Schedule for This Is Hell

(updated 05-25)  At 9 each Saturday morning, tune in to 4 hours live with Chuck Mertz and guests from WNUR in Evanston. If you're not in range of  the transmitter, get the live stream  - http://sc1.spacialnet.com:32660/;wnur.mp3

Today show kicks off with Dr. Vandana Shiva, on preparing us for  the March Against Monsanto, which starts in many cities just as this show ends, at 1:00 Central. Then we'll find out about "The FBI's Terror Factory", the secret donors behind the Center for American Progress and other "think tanks" and much more, to be replayed later today, along with a report from the march.

All 4 hours of the show for Saturday, May 18, 2013 are ready to play HERE. Continue reading for text summaries and links to rebroadcasts. REMEMBER: you don't need to download anything to play the streams, unlike podcasts.

This morning's program features:
*Mother Jones' Andy Kroll tells us the bigger story behind the IRS scandal.
*Author Paul Thomas talks "Education Reform in the Jim Crow Era."
*Stan Cox talks about his new book, "Any Way You Slice It: The Past, Present and Future of Rationing."
*We'll also have a live report from 'Our Man in Budapest' Todd Williams.
*Michael Roper of the Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark Street in Chicago, will talk to us live from Italy.
*Jeff Dorchen will deliver a Moment of Truth from India.

We have the show from May 11 in Lofi - no text yet, but if you scroll down you can get text from previous shows, and last week's show is streaming along with at least 3 others.

May 11 This Is Hell part one LoFi  |  May 11 This Is Hell part two LoFi

For all replays, check http://indyradio.nu:2013  Just use the play buttons! We also have a couple of recent shows in LoFi. Scroll down (way down) for text summaries.

April 20 This Is Hell part one LoFi   |   April 20 This Is Hell part two LoFi  | March 30 This Is Hell LoFi

SIX previous shows currently stream 24 hours of This Is Hell. Just click the play buttons at http://indyradio.nu:2013/

12 Hours of Hell (May 17) plays at 9 Central, AM and PM starting with the 4 hour show from May 11, then at 1, the May 4th show and the April 20th show plays from 5 until 9. Repeats every 12 hours. Use the SECOND play button in the list here - http://indyradio.nu:2013/

12 Hours of Hell (April 20) plays at 9 Central, AM and PM starting with the 4 hour show from April 20, then at 1, the April 13th show and the March 30th show plays from 5 until 9. Repeats every 12 hours. Use the FIRST play button in the list here - http://indyradio.nu:2013/

Text summaries follow, find out more about this award-winning show at http://thisishell.net

This Is Hell May 4, 2013

Sarah Birke co-wrote the article, “The Syrian Heartbreak,” which appeared at the Middle East Research Information Project website. Sarah is a Middle East correspondent currently writing for The Economist.

Charles Kernaghan will discuss the Bangladesh garment factory collapse that has cut short at least 400 lives. Charles is director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights. ‘The Instittue’ released a statement on the disaster titled, “Over 400 Garment Workers Killed in Bangladesh Factory Collapse Making This the Worst Disaster in the History of the Garment Industry.” As his bio at his group’s website explains, “He is perhaps best known as ‘the man who made Kathie Lee cry’ after exposing that 13-year-old children were working in a brutal Honduran sweatshop earning just pennies an hour sewing Kathie Lee Gifford’s clothing line for Wal-Mart.”

Robin Nagle is the author of, “Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Robin is the director of the John W. Draper Interdisciplinary Masters Program at New York University. Her NYU bio says she is “an anthropologist whose research focuses on the category of material culture known variously as garbage, rubbish, refuse, trash, or waste. In 2006, Nagle was named anthropologist-in-residence with the Department of Sanitation in New York City (DSNY). She is working with colleagues in the DSNY and at NYU to organize the Department’s archives, to establish an on-going Oral History Project, to create a Wall of Honor for city Sanitation personnel killed on the job, and to found the city’s Sanitation Museum.”

Dr. Roland Weierstall explains “The peculiar psychology of war likely holds answers for avoiding future atrocities.” Dr. Weierstall is a member of the Group of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology at Germany’s University of Konstanz. He’s on to discuss his Scientific American article, Psychology of War Helps to Explain Atrocities.

Our correspondents this weekend are:

live from New York City, we get a ‘Bulletin in the Head’ from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting‘s Jim Naureckas. Jim is the editor of FAIR’s monthly magazine “Extra!” His most recent writing at FAIR includes, An Invitation to a Live-Action Infomercial. You can follow him on Twitter @JNaureckas

also live from NYC, Susan Kang, ‘The Solidarity Bitch.’ Susan is author of “Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy” (University of Pennsylvania Press). She is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in the City University of New York who was a member of the Occupy Wall Street Demands Working Group.

and, yet again, live from NYC, Elvis DeMorrow gives a special appearance to reveal what he’s found on the Boston Marathon in the Konspiracy Korner.

live from Kerala, India, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth while shooting his new movie, “Basmati Blues.”

Producing Saturday’s show will be Alexander Jerri and Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer.

 

This Is Hell April 20, 2013

‘While attention focuses on Pakistan’s restive northwest, southwest Balochistan has been a bloody battleground since 2005.’
‘The Internet’s Shameful False ID.’
‘What Happens When We Pay Others to Live Our Lives for Us?’
‘On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City.’

Saturday’s live four hour This is Hell! beginning at 9AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment, WNUR 89.3FM, is hosted by your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz. This is Hell! also streams live here and is podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast at this page.

Our guests will be…

Writer Asad Hashim discusses, “Pakistan’s unending battle over Balochistan.” Asad is a staff writer with Al Jazeera. While Asad does most of his reporting from Pakistan, he is currently at Al Jazeera’s world headquarters in Doha. You can follow Asad on Twitter @AsadHashim

Writer Alex Pareene describes, The Internet’s shameful false ID: Citizen detectives smeared a missing college student.” Alex covers politics at Salon.com. He is the author of, “The Rude Guide To Mitt.” He was described by Forbes as “ferociously smart,” he was named one of their ’30 obvious rising stars in media.’ His other recent columns include, “Whoops! Turns out debt doesn’t ruin economies,” “Let’s not be terrorized: We can’t stop people from putting bombs in trash cans. Catch who did, and let’s honor Boston by returning to normal,” and “Minority of useless undemocratic legislative body blocks modest gun control legislation.” Follow Alex on Twitter @pareene

Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild is author of, “The Outsourced Self: What Happens When We Pay Others to Live Our Lives for Us” (Picador). Arlie is Professor Emerita at the University of California at Berkeley Sociology Department.

Our irregular correspondents will be…

Investigative journalist and forensic economist Greg Palast does his second segment as a contributor on This is Hell! Greg will be eulogizing the late Margaret Thatcher. Follow Greg on Twitter @Greg_Palast

Live from the hermeitcally sealed clean room at URL Labs, LaddieO.com gives a web, tech and science report

Live from somewhere in India, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth from the filming of his new movie.

Producing Saturday’s show will be Theron Humiston and Richard Norwood.

This Is Hell April 13, 2013

Dispelling the myths behind Obama’s Social Security cuts.
#OffshoreLeaks reveals tax secrets of the world’s wealthiest.
Painfully watching the US media cover Iran.
Discerning signals from noise in North Korea.

Today’s live four hour This is Hell! beginning at 9AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment, WNUR 89.3FM, is hosted by your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz. This is Hell! will also streams live here and is podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast at this page.

Our guests will be…

Reporter George Zornick reveals, “Top 5 Myths About Chained-CPI, Debunked.” George is Washington reporter for The Nation. He was Senior Reporter/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and he worked as a researcher for Michael Moore’s “SiCKO” and as an Associate Producer on “The Media Project” on the Independent Film Channel.

