Light On Light Through

Welcome to Light On Light Through podcast Episode 43, Violence and Videogames: The Truth, where I examine the two main types of "scientific evidence" that purport to show that violence in videogames leads to violence in the real world - and explain why they show nothing of the sort. The experiments measure violence "profiles" based on results of tests, not violence in the real world. The surveys show correlation not causation between violent videogames and violence in the real world - and I explain exactly what that means.I've been studying and teaching about the statistical flaws and inadequacies in these studies for years as a Professor of Communication and Media Studies. If you'd like to really understand what these studies are trying to demonstrate, but why they do not, invest 15 minutes of your time and listen to this podcast.

Plus flashes ... iTunes and NBC split - no big deal - bitTorent is the future, anyway ... now ABC is not only misreporting Ron Paul, but cropping Kucinich out of photos ... great summer television...

1. Fallacies of Connections Between Violence and Videogames
2. Videogamers Beware: Hillary's Not On Your Side
3. Ron Paul Has Company: Now ABC Crops Out Kucinich
4. Infinite Regress my weekly reviews of Mad Men, Weeds, Californication
5. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free - at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
6. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
7. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

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

videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

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

Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Welcome to Episode 42 of Light On Light Through in which I replay the Sloan Ranger's 20-minute interview with me on WGNU Radio this past Tuesday, about the media's misreporting of Ron Paul's 2008 election campaign. I discussed four examples of ABC's misreporting (and worse) with Lloyd Sloan - aka the Sloan Ranger - and he had an example or two from other media. We discussed the problem of media bias in general - easy to find, it's pervasive - and I even offered my view that the FCC, in daily violating the First Amendment to our Constitution, is treasonous.

A frank, colorful discussion which I very much enjoyed, and I hope you find useful.

Plus flashes ... I'll be talking to the NYC Ron Paul Meet-Up group in Manhattan this Tues, August 28, 7:30pm, at the Village Pourhouse, 11th Street and 3rd Ave, admission is free ... space shuttle Endeavor comes home safely with teacher Barbara Morgan ... Californication is still hilarious ...

Helpful links:

1. details on my talk this Tues at the Village Pourhouse
2. the meaning of Endeavor's safe return
3. summer television reviews at InfiniteRegress.tv

home page: http://paullevinson.infoblogs: 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

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...

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

If you're in Manhattan, come on by ... if not, look for the video to be posted in this blog, as soon as it's up on YouTube.

Welcome to Episode 41 of Light On Light Through - a conversation with Mark Shanahan about Sedition - the new play by David Wiltse, in which Shanahan is currently performing ... We talk about the uniquely powerful medium of theater ... the importance of a play about freedom of speech in this day and age ... the response of the audiences to Sedition in its first week in Westport, CT ... the effect this play about a professor has had on me as a professor ... and much more ... a 25-minute interview ...

Plus flashes ... more summer television - John from Cincinnati ends, a jewel within an enigma ... Californication debuts, hot ... Mad Men on AMC, a safe-way to experience non-stop smoking ... and a special preview flash: Obama Girl producer Ben Relles is coming to Light On Light Through....

Helpful links:

1. my review of Sedition
2. Westport Country Playhouse
3. The Flouting of the First Amendment - my June 2005 Keynote
4. summer television reviews at InfiniteRegress.tv
5. The Barely Political Revolution - why Obama Girl is so important

Mark Shanahan is dead center background in this scene from Sedition...

home page: http://paullevinson.info blog: http://InfiniteRegress.tv

videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

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

Welcome to Episode 40 of Light On Light Through in which we focus on a very unwelcome development: the media disenfranchising of Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul. I admire his unflinching support of the Constitution (including the First Amendment), do not agree with every one of his positions, but whether we agree with any candidate's positions or not, we should be alarmed when a major news network such as ABC forgets to mention that a candidate, in this case Ron Paul, came in first in its poll, gives the impression that Ron Paul had fewer supporters at a rally than he in fact had, etc. I've written blog posts about this abuse of our democratic system, intend to teach my Intro to Communication and Media Studies class at Fordham University about this in Fall, and am hoping this podcast will help get more word of this out to the American people...

