Milt Rosenberg

Michael Walsh is a renowned critic. But instead of music or film, this time he has turned his attention to the cultural decline of our nation and our rotting society. His latest, The Devils Pleasure Palace:The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West has become a hugely influential work upon publication. What is The Frankfurt School? What is Critical Theory? How did they work to destroy the work that this nation did to become one of the leading moral figures on Earth? What are the consequences of our decay? More important: how do we reverse this alarming trend?

Chris Cerf is no stranger to creative language. Along with his co-author Henry Beard, he also co-founded National Lampoon, was a publisher at Random House, worked on The Muppets and Sesame Street, contributed to Saturday Night Live, and has composed songs for some of the biggest musicians on the planet.

Their latest work, Spinglish--with the fantastically fun full title How to Succeed in Business (and Politics and Everything Else) without Really Lying with Spinglish: The Definitive Dictionary of Deliberately Deceptive Language--is a collection of hilariously inaccurate and slightly (and oftentimes much more) disingenuous terms and vocabulary from all sectors of life, from politics, to education, to real estate, to the auto industry and well beyond. Its a testament to how words can be manipulated, how they sound like one thing but mean a completely other thing altogether. Great fun!

On this program we occasionally venture into the realm of entertainment. Our last film discussion was on the Western. Today, we focused on Film Noir. Like any genre, there are great and not-so-great entries. So today we spoke on the best as we see them. John Kupetz, Nathan Holmes, and Matt Hauske have seen almost all of them and Milt has some of his own favorites.

A remarkable thing we noticed was just how perfectly these films play on radio, without the moving pictures. There are plenty of clips here. This was a fun show. Remember, hero: stay away from the enchanting woman! Only bad things can happen if you get involved...nothing but trouble.

The race for the presidency is in full swing. But what if the very seat on which so much money is spent and for which so many are running was too close to the very office--of king--than our founding fathers ever intended? That is the contention of F.H. Buckley, who has written a masterful work arguing just that. But as with so much scholarship, there is another side to the claim. Also joining us is Dr. William Howell--an eminent scholar--in his own right, who disagrees with much of Buckleys assertion.

So as we explore the office of the presidency and its power--implicit and otherwise, we also turn to the race for the presidency that culminates in November of 2016. Its been entertaining, to say the least. We check in with Kyle Kondik of Sabatos Crystal Ball, who has analyzed the polls for the GOP nomination, and gives his analyses of the race thus far.

Two themes to which we often return on this program are faith and fact. Or, more specifically, religion and science. Dr. Jerry Coyne--always a remarkable interview--has just had published another supremely fascinating book, Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible. You should read his previous influential work, Why Evolution is True. Coyne is highly knowledgeable of religion and a leader in his own field, and handles opposition to his views with sobriety and forcefulness. An added bonus to this interview were several humorous exchanges with callers and emailers.

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One need not look further than Donald Trumps ascendancy to the top of the GOP candidate heap to know that Americans have become disillusioned with the political establishment. James Piereson takes a look at previous political revolutions that have already taken place in this country. Piereson tells us that another is on its way. His latest book, Shattered Consensus, is a masterwork of historical and political analysis and should not be missed. On a positive note, Piereson is not another crying out from the wilderness that America will fall. On the contrary, he believes that any current political turmoil is a precursor to another period of growth for the nation.

It wasnt the Roman Senate or Lincoln v Douglas, but it was entertaining. Perhaps that is, for better or worse, a large part of the formula of a political debate in the digital age. Donald Trump came in a large favorite. There are mixed feelings as to whether that lead will be so large once the next round of polling is completed. How did the others do? Will Carly Fiornia make it to the big table in the next debate?

Fred Barnes joined Milt early in the program--always a welcome commentator. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball gave us solid analysis. We strongly recommend that you follow the work of both the Weekly Standard and the Center for Politics.

Finally, Victor Davis Hanson joined us. The political considerations were excellent as always. Even better was a comparison of figures from the Classical era with the participants from last nights debate, which is good fun. And you should not miss the arresting psychological profile Hanson paints of President Obama as he considers his legacy.

You should share this with your friends and those seeking a deeper insight into American politics than what is more broadly available.

Of course, when you see the phrase Elementary, my dear Watson you think of Sherlock Holmes. But...Holmes never uttered this phrased. Its one of the great misquotes in literary history, and its just one of many we explored recently when we welcomed three Sherlockians, all part of the group The Hounds of the Baskerville.

Dr. Sherlock Holmes is still alive and still working. Surely his body must have slowed a bit as hes over 160 years old, but his mind is still as sharp as ever. Donald Terras, Janice Weiner and Al Shaw filled us in on the legacy and long life of the worlds greatest detectives, revisit some classic cases, and review many of the classic films and spinoff television shows based upon Holmes and the Doyle canon.

What is funny? When does something become funny? Cease to be funny? Christopher Miller is a best-selling author, college professor who asked himself these questions and set out to answer the in his very amusing book, American Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny. Think Whoope Cushions, squirting flowers, college professors and countless others. These gags and foils for comedy used to make us roll. Now theyre . . . corny. Well done, Chris Miller.

Weve all heard of the Military Industrial Complex. Indeed, we were warned that we guard against undue influence by that then-new termed institution by President Eisenhower as he prepared to leave office.

But long before America felt compelled to have a permanent armaments industry, many men were fast at work to ensure that we would be able to defend ourselves against the likes of Hitler, Stalin, and others who wanted to knock America from its perch as world leader. One such man was Ernest Lawrence. A Nobel Prize-Winning nuclear physicist, Lawrence was behind the Cyclotron--the fore-father of the Large Hadron Collider and myriad other amazing scientific inventions.

Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer Prize-Winning journalist, writer, blogger and author. He has written Big Science, a tremendously enjoyable and readable biography of Lawrence. We recommend it highly.