Journalist Michael Hudson has the #OffshoreLeaks that reveal the tax haven secrets of the world’s ultra-wealthy. Michael is senior editor at The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists which this week released, “Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze.” He previously worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and as an investigator for the Center for Responsible Lending. He has won a George Polk Award for magazine reporting and a John Hancock Award for business journalism. His latest book, “The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America—and Spawned a Global Crisis,” (St. Martin’s Griffin) was named 2010 Book of the Year by Baltimore City Paper and called “essential reading for anyone concerned with the mortgage crisis” by Library Journal. He last appeared on This is Hell! to discuss his series for the Center for Public Integrity, “The Great Mortgage Cover-Up,” has been selected to appear in Columbia University Press’s Best Business Writing, 2012.

Live from Beirut, Rami Khouri most recent writing includes, “Painfully Following Iran in the U.S. Media.” Rami is the Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, an internationally syndicated columnist at the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, and a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Dubai School of Government. In November 2006 he was the co-recipient of the Pax Christi International Peace Award for his efforts to bring peace and reconciliation to the Middle East. He recently served for four years on the international advisory board of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He can be followed on Twitter @ramikhouri

Roger Cavazos deciphers “North Korean and US Nuclear Threats: Discerning Signals from Noise.” Roger is an Associate of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability. Natuilus is a public policy think-tank focused on nuclear war, urban and energy insecurity, and climate change in the Asia Pacific region. He is retired from the United States Army after 22 years of service at the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war. His assignments included in the then Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Korea and China. He co-wrote this piece with Peter Hayes, director of Nautilus, Professor of International Relations at RMIT University in Melbourne and an Asia-Pacific Journal Associate.

Our irregular corespondents will be…

Dan ‘The Energy Man” Litchfield will talk energy and transportation. Dan’s segment is evolving into a more energy- and less auto-centric focus.

Danny Muller gives a Wasted Energy Report. However, Danny always reports on the good and bad in activism, so he’s not crazy about the title of his segment. Especially with Dan changing his name form ‘The Auto Man’ to ‘The Energy Man.’ It’s really quite a soap opera.

Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth. Is Jeff in LA? Is he still in India scouting locations and starting production of his movie? Find out this Saturday.

Producing this Saturday’s show will be Alex Jerri and Richard Norwood.

This Is Hell March 30, 2013

Why is President Obama cracking down on whistleblowers?
How will the TransPacific Partnership hurt democracy?
Who is Obama’s Israeli heckler and what did he really say?
What is Iraq’s ongoing “intentional state terror”?

Find out during Saturday’s live four hour This is Hell! beginning at 9AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment, WNUR 89.3FM, with your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz.

The Nation contributor Tim Shorrock discusses his article, “Obama’s Crackdown on Whistleblowers.” Tim’s work has been appearing at The Nation since 1983. He is the author of, “Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing.” You can purchase his book by clicking on Tim’s name.

Dr. Margaret Flowers, MD, co-wrote the truthout piece, “TransPacific Partnership Will Undermine Democracy, Empower Transnational Corporations.” Margaret co-directs It’s Our Economy. Margaret is on the coordinating committee of the Health Care is a Human Right campaign. She is also on the board of Healthcare-Now and was a lead organizer of the October 2011 Occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. She co-hosts “Clearing the FOG” with past This is Hell! guest Kevin Zeese on DC’s We Act Radio 1480 AM and on Economic Democracy Media. You can follow her on Twitter @MFlowers8.

Rabeea Eid heckled President Obama during the president’s recent visit to Israel. The Media reported that Rabeea was upset about over the imprisonment of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. IN fact, he never mentioned Pollard. Rabeea, a student from the village of Eilaboun, Israel, will tell us what he actually said.

Sociology professor Lisa Hajjar describes ‘intentional state terror.’ Lisa is at the University of California-Santa Barbara. She is the author of, “Torture: A Sociology of Violence and Human Rights” (Routledge).

Our irregular correspondents will be …

Kevan Harris, ‘The Radical Pessimist,’ tells it like it is… at least, to him.

live in-studio, David Skalinder gives ‘A View From The Agile Left.’

Producing tomorrow’s show will be Alex Jerri and Richard Norwood.

This Is Hell March 23, 2013

Chuck interviewed freelance journalist Ben Ehrenreich who wrote the New York Times Magazine story, “Is This Where the Third Intifada Will Start?” Ben is the author of two novels, “Ether” (City Lights Books) and “The Suitors” (Skylight Books). He won the 2011 National Magazine Award in feature writing.

National Iranian American Council‘s Jamal Abdi posted, “The Senate’s 10-Year Iraq War Anniversary Gift: War With Iran,” at the Huffington Post this week. Jamal is NIAC’s Policy Director. NIAC is “the largest grassroots organization representing the Iranian-American community in the US.” He blogs at niacINsight.com. You can follow Jamal on Twitter @jabdi

Project On Government Oversight‘s Dr. Ben Freeman discusses his Salon.com piece, “Don’t fall for Pentagon spin: Never mind what you heard about massive new cuts to the defense industry. Here’s how contractors avoided calamity.” Ben is a National Security Investigator at POGO, specializing in Pentagon “personnel issues, weapons procurement, and the impact of lobbying by foreign governments on US foreign policy.”

Northwestern University Professor Benjamin Page co-wrote, “Democracy and the Policy Preferences of Wealthy Americans,” with Larry Bartels and Jason Seawright. Benjamin is Gordon Scott Fulcher Professor of Decision Making at Northwestern University. His books about American politics include, “Class War?: What Americans Really Think about Economic Inequality” (University of Chicago Press).

live from South Korea, Marc Flury gives some ‘Saturday Morning Calm’ on what the hell is happening in the Koreas.

Brian Foley presents, “A New Financial You in 28 Days: A 37 Day Plan.” Brian is a Florida Coastal School of Law Professor and he disseminates his own version of ‘Lawpaganda’ on This is Hell!

This Is Hell March 16, 2013

This weekend, This is Hell!, we learn ‘Why the Invasion of Iraq Was the Single Worst Foreign Policy Decision in American History,’ we dissect the real costs of the Iraq war. and we discover how the US is ‘Lurching Towards War’ with North Korea.

Peter Van Buren is a retired 24-year veteran of the US State Department who served in Iraq. Peter blogs at We Meant Well. He is the author of a book by the same name, “We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People,” which you can purchase through his site. He is currently working on a new book entitled, “The People on the Bus: A Story of the 99%.” He recently wrote the TomDispatch piece, “Mission Unaccomplished: Why the Invasion of Iraq Was the Single Worst Foreign Policy Decision in American History.”

Catherine Lutz is the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Family Professor of Anthropology and International Studies at Brown University. Catherine is the Eisenhower Research Project co-director. In that capacity, she oversees the The Costs of War project’s report which estimates the human, economic, social, and political toll of the Iraq war. The latest installment, “Iraq War: 190,000 lives, $2.2 trillion,” was released today.

Christine Hong assistant professor in the Literature Department at University of California-Santa Cruz where she specializes in transnational Asian American, Korean diaspora, and critical Pacific Rim studies. Christine is currently working on a book tentatively titled, “Blurring the Color Line: Racial Fictions, Militarized Humanity, and the Pax Americana in the Pacific Rim.” She is a coordinating committee member of the National Campaign to End the Korean War, a steering committee member of the Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea, and a member of the Working Group on Peace and Demilitarization in Asia and the Pacific. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Korea Policy Institute. She recently co-wrote, “Lurching Towards War: A Post-Mortem on Strategic Patience.”

