Dear Friends, CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM, WITH CHARLES, KATHY, AND ED: (01:36) Celebrating aquatic terror, “Jaws” turns 50 – LISTEN(07:17) Catching up to China’s surveillance state – LISTEN(22:46) Continue Reading →
First off, regarding the title of this message, I don’t see the world in terms of enemies and allies. Thus the quotation marks. Sure, there are hard-core evil-doers who pock-mark the annuls of history with their wickedry. Adolf Hitler. Vlad the Impaler. Oliver Cromwell. The Zodiac Killer. Jack the Ripper. That’s the tip of the ne’er-do-well iceberg, the sordid sliver of humanoids the world would have been better without.
But of the estimated 117 billion people that have, at some point, called Earth home, most have been decent, reasonable, and good. Granted, that’s an opinion, not a fact. But it’s an opinion I’ll back-up with 67 years of personal experience.
This week was, for me, a reminder that there aren’t too many people in today’s world who I’m willing to tag as “the enemy.” (I do put Donald Trump in that category, with apologies to my friends who voted for him. If history proves me wrong, I’ll apologize.)
I use the term “enemy” lightly because, as this week demonstrated, politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. Here are some of the Republican voices I’m finding common ground with this week, in response to President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran and the threat of nuclear war:
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What do I do for work? Great question. A lot of Boomers are retired, yet I remain gainfully employed — as a full-time volunteer. If you’re inclined to support my work, either donating, spreading the word, listening, reading, or providing feedback, my colleagues and I (all volunteers) would be grateful:
1. The Fallon Forum. Our platform includes a radio show that airs on seven stations, a podcast, a weekly email blog, and a Substack post. DONATE HERE.
2. Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim — my memoir from the 2014 Great March for Climate Action. I’d sold about 1,000 copies when COVID took the wind out of that sail. The book is owned by Climate March. All proceeds go to climate action, and we’ve still got a pile of books to unload.
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A ROBOT WROTE THAT? It’s no secret that I’m immensely concerned about the threat AI poses to our very survival. That said, I’m eager to have conversations that challenge my presumptions about the technology.
My dialogue this week with Drake writing prof Carol Roh Spaulding was one of the most enlightening discussions I’ve had on the subject. I love the story Carol shares about the jumping spider — written by GEN-AI from the spider’s perspective.
It’s brilliant writing, but Carol’s subsequent questions for GEN-AI reiterate some of my concerns about the technology. I hope you’ll listen to our discussion and share your impressions and feedback.
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Joni Ernst’s “apology” for her heartless “we all are going to die” comment was one of the biggest political mistakes I’ve ever seen.
Last week, I was cautiously optimistic that Ernst’s likely Democratic opponent, J.D. Scholten (check out J.D.’s inspiring announcement video), had an outside shot at defeating her. But after Ernst’s blundering one-minute-and-eight-second snark, I’d call this race a toss-up.
Even if one tried, it’d be hard to pack so much political stupidity into one minute. The painfully close-up video. Strolling through a cemetery. Pretending to apologize. A self-serving religious plug.
But my favorite “duh” moment was when Ernst said, “I’m really, really glad I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy.”
Huh? Alright, I’ll give you my interpretation of that. Deep down, Ernst knows her political career is over. That’s why she’s walking through a cemetery, headstones symbolizing the many Iowans her votes have hurt. Continue Reading →
HEY SNAKE. BITE ME. I go solo for most of this week’s program, starting off with the incredible story of Tim Friede, who Pope Leo really oughta canonize. Can you imagine being bitten by venomous snakes 200 times? On purpose?? Then injecting yourself with snake venom an additional 700 times???
That’s exactly what Friede did over the course of 18 years. No, he’s not a nut job. No, he’s not a snake-handling religious fanatic. But those are both good guesses. Friede’s goal in enduring such discomfort and risk (he once landed in a coma) was pure altruism: to see if his body could develop immunity to snake venom through repeated exposure.
Scientists recently confirmed that Friede appears to have been successful in that effort. His blood now holds the potential to save the lives of some of the 140,000 people who die each year from snake bites.
Oh, and, like Pope Leo, Friede is from the Midwest, which as this Raygun shirt confirms is the best region on Earth. Continue Reading →
When it comes to food, Des Moines is most prominently known for the World Food Prize. It’s also home to the second largest farmers market in the country, and we have more and more grocery stores and restaurants sourcing locally grown food.
Furthermore, Des Moines has grower-friendly ordinances that allow residents to keep chickens, bees, rabbits, and even a couple pygmy goats and potbelly pigs. We’re also able to raise food in our front yards and, with some restrictions, on the parking strip between the sidewalk and the street.
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If you have a hard time understanding that Israel’s destruction of Gaza is genocide, perhaps this analogy will help:
Among many rural and suburban Iowans, there’s often palpable jealousy of Des Moines. Sometimes, like during annual legislative sessions, the jealousy feels more akin to dislike, even contempt.
If you’ll allow me a wave of macabre fantasy, imagine that the rest of Iowa has finally had enough of Des Moines and its population of 210,000 snooty residents. Military forces have been mobilized against the city in an all-out assault:
— Around 70% of all structures, including 92% of housing units, have been damaged or destroyed.
— Nearly one out of every ten residents have been killed or wounded. Continue Reading →
The build-up to a massive day of climate action has begun. SunDay is “a day of action on September 21 to celebrate solar and wind power, and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind.”
Bill and I talk about last week’s brilliant kick off to SunDay, when Boston Mayor Michelle Wu lit the lantern at the Old North Church, reminiscent of Paul Revere’s lighting of the church’s lanterns to warn people that the British were coming.
Well, the Brits were bad (attests this Irish-American). But the climate chaos barreling toward us is worse. Way worse.
Yet President Trump continues to regard climate science as a hoax. We need to rise up against the tyranny of ignorance and the insatiable greed of the fossil fuel industry. Sure, many of us have been doing that (me, since 2007). SunDay presents a great opportunity to broaden the movement and deepen our personal and collective commitment. Continue Reading →
During each year’s legislative session, I invite all Iowa lawmakers to come on my program. Few seem inclined. I guess I’m scary, or maybe most don’t appreciate hard-hitting questions. Maybe I smell bad. Who knows.
This week, Iowa State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott joined me in the studio. Sarah doesn’t mind tough questions, and her answers were always clear and straightforward.
In addition to being a mom, a wife, and a Lutheran minister, Sarah represents Dallas County — the fastest growing county in the state. She’s won three close races in a district previously represented by Jake Chapman, the former Republican President of the Senate, who Sarah beat in 2022.
We discuss Sarah’s priorities. She’s concerned about Republican attacks on education, including a disturbing double standard: increased oversight of public schools and very little oversight of private schools funded with public money.
We discuss eminent domain legislation, which for three years has passed the House but stalled in the Senate. With public pressure mounting, the Senate Commerce Committee agreed to take up the House’s strong eminent domain bill last month. But under the leadership of the Committee’s chair, Republican Senator Mike Bousselot, many of the bill’s protections for landowners were removed.