And this just in from Iowa - Ron Paul placed 5th in the Iowa Straw Poll. Certainly not a win, but ahead of Tommy Thompson, and better than many expected. Politics, as ever, is unpredictable, and this is why it is so important for media to report the news, and the results of their own polls, as accurately as possible.

Plus flashes ... David Wiltse's Sedition opens in Westport - the beginning of the 20th-century assault on the First Amendment ... The Bourne Ultimatum is outstanding - why? ... summer television - Meadowlands, Big Love, John from Cincinnati, Weeds ...

Helpful links:

1. more on ABC's Misreporting of Ron Paul
2. my review of Sedition
3. my review of The Bourne Ultimatum
4. summer television reviews at InfiniteRegress.tv

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

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

Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Welcome to this special Episode 39 of Light On Light Through - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The View from New York ... from the moment I left the bookstore a few minutes after midnight on Saturday I knew this was something as special as everyone had anticipated ... kids were sitting in front of the bookstore, delving into their copies (tell that to the myopic New York Times and all the other self-appointed experts who think literacy is waning) ... In this podcast, I give my first reactions to this extraordinary finale to an extraordinary series ... and to sum up those reactions: J. K. Rowling has given the world what the Beatles did in 1960s ... the unique British contribution to entertainment and popular culture ... among the highlights ... the interaction of magical beings in this finale novel ... the radio in the forest ... my favorite line ... and much more...

Plus flashes ... just one, devoted to the YouTube/CNN Presidential debate this past Monday, which I saw and reckon to be a major breakthrough for democracy and the media...

Helpful links:

1. Read my complete written review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - replete with links to my analyses of the main other issues surrounding this remarkable event in our popular culture.
2. My analysis of the YouTube/CNN debate.
3. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free -at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
4. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the wonderful Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
5. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy, at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

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

Levinson news clips podcast: http://Levinsonnews.podshow.com

Ask Lev 2-5 min pieces of advice on writing, succeeding, and tea

words and music by Paul Levinson readings, performances, recordings, and interviews about my music and fiction

live on radio (Sundays, 7:20am, Pacific time): www.knx1070.com

my short stories: at fictionwise

The Silk Code - Locus Award, Best 1st Science Fiction Novel, 1999

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

Welcome to Harry Potter and the iPhone ... Light On Light Through, Episode 38 ... in which we consider the two biggest draws of the Summer of 2007 ... Harry Potter and the iPhone ... makes sense: what the iPhone does is magic ... and consistent with my anthropotropic theory of media evolution - as new technologies evolve, they become increasingly human, and do more things we imagine and yearn for ...

Plus flashes ... BarelyPolitical.com's Obama Girl vids are revolutionizing the political process - for the better ... Mad Men is a great new show on AMC TV - cigarette companies and Richard Nixon are clients of this 1950s ad exec ...

Helpful links:

1. Read more about what I'm saying about the iPhone on InfiniteRegress.tv
2. Also on InfiniteRegress - my Barely Political Revolution - Obama Girl says it's her favorite! - and my review of Mad Men
3. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free -at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
4. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the wonderful Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
5. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy, at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

home page: http://paullevinson.info

blog: http://InfiniteRegress.tv

videoclips: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLev20062006

Ask Lev 2-5 min pieces of advice on writing, succeeding, and tea

The Silk Code - Locus Award, Best 1st Science Fiction Novel, 1999

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

Welcome to Episode 37 of Light On Light Through ---> A Conversation with Robert J. Sawyer ... my good friend for more than a decade ... my predecessor as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America (and I served as his Vice President) ... Rob is winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and more awards, almost as numerous as stars in the universe ... he's Canada's premier science fiction writer ... We talk not only about Rob's novels - including his latest, rollback - but about the true value of science fiction to humanity, a trip to Mars that almost happened in the 1960s, the Pope's Astronomer, and much more ... a no-holds-barred, unedited 20-minute connversation...

Plus flashes ... all Sopranos, baby ... I thought the ending was a masterpiece ... shades of The Lady or The Tiger and Hamlet ... advice to the closure-junkies ...