Our correspondents will be …

Sarah Jaffe reports ‘Dispatches from the Class War’

live from New York City, Trevor Ewen tells us what’s happening from ‘The County Incinerator.’

live in-studio, Michael Roper, proprietor of the Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark Street, talks beer.

Producing Saturday’s show will be Alexander Jerri and Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer.

This Is Hell March 9, 2013

Victoria Brittain is a former associate foreign editor of the Guardian. Victoria co-wrote “Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantánamo, Bagram, and Kandahar” (The New Press) with past This is Hell! guest Moazzam Begg. Her latest book is, “Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror” (Palgrave). This week, she posted the article, “Shadow Lives: How the War on Terror in England Became a War on Women and Children,” at TomDispatch.com.

Kevin Gosztola is co-author of, “Truth & Consequences: The US vs. Bradley Manning.” Kevin has been covering the Bradley Manning trial writing, “Huffington Post Live Segment: Manning Contacted Other Outlets Before WikiLeaks,” “The U.S. Press Failed Bradley Manning” and “Bradley Manning Describes ‘Collateral Murder’ Video as ‘War Porn.’”

The Guardian’s Chavala Madlena will discuss the exclusive report she co-wrote, “Revealed: Pentagon’s link to Iraqi torture centers.” In it, they report that, “General David Petraeus and ‘dirty wars’ veteran behind commando units implicated in detainee abuse.”

Noam Chomsky is emeritus professor of linguistics and philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Noam’s latest book is, “Power Systems: Conversations on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire” (Metropolitan Books). His most recent writing is the truthout story, “Will Capitalism Destroy Civilization?”

Paul Pillar is the director of graduate studies at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. Professor Pillar took that position after retiring from a 28-year career at the CIA. Paul served in the National Intelligence Council as one of the original members of its Analytic Group. He has been Executive Assistant to CIA’s Deputy Director for Intelligence and Executive Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence William Webster. He is the author of, “Intelligence and US Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform” (Columbia University Press). He is a contributing editor to The National Interest where he writes a daily blog. His latest writing is the Consortiumnews piece, “Breeding Anti-US Suspicions.”

Our correspondents will be …

live in-studio, John K. Wilson is co-editor of the Academe blog at Illinois Academe where he is an editor. John is the author of, “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh’s Assault on Reason.”

live from New York City, Elvis DeMorrow tells us what’s in the Konspiracy Korner

live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

This Is Hell March 2, 2013

Vicky Rateau is the campaign manager for Oxfam America’s national and international organizing and advocacy efforts around food security and climate change. She has played a leadership role on a number of global poverty campaigns for the past 11 years, including Oxfam International’s Make Trade Fair campaign. She presents the new Oxfam report and campaign, “Behind the Brands: Change the way the food companies that make your favorite brands do business.”

Chicago lawyer Flint Taylor, who represents victims of alleged torture at the hands of Chicago police, will tell us about his piece at The Nation, “Racism, Torture and Impunity in Chicago.”

Human Rights Watch South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly talks about her report, “Breaking the Silence: Child Sexual Abuse in India”

Deborah Rogers of the Energy Policy Forum discusses her new report, “Shale and Wall Street: Was the Decline in Natural Gas Prices Orchestrated?”

Our correspondents were …

live from Hungary, ‘Our Man in Budapest’ Todd Williams

live from Quebec City, Universite Laval law student Valerie Bergeron

live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

This Is Hell February 23, 2013

This Saturday on an abbreviated two-hour and forty minute This is Hell! airing at 9AM (US central time) on Chicago’s WNUR 89.3FM, streaming live at thisishell.com/live and podcast shortly after at this page, host Chuck Mertz interviews Mother Jones Food and Ag blogger Tom Philpott on King Corn, GMO crops, the meat industry, superweeds, pesticides, and Big Beer, and activist Ian Pounds talks about ‘One Man’s Journey to Afghanistan.’

Tom’s recent writing includes, “King Corn Mowed Down 2 Million Acres of Grassland in 5 Years Flat.” “Do GMO Crops Really Have Higher Yields?,” “The Meat Industry Now Consumes Four-Fifths of All Antibiotics,” “Nearly Half of All US Farms Now Have Superweeds,” “Study: Common Pesticides Kill Frogs on Contact,” “DOJ to Big Beer: We’re Cutting You Off,” “The Surprising Connection Between Food and Fracking,”and “Saving the Ocean, One McBite at a Time?”

Yeah, it’s a long list. But, damn, Tom’s been doing some amazing work.

Ian is a volunteer for the Afghan Children Education and Care Organization. He sold his home in Vermont and moved to Kabul to dedicate his life to helping Afghan children. There he acts as their English teacher and mentor.

Ian will be performing, “Undestroyed: One Man’s Journey to Afghanistan,” the story of his four-year journey as the only westerner working in a Kabul orphanage, at Uri-Eichen art gallery, 2101 South Halsted Street Tuesday, February 26, at 7 PM.

Our irregular correspondents will be Dan ‘The Auto Man’ Litchfield who will join us live in studio, and ‘Our Man in San Juan’ Dave Buchen.

You can purchase Dave’s book, “Why Is A Tiger A Tiger,” at Evanston’s Squeezebox Books, Chicago’s 57th St Books and City Lit Books, Madison’s A Room of One’s Own, Seattle’s Elliot Bay Books and Mockingbird Books, and Eight Cousins in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Producing this week's show are Richard Norwood and John Serafin.

 

This Is Hell February 16, 2013

ClimateWire’s Julia Pyper describes the Obama administration’s plans for climate change adaptation. Common Cause’s Doug Clopp explains how the “ALEC Tax and Budget Proposals Would Slash Public Services and Jeopardize Economic Growth.” The Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg reveals the secret money behind climate change denial and alternative energy opposition. The Center for Economic and Policy Research’s John Schmitt dissects the impact minimum wage hikes have on employment.

Our irregular correspondents will be Danny Muller, who will give a ‘Wasted Energy Report,’ and Susan Kang, author of, “Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy” (University of Pennsylvania Press).

Jeff Dorchen will deliver a Moment of Truth.

Journalist Julia Pyper is a reporter for E&E Publishing’s ClimateWire — a leading source of news on climate change and energy policy. We’ll talk with Julia about her article that appeared at Scientific American this week, “Obama Administration Releases First-Ever Climate Adaptation Plans.” The story explains, “With plans that incorporate efforts made by the Commerce, Agriculture, Energy, Transportation and Defense departments, among others, the administration’s effort acknowledges that climate impacts are happening now and require action.”

Doug Clopp is Common Cause‘s Deputy Director for Programs. Doug is the former Director of Governmental Affairs and Coalition Coordinator of Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation. He previously worked on Maine’s landmark Clean Elections program, improving campaign finance laws, and promoting governmental ethics.

Suzanne Goldenberg is the US environment correspondent of the Guardian. In 2003, Suzanne covered the US invasion of Iraq from Baghdad. She is the author of, “Madam President: Is America Ready to Send Hillary Clinton to the White House?” This week, Suzanne posted the stories, “Media campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives,” “Obama acting too slowly on climate change risks, government audit finds,” and “How Donors Trust distributed millions to anti-climate groups.

John Schmitt is Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. John writes extensively on unemployment, economic inequality, and the welfare state. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. This week, he published the report, “Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment?”

Production: Alex Jerri and Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer.

