The Bridge

It's wall to wall sound on Music Monday as John & Heyang attempt to get as much music as possible into the show. Heyang has requested music from Tsai Chin, Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. A listener request comes in for some Pearl Jam and John fills the gaps with music he heard on the supermarket channel while shopping, including Cher, Dan Tyminsky and Air Supply.

John starts the show talking about finding emails from around this time in 2020 that were the first discussions on a possible international radio show that would later become "The Bridge." Then it's about those songs that are "earworms" that endlessly loop in our brains, on constant repeat. Liu Yan points out that there are some real-world connections to the subliminal programming that takes place, and John drops the needle on "Mrs. Robinson" that has been lodged in his mind for a couple days, as well as the #1 earworm song of all time by Journey. They shift gears to some of the more common fears that people have (public speaking, spiders, clowns) and finally, the conversation turns to the ongoing effect that too much negative news has on our outlook of life.

Super Producer Cimcie joins in the conversation, per John's request as the resident "stegosaurus" looking for pop culture back-up. Liu Yan adds his thoughts about the upcoming Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. A deeper discussion continues about the influence of movies on our lives and John manages to drop the needle on "Love Train" by the Playing For Change project to keep things moving along. Finally, the big question surfaces-"Who is the best Batman?"

While they are 7,000 miles apart John & BeiBei are much closer together than that because of their shared experience in radio. This episode is like eavesdropping on an inside conversation between two very respected broadcast journalists. While their paths to radio are very different, they find common ground when it comes to the radio basics, the responsibility of being behind a microphone and finding freedom when it comes to expression and connection to audiences, now on an international scale.

John knows he's in for an interesting hour when BeiBei starts the show with jokes taken right from her six-year-old daughter's joke book. As it turns out BeiBei has always been a jokester, and points out how many times that laughter has taken the edge off difficult situations. John talks about "Free-For-All Friday" that was a regular segment on his live radio show, with the sole purpose of making the end of the week fun for his listeners. The gears shift to the pressure on children to become "successful" and BeiBei shares how much her two years working on Wall Street were a serious drain on her energy. John talks about the question his dad asked him every day "What have you learned today?" Finally, BeiBei shares an article that was written by a grandfather, who regretted pushing his grandson so hard, that it created some serious problems.

Once again proving the mantra of The Bridge that "the lifelines are more important than the headlines" BeiBei offers up three stories of real people that have overcome serious physical obstacles to make a contribution, support their families and help to save lives. John pulls up a clip of the late, great actor Christopher Reeve, from a conversation they had on radio back in 2002, to underscore the point that it's not what happens to you, but how you respond to the challenges.

It's gotten crowded at BeiBei's house, as she has some semi-permanent guests who have just moved in, and she trying to sort it all out. Super Producer Cimce is onboard to help bring some balance to the chaos, and in a major shifting of gears, the conversation goes to some of the Native America mythology that John experienced for 20 years, and how that ancient wisdom is a formidable force in the world, if we recognize it.

David Stoddard is a composer, producer, educator, and music theory nerd. He's also a successful songwriter and a Kerrville New Folk winner, and has taken top writing honors at the Minnesota Folk Festival, the South Florida Folk Festival, and the Tucson Folk Festival. He tours throughout the US and Canada, weaving his stories on the piano, guitar and accordion. David joins Heyang and John to talk about his music process and John drops the needle on some of David's songs, including "Praying for Rain," "Sell Out" and "Continental Drift."

The show begins with some comparisons of words from "then" & "now" when it comes to usage and meaning, like spam, trolls and catfish. Both John & Liu Yan are pretty old school, but Liu Yan makes some interesting observations on how people can get caught on meanings. John stumbles on the concept of "selfies" but pretty soon it becomes an impromptu "Sinatra Sunday" all because John has new earbuds and he drops the needle on three of Sinatra's classics.

As the pandemic numbers seem to be moving in the right direction, John shares some statistics from a survey that shows many people are moving forward in a positive way, and that the chaos of the pandemic is the catalyst for better choices. Liu Yan shares some of his thoughts about how people can take difficult situations, which leads to an impromptu musical interlude that includes "What About Us" from Pink and "Bohemian Rhapsody" from Queen. John talks about his late friend, Dr. John Ortiz and his book "The Tao of Music" and the important role music can play in keeping our head above water, when the flood of chaos seems to be overwhelming.