Helpful links:

1. Rob Sawyer's new novel rollback and his home page
2. InfiniteRegress.tv - my blog posts and podcasts about The Sopranos ... final nine episodes reviewed ... plus, The Sopranos or The Tiger, The Closure-Junkies, The Sopranos and Hamlet ... and my weekly reviews of Lost, 24, Heroes, The Tudors ... and now, John from Cincinnati, Meadowlands and Big Love...
3. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free -at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
4. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the wonderful Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
5. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy, at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

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

Note added 19 September 2009:

Listen also to my new interview with Rob Sawyer about FlashForward!

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

Welcome to Episode 36 of Light On Light Through ... in which we consider five questions that arise from the breathtaking Season 3 finale of Lost ... 1. how far in the future was the action in Los Angeles? ... 2. who's in the coffin? ... 3. who's waiting for Kate? ... 4. who is Naomi's boss? ... 5. is Mikhail immortal? ...

Plus flashes ... more Lost ... still significant: inexplicable coincidences in the backstories ... Walt ... the paradox of the liar ... more Lost in Helpful links...

First, my blog posts on Lost New Questions and other Lost matters - How Far in the Future? ... Who's In the Coffin? ... Who's Waiting for Kate? ... Who Is Naomi's Boss? ... Is Mikhail Immortal? and Lost and Alias: Now Something Else in Common... And some helpful links...

1. Infinite Regress my weekly reviews of Lost, 24, Heroes, The Sopranos, The Tudors ... and, coming soon, Meadowlands and Big Love...
2. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free - at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
3. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the wonderful Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
4. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy for a Father's Day gift, at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

home page: http://paullevinson.infoblogs: http://InfiniteRegress.tv and http://www.myspace.com/twiceuponarhyme and http://paullevinson.blogspot.com

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

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...

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

Welcome to Light On Light Through Episode 35 ... my exclusive predictions for the season finales this week of 24, Heroes, and Lost! I'll say no more ... you've got to listen to the podcast (most of these predictions have not appeared on my blogs before). Email yours to me at [email protected] - if I receive them before the shows, and you're right, I'll mention your name on next week's Light On Light Through....

Plus flashes ... devoted completely to politics again, and mostly to the poor treatment Ron Paul is still receiving from mainstream media ... this time, why did Fox choose to conduct a poll via texting, and then denigrate the results because Ron Paul did so well? ... also, Democrats, next time take up Fox and every network on offers to host your Presidential debates ... you don't hurt Fox by refusing to debate on its network, you hurt yourselves and the American people...

Helpful links:

1. Advice to Networks about Post-Debate Polls my blog post
2. Infinite Regress my weekly reviews of 24, Heroes, and Lost
3. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free - at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
4. The Future and You May 1 episode ... Stephen Euin Cobb continues his October 2006 interview with me
5. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the wonderful Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
6. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy for a Father's Day or graduation gift, at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

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

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

Welcome to Harry Potter and the Refutation of Illiteracy or Episode 34 of Light On Light Through in which we consider how the extraordinary success of J. K. Rowling's novels refutes the view of some academics and critics that television, the Internet, and even texting on cell phones are making the world illiterate...

Plus flashes ... devoted entirely to the shabby treatment the Ron Paul for President campaign has been receiving from ABC.com, Pajamas Media, and other media...

Helpful links:

1. Harry Potter and the Refutation of Illiteracy my blog post
2. The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution my 1998 book - for further details on literacy thriving
3. Open Letter to ABC.com about Ron Paul and Second Open Letter to ABC.com and the Media about Ron Paul both from me
4. The Silk Code podiobook - my award-winning novel, read by Shaun Farrell, available free - at http://thesilkcode.blogspot.com or http://podiobooks.com
5. The Future and You May 1 episode ... Stephen Euin Cobb continues his October 2006 interview with me
6. http://artofgraciousliving.com Patsy Terrell's podcast - Patsy does the wonderful Light On Light Through - Blubrry id
7. The Plot to Save Socrates published in trade paperback February 20 - this means you can get a new copy, if you like, for $10+ at Amazon and most places ... (click on the above title to get to Amazon) ... and if you'd like an autographed copy for a Father's Day or graduation gift, at no extra charge to you, just send me an e-mail at [email protected] for details

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

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