 

This Is Hell February 09, 2013

• Robert Parry is editor of Consortiumnews.com. Bob’s most recent book is, “America’s Stolen Narrative.” He recently wrote the piece “The Iraq War ‘Surge’ Myth Returns.”
• Marcy Wheeler is a noted blogger on legal issues, writing at EmptyWheel.net. Marcy’s most recent writing includes, “The Timing of the White Paper” and the piece “This Isn’t the Memo You’re Looking For.”
• Gray Brechin is founder and project scholar of the Living New Deal Project. Gray returns to tell us the truth behind the US Postal Service story.
• David Cay Johnston covers fiscal and budget matters for Columbia Journalism Review’s United States Project. David is a former New York Times reporter who is currently a columnist for Tax Analysis. He also teaches tax and regulatory law at Syracuse University Law School and is president of Investigative Reporters & Editors. David’s most recent writing includes his CJR piece, “The true cost of national security: The Pentagon and the White House focus on the core Defense budget, but that’s not the half of it.”

Today's irregular correspondents include …

• in-studio, John K. Wilson is co-editor of the Academe blog at Illinois Academe where he is an editor. John is the author of, “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh’s Assault on Reason.”
• in-studio, producer and local cop activist Spencer ‘ThunderBall’ Thayer tells us what’s in his craw.
• live from San Francisco, The Exploratorium’s Kate O’Donnell says, “Thank You, Science!
• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

Producing Saturday’s show will be Alex Jerri, Richard Norwood, John Serafin and the aforementioned ‘Thunderball.’

 

This Is Hell February 02, 2013

‘IMF is Promoting Socially and Economically Harmful Policies Broadly Across Europe,’ ‘Owners Are Ruining The Games We Love, and ‘ … and some ‘Lawpaganda.’

On an abbreviated one hour forty minute This is Hell! this Saturday, February 2, beginning at 9AM (US central) in Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3FM, streaming live here, and podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast at this page.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews …

Dave Zirin returns to discuss his new book, “Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining The Games We Love” (New Press). Dave was named one of UTNE Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World.” He is The Nation‘s first sports writer in 150 years of existence. His most recent writing there is, “Soccer and Egypt’s Current ‘State of Emergency’.” He also hosts Sirius XM Radio’s weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio.

Mark Weisbrot is co-director of The Center for Economic Policy and Research with past This is Hell! guest Dean Baker. Mark is co-author of the new report, “Macroeconomic Policy Advice and the Article IV Consultations: A European Union Case Study.”

Our irregular correspondent will be …

Florida Coastal School of Law Professor Brian Foley disseminates his own version of ‘Lawpaganda.’ Brian’s most recent writing includes, “NRA: No Rational Answer.”

This Is Hell January 26, 2013

Revelations on US policy toward Iran and Bahrain, Afghanistan’s economy about to burst, ‘The Case Against Kerry,’ the planet’s ‘Great Divide,’ some ‘Lawpaganda,’ ‘The View From The Agile Left,’ and a ‘Moment of Truth’ — all on this Saturday‘s live four hour This is Hell! on Chicago’s Sound Experiment, WNUR 89.3 FM, streaming here and podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast at this page.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz welcomes …

ProPublica reporter Justin Elliott returns to This is Hell! to talk about his latest writing, “Widely Cited Government Study on Iranian Spies ‘Pulled for Revisions’” and “Revealed: America’s Arms Sales To Bahrain Amid Bloody Crackdown.” Follow justin on Twitter @elliotjustin

journalist Matthieu Aikins discusses his new Harper’s article, “Kabubble: Counting down to economic collapse in the Afghan capital.” Matthieu lives in Kabul and has been reporting from Afghanistan since 2008. In 2011, Matthieu was a finalist for the National Magazine Award in the Reporting category for a story he wrote for the Atlantic in which he exposed a massacre in Afghanistan. We first had Matthieu on This is Hell! shortly after that article’s publication.

Stephen Zunes is professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, Stephens most recent writing includes, “The Case Against Kerry.”

Mike Moran, lead writer on the Global Post’s new report, “The Great Divide: Global Inequality and Its Cost”

Our irregular correspondents will be …

Florida Coastal School of Law Professor Brian Foley disseminates his own version of ‘Lawpaganda.’ Brian’s most recent writing includes, “NRA: No Rational Answer”

live from London, David Skalinder and ‘The Agile Left’

Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth live from Los Angeles

Producing this Saturday’s show will be Richard Norwood and Spencer “Thunderball” Thayer.

This Is Hell January 19, 2013

A live report from the war in Mali. Revealing the ‘American system of suffering.’ The ‘tragic early death’ of Aaron Swartz. First Nations are ‘Idle No More.’ ‘The Radical Pesssimist,’ a ‘Moment of Truth,’ and a brand new member of the crew … all this Saturday, January 19, 2013, during four hours of This is Hell! beginning at 9 AM (central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment, WNUR 89.3FM, streaming live here and podcast shortly after the show at this page.

Joining your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz and producer Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer this weekend will be …

live from Bamako, Mali, freelance journalist, writer and analyst Peter Tinti on the war. Peter’s most recent writing is today’s story at The Christian Science Monitor, “France gets deeper in Mali war: Are they ready?”

Nick Turse is the associate editor of TomDispatch.com and the winner of a 2009 Ridenhour Prize for Reportorial Distinction as well as a James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism. Nick’s most recent writing at TomDispatch is last week’s, “‘So Many People Died’: The American System of Suffering, 1965-2014.” He is currently a fellow at New York University’s Center for the United States and the Cold War. Nick is the author of, “The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives” (Metropolitan Books). His new book is, “Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam” (Metropolitan Books).

Dean Baker is co-chair at The Center for Economic Policy and Research with past This is Hell! guest Mark Weisbrot. Dean’s recent writing includes this week’s, “Aaron Swartz: A Tragic Early Death.”

Pamela Palmater is a Mi’kmaq lawyer whose family originates from the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. Pam is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. She is Chair in Indigenous Governance, and Academic Director of the newly-created Centre for Indigenous Governance. She will talk to us about the new First Nations’ movement, ‘Idle No More.’

 

Our irregular correspondents will be …

• Kevan Harris, ‘The Radical Pessmist,’ is a postdoctoral research fellow in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton. Kevan’s article on Iran’s currency wars, “A Fistful of Tomans,” has been posted by The London Review of Books.
• and we introduce our newest irregular correspondent, investigative journalist and forensic economist Greg Palast. Greg published the story, “Big Oil, Big Ketchup and The Assassination of Hugo Chavez.” You can now download Greg’s new documentary, “The Assassination of Hugo Chavez,” FOR FREE at gregpalast.com

live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth

This Is Hell January 12, 2013

Today Chuck interviewed The New York Times’ Steven Greenhouse about Wal-Mart’s outsourcing problems. next comes Rick Perlstein who exposes ‘How the NRA Became an Organization for Aspiring Vigilantes,’ activist Shahid Buttar on Obama’s renewed domestic surveillance policy, and The Nation’s Dave Zirin explains why 2012 was ‘The Year Our Sports Broke.’

The New Year starts with a new irregular correspondent. Former WNUR general manager Marc Flury will be giving us reports live from South Korea, but this week he’s in Hanoi. ‘Our Man in Dublin,’ Will Lynch is back for more and Kevan Harris, ‘The Radical Pessimist,’ joins us live in-studio for the entire show. Finally, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

 

This Is Hell December 22, 2012

The world is still ending, no matter what happens on 12-21-12.

This Saturday, December 22, 2012 — that is, if there is a 12-22-12 — This is Hell! will air four hours of our very best interviews on global warming, climate change, global weirding, whatever the hell you wanna call our ongoing destruction of Planet Earth.

Producer Alex Jerri will be your host to interviews with climate change prof Mike Hulme, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead author Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, Bioproducts and Biosystems researcher Jason Hill, award-winning author Heather Rogers on “Green Gone Wrong,” Mother Jones’ Tom Phipott on agriculture and climate change, Bloomberg’s Paul M. Barrett says “It’s Global Warming, Stupid,” and environmentalist Bill McKibben adds up “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math.”

