Pundit Review Radio

New York Times best selling author TJ English returned to Pundit Review Radio and WRKO last evening. His last book, Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution was spectacular. His new book is just as good. The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge tells the story of race in NYC through the eyes and events of three very different men. One is a poor, semi-literate black teenager framed for a gruesome double murder, one is a crooked cop and the third is a founding member of the New York Black Panther Party. I was so glad to hear that TJ enjoys coming on the show and doing these longer style interviews that really dig into the book. It is such a thrill to get to devour these books and then have the opportunity to talk to the author in great detail about their work. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did, The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Ra

Back in December 2008, I had the pleasure of speaking with Alice Schroeder for about 45 minutes on WRKO Boston about Snowball, the first and certainly the last authorized biography of Warren Buffett. Schroeder scored the most coveted assignment in financial journalism, writing THE official Bufffett biography, not because of her work as a journalist, but as a Wall Street analyst who covered Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s company. At the time, Buffett told Schroeder to write a warts and all account, and so she did. Buffett has not spoken to Alice Schroeder since the book came out. That in and of itself is a window into the character, and flaws, of the world’s greatest investor. Buffett’s character is back in the spotlight this week, along with his grandfatherly image and reputation as one of the world’s most admired businessmen. From Alice’s Bloomberg column titled Buffett Misses Chance to Show Moral Courage, schroeder What were they thinking? How could Warren Buffett excuse David Sokol’s trading in Lubr

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 the story of Master Sgt Patrick M Quinn of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). From his Silver Star citation, Patrick M Quinn …for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Operational Detachment Alpha 065 (ODA-065), Company A, 2d Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, on 5 April 2003, in Iraq, in engaging and destroying the Iraqi 96th Infantry Brigade, neutralizing the 4th and 16th Infantry Divisions, and routing a battalion of Saddam Fedayeen. Master Sergeant Quinn’s performance was integral in the 2d Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) attack towards Mosul, Iraq. His actions under overwhel

Christen Varley, president of the greater Boston Tea Party, joined me tonight to talk about their 3rd annual Tax Day Rally in Boston Common coming up April 15 at 4pm. Former MN governor Tim Pawlenty will be the featured speaker. We covered a lot of ground, about her own road to action, to the Tea Party as political football and 2012 and beyond. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

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 the story of Army Pfc. Harrison J. Meyer. This came from a Facebook page, meyer_harrison “Pfc. Harrison James Meyer grew up in Worthington, Ohio and graduated from high school in May 2003. He enlisted on July 11, 2003 and became a Soldier and a medic. On February 25, 2004, he arrived in Korea and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Air Assault), and served as a platoon medical specialist. Known for his enthusiasm in medical treatment, he earned the respect of all who knew him. Pfc. Meyer was killed in action on November 26, 2004. While suffering his own injuries, he left cover and was mortally wounded while attempting to rescue injured Soldiers caught in an enemy ambush. He will be a

It was an honor to welcome back to the show Paul Monti, father of Medal of Honor recipient Jared C. Monti. Paul has joined us several times since Jared's death but this was the first time we have spoken on air since the incredibly moving Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. Jared's family and friends are keeping his memory alive through a scholarship that is funded through an annual Poker Tournament. Details about hos you can support this great cause, dedicated to this great man, are below. Thanks in advance for any support you can offer. 5TH ANNUAL SFC JARED C. MONTI POKER TOURNAMENT SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2011 4pm Registration, 5pm Start 2:30pm Satellites - 8:00pm Live Auction American Legion Post #405 291 Mill Road, Raynham, MA

When the news is so overwhelmingly negative, as it has been lately, one thing we like to do on WRKO's Pundit Review Radio is to lighten things uo with a "favorite movie" segment. It helps when Producer Rob had an Rain Man like knowledge of all things movies. He's a walking, talking IMDB! When we decided to do a favorite Boston Movie segment, we just had to invite Producer Rob back to join us. It was great to have him on the other side of the glass, in studio, sharing his movie knowledge with us. These are always fun segments to do. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

John Perry Barlow is as close to a real life Dos Equis guy as anyone I can think of. John Perry Barlow is a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Since May of 1998, he has been a Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. What a thrill to get a full hour to talk with John. We spent the first portion of the interview talking about the video below and how he inspired me to get my act together with regard to health and wellness some eighteen months ago through a series of tweets while he was in rehab, of all things. We spent the second half of the conversation discussing his bread and butter issue of freedom in cyberspace. Just how visionary has Barlow been on these issue of cyber freedom? Way back in February 1996, he wrote A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to ward off the virus of

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 the story of Silver Star recipient Corporal Timothy C. Tardif, "Cardiff engaged in an intense close-quarters battle, he received significant shrapnel wounds from an enemy grenade. Refusing to be evacuated and disregarding his wounds, Corporal Tardif gallantly led his squad in an assault on an enemy-held compound. After securing the compound, Corporal Tardif received an order to egress and he led his reinforced squad in a fighting withdrawal. After moving 150 meters, Corporal Tardif collapsed from his wounds, unable to continue fighting. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Corporal Tardif reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps

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 the story of Captain Scott Smiley, "Within days of Smiley’s arrival at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, a civilian social worker encouraged his wife to fill out forms to medically retire him. “Instantly, this thing inside me was like ‘No, this isn’t right,’” Tiffany Smiley, now 25, recalled. “It was just this gut feeling.” Through weeks and months to come, as Scott Smiley’s body healed, as he learned how to walk with a cane and read Braille, he and his wife were told by doctors and therapists in Washington; Tacoma, Wash., and Palo Alto, Calif.: Your Army career is over. Smiley – earnest, outgoing, quick to poke fun at himself, devoutly religious – has proved them wrong. Taking advantage of the

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 Chief Warrant Officer Two Nathan J. Buelow . From his Silver Star citation, "Maintaining absolute composure, Chief Warrant Officer Two Buelow maneuvered the entire convoy out of harm’s way and then oversaw the evacuation of an ISOF Soldier who has just lost his leg and fingers from a direct RPG hit. Chief Warrant Officer Two Buelow’s competence, professionalism, and courage under intense, direct small arms fire were critical to the successful prosecution of the target and preservation of the coalition force. His heroic acts saved the life of a brother-in-arms and brought the men of his detachment home safely. His heroic actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of gallantry and intrepidity, and reflect

It was a great pleasure to finally talk to Ed Driscoll of Pajamas Media. I’ve been reading Ed for years, and love his beat, pop culture, technology and politics. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston's Talk Station.

James Altucher is a true original thinker. He is an investor, entrepreneur, author, blogger and all around fascinating person. His bio at Altucher Confidential includes the following, "To some extent I regret every minute of the past 15 years. My first job in New York City was for HBO, interviewing prostitutes and drug dealers at three in the morning. How I went from that to trading and investing and everything that happened in between can fill ten books." Colin Powell once said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” I think James would agree that the most valuable lessons come from failures. What he does is fill his blog with amazing stories and experiences that have shaped his life and career for the past 20 years. James is not afraid to look deeply into his failures and share some pretty great advice with his readers. His blog is part storytelling, part MBA program, part life coach. We covered some of his best known posts, such as

I said before the show, it was the iconoclast edition of Pundit Review Radio. Michael Fumento is one of our favorites, a true original. A contrarian, a skeptic, lawyer, genius. He had A LOT to say about the Toyota investigation and other hysteria's like SARS, H1N1, autism/vaccines and even AIDS. He's moving to Columbia soon. Not South Carolina, as he noted. Columbia. If this was his swan song on Pundit Review Radio, he sure made it interesting. we'll continue to follow him at Fumento.com, you should too. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

Michael Yon joined us once again last night, this time from Bangkok. He was heading to the airport for a flight to Afghanistan. I asked him what he thinks about the night before returning to cover combat from the fight lines, we talked about where we are there today, how things have changed since he first started joining us from Afghanistan some five years ago. Michael is a truly independent journalist, supported by his readers. Please support his work by checking out his amazing website. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

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 the story of U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua R. Labbe. Labbe, from Stonington, Conn., an infantry squad leader with 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, is credited with saving the life of one soldier and protecting numerous soldiers during a complex attack which lasted more than six hours. “We are here to recognize the sacrifice and courage of the soldiers and leaders in Shafi Khel on Oct. 6,” said Lt. Col. Russell Lewis, 1-87 commander, said during the ceremony. “Sgt. Labbe is a hero, he didn’t go out on Oct. 6 to earn an award — he just did his job. Except his job that day called for extraordinary actions and he stepped up and helped his comrades.” The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extens

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 to went to the wayback machine to tell us an amazing story from Vietnam, some 45 years in the making. "ARLINGTON, Va. — “Working in pitch darkness with only the occasional flickering illumination from aircraft dropped flares above and suffering a leg and hand wound from mortar fire, Lance Cpl. Seath expertly crafted an operational M-60 machine gun from the pieces of two disabled weapons. Immediately and with devastating effects, he directed deadly accurate fire at the onrushing enemy, ultimately repelling the enemy’s assault.” – Navy Cross citation. Former active-duty Marine Ned E. Seath’s fellow Marines said the citation is almost a mere understatement of what the man did in his deployment to the Vietnam War. By elimi

Last night I got to speak with Thomas Woods, author of Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse. The book goes far beyond repealing the monstrosity that is Obamacare, taking a close look across the entire government and the numerous ways Big Government is not just part of the problem, but the problem itself. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

Always great to welcome back Martin Solomon, the man behind the outstanding local blog Solomonia.com. Martin does a great job covering Israeli-US politics, antisemitism and Islamic radicalism. Given the talk of Democracy in Egypt, and the rather stunning Pew Research polling of Egyptian citizens, nobody really know what the future holds. Last week's events were certainly transformational, we just don't know in which direction it will go. 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 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

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 Army Sgt. Donald Ralph Walters. From the AP, "A year after he was buried, the Army honored Sgt. Donald Walters on Monday with the Silver Star for the actions in Iraq that cost him his life. Walters, 33, formerly of Kansas City, Mo., received the commendation posthumously during a ceremony at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, where he is buried. Walters was a member of the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas, that was ambushed in southern Iraq on March 23, 2003. Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, who served in Iraq as the commanding general of the Army’s V Corps, presented the Silver Star to Walters’ widow, Stacie, and his mother, Arlene Walters, who has sought a better accounting of her son’s dea