler found Perth to be a very pleasant city with good urbanism and public transit. And in spite of an enthusiasm for suruban development, the center city is very dense. However, he believes Australians may be caught off guard by the coming geopolitical changes of the Long Emergency.

James Howard Kunstler continues his discussion of Melbourne, Australia based on his recent visit to that country to speak at the VIC Urban conference. In this podcast, JHK touches upon the Australia housing bubble and the fate of suburiba there; the Australian economy, and geopolitical issues facing the Australia continent.

Jim shares his observations of Melbourne, Australia based on his recent visit to that city to speak to the VIC Urban organization. Though he was impressed by the downtown, JHK says the areas outside Melbourne look a lot like the suburban areas of Southern California. One of his stops was Aurora, a so-called "green suburb" that failed to impress. Finally, JHK shares his adventures in the countryside beyond the Australian suburbs.

JHK shares his thoughts on the recent U.S. midterm elections, the Tea Party, Jon Stewart's Rally for Sanity, and the problems of progressivisim.