This Is Hell December 15, 2012

It’s the Second Annual This is Hell! Office Holiday Party! and everyone’s invited!

This is Hell! celebrates another year on WNUR 89.3 FM Chicago’s Sound Experiment, this Saturday, December 15, live for four hours beginning at 9 AM (US central) from the Chestnut Room on the 13th floor of Evanston’s unbelievable Parimutuel Building on the shores of Lake Michigan.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz will be joined by …

• ‘Our Man in Budapest’ Todd Williams
• live from Quebec City, Valerie Bergeron
• Sarah Jaffe talks to us from New York City
• live in-studio, John Wilson
• Elvis DeMorrow reveals what’s in the Konspiracy Korner
• in-studio, Michael Roper, proprietor of Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark, talks beer
• Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth live from Los Angeles

Alex Jerri, Richard Norwood and Spencer Thayer produce this weekend’s show.

This Is Hell December 8, 2012

This is Hell! aired a live four hour show this morning, Saturday, December 8, beginning at 9AM (US central time) live here and on WNUR-FM Chicago’s Sound Experiment. This is Hell! is also podcast here.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed …

John Vidal, The Guardian’s environmental editor, on the Doha climate change talks.

Anne-christine d’Adesky of PotoFanm+Fi on a disturbing new report entitled, “Beyond Shock – Charting the landscape of sexual violence in post-quake Haiti: Progress, Challenges & Emerging Trends 2010-2012.”

Gray Brechin, founder and project scholar of the Living New Deal Project, has written a series of articles, including “Selling off the Post Office: Berkeley calls out Richard Blum” and “Congress to Postal Service: ‘Drop Dead!’”

former CIA analyst Ray McGovern discussed Bradley Manning

Alternet editor Joshua Holland on the insanity that is Ted Nugent and the far right

Our irregular correspondents were …

Susan Kang is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in the City University of New York who was a member of the Occupy Wall Street Demands Working Group. She is the author of the new book, “Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy” (University of Pennsylvania Press)

Danny Muller gave a ‘Wasted Energy Report’ live from Gaza

Jeff Dorchen delivered a Moment of Truth live from Los Angeles.

Alex Jerri and Theron Hummiston are produced Saturday’s show.

This Is Hell December 1, 2012

Charles Seife is a professor of journalism at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and has been writing about physics and mathematics for a decade and a half. He is the author of several books including, “Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea” which won the 2000 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction, “Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking,” which won the 2009 Davis Prize from the History of Science Society; and “Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception.” We’ll be talking to Charles about his article at Scientific American, “How Drug Company Money Is Undermining Science: The pharmaceutical industry funnels money to prominent scientists who are doing research that affects its products–and nobody can stop it.” You can purchase all Charles’s book and find all his articles by going to his own website which you can get to by clicking on his name above.

Stephen Walt is a professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Stephen is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He co-authored, “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy” (MacMillan), with past This is Hell! guest John Mearsheimer. Steve also regularly writes at Foreign Policy. His most recent writing there includes, “The mother of all worst-case assumptions about Iran,” and, “A new paradigm for international relations: Confusionism.”

live from Ramallah, The New York Review of Books’ Mark Danner. Mark is the author, most recently, of, “Stripping Bare the Body: Politics Violence War.” Mark is Chancellor’s Professor of English, Journalism and Politics at the University of California at Berkeley and James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs, Politics and the Humanities at Bard College and is currently teaching at Al Quds University in East Jerusalem. His book, “Torture and the Forever War,” will be published in the spring of 2013. Find all of his work by clicking on Mark’s name above. We’ll be talking with him about his most recent NYRB pieces, “How, and What, Obama Won,” and “The Politics of Fear.”

We’ll also hear from irregular correspondent and Universite Laval law student Valerie Bergeron, ‘Our Correspondent in Quebec.’ This week, she’s talking local corruption.

As we said earlier, Jeff Dorchen is delivering a Moment of Truth live from Los Angeles.

Richard Norwood and Spencer Thunderball Thayer are producing Saturday’s show.

 

This Is Hell November 24, 2012

This is Hell! airs a live ONE HOUR show this Saturday, November 24, beginning at 9AM (US central time) live here and on WNUR-FM Chicago’s Sound Experiment.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz will interview Uri Anvery and Steven Goose.

Kevan Harris, ‘The Radical Pessimist,’ will be sitting in with Chuck during Saturday morning’s show.

Uri is a former Irgun member, a veteran of the 1958 Arab-Israeli war, a former member of the Knesset, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement which he began in 1993. Uri is known for crossing the lines at the Siege of Beirut on July 3, 1982, to meet Yassir Arafat. It was the first time the Palestinian leader ever met with an Israeli.

Uri’s most recent writing includes, “Another Superfluous War.” Uri will be speaking with us live from somewhere in Israel.

Stephen is director of Human Rights Watch‘s Arms Division. Steve co-founded with Human Rights Watch the International Campaign to Ban Landmines which won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. He was instrumental in the the 1997 international treaty banning antipersonnel mines, the 2003 protocol on explosive remnants of war, and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which has been signed by more than 100 states to date.

Steve will be on to discuss “Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots,” the “first major publication about fully autonomous weapons by a nongovernmental organization and is based on extensive research into the law, technology, and ethics of these proposed weapons.” The report, “outlines concerns about these fully autonomous weapons, which would inherently lack human qualities that provide legal and non-legal checks on the killing of civilians. In addition, the obstacles to holding anyone accountable for harm caused by the weapons would weaken the law’s power to deter future violations.”

Richard Norwood will be producing Saturday’s broadcast.

This Is Hell November 17, 2012

This is Hell! aired a live one hour show on WNUR-FM, Chicago, streaming live and podcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz was joined in-studio by ‘Our Man in San Juan’ Dave Buchen and Jeff Dorchen who usually delivers his weekly Moment of Truth from his home in Los Angeles.

Richard Norwood produced this morning’s show.

This Is Hell November 3, 2012

This is Hell! aired a live four hour show today, Saturday, November 3, 2012, beginning at 9 AM (US central) on WNUR 89.3FM, Chicago.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed investigative reporter Greg Palast, writer Paul M. Barrett, historian Rick Perlstien, author Jeff Biggers, and director of the new Eli Broad Art Museum in East Lansing, Michigan, Michael Rush.

This weekend’s irregular correspondent is Dan ‘The Auto Man’ Litchfield.

Greg’s most recent book is “Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps.” His article, “Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza,” is the cover story in the November 5 edition of The Nation. Greg just posted an Buzzflash exclusive truthout headlined, “UAW Charges Romney With Profiteering From Auto Bailout.”

Paul is an assistant managing editor and senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek. Paul’s most recent book is The New York Tiems bestseller, “GLOCK: The Rise of America’s Gun.” He teaches as an adjunct professor at New York University Law School. His most recent writing includes, “It’s Global Warming, Stupid.”

Rick’s most recent writing includes, “The Long Con: Mail-Order Conservatism,” which will be in the newest issue of The Baffler on sale November 16.

Jeff recently posted, “The Arizonification of America,” in The New York Times. His book, ““State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown Over the American Dream,” was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the Top Ten Social Science Titles of 2012. You can purchase his book by clicking on his name above.

Michael will be unveiling the new Eli Broad Art Museum next Saturday, November 10. Find out more by visiting broadmuseum.msu.edu/

This Is Hell October 20, 2012

Last Saturday's show is continuously streaming here http://f7.indyradio.nu/ - (get it while you can, otherwise use the choices above) the PLS format works in iTunes, if you have windows, one of the 2 play buttons will work, the PLS generally works with Windows XP and the M3U works with Windows 7. You'll also find a stream of Freeform Radio on the same page.

