Pundit Review Radio

Cooking with the Troops is great charity that our friend Bruce McQuain told us about. We were honored to welcome the group’s CEO, C. Blake Powers, a fellow Blackfive blogger of Bruce’s, to Pundit Review Radio. Blake told us about the group, some of the great events they have held, including on Veterans Day at the NASDAQ. The reception that CWWT has received has been phenomenal. To keep things going, they need our support. You can help them and learn more by visiting their website. Here’s C. Blake Powers talking about Cooking with the Troops C. Blake Powers, CEO of Cooking with the Troops on Pundit Review Radio The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine,

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Lieutenant Colonel Matthew A. Lopez. From his Silver Star citation, "On 17 April 2004, demonstrating extraordinary combat endurance and command presence, Lieutenant Colonel Lopez led a 48-hour urban assault to destroy an estimated 300 insurgents in the city. His brilliant action resulted in more than 120 insurgents confirmed killed, destroying whole insurgent cells and groups, numerous foreign fighters, and the enemy’s will to fight. Throughout the battle, he placed himself with lead platoons, assaulting insurgent fortified positions in house-to-house assaults and employing mortars and rotary wing close air support. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Lieutenant Colonel

Well, we can't solve ALL the world's problem each and every Sunday night. On those weeks we need a break from the madness that is state and national politics. On those occasions, we love to have Producer Rob return to Pundit Review Radio so we can take advantage of his Rain Man knowledge of all things movies. Tonight, the focus was Guy Movies. We took a lot of great calls and got some great suggestions. As usually happens during these segments, we also got a few suggestions out of left field, like Star Trek 3. Not two or four, but Star Trek 3. Allrighty then. Here we go... The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of

This was a great honor for me to have Mike Mayo on Pundit Review Radio. He is someone I have long admired for his tenacity, integrity and fearlessness. For the past two decades, he has been the top ranked banking and finance analyst on Wall Street. Fortune named him One of Eight Who Saw The Crisis Coming. He has developed a well-earned reputation as a truth seeker, someone who is uninterested in currying favor with the companies he covers. According to the LA Times review of his fantastic book Exile on Wall Street: One Analyst’s Fight to Save the Big Banks from Themselves, "Stock analysts are not known for being a rebellious sort -– their jobs generally involve writing up dry technical reports on public companies. But Mike Mayo is not your typical stock analyst. Since joining the industry nearly 25 years ago, he has shaken up the financial world with his bold and forthright analysis of the banks he researches. …He argues that regulators, accountants and credit ratings agencies do not have the right incentive

It was my pleasure to welcome BU mass communications professor and WBUR media analyst John Carroll to Pundit Review Radio for the first time last evening. Long overdue, but it was worth the wait. We had a fun, fast-paced hour in which we covered the unfolding Penn State disgrace, the current state of the media and some politics as well, including Sen. Scott Brown versus Elizabeth Warren and the GOP primary. John’s blog, Campaign Outsider, is excellent. I hope to have him back in again soon, especially as the senate campaign heats up. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evenin

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about PFC Steven J. Cornford. From his Silver Star citation, "Private First Class Cornford stubbornly defended his position for several minutes, refusing to leave his stricken comrade. He continued to engage the enemy with small arms fire and apply pressure to his Platoon Leader’s wound until his Squad Leader arrived at his position. On his Platoon Leader’s final order, Private First Class Cornford and the Squad Leader engaged the enemy position with hand grenades, knocking it out of action. Private First Class Cornford and other squad members then rendered first aid to the Platoon Leader until additional forces and the MEDEVAC aircraft arrived. Private First Class Cornford’s bravery under fire in close contact

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about First Lieutenant Colin Cremin. From his Silver Star citation, "His calm demeanor under extreme danger and ability to lead elements of a transportation company, three tank companies, a Headquarters company, and a scout section through a counter-attack to retrieve lost and endangered army equipment is a credit to his leadership and bravery in the face of heavy enemy fire. His strong leadership was a major factor in motivating the members of the convoy to fight fiercely in the face of such an organized attack. Had First Lieutenant Cremin not taken control of the situation once the convoy entered the ambush, there would most likely have been many more friendly casualties and destroyed or captured vehicles. Fir

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez, Jr. Here is the citation to his Bronze Star Medal (With Valor), "Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez, Jr., distinguished himself by heroism as a Special Tactics Combat Controller, 21st Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron, Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component while engaged in ground combat against an enemy of the United States in Afghanistan on 6 April 2008. On that day, Sergeant Gutierrez was attached to Army Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha 3312 as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller, in support of Operation COMMANDO WRATH. He provided critical Airmanship skills during a violent 6 and a half hour battle against heavily armed and entrenched enemy fighter

One of our favorite guests is Jim Pethokoukis, who recently left Reuters to join the American Enterprise Institute. Jim joined us last night to talk about his recent article on income inequality being the new global warming as well as the GOP race and Herman Cain’s appearance at the AEI this morning. Unfortunately, the Politico article came out a few minutes after we finished our interview. Here is Jim’s post on the Cain event today, My Morning with Herman Cain The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

A few weeks back, I was contacted by Jack Kelley, a former staffer for Mayor Menino, who blogs at Coffee with Caesar. He shared with me his post on the Occupy movement and asked if I would be interested in discussing. Since the post was so thoughtful, and hopeful about the Occupy movement, I said hell yea. I enjoyed having Jack in the studio and having a civil, thoughtful discussion about Occupy specifically and politics in general. At the end of the day, politico’s need to be able to state their case, make their points and agree to disagree. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sun

