Light On Light Through

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 63: Sonia Sotomayor vs. the First Amendment: An Interview with Avery and Lauren Doninger. The First Amendment has almost never been under greater fire. Broadcasters are being fined record amounts and the FCC and Congress are calling out for more. Students are being taught the wrong lessons about freedom of expression in some of our schools, and courts are supporting these schools. One of those cases - involving a 16-year old high school student, Avery Doninger - made its way to the Second Circuit Appeals Court, where Sonia Sotomayor and two colleague justices supported the school. Judge Sotomayor now seems likely to be confirmed by the US Senate to serve a lifetime position on the United States Supreme Court. In this special episode of Light On Light Through, I interview Avery Doninger and her mother, Lauren Doninger. You can hear in their own voices what was at stake in Avery's case - what the case was all about - and their reaction to the adverse decision of the Sotomayor court. The case may well reach the U.S. Supreme Court... Helpful links and contacts:

1. my blog posts: Sotomayor's Anti-First Amendment Decision and Why One Strike Against 1st Amendment Should Rule You Out
2. Andy Thibault blog and Aldon Hynes blog about Doninger case
3. Avery Doninger's Scales of Justice paper
4. Lauren Doninger's email: [email protected]
5. Iolta Fund for Avery Doninger, c/o John Schoenhorn, 108 Oak Street, Hartford, CT 06106
6. First Amendment documentary on HBO June 2009; my review
7. my 2005 Keynote Address at Fordham University: "The Flouting of the First Amendment," transcript and video

home page: http://paullevinson.info more blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

coming in Summer 2009: New New Media

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates "challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly "Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 62: Star Trek: Reborn, Reset, Resplendent ... in which I explain how the new May 2009 Star Trek movie succeeded in delighting lifelong fans (including me) as well as reinventing the Star Trek universe from the beginning (which I also immensely enjoyed) ... hint: think time-travel ...Helpful links:

1. complete blog post: Star Trek: Reborn, Reset, Resplendent
2. historical context: How Star Trek Liberated Television
3. blogs about time travel
4. check out Night Guy - our latest promo-suite podcast partner

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 61: Author and Critic: Perilous Symbiosis ... in which I examine the love/hate mutually catalytic relationship of authors (or creators) and critics. I look especially at the dangers and benefits to aspiring authors of writing critical reviews of works by other authors...Helpful links:

1. My Advice to Writers - including my Ask Lev podcast
2. List of my books - for you to read and criticize

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 60: Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Frank Herbert's Dune Trilogies as Sources of Philosophy ... in which I discuss how the fate of Hari Seldon's "psychohistorical" equations in the Foundation trilogy and Paul Muad'dib's ability to see the future in the Dune novels gives us vivid, compelling answers to the perennial philosophic problem of what can we know of the future ... (Plot points mentioned only for the first two books in each trilogy.) Helpful links:

1. Invigoration of a Philosophic Issue in Science Fiction -my essay
2. Asimov's Foundation trilogy and Herbert's Dune trilogy
3. A postcard from Isaac Asimov to me from 1979 about Foundation
4. Added in July 2021: new podcast episode: Thinking about Asimov's Foundation on AppleTV+

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.info another blog: http://InfiniteRegress.tv videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates "challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly "Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 59: The Future of Media ... In the Fall of 2007, I sat down for an interview by Mark Molaro, for his popular Internet TV show, The Alcove. His guests have included Arianna Huffington, Carl Bernstein, Campbell Brown, and other notables. Mark and I talked for 20 minutes about the future of media, the impact of new media on everything from politics to television shows such as Mad Men, to my view that "information overload" is really "information underload," or lack of vital navigational information. This interview was the first time I publicly started talking about New New Media, the subject of my forthcoming book (to be published by Pearson, Allyn & Bacon in the Summer 2009). You can see the interview on television via the link or YouTube screen below. Or, if more convenient, or you'd like to listen while running, walking, or driving, you an listen to the major excerpt presented in this podcast...Helpful links:

1. Mark Molaro's interview with me on The Alcove - full video
2. The complete Alcove series of interviews
3. More details on New New Media
4. The Soft Edge ... Digital McLuhan ... Cellphone ... books mentioned in the interview

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

The Alcove interview on YouTube

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 58: A Conversation with Paul J. Feiner, Town Supervisor of Greenburgh, NY, about Blogging, Obama, and Caroline Kennedy. Paul Feiner has been Town Supervisor - a two-year elected office - since 1991. He has a weekly radio show, The Greenburgh Report, on WVOX Radio in New Rochelle, NY. He also maintains a blog, and has trail blazed new media in our Westchester County town, including the introduction of competition in cable television providers. I was a guest on his radio show on January 9, 2009, and this episode of Light On Light Through is excerpted from our conversation. We talk about Paul Feiner's blog, Facebook, Twitter, the role of new media in Barack Obama's administration, and why Governor David Paterson should appoint Caroline Kennedy to the Senate...Helpful links:

1. Paul Feiner's blog
2. Paul Feiner's Wikipedia article
3. I'm interviewed by Mark Molaro about New Media on The Alcove
4. My New New Media book, to be published in Summer 2009 by Pearson, Allyn & Bacon
5. Righting the Cosmos: Why Caroline Should Be Appointed my blog post

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 57: I'm A Progressive Libertarian ... in which I explain how one can insist that the government respect the Bill of Rights, and stay out of our business whenever possible, but also act to promote our welfare by supporting rights of women, gays, and minorities, and spend money to reduce poverty, provide health care, and explore space. I'm in favor of no income tax for anyone earning under a million dollars a year, and raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires. Regarding governmental intervention to help with the current economic crisis, I see that intervention as an antibiotic. In general, we want our bodies to fight off infection on their own. But if our lungs are filling with fluid from bacterial pneumonia, we better get some antibiotic intervention as soon as possible.Plus flashes ... Contrary to critics such as Heather Havrilesky in Salon, I see the new golden age of television roaring back in 2009, with Lost, 24, Damages, Battlestar Galactica, Fringe, Life on Mars, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The L Word, Bones, The Unit, and more all coming back with continued or new seasons...Helpful links:

1. I'm A Progressive Libertarian - my August 2008 blog on this matter, with 27 spirited comments and discussion
2. The New Golden Age of Television Roars Back - my detailed blog post response to the Havrilesky Salon article
3. Levinson news clips - weekly reviews of all the above television series, past, present, and future episodes
4. Infinite Regress - blog post reviews of all the above television series, past, present, and future episodes

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 56: 24 Season 6 Plus Redemption...a special, super-jumbo compilation episode, in which you'll hear my reviews of every episode of 24 Season 6 ... including my impersonation of Secretary Heller, somewhere in the middle of the reviews ... originally presented on my Levinson news clips podcast a few minutes after each broadcast of 24 back in 2007 ... plus a brand new review of Redemption, the two-hour 24 movie broadcast on Fox in November 2008. A great way to rev up for the return of 24, Season 7, on January 11, 2009. Hey, if you're a student, and you want to surreptitiously listen to this podcast in the back of a boring class, I won't tell anyone... Helpful links:

1. 5-min podcast review of just Redemption - look in right column
2. Levinson news clips - the original podcasts (scroll down); also - watch there for weekly podcast reviews of 24 Season 7, starting January 11, 2009
3. Infinite Regress - blog post reviews of all episodes of 24 Season 6, plus Redemption, and look there for reviews of each new episode of 24, Season 7, within 24 minutes after the end of each episode ...
4. Reviews of 24, Season 7 - Hrs 1, 2 ...

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

The Plot to Save Socrates

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 55, a very special episode about cyberbullying and a remedy - the music of the Truth on Earth band. It's been in the news, especially recently - the 13-year old girl who took her life after being set up on MySpace by a 49-year woman, who pretended to be a boy in love with the girl and broke her heart. The Truth on Earth band, consisting of three teenagers - Serena, Kiley, and Tess - decided to do something about this problem of people assuming false identities on social media and hurting other people. The band wrote and recorded a song - "Shot With a Bulletless Gun". It's receiving a lot of attention. And with good reason - an example of the best of the Internet -

providing an MP3 remedy of lyrics and music for one of its own, worst ills. You'll hear the song, and more music from the talented band in this podcast. And also a 20-minute interview with Serena, Kiley, and Tess. This is a song, a band, and an interview anyone who spends any time on the Internet should listen to... Helpful link: Cyberbullying Mom Got Just What She Deserved - my November 26, 2008 blog post about Lori Drew (the 49-year old woman) and Megan Meier (the 13-year old girl), and why I think the jury was right to find Lori Drew guilty

home page: http://paullevinson.info more blog: http://InfiniteRegress.tv videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates "challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly "Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

The Plot to Save Socrates

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 54 LOST 4 and 13 ...another special, jumbo compilation episode, in which you'll hear all of my reviews of the second part of Season 4 of Lost ... originally presented on my Levinson news clips podcast a few minutes or hours after each Thursday's broadcast of Lost ... reviews of the final five episodes of Season 4: 9-13.... These five episodes, in my opinion, were among the best ever on Lost ...Helpful links:

1. Levinson news clips - the original podcasts
2. Lost 4 and 8 - Light On Light Through Episode 53, with reviews of Lost Season 4, Episodes 1-8
3. Infinite Regress - blog post reviews of all episodes of the Lost this season (and many from last season) ... the first review from Season Four is here - Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast - and contains links to all the others
4. Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On - my 2006 essay, continually updated...

Enjoy...

home page: http://paullevinson.infomore blogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

my latest novel: The Plot to Save Socrates"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly"Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

and Brian Charles Clarke says The Plot to Save Socrates "resonates with the current political climate . . . heroine Sierra Waters is sexy as hell . . . there's a bite to Levinson's wit" -- in Curled Up With A Good Book

Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE

The Plot to Save Socrates