This is Hell! aired a live four and-a-half hour show today, Saturday, October 20, 2012, beginning at 9 AM (US central) on WNUR 89.3FM, Chicago.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews Gary Brecher, aka ‘The War Nerd,’ Harper’s Thomas Frank, and Columbia’s Naureen Shah will be ‘Counting Deaths from Drone Strikes.’

This weekend’s irregular correspondents will be David Skalinder who gives ‘The View from the Agile Left’ live from London, Michael Roper of Chicago’s Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark, reports from Italy, and Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth from Los Angeles.

Journalist Sarah Jaffe also joins the This is Hell! irregular correspondents. You can read Sarah’s writing at Alternet.

Gary Brecher is the author of The War Nerd, a twice-monthly column discussing current wars and other military conflicts, published in the eXile. The columns have been collected into a volume entitled, “The War Nerd” (Soft Skull Press). His most recent writing includes the article, “Cleanse Thy Neighbor: Syria just woke Turkey up. Here’s why that was a really bad idea,” which he posted at the Not Safe For Work Corp website.

Thomas Frank’s latest book, “Pity the Billionaire: The Hard Times Swindle and the Unlikely Come Back of the Right” (Metropolitan Books) has been released in paperback. Tom was a founding editor at the Baffler, and a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He currently writes a monthly essay for Harper’s. This month’s is entitled, “The maintenance crew.” He is also writing for the recent re-launched and not-to-be-missed The Baffler.
Tom will be appearing next Tuesday, October 23 at 7 PM in Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 West North Avenue, in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.

Naureen Shah is co-author of the new report, “Counting Deaths from Drone Strikes.” Naureen is Acting Director of the Human Rights Clinic and Associate Director of the Counterterrorism and Human Rights Project, Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School

 

This Is Hell October 13, 2012

This is Hell! aired a live – albeit abbreviated – one-hour show today beginning at 9 AM (US central) on WNUR 89.3FM, Chicago.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz tried to interview Gary Brecher, The War Nerd, but neither party could hear each other, so Chuck did what he does best – talking about our terrible, hellish existence.

Alexander Jerri produced this Saturday’s show along with our newest producer, John Serafin.

 

This Is Hell October 06, 2012

This is Hell! aired a live – albeit abbreviated – one-hour show today, again, October 6, 20123, beginning at 9 AM (US central) on WNUR 89.3FM, Chicago.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed Mother Jones‘ Andy Kroll.

Andy’s most recent writing includes, “Can This Super-PAC Stop Tammy Duckworth’s Surge?,” and “The Slow Death of California’s Higher Education.”

Producing Saturday’s show will be Alex Jerri and Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer.

 

This Is Hell September 22, 2012

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews Anatol Lieven, who recently spoke with the Taliban about possible reconciliation and peace, Diane Ravitch on education and the Chicago school strike, and Moustafa Bayoumi on ‘Men Behaving Badly.’

Our irregular correspondents will be Danny Muller who will be giving us a Wasted Energy Report live from Haiti, law professor Brian Foley on the law and war, ‘Our Man in Dublin’ Will Lynch, Elvis DeMorrow calls out from the Konspiracy Korner, and Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

Danny’s in Haiti working with is currently doing humanitarian work in Haiti with the Cap-Haitien Health Partnership, Konbit Sante.

Producing this weekend’s show are Theron Hummiston and Alex Jerri.

Anatol is co-author of a report released last week by the Royal United Services Institute entitled, “Taliban Perspectives on Reconciliation.” which states that the Taliban are “open” to a ceasefire and “willing to accept US military presence” in Afghanistan until 2024. His most recent book is last year’s, “Pakistan: A Hard Country” (Public Affairs). Last month, his 2007 book, “America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism,” was re-released in a new updated edition by Oxford University Press.

Diane is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Last year, she won the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences for her “careful use of social science research for the public good.” From 1991 to 1993, she was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. From 1997 to 2004, she was a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the federal testing program. She was appointed by the Clinton administration’s Secretary of Education Richard Riley in 1997 and reappointed by him in 2001. She is the author of the 2010 book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education” (Basic Books). Her most recent writing includes the New York Review of Books article, “Two Visions for Chicago’s Schools.”

Moustafa is professor of English at Brooklyn College and the author of 2008′s “How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America” (Penguin). His most recent writing includes, “Men Behaving Badly,” concerning the anti-US violence in the Muslim world.

 

This Is Hell September 15, 2012

http://indyradio.nu:2012/0825.m3u   or  you can "open" ->"URL" or "location" from your player  -   http://indyradio.nu:2012/0825

There's more available at  REBROADCAST from HELL , keep scrolling for details -

This is Hell! airs a live four hour show Saturday, September 15, at 9 AM (US central) on WNUR-FM, Chicago, streaming live and podcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews economist Dean Baker, investigative journalist Greg Palast, and international relations professor Anatol Lieven.

Dean is co-chair at The Center for Economic Policy and Research with past This is Hell! guest mark Weisbrot. Dean’s recent writing includes last week’s, “Romney’s Success at Bain Capital: The Business as Scam Model.”

Greg is releasing his new book, “Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps,” next Tuesday! His most recent writing includes yesterday’s, “The Worst Teacher in Chicago.”

Anatol is co-author of a report released Tuesday by the Royal United Services Institute entitled, “Taliban Perspectives on Reconciliation.” which states that the Taliban are “open” to a ceasefire and “willing to accept US military presence” in Afghanistan until 2024. His most recent book is last year’s, “Pakistan: A Hard Country” (Public Affairs).

We will also be joined by irregular correspondents Florida Coastal School of Law professor Brian Foley, LaddieO.com of URL Labs talks web, tech and/or science stuff, and Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

Our producers will be Johnny Happ of Chicago’s Rootstock Wine and Beer Bar, 954 North California,  and Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer.

 

 

 

 

This Is Hell September 08, 2012

This is Hell! returned with a live four hour show Saturday, September 8 at 9 AM (US central) on WNUR-FM, Chicago, streaming live and podcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed whistleblower Thomas Drake, the Bureau of Investigative Reporting‘s Chris Woods, and Open Society Fellow John Feffer.

Thomas told us how he blew the whistle on massive waste related to the infamous NSA warrantless wiretapping scandal. Instead of being embraced as a hero, he was harassed as an alleged spy.

Chris’s recent writing includes, “Obama’s five rules for covert drone strikes.”

This week, John posted the article, “Dumb and Dumber: Obama’s ‘Smart Power’ Foreign Policy Not Smart at All.”

We were also be joined by irregular correspondents Kevan The Radical Pessimist’ Harris who leaves shortly for Iran, Jim Naureckas of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, and Jeff Dorchen delivered a Moment of Truth.

Our producers will be Richard Norwood and Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer.

 

This Is Hell August 25, 2012

Saturday, August 25, 2012, This is Hell! airs a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour show at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM, streaming live and podcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews …

• live from Beirut, Martin Chulov has been covering the Middle East for the Guardian since 2005. Martin’s recent writing from inside Aleppo, Syria, includes, “Syrian rebels fight on for Aleppo despite local wariness,” “Syria: full scale of carnage becomes apparent in wake of Azaz bombardment,” and “Lebanon aghast as return of sectarian kidnappings raises spectre of civil war.”

 

• Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Stephen serves as a senior policy analyst for the Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, a contributing editor of Tikkun, and chair of the academic advisory committee for the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. His latest book is, “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism & Conflict Irresolution.” Earlier this month, he wrote the article, “The Reality of Western Sahara.” His other recent work is on Syria and Iran.