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Gunnery Sergeant Timothy P. Haney. From his Silver Star citation, "Gunnery Sergeant Haney’s leadership, personal sacrifice, and calming influence enabled his platoon to repeatedly engage and defeat enemy forces in close combat. From 23 to 26 March 2003, Gunnery Sergeant Haney participated in firefights with Iraqi Military and Paramilitary Forces in An Nasariya, Iraq, during which his personal example while under fire set the tone for the platoon’s tactical success. During a direct fire engagement against a heavy machine gun, he dismounted his vehicle to gain awareness of the enemy’s positions, exposed himself to enemy fire, and provided higher headquarters with vital situational awareness. On 26 March 200

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Retired Col. Charles P. Murray Jr., Medal of Honor recipient, who recently died at age 89, "He had joined the 3rd Infantry Division in France in 1944 after the Normandy invasion that June. Over the course of several brutal days in December, casualties thinned the ranks above him. He became the company commander. On Dec. 16, he was leading a platoon of about 35 down a mountain path near the town of Kaysersberg, in northeastern France, when he eyed about 200 Germans attacking another battalion of U.S. troops. Rather than take his men into a position where they would be devastatingly outnumbered, he moved forward alone and radioed for an artillery attack. It missed, and before he could correct the coordinate

Our charter on WRKO’s Pundit Review Radio is to bring the blogs to the radio, and we did that last night. Legal Insurrection is among the most popular blogs covering issues ranging from law, politics to foreign policy. The man behnd the blog, William A. Jacobson, is an Associate Clinical Professor at Cornell Law School, and he joined us last evening to talk about the most recent GOP debate, including Rick Perry’s Red Soxesque September collapse and the recent BS at the world HQ for BS, the United Nations. Finally, I couldn’t let a law professor go without asking about one Elizabeth Warren, Harvard law professor and former Obama administration official now waxing poetic about the joys of collectivism on the US Senate campaign trail. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe. From Blackfive, "Since being part of the 2010 Medal of Honor Convention, I have read and published scores of narratives for valor medals. While the actions of these men are all truly incredible, the actions of Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe in Iraq on Oct. 17, 2005 are astonishing. Especially considering he was only awarded the Silver Star. Cashe occupied the gunner’s turret of a Bradley fighting vehicle when it was hit by an IED. Cashe managed to escape the vehicle, but the vehicle’s fuel cell had ruptured and ignited, setting fire to the men stuck inside. Cashe was covered in fuel, and insurgent small-arms fire was targeting the Bradley. Cashe rescued the

This is a great biography, Omar Bradley: General at War, full of details about some of the most iconic battles of WW2. Gen. Bradley always played second fiddle to braggards like Macarthur and showmen like Patton. In fact, he was trusted and respected all the way up to Ike and even FDR. One of the great stories in the book, that I had never heard before, involved FDR calling Bradley to the White House to brief him on the Italian operations. During that meeting, FDR let Bradley know about the development of the Atom bomb, a secret even VP Truman did not know about. The book was written by NY Times bestselling author Jim DeFelice. Jim was a really good guy except for one thing that was, well, disappointing (Yankee fan). Thankfully, the book is great! The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give vo

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Staff Sergeant Justin M. Estes who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for actions in Samara Iraq, March 5, 2007. "Staff Sergeant Estes provided calm and decisive leadership at the detonation site, directing the continuing search for Paratroopers affected by the blast, even as ammunition cooked off around him. Having cleared the casualties from the fire, and with his equipment literally melting from the intense heat, Staff Sergeant Estes remained at the side of Staff Sergeant Stanley as he called the stretcher teams forward to conduct CASEVAC. As the teams approached, the imminent danger at which Staff Sergeant Estes had placed himself in order to save the lives of his comrades was realized, as he was

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Nicole Jacobson, the first Security Forces Airman to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom, at age 21. In May, 2006, the Air Force announced a new annual Security Forces award, the Elizabeth N. Jacobson Award for Expeditionary Excellence, that formally recognizes the war fighting contributions and outstanding accomplishments of our youngest warriors. Bruce tells us as only he can what the true significance of this is. The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK archive can be found here and The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you c

What an honor to welcome two-time Pulitzer prize winning New York Times investigative journalist Don Van Natta Jr. to WRKO’s Pundit Review Radio. Don’s has written an amazing book about the best women athlete of 20th century, Babe Didrikson Zaharias. One thing that fascinates me about stories like this is how someone so famous can be so unknown a few generations later. There were so many aspects of Babe’s life that are completely relevant to today’s athletics. It’s all here, the money chase, the ego, the push and pull between amateur and professional athletics, using and being used by media, great successes and personal tragedies. In so many ways Babe was a modern athlete, brash, cocky and outspoken. She was the original trash talker and self promoter. You could say she was the first Chad Ochocinco, right down to referring to herself in the third person. Her story is incredible, her athletic feats even greater. Don has written an amazing book. I loved reading it and I hope that came across in the interview.

Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about 1st Lt. Elliot Ackerman, "Insurgents had a relatively free run of Fallujah the six months preceding November 2004. With little or no Coalition presence in the city, they had turned the urban landscape into a warren – like maze of fortified positions, booby traps, and sniper positions. The terrain could not have been more demanding for the Marines called in to clear the city. First, however, they had to establish a foothold, a task that fell in part to then-2nd Lt. Ackerman and his platoon. On November 10th, he and his men entered the city in what became a six-day struggle to open operational lines. Insurgents attacked from numerous directions as Ackerman’s Marines pushed into the city. Twice in the early

It is always a treat to welcome Mark Steyn to Pundit Review Radio on WRKO. Mark has been with us a number of times over the years, most recently for his book America Alone. He’s back with yet another depressing, but hilarious, take on the decline of the Western World with After America: Get Ready for Armageddon. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.