 

• Antonia Juhasz is a policy-analyst, author and journalist whose work focuses on oil. Antonia latest book is last year’s, “Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill” (Wiley). She founded the Energy Program at Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights non-profit organization, and is the program’s former director. She received a 2012-2013 Investigative Journalism Fellowship from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where she will cover Afghanistan’s oil and gas issues. She is also an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies and a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus. She’s on the National Advisory Committee of Iraq Veterans Against the War and on the Board of Directors of Coffee Strong and received a 2010 Project Censored Award. She also worked as a Legislative Assistant in Washington, DC for US Members of Congress John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD). Her recent writing includes, “Chevron’s Refinery, Richmond’s Peril.”

 

Our irregular correspondents will be …

• live from Egypt, Valerie Bergeron is a law student at Universite Laval in Quebec City who is traveling throughout the Arab Spring nations this summer.

• Jim Naureckas makes his inaugural appearance as in irregular correspondent on Saturday’s show. Jim is the editor of Extra!, the publication of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting..

• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth

Alex Jerri and Richard Norwood produce this morning’s show.

August 18 features shows from deep in the archives beyond 9/11 - This Is Hell didn't start podcasting until just after 9/11, some of the early shows include Naomi Klein, Gary Webb and Noam Chomsky. Prepare for some surprises. These shows have never been rebroadcast, and aren't online as podcasts (yet).

August 11th features interviews with the late Alex Cockburn, who passed away on July 26. He was first interviewed on This Is Hell in 1996,  the show's first year on air. August 4 was the infamous boat party, and on July 28,  guests included  Kristen Gwynne of Alternet  and conversation turned toward journalists as targets of police violence. The July 28 show is now available as podcast #703 is this list -  http://thisishell.net/shows/tomorrow-on-this-is-hell-23/

REBROADCAST from HELL  - older shows are at http://radiotube.nu:2012 - for now.

newer playlists will all be published at  http://indyradio.nu:2012 - use the play buttons

Each show is 4 hours long, making for a simple schedule:

 Aug 18 show -  9:00  (am and pm)

 Aug 11 show -  1:00

 Aug  4 show -  5:00

 

This Is Hell July 28, 2012

from thisishell.net

Saturday, July 28, 2012, This is Hell! airs a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour show at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM, streaming live and podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews …

• live from Dusseldorf, Annie Machon is a former intelligence officer in the UK’s MI5 Security Service (the US counterpart is the CIA), Annie just co-wrote an article with past This is Hell! guest Ray McGovern, a former US Army Intelligence officer and CIA analyst. The story’s entitled, “Will Downing St. Memo Recur on Iran?“

• Kristen Gwynne covers drugs at AlterNet. Kristen is a graduate of New York University where she earned degrees in both journalism and psychology. Her most recent writing includes, “Racial Tensions and Questionable Killings by Police in Anaheim: 9 Things You Should Know.”

• Guardian columnist Michael Cohen is author of, “Live from the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America.” Michael’s a fellow of the Century Foundation. His most recent writing at The Guardian includes, “America rots from the inside, while overreacting to threats from outside.” You can follow him on twitter @speechboy71

 

Our irregular correspondents will be …

• live from London, David Skalinder gives ‘The View from the Agile Left,’ from the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games of the XXX Olympiad, hosted by the gracious subjects of Her Britannic Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

• Elvis DeMorrow tells us what’s scuttling around the Konspiracy Korner.

• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth

Alex Jerri and Richard Norwood are this weekend’s producers.

 

This Is Hell July 21, 2012

Saturday, July 21, 2012, This is Hell! airs a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour show at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM, streaming live and podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews …

• live from Brazil, Glenn Greenwald is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, “How Would A Patriot Act? Defending American Values From A President Run Amok” (Working Assets Publishing) and “A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency” (Crown). He also wrote 2008′s, “Great American Hypcrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics” (Crown). Glenn’s most recent book is, “With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful” (Picador). He was recently named one of the “Twenty-Five Most Influential Liberals in US Media” by Forbes. He is a former constitutional law and civil rights attorney and is a contributing writer at Salon where his most recent writing includes, “Obama’s killings challenged again.” Glenn announced today that he will be leaving Salon next month to start writing at The Guardian. You can follow Glenn on twitter at @ggreenwald

 

• Bill McKibben is the author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with the 1989 classic, “The End of Nature.” Bill’s most recent books include, “Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet,” and “The Global Warming Reader” (OR Books). Click on Bill’s name above to purchase any of his books. He is a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, which has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. Time Magazine called him ‘the planet’s best green journalist.’ He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This week, Bill posted the Rolling Stone article, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math: Three simple numbers that add up to global catastrophe – and that make clear who the real enemy is.”

 

• American University assistant professor of anthropology David Vine, author of “Island of Shame: The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia” (Princeton University Press). David is also the co-author, with the Network of Concerned Anthropologists, of the “Counter-Counterinsurgency Manual, or Notes on Demilitarizing American Society” (Prickly Paradigm). He is currently working on a new book about the global network of US military bases overseas. We’ll be speaking with David about his writing at TomDispatch this week, “The Lily-Pad Strategy: How the Pentagon Is Quietly Transforming Its Overseas Base Empire and Creating a Dangerous New Way of War.”

 

Our irregular correspondents will be …

 

• making her first appearance as an irregular correspondent, Valerie Bergeron will be reporting to us live from Egypt. Valerie is a law student at the Univeristé Laval in Quebec City and is currently traveling around the Middle East where she is visiting many of the countries that experienced the ‘Arab Spring.’

 

• live from San Francisco, Kate O’Donnell says, ‘Thank You, Science!’

 

• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth

 

Spencer ‘Thunderball’ Thayer, Alex Jerri and Richard Norwood are this  Saturday’s producers.

 

This Is Hell continuously streams from http://radiotube.nu:2012/HELL.m3u - that's the playlist  for Hell, including the 3 shows described below, 4 hours each. You can see exactly what's playing at http://radiotube.nu:2012 Just scroll down the list to /HELL - The play button marked m3u is the same as the link above. Times given are CST, GMT -6 since the show is broadcast from WNUR in Evanston IL, just North of Chicago.

Program notes follow, in addtion to notes from previous programs which are available as podcasts at thisishell.net

This Is Hell July 14, 2012

Today, July 14, 2012, This is Hell! aired a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour show at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM, streaming live and podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast here.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed …

•  

• Thomas Frank, author of the book, “Pity the Billionaire: The Hard Times Swindle and the Unlikely Come Back of the Right” (Metropolitan Books) which is to be released in paperback this September. Tom was a founding editor at the Baffler, and a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He currently writes a monthly essay for Harper’s. This month’s is entitled, “Letter from Brownbackistan.” He has also has a new piece in the just-off-the-presses issue of the Baffler, “Dead End on Shakin’ Street.”

 

• investigative journalist Greg Palast. Greg is best known as the reporter who uncovered how Katherine Harris purged thousands of African-Americans from Florida voters rolls in the 2000 Presidential Election. He is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy,” “Armed Madhouse,” and “Vulture’s Picnic.” He is Patron of the Trinity College Philosophical Society, an honor previously held by Jonathan Swift and Oscar Wilde. He has also been a recipient of the George Orwell Courage in Journalism Prize for his BBC television documentary, “Bush Family Fortunes.” His most recent writing includes, “Robert Mundell, evil genius of the euro.” You can get all Greg’s books, article and videos by clicking on his name above. Greg has a new book coming out in September called, “Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Ways” (Seven Stories). “

 

Our irregular correspondents were …

 

• live from the hermetically sealed clean room at URL Labs, LaddieO.com reports on web, tech and science stuff.

 

• making his first appearance as an irregular correspondent, Florida Coastal School of Law Professor Brian Foley. Brian has practiced civil and criminal litigation and clerked for a federal trial court judge. His work focuses on criminal and civil procedure, criminal law, and evidence. He has published scholarship in criminal law and procedure, evidence, sentencing, anti-terrorism law, and the law of war. He is the co-creator and co-organizer of conferences on Applied Legal Storytelling (2011, 2009, and 2007) and has pioneered teaching law students and lawyers how to use storytelling techniques as a method of persuasion in brief writing. He is co-counsel in pro bono litigation seeking to have life-without-possibility-of-parole sentences declared unconstitutional when applied to juveniles.

 

• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth

Theron Hummiston and Richard Norwood produced Saturday’s show.

 

This Is Hell June 30, 2012

Saturday, June 30, 2012, This is Hell! aired a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour show at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed …

• Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an assistant managing editor of The Washington Post and currently heads the Post’s continuous news department, which provides breaking news stories to the paper’s Web site. Rajiv was the Post’s Baghdad bureau chief before, during, and after the war. Previously he served as Cairo bureau chief and Southeast Asia correspondent. He also covered the war in Afghanistan. He has served as the journalist in residence at the International Reporting Project at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in Washington, and as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. His new book is,
  “Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan” (Knopf)

• Noam Chomsky makes his ninth appearance on This is Hell! dating back to September 1, 2001. Noam has a new book out, “Occupy” (Zuccotti Park Press).

• James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic where he has been writing for 30 years. James has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award five times, winning once. He has also won the American Book Award for nonfiction and a N.Y. Emmy award for the documentary series, “Doing Business in China.” He once worked as President Carter’s chief speechwriter. He was the founding chairman of the New America Foundation. He is currently the chair in U.S. media at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, in Australia. His latest book is, “China Airborne” (Pantheon).

Our irregular correspondents were …

• live from Ireland, ‘Our Man in Dublin’ Will Lynch
• live in-studio, Michael Roper, the proprietor of The Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark.
• live from Gaza, Danny Mullergave a Wasted Energy Report.
• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivered a Moment of Truth.

 

This Is Hell June 23, 2012

Saturday, June 23, 2012, This is Hell! aired a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour broadcast beginning at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM.

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed …

• Paul Pillar is the director of graduate studies at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. Professor Pillar took that position after retiring from a 28-year career at the CIA. Paul served in the National Intelligence Council as one of the original members of its Analytic Group. He has been Executive Assistant to CIA’s Deputy Director for Intelligence and Executive Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence William Webster. He is the author of, “Intelligence and US Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform” (Columbia University Press). He is a contributing editor to The National Interest where he writes a daily blog. His most recent writing includes, “What Iran Wants.”

• Laura Carlsen Foreign Policy In Focus columnist Laura Carlsen is director of the Americas Program for the Center for International Policy in Mexico City. Laura’s most recent writing includes, “US Hand in Honduran Massacre,” and “Mexico’s G20 Summit: In the Eye of the Storm.”

• Deepak Tripathi is a former BBC journalist who set up their Kabul office in the early 1990s and was the resident correspondent. Deepak has reported from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Syria as well. He is the author of, “Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism” (Potomac Books). His most recent writing includes, “History’s Revenge: War, Humiliation and the Making of History.”

Our irregular correspondents were …

• live from Hungary, ‘Our Man in Budapest’ Todd Williams
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• live from Puerto Rico, ‘Our Man in San Juan’ Dave Buchen

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The programs listed below are among the podcasts available at thisishell.net -

This Is Hell June 16, 2012

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviews …

• Juan Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Juan’s most recent book is 2009’s “Engaging the Muslim World” (Palgrave). Juan writes at his critically-acclaimed blog, the Informed Comment. Juan’s writing there this week included the post, “Global Disappointment in Obama Actually Rational, unlike in US.”

• Dabo Guan is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics and Governance at the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment Guan is one of the co-authors of the new report, “The gigatonne gap in China’s carbon dioxide inventories.”

• Stephen Walt is a professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Stephen is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He co-authored, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” (MacMillan), with past This is Hell! guest John Mearsheimer. Steve also regularly writes at Foreign Policy. His most recent writing there includes, “George W. Obama” and “Breaking the Golden Rule.”

• Rami Khouri is the Director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut as well as editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, published throughout the Middle East with the International Herald Tribune. You can find all Rami’s work at the Daily Star by clicking here. In November 2006, he was the co-recipient of the Pax Christi International Peace Award for his efforts to bring peace and reconciliation to the Middle East. His most recent writing includes, “Men of Courage Who Bookend the Arab Struggle,” and “A Year of Learning about Syria.”

Our irregular correspondents will be …

• live from New York City, Trevor Ewen reported from “The County Incinerator”
• also live from NYC, Susan Kang, Assistant Professor of Political Science, at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in the City University of New York who was a member of the Occupy Wall Street Demands Working Group

This Is Hell June 9, 2012

Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed …

• Saqib Bhatti is author of the report, “Riding the Gravy Train: How Wall Street is Bankrupting Our Public Transit Agencies by Profiteering off Toxic Swap Deals.” The website for the report can be found at refundtransit.org/. Saqib is a Senior Research Analyst at Service Employees International Union. He is currently on sabbatical from his work with the Leadership Center for the Common Good. However, this report is part of his work with Common Good.

• Andrew Gavin Marshall is an independent researcher and writer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Andrew is Project Manager of The People’s Book Project. He also hosts a weekly podcast, “Empire, Power, and People,” on BoilingFrogsPost.com. His most recent writing includes, “10 Things You Should Know About the Quebec Student Movement.”

• Doug Henwood, editor and publisher of Left Business Observer. Doug’s most recent writing includes, “Walker’s victory, un-sugar-coated.”

• Wayne Getz is co-author of the new paper, “Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere,” which has been published by Nature. The paper concludes that a “tipping point” where the Earth goes into a swift, irreversible, potentially cataclysmic change could happen this century, possibly “within just a few generations.” Wayne is a professor in the Department of Environmental Science Policy andManagement at the University of California at Berkeley.

Our irregular correspondents were …

• Dan ‘The Auto Man’ Litchfield talked car
• live from New York, Elvis DeMorrow told us what’s happening in the Konspiracy Korner.

 

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This Is Hell May 26, 2012

Saturday, May 26, 2012, This is Hell! airs a live, completely unedited and uninterrupted four hour broadcast beginning at 9 AM (US central) on Chicago’s Sound Experiment WNUR 89.3 FM, streaming live here and podcast shortly after our over-the-air broadcast.

This weekend, your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz will interview …

• Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Vijay is author of the new book, “Uncle Swami: South Asians in America Today” (New Press). He is also the author of, “The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World,” (New Press) which was chosen as a Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and won the Muzaffar Ahmad Book Prize.
•  
• Muhammad Sahimi is a chemical engineering professor at the University of Southern California and lead political columnist for the website PBS/Frontline/Tehran Bureau. Muhammad just wrote the piece “Intervention Proponents Try to Scuttle Nuclear Talks with Iran.”
•  
• Dana Frank is a professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of, “Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America” (South End Press). Dana is currently writing a book about the AFL-CIO’s cold war intervention in the Honduran labor movement. We’ll be discussing her recent writing at The Nation including, “Honduras: Which Side Is the US On?” and “Honduras in Flames.”

 Our irregular correspondents will be …

• live from London, it’s David Skalinder and ‘The Agitated Left
• ‘Spencer “Thunderball” Thayer share his eyewitness report on last weekend’s NATO protests here in Chicago
• live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth.

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